Zen Micro Jack Socket troub

Hi all,
Got a silver zen micro for crimbo and I gotta say Iove it, the desktop software is a bit clunky in operation and crashes often but I can wait for an update....
I do have a problem with it though, the slightest wiggle of the headphone jack causes dreadful playback problems. The sound doesnt drop out from either channel but becomes distorted, sometimes the bass frequencies dissapear and I'm left with a thin and distant sound and at other times the distortion is like very bad encoding noises - garbled . Does anyone else suffer this problem or have any suggestions apart from RMA? This is not an issue with the phones or the lead, I've tested with several pairs and the distortion is coming from the player.
If I can fix this problem I'd happily recommend this player as it kicks ass in every other way.
Thanks
tonga

I have the same problems with a week old black Zen Micro. I am returning mine and won't buy another one till they have fixed the problem. The player worked well for three to four days and now gives good sound most of the time but a slight touch to the headphone plug and sound becomes distorted or the vocals would disappear. Looks like a poorly soldered headphone jack or a loose connection. Other than that it is a great player but useless if headphone jack has quality issues. The other issue I experienced was that the player would turn on automatically when it was off and the headphone plug was touched. That problem got fixed with the new firmware upgrade (v.3). I have not tried the v2.x firmware upgrade since that requires a reformat (or deletion of all data).

Similar Messages

Zen micro ear socket prob

Hey guys, I have a creative Zen Micro for 2-3 weeks... my earphone socket seems to have some problems... its like when I am walking, the sound seems to be distorted n like the vocal seems to be super low.and it will come back suddenli then go off suddenly.. I tried other earphones too but it is still the same... It onli started to appear now... I hope someone can advise mi on what to do next.

erm but then wil my retailer actually change to a new set? or will they send it back to creative to repair?
if it is the latter, i rather send it back to creative myself.. n will they actually change to a new set or will they repair it's n how much will it cost?

A way how to fix the Zen Micro head phone jack prob

Hi! I am one of the many people that purchased a Zen Micro MP3 player, I loved it until around 6 months of use, an audio shorting problem with the head phone jack, started to repeat it's self every time, that I would plug my head phone's into the Zen Micro head phone jack. After awhile, I was tired of this problem, so I just decided to never use it again, unless I could find out if the maker of the Zen Micro had a repair service. I noticed that some people had their Micro's replaced a few times under the warranty that is included with the player. I also noticed that some one created a way to fix this problem, but I wanted to see if I could find an easier way to fix the problem. Well I did end up finding an easier way to fix the problem, this is what I did.
Absolutely in all means I can't be held responsible / reliable for any unforseen thing / things, that you may or could, do to the Zen Micro, by following the instructions, which I provided. By trying what I did by following the instructions, which I provided you; you accept all responsibility to any thing / things, that may or could happen to the Zen Micro.
The Instructions:
I took a stapler pressed it down to get a used staple then I carefully inserted it in the outer part of the plastic head phone jack ring. Then I pressed the rest of the staple flat against the Zen micro. And Now I get great sound, it is at least better than, the way it was before I inserted the staple. I would suggest to always remove the staple. When you connect the Zen Micro to a computer, charging device, or any other device other than a pair of head phones. You understand that if you leave the staple inserted in the Zen Micro and don't remove it. While you have it connected to a computer, charging device, or any other device, or devices, even a pair of head phones, and some thing happens, you can't hold me responsible.
If you would like to see a photo of how it looks please reply to this message and just include your email address please. I will send it to you as soon as possible. The photo has 4 photos sized down to perfectly fit on one photo, so you can get a good idea of what it should look like.
Message Edited by theZenDude07 on 02-28-200707:45 PM

Thank you for the information, can I please have the photos so I dont destroy it entirely !. Take care,?Simon?(Dublin, Ireland)

Headphone jack problem with Zen Micro

Hi.
I bought my zen micro on April 4 and everything was fine until a few weeks ago
when I got the headphone jack problem. When I touch the plug that is connected
with the player, it makes a weird noise and the volume decreases and goes back to normal
and it keeps doing it.
Can I get a/s for no charge since it's a yr hardware warranty?
P.S.) I can see there are some ppl who are getting upset by this same problem here.
Message Edited by locomocoto on 08-9-2005 2:57 AM

locomocoto,
If the store can't assist you, contact our Customer Support to see what they can do:
Americas Customer Support
European Customer Support
Asia Customer Support
Cat

Zen Micro headphone jack loosened resulting in poor earphone connect

I have had the 5g zen micro for 9 months now and love it. My battery play time has been tremendous, I migrated to the window media player and managing my music cannot be easier, I bought some high end earphones and the sound has been off the charts. But, recently, the headphone connection became loose and now my sound goes in and out, from right to left, sometimes muted or muffled...unless I hold the jack in place. It's become impossible to enjoy my music now.
I have sent a note to Creative customer service how I can get this fixed ASAP, as I don't want to be without my mp3 for an extended period of time. Has anyone had to deal with Creative on this? Do you have any suggestions?
I just bought another zen micro for a family member and now worried this may happen to them. I have not heard this problems from any of my friends that use the IPOD

Sounds like the common headphone jack problem. You need to contact support. iPods have the problem also, as do most (if not all) players. Whether the incidence is the same, who knows!

