How To Make Your MP4 "Nano Clone" Player Last

[vamparia]

I hope no one minds if I post this. A while ago I posted in this forum asking for help with my mp4 player. It's a nano-clone, second generation. The battery life sucked and I kept getting a disk error. With some help here and some experimenting, I've figured out a good way to make it last, and now my friends are kind of jealous that they have an Ipod instead of a 'Chipod'

This guide is for the second-generation Ipod nano-clones. In other words, if your player looks like [url=http://cdn.overstock.com/images/products/L10738236.jpg]this[/url]. They are from a Chinese maker. Sungworld or Made-In-China are two companies I know of that make these players.

[b]Memory Hack[/b]

First off, there is a memory hack on these players. The most popular size of these players is 4GB, if you buy them from ebay. After you fix the memory hack, it will only be 1GB. This is the ONLY way to fix the "disk error" problem that you experience with your mp3 player. Also, if you leave this memory hack problem unattended to, it WILL decrease your battery life much faster.

Want to know how to fix your memory hack? [url=http://etronicsland.com/forum/fake-memory-hacked-mp4-players-t4.html]Click here[/url].

There is no way to get your 4GB mp4 player back after you have done this.. because it was never there in the first place. Someone placed a hack on the player to make your computer think that it had so much space when it really did not.

After you've fixed your memory hack problem, you'll be left with a certain amount of space (most of the time it is 1GB). No more will you experience that annoying "disk error" problem.

[b]Making your battery last[/b]

Now, let's discuss making our battery life last, shall we? The batteries in these players are not the best, but here are some good ways to make them last for at least 4 - 4.5 hours.

1. Set your players LCD set to 'Dark Mode' in the setup menu. Have it go to dark mode after 5 seconds (or 10 if you'd like). You DO NOT want to put it on gray mode, which is the default mode the player comes in. Because the screen is on constantly, this literally drains your battery away.. like a leech! With dark mode, the screen will shut off after the amount of seconds you specify.. but the player will still be on. Much like Ipods, eh?

2. FULLY charge your battery. All of these players come with a charger. When the green light is on, that means it is charging. When the green light goes off, it is SUPPOSED to be done. But, it is not. For some reason, the charger won't charge the battery fully in one go.. and I don't think anyone knows that, because I haven't seen it posted before. But, after your green light goes off the first time, push any button on your player (just not the off button!) and you will see the green light go on again. It will then fully charge the rest of the way.

3. Do not leave the player in any abnormally hot or cold places. Leaving your player in the car on a hot summer day is a really bad thing to do, because there IS acid in those batteries, which could cause them to explode, if there are in a very hot or cold area. That is the worst-case scenario. Most of the time, the battery acid will leak and it will cause damage to the other components, making your player inoperable.

[b]Getting the most of your player[/b]

A lot of people say they feel cheated that they paid for a 4GB mp4 player and ended up with only a 1GB, or less. I myself, did not feel cheated, since I like the style and the user interface of the Chipod. Plus, I felt that paying $40 for a 1GB player was reasonable. Of course, like most people, I didn't know about the memory hack when I got it. But now, I'm learning to live with it, and I'm loving my player. Here's some tips and tricks.

1. Read the manual!! But I know what you're thinking.. impossible right? The manual that comes with these players is ATROCIOUS. But it's not impossible to read it.. the great people here at Electronicsland have come up with [url=http://etronicsland.com/advanced_search_result.html?keyword=mp4+player+generic+user+manual+download&search_in_description=1]this great manual[/url], that is extremely user-friendly and easy to understand.

2. Space is an issue for some people. I reccomend putting songs on your player that are 128 kbps bitrate. That way you are still getting the sound quality of a CD, but the file is not huge. Also, you could try using WMA's instead of MP3's. 64kbps WMA is the same as 128kbps MP3 and it is significantly smaller. You will be able to fit much more songs on your player if you follow either of these steps.

