Are you having Zune problems?

While some sporadic problems with any new device are to be expected, we've had a few reports of problems with the latest Zunes (and the latest Zune software) and thought we'd open thing up and see just how widespread they might be. The most prevalent problem, such as it is, is an issue with the DRM that is apparently preventing folks from downloading songs from the Zune Marketplace, even though it seems to have no such problem taking your MS points. On a related front, ZuneBoards' lpxxfaintxx has posted instructions for downgrading your Zune software and firmware (see below), although it's not clear if that'll do anything to fix the DRM problem. We've also had a report of the Zune 80's hard drive causing some interference over the headphone jack, although that appears to be even more limited. So, any Zune users out there suffering from some similar (or altogether different) problems?

Read - Zune.net, " Can't buy music on marketplace"
Read - Zune Boards, "How To: Downgrade Software and Firmware"

[Thanks to everyone who sent these in]

[buckwheat @ Jan 25th 2008 10:05AM]

My problem is in the software.(I think??) I edit the tune nemaes, albums, artists, etc., then the next time I open the software they are changed to "unknown" (about 30% or so) Is this a common problem. BTW, I have a Zune 30.

[LaJuan @ Jan 26th 2008 4:34PM]

when ever i connect my zune to my computer, it still says my zune device isn't connected. but it HAS to be connected because it charges whenever i connect it.

[Katherine @ Feb 1st 2008 4:58PM]

I bought a Zune 30GB on 28-Nov-07 for my son. Yesterday while both of us were listening to it, the screen cracked right in front of us. Calling your customer service line, is no help, they are rude, disrespectful and down right nasty to people. Warranty is good but not for this issue.(thats not good business practice) Zune should have a recall on this product. I am asking for my money back. If zune and Microsoft will not back their product then they will be reported to the consumer product safety commission and any other federal regulatory agency I can contact. The problem is so wide spread, that with common sense reasoning you would conclude the screen cracking is a maunfacturing issue, not a user issue.

[kevin @ Feb 3rd 2008 10:25PM]

my zune software on the computer randomly deletes songs that are not bad or anything
like i put a cd on there listened to it a few times
then the next day
the zune syncing randomly deletes it with out me telling it to
wtf???

[Geerebeer @ Feb 7th 2008 1:00PM]

I indeed hear the hard drive through my headphones of my 80GB Zune

[lauren @ Feb 18th 2008 12:59PM]

ok i got a 30g zune for my b-day....i have had it for about three months and i love it.... but i was in the middle of a song when the bottom of my screen said "The item is missing or can't be played" now none of my songs work!!! someone please help!!!!!

[game master @ Feb 18th 2008 8:42PM]

Has anyone had a problem with updating your zune and then the screen is all messed up and it just stays like that? Does anyone know how to fix it

[Jordan @ Feb 19th 2008 1:25AM]

In Response to John who had an issue with his zune not charging.
You have to plug your zune into the back USB Port. If there are any
secondary USB ports, they will not work. Only the main USB ports will
work.

[Misel @ Feb 25th 2008 11:50AM]

(I have Zune 80)
I have noticed that the screen backlight interferes with the radio when its on, and when it turns off, the reception clears up, but then I hear the hard drive static. This is annoying also because you need good reception for the RBDS function to work correctly. ARGH!
Other than that the audio when listening to music and videos is superb. I wish the radio was just as nice.

[Roger @ Mar 6th 2008 8:33PM]

I'm having problems with my Zune just cutting off while playing. It just stops..no reason... and most recently, I've experienced 'skipping' when playing back a cd I've synced with my Zune... Could this be a problem with the downloading part, or maybe just a bum Zune (which OF COURSE, I didn't get a warranty on! Grrr)

[Sco @ Apr 25th 2008 9:56AM]

I bought 2 8GB Zune 2s for my daughter and wife for XMas. Since then they have both been miserable! If they are not sitting the charging dock then they arbitrarily just power off in the middle of playing music. If you power it back on the battery is charged and the it plays fine for awhile and then it just powers off again. They have tirned into very expensive countertop music players. New software upgrades have not helped them. Anyone else had this problem?

[haleigh @ Mar 31st 2008 11:17PM]

my zune cuts off sometimes just to a black screen
and ive already tried to restart it and charge
it to make sure the battery wasnt dead but still
nothing i havent even had it for a month and its
already done this to me twice..
does anyone know what i should do?
or what might be wrong?

