Topic: Creative Labs trade-in deal for broken JB3s

[spyder9]

I sent in my JB3 (20g) to be repaired by Creative Labs.  Optical-in was broke and screen had a line through it.  They offered me a refurbished one for $40.00 shipped.  It arrived today and booted up flawlessly.  Has the previous firmware, (1.32), but no biggie since I'll upgrade this over the weekend.

Great deal.  Better than pitching the old one and paying $180 for a used one off of eBay

[1st set only]

could tou post some more info?
my JB3 is dead and id like to get it fixed for a backup to the microtracker


what is the shipping addy that you used? contact info?

[spyder9]

I contacted them through their support page:

http://us.creative.com/support/custsup/services.asp


I think I emailed them w/ a complete description on what was wrong.  They emailed back within a couple of days asking for info on the product and me.  I promptly replied.  They then emailed an RMA# and instructions to send it in.  Within a couple of weeks, they contacted me by phone and email with the offer.  I jumped on it, and it arrived with in a week.  3 weeks turn around time.

[Ray76]

I sent in my JB3 (20g) to be repaired by Creative Labs.  Optical-in was broke and screen had a line through it.  They offered me a refurbished one for $40.00 shipped.  It arrived today and booted up flawlessly.  Has the previous firmware, (1.32), but no biggie since I'll upgrade this over the weekend.

Great deal.  Better than pitching the old one and paying $180 for a used one off of eBay

Damn Dan! Nice find man!+T..i hope someone grabs em. they have to be runin out of those things...dont you think?

[spyder9]

I sent in my JB3 (20g) to be repaired by Creative Labs.  Optical-in was broke and screen had a line through it.  They offered me a refurbished one for $40.00 shipped.  It arrived today and booted up flawlessly.  Has the previous firmware, (1.32), but no biggie since I'll upgrade this over the weekend.

Great deal.  Better than pitching the old one and paying $180 for a used one off of eBay

Damn Dan! Nice find man!+T..i hope someone grabs em. they have to be runin out of those things...dont you think?

They said while supplies last, they will be doing this deal.  Hop on it if you have a bad JB3.  Once, they run low, I imagine they'll dump the rest of the refurbs on eBay on be done with them.

[plucks]

i'll give it a whirl!

[John R]

i wrote them about needing my FW jack replaced, we'll see what happens

[Karl]

Is this only if you have a jb3 under warranty?  I have a jb3 with a bad optical in that's not under warranty, would I have a shot?

[spyder9]

Try it.  I bought mine used on eBay over a year ago.  I had no receipt, purchase date,  Nada.  And they did the exchange anyway.

[John R]

Is this only if you have a jb3 under warranty?  I have a jb3 with a bad optical in that's not under warranty, would I have a shot?

this is what i got back from creative within 12 hours:

Dear John,

Thanks for supporting Creative Customer Support
With regards to the issue you are having,


The problem you described indicates your unit may require repair or
replacement.
An RMA will need to be arranged to have your product tested for
repair/replacement.

If the product has exceeded its three month labor warranty period, a US
$24.95 diagnostics and handling fee will be required.  The fee is
applied toward the complete cost of repair/replacement.  If the cost of
the repair/replacement exceeds the initial diagnostic fee, the RMA
department will contact you to obtain your authorization for finance of
the remaining fee.  If the product is still within the 1 year hardware
warranty, as long as there is no physical damage, all hardware component
replacement costs will be covered by the hardware warranty. If the
product is not outside its thee month labor warranty, no diagnostic fee
is required.

Please note that the contents of the hard drive will have to be erased
due to the testing process.  Please back up all files from the drive, if
possible, before shipping in for an RMA.

Please submit the following required information to us in a reply to
this message so the RMA can be issued:

First/Last Name:

Address (No P.O. Boxes please):

City:

State/Province:

ZIP/Postal Code:

Contact Telephone Number(s):

Email address where you would prefer to be reached:

Product Model Number :

Original Color:
Alternate Color if original color is not available(Applies only for Zen
Micro,N200 and Zen Nano):

Size of the hard drive or amount of onboard memory:

Product Serial Number (often listed inside the battery cover):

Exact/Approximate Date of Purchase:

Brief Description of Problem:

Once this information is applied to the RMA database, we will reply to
you with an RMA reference number and shipping instructions.

[Kindguy]

I dropped my JB3. The hard drive clicks real bad. & it will only go to rescue mode. Guess I'll give this a shot....

Or should I just change the HD? Any Idea what a HD costs?

[Ray76]

I dropped my JB3. The hard drive clicks real bad. & it will only go to rescue mode. Guess I'll give this a shot....