Do you need to convert your files, but don't have a file converter? I recommend Switch. It's free and it's small. [url=http://www.softpedia.com/get/Multimedia/Audio/Audio-Converters/Switch.shtml]Download it here.[/url]

3. Buy yourself a GOOD pair of earbuds. The ones that come with the player are really low in sound quality and they broke soon after I got my player. I reccomend [url=http://www.amazon.com/JVC-HAF130B-Portable-Earbud-Headphones/dp/B000O7QO90]JVC Gummy Earbuds[/url], because they are soft and do not hurt your ears, they have good sound quality, and they are relatively cheap at $10 (USD). Plus, they come in many different colors to match your player. I like using my gummy mp4 skin (which you almost always get for free if you buy your player from ebay) with my gummy earbuds, because it looks pretty cool.

4. NEVER, EVER download files from the Internet on to your player. This is for ALL mp4 players!! You run the risk of downloading a virus onto your player if you do this! I reccomend saving all your files into a folder and then scanning the folder before you put it on your player.

Do you need a good, free virus-scanning software? I reccomend AVG. [url=http://free.grisoft.com/]Click here to get it[/url].

[b]Conclusion[/b]

I hope that this helps anyone in need of help with their player. If I find out anything new about my player, I will be sure to share it with you all in this thread.

Thank you,
Vamparia

[color=red]UPDATE [6-2-08][/color] - I've now had my player for a little over 6 months and it is still working perfectly, just like the day I got it!

[MP4Guru]

WOW Vamparia,
That was a very good, and interesting post on chipods.

Admin, you should sticky that post.

[vamparia]

Hey, thanks a lot, MP4Guru! I'm glad you enjoyed it.

I just stopped in for a quick update! I've now had my Chipod for a little over 6 months and it's still working perfectly!

[vx858]

Good post vamparia.

One thing is, some MP4 players actually come with a genuine 4GB memory capacity, but your directions are clear on how to remove a memory hack if it is present on an MP4 player.

Not all MP4 players come with a memory hack.

[Bohemianroxie]

I just wanted to say, for anyone that might be interested..that I have no issues with my ipod 4 GB nano clone.
It was, sure enough, a 4 GB. The memory was not hacked.
The only things that anyone may have issues with is that the graphics are really basic and the playing time is something around 5-6 hours..
It does not really give you a clue or any warning when it is running down either..other than the green light turning black on the LED charging screen...
so you'd better keep up.
Other than that..I'm still pretty charmed after 6 months of use.
Now, I really don't have a lot of interest in watching videos and movies on that tiny screen. I can do that on my tv or computer.
I predominately use it for music and for podio/audio books...to which I am addicted. For that it works great.
The sound is wonderful (although you might want to get some more ear buds..I actually found some fine ones on Ebay for less than $2..including shipping.)
I actually like this clone one well enough to purchase another.
And I'm [i]only[/i] getting another because I like to have a large audio library.
I'm going for 8 GB this time.
For the relatively short (5 or 6 hours) listening time I have purchased a turbo digital charger. Works great anywhere..Costs? $6.50 including shipping...
So, really, how can one go wrong with spending around $25 or $26 complete as opposed to several hundred?
It's a mystery to me why anyone would even want to.

[MP4Guru]

@Bohemianroxie , you make a good point.

[mabboseg]

Hello.... I NEED A firmware of this MP4 player. If someone can help...it will be great. It can be either a full version firmware or an extracted dump file from the player. The player that I want to fix has a Hynix 2Gb (HY27UU08AG5M) memory and Action AK1025 controller. The Display is PY-1328W (CM70048ACT6 Moo). The firmware version: V9.1.52. The player looks exactly same as the pictures shown on this post links. Also I saw a video here on YouTube: (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kI4-cjmIYvE). I know that it is a 2nd generation IPOD NANO CLONE

Please place a post here or contact me by email.

PLease help ....I will really appreciate it
Mabboseg

[mabboseg]

@Bohemianroxie you must know this......

All these fake IPODS have hacked memory (disk space). They may show that they are 8Gb but you will be lucky if they have even 2Gb. The memory chips used in them are like HY27UU08AG5M means it is only 2Gb. the reason to show higher disk space is for them to be sold easily. They start to give problems as soon as you are about to pass the actual memory. So fix the memory by formatting it on Windows FAT32, you would get back the true space plus fix it from dying away.

Hope this will help
mabboseg

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