Is it a good idea to put rockbox on your 8 gigabyte fuze??

I would like to know because all these people on youtube are saying wow it is great but they aren’t showing the actual program!!! I am also wondering if it will destroy the device if not installed properly??? If I installed it onto a micro sd card would it brick the player???  I know these are a couple of questions but if anybody knows if this is a good idea or if you have a youtube link to a video talking about how to install it then please post it in the comments!!!

Thank You For Reading

Are you good with computers? Do you like tweaking settings?

Rockbox is for people who are willing to play around with their settings and customize them. It’s not for people who don’t think about what’s going on inside their computers or electronic toys.

If you want something that just works when you turn it on,  then stick with the original firmware unless you really need some of the extra things Rockbox can do. Rockbox does shorten battery life slightly.

Do you know whether you have a v1 or v2 Fuze? If you don’t know, don’t use Rockbox. 

It won’t destroy the original firmware unless you really go out of your way to mess things up.  It is installed in a separate place.

You have to install it into the Fuze internal memory, not a microSD.  (And if you’re asking this question, it makes me wonder if you should be using Rockbox at all.) 

Go to www.rockbox.org for full instructions and user manual to see the program in action. Look at it seriously before you put it on.

If you are like me and just listen to music, podcasts and audiobooks. Don’t bother with Rockbox.  Rockbox looks good, but it does take some effort and “skills” to make it work right.

Garrovick wrote:

If you are like me and just listen to music, podcasts and audiobooks. Don’t bother with Rockbox.  Rockbox looks good, but it does take some effort and “skills” to make it work right.

 

 

I just listen to music and podcasts…although I use my stock Clip+ for podcast duty. RB really does transform the Fuze and Clip+  into better players, but yes, I wouldn’t recommend it to just anyone…the tech-challenged should stick with the regular Sansas. :wink:

Install Rockbox if:

1)  Gapless playback is important to you.

  1. You like tweeaks and extras- Rockbox has lots of those

Otherwise, don’t

How do you know if your fuze is a fuze v1 or v2!!! I am ont sure noone will tell me!!!

@spencesta wrote:
How do you know if your fuze is a fuze v1 or v2!!! I am ont sure noone will tell me!!!

It’s very simple, really. In the Fuze menu, go to Settings>System Settings>Info and check the software version. If it starts with “V01”, you have a v1. If it starts with “V02”, you have a v2.

gwk1967 wrote:


@spencesta wrote:
How do you know if your fuze is a fuze v1 or v2!!! I am ont sure noone will tell me!!!


 

It’s very simple, really. In the Fuze menu, go to Settings>System Settings>Info and check the software version. If it starts with “V01”, you have a v1. If it starts with “V02”, you have a v2.

Remember . . .

Black-Rectangle wrote:

 

Do you know whether you have a v1 or v2 Fuze? If you don’t know, don’t use Rockbox.  

 

gwk1967 wrote:


@spencesta wrote:
How do you know if your fuze is a fuze v1 or v2!!! I am ont sure noone will tell me!!!


 

It’s very simple, really. In the Fuze menu, go to Settings>System Settings>Info and check the software version. If it starts with “V01”, you have a v1. If it starts with “V02”, you have a v2.

Remember . . .

Black-Rectangle wrote:

 

Do you know whether you have a v1 or v2 Fuze? If you don’t know, don’t use Rockbox.  

 

 :stuck_out_tongue:

Tapeworm wrote:


gwk1967 wrote:


@spencesta wrote:
How do you know if your fuze is a fuze v1 or v2!!! I am ont sure noone will tell me!!!


 

It’s very simple, really. In the Fuze menu, go to Settings>System Settings>Info and check the software version. If it starts with “V01”, you have a v1. If it starts with “V02”, you have a v2.


 

 

 

Remember . . .


Black-Rectangle wrote:

 

Do you know whether you have a v1 or v2 Fuze? If you don’t know, don’t use Rockbox. 

 


 

 :stuck_out_tongue:

I was thinking that same thing earlier!

Hey guys thanks for helping me figure this out it is a v2 fuze!!!

Rockbox is not necessarily stable on a v2 Fuze. So there is a risk if you install it.

I suggest you look in on www.rockbox.org every now and then and wait until they consider Rockbox stable for the v2 Fuze before you install it. 

Black-Rectangle wrote:

Rockbox is not necessarily stable on a v2 Fuze. So there is a risk if you install it.

 

I suggest you look in on www.rockbox.org every now and then and wait until they consider Rockbox stable for the v2 Fuze before you install it. 

Or just be satisfied with the Sansa original firmware.

Millions are.

@black_rectangle wrote:

Rockbox is not necessarily stable on a v2 Fuze. So there is a risk if you install it.

 

I suggest you look in on www.rockbox.org every now and then and wait until they consider Rockbox stable for the v2 Fuze before you install it. 