Or should I just change the HD? Any Idea what a HD costs?

http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1558,1186572,00.asp heres a guide..

the 100gig ones that a lot of kids are using Fujitsu MHU2100AT 100g drives or Toshiba MK1031GAS 100g drives...fujitsu mht2030at (30g) Hitachi 60GB 4200rpm (Model: IC25N060ATMR04-0(60g)
60GB Toshiba MK6021GAS (60g)
100GB Seagate Momentus 2.5" 5400rpm

All these are proven by users. the 30g one is 70.30. the 100gig ones go up to 170.00

the link is a guide that shows how to do it.

Teddy

[spyder9]

Is this only if you have a jb3 under warranty?  I have a jb3 with a bad optical in that's not under warranty, would I have a shot?

this is what i got back from creative within 12 hours:

Dear John,

Thanks for supporting Creative Customer Support
With regards to the issue you are having,


The problem you described indicates your unit may require repair or
replacement.
An RMA will need to be arranged to have your product tested for
repair/replacement.

If the product has exceeded its three month labor warranty period, a US
$24.95 diagnostics and handling fee will be required.  The fee is
applied toward the complete cost of repair/replacement.  If the cost of
the repair/replacement exceeds the initial diagnostic fee, the RMA
department will contact you to obtain your authorization for finance of
the remaining fee.  If the product is still within the 1 year hardware
warranty, as long as there is no physical damage, all hardware component
replacement costs will be covered by the hardware warranty. If the
product is not outside its thee month labor warranty, no diagnostic fee
is required.

Please note that the contents of the hard drive will have to be erased
due to the testing process.  Please back up all files from the drive, if
possible, before shipping in for an RMA.

Please submit the following required information to us in a reply to
this message so the RMA can be issued:

First/Last Name:

Address (No P.O. Boxes please):

City:

State/Province:

ZIP/Postal Code:

Contact Telephone Number(s):

Email address where you would prefer to be reached:

Product Model Number :

Original Color:
Alternate Color if original color is not available(Applies only for Zen
Micro,N200 and Zen Nano):

Size of the hard drive or amount of onboard memory:

Product Serial Number (often listed inside the battery cover):

Exact/Approximate Date of Purchase:

Brief Description of Problem:

Once this information is applied to the RMA database, we will reply to
you with an RMA reference number and shipping instructions.

John,

That's the exact same message I got.  Fill it out and send it in.  They never charged me the $24.95 for the diagnostiocs test.  They just gave the new refurb for $40.00

[spyder9]

Anybody hear back from Creative yet?

I upgraded the firmware on my new refurb that I received a few weeks ago.  Works flawlessly.   

I just sent in my other JB3 on Monday for the same problem: bad optical in.

I figure this thread needs a bump for others.

[hitch]

Nice! Thanks for the info guys.
I just picked up a unit that needs servicing. I sent in the email last night, and I got the $24.95 initial diagnostic fee+++ email this morning (that was fast!).

I think the hard drive needs reformatting/replacing, and I was thinking of doing it myself rather than sending it in.
I guess I'm just worried that the final Creative 'charge' will be substantially more than $40.

[willndmb]

+t dan
good to know if mine ever has issues

[spyder9]

Well, I just received an email from Creative Labs this morning.  It seems that my 2nd JB3 was still under warranty.  So the new refurb is being shipped with NO charges.

My experience so far:

1)  they'll swap JB3s and charge $40.00.  (outside warranty)

2)  they'll swap JB3s and No charge  (warranty still in affect)

I'm guessing on the warranty thing.  Both of my JB3s have been serviced in the last 2 months (bad optical), and I paid $40 for 1 unit, plus $12.00 shipping 2 boxes one way.  $52.00 total.

It sure beats spending $300.00 to replace these units.   

[spyder9]

What makes the deal really nice:  I have NO purchase receipts for either of my JB3s and they still took them.

[hitch]

What makes the deal really nice:  I have NO purchase receipts for either of my JB3s and they still took them.

Nice! Nice!    IMO, That's a bloody killer deal. 
Thanks spyder! If I could give +T, I'd do so.   
I jumped in and sent mine out. In the email Creative sent me with my RMA#, they actually asked for a purchase reciept.
Well I don't have one, so I sent a note explaining such. I'll post what happens when I get my jb3 back.

[scoper]

I dropped my jb3 yesterday - can get to the CREATIVE startup screen but no further - reset has no effect. I guess I'm next in the replacement/repair chain

Man, these things are fragile...

[Brian Skalinder]

Man, these things are fragile...

They're not tanks like the V3.  But...then again...you dropped it. 

[spyder9]

Man, these things are fragile...

They're not tanks like the V3.  But...then again...you dropped it. 

Wrongo!  Denecke AD20 is a beast.   

[scoper]

Man, these things are fragile...

They're not tanks like the V3.  But...then again...you dropped it. 

