Microsoft's Zune Is a Pain in the Ear
Tue Feb 5, 2008 11:35PM EST
See Comments (5)
Recently, I alerted you to the problems users were experiencing after updating their iPod Classic firmware. It seems users are experiencing unusual hissing, buzzing, and static noise that could potentially damage their headphones, or worse, their eardrums. Many of our readers left plenty of comments confirming that a "hissing" sound was in fact one of the issues they were experiencing, and reader Sweetiepye324 even mentioned that her boyfriend was complaining of being shocked by his headphones!
But the iPod is not the only music player causing problems out there. Wired's Gadget Lab and Gizmodo say one Zune user is suing Microsoft after his player emitted a loud noise through his earbuds along with an electric shock that is now causing incessant ringing, discomfort, and blood/fluid leakage in his ear canal. Joel Geddis has set up a website called Microsoft Zune Injuries hoping to find other victims who have been injured by Zune players and perhaps put together a class-action lawsuit against Microsoft.
So please, if you hear hissing, buzzing, or static coming through your earbuds, stop using your music player. Find out what the problem could be and revert to an older version of the firmware if necessary. Your ears are too important, so don't take any unnecessary risks.
Related:
iPod Classic Firmware Causing iHeadaches
Prevent Tech-Related Hearing Loss
Study Says Cell Phones Cause Hearing Loss
Comments on Microsoft's Zune Is a Pain in the Ear
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Join in the discussion. Here you'll see the comments in the order they were posted.
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2 Posted by mia_92nz on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:17PM EDT Report Abuse
Don't buy a Zune in the first place period.
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3 Posted by morgs_98 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:26PM EDT Report Abuse
Oh please! your such an apple fan boy, its almost sickening. Theres nothing wrong with the Zune. In fact if you look at both the Ipod and Zune, You get a better screen, FM Tuner, and wireless sync. The only thing you have is a wish that apple owned more than just 12% of the computer market. And before you call me a microsoft baby, I own a zune, ipod touch, Iphone, and a nano. So get a life and get off your hate wagon
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4 Posted by mercerik on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:16PM EDT Report Abuse
The only problem that I encountered with Zune is the defective software - CD or download. The CD did not install properly so I downloaded the software through zune.net. The download successfully installed but my music tracks were associated with incorrect albums. I followed their Knowled Base (945319) information accordingly and still didn't fix it. I called the tech support, spent 2 hours on the phone but did not fix the problem either. The tech support person promised to escalate the issue to a higher tech support and was told that someone will call me back in a week. It has been over a month and nobody called me back. I noticed that the only solution is to convert all my .wma files to .mp3 files and it worked perfectly. Why couldn't zune tech support figure that out? They need to be retrained with their software.
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5 Posted by mikejjeske on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:19PM EDT Report Abuse
the guy is crazy for suing Microsoft. the zune is the best mp3 player out there, i had an Ipod touch for 3 months and it stopped working after that i never dropped it got water on it or anything i tried charging it it still wouldn't turn on something could have gone bad but with apple you cant get a replacement battery. zune is better than any ipod so if you go out to by an ipod take a look at zune first.
1 Posted by joek872000 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:38PM EDT Report Abuse
My Zune has worked perfectly from day one along with the software, whereas the iPod my dad got for his birthday is constantly having problems and iTunes likes to try and ruin his computer.