Zune hard drive models plagued by battery drain issue

Owners of both the original Zune 30 and the new Zune 80 have discovered that the latest firmware is refusing to properly enter its sleep mode, say multiple reports from Microsoft's official forums. While the handhelds are supposed to enter a low-power mode when idle to preserve battery life when not in use, many are finding that the players continue to operate at near full power. In many situations this almost completely saps the battery when left overnight, users complain. Only models with a hard drive are affected, as Zune 4 and 8 devices (including Electronista's review unit) enter sleep mode properly.

Microsoft has not commented on the problem and has no fix of its own to offer, though contributors to the forums suggest powering down the Zune when finished for the day or calibrating the battery with a full drain/charge cycle followed by a reset. The problem does not appear to be connected to separate concerns about Zune 80's poor playback time, which keeps the player in an active mode for the entire stretch as with most other portable media players.

Filed under: troubleshooting
Other story tags: Microsoft, Zune, mp3 player, battery life