Fed Up, Regret Buying This.

[michaelnagle]

After half a year I've had enough. I would put this thing on ebay but honesty would compel me to warn buyers that it simply doesn't work very well.

For half a year I've been wrestling with a 6gb H10. Initially everything was fine. Then, after a few weeks, all the mp3 tags disappeared, and music could only be accessed through the browser. I went to the iriver site, updated the firmware, and reloaded all my music. For a week or two everything was once again fine and I thought I'd nailed it. Life seemed peachy. Then the exact same thing happened. Then it told me system files were missing. So now, once again I have uploaded the firmware, fixed the problem, and reloaded all my music. Within days, the problem has returned: tags misplaced, tracks suddenly listed with Japanese text, tracks missing, tracks duplicated sometimes two or three times while others simply disappear.

Why should I pay money for a product that goes wrong this frequently? Why should I have to reload the firmware every few weeks? Why are there so many other people on these forums complaining about problems? No other piece of technology I own has caused me so much aggravation.

I am trying for one final time to reinstall the firmware and reload my music. If it doesn't work I am taking a hammer to the stupid machine. Problem is, every time I run the firmware installer it is asking me to make sure my H10 is connected and powered on - which it is! It is recognising the computer, and is listed on My Computer as a removable storage device. Even the emergency connect procedure - while seeming to run successfully - is not making the stupid firmware updater recognise the H10. My computer recognises it, so why doesn't the firmware updater exe?

Basically, unless anyone out there has any solutions that will get this thing to perform the simple task it was designed for (storing and playing music - it's not exactly rocket science is it!) then I have to say that this product is a waste of money, and an expensive one at that.

Please folks - I don't want to go ipod, I really don't. But this thing is getting under my skin in a big way.

I want to love my iriver! Any help truly appreciated.

[shadesbass]

Sorry to hear you're having problems with your H10. I'm afraid I cannot help you as I don't own an H10, but I'm sure someone will be along to help you soon.

I just wanted to comment on your remark

Why are there so many other people on these forums complaining about problems?

Most people who post here are in a similar situation to you - they have a problem with their player. Hardly anybody will post a thread saying how much they like their player because it never goes wrong. It therefore follows that there will be many more "please help me" threads than "I love my player" threads. This is the same for any piece of complex electronic equipment with a forum - I haven't checked out any iPod forums but there will be a similar ratio of people complaining about problems with their iPod. The same goes for all other brands and models.

You are correct on the other points though - you shouldn't have to pay money for a product that frequently goes wrong or have to reload the firmware every few weeks. That is why these forums were set up - to help with problems like yours, because frankly, a majority of large companies suck at customer service.
I tried to return a broken minidisk player to Sharp once (within my warranty period) - their CS was diabolical, but the minidisk player was great when it worked.

Is your player still under warranty? If you can get hold of them (iRiver can be a little difficult to contact - see above comment regarding CS of large companies. Best to phone them rather than email IIRC), they may be able to replace it with a non-faulty one for free.

[BBD]

If you do contact them by phone, be ready for a long wait, up to an hour, IIRC (unless they've gotten better). Once you actually get through, though, Iriver is usually very good about standing behind the product.

[michaelnagle]

Thanks for the advice - Does anyone have a number for i-river customer services UK? BBD - You have a beautiful Bush

[BBD]

Aw, shucks....

[druidfire217]

Actually, most of what you have problems with can be solved using EasyH10. It will put all your music back into the Music section (as somehow your database keeps not getting updated).

[michaelnagle]

I'll try EasyH10 then - and get back to you if I have further problems - or if it's too complicated for me, which is a possibility....

Cheers.

[michaelnagle]

Easy H10 - I'm trying it - but to be honest it's beating me. I've followed the instructions as far as I can, but I still can't work out what if anything the programme is doing. My music is still available (minus tags) in the browser. The Music menu tab is still showing nothing.

Does anyone have a decent hammer they could recommend?

Is there a basic step-by-step guide to using EasyH10 anywhere?

