Dual Clip Sports both stuck showing the "Sandisk" start screen

I bought two newly refurbished Clip Sports. Both of them were flat dead and wouldn’t turn on when I received them. They’ve been refurbished to the point of looking completely new. However, the screen on both of them only turns on when I plug it in to charge it. However, both have the exact same issue - I just see “Sandisk” on them and it never progresses beyond that. I’ve held down the power button for the 10-15 seconds on both of them and they do reset, but the “Sandisk” comes immediately back on after the reset.

What causes this and how do I fix it? It seems like they’re both stuck in a loop of turning on. Kind of hard to believe that both of them would have something broken with the exact same problem. Any advice? I can’t get it to show up when I plug it into USB, either. Probably because it is on what I believe to be the startup screen before the main screen. They both have this exact same problem. I’ve had a Clip Sport before and it was great, which is why I bought myself and a family member one and have these two that I just got.

Try this method and see what happens. Best results when using the original data & charging cable that comes with the player.

Disconnect the player from computer USB port. Then press the center power button for 15-20 (or even 30) secs.

Then while keep pressing the power button, connect the player to the USB port of the computer.

Then see if the player restarts as normal?

If you get some success, try charging the player for 2-3 hours before additional testing.

Tried it, it resets and when plugged back in it goes to the same “Sandisk” screen again and never fully turns on to the main menu. No power on its own when not plugged into the computer, which is puzzling. I’m sure that both of them were tested since they were refurbished. I could see one being a dud, but two with the exact same problem has some pretty high odds.

After the screen lights up when you plug it into the computer USB port, leave it plugged in for 2-3 hours. Maybe it needs a decent charge before it can restart without USB power.

    I have experienced this type of problem and read many similar posts in this Forum.  I personally would not trust a refurb version of a SanDisk mp3 player.  Clip Sports are my all time favorite mp3 players

Best Wishes.

Is there a way to do a full hardware reset and dump the entire software/firware that may be on it? Maybe the installed a version that isn’t compatible and it is getting stuck immediately when I turn it on?

Does a “factory reset” option exist without being able to get to the main menu?

I can’t even get the USB to be recognized in the computer. Nothing shows up as a drive for it. Neither appears to hold a charge and it goes out immediately after I pull out the USB plug, even after hours of being on and displaying the “Sandisk”.

Do not attempt to use your PC to format the player !!  The player uses a hidden partition that contains the OS. There is no consumer access or repair for this partition.

There exists a common misunderstanding about the type of micro USB cables that work with SanDisk players. A working cable must support data transfer (syncing) AND battery charging… Most micro USB cables ($ Store, $5 Store, etc) only support battery  charging; not data transfer. New Clip Sport and Clip Jam players come with a short cable (about 9 inches) for both functions.

If you could get the player recognized by your PC, many helpful posts in this Forum suggest applying the most recent Firmware file into the root directory of the player. (See tbis link.)

https://forums.sandisk.com/t5/SanDisk-Clip-Sport/SanDisk-Clip-Sport-Firmware-1-43-released/td-p/366930