Ok, it might sound like a conspiracy but for me it looks like the current (first) firmware for Clip+ was designed in the name of killing it’s battery. It has a Lithium battery. Lithium batteries have a limited number of charging (actually the number of started chargings). It is about a 1000, which is enough for a few years if you are careful. But in theory if you plug in the USB cable a 1000 times, your Clip+ is dead…
I know that I don’t have to worry about it happening soon. But with some modifications on the firmware the player’s lifetime would be easily expanded.
* The first thing I noticed was that not only there is no key lock when the device is off but to switch it on only a short press is required. This means that an accidental touch on the power button switches on the player. I hard music from my bag a few times, that is how I found it out… If the device only switched on after press & hold for 2 seconds the accidental switch-on could be avoided.
* The other problem is with the “sleep” mod. In my previous (other brand) player the sleep mod meant that after not touching any buttons for a period of time the device shut itself down. In 45 minutes I definitely skip track or change volume unless I am sleeping or not using the device.
The Clip needs this option to be enabled after every start-up and switches off even if I am actively using it. The other method is much more battery-friendly.
The above two things together means that if the power button is accidentally pressed in one’s bag the player will not stop until the battery runs out. So in the morning the clip cannot be used.
* It would be also nice if after plugging in the usb cable a confirmation was necessary to start charging the battery. Or give 10 seconds to choose if charging is requested or not, after that automatically start charging. While uploading songs we do not necessarily want to charge the device.
What do you think, will a newer firmware be more battery-friendly? Or is it really on purpose to help users wear out their player and buy a new one in two years?
It is the initial firmware, used to get the player on the market, as newer firmwares are developed they will become more efficient and more streamline based on what the users here want and what is needed to make the player work properly.
The Firmware was not designed to shorten battery life per se but rather considerations like you have outlined were not top concern, I would guess that updates will make things better.
I dont know about a press and hold power on option that might be nice but I dont know what would go into implementation. As for the sleep mode, there are complaints in either direction for and against the hard shut down. I for instance may not skip a song or adjust volume for 45 minutes during the day, but if I do I dont want the player to shut off just because it played for that long, I only want it to turn off if Im NOT using it, otherwise I am perfectly capable of turning it off myself. I do however agree with the argument about accidentally turning it on in a bag, there needs to be a check for this somehow.
Also if I plug in my players I want them to charge… no ifs ands or buts about it. Your new here so you dont know this but if the feature about confirming you want it to charge were added people would be on here screaming about it because their player wont charge because they dont understand why you have to tell it to charge.
Next Firmware may help. But for the things you are asking… dont get your hopes up. (Except maybe for the Sleep function)
I too, was concerned about the Clip+'s rather short battery life…the operative word, was…
Since I picked up a Duracell USB charger, most of my Clip+ battery worries are behind me. The duracell device is small, thin and is no trouble to keep with me, in the event the Clip+ needs a bit of more juice.
I know it was a bit evil to say it’s on purpose, but you know, nowdays everything seems to have it’s designed lifetime.
The accidental turn on is a really big ussue. It happened to my player not only once. It’s really annoying when in the morning you find the Clip+ with a flat battery. Without a proper sleep mode and a more safe turn on it’s really just a little touch, and the player won’t stop playing in the pocket/bag until the battery is dead.
With my old player (it was a Meizu ME, a very basic one) you coud set the sleep timeout from 10 minutes to something like two hours. And of course I could turn it off. But I found 45 mins to be perfect for me. If I fall asleep or accidentally turned the player on it shut down before the battery died.
According to the plug & charge: normally I upload music to the device, wait until the copy finishes and I go. I never charge at the same time. I charge overnight. So every time I upload some music I shorten the battery life. It would be nice if there was some way to disable it. Maybe the best would be to have a little timeout. Like 10 seconds, and within this time I could cancel the charging, but it would start charging if not cancelled.
It wouldn’t be confusing, no screaming.
fuze_owner-GB : I have a portable charger as well. But I’m not worried about the capacity of the battery, I’m worried about the lifetime of it.
I always pause my player before I turn it off. I never really consciously thought about any reasons for doing this (perhaps I’m subconsciously harkening back to the old cassette player days where you had to press stop before ejecting!), but after reading this thread, it sounds like a little bit of a safeguard against running down the battery on an accidental power-up (just so long as the play button is not also accidentally pressed, the player will shut itself down after a short period of the music being paused).
Since I use the device mostly for my workouts, I would not want a hard-wired shutoff (unless it could be disabled) that kicks in even when the music is playing. It would be kind of a pain to have to fiddle with restarting the player in the middle of a run.
Pausing the player before shutdown seems to be a good workaround for the moment. But not a solution
What was good about the sleep mode in my old player is that if I pressed any button (skip track, change volume etc.) within this 45 minutes (what was set up by myself…), it started to count again. So it didn’t interfere with my music listening experience. I always pressed a button in every 45 minutes.
So every time I upload some music I shorten the battery life.
The Li-poly type batteries used in the Clip+, Clip & Fuze benefit from frequent charging top-offs. You’re not shortening the battery life by just plugging it in for a few minutes.
If you get 2 years life with handheld devices nowdays you’re doing good. This stuff is cheap China built throwaway electronics. As far as the Clip goes, if you disconnect the headphone cable daily, the headphone jack will fail before the battery does. The Clip is a bargain for the price if you get 2 years out of it, I would not expect much more if used daily.
I have no issue with the player accidentally turning on–in fact, on my player, the on switch is fairly rigid. Perhaps a case would help you prevent turn-ons.
A silicone case does help to prevent the player from accidently turning on. Mine has a case and if I just press the top right side with my finger, it wouldn’t turn on. My finger has to be directly on top of the button and pressing downing firmly for it to turn on.
I was concerned about the possiblity of the clip+ turning on without my knowledge too, as I have always used the hold switch on all my devices. The clip+ hasn’t turned on in my bag or pocket after a good few months, so I’m pretty confident that I can live without a physical hold button.
Hm… so it looks like some Clip+'s have more hard to press power buttons. Mine is very sensitive.
I might buy a silicone case, hope it will help. But I don’t think it’s the customer’s job to solve a design issue with buying an accessory.
You’re right . . . It’s not your job. And given that several others have verified that their power buttons are not hyper-sensitive (mine too, by the way), it seems that SanDisk has not done their job properly on your particular unit, resulting in a defect.
So take (or send) it back from whence it came and get another one, or contact SanDisk directly for an RMA. It’s not going to get any better by whining about it on this forum. Get a new one, be done with it, and enjoy.
I find that the power button requires an intentional press to activate the player; it’s in a quirky position that I don’t have issues with personally. Yours may be a wee bit sensitive. If available, see if you can try another Clip+ and see if the other device is different.
45 minutes is a long period to set on the auto power setting. This is designed to shut off the device if it is not actively playing for this period, as in “stopped” when your track finishes, or “paused” within the track. The exception to this rule is the FM radio, which will play continuously, or if you have “repeat” or “shuffle” active, when playing a long series of tracks.
The “sleep” function is designed to turn off the device regardless of activity, when the selected time runs up. Auto Power starts from the last activity, or when playback halts.
The LiPo battery will last for several years of normal use. The processor of the Sansa handles battery management, and shuts off the device at a predetermined minimum threshold to preserve the battery. I had one Clip that one of my daughters misplaced in a jacket pocket, recovered over six months later. After recharging, it’s quite happy!