[sid @ Jul 1st 2008 11:25AM]

I'm having the same exact problem, I connected to see if it needs charging but it wont even do that, the all of a sudden turns on and works but then goes off and cant restarted, I have the older style 30GB zune that I purchased from a seller thru amazon.com and now I'm trying to get a refun since that thing just doenst work.

[himesh @ Mar 27th 2008 7:58PM]

i have a 4gb black zune and it is not working when i turn it i it is stuck on music and the pad is not working and it keeps turning on and off all the time

help me please

[Joe @ Mar 31st 2008 5:06AM]

My Zune suddenly won't come on. I was about to play it when it locked up on one of my regular podcasts. I shut it down, and now, it won't come on, and it won't reboot. HELP!

[Luismdoz @ Apr 3rd 2008 8:32PM]

I have a 80 gb zune and it works great, but i just bought a 4 gb for my sister, while i was doing the first zetup ((when it gets random songs from zune by itself)) it was updating and tough it was done and unplugged the device, when i don't suppose to, and now the computer doesn't detect the device, help!!!

[CADAVERGRINDER @ Apr 12th 2008 6:16AM]

WHY THE HELL did microsoft decide to cancel out with the equalizer its retarted that was the best part of the zune. they need to think of an update or something i need that acoustic eq back NOW!

[talha @ Apr 15th 2008 4:18AM]

I bought the new zune 80Gb and was listening to songs... It automatically rebooted itself and it restarts itself too...it always happens when i listen to songs.... PLEASE HELP!!!!!!

[Lia @ Apr 17th 2008 12:26PM]

My 8gb Zune backlight will NOT shutoff what do I need to do?

[Ryan @ Aug 4th 2008 5:33PM]

settings> display> backlight:(select your desired backlight time)

[Kelley @ Apr 18th 2008 3:54PM]

My 80GB zune just recently started taking off songs that I upload into it, and now whenever I turn it off it turns itself back on, and then the screen keeps lighting up and going dark, it wont stay off! i have no idea what to do or who to call or anything

[Ronald @ Apr 29th 2008 7:30PM]

I have an 80GB Zune that i bought for myself for a chirstmas present. I've had it for about 5 months and it works just fine. But now it suddenly wont charge! I tried rebooting it and connect it to the zune software again, the software recognizes that the zune is connected, but it will not charge. I tried rebooting it again and charging it through my 360. That doesn't work either. I don't know what to do now! Please help me!

[Jkaster @ May 7th 2008 5:26PM]

I just got my black 2nd gen 80g and synced some videos. but when i sync again later that day to load my music. the software removes the two videos from my zune. in fact he has done that alot just removing files that i didn't even tell it to remove. it makes no sense.

I told it that i wanted to choose my music to sync and took everything off auto but still it does the same thing!

[Dad @ Sep 10th 2008 1:33AM]

I'm having a problem with the Zune software not keeping tracks and art under the right album listing. With Media Player, I can at least correct listings, but ZUNE has no such provision, as far as I can see. I have some albums with 40 or 50 tracks, but others with only one or two. How do I delete all track and album info and let the software find it again, and will that help?

[sara @ May 31st 2008 10:40AM]

okay,

the 80 gigs arent that hard to find, you can go to any store pretty much that sells electronics.

my question is for my 30 gig zune....im trying to put songs on it and its telling me that i have no more space for songs but then i go to check and it says i have 29. what ever so i dont understand why i cant put any more songs on......

so can you guys help me out
PLEASE

[Pete @ Jul 6th 2008 11:42AM]

I got the 80gig a 6 days ago. Last night it started to buzz and click in the earbuds and then spontaneously rebooted. I've been looking through the web, and numerous sites are now talking about the harddrives on the 80s being highly susceptible to static electricity. The system has a built-in safeguard that reboots the unit when static is detected. Unfortunately there doesn't seem to correct the reboot problem once the static has been detected. I cannot get my player to go for more than 15 seconds before it reboots. Other symptoms are sluggishness in the touch sensor and non-responsiveness in the buttons. Later today I'm taking my unit back to Best Buy and getting a refund. Problem is being ignored by MicroSoft, who don't even acknowledge that it exists.

