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Author Topic: ISO Zoom F6 Repair (SD Card Slot)  (Read 2509 times)

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Offline ejl6495

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ISO Zoom F6 Repair (SD Card Slot)
« on: February 09, 2023, 06:20:59 PM »
EDIT Friday Feb 10 2023:

I was able to speak to a higher up Zoom Rep and they are going to replace the device for free. I'm bringing it in on monday and they told me I will have a new device mailed to me by Tuesday (as I'm local to distribution center/ NA headquarters).

To anyone who has a zoom product: If you call customer service ask for Brian T. Dude was incredibly helpful compared to the other people I encountered below him. I'm really glad they are doing the right thing, its more about the principle than the few hundred bucks in my eyes. I was feeling really icky about zoom yesterday, but being as they are doing right by me I will still go ahead and recommend the F6 to anyone looking for an affordable 32 bit float recorder and/or something capable of running 6 XLR's into. I love my f6 and hope to use it for taping for a long time... That being said, buy it new from an authorized retailer and when your device is close to a year from purchase get it swapped by Zoom for one reason or another.



I'm looking for someone who would be able to repair the SD card slot on my Zoom F6. The trigger & spring mechanism that clicks the SD card into place is broken. I can push the card down but it wont click into place and immediately ejects the card. I am 100% sure that there is no debris stuck in there. I've tried tons of different SD cards all have the same issue and all work in my other SD slots. I have tried every trouble shoot that I can think of. I was able to get it to record fine last night for Bob Weir at the cap by wedging the SD card in place with some SD cards, but that just isn't reliable enough for me.

Zoom told me that my only choice was to pay $300.00 plus shipping (wont let me drop it off in person either) for a complete device replacement. At that point I'm in the hole for as much as a sound devices Mix Pre II and it's rather frustrating. I called back and got a different Zoom rep and they told me to reach out to two companies in California and when I called them to see if they could repair it, they told me that it would be impossible for them to do it because Zoom does not make replacement parts as far as they are aware. I called around to a bunch of AV repair shops that I could find on the internet and they all said they dont work with zoom. If theres anyone out there who can fix my device, I have a feeling they're on tapersection.com and/or are known by someone on here.

The other option that i've considered is wedging my SD card in place as my primary recording spot, getting a usb-c splitter that would feed both my power bank and an SD card reader that I could use as a backup. I'm not 100% sure if this is possible, but its definitely cheaper to try out than buying a mix pre II or getting my zoom repaired.

I like the zoom and if i could get it repaired i would prefer that instead of buying a Mix Pre II. I'm not done giving Zoom hell and trying to get them to stand behind their products, but I have a feeling I'm in the market for a new deck and will be using this F6 as a worst case scenario emergency deck.

Any advice, insight, leads on a new deck are appreciated. Thank you!

 :banging head:
« Last Edit: February 10, 2023, 10:14:42 AM by ejl6495 »

Offline commongrounder

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Re: ISO Zoom F6 Repair (SD Card Slot)
« Reply #1 on: February 09, 2023, 10:09:05 PM »
One thing I know for certain. Zoom does not make their own SD card reader/slot. There are several manufacturers of these parts, and what it will take is to find someone willing to do a careful disassembly of your unit and determine the pin arrangement of the reader on the circuit board. A new part can then be identified and obtained. It’s probably surface mount, but a decent repair shop should have the desoldering equipment needed for the job. Don’t give up. There must be a facility willing to take this on. I’m retired and my eyes aren’t good enough to do this type of work any more, or I’d offer to do it myself.

Offline Scooter123

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Re: ISO Zoom F6 Repair (SD Card Slot)
« Reply #2 on: February 09, 2023, 10:44:09 PM »
Sounds like that card receiver is broken.  I doubt you'll find parts, unless you order a used one from eBay, perhaps one that is sold for parts. 
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Scooter123

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Offline BlueSky71

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Re: ISO Zoom F6 Repair (SD Card Slot)
« Reply #3 on: February 09, 2023, 11:49:15 PM »
Why not hot glue it or something in there. Get a large fast card and leave it in there as if it was part of the machine, then transfer files through USB. Format with the machine? That is what I would do. I often wonder why I don't transfer that way anyways. More than once, I have gotten to a show and forgot to put the damn card back in.  :banging head: :banging head:

Offline mrfender

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Re: ISO Zoom F6 Repair (SD Card Slot)
« Reply #4 on: February 10, 2023, 06:02:15 AM »
Why not hot glue it or something in there. Get a large fast card and leave it in there as if it was part of the machine, then transfer files through USB. Format with the machine? That is what I would do. I often wonder why I don't transfer that way anyways. More than once, I have gotten to a show and forgot to put the damn card back in.  :banging head: :banging head:

Or i forgot to format prior to a show and the deck shut down recording after 10 minutes as it didn't like the card.

