Computers & Electronics

My SanDisk Sansa Clip+ MP3 player died. :(

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  • Mar 22nd, 2015 4:13 pm
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Deal Addict
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Aug 15, 2003
3310 posts
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Ottawa

My SanDisk Sansa Clip+ MP3 player died. :(

The subject line says it all. I'm not sure what happened. I might have squeezed it too hard recently when I was trying out a potential new armband. I guess they might be kind of fragile; the first one I had died (under warranty) when it got a bit damp while I was exercising. The last sign I saw from it, it was stuck on the "goodbye" display, and then it shut off. Attempting to plug it into my PC either causes it to come up as an unformatted drive or an unrecognized USB device. "Resetting" by holding down the power button doesn't help.

Does anyone know if there's any hope of resurrecting this device? There are a couple of teardown vids on Youtube which suggest that there might be a broken lead inside somewhere; I figure if I can't fix it myself, there's probably a local cell phone place that can.

People still seem to be pretty fond of this player; replacements are available on eBay and Amazon, but even though it's been discontinued, they're still selling for 50 bucks or so.

On the other hand, I was reading recently that apparently a nice old Android phone can be purchased cheaply and used as an excellent MP3 player. Any suggestions of a particular model I should consider?
http://kk.org/cooltools/archives/22937
19 replies
Deal Expert
Dec 4, 2010
19536 posts
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Quarantine Bubble
I hVe the original dell MP3 player that had the 2.5" disk. It died out sometime ago. I tried to charge it but it won't take.
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Jan 2, 2015
254 posts
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toronto
Same thing happened to me. I looked at all the options available and i opted to pay $50 for a new one off amazon. Man, they used to go for $30 at FS, even $20 on sale.
Deal Addict
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Aug 15, 2003
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TedDanson wrote: Same thing happened to me. I looked at all the options available
Did you try opening it up?
Deal Addict
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Jul 15, 2003
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Nooooooooooooooooooooooooo.

i dread when mine dies. small. simple. takes a microsd card. supports rockbox. Cheap (well... at least it was back then).
Deal Addict
Mar 7, 2007
1736 posts
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Toronto
no FLAC support in 2015...

atleast we have the -v0 switch ;)
Nintendo Switch vibes
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There seems to be a lot of voodoo associated with this particular problem. Some people suggest letting the battery discharge completely (but since I can't seem to get it to turn on, how would I do that? Maybe just leave it sitting around unplugged?) or letting it charge off a wall charger.
http://www.anythingbutipod.com/forum/sh ... hp?t=70229
http://www.anythingbutipod.com/forum/sh ... 244&page=2

No one seems to have a definitive solution.
Deal Addict
Jul 20, 2007
1208 posts
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Brampton
Sorry to hear that Jorpho :( Didn't realize other people still used Sansa MP3 players! I personally enjoy using it because it's ultra small and has the most convenient clip! The only gripe I have is the short battery life compared to the SanDisk Zen Stone (which was even smaller at half the size of the Sansa, albeit without a display screen). Anyway, goodluck with repairing your Sansa, or finding a worthy replacement!
Deal Addict
Oct 12, 2006
2332 posts
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Alberta
I bought 2 from Target when they were clearing them out for $12!
That and I still have my original Sansa clip floating around in a drawer at work.
Deal Fanatic
Dec 3, 2007
5962 posts
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Calgary
Sansa Clip Plus + rockbox + 64GB microSD === awesome

I heard it can even get on 128 GB but they are kind of pricey right now.
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Oct 28, 2004
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Oh man, I am in the same boat as you!

Not sure if I squeezed or dropped the Sansa Clip+ but now the darn thing will only spit out music to one side of my headphones....I need to hold the headphone jack in place for music to come out both sides...

So frustrating, I was also looking to buy a replacement but saw the prices on Amazon....$50 and upwards...crazy!!

And I checked my headphones...definitely not the headphones but the player itself....

