Clip+ Radio Problems: Static

I bought the 8g Clip+ (replacing my 2g Clip), and am very disappointed with the quality of the radio reception with the Clip+, as compared to the Clip.

It is not a defect to this unit, as I exchanged it for another, and have the same poor reception.

I have updated the firmware. I have changed headphones (& earphones).I pushed the earphones into my head. I have tried various EQ settings. 

The only quirk I noticed: If I manually advance the station 1 frequency (1 click to the right), and then reverse it 2 frequencies (2 clicks to the left), followed by 1 click to the right, so I’m now back on the proper frequency, it sometimes resolves the issue… or I think it may help reduce some static.

Is the antenna & configuration different for the clip+, as compared to the clip?

Please help, as I must use my older Clip when I want to listen to the radio. Thank you.

@eb1 wrote:

I bought the 8g Clip+ (replacing my 2g Clip), and am very disappointed with the quality of the radio reception with the Clip+, as compared to the Clip.

 

You’re not alone.

@eb1 wrote:

Is the antenna & configuration different for the clip+, as compared to the clip?

 

Different FM tuner chip plus RF shielding was left out to make room (either physically or cost-wise) for the SD card slot.

At least that’s what I’ve heard.

@eb1 wrote:

I bought the 8g Clip+ (replacing my 2g Clip), and am very disappointed with the quality of the radio reception with the Clip+, as compared to the Clip.

 

You’re not alone.

@eb1 wrote:

Is the antenna & configuration different for the clip+, as compared to the clip?

 

Different FM tuner chip plus RF interference shielding was left out to make room (either physically or cost-wise) for the SD card slot.

At least that’s what I’ve heard.

1 Like

that sux. I wonder if there’s any way to compensate for poor reception via software patch?

Would sandisk do this to try and help everyone who bought their product, as it has defective FM reception?

SanDisk has known about this for 2 years and has released several firmware updates that has not addressed this issue. Either it was not possible, or they deemed it too cost-ineffective to do so.

Sorry to say thhere won’t be any more firmware updates for the Clip+ model so even it it were possible, it ain’t gonna happen.

Since they advertised the Clip+ to have an FM radio, you would expect it to work properly.

I was hoping Sandisk would repair this, wanting the customers who purchased this item to be happy with their purchase, and want to purchase more Sandisk products in the future.

If they can’t/won’t stand behind their products, why should I trust their advertising when I am looking to buy something in the future?

Sadly, most things rarely work as advertised.

My FM radio has worked fine . . . .  Of course, do make sure that the earphone cable, which serves as the antenna, is extended.  

Try using a different earphone or headphone. The earphone cord is the antenna. Extend the cord fully. Try using the radio in a different location. There may be something interfering with reception. Are you using it near your pc or florescent   lights?

Thanks Miikerman & JK98,

however I have tried various earphones (extended; not near any interference), yet the FM reception distortion problem remains.

As I said in my original posting: The only quirk I noticed… If I manually advance the station 1 frequency (1 click to the right), and then reverse it 2 frequencies (2 clicks to the left), followed by 1 click to the right, so I’m now back on the proper frequency, it sometimes resolves the issue… or I think it may help reduce some static

That’s why I suspect a software fix should be possible, even if the clip+ has a different tuner chip, etc, as compared to the original clip that has proper FM reception. I’m hoping Sandisk will stand behind this produce and help us with a new patch for this problem.

     ------------------------

Miikerman said: My FM radio has worked fine . . . .  Of course, do make sure that the earphone cable, which serves as the antenna, is extended. 

JK98 said: Try using a different earphone or headphone. The earphone cord is the antenna. Extend the cord fully. Try using the radio in a different location. There may be something interfering with reception. Are you using it near your pc or florescent   lights?

     ------------------------

Download the firmware again and manually install it on the player. That will help if the firmware in the player is corrupted.

JK98, I tried that, with the same results. No change to FM receptiuon.

Looking at posts by others, it seems that the problem is the Clip+ FM reception itself, which is inferior to that of the Clip (which I had before). As I mentioned above, this is the 2nd Clip+ I tried, and both had the same FM reception problem.

I still think it may be resolved by a newer software update, as I can sometimes improve the reception, by manually advancing and then reversing the frequency (as I mentioned earlier in a prior message). Hopefully Sandisk will provide an update to resolve this problem.


“Download the firmware again and manually install it on the player. That will help if the firmware in the player is corrupted.”

@eb1 wrote:

 

I still think it may be resolved by a newer software update . . .

 

Can it? Maybe.

Will it? No.

lol Tapeworm!

I guess they already have my money (but will I buy from them again?)

@eb1 wrote:

lol Tapeworm!

 

I guess they already have my money (but will I buy from them again?)

Actually just a case of bad timing. The Clip+ has been out for going on 2 years now. It’s nearing the end of its “life-cycle”. It’s successor, the Clip Zip came out last August. SanDisk’s developers are now concentrated on the next model release (probably this coming August). Since the economy down-turn a couple years ago, they no longer have the (human) resources to support a huge developement department comprised of smaller “teams” working on firmware updates and fixes for several models at the same time.

And by the way, they not only fixed the FM reception problem in the Zip model, they also added RDS display. :wink:

One other thing you could try is changing the region to world. I think this will let you tune in more precise increments, perhaps by .05 rather than .1 you could try it. Another idea is to get a separate radio. The Sony SRF-59 AM/FM radio is just $15 and gets 100 hours of play time(140 on AM) on just one AA battery. It is larger than the Clip+ though. Another option  splurge on a CLip Zip. I don’t have any problems with the radio on my Clip+, so I think your problem might be related to your specific area, although the Clip+ has been said to have poor shielding from inteference. I guess they cut down on the shielding to save space and cost.

Thanks for the info JK.

I have tried the Clip+ in different cities throughout North America (with US and World regional settings), and the poor FM reception is the same.

I have the 4g Clip, with a great radio, so I don’t need another. However my Clip+ is 8g, which is why I perfer to use it. But I don’t want to carry 2 devices, especially when I travel.

Nor do I want to buy another Sandisk product, if they can’t properly support the features they claim it to have.

Sandisk did improve the radio in the Clip Zip. I guess too many were complaining about the radio in the Clip+. To make room for the card slot, some have said they removed shielding on the radio circuitry. There were also some who claimed that some batches of Clip+ players had much worse radios than others. I guess for most who bought the player, the radio wasn’t a priority. If you think the radio is bad, try making some voice recordings with it. At least it does a very good job playing mp3 files.

I have 2 older clips (about 2 yrs old) that work great. Other the the clip breaking off in first few months (poor design) I have been very happy w/ them. I primarily use the radio in the gym and both work fine.

I just bought 2 Clip+ from Amazon and have the same radio problem as described here. It just drifts out of sync & cannot regain it without reboot or changing the freq a bit & then back. I returned it and got another one & its the same problem. I can walk around the gym w/ my old one & have no problems. The new one fades within a minute. Same headphone on both & I tried other headphones. Also, same problem outside, at home, etc.  Just a poor design or manufacture.

I’m returning the 2nd one now and looking for a replacement. I want something w/ an FM radio and the same size.

Is the radio in the zip really better and is it about the same size?

@fstapanowich wrote:

 

I’m returning the 2nd one now and looking for a replacement. I want something w/ an FM radio and the same size.

 

Is the radio in the zip really better and is it about the same size?

Yes  . . . and yes. :smiley: