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?

Similar Messages

New Zen Micros and the headphone jack prob

I unfortunately had one of the zen micros with the headphone jack that ceased to work. Has this flaw been fixed in the new ones?

SSR wrote:
The charge is likely to be expensi've, but as this is the second time it's failed and as the warranty has just ended try pursuing a repair under warranty with support.
repair under warranty with support? how do i go about? im located in Singapore, any website or support number to call for Singapore side? thanks.

My Zen Micro story: Busted Headphone Jack, Need Adv

First of all, I'd like to apologize beforehand for posting a topic on the headphone jack problem. I've been visiting these forums for almost two months and by now you're all probably tired of hearing about the Zen Micro's headphone jack, yada yada yada. But with that over, here's the story of my Zen Micro experience.
I got it about two months ago from Fry's Electronics. Silver 5 GB, not bad. I was really happy using it until I stumbled upon this discussion board and realized the extent of this headphone jack problem. So being the dumb "who-needs-tech-support" kinda guy I am, I opened up my Zen on the third day of having it, breaking the warranty seal in the process (big mistake). I 'fixed' the headphone jack problem by sticking a little piece of folded up paper in the metal plate holding down the jack, hoping that by doing it early the problem would never come up.
Well, two months go by and by now I've opened it again a few times just for fun, and to 'check' on the headphone jack to see if my fix did any good. Well, three days ago, I decided to open it up again and document the steps with pictures. Everything went fine, though I lost one of the two top screws in the top that you must unscrew before opening the player. Oh well, no biggie, I thought, I could always get some more at the Home Depot or something.
So that night I plug in my headphones to listen to music, and to my utter horror, the sound only comes out of one side of the headphones. I'm not sure if this is because of ) the missing screw, 2) something I did wrong while taking it apart, or 3) just the problem finally randomly surfacing like in most cases. This is when I tell myself, "Crap, you really did it now. There goes $200." I frantically open it up again and stick another piece of paper between the plate and the jack and screw that plate in really, really, tightly. I am a little relieved to find that the sound is back in both sides, though if I push hard on the headphone connector a certain way the sound will disappear in the right side.
After thinking about it, I decided that the only way to go was to get a replacement. I had read a tutorial on how to fix the headphone jack problem using epoxy and paper, only to have the maker of that tutorial report that the headphone jack problem had happened anyway (a month later). He also mentioned that even with a busted warranty, he had managed to get a replacement Zen Micro free of charge. This gave me hope.
At any rate, I fired off an RMA request on Creative's site just to see what they would say. I admitted that the warranty seal was busted. They emailed back an obviously pre-written response that gave me vague instructions on how to ship my Zen for a replacement. My questions are the following:
) What are the implications of my broken warranty? Is there any way I can receive a replacement without buying a whole new one? I really like my Zen Micro, as I'm sure many of you do too.
2) Have any of you guys had a similar experience with RMAing? How does the whole thing work?
3) The only person I have ever heard of with a Zen Micro lasting more than 6 months without the headphone jack problem coming up is Jeremy, one of the moderators here. The jack problem IS a general design flaw, isn't it's What should I say if Creative blames the headphone jack problem on 'abuse' or something like that? Should I let them charge me for fixing it, etc.
Thank you all, so much. I know that was a lot to read, but I have been so happy with my Zen Micro up until this point that I really want this to end well. You guys have been a great help to me these last two months already. I appreciate it a lot. -Willy CMessage Edited by beefqube on 0-22-2005 08:22 AM

Did you find out how much it would cost because of the void warranty?
If you do want to lie to them, you are on your own in this issue.
You can do what one guy suggested on buying a new micro and returning your old one. Which is wrong ethically and morally.
If you have experience in soldering or know someone that can do so might be helpful. There should be some threads about soldering it back to normal.
Well if this my situations I really don't know what to do. Since if I do send it to Creative and that my warranty is still in effet, I still have to pay $25 and my own shipping/handling charges. It would only be replaced and I don't believe they actually repair it. That $25 goes to labor cost, which is something I don't understand when they give you a replacement, where is the labor in that?
But if I did lose my warranty and Creative won't take it or would charge me more than $25+. Then I would solder them myself. I just need to find out where to begin. Maybe I should find broken headphone jack Micros on ebay and see if I could fix them.

9 month old Zen Micro with the headphone jack problem

So, I've been putting up with the headphone jack problem for a few months now, and i've finally decided to get it repaired or fixed. I emailed Creative a few months back and they told me to send it in. My question is, since I am out of warranty, will they repair the unit or send me a whole new one all together?
thanks,
mike

Actually, I just sent in my 7-month old Micro in b/c of the headphone jack problem and they sent me a brand new shrink-wrapped one. They didn't charge me for anything. All I had to do was wait 2 weeks for them to send it back to me (grueling but doable) and pay about 2.44 for shipping the micro to them. So now I'd have three batteries if it weren't for the fact that one of them swelled up; I have NO IDEA how that happened. So yeah I guess the point of the post is that you don't get charged anything even if you're out of the 90-day labor warranty.