I ended up getting the Nokia Lumia 635 from Amazon.com for $50 and will use as a mp3 player (as well as surfing and a phone)....booooo
Deal Addict
Jul 20, 2007
1208 posts
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Brampton
ji2o0k, I had a similar problem with the earphones and thought I'd have to find another mp3 player but I was able to fix mine and headphones work as good as the day I bought mine sansa! I`m not sure if it`s the same problem you`re having but it`s been a common problem with sansa clips wherein the pins of the headphone jack does not always make contact with the logic board. One solution is to open the housing of the sansa and solder the contacts securely to the logic board (of course you'll need a soldering iron and know how to use one). Alternatively, you can open the housing and stick a small piece of flexible material inside that, with the housing back on, would push down the headphone jack contacts against the board. A small piece of rubber from an ear plug would work! Anyway, give that a try and you may very well breathe some life back into your sansa clip! The hardest part for me was removing the housing/shell of the sansa clip. It may seem impossible but trust me, with a little determination, you can pry that little bad boy open! Goodluck!
Deal Addict
Jul 20, 2007
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Brampton
What a deal! Are there any more left? I would really like to get a couple to keep on hand in case the one I'm using fails on me.
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Aug 15, 2003
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I managed to get the cover off of mine just now, and managed to injure some of the clips in the process. :o

Follow this video. Note that it is critical to insert the guitar pick at an angle, pointing towards the back of the unit. And like he says, don't use metal implements if you can possibly avoid it!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beMcITVdZcE&spfreload=1

Unfortunately the battery leads are soldered in place with no obvious way of disconnecting them.
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Apr 7, 2005
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I LOVE this player! If mine ever craps out (which I hope not, knocks on wood) I'm not sure which player to fall back on.

My back clip broke off a couple years ago but I sanded it down and the player still works! I think I PMed my 2gb model at Bestbuy for $40 and I regret not buying a couple backups when they eventually dropped to like $20-30 :( The only negative thing about this player were the stock earbuds.

I did have some occasionally glitches with my unit where sometimes it will crash and can't turn back on. Then magically 5 minutes later when i hammer the power button it wakes up again and resumes normally. I also had a couple of other times where skipping tracks would cause a 2-5 second delay. Not sure if it's a result of the crazy wear and tear it's been through.

Every time I go out, I'm a bit worried the battery is gonna bite the dust at any moment. It's kinda like that seinfeld episode where kramer and that cars salesman are test driving that car and they're trying to squeeze every last drop of gas out of the tank. I feel the same way when I'm using my sansa clip+ :)

edit: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/6 ... layer.html
not exactly cheap with the exchange rate, but if you plan on ordering anything else from BH, use it as a filler to get free shipping over $99 :)
Always hungry ;)
Deal Addict
Jul 20, 2007
1208 posts
362 upvotes
Brampton
nintendo wrote: I LOVE this player! If mine ever craps out (which I hope not, knocks on wood) I'm not sure which player to fall back on.

My back clip broke off a couple years ago but I sanded it down and the player still works! I think I PMed my 2gb model at Bestbuy for $40 and I regret not buying a couple backups when they eventually dropped to like $20-30 :( The only negative thing about this player were the stock earbuds.

I did have some occasionally glitches with my unit where sometimes it will crash and can't turn back on. Then magically 5 minutes later when i hammer the power button it wakes up again and resumes normally. I also had a couple of other times where skipping tracks would cause a 2-5 second delay. Not sure if it's a result of the crazy wear and tear it's been through.

Every time I go out, I'm a bit worried the battery is gonna bite the dust at any moment. It's kinda like that seinfeld episode where kramer and that cars salesman are test driving that car and they're trying to squeeze every last drop of gas out of the tank. I feel the same way when I'm using my sansa clip+ :)

edit: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/6 ... layer.html
not exactly cheap with the exchange rate, but if you plan on ordering anything else from BH, use it as a filler to get free shipping over $99 :)
+1 that Seinfeld episode hahah I feel exactly the same way; just when you think it has finally come to the inevitable end of its life, it somehow continues to survive!

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