Troubleshooting your Zune troubles
Having problems with your Zune player? Try these troubleshooting steps to help fix your Zune.
- Turn it off and then on again. I know it’s obvious, but that’s often all you have to do.
- Reboot. (Press and hold Back and Up.)If that doesn’t work, the following steps are little more involved but may be worth a try.
- Reformat. (This will clear the content from your hard drive, so if you do this, you’ll have to resync it all!) You can do this either:
- In Zune software: Settings > Device > Sync Options > Erase All Content.
- …or right from your player:
+ (For Zune 30gb:) Reboot, then press Back and Right and OK altogether once you see the black screen.
+ (For Zune 4/8/80/120gb): Reboot, then press Back and Play together once you see the black screen.
- Initialize Disk. This removes content and firmware from your player. You won’t be able to use it until you re-connect to a PC with Zune software.
- (For Zune 30gb: Reboot, then press Back and Left and OK altogether once you see the black screen.
- (For Zune 4/8/80/120gb): Reboot, then press Back and OK and Play together once you see the black screen.
-Ray
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October 27th, 2008 at 8:01 pm
THANK YOU!!!!YOU ROCK!!!FTW!
October 28th, 2008 at 7:51 pm
my zune keeps reseting what do i do
November 19th, 2008 at 7:00 pm
DUDE! thank you SO much! you’re the best!
November 23rd, 2008 at 9:52 pm
thank god!! im leaving for pr in a day and my shit wouldnt cut on from some reason .. u saved me and now i can enjoy my vacation!!!
December 29th, 2008 at 8:02 pm
Thanks, Im the father of a 16yr daughter… I now have peace in my house.
December 31st, 2008 at 10:25 am
I have a 30gb zune. It displays the zune startup screen but never loads. I’ve tried turning it off and rebooting, but it is non-responsive. The software dosen’t recognize it either. Any ideas?
December 31st, 2008 at 11:13 am
my zune screen is dark and i can barely see anything on it.
December 31st, 2008 at 11:33 am
my zune just locked up on me what do i do
December 31st, 2008 at 11:48 am
Well I’m going to answer my own post, lol. I did some checking and all 30gb Zune’s and only the 30gb Zune’s in the WORLD with the 3.0 firmware upgrade released in noverber this year have been “bricked”. Microsoft says they are working to resolve this problem and to be patient.
December 31st, 2008 at 11:53 am
There are rumors that allowing your Zune battery to run down and setting your pc’s clock back 1 year will allow your Zune to resume normal operation after you reconnect via your sync cables.
December 31st, 2008 at 11:56 am
I Have the same problem as clint. My 30 gb zune displays the startup loading screen but never loads. Ive tried all of the trouble shooting suggestions and nothing helps. My friend richard and his brother has the same problem with their zunes. It has all happend this morning. Please help!!!!!
December 31st, 2008 at 12:01 pm
Hey you have to take apart your zune and disconnect the battery
December 31st, 2008 at 1:10 pm
After 2 years of working flawlessly, my Zune started doing the same as Travis and Clint this morning. Does anybody know what gives? Could the date have something to do with it? Thanks and have a Happy New Year!
December 31st, 2008 at 1:21 pm
I have the 80 gb and it is doing the same thing – frozen on start up screen. Has been working great until now.
December 31st, 2008 at 1:34 pm
my zune froze, it only shows a battery with a exclamation point in the middle…….. is this the same problem everyone is having or similar? its a 30g zune.
December 31st, 2008 at 2:07 pm
My 30g zune rebooted by it self and now its on the Zune screen with the bar at the bottom its gone all the way across like it does when it reboots but it just stays on that screen it doesn’t load up what can i do??? Help ASAP please thanks.
December 31st, 2008 at 2:23 pm
ok this is really freaky my zune has been working totally fine too. and now its doing the same thing as clint and travis’s zune. it just started this afternoon. has anyone found out how to fix it?
December 31st, 2008 at 2:41 pm
My 30g Zune was frozen this morning with the Zune startup screen. It has worked flawlessly for the past 2 years. I let the battery drain down, and now after plugging into the power, I only get the low power indicator.
I did a google and found a lot of info about this problem. It is being called “The Day The 30 G Zune Stood Still.” Microsoft is apparently working on a solution.
