Micro SDHC support on clip+ - is there any?

MP3 players Sansa Clip | Clip+
1

So I’ve had a couple of clips (v1 and v2) for a couple of years, recently bought a brand new clip+ (an 8GB one on sale on Amazon) with the intention of being able to hold pretty much all the music and audiobooks I want - plan was to buy a 32GB micro sdhc card and use that.

I bought 2 32 GB class 10 micro sdhc cards (one for another device) from a reputable seller (Amazon, not Amazon marketplace). Cards work perfectly on other devices. I tried using one of the 32GB cards in my clip+ - at first it seemed to recognise it, but when the clip+ was connected to my PC, I couldn’t access the memory card. Then it started hanging on the reffreshing media thing.

I’d read plenty of threads about compatibliity, so tested the card on other devices - no problems - used the SDformatter utility to format it - still no dice when I try it in my clip+ (and yes, I’m only putting the card in when the clip+ is off, and yes, I’m making sure it’s properly clicked in place).

I was toying with the idea of installing rockbox to see if that would make any difference, but as I’m on the current firmware release (01.02.16) the Rockbox installation gui hasn’t caught up with that fw release yet.

So I thought I’d use this, current wasted, 32GB micro sdhc in my mobile phone - again, no problems using it. It currently had an genuine Sandisk 8GB class 2 micro sdhc card in. Thinking if nothing else, a genuine Sandisk memory card should work perfectly in a Sandisk mp3 player, I thought I’d cut my losses with trying to use big card, and 8GB of additional storage is better than nothing.

So I formatted it with the SDformatter tool, and put it in my clip+ - exactly the same as with the 32GB card inserted, hangs, permanently on the refreshing media thing. And it’s not like there’s loads of media to refresh - the card is blank and freshly formatted, and the main memory of my clip doesn’t have much on, just a small number of audiobooks, with the tags correctly specified and only using the correct type of tags (I read the thread, either here, or on the abi forums about how to best created / amend the tags to suit the clip / clip+ and not take ages to refresh).

So what gives - I’m not necessarily buying into faulty hardware in terms of my clip+ - otherwise, all the other people having similar problems with memory cards would surely be showing an uncanny failure rate. And the cards have been tested and work just fine in other devices. And the last damned card I used was a genuine Sandisk one.

Surely something must be very wrong and need addressing about this - what’s the point of having an mp3 player with a memory card slot in, that doesn’t work - even with the same vendors memory cards?

2

Might be a defective card slot. You should probably call SanDisk Tech Support. If they can’t figure it out, they will replace it under warranty.

3

Are you only inserting or removing a card when the player is off?

4

You can also try inserting and removing the card a few times.  Sometimes card ports are a little tight at first.  Inserting and removing a card will loosen the slot some.  This may sound a little silly to do, but it worked for a couple of users that had the  stuck on constant refresh issue.

5

@jk98 wrote:

Are you only inserting or removing a card when the player is off?

Yes, see “(and yes, I’m only putting the card in when the clip+ is off, and yes, I’m making sure it’s properly clicked in place)”

6

@tapeworm wrote:

Might be a defective card slot. You should probably call SanDisk Tech Support. If they can’t figure it out, they will replace it under warranty.

Well I suppose it’s possible the slot is defective - but looking at the complaints on here and abi about memory card issues with the clip+, then it would seem a disproportionate amount who encounter the problem?

I thought the issue had been subtly conceded as being driver related (ie drivers on the clip+ for Micro SD usage)?

Anybody else who’s reading this, and encountered the problem, had successful resolution by contacting Sandisk about it - and if so, did it involve replacement of your clip+?

7

@mags1230 wrote:

You can also try inserting and removing the card a few times.  Sometimes card ports are a little tight at first.  Inserting and removing a card will loosen the slot some.  This may sound a little silly to do, but it worked for a couple of users that had the  stuck on constant refresh issue.

I’ve tried several different cards, several different times - at all times the same thing - hangs on the refreshing media thing (near the beginning of the progress bar).

9

@wongsky wrote:

@jk98 wrote:

Are you only inserting or removing a card when the player is off?

Yes, see “(and yes, I’m only putting the card in when the clip+ is off, and yes, I’m making sure it’s properly clicked in place)”

The way I understand it, it does not matter whether the player is on or off when inserting and removing a card for the newer players.

10

mags1230 wrote:

Wongsky wrote:

JK98 wrote:

Are you only inserting or removing a card when the player is off?

Yes, see “(and yes, I’m only putting the card in when the clip+ is off, and yes, I’m making sure it’s properly clicked in place)”

 

The way I understand it, it does not matter whether the player is on or off when inserting and removing a card for the newer players.

Interesting…maybe I’m being paranoid then, but I always have shut down my players before adding removing a card, from my Fuzes, to my Clip Pluses, and now my Clip Zip as well.

11

“I’ve tried several different cards, several different times - at all times the same thing - hangs on the refreshing media thing (near the beginning of the progress bar).”

Sounds like a tag problem and not a card problem. Are you sure your files are properly tagged with ID3 v2.3 ISO 8859-1 tags?

12

A way to rule out a tag problem would be to see if the player gets stuck even when both the internal and card memory is empty. You tried reformatting the card, but what might be needed is having the internal memory reformatted.

13

@jk98 wrote:

“I’ve tried several different cards, several different times - at all times the same thing - hangs on the refreshing media thing (near the beginning of the progress bar).”

 

Sounds like a tag problem and not a card problem. Are you sure your files are properly tagged with ID3 v2.3 ISO 8859-1 tags?

I’m not buying it being a tag problem - it only occurs when a card is loaded - and in all instances, the card has been blank, and formatted with the SDformatter tool - so no files or tags on it.

