some songs won't play, "update your subscription"

now i can play everything that is on my fuze on my computer but when i plug the fuze into my car ('09 jetta sport wagon), some of the audio files won’t play, where on the fuze a statement comes up that i “need to update my subcription”? (which is usually for an entire album but not necessarily) or they play another artist (example: play one album and another starts playing, so try another album and the same one from before (the wrong one) comes up for that album as well). all of the files are in wma format and none are any different, so how is it that some won’t play? i downloaded these files from my computer which were uploaded directly from the CD’s (not from the internet).

do i need to change the format? and if so, should i do it for all of the files? even the ones that do work fine in the car.

note: i did not put these files on the fuze using any kind of program, i simply copy and pasted directly from my computer files.

thanks, any help would be greatly appreciated.

The solution:

The “subscription” message is misleading. It means your files are suffering from DRM–Digital Rights Malady.

Go into Windows Media Player’s Rip settings–you may have to expand the player view by clicking at the very top of the window–and fix this once and for all. Change the file format to .mp3 (and use good quality while you’re at it, 192 kbps or above). No DRM. Re-rip your problem albums.

The explanation:

Windows Media Player is a sneaky thing. When you use it to rip your CDs, its default setting is .wma with copy protection.

Who are the copies protected from? You, of all people.  To send those copy-protected files to your Fuze, you have to send them via Windows Media Player in MTP mode (Settings/System Settings/USB Mode) which also sends over the hidden codes that unlock them.  If you just drag-and-drop them you get the files without the unlock codes, and the “subscription” error comes up.

There are also .wma files without copy protection. Those must be the ones that play OK.

But just set your default in WMP to .mp3 and you can drag-and-drop all your music.

thank you for the reply and information, just to make sure i understand correctly: do i need to re-rip the cd’s into my computer with this new formatting? i had already made sure that the files uploaded to the fuze were in MP3 format when i first posed my question, so in Media Player, do you need to go into options? and when you brought up the 192 kbps, is that in the burn area,the choice ,convert to: ( you can change the size).

when uploading to the fuze,in Media player i used Sync, forgive me if i am confused, if i have to re-load the cd’s all again onto the computer then okay i get it, but how please can i get around that? my files are stored as MP3, and uploaded the same, so where do i find to set the default to WMP? you also listed (settings/system settings/usb mode), is that in the fuze? there isn’t a settings area for Media Player that i can find.

i also tried to through Media Player (in MP3 format) move music files directly onto a SanDisk memory card through my old Palm Treo, and then insert it into my car (has a sd card input as well as usb and regular media outlet), same problem whole albums wouldn’t play (different error message-same issue).

plainly, how can i get around this stupid copy protection BS without re-ripping the cd’s into the computer?

thank you again for your imput.



Only .wma and some other DRM files
(like .aa audiobooks) should give you the subscription error when the
Fuze can’t find unlock codes. 

,mp3 files should not give you this problem. Make sure they are really, truly  .mp3 files by checking them with the free Gspot Codec Information. if they are not .mp3 then yes, you are going to have to re-rip them.

You can’t easily remove copy protection from existing files. Strictly speaking it’s illegal. Less strictly speaking, it’s easier to re-rip. Erase them off the Fuze, get them off the computer and rip again. It will take time but it’s worth it to avoid future annoyance.

In fact, if the vast majority of your files are a problem, the easiest thing to do is to look in the Fuze under Settings/System Settings and use Format. It will erase everything you have put on, so make sure you have other copies.

Windows Media Player has tabs like Rip, Sync, etc.–though it may not show them in its smallest view, so click on the top (where it says Windows Media Player on the upper left) to see the expanded view and the Rip, Sync, etc. tabs. Go to Rip and make sure it is mp3. You have a choice of quality setting, and that’s where to set 192 kbps. Take a look at it anyway to doublecheck that Rip is making mp3 files.


Sending files over via Windows Media Player could also be messing things up, because it does like to send over secret stuff. But you don’t need any middleman between you and the Fuze. You can just drag-and-drop files directly from Windows.


The way to do that is to (on the Fuze, turn the wheel), go to Settings/System Settings/USB Mode and change it to MSC. When you connect it, your computer now treats it like any other disc drive. You can put it in a Music folder, make your own folder, etc.–just don’t put albums in Podcasts, Photos or Audiobooks which are treated differently.

Just to make things more fun, when you switch to MSC, your computer can’t see files you sent over via MTP. So you have to switch modes again to see the files you sent in MTP (while the MSC files become invisible.) The Fuze doesn’t care how they were transferred, but your computer does.


Auto-Detect will go to MTP mode if it finds Windows Media Player 10 or above when it connects. So use MSC to make sure it always connects via MSC. .


If it were me, I would Format the Fuze, put it in MSC, transfer one of the albums that was giving you a problem and see if it works now via direct drag-and-drop. If it does, great, you don’t have to re-rip. You can just copy-and-paste or Send your albums back onto the Fuze.  If not, you’ll have to re-rip, but it will avoid future problems.