This is the first we’ve heard of this issue here on the forum. Maybe you just got a dud, or got one from a bad batch, but I have had one for a few years now with no problems at all and I know several others have had similar positive experiences. The Clip+ is a pretty robust/sturdy device.
I don’t understand though why after only 3 weeks, you decided to tear into it and risk disabling it permanently or voiding your warranty when it would be much easier to simply return it to where you bought it for another one. Most everywhere dealers/sellers offer a 30-day exchange/return policy which, if it was only 3 weeks old you were clearly within.
Even if for some reason this was not possible, SanDisk offers (and stands behind 110%) a 1 year warranty in the US and 2 years in the EU. Doubt that will do you any good now, seeing how you took it apart 3 different times, but it certainly would have when you first encountered the problem.
