SanDisk has just released the 01.01.29 firmware revision for the Sansa Clip. Download links and the release notes are available below.
Let me start off by saying that majority of people will be able to update his/her firmware through the Sansa Firmware Updater. There is even a how-to video that explains the process. If for any reason the aforementioned steps do not work for you, then please feel free to continue by trying the more "computer savy" steps, described below.
Windows Users can Connect the device in any Mode and follow the instructions below.
Mac and Linux users can connect their Clip in MSC mode and follow the instructions below.
MSC mode instructions:
Turn on the Clip
Put the device in Hold (move Hold button until orange is showing)
Press and hold the Center Button
Plug the mini-USB connector into the device (be sure the USB is plugged into the computer)
Wait for the Clip drive to mount
Follow instructions below and drag files to the Clip drive
Extract the .zip file into a folder on your computer.
Once extracted, drag the file to the root directory of your Sansa Clip.
Disconnect the Sansa Clip and let it restart.
The firmware update will now begin.
Once it finally finishes doing its update, it will boot back up. Once its back to the main menu, head to "Settings" > "System Info", and verify the "Version" is now 01.01.29A.
Release notes for Sansa Clip Version 1.01.29
This new firmware has various bug fixes, including key fixes listed below, as well as enhancements. Upon completion of the firmware upgrade, the device will turn off. Power on the device to complete the upgrade process. If the device does not initiate or complete, press & hold the Power switch for 6 seconds to reset the device and then release and press again to restart.
Bugs Fixed:
Rhapsody Licenses
·Rhapsody licenses expire early.
Battery Indicator
·Battery indicator is not linear with respect to the play time remaining.
Fast Forward / Rewind Long MP3
·Device will skip to next song if fast forward past halfway through a long vbr mp3 file.
Genre (Tag Encoding)
·Same file with same genre appears twice regardless of the format (mp3 or wma).
FM Autoscan
·Device does not return to FM tuner display after scanning for stations.Custom EQ Settings·Custom EQ settings get cleared after power cycle.Miscellaneous
Deleting files on the device is not stable.
Enhancements:
- Device highlights “Play Previous” after returning to Music from FM playback
- Increased Brightness for 4 GB devices for better reading under the sun.
- Added OGG-Vorbis (\*.ogg) Decoder Support in MTP and MSC mode:
• Note: PC with WMP10 will not be able to drag and drop OGG files to device under MTP mode
• Workaround: Install WMP11 to PC or use MSC mode instead.
- Audiobooks and Podcasts sorting and resume features:
• Content placed in Audiobook or Podcast Folders are now accessed separately from Music.
• Content with Genre tags of "Audiobook" or "Podcast" are now handled from any location and sorted by the UI.
• PodCasts and Audiobooks are now organized by 2 level hierarchies.
• Podcast content is sorted with newest episode first.
• Auto Bookmark: will prompt the user with "Resume?" or "Restart" option when restarted.
- Much better shuffle algorithm to maintain the sequence of up to 2000 songs. User can skip to the previously played songs without reshuffling. Sequence is preserved after power off and on.
- Handle playlists up to 1000 songs. Fixed playlists with large count taking long time to load.
• Note: Playlist limited to 1000 songs only applied to .pla playlist. For .m3u playlist, there is no limitation.
- Battery power percentage is now displayed on the “Settings \> System Info” screen.
- Device auto powers off if the radio is paused / muted.
- Add support for Melon SKT (South Korea Telecom) MusicDRM v1.4 (For Korea market).
- Performs faster, more complete MTP Format operation.
Message Edited by sansamonsta on 05-16-2008 05:42 PM
Message Edited by sansamonsta on 05-16-2008 05:44 PM
If I put all of my podcasts into the podcast folder, and each podcast artist gets its own folder, is there a way to shuffle the podcasts when I play them?
eg: if I have 2 podcast folders:
Bill Simmons from ESPN
TWiT from Leo Laporte
Each folder has a few podcasts. Is there a way that I can randomly select which podcast plays next from those 2 folders?
I can no longer just skip through podcasts with one touch like I could before. This is a huge issue with me. Is there a way around this with the update? If not, is there a way to revert back to the old firmware?
0
Message Edited by carltonscroop on 05-17-2008 12:05 PM
YEY!!! I can finally see the battery percentage! I didn’t think they’d listen to one whiney Linux user I sure hope the battery indicator is indeed “improved”, but I’ll see how that goes… I’ll find out how the revised shuffle option works shortly… Thankyou, Sandisk(& Sansafix)!!