I can understand that gluing is not an ideal solution but weighing the cost/benefits warrants serious consideration.  Not great for future value but at least it might make it work for you.
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Offline BlueSky71

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Re: ISO Zoom F6 Repair (SD Card Slot)
« Reply #5 on: February 10, 2023, 08:09:31 AM »
That's why I mentioned hot glue, or some sort of firm silicone, it will hold it in well, but you will be able to remove it if and when you want.

Offline ejl6495

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Re: ISO Zoom F6 Repair (SD Card Slot)
« Reply #6 on: February 10, 2023, 08:57:30 AM »
Why not hot glue it or something in there. Get a large fast card and leave it in there as if it was part of the machine, then transfer files through USB. Format with the machine? That is what I would do. I often wonder why I don't transfer that way anyways. More than once, I have gotten to a show and forgot to put the damn card back in.  :banging head: :banging head:

Or i forgot to format prior to a show and the deck shut down recording after 10 minutes as it didn't like the card.

I can understand that gluing is not an ideal solution but weighing the cost/benefits warrants serious consideration.  Not great for future value but at least it might make it work for you.

This is a good idea. If i can rig the SD card shell into place semi-permanently so that its secure enough it wont come loose, but still maintains the ability/ possibility to remove the shell (god forbid the it craps out on me) I would be able to just transfer the micro sd portion OR like you said do a transfer via USB cable direct to my computer (i imagine this would make for much slower transfers than direct from the card?)

I couldn't care less about the future resale value of the device at this point, in my eyes a recorder with a janky SD tray is worth squat and I'm reluctant to sink more money into an F6 if this happened so quickly its likely to happen again.

The next thing i keep thinking of is this: I was poking around in the tray for a bit before Wednesday night's Weir show, the recording came out as normal, but is there a chance that my continued poking & prodding yesterday could have done anything that would compromise the quality of the data being written on the SD card? It's recording onto the card currently, I'm just worried something I did in there could cause a partial or less optimal recording even though its accepting the card and writing data.

Offline BlueSky71

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Re: ISO Zoom F6 Repair (SD Card Slot)
« Reply #7 on: February 10, 2023, 10:45:00 AM »
Nice on Zoom to do that. I love my F6, no issues at all, bought it used and it just keeps on ticking...

Offline moondust.and.solitude

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Re: ISO Zoom F6 Repair (SD Card Slot)
« Reply #8 on: February 11, 2023, 02:05:29 PM »
EDIT Friday Feb 10 2023:

I was able to speak to a higher up Zoom Rep and they are going to replace the device for free. I'm bringing it in on monday and they told me I will have a new device mailed to me by Tuesday (as I'm local to distribution center/ NA headquarters).

To anyone who has a zoom product: If you call customer service ask for Brian T. Dude was incredibly helpful compared to the other people I encountered below him. I'm really glad they are doing the right thing, its more about the principle than the few hundred bucks in my eyes. I was feeling really icky about zoom yesterday, but being as they are doing right by me I will still go ahead and recommend the F6 to anyone looking for an affordable 32 bit float recorder and/or something capable of running 6 XLR's into. I love my f6 and hope to use it for taping for a long time... That being said, buy it new from an authorized retailer and when your device is close to a year from purchase get it swapped by Zoom for one reason or another.

I'll say this first, I hate that the unit didn't perform correctly, and I'm glad you got take care of.
However, one part of the OP comments doesn't sit right with me.

"That being said, buy it new from an authorized retailer and when your device is close to a year from purchase get it swapped by Zoom for one reason or another."

That's a very dishonest way of dealing with manufacturers and vendors. If the unit is running fine, then the build quality is up to par and you got what you paid for. Expecting them to give you a new one just because the warranty is about to run out is, which is the way the above sentence sounds to me, is underhanded. I'm all for holding manufacturers and vendors accountable for their warranty, but to get it swapped for "one reason or another" just because the warranty is almost used up, that's wrong. And behavior like that is the reason costs keep increasing and insurance coverage keeps declining.
« Last Edit: February 11, 2023, 02:07:07 PM by moondust.and.solitude »
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