December 31st, 2008 at 2:58 pm
yeah my 30g zune is doing the same thing started last night seems around midnight actually so from all the other responses could be date related. I really hope microsoft if working to fix this or it’s an iPod next time
December 31st, 2008 at 3:01 pm
I had the same thing happen to me today. Frozen with ZUNE startup screen. It wont restart or respond the only thing it will do is flash the low battery screen… the sad thing is that i got this for Christmas used it one day and now it is DEAD! arrrggg!
December 31st, 2008 at 3:05 pm
my zune (30gb) is doing the exact same thing…..it was working fine last night. when i plugged it into a computer to charge the screen was black, so i turned it on and teh it went to the zune loading screen and is stuck like that with the bar almost loaded.
December 31st, 2008 at 3:15 pm
hahahaha call and listen to the message 1-877-GET-ZUNE (1-877-438-9863).. I think they are working on it.
December 31st, 2008 at 4:01 pm
man this shit is freaky my shit is doing the same thing and im pissed. It’s the zune name with the loading bar on the bottom thats on my frozen screen just like everybody elses.
December 31st, 2008 at 4:16 pm
on all the days this could have happened NEW YEARS EVE!!!! this sux i was planing to use it tonight for the party guess i’ll be using my ipod instead.
December 31st, 2008 at 4:20 pm
WTF? My Zune (30GB) Has worked perfectly for the past coupla years now this? I just got done praising the Zune to my Ipod owning friends. Is it time to give in to Apple enslavement? Haha Never! No but seriously, am I just supposed to wait an hope everything works out?
December 31st, 2008 at 4:37 pm
yea i have that 30gb zune problem that clint and travis have. so do we just leave our zune plugged into the computer and just wait it out even though my computer doesnt acknowledge my zune?!?!
December 31st, 2008 at 4:48 pm
Mine still shows the logo and the loading bar no matter what i do
this is the second time i’ll have to send it in!
December 31st, 2008 at 4:48 pm
I used my 30gb zune last night. When I woke up, it was off. I turned it on and it started loading and then froze just like many of previous entries. I let the battery run dead today and plugged it in to charge this evening and it indicated a charge icon, then started loading and then again froze up.
December 31st, 2008 at 5:10 pm
zune.net/support says the problem should be corrected in the next 24hrs
December 31st, 2008 at 5:18 pm
Hello everyone happy new years to all. My 30 gig zune has also worked perfectly until the today when I went and turned it on in my car and got the zune symbol with zune underneath it and the loading bar full but mines frozen as well. It has worked fine until today. So far we have : Clint, Ken, Hannah, Andrew Q, Abe, Shell and many other people with the same problem.. My zune software also doesn’t recognize my zune when it’s plugged in.
December 31st, 2008 at 5:22 pm
Having the same problem and I’m upset I can’t play my favorite tunes for the New Year.
December 31st, 2008 at 5:23 pm
I hope microsoft un-bricks our zunes soon. Hannah I’d reccomend waiting a few days before you send it in since were all having the same problem .
December 31st, 2008 at 7:05 pm
same problem here. Weird and lame, yet interesting.
December 31st, 2008 at 7:31 pm
Im having the same problems after having the zune for 2 years last night i pluged it in to sync it.
I woke up and it was frozen
December 31st, 2008 at 9:27 pm
I’m having the same problem…. I was UPSET when I was at the gym to begin my workout and I saw that screen. Thanks for letting me know that I’m not the only one.
December 31st, 2008 at 10:50 pm
I am having the same problems as mentioned above! WTF??? Why is this happening and please tell me what to do to fix it… It’s non-responsive, has the ! sign inside of the battery… I have praised this damn thing from the start and now this!!! PLEASE TELL ME THIS IS GOING TO BE FIXED! I have only had this for 1 year. I have treated it with kid gloves, protective case, the works… H E L P… I want my Zune back…
December 31st, 2008 at 11:00 pm
i thought i was the only one having this problem….i returned past midnight n tried to switch on my zune n its stuck with the zune logo n a bar on its screen…..HELP!!!!
December 31st, 2008 at 11:29 pm
mine is stuck on the loading screen and i cant get it to turn off!!!!
January 1st, 2009 at 12:12 am
my zune has the same problem but it does feel a little better to know that i’m not the only one
January 1st, 2009 at 12:31 am
I just call Zun, 1-877-438-9863, a recording tells you that it is a known problem and the solution is to let the battery dry and then reconnect it AFTER January 1st. So after today, January 1st, meand that it will work in January 2nd. (24 hours with no ZUN)
At least we know!
What a way to start the year!
January 1st, 2009 at 12:50 am
I’m with mike, I’m glad to know that I’m not the only one having this problem. I hope the fix is to not have to log-in to Zune on-line. I’m currently deployed (Army) and do not have internet access (hint to the Zune tech geeks fixing this problem)
January 1st, 2009 at 6:48 am
My 30gb also died. Phil Herman’s post said take apart the zune and disconnect the battery.
Phil or anyone, some of us are dangerous with tools, is there somewhere I can look online ine to see how to take apart the zune without breaking it?
Thanks!
Dave.
January 1st, 2009 at 10:15 am
hey everyone
my zune, which was having the same problem, has started working again
i tried letting it die and stuff but in the end i just left it and all of a sudden the screen returned to normal.
sooo, not sure what that means, but hopefully yours will start to work soon too.
January 1st, 2009 at 10:17 am
mine has started working again too, just jet the battery drain and then plug it into the computer and wait a few minutes it should start up just fine
January 1st, 2009 at 11:47 am
Hey everyone… My zune has started back working too…. I’m glad because I was praising my zune and convincing my friends to invest in it. Well Happy New Year’s and continue to enjoy your Zune
January 1st, 2009 at 9:44 pm
Microsoft believes it has identified the bug and expects all 30GB Zunes to revive tomorrow, January 1. “Early this morning we were alerted by our customers that there was a widespread issue affecting our 2006 model Zune 30GB devices (a large number of which are still actively being used),” reads a new statement from the company. “The technical team jumped on the problem immediately and isolated the issue: a bug in the internal clock driver related to the way the device handles a leap year.
“That being the case, the issue should be resolved over the next 24 hours as the time change moves to January 1, 2009. We expect the internal clock on the Zune 30GB devices will automatically reset tomorrow (noon, GMT). By tomorrow, you should allow the battery to fully run out of power before the unit can restart successfully then simply ensure that your device is recharged, then turn it back on. If you’re a Zune Pass subscriber, you may need to sync your device with your PC to refresh the rights to the subscription content you have downloaded to your device.”
January 2nd, 2009 at 9:30 am
mine is still doing the same thign i tried letting the battery run down an un plugging the batteryand it still freezes
January 2nd, 2009 at 11:10 am
Experienced the same Dec 31 2008 30G Zune lock as many others, no response to any reset procedure. On Jan 2 2009 started Zune softaware on my PC connected the zune which showed black screen with battery symbol waited about 20 minutes and the the zune finally reset and the PC zune software finally showed zune connected
January 4th, 2009 at 6:25 pm
I have read all the input here and I am still locked out of my Zune. If I connect the Zune to recharge the battery all I get is the low battery symbol, nothing else. And the Zune is never recognized on the computer, is anyone else still having a problem! Thanks
January 5th, 2009 at 7:08 pm
My husband and I both have Zunes and they are both frozen!!!!!!! Do I keep it plugged in? Nothing happens and now it’s 1-5-08!!!!!!!!!!!!
January 10th, 2009 at 9:02 am
fix this
January 11th, 2009 at 6:38 pm
My 30GB has worked for exactly 1 year. Now the Zune screen and the white bar on the bottom is a permanent screen. I drained the battery thinking I could charge it again to remove that screen. Unsuccessful! Now what??
February 11th, 2009 at 2:46 pm
my zune just shows a black screen and wont respond to anything i try to do
February 19th, 2009 at 6:17 pm
dude do you have any damn idea wut the hell is the matter with my shit? the motherfucker wont open the zune player…like on the computer. every time i click it, that shit fucking comes up with an error screen and asks if i want to report it. please save me dude….please?
March 19th, 2009 at 4:08 pm
my zune i got last christmas and it has worked perfect since but it all of a sudden stopped working. it keeps rebooting itself and i get to the menu screen but i cant use the scroll pad or do anything at the menu screen, i have a 4gb zune and would really love for it to work again too.