Does the Zen Micro Photo 8GB have Jack Stick proble

As my title says, does the Zen Micro Photo 8GB have Jack Stick problems?
Some claims that Creative fixed this issue, and some claims that it still exists, does some of you have experienced problems with the ZMP?

Since there is no definiti've answer from Creative regarding this issue, I plan in the interim to keep my headphones plugged in as much as possible. My long term solution is to purchase (for approx $5.00) a 3.5 mm male/female headphone jack and use it as the sacrificial phone jack. This way I can remove my phones as much as I like. I am not going to take the chance. I think the long term solution is the way to go even if they fixed this problem. Over time the phone jack is going to loose some connectivity due to repetiti've use. This in turn creates an annoying audible noise picked up by your headphones. Just a thought.

I-Trigue 3400 Zen Micro Matching Colors??

Does anyone know when the Zen Micro matching colors of the I-trigue 3400 speakers will be out? They have been shown on CES.. Any release date?
Thanks

Gijsdvm,
I don't have a release date yet for those speakers. I will keep people updated if I receive any release dates for this product.
Jeremy

Headphone jack issue solved... ma

I am on my second zen micro, and guess what? Headphone jack! I was preparing to return it to my local retailer when the ups guy came with my wired remote that I had ordered when I was on my first micro. I decided to try it out just for the hell of it and headphone jack! But wait a minute, what are the odds that the jack on the remote would be defecti've in exactly the same way as the unit itself? Does Malaysia and its many, many solderers have an irrational hatred of headphone jack circuitry no matter what the device? Turns out (at least in my case) no. This is a headphone issue, folks, not a headphone jack issue. What is counter-intuiti've about this is that we all know what headphones do when they fail: either the left or right earbud goes out intermittently in crackly fashion when the wire just above the plug is disturbed, or sometimes just below the earbud itself?the usual wear points. But this failure is different, is it not? There are no crackles. Instead, one channel (not earbud) will fail. In other words, the left channel, for example, will come through both earbuds, so that if you are listening to a Beatles song, you will hear John, Ringo and George playing away, but not Paul singing. But since Paul comes and goes when you wiggle the base of the headphones back and forth in the jack, the assumption is is that the jack is wiggling loose of its contact points. But what really seems to be happening is that an ill-fitting headphone male is wobbling around in its female jack counterpart. I tried two different headphones and was unable to reproduce this failure, while I heard the problem instantly when I plugged my creative headphones into my home stereo.
This brings me back to creative. If I am right, Creative may have dodged a bullet, or maybe the knew this all along and saw fit not to tell us, as is their way. I did, however, purchase a unit that includes headphones? that don?t work. What if instead of me sending back a second unit, I send you a pair of broken headphones and you send me a pair of non-Creative headphones? Or a coupon for something another pair of headphones? Sounds like a win-win, as they say.

I fail to see how it would be in Creative's interest to not replace a pair of headphones rather than an entire player.Message Edited by SSR on 07-8-2005 02:06 PM

How long did you have the micro for without headphones jack proble

Well i just wanna see the numbers. Perhaps the issue is inflated since people who do not have the problem stay silent and are out-voiced by the (understandably) angry mob of those who do. This would also give me an idea of how likely i am to have to go September without an mp3 player (Based on the three month product-life estimate)

I got my Zen Micro at the end of January.
First of all I am NOT suggesting that people haven't had valid problems with their ZM's but for what it's worth..................
I haven't had any problems with the headphone jack, however that may be because i take the headphone out of the socket after each use so it doesn't get bent etc. when put in a bag or pocket etc.
I use it a lot on planes trains and in the Gym.
Some people have said "really you take the headphone out after listening - oh thats such a big deal"
but it isn't - unless you're 2 years old and it's the only thing on your mind.

Saving Battery Power on Zen Micro(Origina

Well my original battery on my zen micro is giving my zen micro issues. Usually after about 5 minutes the battery begins to die and everything just freezes. So I've gotten a new battery everything is fine now. HOWEVER! My sister bought her Zen Micro the same time I bought mine but her battery is working fine as ever. Why is that? Isn't there a way to conserve my battery power? Aside from upgrading to the latest firmware? (NOTE: The last time I was on the Creative Boards, the firmware that gave the Zen Micro a 4 hr [around that] sleep mode). Usually, once my zen micro is done charging, it turns off by itself and I just leave it plugged it until the next time I use it. Does this affect the battery in any way? If so, would it be recommended that everytime I finish charging and using the zen micro that I take off the battery? I rarely use it, just when I go out so....yeah...respond back when you can, thanks.