[David Fox @ Jul 8th 2008 12:35AM]

Hi I have had a Zune since about 4-5 days after they were released. The software at first was a mess. Zune had some updates and it was fine ever since the Zune team made those new updates. Just like 2 days ago I'm turning it on to add some files and I noticed that it is showing a strange new symbol that it never uses at all from what I can remember. The symbol is some type of power outlet plug thing. Anyway I took the USB cord out and replaced it a few times and continue to attempt to add the files. While in the process of syncing the new files to the Zune it just shuts down...!? I try again and again and so on. I still can not get the Zune to stay on during the syncing process I've taken the entire Zune software off my computer harddrive reinstalled it and tried the process again, still no luck. I uninstalled the portable drivers software for the computer and reinstalled it and no luck. Has the Zune gone A-wall again? Does anyone know what the hell is wrong with this thing?

[Jack Di Gennaro @ Aug 3rd 2008 12:52PM]

Zune 80 gb
in the middle of a song the zune locked up and does nor respond to any of the keys. The drive runs constantly. any ideas???

[Travis @ Aug 6th 2008 2:58PM]

BUYER BEWARE!!!!!!!!
Do not buy a ZUNE!!!!!
I got a 30GB zune for Christmas 2007. I liked the idea of more memory for less $$$$. I put about 100 songs on it and used it for about 1 week and it stopped working. Basically it would only turn on if it was plugged into the computer but as soon as I unplugged it, it would shut off. If I tried to turn it on it would flash "zune" on the screen and shut off. I contacted "support" and I ended up having to send it in to be "fixed. They sent me a refurbished one.....long story short....I used it this time ,after putting the software on a brand new laptop, for 4 days and it is back to the same problems.
So I get to send it in again and wait. I am sure that this will not be the last problem.......I wish I would have asked santa for an iPod :(

Save yourself the hassle.

[B33n @ Aug 15th 2008 8:11PM]

Some problems found with my Zune.

1. My PC won't recognize my device through sync cable after upgrading Vista to SP1
2. Wireless sync doesn't work (sometimes, after 1 month of use)
3. A silverish plastic plate fell apart from one of "Premium" earbuds after 1 month of use.

I think its because mine was early production. I am going to get a replacement soon. Still hell alot better than my old iCrap.

[TOM @ Aug 25th 2008 8:16PM]

Got zune 80 in dec.07 bought the three month pass . worked great, got all the music i wanted in those three months, so I canceled sub. Now I resigned up for another three months . and everything seemed to be going well, I started downloading some new music and thought it was working but on the download page it kept canceling the downloads///???? any ideas will be wellcomed

[Ashley @ Sep 20th 2008 1:32PM]

I have a problem.. I dropped my Zune in the bathtub... and it was not turning on.. I read to put it in a bowl of rice for a week to dehydrate it.. anyways i went to look at it the first night and it turned on.. but i put it back in the rice just to be safe. i checked it again later that night and it turned on but it was frozen.. then a screen popped up that said "contact support".???? and then i went to plug it into my computer and it was "malformed usb" is there anything i can do to help this???!!!!

please and thankyou! (:

[zeroChan @ Sep 24th 2008 2:40AM]

need a little help. when i connect my zune and software is running, it usually freezes up my comp. any fixes to this?

[kraig @ Sep 24th 2008 3:08PM]

i have put a video on my zune and now it wont even power on let alone play the acctual movie...what should i do?

[Brittany @ Sep 29th 2008 5:17PM]

has anyone had probs getting theirs to charge....i plug mine in and the comp wont detect it and it wont charge. im getting super frustrated and thinking i should have just stuck with my i-pod. Any suggestions??

[scotty @ Oct 1st 2008 1:28AM]

around my last birthday, november 07, i starting lookin around at mp3 players. since zune seemed to have the best deal for the hard drive size (30g) i decided to go with it. my parents ordered it from amazon, refurbished by another user.

naturally, the second i got it, i started syncing every piece of music i could into the player. but when i played the tracks, there was no audio. the track sequence was showing that the song was playing, but i couldnt hear a thing. i tried the radio, which amazingly worked, but i was still extremely confused and irked.

i contacted zune support twice, but they just told me that i was plugging my headphones in wrong or that all my music HAS to be bought from the marketplace.

could somebody help me out, im considering just trying to sync it through WMP instead of their software.