Message Edited by Sasafrass452 on 05-17-2008 10:15 AM
I think I’ve found the first bug… when in “audiobook” mode, I can’t switch tracks! “<” and “>” buttons are just dead, but in usual mode everything is just ok. or is it a new feature?
also there’s some “Ch.mode” in audiobooks menu, what’s that?
PS that issue with the lagging menu when switched to Russian language is still there, just as in the first firmware, baaaaad :(
Ok, I’m not sure if my calculations are correct, but if I’m right, the battery drops from 100-30% in 5 hrs!!! This is based on running the Clip for approx 30 minutes, & the battery dropped from 42-35%. I’ll charge it fully tomorrow, & take complete measurements…
I like the Ogg support. That will save me some converting. I like the concept of the Podcast folder. I don’t know if I like the way it’s been implemented. If I make a playlist with all my podcasts now and drop it into the Podcast folder the playlist shows as blank. The only way to play the podcasts is in the order sorted by the Clip. Played that way I have to go to the menu after ever podcast. I drive almost 90 minutes each way for work. I’d really rather not be fumbling with the Clip at 3am while driving on the highway. Is there a way around this? I tried just dumping the files and playlist into Music. The playlist there is also blank. The only way that seems to work is to change the ID3 tag from Podcast to something else. Then the Clip leaves the files listed where I put them. If there is a better work around for this please post it. I will admit I only had 15 minutes after the FW upgrade to play with things before driving in to work. There might have been something in the menus that I missed. Worst case I’ll just plug the old FW back in to the Clip.
My Clip 2GB was almost full so that an audio file had to be removed to allow adding the firmware (manually via MSC mode). After successfully updating though, it could not refresh the database saying to free up 30MB or something. So I did that and now find that the total capacity has been reduced.
Before, there was 1.87GB utilized and, again, something less than the 5MB firmware free. Now, there is 58.2MB free with a 69.1MB file removed -so, a 10.9MB difference meaning that even if the free space was just shy of 5MB before, the capacity has been reduced by at least 5.9MB.
There are no large files in the root folder (the M300A.BIN firmware was automatically deleted as usual), however there is a DID.BIN file which I do not recall before -but it is only 114 bytes.
Is this capacity reduction to be expected or did something go awry? Should I format and try reapplying the firmware (even though successful)?
I downgraded the firmware to confirm the differences (resetting settings and formatting each time) but oddly found that with .29a, the Clip actually reports more free even though it is not holding as much and adds the folders AUDIOBOOKS and PODCASTS, and the file DID.bin.
01.01.20a : 1911 of 1949MB free
01.01.29a : 1927 of 1949MB free
Oh well, I suppose it’s just time to accept the weirdness and move on
Message Edited by AuralFixation on 05-17-2008 03:22 PM
I think I’ve found the first bug… when in “audiobook” mode, I can’t switch tracks! “<” and “>” buttons are just dead, but in usual mode everything is just ok. or is it a new feature?
also there’s some “Ch.mode” in audiobooks menu, what’s that?
PS that issue with the lagging menu when switched to Russian language is still there, just as in the first firmware, baaaaad :(
As I recall the track switching change was described as a feature in the early descriptions of this update. Many of us audiobook listeners can be found cursing loudly if we ever accidently hit the direction button too shortly when trying to rewind and find that we have been moved backed to the previous file and tnow needing to skip back the current file and FF through it to find the point we were at. This is meant to help us avoid that problem.
I really wish I hadn’t done the firmware update. My Clip was working fine before, and now it doesn’t recognize anything I put on it. I’ve tried formatting it, restarting, reloading, etc. Nothing. Files showed up in Clip’s folders on the computer, but not on the Clip. I tried manually loading the firmware update into the root folder & now I get “error” when I try to sync files from WMP.
2GB Clip (Black)
Win XP
– update: When I try to connect, I get the message, “Not enough space for MusicDB. Free up 30 MB” although there’s NOTHING on the unit. I’ve been on the phone with tech support four times now, and I’m still hoping I can get a replacement without too much more hassle.
I sure hope the battery indicator is indeed “improved”, but I’ll see how that goes… I’ll find out how the revised shuffle option works shortly… Thankyou, Sandisk(& Sansafix)!!