Umbrella_SWAT wrote:
Creative, it's been a few days now... I really would like to get this question answered please...
As the (red) announcement at the top of each board says, this forum is not for support, it is for user interaction. We reply to threads when we can, but it should not be expected, the forum is here so people can interact with eachother (share tips, help eachother, talk about products, and so on).
Could be your battery was failing, or if you left it without charging for long periods (stored). If you leave it charging but don't unplug it right away when it's charged it should be fine, but do you mean you're leaving it for days/weeks (plugged in) before you use it again?
Cat

Zen Micro - What color did you buy? W

I got a silver one - because it was the last one left in stock...
But if i had a choice of all 0 colors in stock I would have bought a red one - cuz it would just be so different from most mp3 players out there.
How bout you?

I have the silver zen micro and this was the only color that was available in retail stores in canada ! But the silver is nice. It matches well with the white base and i needed a change from all the white i see on ipods.

Creative Zen Micro(Original) Firmwar

Alright, well I've had this product for about 2-3 years now. It's worked until this point, I wanted to erase everything off of it. So I went into recovery mode. I accidently select reload firmware and now it's messed up. I've been looking around trying to download the firmware and putting it on there again. But, I open up the firmware upgrade. All it gives me "Your player is not connected, please connect your player". It is connected, just charging. I lost my cd. Don't know how to connect the player to my computer. Help?

PhoniexBoy wrote:
The same thing happened to me, except my songs were starting to mess up and so went to the Creative thing for the Zen and reformatted my Zen micro photo 8 g. Well after that the zen froze up at the Creative logo, so i tried formatting again from the recovery menu, and it didnt do anything, after that I realized i hadnt updated my firmware since i got in in like 2006, and that may be the problem. If you know of anything to help, your kindness would be gratefully appreciated.
Does your computer recognize the player? Have you got it to go beyond the Creative screen. Did you do cleanup >reboot after formatting player. If not then do that. Don't even think about firmware update until the computer will recognize it. Firmware update for the player can ONLY be done a computer running Xp with WMP0. Your hardri've may be failing so firmware update won't help that. If the player won't finish the scan disk & rebuilding library after the cleanup >reboot then it's a clear sign of failing or failed hardri've.

Zen Micro - headphone jack & firmware quest

. my headphone jack is seriously wiggling, producing that static-ky sound that often only comes through one channel. and apparently, many others have the same problem. i am thinking about sending it back to creative for an exchange, but would it be worth it's and how long would that take? in the meanwhile, i have inserted a thin-but-thick-enough slice of plastic so the jack won't jiggle. and it works fine now, but i don't know if i want my micro like this forever.
2. i want to uninstall the playforsure firmware for wmp0 so that i can just use the original interface, but is the only way to do that (and keep my songs in there) to install ANOTHER download that enables me to use both the original and the upgrade?
thanx

I recently got a replacement Zen Micro after the headphone jack went on the first one (had to be wiggled to get proper sound...like a contact problem). Anyway, today I got the replacement and it's got a completely different facia on it so I don't if it's a newer revision that may have the headphone jack sorted too. To describe it's got bigger symbols on the touch pad. The back button is now simply an arrow instead of an arrow saying "back" and the menu button features an arrow pointing down instead of at a north-east angle.
I returned mine to Amazon and they had the replacement to me within 5 days. They send it straight away and you don't have to wait for them to recieve the old one first. But then it'll depend where you bought it.

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.

Cure to the Zen Micro headphone ja

[url="http://www.noboundrees.com/Micro_Fix/">
Zen Micro Audio Jack Fix[/url]
I haven't tried this yet, so use procautions. If anyone knows if this is legit, please give a reply.