[donna @ Oct 15th 2008 5:17PM]

Help !! Zune will not download podcasts anymore, it worked fine until about a month ago and since then no podcasts will download from my collection to the device. I get a yellow circle symbol. Just downloaded games so I know it can see the internet connection PLEASE PLEASE HELP I HAVE SPEND DAYS TRYING TO SORT THIS OUT

[kz @ Oct 22nd 2008 8:00PM]

Okay i have a zune, and i love it , but when i put new songs on it, they get put on like 7 times. and I've tried to delete them and take them off, but it never works.

[jake @ Nov 13th 2008 5:00PM]

i have a problem i updated my zune and everything was goin good i was lovin like and the all of a god damn sudden it freezes but that was fine its done that before so i reset it and now it turns on it loads then the screen is just blank i cant see shitt help mee wat do i do o make this thing work

[Cait @ Nov 15th 2008 2:32PM]

I've been trying to install my Zune onto my macbook pro through Parallel windows virtual machine. XP works fine, but the zune software still wont recognize my zune as being connected. It charges though...so it must be connected. I know some people have has success with this.

I'm pretty baffled as to why it's not connecting, if anyone knows hit me up. WIndows is fully installed so it's not an issue of it being a Macintosh.

[ronna @ Dec 1st 2008 10:41AM]

Al;l the songs on my Zune are gone exceopt the pre loaded Zune gems.
Help

[Eleventy @ Dec 2nd 2008 10:10PM]

one of the solutions is remembering to eject the zune device from your computer

if Windows XP bottom right screen right click on little picture and "safely remove hardware" comes out click on "stop" and wait until it say that it is ok to take out your device, but dont take it out as soon at it says that just wait a few seconds so that your zune wont mess up

[cabalofone @ Dec 22nd 2008 2:43AM]

i have a 30 gig zune and have not done the latest update because on the past two updates, each one seemed to make things even worse. the software has tons of problems and is not easy to use or edit. the interface is just fine, and the features (picture, FM, playlist, video, buttons, housing,) are all as good as anything else i've used.

my biggest problem from the start was getting zune to recognize and organize my songs correctly. i followed all kinds of different instruction on the zune boards about how to re-label and add metadata correctly etc. etc. i've tried everything recommended and some songs and records will not be recognized by the zune no matter what-- even though my computer and other media players i use have no problem understanding the way i've labeled and grouped songs and albums.

zune seems intent on using its own program to un-do all the data editing i try to do to keep songs together. it searches for album art and tacks on images from albums that sometimes share one word from the title of the album i'm playing, and sometimes are totally unrelated. i listen to a lot of independent music on small labels and it's the worst with stuff like that.

but i don't care how it looks-- my biggest issue is that the zune has a horrible and persistent problem with splitting up albums and putting them into separate random folders. i'll have complete albums together, will load them onto the zune, and it will pull half of them out and send them to an "unknown artist, unknown album" folder, while keeping 2-5 songs in the correct folder. even worse, sometimes it sends some of the songs to the unknown artist folder, and some of the songs to the "various artists" folder, and keeps some of the songs in the right place. and to make matters more infuriating, there are tons of records where the zune will take JUST THE FIRST TRACK away from the album and throw it in a random folder.

this would be bad enough, except that the zune also doesn't respond to the settings i've specified in the software. i have repeatedly set the thing to only sync manually when i tell it to-- and despite that, it starts an automatic sync EVERY TIME i plug it in to charge it on my computer.

and the unforgiveable part: the zune has deleted a number of my songs completely off my computer. i don't even know how. i have the zune set to monitor the folder where i keep my music on my computer. and a number of songs have completely disappeared from their folders on the computer-- not just the zune collection, not just the zune's harddrive, but out of the places that i originally put them and they're not to be found anywhere on the computer when i search. i first noticed this when the zune stopped playing the first track of neil young's "on the beach" record. i had listened to this album many times on the zune without problems when i first got it. after i updated the zune to version 2.5 or whatever i didn't listen to it for a while, but when i did it didn't have the first song anymore. i figured it was doing the dreaded 'move the first track to the V/A folder' trick, but it wasn't there, nor was it in unknown artist. on a few occasions when i've synced the zune it has removed tracks without my permission, and then i was able to manually sync them and drag them back onto the zune. so when i went back to my harddrive to try that, i noticed that the track was totally deleted. i then started looking around and found this to be the case with at least a dozen other songs.

