I had a sansa clip and then bought the sansa clip + when the clip started skipping tracks. My sansa clip would show when it was fully charged, but the clip + just shows a continuous charging when connected to the computer. Also, it only lasts for about 1-2 days before needing to be recharged. This is significantly less than my old clip. Does any body have any suggestions, or is there something wrong with my clip +?
Me too. I’m about to return it. I maybe got 3 - 4 hours of light use on my 4GB Clip+ and the desktop software is reporting that my battery charge is critically low @ 0% even though it’s been charging for 2 hours. It says connected on the clip with a bar on the battery indicator moving back and forth, that’s it. There’s no indication of completion.
This is why I hate sealed rechargeable batteries but I couldn’t find a better mp3 player for running. Maybe I’ll have to look again but I’d rather not. Still debating whether or not an exchange for another new one will resolve the problem. I’ve only had mine a week!
You could try a few recharge and discharge cycles and see if that helps. Also, a reapplication of the latest firmware–see the sticky thread at the top of the forum; the firmware could be corrupted.
Otherwise, I’d exchange locally if still possible; you just may have a defective player. Or if not possible locally, via SanDisk for an RMA exchange. 4 hours of charge is not normal. I would telephone SanDisk Customer Service about this. In the U.S.: 1-866-SANDISK (726-3475). And other SanDisk contact information: http://www.sandisk.com/sandisk-support/contact-us.
robslp, how much use are you giving the player in the 1-2 days before your charge goes out? If only a bit, I’d contact SanDisk as well. Also, the type of files you are playing can affect this–ogg vorbis and flac files consume more power than MP3 files.
Message Edited by Miikerman on 04-22-2010 09:23 AM
There is a quirk in Windows 7 regarding the device battery level. Plugging in the Clip+, you may sometimes get the “critically low” warning when you click on the Clip+ icon in the taskbar.
This often clears to normal status if the Clip+ is unplugged, then plugged in again. Also, the state of charge, when viewed from the computer, will freeze at that initial level, despite the “charged” indication on the device itself.
As for battery life, how many hours of use do you have in those two days? I typically expect 10-12 hours from mine, but I machen gefingerpoken und buttonpressen quite a bit while working with it, being the troublemaker that I am.
Bob :smileyvery-happy:
Hello,
The 1st time I used it was to charge it and then load 300 songs. After that I listened to them that night for about an hour. Next, I auto programmed some FM radio stations and listened to that while surfing the net for an hour or so. The next day I listened to tunes again for about another hour, then used it for running later that evening. I ran 10k which I know is just under an hour for me and it died on the last KM coming home. So that’s roughly 3-4 hours for first use.
I recharged it a 2nd time and after 1 full hour of typical use, the battery indicator shows full. I have it in my computer bag and will keep track of the time until it runs out again. I still have 21 days remaining on the ability to return it to the futureshop. It auto loaded and updated the firmware when I plugged it in to my USB port so it is definitely up to date.
Message Edited by Clipping on 04-26-2010 03:11 PM
Message Edited by Clipping on 04-26-2010 03:11 PM
Yes, there definitely is a big quirk in Windows 7 x 64. Not only did it freeze at whatever level the battery was at when plugged in, unplugging it had no effect, nor did restarting the computer and plugging it in again. Another time after shutting down the computer and restarting it, a charge indicator was brought back up only to fail again and report 0% repeatedly after that.
The Sandisk screen keeps blinking when the mp3 player is plugged into the USB port and gives one the impression that it is taking forever to recharge. But I did notice that at least the battery icon stops flashing on the player at a certain point even though screen still blinks. I’m giving it another chance and keeping track of the time until it dies. I’m expecting at least 10 hours!
machen gefingerpoken und buttonpressen ?
Yes, there definitely is a big quirk in Windows 7 x 64. Not only did it freeze at whatever level the battery was at when plugged in, unplugging it had no effect, nor did restarting the computer and plugging it in again. Another time after shutting down the computer and restarting it, a charge indicator was brought back up only to fail again and report 0% repeatedly after that.
The Sandisk screen keeps blinking when the mp3 player is plugged into the USB port and gives one the impression that it is taking forever to recharge. But I did notice that at least the battery icon stops flashing on the player at a certain point even though screen still blinks. I’m giving it another chance and keeping track of the time until it dies. I’m expecting at least 10 hours!
machen gefingerpoken und buttonpressen ?
Hello,
The 1st time I used it was to charge it and then load 300 songs. After that I listened to them that night for about an hour. Next, I auto programmed some FM radio stations and listened to that while surfing the net for an hour or so. The next day I listened to tunes again for about another hour, then used it for running later that evening. I ran 10k which I know is just under an hour for me and it died on the last KM coming home. So that’s roughly 3-4 hours for first use.
I recharged it a 2nd time and after 1 full hour of typical use, the battery indicator shows full. I have it in my computer bag and will keep track of the time until it runs out again. I still have 21 days remaining on the ability to return it to the futureshop. It auto loaded and updated the firmware when I plugged it in to my USB port so it is definitely up to date.