Yes, I did and it works!
Got a Zen Micro with a headphone jack problem? I fixed mine very easily. This could also help with other models too. Here?s how:
Note: disassembling your unit will void any remaining warrantee.
Problem: The headphone jack solder joints get cracked from the prying force of the headphone plug. This force could be especially severe if you carry your player in your pocket and you?re not careful. It is an engineering problem but unfortuanately hard to prevent on any pocket device due to the design of the industry standard mini-phono headphone plug exerting prying force on the jack.
You?ll need a tiny Phillips screwdriver, a small pocket knife or small flat screwdriver, a fine soldering iron and some rosin-core solder, and a hot-melt glue gun.
Begin by sliding the on/off/lock switch to the locked position. Pry up the plastic jack face plate cover. It?s just stuck on with glue. You can replace it again when finished. This exposes two tiny Phillips-head screws. Remove them.
Slide the battery cover door off. Remove the battery. You?ll notice a metal plate under the battery that serves among other things, to secure the white plastic back cover to the main chassis of the player, and that the metal plate has two tabs that are inserted into slots at the top by the three gold battery contacts. Using your fingernail, slide the metal plate downward away from the battery contacts end. This will disengage the chassis from the back cover.
Use a small screwdriver to gently pry the bottom of the case out away from the chassis. This disengages a catch holding the chassis to the body. With the bottom of the case pried out, press on the metal plate down a the bottom at the small white circular Creative Labs warrantee seal to swing the chassis out from the white plastic back cover. Gently remove it all the way and set the player chassis aside in a safe place.
You?ll notice a small circuit board with the jacks and switch in the top of the back cover. It is held to the cover by two tiny Phillips-head screws. Remove them. Remove the circuit board from the back cover. The screws also hold a small metal cover over the jacks. Remove it.
Carefull remove the existing hot-melt glue from the factory. Take special care not to knick anything with your knife and don?t simply rip the hot melt off, but carefully cut and/or peel it off gently so as not to damage anything.
Notice 4 leads from the headphone jack are soldered onto the circuit board. If you look closely you?ll probably see that one or more are loose. It's usually the top right one between the headphone and USB jacks. * Solder them again, using more solder than was previously used, but don?t put too much on the top left one as it could come into contact with the little metal jack cover when it is replaced. Solder the 4 USB jack leads (outer cover ones) and the 4 on/off/lock switch leads while you?re at it. Replace the small metal cover to make sure the solder joints for the headphone jack don't come into contact with it.
Now you?ll want to secure the jacks so that the newly repaired solder joints are not stressed and broken again... but TEST THE REPAIR NOW before glueing. Apply a generous amount of hot-melt adhesi've to the sides, backs and tops of the jacks and IMMEDIATELY replace the small metal cover pressing it quickly down until the mounting holes align. Very carfully remove any excess, taking extreme care not to knick anything.
Replace the circuit board into the back cover and replace the screws. Pay special attention to the fit. Make sure any extra hot-melt you may have missed removing isn?t interfering with the fit.
Carefully reassemble the chassis into the back cover, paying special attention to properly align and connect the two socket connectors on either side of the boards, and pressing firmly to ensure proper connectivity. Check the fit. Make sure the top of the display face is exactly aligned flush with the cover when reassembled. Check all the edges of the front face to ensure they are all aligned flush with their corresponding sides of the back cover.
Replace the small screws on the top by the jacks that attach the back cover to the chassis.
Replace the stick-on plastic top-end face plate. Slide the metal plate in the battery compartment back up into the locked position. Make sure the 4 tabs on the sides of the plate lock over the corresponding tabs in the sides of the back cover (you can see through 4 holes in the sides)
Replace the battery and battery cover. Turn the power on. If successful, have a listen. You should hear both sides of the audio while wiggling the headphone plug.
It?s too bad you have to go through this but your Zen Micro is definitely worth the effort to fix, which you will agree having done it, is easier than it seemed like it would be. You shouldn?t have to do it again, but with the hot-melt for adhesi've, you can, using a little heat.
* Alternately you can use epoxy cement instead of hotmelt. I personally perefer this method but you have to be competent at electronics rework technicques, in particular, de-soldering of the jack. If you're not comfortable with this then just use the hot-melt. You'll need to de-solder the four jack leads from the circuit board pads and remove the jack. Make sure the leads are straight. Dry-fit the jack to make sure the leads aren't bent from the removal process and dry-test on the pcb to make sure the leads line up with the pads. Mix a pea-sized blob of epoxy cement and apply some on the bottom of the jack, but not enough that it will squish out and interfere with the cover, and position it back on the pcb. Place the jack on the board and line up the leads again on the pads. Re-solder the leads, replace the metal cover, and screw down the cover right away. (don't over-tighten) Reassemble and enjoy.

The headphone jack desease has cought me too

Well after like 2 months of having my zen micro.. the headphone jack is screwing up on me... sound shuts off.. i hear only the backround of the songs.. sometimes i hear the music in mono.. i dont know what to do i cant even listen to my music any more cuz it keeps messing up when its in my pocket or just sitting...
what should i do? i bought it strait from creative.
thanks

Me and my roomate both have Zen Micros, bought around when they first came out, so they were probaly some of the first models. His jack went out after about a month, mine lasted 2. We both sent them in with little hassle and got replacements promptly. But he has had the replacement for less than a month and the jack is starting to get screwy again, leading me to believe that they have not fixed an obvious manufacturing flaw but are just sending out replacements. The warranty on my player just ran out, but you can bet your ass if the headphone jack gives out again I will not be paying for it to get fixed. I think it's ridiculous that a company with such a good reputation wouldn't take proper action against a flaw like this and issue some form of recall or extended warranty for the problem. Happy for now, even though i do have to re-transfer all my files.Message Edited by Velvetunder66 on 05-4-2005 :46 PM

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

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