Screen is extremely dim/basically black

SanDisk MP3 players Sansa® Clip | Sansa® Clip+
#1

Hi all,

I’ve really tried to research on the problem I have at hand for my Sansa Clip, and I can’t seem to solve it. Essentially, the screen is really dim, and keeps getting dimmer (I can barely see it at all now, if any). I can also see faint imprints, or “burn-ins”, of other “parts and song titles” (mainly the outline of how it looks like when charging), so everything looks fuzzed up. The light around the “ring” still lights up fine, and the music plays the same quality and everything seems to work fine, except I can barely see anything at all now. I don’t know if resetting would work, but regardless, I can’t see the screen, so I don’t know if I can even reach the resetting.

Is there any way to solve this, or is my clip worn out and I need a new one? I bought the clip from the sandisk website itself, and I haven’t had it for a year yet, so would the warranty apply? I read the user manual, but I’m not fully understand what I would have to do in order to return the clip.

Thanks in advance.

#2

Sounds like your OLED display has given out. No, there’s no way for you to fix it but yes, if you bought it less than a year ago it should still be under warrnaty and SanDisk should replace it at no charge.

Call SanDisk Tech Support. They can fix you up. :smiley:

#3

I am having this same problem, but it is somewhat intermitant. If I turn it off and back on and then wait 15 seconds and press a button sometimes the screen comes back on…at least until it goes off again =p So I don’t think the LED has given out. I just bought this thing a couple of weeks ago and I have searched everywhere for the **bleep** receipt. I guess I am lucky to have gotten familiar with the menus enough to navigate from my audiobooks to my music without seeing what I’m doing =D I can live with it till I save up for a new MP3 player, but you can be sure I won’t be buying another Sansa =D

#4

Is the screen going dark as it is supposed to, to conserve power?  You can change when the screen goes dark (after how long) under the player’s settings => display => backlight. 

Otherwise, you might try a reset.  If that doesn’t help, then you could try reapplying the latest firmware and see if that helps–see the firmware upgrade sticky thread at the top of the Clip forum.

Otherwise, I’d continue looking for the receipt and try for an exchange at the store, or with SanDisk via its Customer Service phone line.  Note that some stores themselves will be able to look up your receipt.

#5

It’s definitely not just going dark like it’s supposed to, but updating the firmware seemed to work! Well at least plugging it into the updater seemed to turn the screen back on and then it worked fine for the whole night and into this morning before it started acting up again, but I just plugged it back in and it started working again. So if I have to do that every 8 hours or so it’s not really a big deal for me, still nice to have it working again at all. So thank you very much for the advice!

#6

@thalbert84 wrote:

I am having this same problem, but it is somewhat intermitant. If I turn it off and back on and then wait 15 seconds and press a button sometimes the screen comes back on…at least until it goes off again =p So I don’t think the LED has given out. I just bought this thing a couple of weeks ago and I have searched everywhere for the **bleep** receipt. I guess I am lucky to have gotten familiar with the menus enough to navigate from my audiobooks to my music without seeing what I’m doing =D I can live with it till I save up for a new MP3 player, but you can be sure I won’t be buying another Sansa =D

It’s not the OLED screen, but it’s defintely a hardware problem and would be covered under the warranty. Don’t “live with” something that is clearly a manufacturer’s defect. You paid good money for it. You deserve a product that works as it is supposed to.

If you cannot find the receipt, call (or visit) the store you bought it from, contact via e-mail the on-line dealer or whatever. In most cases, your paper receipt really isn’t needed; there are electronic records that can prove you bought it, and when. If you can’t get any service or satisfaction from the dealer, contact SanDisk Tech Support directly (calling is better than e-mailing). I’m sure they will take care of it with minimum hassle.

#7

Ditto–you really should try to avoid just living with the issue, if you possibly can get a warranty replacement. 

#8

I have had my 4GB Silver Clip for probably about 3 years (more or less) and have just started experiencing the same problem as described by OP. I tried flashing the latest firmware. No help. I tried Reset. No help. Obviously, this unit is out of warranty. Is there anything else I can do besides calling Sandisk tech support? Before today, this unit has performed flawlessly.

#9

If it’s out of warranty, Tech Support won’t be able to do anything for you. You’ll have to buy a new player.

#10

So, it looks like my Clip will soon be relegated to an expensive 4GB USB storage device. :frowning:

#11

Think of it this way . . . you got 3 years of enjoyment out of it and now you get the opportuniyt to get a more modern and advanced device. And if you get a Clip+ or Zip model they will also have a card slot so you can bump your available memory up by 32GB.

Plus, you don’t have to go out and by a 4 gig thumb drive! :laughing:

#12

Well, I do have a Clip+ AND a Fuze, and both are fully functional. In fact, I’m listening to my Fuze as I write this.

#13

Turn your power saver back on it will go blank instead of dimming and you press any button to turn it on again and the music still plays the whole time

#14

Your wrong you can fix it

#15

That’s not how you fix it dude

#16

Eating helps the world

#17

I think the screen is theoretically replaceable, for vintage hackers… OLED is known for limited lifetime (hello iPhone X…).

I’ve had my Clip for around 6 years I think, and it finally went dim-screen on me last week. I turned it on (after not using it for around a month) and at first i thought: **bleep**, I forgot to charge it!. Then I noticed the screen is still barely legible in total darkness. Even with brightness to max (which I can edit in the rockbox config file if needed.)
I’ll probably upgrade to another Clip that’s Rockbox compatible…

Or you can use Rockbox Voice, and it will guide you through menus: https://www.rockbox.org/wiki/VoiceHowto

PS: maybe clip+ might have same screen piece as the original clip… guessing.

#18

FWIW - Dimming work-around

My screen has given out, but before it did I made some notes of routine tasks and the button pushes to make them happen.

Yes, this is going to sound a little goofy, but it’s practical. I normally wake up before dawn. While it was going dim I would wake up and do some menu work sometimes.

I found the blue ring-light on my Clip 2GB would stay dark as I pressed the buttons if the device was charging while I working with it.

YMMV

Legal | Terms of Use | Privacy Statement | Forum Terms of Service Sandisk logo
© Western Digital Corporation or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Western Digital Technologies, Inc. is the seller of record and licensee in the Americas of SanDisk® products.