Rock box on V2 Fuze is great, but as Black stated, it can be unstable at times. I have had it just freeze or reboot on me when I’ve used it for a long time. But, that is rare.

 On the whole, V2 is pretty darn stable and has been. I’ve been running it for about three months now and I love it. 

 Also, V2 Fuzes cannot work with USB under Rockbox. You have to reboot into the Sansa firmware if you want to add or remove music/movies/files. After that, then you can reboot into Rockbox and play to your hearts content.

 Another nice thing about Rockbox is you can set the system to automatically update the database or you can manually update it yourself. What I’ve also found is, once I start the update, I can still listen to music! I don’t have to wait for the update to finish. However, it’s best to start your music first and then, while the music is playing, go to the database section and tell it to update the database because the response to your button presses does lag as it’s updating. But, it doesn’t affect the playback of music, so unlike the current Sansa firmware, you don’t have to wait for the database to update before you can start listening to music.

I think once the V2 Rock Box becomes official, you’ll then be able to use the USB mode. V1 Fuzes can already use USB mode to transfer files under Rock Box.

 

isamuelson wrote:


@black_rectangle wrote:

Rockbox is not necessarily stable on a v2 Fuze. So there is a risk if you install it.

 

I suggest you look in on www.rockbox.org every now and then and wait until they consider Rockbox stable for the v2 Fuze before you install it. 


Rock box on V2 Fuze is great, but as Black stated, it can be unstable at times. I have had it just freeze or reboot on me when I’ve used it for a long time. But, that is rare.

 On the whole, V2 is pretty darn stable and has been. I’ve been running it for about three months now and I love it. 

 Also, V2 Fuzes cannot work with USB under Rockbox. You have to reboot into the Sansa firmware if you want to add or remove music/movies/files. After that, then you can reboot into Rockbox and play to your hearts content.

 Another nice thing about Rockbox is you can set the system to automatically update the database or you can manually update it yourself. What I’ve also found is, once I start the update, I can still listen to music! I don’t have to wait for the update to finish. However, it’s best to start your music first and then, while the music is playing, go to the database section and tell it to update the database because the response to your button presses does lag as it’s updating. But, it doesn’t affect the playback of music, so unlike the current Sansa firmware, you don’t have to wait for the database to update before you can start listening to music.

I think once the V2 Rock Box becomes official, you’ll then be able to use the USB mode. V1 Fuzes can already use USB mode to transfer files under Rock Box.

 

 

The full USB support on my V1 is the greatest thing since sliced bread. The ability to have the database refresh in the background while you are using the player, instead of having to wait for the refresh to finish, is just plain awesome.

I’ve been using Rockbox on my 8GB V2 Fuze for a few months and I’m completely satisfied with it, no complaints.  If you can install it then you’ll probably love it.  If following the Rockbox wiki on using svn and building the bootloader and rockbox itself is beyond you then you’ll do better to wait for a stable Rockbox release complete with easy installer GUI.  Whether Rockbox offers you any advantage depends on what you want and how you’d like to use your Fuze.  Personally I regularly listen to audiobooks and I appreciate the superior resume and bookmarking facilities Rockbox offers me, and I have enough albums that are intended to be played back gaplessly that that is also a feature which makes a real difference. I had got a little fed up with obtrusive gaps in what should have been seamless uninterrupted playback.  I also find Rockbox better for video playback because I can now do my video encodes with a simple script and batch convert without having the player connected and unuseable.  Another big advantage for me is that Rockbox can use a simple directory hierarchy instead of a database so adding or removing new tracks/directories/videos no longer comes with the penalty of a very slow database scan.  I have a 16GB card in my Fuze, thousands of files, and the original firmware had got to be an annoyance.  Having said all that the original Sansa firmware is pretty good and if it does everything you need then why change?

Once you’ve built the bootloader, you’re pretty much done. It’s not that difficult to do and as I stated, once you’ve done it, all you have to do is download the latest release and unzip it to your Fuze. When a new version of Rockbox is built (daily), all you have to do is download the zip file and unzip it to your fuze.

Unless they change the bootloader, you don’t have to rebuild it. I’m sure once they get USB working for the V2, you might have to change the bootloader, but then again, you might not have to.

Until the usb is updated my vote would be no.  There’s been no damage to mine but if you get a hangup, your waiting 3 days for the battery to drain.  Mine was working great with rockbox and I forgot to hold a certain button when I plugged in the cable to charge it and that was it.  Black screen for approx. 2 1/2 days

Using Rockbox is taking a risk. Putting Rockbox on a player voids the warranty. I suggest that you try Rockbox on a player only if you have at least two working players, and won’t be very upset if Rockbox destroys your player. Even if you install it correctly there is a chance that Rockbox could destroy your player.

That’s good to know. I was reading about Rockbox and thinking of putting it on. For the time being I believe I’ll pass on it until it has been perfected for the version two’s.