Zen Micro w/ Headphone Jack Problem: RMA or n

Hi everyone,
I have a silver Zen Micro, and am currently experiencing this very annoying headphone jack problem where sound gets distorted depending on how I move the headphone jack. Additionally, my player turns on by itself occasionally when it's in my pocket-- I'm not really sure what kind of problem that is, but it's very fraustrating nonetheless.
I bought my player in late November, and it's already past the three month full warranty period, so I've been told that if I send it back for RMA, I will need to pay a $40 admininistrati've fee. Thing is, I'm a student in college, and don't have the money to pay for both shipping and repairs. And I don't really want to open my player up and risk damaging it either.
What do you think is the best course of action? Should I just send it back and pay $40? How reliable is the RMA process-- and what would happen if the same problem occurs again? Pay for shipping & repairs another time?!
Thanks,
Mark

Yes I totally agree with you man the problem is VERY annoying. This is my second Micro I got from Creative and it is having the same problem as the original one I bought and had to send in for 'repairs'... I'm not sure if I am still under the warranty but i dont want to go through the whole annoying process of doing the RMA stuff and possibly paying for the repairs. I just might do it myself... But the Mini is looking very nice right now.... :smileyvery-happy: Just joking.

Zen Micro Headphone Jack problems-are the new ones

Gonna buy a Zen Micro Photo 8GB player-had one of the 5gb ones a year and a half ago and the headphone jack went on that-have the problems with the headphone jack been sorted out in the new ones?

I have not seen any reports of problems with the Zen MicroPhoto's headphone jack.
Cat

Zen Micro headphone jack horror stories, truth or scar

I've been looking for an Mp3 player for over 4 months(since January), and I have looked through many Micro-Hard Dri've and Flash Memory players, including: Dell Pocket DJ, iPod Mini, Rio Carbon, Creative Zen Micro, iPod Shuffle, Creative MuVo Micro N200, and Creative MuVo TX FM. I'm glad to say that I decided on the Zen Micro. I've had it for 4 days now(including today), and so far, it is working great, better than I had hoped. Everything is nice about it; the only that scares me is the problem that many people have with the Zen Micro, the headphone jack problem. I've heard numerous reports of people with a Zen Micro who complain that after about 2-5 months of usage, the headphone jack will break, and little or NO sound will come out of it. And they say that this is a problem that is meant to happen with all Zen Micros. Hmmm is this true? I hope this doesn't happen to me. Do you think that upgrading the firmware will help fix the problem(btw, I still use ..03....or something like that, I haven't updated it)?

thug_outlaw69 wrote:
Just don't use a straight angle headphone plug like the ones that came with the Zen Micro. Use one with a 90 degree angle.
That doesn't make any difference, reportedly... just prolonges the problem so it doesn't break until the warranty's over....

Zen Micro(Original/Color) Headphone Jacks: Finally Solved or N

I haven't been to these forums in a very, very long time. The last time I was here was when Creative barely released the Zen Micro Photo onto the market. I have the original zen micro without color screen and I was wondering if the infamous headphone jack issue has been fixed permenently on either of them. Have they?

rvfon wrote:
2 months ago i sent in my Zen Micro 6GB player for that particular problem. I bought it in November '05. Nope, they still don't know how to make a working headphone jack.
Wow no kidding eh? Has anyone bought a Zen Micro during 06 that has this problem?

ZEN MICRO: MY HEADPHONE JACK IS BROK

My headphone jack is broken. Does anyone know how to fix it's?When I stick my headphones into the jack, I can still hear sound, but it depends on how I'm holding my mp3 player. If i hold it in a certain position, only one headphone might work or one might be louder than the other one. I don't know what's wrong and this problem is really bugging me. Somebody HELPP!

It's faulty and must be replaced by Creative. Is your warranty still in effect? How long have you own your Micro? If you li've in the U.S, the first 90 days of your warranty will cover Parts & Labor, after 90 days you will have 9 months left of Parts only. Labor will cost you around $25 I think. And you have to pay for shipping and handling to Creative.
Or you can fix it yourself if you know you are going to void the warranty and know how to use a soldering iron or know someone that knows how to fix electronics. Creative isn't going to fix that headphone jack, they will only replace it. That doesn't mean you won't get a headphone jack problem again.
Not sure if this is a common problem throughout Zen Micros.
I own my Micro for almost a year now, no serious problems yet. I did have a small incident with the sound but hopefully it was just an accident and I didn't push my headphones all the way in.
Causes of the headphone jack could be Creative's fault in manufacturing it, normal wear and tear, forcefully plugging in/out the headphones, causing pressure to the headphone jack when your headphones are plugged in, and/or wrapping the headphones around the player.

