Continuing Audible/Clip Zip issues :( and solutions
After multiple de-activates/activates, software uninstalls/reinstalls/upgrades, and dealing with 2 Audible techs. between yesterday and today (we’re talking hours, campers), it appears that Audible has not yet amended (or whatever it is) the Audible Manager to recognize the Clip Zip. When I asked when this would happen by, one of the techs. told me that they couldn’t tell me, as they didn’t want me to be disappointed if the estimate wasn’t reached. Rather, I was told that I should keep checking the Audible Manager on my computer–when the solution is in place, the Audible Manager will indicate that an upgraded version of it is available.
All is not lost, however, and there actually is a simple interim (or even total) solution:
1. Connect the Clip Zip to your computer and then “activate” the Clip Zip, via either the Audible Manager or Audible Download Manager. (Note: you need to have your Audible username and password for this, as well as an Internet connection, if I recall correctly.)
With the Audible Manager, this can be done via the Devices menu listing at the top of the Audible Manager, or via the pane at the bottom left of the Audible Manager. With the Audible Download Manager, this is an option under the Options drop-down menu, towards the top left of the window. (Note: my original Audible Download Manager didn’t have this feature, for some reason; a reinstall of the Audible software brought the feature back,)
2. At that point, Audible audiobooks, etc. _ simply can be copied and pasted from where they are stored on your computer, to the Clip Zip _. Just like copying and pasting (or dragging and dropping) files between folders on your computer. No Audible Manager syncing is required (nor need you wait until the Audible Manager gets updated).
If you don’t know where the Audible downloads are stored on your computer, the Audible Manager and/or Audible Download Manager will indicate the location. Typically, the downloads are stored in a downloads folder kept in an Audible folder, located under your computer’s My Documents or a similarly-named folder. You also could do a search on your computer for *.aa files (Audible downloads use the .aa suffix).
For organization purposes, I pasted my Audible files to the Clip Zip’s Audible folder–I don’t know if this is required or if the Audible files can be stored elsewhere on the Clip Zip.
l actually even prefer this simple copy and paste solution over using the Audible Manager–no need to open the Audible Manager up, for this simple task. At the very least, it’s just as easy, it seems to me.
3. Windows Media Player also can be used to transfer/sync the Audible content to the Clip Zip. (At least, this works with WMP 11.) Simply bring WMP up and transfer/sync the Audible selections you select over to the Clip Zip, under WMP’s Sync tab. In fact, after I brought WMP up, it also, itself, offered to activate the Clip Zip for Audible purposes, via a pop-up window (once again, the Clip Zip must be activated before the selections can be transferred/synced to the Clip Zip; and your Audible username and password are needed for that).
If I recall correctly, WMP stored the Audible audiobooks under the Clip Zip’s Music folder rather than under the Clip Zip’s Audible folder–however, this could just be a matter of the WMP settings.
Under both the above methods, I verified that the Audible files then play fine on the Clip Zip, and appear under the Clip Zip’s books/Audiobooks listing.
Hope this meets everyone’s Audible needs, at least in the short-term! And now, time to listen to some Audible audiobooks on my Clip Zip.
(A last point: I don’t know if it makes any difference, but my Clip Zip’s USB setting was set to MSC mode, for all of the above.)