I just got an M250 and have the fast-forward problem along with not remembering position when listening to large files (ie audiobooks, WMA/DRM if that matters.)
From the forum it seems only solution may be downgrade of firmware. Can anyone tell me how to get hold of 3.x firmware? Has anyone been successful doing such a downgrade?
Thanks
On my sixth M series player, even though I have the 4.l.08A firmware, it DOES bookmark when pressing pause and then
shutting down. When I turn it back on and press play/pause again, it does start where left off. So…now I’m having to rescind
my conclusion that the 4.l.08.A firmware was at fault on my pink M240 player. I just don’t know anymore, but do know
that I’m enjoying the heck out of all six of mine and still wouldn’t buy an Ipod and be locked into their pay for
everything scheme. This little player was one of the first to play DRM files and I’ve never had any trouble with any
of them, other than the non-bookmarking irritation, occasionally. I’ve also appreciated having this forum to
discuss the little marvels.
You mean of six IDENTICAL players only one works as expected? And do you own six players, or did you keep exchanging them until you got one that worked.
Unfortunately I bought my m250 on sale and can’t return it. It is certainly great that it plays WMA/DRM, which is exactly why I got it, so I could listen to audiobooks in that format. But the lack of location memory and impossibility of making up for it by fast forwarding makes it, unfortunately, not all that useful for such a purpose.
If anyone has any suggestions how to fix things I’d love to hear it. Most people seem to think the older firmware did work ok, which is why I’d like to try a downgrade. However, I’ve also seen it suggested that the 4.x hardware is different to 3.x so downgrade would not be possible. Anyone have anything to add on this score?
Thanks for your help.
I never could figure out how to downgrade to an earlier firmware version. I had a fairly lengthy e-mail exchange with Sansa customer service–you need to be persistent and patient and follow all of their suggestions, even when you know they won’t work–and they finally sent me a new player which came with the earlier firmware.
Sorry…I tried to find a delete for my last post, but couldn’t. Even though I took the time to check out whether
I could bookmark with my last version 4 build player before posting and seeming I could, when I picked up that
player by mistake to continue listening to my audio book, it wouldn’t bookmark…so just disregard my last post.
Version 4 is the pits.
Perhaps silly question, but how do you email customer service? I don’t see an email address on their site; the only thing I see that is close is sending a message through your Sansa account…
Thanks
Sjaffe, what version firmware do you have? If 4.x, it will only work with version 4 firmware. Version 4 has a different chip altogether. Some more details can be found at Rockbox support site. There is actually a version of Rockbox in development for the m2xx players, although not usable presently. Maybe some day.
I have a 2.x and two 4.x m250’s. I tend to use the 4.x for larger files (many of mine are 3 hours or so), because the FF is accelerated, although the algorithm used is screwy. It barely accelerates and then when it starts to kick in it goes ballistic very quickly! If I turn off my m250s, and later turn them on, play will continue where I left off. However, 95% of the time, if the player turns off because of the battery running down (I use NiMH), the player reverts to the previous memory state (doesn’t recall what file was playing when the battery died or where it was in the file). This is, of course, a major annoyance. On rare occasions it does remember even when the battery died, and I have no idea why.
The 2.x player evidently does not support accelerated FF, so I don’t use it as often. However, I find that the maximum volume on the 2.x player is much greater, which is a major plus for me because I’m using very low efficiency earbuds (Etymotics ER4S). For this reason, the much more efficient ER4P’s are on my shopping list.
I have occasionally had problems with certain large MP3s when employing FF/REW. One file wouldn’t play beyond a certain point and with a few others, the player would go to the beginning of the file suddenly. I guess these players ostensibly support A<–>B repeat between points you set in the file. I haven’t played with that feature.
Note that there is a setting in the firmware for turning on advanced features. The Stopwatch function was totally absent from at least one of my players until I accessed that function. After once having accessed it, the Stopwatch function is there even when advanced features are not turned on. The firmware is a little screwy, obviously.
FYI:
Message Edited by Muse on 05-14-2009 02:48 AM
Message Edited by Muse on 05-14-2009 02:58 AM
Message Edited by Muse on 05-14-2009 02:59 AM
Yes…I have six separate players that I’ve purchased the last few years. All M240’s except one M250. The
two that have the 4.l.08A firmware are the ones that won’t bookmark. Other than that…
A suggestion…if you purchase on Ebay, you might ask the seller what firmware the player has. Buying new,
the problem is the packaging. You can get them for under $15.00 now.
Under $15! Is that new in factory packaging? Or is that “refurb?” Remember, Sansa does not support a refurb program. Any sold as “refurb” are being sold outside the auspices of the company and won’t be backed up by Sansa’s warranty policy.
Message Edited by Muse on 05-14-2009 04:38 PM
Message Edited by Muse on 05-19-2009 06:41 AM
on ~5/11/09 sjaffe said:
You mean of six IDENTICAL players only one works as expected? And do you own six players, or did you keep exchanging them until you got one that worked.
Unfortunately I bought my m250 on sale and can’t return it. It is certainly great that it plays WMA/DRM, which is exactly why I got it, so I could listen to audiobooks in that format. But the lack of location memory and impossibility of making up for it by fast forwarding makes it, unfortunately, not all that useful for such a purpose.
If anyone has any suggestions how to fix things I’d love to hear it. Most people seem to think the older firmware did work ok, which is why I’d like to try a downgrade. However, I’ve also seen it suggested that the 4.x hardware is different to 3.x so downgrade would not be possible. Anyone have anything to add on this score?
Thanks for your help.
I have two 4.x m250’s and one 2.x. All pretty reliably remember where they were in an MP3, even very long ones (~3 hours, 128 kbps, 44 khz sampling rate). I never play other format files. I find that with some of my files there are problems using FF/REW. I can start from the beginning of a 3 hour MP3, press the FF button and hold, but when I release, the file plays from the beginning. This isn’t consistent, but with some files seems to be pretty persistent. Haven’t chased this one into the woods.
According to what I read at Rockbox site the version 4.x firmware m2xx’s have a different chip, and therefore can’t use anything but version 4.x firmware. I don’t think you can backpeddle to previous versions of 4.x firmware, it’s just the way they’ve implemented the firmware update process.
I think it worth mentioning that turning on the advanced features in the firmware (it’s in the menu system) can change the way these players perform. When I did that, for instance, the Stopwatch feature appeared on one of mine. Interestingly, turning off the advanced features did not then hide the Stopwatch feature!
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