Call me Mr Guilty
Mr. Guilty, That's my name
Without a doubt, It's all my fault
I am the one to blame.

This came at the worst possible time - I've got four shows in the next month! I'm borrowing a friend's DAT (Sony M1) in the meantime, but I was really hoping to put the thing thru it's paces.

I borrowed a MiniDisc recorder for last night (Springsteen at Nassau) - let me tell you, feeding the MD a digital signal (AT853>SP Batt Box>AD-20) makes a HUGE difference in the result, as does having the SVU-1 to monitor levels. It's a lot to carry for stealthing, but definitely worth it. I really missed the jb3 when I missed a minute of a song due to a tape flip at the wrong time.

Kid gloves from now on...

Scott

[scoper]

An update - sent my jb3 (40gb) to Creative, arrived there 10/17.

I noticed last Wednesday (10/26) that the RMA record had been updated, and the serial number on the replacement had "20G" in it. I called Creative and they confirmed that a 20G jb3 was scheduled to be shipped this past Friday.

The matter was escalated to a supervisor, who pulled the shipment, ensured that a 40G drive was installed, and advised me that they would update my shipping to 2-day for their mistake. (I tried to get them to throw in an extra battery, but they didn't bite <g>). They also reissued the warranty, so I get 90 days for labor and one year for parts from today.

There was also no issue because I dropped it - they say the drop shouldn't have caused the problem I was getting.

My new jb3 arrived today - battery is charging as I type.

The entire experience with Creative was handled with great professionalism and courtesy - I wouldn't hesitate to recommend their support area (at least the RMA support) to anyone.

Good Job, Creative! ++T

[Roving Sign]

Wowzer...I will try this also - I bought a refurb off ebay last year - and it really has never worked right...

Do you have to send the battery back???

[scoper]

Wowzer...I will try this also - I bought a refurb off ebay last year - and it really has never worked right...

Do you have to send the battery back???

LOL - I thought of that before sending it in, but I believe their RMA instructions letter specifically states to include the unit with the battery, and nothing else.

So now I have an extra set of accessories.

Gotta tell you - I had borrowed a Sony D1 DAT from a good friend (and fellow TS member), and while I appreciated the easy stealthing it offered (no external preamp or A/D needed, as the A/D in the DAT is the same as the SBM1), I missed MY rig.

[Brian Skalinder]

I had borrowed a Sony D1 DAT from a good friend (and fellow TS member), and while I appreciated the easy stealthing it offered (no external preamp or A/D needed, as the A/D in the DAT is the same as the SBM1), I missed MY rig.

You've used a Sony PCM-D1 already?!?  With the built-in mics, I'm not even sure it would work well for our purposes.  Or do you mean TCD-D100?

[scoper]

I had borrowed a Sony D1 DAT from a good friend (and fellow TS member), and while I appreciated the easy stealthing it offered (no external preamp or A/D needed, as the A/D in the DAT is the same as the SBM1), I missed MY rig.

You've used a Sony PCM-D1 already?!?  With the built-in mics, I'm not even sure it would work well for our purposes.  Or do you mean TCD-D100?

Oops... make that a PCM-M1 (the "pro" twin to the TCD100). Nice little DAT, that one. But I'm finally whole, my rig is ready to go for tonight - The Bobs (a great a capella quartet whose voices will serve as the "orchestra" for Rhapsody in Bob - a rearrangement of the Gershwin piece. Also upcoming are Rockapella, Springsteen, the Roches, Loudon Wainwright, and whatever others I can fit in.

My wife doesn't understand this obsession with taping - she doesn't like having to be quiet so as not to interfere with the tape. But considering I spend 1/10th of what others spend on their ultragear, I'm at the low end of the spectrum. Try telling her that...

Scott

[hitch]

I just got off the phone with Creative (my RMA hasn't been updated on website since 10/17.) They basically told me flat out they'd charge me $161.xx to fix the hard drive, as the hard drive test failed... Tried to give me this nice 'offer' about switching to another player, as the jb3 is now obsolete and I'd get a credit for the jb3. I told them flat out to send back my old player, and that $160 fee to replace a Hard drive was fucking ridiculous. I mentioned the $40 deal, and the fact that that was the ONLY reason I had sent it in to begin with. Rep said they changed the policy, and now it's $24.95 and it has to be in warranty (1 year)... something about originally buying the jb3 off of ebay and the creative site/powerseller. :p  Oh- the rep also quoted a motherboard replacement at $110.

Glad I  called THEM 'cause no one bothered to get back to me. Grrrrrrr.   

[Brian Skalinder]

Oops... make that a PCM-M1 (the "pro" twin to the TCD100). Nice little DAT, that one.

