Clip Sport not booting after FW update

Hello!

I have downloaded the FW update version 1.29 to upgrade from 1.22.

First I tried to update it via updater program. It was already suspicious, that it only offered manual for downloading.

After that I tried manual upgrade as described in the instructions.

I got some sort of update failed message on the screen, after that it booted.

I held down the power button for 15 seconds to reset just in case.

After that the device only shows SanDisk logo on the screen for some seconds, then blanks out/shuts down.

When the USB cable is attached, it keeps the logo on the screen and nothing else is happening. Also, the PC is unable to detect the device.

Tried: resetting and holding down power and then attaching to USB.

Any ideas? I really liked this player and it would be nasty to have it bricked with so little effort.

Thanks in advance!

If it will still connect and be regognized by your computer, I would:

1.) Manually re-install the firmware again. If this doesn’t help, then . . .

2.) Format the player (note: this will erase all music, etc. files you put on it, so you will have to re-load after).

Thanks, but none of it applies.

I described all the symptoms above and there’s no way to do any of what You  suggested.Otherwise, I would have tried them.

I backed up the data and formated the player before the FW update. Maybe I should have resetted it before running the update, also.

One other thing I could try, is to put the update hex to the SD card and try to boot from that. Not sure, if the player manages, though.

Will tell later, how it went.

I tried to put the update.hex to the root of an SD card.

Nothing. The system either is not meant to look for other mount points or is corrupt and fails to do so.

Next step is to solder the battery wire off and drain the voltage via power button.

This won’t help most probably, but nothing to lose.

Confirmed: Disconnecting the battery is not helping.

I would assume, the filesystem is corrupt. Any way to reinstall the system?

I have encountered exactly the same issue and still wait for someone to come up with a working solution. Can’t believe that tech support has not picked this up, yet. 

I added the .hex file and then my player updated the firmware all the way up to 90% then stuck there. Did a reboot now it won’t turn on at all. Computer wont recognize it either.

This situation is a bit challenging to resolve.   I am hoping Tapeworm, our SanDisk Senior Guru, will soon provide some expert advice.    While we are waiting try these quick ideas:

    1. Player not connected to PC, press the large oval button for 20-25 secs and see if the player starts up.

    2. Player connected to PC, same as #1.

1 Like

This solution worked for me. It allows one to use a separate program to force a firmware onto the device then you can copy the latest version 1.43 upgrade.hex file to the root directory and update the entire system. Worked like a charm for a clip sport mp3 player that was completely dead and unresponsive to any of the conventional reset methods.
https://sandisksportfirmware.wordpress.com

Wow !!  I never knew about that process and I hope I will never need it.

Congratulations on solving your problem.

You can mark your problem report as SOLVED.

@beauchot78 wrote:
This solution worked for me. It allows one to use a separate program to force a firmware onto the device then you can copy the latest version 1.43 upgrade.hex file to the root directory and update the entire system. Worked like a charm for a clip sport mp3 player that was completely dead and unresponsive to any of the conventional reset methods.
https://sandisksportfirmware.wordpress.com

I went to the website but the requiered files are no longer available (the website is from 2016). I have tried to find them but no luck. Did you get them recently from that website or did you find them somewhere else?  

do you somehow still have the program? i need it to try to unbrick my clip sport plus

if so can you put it onto google drive and send me the link to it? it would be greatly appreciated

Help! Please.

Charged/Updated Firmware–everything seemed fine… Powered off. Tried to turn device back on and it won’t boot (just SanDisk logo on black screen 'till it powers itself off!)

Computer won’t recognize device anymore…

…If I use volume up while plugging in USB (to get “FW Updating…Don’t Disconnect” screen) computer chirps but device is only discoverable/listed as “Actions USB 2.0 (HS) WinUSB Device”

This solution, which you can find at https://sandisksportfirmware.wordpress.com 99, proved effective for me. By using a separate program to force a firmware onto the device, you can then copy the latest version 1.43 upgrade.hex file to the root directory and update the entire system. This method worked perfectly for reviving a Clip Sport MP3 player that was completely unresponsive to conventional reset methods. I highly recommend following this link if you encounter a similar issue; it could be the solution you need.