March 19th, 2009 at 4:09 pm
Oh yeah if anyone can help me my email is jwall1661@yahoo.com thank you.
April 17th, 2009 at 9:23 pm
I am having problems with my zune it wont charge. What do I do to resolve this problem?
August 14th, 2009 at 5:08 pm
my zune keeps resetting over and over every time i try to use it or charge it
August 14th, 2009 at 5:41 pm
I just bought the a/v jacks for my zune 30. Sound is great but no picture. I’ve tried 2 tv’s. What am I doing wrong (yes I switch it to composite on the back of the station)?
September 25th, 2009 at 11:05 am
i have a 120g zune amd the touch pad in the middle does not work the play botton and the botton with the back work. do you know wat i can do about it?
October 17th, 2009 at 6:15 am
i have a 4GB Zune (new model) and it won’t turn on and the computer won’t recognize it. my warranty is expired and i bought mine a t circuit city so i can’t go there for help because they’re out of buisnees. i can’t pay for it to get fixed because i don’t have the money and my mom doesn’t want to pay for it! i desperately need some help because i’ve joined about ten different Zune forums where no one has given me any help or advice and my Zune’s been this way for six moths! i hope someone can understand how desperately i need help and could take the time to find or give me and answer to this problem. it’s also very annoying because when i look this up on yahoo or ask or google, i always get results for the older thirty gig models, and very little on the new models, so imagine how difficult it is aswell when the little rare answers on the new model don’t even help! PLZ!☺☻
October 22nd, 2009 at 10:24 pm
My 30g worked fine until I got the 4.0 software. Now the software won’t recognize the device and windows repeatedly updates the driver and requests a restart. I’ve called getzune like three times. I’m wasting my money on a zune pass. For about a week, my user rights were fine and I was doing everything wirelessly (which was fine). Do Ipods have this much trouble. This is bs.
November 9th, 2009 at 4:58 pm
Zune 80GB. when turns on, black screen appears. Tried to reset. Charged/Drained/charged battery. Nothing works. Please suggest a solution. Thanks!
November 21st, 2009 at 8:08 am
my zune 80gb, has just done the same as all the above, dosent recognise on software either, please help.!!
December 8th, 2009 at 7:28 pm
To those of you like me with a black screen, no back-light, no recognition by the computer, we’re pretty much fucked. This is a common problem among Zunes. Microsoft knows about it, and will replace repair if under warranty. I should have bought an iPod. Why. Why didn’t I buy an iPod? I bought my Zune 120 3 weeks ago, crapped out after a a week. My second arrived 5 days ago and the black screen of death. Amazon is wonderful about returns.
December 15th, 2009 at 5:57 pm
i have a 30gb zune. I got the zune pass a couple weeks ago, and it was workig fine last night, and it ‘ll read that it needs to re sync with my computer. so i did that, sync and updated my zune. and now it tells me that im missing information related to the songs, and will skip over songs untill it gets to a song that works. any ideas?
December 25th, 2009 at 7:57 pm
just got a 120gb for christmas today and it wont even start charging. tried every charging method available, including the ac adapter which was given to me as well, and still no dice. pretty ridiculous, to put it mildly.
December 30th, 2009 at 2:28 pm
I have an 8gb zune, and the screen is on there’s a backlight but there’s no picture on the screen, i’ve tried resetting it. I’ve tried turning it off and letting it charge. Does anybody have any ideas.
There is no picture at all, so I can’t even see what I’m doing but the backlight comes on.
January 11th, 2010 at 5:38 pm
i have an 80gb and the screen is is black and its locked up and wont reboot or do anything any ideas?
January 29th, 2010 at 4:39 pm
i am new with zune can anybody tell me how to get album art for a cd if it does not show up?
February 13th, 2010 at 7:49 pm
omg!!! My mother’s zune is acting weird. The touch pad wont work !!! Help!!
October 30th, 2010 at 3:38 pm
You are Da Man! Thanks for sharing! Didn’t knew half of that stuff yet…
January 7th, 2011 at 5:59 pm
THANKS!!
November 21st, 2011 at 6:28 am
I bought a zume120bg-red ….it does not come with instructions…HOW do i turn it on????..I plugged it into computer…but does’nt turn on or has no power button …what am i doing wrong?
November 22nd, 2011 at 2:22 am
peter gerard scully…
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