Ah, that's what I figured.  But FWIW, the SBM-1 and M1/D100 do not have the same AD stage.  An excellent post on this matter (not surprisingly) from Todd R over on the old Oade forum, with a couple links to comments by Doug Oade, as well.

[scoper]

Oops... make that a PCM-M1 (the "pro" twin to the TCD100). Nice little DAT, that one.

Ah, that's what I figured.  But FWIW, the SBM-1 and M1/D100 do not have the same AD stage.  An excellent post on this matter (not surprisingly) from Todd R over on the old Oade forum, with a couple links to comments by Doug Oade, as well.

Just proving my rookie status - I was perfectly happy with my MD recordings for six years, but hated the disc flips. So when the MD died and my friend recommended this little forum I discovered the jb3, which I had never heard of before. I bought that instead of the HiMD I had planned on, and that started me down the path to....

Trouble
with a capital T
which rhymes with D
which stands for dollars

I was blissfully ignorant of the dark side, and I blame TS.com for ruining a perfectly good mind with thoughts of A/D converters, preamps, and the inevitable 24 bit plunge that will follow.

Seriously, though, this is the best place for this hobby that I've ever found, and a bunch of great people ready to support (or stomp) whenever needed.

Scott

[scoper]

I just got off the phone with Creative (my RMA hasn't been updated on website since 10/17.) They basically told me flat out they'd charge me $161.xx to fix the hard drive, as the hard drive test failed... Tried to give me this nice 'offer' about switching to another player, as the jb3 is now obsolete and I'd get a credit for the jb3. I told them flat out to send back my old player, and that $160 fee to replace a Hard drive was fucking ridiculous. I mentioned the $40 deal, and the fact that that was the ONLY reason I had sent it in to begin with. Rep said they changed the policy, and now it's $24.95 and it has to be in warranty (1 year)... something about originally buying the jb3 off of ebay and the creative site/powerseller. :p  Oh- the rep also quoted a motherboard replacement at $110.

Glad I  called THEM 'cause no one bothered to get back to me. Grrrrrrr.   

Sorry your experience worked out that way. Mine was still in warranty, thus the difference. Then again, I remember that Sony was ready to charge me 125 bucks flat to repair my seven year old MD, which I thought was robbery. Good luck finding a replacement - there's always someone selling here in the Yard Sale.

[spyder9]

I just got off the phone with Creative (my RMA hasn't been updated on website since 10/17.) They basically told me flat out they'd charge me $161.xx to fix the hard drive, as the hard drive test failed... Tried to give me this nice 'offer' about switching to another player, as the jb3 is now obsolete and I'd get a credit for the jb3. I told them flat out to send back my old player, and that $160 fee to replace a Hard drive was fucking ridiculous. I mentioned the $40 deal, and the fact that that was the ONLY reason I had sent it in to begin with. Rep said they changed the policy, and now it's $24.95 and it has to be in warranty (1 year)... something about originally buying the jb3 off of ebay and the creative site/powerseller. :p  Oh- the rep also quoted a motherboard replacement at $110.

Glad I  called THEM 'cause no one bothered to get back to me. Grrrrrrr.   

Wow!  Bummer!  +T for your troubles.  They must be running low on them to change their policy.  I don't even have a receipt for either of mine and they sent me new refurbs.

[hitch]

Sorry your experience worked out that way. Mine was still in warranty, thus the difference. Then again, I remember that Sony was ready to charge me 125 bucks flat to repair my seven year old MD, which I thought was robbery. Good luck finding a replacement - there's always someone selling here in the Yard Sale.

Wow!  Bummer!  +T for your troubles.  They must be running low on them to change their policy.  I don't even have a receipt for either of mine and they sent me new refurbs.

Thanks guys!
I feel better now.

[hitch]

Update: I fixed the jb3 myself.    Well, 2 of 3 problems.

First, was the hard drive was busted. So I realized swapping out a new HDD looked easy enough. Then I had the dreaded firmware O/S error on start up that would never let my upgrade my firmware. I had f/w 1.10  and wanted to go to 1.40.  I kept getting the  'Sorry wrong firmware' message. So I figured it was too big a jump.  Then when I tried to go to 1.11 (before going to 1.40) I kept getting the "Firmware error, your player needs to be restarted message." I tried both USB and Firewire on a Windows XP SP2 machine.

Finally, I decided there must be something screwy with my computer, so I tried updating to 1.11 on a Windows 2000 SP4 with firewire. It went through! I updated the drivers and then updated to 1.40. So for any of you that are having the problem with updating firmware, try a few differnt computers and possibly O/S's!!!   I wasted enough time trying to FORCE the update on my XP box.

The only OTHER problem I found out about is that the headphone jack is loose, and there isn't sound when I plug in my headphones (needs wiggling.) I noticed the previous owner made an attempt at soldering. How difficult is it to re-solder?