Blank Screen but player works

SanDisk MP3 players Sansa® Clip | Sansa® Clip+
1

I have a Sanza Clip that is just under a year old. I normally use it 5 or 6 times a week but did not use it for 2 1/ 2 weeks. When I went to use it again it appeared to be dead so I plugged it into my computer thinking that it just needed a re-charge. The blue lights come on around the control keys but the screen is blank. After charging for a while I could see the charging symbol on the screen VERY faintly bu after disconnecting and restarting the screen is blank again. Plays music OK but cannot see the screen to control anything. Any suggestions ??? Also, The past couple of weeks have been very humiod in our area. Could it be a moisture issue ??

Thanks.

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@boandzoe wrote:

I have a Sanza Clip that is just under a year old. I normally use it 5 or 6 times a week but did not use it for 2 1/ 2 weeks. When I went to use it again it appeared to be dead so I plugged it into my computer thinking that it just needed a re-charge. The blue lights come on around the control keys but the screen is blank. After charging for a while I could see the charging symbol on the screen VERY faintly bu after disconnecting and restarting the screen is blank again. Plays music OK but cannot see the screen to control anything. Any suggestions ??? Also, The past couple of weeks have been very humiod in our area. Could it be a moisture issue ??

Did you wash your CLIP?   If you believe the clip was in water,   try drying it before using it any further.    One suggested way is to put the CLIP in a baggy filled with rice.   Rice will absorb moisture and help draw the water out,  search the forum for more info.  Basics is leaving it in a baggy of rice for a few days…

Condensation caused from the clip being cold and warming up etc…  High humitity could be a problem.  If the screen is fogged with moisture,  dry it same was as above…     Or take a trip to the south and sit on the beach while the CLIP’s condensation evaporates.  Have some margaritas while you wait. 0:)

Possibly strong vibrations/drops could account for some internal display disconnect.  If you are handy with electronics,  there are pictures showing the internals of the CLIP and discussions about taking them apart, carefully…   But the clip is so small there is not much u can do except solder a battery lead…  And adding some chips to the case. :confused:

The clip is supprisingly robust.   Several people report washing thier clips, or finding it in the snow after months of winter.  And surviving.  XD

Good luck.

Message Edited by niko_sama on 08-26-2009 10:23 PM

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Sounds like screen problem. I doubt it’s moisture but you could try a very long charge and see if there are any signs of life. That you saw something could be promising. See if Sansa will still accept it under warranty.

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No, I did not wasjh it and it did not get wet i. I did put it in a bag of rice for a couple of days in case it was a moisture problem but it does not appear to be. The screen looks faint but definitely working when it is being charged it just shuts down when I unplug it. Other than that, it is working normally.

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Question…    The display shutdown when you unplug it,  but it will play music ok while unplugged?  Did the display work while its plugged in?      

If the player shuts down when you unplug.    no display or music playback,  then it sounds like a battery lead has disconnected.   If this is the case…  see if you can get it exchanged, or warrenty repair.   Or if ur adventurous, there are a few who have resoldered the battery themself. 

Good luck.

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NO, the player works fine it just doesn not show anything on the display whethere plugged in or not. At first, it showed a very dull charging graphic in the display but now it is just dead.

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I would try a few things, in case they might help.  Having said this, it sounds like this is a hardware issue, unfortunately.

–  Reset:  Turn the player off and then hold the on switch uppermost for 15-20 seconds.

–  Reapply the firmware–it can become corrupted.  See the firmware upgrade sticky at the top of the forum.

–  Reformat the Clip, under its Settings.

Maybe one of these will help.

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And actually, if you are still under warranty, I’d contact SanDisk for a warranty replacement.

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I had the same issue on my 2GB clip. Every thing “worked”, just not screen of any kind. My unit was less than 1 month old, had never been wet, never been dropped, it jsut stopped working.

I contacted Sandisk support, and they took me through steps to prove what I already knew, and they finally came to the same conclusion I had; the unit was broken.

They issued me RMA #:RX404758 to return the unit as well as a UPS return label. So far, so good.

They recieved my return on August 31st, (I called to make sure it had arrived a few days after the 31st since I had no tracking number for the return label due to my not writing it down from the printed label) and said it would take 7-10 business days for them to process my replacement at which time I would recieve an email notification of the retrun shipment and tracking number.

I called a week ago to see where it stood since it had been about 14 business days in their hands, and they “escalated” the RMA and promised me an email regarding its status within 48 hours. Never happened.

Well, here it is September 25th, literally one month after calling them when this all began, and nothing is on its way yet that can be proved. I called them today for the second time to check into it, he had to call me back after he “checked into some things” and when he called back now my replacement has myseriously been shipped yesterday and is promised to arrive at my home on Monday the 28th. I am not holding my breath on this, but I have hopes. They weren’t able to provide me with tracking information, so I am assuming they “might” be shipping it overnight today since I called and unhappily complained.

So the moral of this story is they will honor their warranties I suppose, just don’t get too excited when they promise you something. However, if you stay on top of it you might get your replacement.

Good luck.

Update 9-28: I logged into My Sandisk and checked the status of my incident and it saw that it had been updated 2 1/2 hours or so after my call. It now shows that the replacement “shipped” on 9-25. Notice above, where I had been told it shipped “Yesterday” which would have been 9-24. The update gave me a tracking number, and the details of the shipment from UPS show that it actually left their location this morning 9-28 and is due for delivery on the 30th from.

So I was blatantly lied to by the customer support representative I spoke with regarding shipping dates etc. Maybe he thought I fell off of a turnip truck something, but I would rather he had been honest with me and told me the truth about when it “would” ship, and not have lied to me saying it already had. _ Sandisk, this is NOT the proper way to deal with a customer. _

Apparently they work on the squeaky wheel method, so stay on top of your RMA status and call them back when if/when their promises fall short.

Message Edited by mjinks on 09-25-2009 10:07 AM

Message Edited by mjinks on 09-28-2009 11:53 AM

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Sometimes, as here, there have been admin. delays.  As the poster states, keep on top of matters and don’t be afraid to call back as to status issues.

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I had the EXACT same problem - the music would play, and nothing else.  The screen started out flaky, but eventually I couldn’t get it to display anything at all.

I wound up fixing my Sansa Clip by taking it apart and cleaning the connections.

I suggest you try the same. I have posted detailed instructions (including pictures) here:

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FYI, I had the same problem.  I managed to fix it and posted these instructions:

thanks!

Chris

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wups. Double-post.