Zen Micro Headphone Jack Poll/Co

THIS IS A MULTISELECTION POLL
-My Jack is fine
2-My Jack is/was broken
3-I know someone who has a micro and theirs is fine
4-I know someone who has a micro and their's is broken
There seems to be this "massi've" problem with the zen micro with the headphone jack breaking. Creative also had this problem with the Zen xtra, so to see if this is an epidemic or just a small problem vote either you have a broken jack or not. also please post a reply if you know someone who has this problem or if you know someone who doesn't. If you bought a refurb micro dont count yours because this could very well be the result of abuse from the other party.
Simply choose the number that corresponds to you and your zen micro.
PS. post where you bought your micro and when the jack broke if it ever did.
-My Jack is fine
2-My Jack is/was broken
3-I know someone who has a micro and theirs is fine
4-I know someone who has a micro and their's is broken
- As for me, I've had my Zen micro for 2 weeks, it was fine no problem, never had any problems with headphone jack. but i have had it only for 2 weeks, before i decided to return for a refund.

I was wondering why we really needed this thread .. i Think Creative and Us are pretty aware of the probs SOME people have been experiencing ...
Lets try to help each other not be whinging all the time if people have this prob its best to get an exchange .. whilst it is not ideal .. you expect teathing troubles and problems with some new items ... who hasn`t ever had something that needed to be sent back or exchanged ... Chill people Creative will see us all right.

Zen Micro - Headphone Jack Metal Reinforcement Pl

On 3/4, Cirrus wrote in response to a REALLY long thread about the headphone jack problem with the Zen Micro that it:
".... supposedly has been fixed in the newer Zen Micros by adding a metal reinforcement plate to the headphone jack." This according to a customer service person (I believe).

Based on reviews and looking at my options, I would already own a ZM if it wasn't for this apparent design flaw with the jack. But, with this new information about a reinforcement plate, I am again interested.

Does anybody know if the new units are available?

If so, is there any way for me to know, by looking at the box or at the unit itself, if I am getting a reinforced ZM?

I will most likely buy in person at a retail store so that I can check out the player before I buy it.

Thanks.

Read this thread. http://forums.creative.com/creativel...essage.id=3807

Zen Micro: Headphone jack (HE

My first and most major problem is with my headphone jack. I first noticed this problem when I was listening to my Zen on my headphones. It seems that if the jack is in one direction, it will only play certain tracks of whatever song I am listening to. It is annoying when I'm listening to a song, and I put my Zen on the counter to do whatever I'm doing that requires my two hands and 80% of my attention, and it does the one track thing.
My second problem is with freezing of my Zen micro. I have lately been experiencing some annoying freezes. This is mainly when I dock my Zen to my Dell to sync tracks. It just freezes. I then have to remove the battery, plug it into a charger, and do a bunch of other fun stuff. When I finally get it back to working order, I can't press the touchpad too fast, or it will freeze again, and I will have to go through the whole process again.
I'm going on vacation next week, and I want to take my Zen with me. These problems are so annoying, but I don't want to send my Zen to creative to have them service it. Anything I can do?

Perhaps this threat will help, there are over 000 replies, and some mods have responded to it too. Hope it helps you out a little:
http://forums.creative.com/creativelabs/board/message?board.id=dap&message.id=596&a#M596
(I know there's a lot to read, but try your best and post back with further questions)
EDIT: And regarding the freezing, do you have the latest firwmare? You can also try to go into recovery mode and try a disk cleanup.
Good luck!Message Edited by E0Delta on 08-4-2006 08:3 PM

Zen Micro Headphone jack, out of warre

Hi there
I have a zen micro that I got last year from someone, without a receipt. Recently I got the headphone jack problem that everyone has been getting. I emailed customer support about this and they emailed me back saying this:
"Based upon the age of your product, it appears that you are beyond our
complementary email and telephone support period as outlined below.
If it is verified to be a hardware issue, you may contact the Creative
Tutor support line below to check for the replacement cost or to request
a RMA for your product.
3. You are welcome to purchase a Creative Tutor session to receive
expert help and advice from a Technical Advisor by phone. Each Creative
Tutor session is only $2.99 and covers any one issue with which you
want assistance and lasts up to 30 minutes. You can purchase a Creative
Tutor session by calling -405-707-8777 Monday-Friday from 9AM to 6PM
Central Time."
Is this my only option? To spend money to call them withotu really even knowing what can be done about this?
Does Creative not help out people at all unfortunate enough to own a product that seems to have a manufacturing defect (based on the number of posts about this problem)
Please advise.
Thank you

i recently got my micro replaced at best buy after it had the headphone jack issue, and my new one is having the same problem. I'm pretty sure best buy gyped me though because they gave me a micro that was sitting out on a table like it was used or something. Since this was within the last 3 months am i able to mail my micro in to creative to get one of the new, hopefully fixed, ones for free? It's soooo frustrating because i love the micro but the stupid head phone jack just makes me want to strangle it.

Zen Micro headphone jack covered by limited warran

I was just wondering if a faulty headphone jack in my Zen Micro would be covered by the -year limited warranty, or is it going to cost me some cash to get creative to fix it's

its covered by the warranty.

Zen Micro Jack Socket troub

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for