Unusual issue: partially black screen on lower right corner

Hello everyone,

I would like to know what I can do to fix these problems:

I only had my 4gb Clip zip player for a month, and today I noticed after having it plugged in for recharging for over a day the lower right hand screen is black. The rest of the screen is fine, it’s just this little corner of the screen that is like this! The partially black screen is triangular, and always there.

Another problem that I’ve noticed is since I had it charging for over a day, I expected it to have fully recharged by the time I unplugged it, yet when I looked at the system info it indicated that the power was “88%”. And then, when I rechecked to make sure, it read “77%”, then back to “88%” after I checked it once more. WTH is going on? Why the fluctuation?

Oh, and I think the firmware is up to date (not sure if this is relevant) since it says “Version: V01.01.20F” in settings.

Also, there is actually a third issue I believe. I tried resetting by holding the power button down for 20-30 sec, but for some reason my player is like oblivious to this, it just starts up/shuts down due to the initial pressing - i.e. Reset function doesn’t work.

Other than the above three, I haven’t noticed any other unusual symptoms. I would be extremely grateful if someone could give me any advice to fix this. 

Edit - I just noticed that when the player is plugged in, it says 100% fully charged, but as soon as I unplug it says 88% :S

Thank you.

I wouldn’t be concerned over the battery level indicator, as the Clip Zip is notorious for being innacurate as to that.  Seemingly better, if you want to know the exact charge:  go to the System Info. screen (under System settings) and check the battery charge percentage there.

More troubesome is the screen issue.  If I were you, I would try manually reapplying the latest firmware (see the firmware upgrade sticky thread at the top of the forum).  If that doesn’t fix matters, I would contact the seller and/or SanDisk for a defective player/warranty replacement. 

http://www.sandisk.com/about-sandisk/contact-us/

You’ve got a bum unit. Return it (to your dealer if possible; otherwise to SanDisk) for a replacement. I wouldn’t waste time trying to re-apply the firmware; that’s not going to help a defective OLED screen.

And btw, it should only take a few hours max to completely re-charge a dead battery, not a day or longer.

As far as the resetting procedure goes, it will only reset if there is something wrong, or the player is stuck in some way where a reset is ‘needed’. So the turning on & off normally you describe is ‘normal’ if there’s nothing wrong in the 1st place. Secondly, if your player is frozen, or stuck and you attempt to perform a reset, it will (in some cases) shut down after only 1 or 2 seconds (as it does normally), but you need to keep holding down the power button for the full 20-30 seconds. There is no outwardly visible indications of when the reset actually occurs.

I don’t know about reapplying the firmware as not being helpful–software glitches can do the darnedest things, and can be easily fixed. Which is why I recommended: try it, as it’s a possible quick and easy fix. And then if it doesn’t fix things, return the player and exchange for a new Clip.

@miikerman wrote:
I don’t know about reapplying the firmware as not being helpful-- software glitches can do the darnedest things, and can be easily fixed. Which is why I recommended: try it, as it’s a possible quick and easy fix. And then if it doesn’t fix things, return the player and exchange for a new Clip.

Granted, it’s easy enough to re-apply the firmware and it won’t hurt anything, but firmware is not going to solve a hardware problem.

I am obviously no electronic or LED or OLED screen expert or technician but the OP’s complaint " . . . the lower right hand screen is black. The rest of the screen is fine, it’s just this little corner of the screen that is like this! The partially black screen is triangular, and always there" certainly sounds like a defective screen (aka a hardware issue) to me.

Maybe the OP will reply as to the outcome and I hope your suggestion pays off but I am doubtful that it will. This, combined with his other issues shouldn’t be happening on a month-old unit and it’s my opinion he should get it replaced under warranty straight away.

I think you’re likely right (at the 99% level), but software and hardware can sometimes surprise me, when they actually work again afater a quick attempt at a fix. Of course, then there’s what happens the majority of the time . . . . :frowning: