Old Dead Sansa Clip+ Repair.

So, I’ve had my Sansa Clip+ for a while, and a couple of years ago it stopped working. I remember having some issues where sometimes it wouldn’t turn on, however I could fix it usually by forcing a reset. 

One day it wouldn’t turn on entirely. I had assumed it was completely dead. I remember messing with it for several weeks before deciding to stop.

Today I had a need for the micro SD, so I pulled out the player and plugged it into my computer and to my surprise it was recognised by my computer.  I could access both the internal data and the micro SD when I tried to turn it on, which I assumed meant that the thing wasn’t entirely dead.

Honestly, I’ve never been able to replace my Sansa Clip+. Mine has a nice vinyl skin, is quite personal to me and given this little glimmer of hope I’d like to try and get it working again.

So some things of note:

The screen doesn’t turn on at all.

If I plug in headphones and hold the power button for 20-30 seconds there isn’t any kind of audio crackle.

I can connect to my PC in both regular and MSC mode by holding down the centre button. Both the internal memory and external micro SD  drives are visible.

After 20 seconds or so however, the drive is disconnected. I assume it turned back off.

So what I’m doing at the minute is just charging it through my PC. I assume after 2 years of being sitting in a drawer the battery is dead. I will then attempt to turn it on by holding the power button for 20-30 seconds while disconnected from my PC and with the SD card removed. If it does in fact turn on, I will then try and update the firmware as I’m currently assuming it’s a firmware issue.

Assuming this doesnt work however, are there any steps you would recommend I take to try and get this lovely device back on it’s feet? I’d like to pry it open and check the battery is OK but I’m not actually sure how to open it up.

If you’re able to resurrect it, in addition to manually re-applying (or updating) the firmware you might try formatting it, which will clear the memory (& any bugs or gremlins hiding there), giving you a fresh start to add your music again.

Good luck!