Cable Replacement

Hello. Is it possible to ask for a replacement of the cable for my sansa V02.01.32A player? It was given to me by my mother from New Jersey. I asked my niece what she did with the previous sansa player of my mom and she said that the problem might be from the cable. Coz she also encountered same problem as what I am experiencing now and she tried switching the cable with the cable from her sansa player and it worked. Oh I forgot to tell my problem with my sansa. Well my desktop doesn’t detect the plugged in sansa player and also it my desktop would not charge the player but when I used the charger of my mom’s sansa player; it charged. So with what my niece told my I also now think that the problem is with the included cable for the sansa player. 

Any cable with that same mini-usb end will work

Here’s the result of a quick search.  The USB-to-Mini-B cable is quite popular for devices like digital cameras, so there are many good prices out there.

I haven’t seen an available SanDisk Clip mini cable.  I like that the original has a ferrule to protect against interference, important for short data cables.

Bob  :smileyvery-happy:

I tried other cables like the cables from cameras and even cables from cellular phones but it doesn’t work. My niece said she also encountered same problem as what I am having with my sansa and she said she used the cable from her other sansa and it work. So I was thinking that my cable is defective and not the player. I tried the charger from my mom’s sansa and it work but when I tried the cable included from my sansa and tried charging it direct to the computer it doesn’t work. my USB ports are 2.0. I was thinking of returning the sansa player but I am so far away from the U.S and my mom will go back in U.S. by April so I am worried that by that time I can’t return it for replacement.

Really, truly, a generic USB cable with the right connectors on each end should work.  I have used camera and other generic USB cables, without any problem.  You may want to try others.  There is nothing “special” in the original Clip cable (it includes a ferrite coil to help prevent interference, but a cable without that should perform just fine). 

edit:  I should add, I have a generic, Chinese retractable USB cable that will not work with my Clip to transfer data–it is a quality issue with the cable.  You may want to try buying local to you, so that if the cable does not work, you can return or exchange for another.

Message Edited by Miikerman on 01-25-2010 09:45 PM

I think you are right. I think it is worth a try buying a cable and try if it would work.

"Well my desktop doesn’t detect the plugged in sansa player "

Did you try disconnecting all other usb peripherals, and plugging the player in a USB slot in the rear of the pc?

Some computers have low power for USB ports, especially for the front ones. If there is something else connected to the same USB controller, it will be sharing the power supply to that controller, and might not be giving the player enough power.

Those retractable USB cables are usually power only. I have some that came with USB power packs. They are handy for when I want to charge the player via the pc while it is playing.

Actually, many retractable cables are for both data and power–in fact, most of them I see for sale.  Unfortunately, those with lesser quality may not actually serve as they were intended.

If you have the cable from one of the older players, say the Sansa e100 series, those might work too. I found out that the cable that came with my Clip is the exact same one as the one from my e130, but the Clip cable is black and the e100 cable is white.

I tried the usb port at the back of my computer but still it didn’t work. maybe I’ll try to remove the other things plugged on my other usb’s. Hope they will work now.

As Neutron Bob mentioned, all you need is a standard USB-to-Mini-B. It’s one of the great advantages of the Clip in that most other MP3 players have special proprietary cables. I did a search per Bob’s link and found cables for $0.14. Pick up two or three. :slight_smile: