I got a refurbished 4GB clip+ from buy.com 3 months back. Used it only a couple of times. Charged maybe 2-3 times and it died yesterday.
Called Tech Support. They tried the hard reset…accessing via USB in various modes…none of that worked. As soon as I said it was refurbished Sandisk had nothing more to say…they said call buy.com.
Since it exceeded buy.com’s 45 day return policy…they say call the manufacturer…aaarggh…
So I have a bricked clip… that no one will repair and I barely used it much over the 3 months…
Any other ideas beside the obvious throwing it in the trash and avoiding sandisk products till i get over it…;-/
Unfortunately, that’s the risk you run when you buy anything re-furbished. No need in being mad at Sandisk; they don’t re-furb anything so obviously their warranty cannot cover what someone else did.
Also realize that re-furbs are units that are returned for whatever reason, including not working correctly. And just because something is ‘re-furbed’ doesn’t guarantee that all has been fixed on it. In fact, there is very little a re-furber can do to these units except format them and re-install the firmware, which you can do yourself. They then just make sure the case is nice and scratch-free and off it goes to it’s new owner. Hardware-related problems cannot be fixed.
Actually 45 days return policy is very generous on Buy.com’s part; usually you won’t see that long on a re-furb. Your options? ■■■■ it up and buy a new one. You’ll have more of a chance of not having any problems with it, but if you do you’ll be covered by the manufacturer’s warranty for a lot longer than 45 days. SanDisk offers (and stands behind 100%) 1 year in the US and 2 years in the EU.
Tapeworm, I don’t know what the situation is with kathomas1999, but I have been in failing health and unable to return to work.
" ■■■■ it up and buy a new one." is not an option for some of us.
To me, even buying a used clip plus is a choice that took me several days to make. It comes down to what will I have to give up to buy even a used one.
But as I have a problem reading large print books very well, the Clip Plus is the lowest priced option that will allow me to download audiobooks from the library.
With your attitude I sure hope that you aren’t a mod on this group.
" ■■■■ it up and buy a new one." is not an option for some of us.
With your attitude I sure hope that you aren’t a mod on this group.
Oh please! Gimme a break! My attitude? Here are the cold, hard facts:
Fact: OP bought a re-furbed player with only a 45 day warranty from the delaer.
Fact: Re-furbs are not covered by a manufacturer’s warranty. From anyone, not just SanDisk. The only exception to this is if said manufacturer does the actual re-furbing, and then it’s not going to be the same warranty as a new one.
Fact: Player is dead.
Fact: OP has had the player past the dealer’s 45 day return window.
Fact: A new player is needed.
Fact: The only way to get a replacement is to buy another one.
The savings one realizes on buying a re-furbed product (of any kind) over a brand-new item is eaten up and then some when that re-furbed item fails and one has to replace it because there’s no warranty. That’s paying almost double what one could have spent in the first place. It’s the same when buying a used car. It’s a gamble; sometimes you win, sometimes you don’t. In this case, the OP did not win.
@Mikerman. Warranty was 90 days. Which was about 2 weeks back.
@RedDog. I agree with you …“■■■■ it…” is not an option for most of us.
@Tapeworm. I’m not mad at Sandisk. Just disappointed at the quality of their product.
So…is there something I can try fixing myself. Given the mp3 was only charged 2-3 times in 3 months…is it possible the battery’s dead? I saw in the forum about replacing the clip battery (not the clip+)
This may sound a little strange, but others have reported that it has worked for them with a player that has suddenly gone dead.
Leave the clip+ alone for a few days, then plug it into your computer (a rear usb port has more power) and just leave the player plugged in for a couple of days. Make sure that it doesn’t get hot and don’t reboot or let the computer go into standby mode and see if that will get the clip+ working again.
Some say that using an AC wall charger, if you have one, will also help to “revive” the player.
@Mikerman. Warranty was 90 days. Which was about 2 weeks back.
@reddog. I agree with you …“■■■■ it…” is not an option for most of us.
@tapeworm. I’m not mad at Sandisk. Just disappointed at the quality of their product.
So…is there something I can try fixing myself. Given the mp3 was only charged 2-3 times in 3 months…is it possible the battery’s dead? I saw in the forum about replacing the clip battery (not the clip+)
OK, maybe my comment about “sucking it up” was a poor choice of words. I meant no disrepect. I guess I could have (should have) said move on or get over it; the point I was trying to make was that whether it was a 45 day return window or 90 day warranty, you seem to be beyond both of these options so unless a miracle happens you don’t have any choice I can see except buying another player.
As I said before though, you really can’t blame SanDisk for this. Yes, they made the player originally, but someone else did the re-furbing. And buying re-furbed what-evers is always a risk. Yes, the lower price is attractive but you are basically buying an ‘as-is’ product with limited, or no recourse against the seller or original manufacturer if the product fails.
However, Mags makes a valid point too. We have seen countless posts here from people who have had seemingly dead units that mystersiously came back to life after a little ‘vacation’. Give it a shot; you’ve got nothing to lose but a few days.
What especially seems to do the trick is leaving the Clip connected to a powered, active USB port on your computer, or to an AC power source, for a few days, even though it doesn’t seem to be charging. This sometimes can trickle-charge the player enough so that it ultimately will start up again, and then can be fully charged and otherwise used.
The soft reset can be tried a few more times. I have seen the Clip+ play possum before. It is possible that the batttery or battery wiring may be an issue; combine this with a poor connection at the micro USB plug, and the device could be a real bugger to resurrect.
If you have a USB cable handy, try a different one just in case.
I have yet to see a Clip+ with a broken battery wire, this is much more prevalent in the “round knob” version.
You can also try holding both the << key and the top button depressed, as sometimes, having a second signal wakes up the device.
The USB controller is part of the processor in the Clip. If the device freezes, so does the USB, so the soft reset is key.
