I have a fairly old Sansa Fuze 8GB (not the + model) that I’ve really enjoyed. The battery % is now showing 36%. When I plug in to my computer to charge the battery, it seems to be charging…the green bar moves and the lightening bolt flashes, etc. Then the battery symbol goes full green and the application on the computer indicates 100% full for the battery. This all happens w/ in about 15 to 20 seconds. The computer app seems to assume the battery is full so the chage never takes. I can leave the Fuze plugged in for hours but the charge never goes up, much less to full. Is there any way to resolve this issue other than throwing the fuze away? I really don’t want to do that.
The Fuze handles its own charging. What the computer says doesn’t matter. How long does the battery last if you play music with it? Could be a problem with the voltage read out or a bad battery.
I’ve never actually timed it. Quite a while…several hours. I would normally recharge when it reached 50%. Right now it’s showing 26%. When I connect to the USB port the battery icon on the screen (fuze screen) begins flashing and the lightening bolt shows to indicate it’s charging. Then the battery icon goes completely green and the lightening bolt goes away, as if it was fully charged. But it isnt charged or charging. The battery indicator on the computer app shows 100% remaining. The screen states that it’s connected and the main icon goes through it’s circular motion. I can leave it connected all night and it never charges at all. I understand the battery cannot be replaced. I’m hoping there’s a cure for this ailment that doesn’t involve purchasing another player. Any suggestions or assistance would be greatly appreciated.
There’s not really much you can do if the battery is wearing out. It’s hardware you can’t replace.
On the very distant possibility that something about how the Fuze controls the charging is going awry, you might try reinstalling the firmware. Download the firmware for your version (1 or 2) from here:
Don’t use the updater, just get it from one of the All Regions links.
It’s a zip file. Unzip it and drag it onto the Sansa Fuze driveletter, and when you disconnect it will install itself. If will reset to factory defaults, so if you were using a fixed USB mode (MTP or MSC rather than Auto Detect) you’ll have to change it. Choose Other (rather than US) for region on the initial setup if you want to never see the Slot Radio icon.
But I doubt it will help. The battery has both a limited (though very high) number of charging cycles and decreasing efficiency with age whether you use it or not. So if you can’t regularly recharge the aging Fuze after a few hours of use, another player might be your only solution.
Thanks for the assist. I’ll give it a shot. I suppose this comes under the heading of “planned obsolescence”. Battery wears out you have to buy a new product. Personally, I believe a better option would be to allow for replacement of the battery. But that’s from the consumer’s point of view, I suppose. Makes more sence from the manufacturer’s POV to be able to sell a new unit.
I’ve never actually timed it. Quite a while…several hours. I would normally recharge when it reached 50%. Right now it’s showing 26%. When I connect to the USB port the battery icon on the screen (fuze screen) begins flashing and the lightening bolt shows to indicate it’s charging. Then the battery icon goes completely green and the lightening bolt goes away, as if it was fully charged. But it isnt charged or charging. The battery indicator on the computer app shows 100% remaining. The screen states that it’s connected and the main icon goes through it’s circular motion. I can leave it connected all night and it never charges at all. I understand the battery cannot be replaced. I’m hoping there’s a cure for this ailment that doesn’t involve purchasing another player. Any suggestions or assistance would be greatly appreciated.
Several hours of play time seems to indicate the battery itself is charged, but the charge indicator (circuitry or icon) is wonky.
Sometimes you can reset or re-calibrate this system by letting the unit run completely down until it shuts off, then applying a full charge (3-4 hours).
I left it connected over night and it appears to have charged up somewhat. This morning it was showing 47% rather than the 26% from last night. I’m wondering if when the computer goes to sleep the charging stops. Could be that the icon isn’t displaying properly but that the unit is, in fact, charging. I’ll try again tonight when I can keep the computer from sleeping.
As I said, it should only take 3-4 hours for a full charge, even from a completely depleted state. You could also use an AC-USB wall charger if your computer is ‘napping’.
Try runing the battery down completely before charging. hopefully this will reset the battery meter. If not, then you might need to repeat this. You may need to run the battery down completely around once a month to keep the battery indicator properly calibrated.