As to the files on the main memory, there aren’t that many, and yes (as mentioned in my original post) I’m sure I tagged them correctly - I specifically followed the tagging instructions and specifications mentioned in a thread either here, on on the abi forums, for how files should be tagged to suit the clip / clip+.

14

@jk98 wrote:

A way to rule out a tag problem would be to see if the player gets stuck even when both the internal and card memory is empty. You tried reformatting the card, but what might be needed is having the internal memory reformatted.

As I mentioned in my other reply - why would adding a blank card, with no files (and of course no tags) cause a problem where tags are concerned.

The files in main memory are few in number, and are most certainly tagged correctly.

I know everybody is looking at this - trying to be helpful - considering tags, and hardware issues - but what about the countless other threads of many people having compatibility issues with memory cards, either in this forum, or on the abi forums?

You’ve only to search the forums to realise there’s something not quite right with the clip+ and memory cards.

15

@wongsky wrote:

 

You’ve only to search the forums to realise there’s something not quite right with the clip+ and memory cards.

Users tend to post only if they have a problem.  Many Clip+ owners use it with a card with no problems—e.g., me. 

16

@wongsky wrote:

 

You’ve only to search the forums to realise there’s something not quite right with the clip+ and memory cards.

I’ve had two Clip+ players so far, and never had card problems with my SanDisk 16GB class 2 card(s)

17

@marvin_martian wrote:

@wongsky wrote:

 

You’ve only to search the forums to realise there’s something not quite right with the clip+ and memory cards.

I’ve had two Clip+ players so far, and never had card problems with my SanDisk 16GB class 2 card(s)

Count me in too. I’ve used 2, 4, 8, 16 & 32GB cards with never so much as a hiccup.

Again, I encourage you to call SanDisk Tech support. If you’ve tried multiple cards and the player seems fine except when they are inserted (even when blank), it’s looking more like an internal hardware issue.

18

@contrapuntal wrote:

@wongsky wrote:

 

You’ve only to search the forums to realise there’s something not quite right with the clip+ and memory cards.

Users tend to post only if they have a problem.  Many Clip+ owners use it with a card with no problems—e.g., me. 

I’m aware of the disparity between negative discussions…

But… I regularly read and / or contribute to countless forums for countless different types of techology / device. Several of which use Micro SD cards (sat navs / GPS, mobile phones, tablet computers etc). And out of all of those devices, and several years of usage, I’ve never encountered a device that has exhibited so many issues with memory cards - I’ll qualify that by saying I was quite puzzled, when I encountered issues using several Micro SDHC cards on my clip+ - and that’s when I first started searching, both here, and on the abi clip / clip+ forums, and was suprised at the number of posts / threads of people saying the same thing.

And this isn’t the normal issues you can have with memory cards / flash memory - it sometimes going wrong / bad, or the media itself starting to fail - this is never having worked for people in the first place.

Don’t take my word for it - you search here, and on the abi clip / clip+ forums and read the number of posts / threads, of people having fundamental compatiblity issues - and indeed I’m sure I’ve read there’s some grudging acceptance by Sandisk that there are issues with Micro SD / SDHC card compatiblity with the clip+ - and compare that with forums discussing other devices that use memory cards - and aside from normal issues with media / media going bad - you tell me there’s not something up.

19

@marvin_martian wrote:

@wongsky wrote:

 

You’ve only to search the forums to realise there’s something not quite right with the clip+ and memory cards.

I’ve had two Clip+ players so far, and never had card problems with my SanDisk 16GB class 2 card(s)

And I’ve got 3 other devices, all capable of using Micro SDHC cards that don’t have the slightest issue with the cards I’ve tried in my clip+ (which is only a couple of weeks old, I might add, and was bought new, from Amazon (and Amazon themselves, not a marketplace seller)).

20

@tapeworm wrote:

@marvin_martian wrote:

@wongsky wrote:

 

You’ve only to search the forums to realise there’s something not quite right with the clip+ and memory cards.

I’ve had two Clip+ players so far, and never had card problems with my SanDisk 16GB class 2 card(s)

 

Count me in too. I’ve used 2, 4, 8, 16 & 32GB cards with never so much as a hiccup.

Again, I encourage you to call SanDisk Tech support. If you’ve tried multiple cards and the player seems fine except when they are inserted (even when blank), it’s looking more like an internal hardware issue.

I may well (call SanDisk tech support).

As to it being a hardware issue - I wouldn’t particularly argue with that - but as I mentioned before, you’ve only got to search on the clip+ forums, to realise that countless other people have experienced the same / similar issue(s) (ie not just iffy media), so you’d have to say, if hardware is the cause, then there seems to be a disproprtionate number of people encountering a hardware issue with the clip+ - to a degree I’ve not encountered (ie beyond poor / failing memory cards) with other devices that use memory cards.

21

@wongsky wrote:

@marvin_martian wrote:

@wongsky wrote:

 

You’ve only to search the forums to realise there’s something not quite right with the clip+ and memory cards.

I’ve had two Clip+ players so far, and never had card problems with my SanDisk 16GB class 2 card(s)

And I’ve got 3 other devices, all capable of using Micro SDHC cards that don’t have the slightest issue with the cards I’ve tried in my clip+ (which is only a couple of weeks old, I might add, and was bought new, from Amazon (and Amazon themselves, not a marketplace seller)).

Do you have the newest firmware, that ends with .16? That supposedly

Enhancements:

  • Supports newer memory configuration

What does that mean?

  The memory configuration is the actual flash used in the device. This firmware was released to support the new memory technology. This is transparent to the user but older firmwares may not have optimal performance on newer devices. .16 has built in support for both older devices and newer memory configurations.