Anyone had this happen? Clip+ Stuck On Downward Scroll

[Excalibur]

I used my 4gb clip+ on Monday to run at the gym. When finished, I powered it off and put it in my gym bag.

Today, I went to work out and when I powered the clip+ on, it was scrolling down in a berzerk fashion...I couldn't get it to stop.

I tried powering off, on, etc. and eventually the scrolling stopped.

Then, it started playing where it left off on Monday. However, a new problem is now there...the down / sub-menu button is no longer functional.

I just received this unit last week as a refurb. The first thing I did was update the firmware to the newest version using sandisk's updater.

I'm looking for opinions here...am I seeing a problem that's most likely just a glitch that can be fixed by reflashing the unit w/ firmware or do you think I'm seeing something that probably caused the unit to go back to the manufacturer for refurb and was never fixed ?

Not sure if I should hang onto the unit and try to fix hoping that it won't be a long-term problem or return it and just buy a new one instead of a refurb.

[CrowdAds]

[skip252]

It may have been damaged in the gym bag or it may have just been ready to go bad. Have you tried updating the firmware again? If you have it wouldn't seem as if that would help. If you haven't I would get rid of the Sansa Updater. It's a buggy drain on your computer resources. You can easily do a manual update following the instructions here.

You'll have to decide if you prefer a new one or want another refurb. My experience has been very good with refurbs. I've bought, sold and traded dozens of them with no lemons. The worst that ever happened is that the cheap included earbuds went bad quickly.

Even with that experience I'd look getting a new one. With the Clip Zip coming out and the holidays I've seen some prices on a new Clip+ that makes buying a new one a better deal. Getting the full year sandisk warranty makes sense when the price difference between new and refurb is small as it it right now.

[Mikerman]

You might try putting a new copy of the latest firmware on the player, and see if that helps. Unfortunately, though, it sounds like a bad button that finally has given way. In that case, would be best to go back to the seller for a replacement (whether new, if the seller lets you, or another refurb).

The one thing I wonder about the refurbs now is, there isn't a huge difference between a new player price and the price of a refurb, often (especially right now, with December holidays and the end of year). If that's the case for you, I wonder if you might just go for a new player (which, then, has a year warranty, perhaps especially good for a gym player).

[Excalibur]

Update:

Well, I went ahead and manually re-applied the latest firmware and no love. When I powered the unit back on after it finished its update, I got the out of control scrolling again. I was able to stop the scrolling by holding down the home button until the keys locked. Unlocking came back to a non-scrolling unit but non-functional down/sub-menu button.

I've gone ahead and done both a reset & format and unfortunately, I think this one's gone.

Back to the (wallymart) for a refund. Wally sold it as a 'refurb' but I was a little suspicious of it because it didn't have an 'R' stamped on the clip like I've heard of some others being. Maybe I just bought someone else's return ? Who knows.

I went ahead and just bought a brand new one from Amazon for only $7 more than I paid for the refurb. So...all in all, it's going to be OK.

[Mikerman]

I think that all was a very smart way to proceed--good luck with the totally new one!

[Hostamill]

Exactly the same happened to me.
Brand new Clip+, latest firmware, got (s)wet during running.
Would'nt start up any more.
Left it "dead" for a month or so.
Decided to give it a last go, and it started up.
But push the down button and it starts scroling like mad.
Don't see the point of re-installing the firmware.

Maybe changing to rockbox would do the trick ?

[Mikerman]

Reinstalling firmware can take care of code that's gone corrupt, which can happen--the reason to try it.

[WalkGood]

Originally Posted by Hostamill

Exactly the same happened to me.
Brand new Clip+, latest firmware, got (s)wet during running.
Would'nt start up any more.
Left it "dead" for a month or so.
Decided to give it a last go, and it started up.
But push the down button and it starts scroling like mad.
Don't see the point of re-installing the firmware.

Maybe changing to rockbox would do the trick ?

I know it's too late for you now but for others reading, never try to turn on an electronic device after it gets wet, the best course of action is to take it apart as much as you can and let it fully dry first.

On another note if yours is under a year old, you could try to get an RMA approval for replacement via SanDisk site or calling their toll free number.

[Hostamill]

Reinstalled the firmware, problem remains. Must be a hardware problem.
I'm returning it to the seller for a replacement (it's still under warranty).

[Mikerman]

Aren't warranties great?!

[saratoga]

Probably corroded the button contacts, so they're always shorted.