Sansa Clip 01.01.20 firmware revision released (links attached)

[Mikerman]

From Sansa, at the Sansa Clip forum:

http://forums.sandisk.com/sansa/boar...thread.id=2946

SanDisk just released the 01.01.20 firmware revision for the Sansa Clip. Download links and the release notes are available below.

For AMERICAS - You can download the zip file by clicking on this link.

For EUROPE - You can download the zip file by clicking on this link.

Extract the zip file into a folder on your computer. Once extracted, drag the file to the root directory of your Sansa Clip.

Disconnect the Sansa Clip and let it restart. The firmware update will now begin. Once it finally finishes doing its update, it will boot back up. Once its back to the main menu, head to "Settings" > "System Info", and verify the "Version" is now 01.01.20A.





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Release Notes

Release notes for Sansa Clip Version 1.01.20

Bug Fixes

1) Fixed device hang at refresh database with certain ID tag Genres

2) Corrected FM Scan step to 200Khz for Americas Players

3) Fixed Device Hang at refresh database after WAV files are renamed and put in FM Folder.

4) Delete invalid MP3 files showing up after transfer from MAC Computers.

5) Put a check next to the selected USB Mode in Settings>USB Mode

Enhancements

1) Add To Go List works using Press and hold (Center Button) in Navigation mode

User can add individual tracks to the Go list on the fly when navigating at the Song level in Albums, Artists, Genres, Playlists, Top Rated, etc.

Additional Press and Hold will remove existing songs from the Go List.

Selecting the Go List itself, user can delete a song using press and hold.

2) Volume range is extended 10 steps (-15 db) at the lowest setting to allow quieter playback of MP3 and FM radio.


3) FM Autoscan Algorithm is enhanced to collect valid stations more accurately.

4) Battery level indication with finer granularity on the LCD.

[CrowdAds]

[Mikerman]

Please check at least your USB setting after the upgrade; I found that my setting, set at MSC before, was re-set to Autodetect (which, in my case, would have meant connection via MTP, which was not my preference)--I simply re-set it back.

[BlueScreenJunky]

Originally Posted by Mikerman

2) Volume range is extended 10 steps (-15 db) at the lowest setting to allow quieter playback of MP3 and FM radio.

That's sweet !

[macilaci457]

Sounds great!
I'm installing it right now!

[Kilgore Trout]

Does anyone know if these firmware updates are reversible? My Clip works so well now I'm kind of reluctant to try new firmware without being able to roll back to a previous version. I think I'll at least wait for feedback from some of you compulsive beta testers.

Update: Answered my own question by successfully rolling back to version 01.01.17 from 01.01.18, then upgrading to 01.01.20. I was afraid the upgrade process might be aborted if it checked to see if a newer version was already installed. It's always nice to know what your options are.

[Mikerman]

The new version seems a definite improvement over the last, with bugfixes and improvements. There does not as of yet seem to be a reason not to apply it.

Otherwise, I believe that if you don't like it, you can revert back to the older firmware version simply by re-applying that version's bin file (just make sure to keep a copy of it or the original zipped file around).

[dfkt]

Very nice, thanks Mikerman - updated the sticky thread: http://www.anythingbutipod.com/forum...ad.php?t=22669

BTW - both firmwares, US and EU, have the same CRC32 - so there's a 99.9999% chance both are exactly the same. The only difference seems to be the file name (m300a.bin vs. m300e.bin).

[jsc315]

Well it looks like Sandisk has been listening to us. Thank you very much for this.

[Mikerman]

Not only listening, but here is a statement made by a SanDisk rep. today (the day after the latest release) as to a request for an improved GoList (basically, that the list reflect currently-made changes immediately and automatically):

Anyway good suggestions and we will consider what is doable for the next release. Don't expect another release for several weeks at this point.

"Several weeks"? With many DAP companies it would be, "many, many months," at best ...

[macilaci457]

Originally Posted by dfkt

so there's a 99.9999% chance both are exactly the same. The only difference seems to be the file name (m300a.bin vs. m300e.bin).

Not exactly! In my EU (no radio) model with the last USA fw there was a radio menu but It didn't found any stations!

[jsc315]

I'm not sure of this was posted at all, but it seems that with the new firmware that the clip charges faster as well. I could be wrong, but it seems like it charges considerably faster now. If someone can confirm this that would be great.

[Mikerman]

Originally Posted by macilaci457

Not exactly! In my EU (no radio) model with the last USA fw there was a radio menu but It didn't found any stations!

Do you need to re-set the fm region, perhaps? The reason I ask is, someone from the UK posted at the Sansa Clip forum that he didn't have a working radio with the latest update--when he switched to the US version of the firmware (he had applied the EU update), he had the radio back.

[PromisedPlanet]

Originally Posted by jsc315

I'm not sure of this was posted at all, but it seems that with the new firmware that the clip charges faster as well. I could be wrong, but it seems like it charges considerably faster now. If someone can confirm this that would be great.

It'd be interesting if the latest firmware addressed battery issues. If so, I wonder if the self-discharge issue has been fixed. It seems to me like this would probably be a hardware problem, but I'm no expert ... and a fix like that would probably have made it into the (unofficial) release notes, given how many people have been complaining about it.

[dfkt]

Originally Posted by macilaci457

Not exactly! In my EU (no radio) model with the last USA fw there was a radio menu but It didn't found any stations!

Maybe you didn't set the FM range to "worldwide" in the options?

Maybe the "a" and "e" in the file names makes a difference, too - but internally, both firmwares are certainly the same. The chance of two different files having the same CRC32 is astronomical. So changing the file names from m300a.bin to m300e.bin should be enough to convert the firmware from US to EU.

[macilaci457]

Originally Posted by dfkt

Maybe you didn't set the FM range to "worldwide" in the options?

No! I said, my Clip is a "no radio" version. Just the radio menu appeared, but it couldn't do anything since my Clip don't have FM receiver.

[dfkt]

Oh well... you could do me a geeky favor, renaming the US m300a.bin to m300e.bin, transferring it to your Clip, and see if the radio menu disappears again. Then my point would be proven that only the one letter in the filename indicates to your Clip which version the firmware is...

[Mikerman]

Huh--I thought they all had the capability, but it was the firmware that turned the capability on or not.

[dfkt]

Probably they didn't put the FM chip into the EU version of the Clip. Sure saves at least $0.02 in production cost!

[dfkt]

Originally Posted by dfkt

Oh well... you could do me a geeky favor, renaming the US m300a.bin to m300e.bin, transferring it to your Clip, and see if the radio menu disappears again. Then my point would be proven that only the one letter in the filename indicates to your Clip which version the firmware is...

No need to try - I just did it. Renamed m300a.bin to m300e.bin and put it on my Clip - voila, my radio has disappeared. Renamed m300e.bin to m300a.bin - and my radio appeared again.

So the "a" and "e" are really the only things that are different, and that's how the Clip recognizes which firmware has a radio or not. Quite an easy system.

[Click]

I ran the MD5 checksums just for kicks this morning and yeah they came back identical. So you can add several "9s" to the probability. Then I came back and read dfkt's replay, above....

That is really just screwy, using the filename itself to deploy different functionality. Wait...not screwy - GENIUS

I've been noting a lot of interesting things in the firmware files (scanning them with a hex editor)... I wonder what happens if it's renamed with a "g" for "God Mode", or "d" for "Debug". etc...



m300r.bin for RockBox, anyone?

Oh boy