[cheetah65]

are you connecting in emergency connection mode? that seems to be your problem from what i understand.

[michaelnagle]

I am connecting in emergency connect mode, no problem. That's all working fine, and my computer is then recognising the H10 as a removable storage device. But for some reason even with Easy H10 my music is only appearing in the Browser folder. Nothing at all in Music.

Basically, it shouldn't be this complicated. I'm sick of it. I'm tearing my hair out.

[devyanks90]

http://easyh10.sourceforge.net/tutorial.html - EasyH10 tutorial

[druidfire217]

Are you sure you have the right firmware selected?

[michaelnagle]

Yes, I have the right firmware selected. It's happened again today - loaded all my music up again last night and it was all present and correct this morning, sounding great. Stopped for a couple of hours, then when I went to use the thing again, tracks would make as if to start, but the timer would say the track was zero seconds long, and nothing would move, no music play. Switching to browser mode, half the music I had put on last night has disappeared - including things that I had been listening to without problems this morning.

The it got stuck in database refresh, I removed the battery, and the clock symbol is all I get, ticking away for minute after minute, when I try to turn the thing on.

Are Sony mp3 players any good? I really am determined not to go ipod, but I'm never buying another iriver product after this experience...

[devyanks90]

do not buy sony, their software, Sonicstage, is horrible. try going with a Sandisk e280

[BBD]

I bought the sansa e260 for the boy and he treats it like a tank...badly.... Still, it's taken every abuse he's thrown at it (not actual abuse, but carelessness of an 11 y/o) and the machine runs flawlessly. No need for software (drag-n-drop), so that irritation will be gone. I can recommend it.

[BiGRED84]

rockbox anyone?

[michaelnagle]

Thanks for the recommendations everyone - I'm sorry I've been unable to get the iriver to work as it should, but I appreciate your efforts and advice

[skunkride]

Sorry to be no help here but just wanted to say i feel the same - my 5GB H10 (which cost about $240) is probably the worse piece of electronic gear i ever had in my possesion. I just can't understand how it passed the beta stage, just problem after problem, i find this device is almost unusable. A real shame really.

[caramelsoul]

Why not give Rockbox a try then.

[Scott41]

I just bought the H10 (20g) last week - I know, not the same - but I loaded Rockbox on it over the weekend and it really is mighty nice with a lot of great features (video!). I am very happy with the whole deal. Like "carmelsoul" said, maybe give Rockbox a try.

[tinygreendogs]

Hi..for what it's woth - I have gotten addicted to these things!!! (I have 3 - H10's & love them!! I had a lot of trouble getting them to work at first, but it was me, not the player. Maybe the previous poster should give it to a kid to get it running for her That's what I do, anyway!

[MustNotSleep]

I like the "get rockbox" suggestion. My buddy has a 20GB h10 that has gotten progressivley worse since he purchased it. Eventually, even after formatting, re-installing everything, etc... it stopped booting the original firmware completely. So I threw rockbox on it. Although it still has some issues (as his player definately has hardware issues) they are less frequent and far less severe. Rockbox made was the happy ending to his tragic story (happy in the sense: "I was the only survivor in a horrific car crash... thank God! But they had to remove both legs and three fingers." That kind of happy) and he is even happy with his h10, which, unfortunately, still suffers from occasionally random missing songs. Oh well.

[IriverGuru]

This will fix 90% of the problems w/ locking or freezing.

This is equivalent of performing a DEFRAG on ones computer HD.


To resolve the issue with your audio file information not displaying properly on your H10 player, please follow the steps below:

1) From the main menu of your player, access the "Settings" menu.

2) Choose "Extra". Scroll to and select "DB Refresh".

3) You will be asked, "Are you sure?" Highlight "yes" and press the Select button.

4) You will then see a clock in the center of the screen for a period of time. When the clock disappears the players database of files has been refreshed and your problem should be taken care of.

You should also confirm that your ID3 Tag information is correct for each file. In some cases, you will need to synchronize your music to your player again. If you have further questions or difficulty, please let us know.



Chris