Sansa Fuze - V1 or V2 w/o opening up?

[jagdriver]

Is there a way to distinguish between versions of the Fuze without cracking open its case?

[saratoga]

V1 will have a firmware version starting with 1.  V2 will have a firmware version starting with 2.

[jagdriver]

Why, that makes too much sense!

[Fullmetal99012]

also i believe that the back of the case says v2 on the v2 models.

[AlexP]

also i believe that the back of the case says v2 on the v2 models.

Not always, and sometimes v1s come in cases saying v2.  The firmware version is the only reliable way to tell.

[Legomaniac]

I just ran across this hardware incompatibility, and now I'm unfortunately stuck with a worthless Fuze.

Am I missing something, or is it simply not noted in the Fuze manual that the v2 models aren't compatible?

At least in the online manual, which claims to be a daily update, there is no word of a version of the Fuze that might not work. I did not run across the issue until I searched the forums for why the utility wasn't working correctly.

You guys do great work, and I am in no way trying to insinuate that a v2 compatible version of Rockbox needs to come out. It would just be nice to see this issue noted in the manual since that's where I went (and I assume where others will go) to see if there are any incompatibilities.

While there appears to be no reliable way to check the revision number without opening up the package (lame) it would have still been nice for the manual to tell me I had no chance before I started editing files and trying to use the rockbox utility on the device.

Thanks for the work guys. I will remain a rockbox devotee for life.

[yapper]

The front page (www.rockbox.org) clearly mentions the V1 Fuze:

Unstable ports
Rockbox runs on these players, but is incomplete, less usable or has problems that limit it to advanced users:

Apple: iPod Nano 2g
Cowon: D2
Olympus: M:Robe 500
Samsung: YH-820, YH-920 and YH-925
SanDisk: Sansa e200 v2 (AMS), Sansa Fuze V1, and Sansa Clip V1 (not v2 or Clip+)
Toshiba: Gigabeat S

[Legomaniac]

Sorry,

I see now that the compatibility issues with v2 are indeed on the very front page.

This is convenient, however I would still have to argue that a compatibility issue like this should at least be reflected in the hardware manual.

The manual for the Sansa e200/e200R series states hardware compatibility issues in a bold red font in the manual, in the "Before Starting" section.

Because I had installed Rockbox on an e200R before, I assumed that when I navigated to the Fuze's manual that I would find a similar warning regarding player versions in the same "Before Starting" section.

I only didn't see the "Unstable Ports" section on the home page because I am browsing on a netbook, and that information was "below the fold". This is something I take full responsibility for, as I logically must accept the deficiencies of netbook browsing before claiming that "Unstable Ports" should be more prevalent.

Once again, thanks so much for all of your work, and thank you yapper for your quick reply. Here's to hoping Target will take back my Fuze v2.

[AlexP]

Yes, we should have a note in the Fuze manuals as with the others that have this issue.  I'll add it when I get a minute.

[Legomaniac]

Hey, thanks for the response.

Target took it back, so I didn't end up getting screwed (yay!) and now others with woefully deficient browsing resolutions wont run into the same issue as me.

Thanks again.

*Edit*  And just to clarify I thought I had a v1 all along, but just didn't know that v1's could have an ...A57 model number or an ...A70 model number.

I can confirm the box can hold either version, as I had a box that was ...A70 that had a v2 inside.