what's infuriating about this, beyond the obvious, is that i have the legal rights to all my music, and i buy the albums, and physically rip them onto the zune using the zune software or importing them with WMP. i've owned that neil young record for years, on vinyl, and i borrowed a friend's CD copy to rip the MP3's to the zune. now that that song is deleted from my computer totally i'll either have to borrow the CD again to get it, or hook up my record player to the computer and re-do the whole thing. the vast majority of songs i have on my zune i put on by putting the cds in the drive and ripping them one by one. i started using the zune's own software to do this because i was having so many problems with the metadata using other preferred ripping methods, but it hasn't helped in all cases.

the whole reason i switched to manual sync instead of automatic is because every time i sync the zune it seems to take songs away randomly, rather than adding anything. it scares me every time i notice the player syncing because i have to wonder what i'm going to lose now. sometimes it will take things away, and couple of days later if i sync again, the songs will come back. whatever the problem is, microsoft obviously has MAJOR MAJOR problems telling its device how to differentiate between songs the user/player doesn't have the rights to download and play illegally, and songs you don't even have the right to put onto your MP3 player. it seems like the general attitude is that if you're playing MP3s you've stolen them. to go so far as to have the player somehow delete files from my harddrive is completely invasive and i would assume illegal, just like the spyware that Sony CDs were installing on people's computers any time they played a CD on their computer a few years ago.

i may be behind the times but i haven't downloaded a song since the original Napster went down. i prefer to own physical albums anyway, and these problems are some of the main reasons. i can't figure why people pay as much as they would for a record, to download crappy sounding MP3s, only to be unable to play them half the time, or to risk losing them anytime they have a flub with their player's software or they change devices, or who knows, the favorite format changes again in a couple of years from MP3 to something else. iTunes and other software all have their own glitches, but the zune seems to be the absolute worst i've encountered.

why can't someone just make a simple, straightforward media player that works like a portable harddrive and doesn't impose all its own stupid assumptions about DRM and who has the right to listen to what music on what device? the record industry and software industry are never going to find a reasonable way to regulate and control what every one of their customers does, how they do it, how they listen to music and where they get it. being able to bring a whole library of music with you on one device is incredibly convenient, but sometimes the problems make me so mad i don't even want to look at the thing.

FWIW i hope that someone's putting together a class-action suit against microsoft for all the money the zune seems to currently be stealing from people given all the reports people have of zune marketplace taking their credits but not giving them songs.

[dylan @ Dec 28th 2008 11:22PM]

my zune's backlight won't come on. i've already checked the settings...it won't come one whatever i do. is this common? and how would i fix this?

[QofDeath @ Dec 31st 2008 8:59AM]

I really like the zune better than i-pods, when it works, it's just wonderful. But I've been through 3 already with the same problem, after about 5 months the batteries just sort of crap out and I had to send the things back. But today I'm having a completely different problem. I went to sync some new stuff to my zune, my zune was off, I plug it in and the loading screen pops up and......................... It just won't go away. I can't reboot it in anyway, and letting it die and then trying again dosent seem to help either. Is it time to go get zune number 4?

[Allison @ Dec 31st 2008 5:25PM]

same problem here.. happened just this morning..

[Allison @ Dec 31st 2008 5:20PM]

Three problems --

Only my right earbud will play music..

My computer will not detect my Zune -- I've tried everything to fix this..

And just today -- New problem: On my zune's screen it says: 'ZUNE.' With the zune symbol above it and a long, skinny, white bar on the bottom of the screen and no matter what I do to make it go away, it won't..

I let it run all the way out of battery -- That was the only way to get rid of the screen, but when I charged it, it came back.

Anyone else have any of these problems who know how to fix them?

[badboy593 @ Jan 2nd 2009 10:38PM]

I just got my Zune (8GB) for xmas and this morning when i tried to turn it on it wouldn't come on! I don't know what's wrong with it. I havent dropped it and it hasnt been exposed to liquid.

[Mary Taylor @ Jan 4th 2009 5:37PM]

I have a 30GB Zune and it is my life!! I am a singer, and this is how I learn and memorize my songs!! I LIVE on my Zune. Unfortunatly, for some reason, my computer does not acknowledges my Zune... ever since like October... and with new songs coming at me, I can not put any of them on my Zune, anyone know what to do!!!??? HELP PLEASE!!!

[P. Ese @ Jan 12th 2009 2:01PM]

Just upgraded from 30GB to 120GB and the Radio option is terrible, most of the location reception is awful.
How can I fix this problem?
Do I have a damage product?