Yes, there definitely is a big quirk in Windows 7 x 64. Not only did it freeze at whatever level the battery was at when plugged in, unplugging it had no effect, nor did restarting the computer and plugging it in again. Another time after shutting down the computer and restarting it, a charge indicator was brought back up only to fail again and report 0% repeatedly after that.
The Sandisk screen keeps blinking when the mp3 player is plugged into the USB port and gives one the impression that it is taking forever to recharge. But I did notice at least that the battery icon stops flashing on the player at a certain point even though screen still blinks. I think a “charge complete” message would be quite helpful.
I’m giving it another chance and keeping track of the time until it dies. I’m expecting at least 10 hours!
machen gefingerpoken und buttonpressen ?
Yes, there definitely is a big quirk in Windows 7 x 64. Not only did it freeze at whatever level the battery was at when plugged in, unplugging it had no effect, nor did restarting the computer and plugging it in again. Another time after shutting down the computer and restarting it, a charge indicator was brought back up only to fail again and report 0% repeatedly after that.
The Sandisk screen keeps blinking when the mp3 player is plugged into the USB port and gives one the impression that it is taking forever to recharge. But I did notice at least that the battery icon stops flashing on the player at a certain point even though screen still blinks. I think a “charge complete” message would be quite helpful.
I’m giving it another chance and keeping track of the time until it dies. I’m expecting at least 10 hours!
Strange…my Clip+ hasn’t given me a lick of trouble with Win 7 Ultimatex64.
Have you tried a different USB port (ports on the back might work better then on the front of the PC)? When I tried to recharge my Clip+ on a USB hub I never got it beyond 70%, even after a night charging, but when using a dedicated USB charger or the USB port on the back of the PC I have no problem.
Okay, so after the second recharge I only got 3.5 hours again. I’m using mp3 & wma files. Since they advertise 10-15 hours per charge, I figure I should at least be getting 1/2 that amount of time in real world use (due to various bit rates) not 1/4 of it! I have it on low brightness, not even 1/2 volume and use it for running so I don’t fiddle around with the settings either therefore I decided to return it yesterday since I still had 1 week left on a 30 day return policy and got a new one.
Right off the bat I noticed a difference in build quality with the second one. Obviously the same materials are used but the first one sounded very clickity clackity and I could feel the faceplate of the player being stressed whenever I pressed any of the buttons using only one hand. I just thought this was due to low cost plastics. I found using both hands, one to hold it and the other to press the buttons helped. The second one feels very solid and using one hand to control it creates no stresses at all. Also the buttons barely even make a sound and respond a lot quicker! Huh!
Anyways, the new one is fully charged now and I loaded up the exact same songs as last time so I will be counting up the minutes. If I get the same amount of time as I did before then I guess I’ll take future battery life claims on products like these with a grain of salt (remember, I cut the expected life expectancy in half due to the various bit rates my songs have). 3.5 hours is usable but the time claim threw me off a little… ok, a lot! : )
We know the standard Sandisk uses to make the battery life claim is 128 but if using variable bit rates ranging from 128 - 320 do have an inordinate impact on battery life, perhaps it would be useful for Sandisk to provide a graph chart of the battery life one can expect when using 192, 256 & 320 bit rates to provide a comparison with the 128 / 15 hour claim like they do with the number of pictures one can expect to store on an SD Card based on the resolution they use. Provide real world stats so one can deduce the potential effects their personal preferences will have instead of just listing the maximum fluff.
In any event, I’m glad I returned the unit and got a new one based on the difference in build quality which I wouldn’t have known about had it not been for the low battery life I was getting… and still may get with this new one, we’ll see!
p.s. this time after charging, I heard two beeps and the screen shut off instead of it just seeming like it was endlessly charging as it did with the first unit. Hopefully this is the intended behavior.
Message Edited by Clipping on 05-09-2010 09:47 AM
Message Edited by Clipping on 05-19-2010 01:22 AM
Hi, Okay! Returning the first 4GB Clip+ that I purchased was absolutely the right thing to do! I have only charged my new unit one time and have already gotten 6 hours of use out of it with just one tick gone now off the battery meter. Even if it drops rapidly after reaching 50% like it did on the last unit, I can still expect 7 or more hours out of the charge. I don’t know if it’s relevant but I didn’t do a firmware update this time either. What changes needed to be made? I couldn’t find a description of what updating would do for it so I left it alone. Anyway, very happy about this! Peace.
You can look at the firmware upgrade sticky at the top of the forum for information about the latest firmware.
IMHO, nice to upgrade to the latest firmware, to get the latest benefits (including bugfixes). And it’s time-tested.
Final Run Time from the 1st charge of the new unit (mixed 128 - 320 mp3, wma)… 7h:50m
Very pleased & the sound quality was spectacular. I guess I just got thrown a lemon the 1st time around, it happens (unfortunately).
Later.
Clipping wrote:
Final Run Time from the 1st charge of the new unit (mixed 128 - 320 mp3, wma)… 7h:50m
Should still be higher though, given the claims made by SanDisk. I haven’t checked mine recently, but remember getting 11+ hours on a charge playing FLAC files exclusively at approx. 70-90% volume over several listening sessions when I got mine. With mp3 files, I figure it would have been 13-15 hours.
From a Rockbox Clip+ user: 17.5 hours.
Wow.
