I am not a happy camper, right now. I must be among the faithful followers of Sansa Clip+2–I neither have the money nor the desire to switch to Ipod or other brands. The Clip is compact, easy to wear during my walks and I have been and the display and functions are just fine. (I don’t see the new version with color display as an improvement, personally.) All of this is fine…when it works.
I got my first Sansa Clip+2 4GB in May of 2010. In April of this year 2011 it got stuck on “on,” and I could not turn it off no matter what I tried. Since I rarely return stuff and I am not a complainer, I simply decided to get another one and while I was doing that got the 8 GB.
Barely two months after having the new device and using it—not abusing it—in the same manner I did the previous one, I faced with the opposite problem. It would not turn on, no matter what I tried—including all the “official fixes” and poring over the forum. I followed the post of someone with the identical problem (D_E_S – first post 4/3/11). It is not my computer, which is barely older than the Clip, and I never let the device run out of juice. I followed the posts to the one when the forum member followed the Sansa Guru advice, called Customer Service and had the device replaced. I don’t see any further posts mentioning how things worked for her/him after the “new” device was sent.
Customer service was fine and I was asked to return the device before receiving the new one. It meant about 3 weeks without my music. What worried me though, is that I was asked to return only the device only—no accessories—I was willing to return the whole thing. It made me wonder what I would receive in return. Had they sent me a brand new packaged product, my suspicions about the device simply being “fixed/refurbished” rather than fully replaced. Almost as soon as I received it I started to have problems, the kind I did not have before, and I almost immediately had to “boot it” with the 20seconds hold and today with far longer a hold than that to “revive it”. The PC display of battery usage never matches by a long shot what it looks like—or ought to be if you know how long you used the device. In addition the “syncing has sunken!” Prior to now I never had any problems syncing a whole playlist—I don’t want systematic syncing of all my library—It took me forever to reload the songs I wanted as it would stop syncing after two or 3 songs. I did manage to finish the job.
Now, do I want another lengthy phone call and being without my device for a number of days, and still wondering whether it will work properly when I get it? The answer is “No.” I suspect if they had sent me a new Sansa Clip+2—8 GB—boxed, and really new, I would not have this problem. I am not happy and I don’t want to go through any rigmarole again. When I saw the “kudos” video about Sansa coming through I was hopeful, now I am truly disappointed. I don’t blame the customer reps themselves, as long as the service is courteous they basically “follow orders.” Something must be done to correct the kinks many of us seem to go through. My losing the first one after a year to malfunction was acceptable, or so I chose to see it, in order not to “rock the boat.” But this is too much. The Sansa Clip concept itself—without all the bells and whistles of other devices—is fine, the rest, including fast “real replacement” for faithful customers and addressing recurrent problems seem to be lacking.
Personally, I would telephone them back, let them know that the refurb I received was nonfunctional, and ask for assurance that I will be sent a new player (not a refurb) as a replacement. It’s a phone call–what can it hurt? (And have some music on in the background to keep yourself chilled, or surf the Internet when you’re on the call, multi-tasking!) SanDisk doesn’t want you to be anymore unhappy than you want to be–you’re a return customer.
Personally, I would telephone them back, let them know that the refurb I received was nonfunctional, and ask for assurance that I will be sent a new player (not a refurb) as a replacement. It’s a phone call–what can it hurt? (And have some music on in the background to keep yourself chilled, or surf the Internet when you’re on the call, multi-tasking!) SanDisk doesn’t want you to be anymore unhappy than you want to be–you’re a return customer.
And stay optimistic (yep, I know, it’s hard) that a satisfactory solution can be reached, even forcing that optimism onto the customer service rep.–hopefully, it’ll come to pass.
Thank you for your suggestion… I am much braver in writing and the idea of being asked once again about
going through umpteen steps that don’t solve the problem then –having to return the refurb, (and
possibly being told it was not a refurb) then wait for a new one and being once again without
my S.Clip + for 2-3 weeks, just doesn’t feel right.
In any case I thought it was necessary to outline the “odyssey” since I am not the only
one going through these problems and Sansa should make it easier and possibly not necessary by
fixing what’s wrong in the first place. Thanks!
Writing can work (and I agree with you, can be less stressing), but people seem to have gotten faster results (at least as posted here) by telephoning–emails have a way of not getting paid attention to for days, and can lead to email tag. Maybe some good mint herbal tea before starting the call? (Given the issues noted by you, I find that, about half the time, I go into autopilot when phoning anyone for customer service nowadays–a defense mechanism, perhaps?!?)
@anne_onymous wrote:
Thank you for your suggestion… I am much braver in writing and the idea of being asked once again about
going through umpteen steps that don’t solve the problem then –having to return the refurb, (and
possibly being told it was not a refurb) then wait for a new one and being once again without
my S.Clip + for 2-3 weeks, just doesn’t feel right.
In any case I thought it was necessary to outline the “odyssey” since I am not the only
one going through these problems and Sansa should make it easier and possibly not necessary by
fixing what’s wrong in the first place. Thanks!
The way I see it, is that the player, whether a warranty replacement or not, is still under the original warranty period. While still under that time period, if it goes completely kaput on you, you can still decide whether or not it’s worth your while to get another replacement player.
While a warranty replacement sent out by SanDisk may not be in retail pacakaging, they do not send out ‘re-furbs’ as replacements for defective units. SanDisk does not do any re-furbing, so any replacement is going to be a new unit.
Very good to know and hear, from the consumer perspective. 
I am going through this same problem right now. Back in September my Clip started acting up; wouldn’t hold a charge (I’d charge it one night, not use it and it would be beyond dead the next day), wouldn’t charge at all, and would quit playing during use. This happened seven days before the warranty was up so I contacted Sandisk and got a replacement sent to me.
Last week the replacement player starting acting even worse than my original one. This time it did everything else the old one did, with a new addition… it wouldn’t turn off!! I could do nothing to turn it off and I couldn’t navigate past the “Music” menu.
Needless to say, I am pissed. I emailed Sandisk and they want me to go through the same song and dance as last time. And, here I am, doing it. Simply because I do not have the money to go out and buy a new MP3 player and I cannot be without music (I am a runner training for a marathon and my little clip is what has kept me sane on my 10+ mile runs). I WILL not shell out money for an ipod and I love my Sansa (well, used to love it, now I’m starting to really hate the product). I have even started looking into other companies because I don’t think I can deal with having to get a new player/replacement every few months.
I, too, am a faithful Sansa Clip user - I got my first one about four years ago. This replacement is the third one I have had. Oddly, my old one (I believe it’s just the Clip, not the +) is still kicking. It has its moments, little fits of not wanting to work and drains fast sometimes. But, it works in a pinch - like when the new one decides to eat it when I need it most.
As much as it ■■■■■ that this happened to you, it is nice to know that I’m not the only one dealing with this problem. Clearly there is an issue with their product that they need to address.
OK, I don’t know any of you,–BUT–I had a problem with one of my sansa clip + so I called, and got a replacement. a new one too. if you don’t have the time to —RELAX—and go thru the steps —then get another brand----SANSA is a GOOD company to work with, as for as I’m concerned. some other people that I’ve had to deal with leave a lot to learn from some folks, don’t wont to do the rite thing, if you know what I mean. ----just my two cents— no more—no less----have a blessed day all.-----
