Alarm Bricking People's J3s

mandude · 03-27-2012, 11:21

I am noticing a trend, after researching it as it happened to me.
I have had my J3 for.. not even sure I think I got it when it first came out (what is that 2 years or 1.5 not sure). I never really had a problem with it. 2 nights ago for the 1st time I set the alarm. The alarm went off in the morning, I turned it off. That was the last time it would ever be turned off or on. It wont power up. It wont charge. It wont be recognized in the PC.

I am clearly past the warranty. I DO NOT want to loose all my music! I have 20gbs worth of music on there and no where else (cuz my external drive crashed.. all my shit seems to fail lately). So what can I do? I have not found a solution just the same problem with a lot of people saying after they use the alarm it happens. But sometimes they would send them in and they get them working. How?

Anyone have a solution yet? I don't understand how it can just never turn on again.

mandude · 03-27-2012, 11:33

If Im supposed to try tcctool, the part I dont understand is
-Open CMD and input cd C:\tcctool then tcctool -d cowons9 COWON_J3_FW.BIN then press ENTER

if my PC doesnt recognize it how do I know how to get the file to the j3.

Kizune · 03-27-2012, 11:37

Have you already tried to use the reset hole?

Rodster · 03-27-2012, 11:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kizune

Have you already tried to use the reset hole?

What Kizu said. I had my J3 lockup on me. I thought oh boy looks like it's bricked. All it took was to reset it via the hole in the back. It was fine after the reset.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Enzyme

cant really offer any advice here, just wanted to ask what firmware you and the others were running?

V2.26

Enzyme · 03-27-2012, 11:51

cant really offer any advice here, just wanted to ask what firmware you and the others were running?

mandude · 03-27-2012, 12:45

yep Ive used the reset button before so that was my first guess. did that, pressed it while plugging in, every combo imaginable. Nothing. firmware 2.23 and I have a 32gb. I wish I ran into this problem like, when I first got it I could have sent it in then, not find this out years later!

Enzyme · 03-27-2012, 14:01

you could try holding the reset in for a lil while, like 10 seconds, if no luck repeat that while pressing the play button on and off.

that got me out of a few nasty lockups with 2.23.
(no idea why the play button did anything but it worked on a couple of occasions (could just be coincidence).

the other option, (im guessing its still active\powered up just stuck in some non standard state)
is to let the battery drain totally so it cant even get stuck in the lockup state, although how long that'll take i cannot say.
then try the pc again and see if you cant update the firmware.

andrew_berge · 03-27-2012, 15:24

Weird. I've been using the alarm for a while now and have never had any problems.

Enzyme · 03-27-2012, 16:24

i had no end of troubles with the alarm on .23
it either didnt work, rebooted the player, or changed the time to something random, usually a mix of the last two.

i had it marked as a useless feature until the firmware update.

mandude · 04-25-2012, 00:02

UPDATE!
Very strange. I went to do this tcc tool thing. I figured WHAT THE HECK, let me try one more time. I tried turning on the unit, no luck. I then plugged it into a power outlet. The screen flashed white really bright for less then a second. Then it started charging!!!!

This is about a month later. So I guess the battery drained. I dunno what to think, but I dont care I am just glad it is working again.. I have missed my music so much!

You can bet your sweet butt I am backing up my entire mp3 as we speak!

Hope this info helps anyone that may have had this happen. Let it sit for a month (painstaking, I know).

03-27-2012, 11:21	#1
mandude Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Posts: 18	Alarm Bricking People's J3s I am noticing a trend, after researching it as it happened to me. I have had my J3 for.. not even sure I think I got it when it first came out (what is that 2 years or 1.5 not sure). I never really had a problem with it. 2 nights ago for the 1st time I set the alarm. The alarm went off in the morning, I turned it off. That was the last time it would ever be turned off or on. It wont power up. It wont charge. It wont be recognized in the PC. I am clearly past the warranty. I DO NOT want to loose all my music! I have 20gbs worth of music on there and no where else (cuz my external drive crashed.. all my shit seems to fail lately). So what can I do? I have not found a solution just the same problem with a lot of people saying after they use the alarm it happens. But sometimes they would send them in and they get them working. How? Anyone have a solution yet? I don't understand how it can just never turn on again.

03-27-2012, 11:37	#3
Kizune Feel free to call me 'Kizu' ;) Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Germany, Baden-Württemberg Posts: 5,967	Have you already tried to use the reset hole? __________________ me @ Google+ \| Twitter \| Flickr \| deviantART audio setup: Cowon J3 32gb \| Cowon Z2 16gb \| Audio Technica ATH-M50 other: Galaxy Nexus \| Nexus 7

03-27-2012, 15:24	#8
andrew_berge Audiophile Impersonator Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Canada Posts: 305	Weird. I've been using the alarm for a while now and have never had any problems. __________________ DAP: Cowon J3 (32GB + 32GB MicroSD) & SanDisk Sansa Clip+ (8GB) Headphones: Shure SRH840 & Panasonic RP-HT722 (PCB Removed) Earbuds/IEMs: Shure SE215 & Sennheiser MX 471 CD Ripper \| Tagger -\| - - - Album Art - -- \| -- Player-- - ----EAC- - \| MP3Tag \| albumartexchange \| Foobar2000

03-27-2012, 16:24	#9
Enzyme (A)rrogance (B)reeds (I)gnorance Join Date: Jan 2011 Posts: 975	i had no end of troubles with the alarm on .23 it either didnt work, rebooted the player, or changed the time to something random, usually a mix of the last two. i had it marked as a useless feature until the firmware update. __________________ "Space Travels in my blood, there ain't nothing I can do about it" - The Only Ones

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03-27-2012, 11:33	#2
mandude Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Posts: 18	If Im supposed to try tcctool, the part I dont understand is -Open CMD and input cd C:\tcctool then tcctool -d cowons9 COWON_J3_FW.BIN then press ENTER if my PC doesnt recognize it how do I know how to get the file to the j3.

03-27-2012, 11:51	#5
Enzyme (A)rrogance (B)reeds (I)gnorance Join Date: Jan 2011 Posts: 975	cant really offer any advice here, just wanted to ask what firmware you and the others were running?

03-27-2012, 12:45	#6
mandude Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Posts: 18	yep Ive used the reset button before so that was my first guess. did that, pressed it while plugging in, every combo imaginable. Nothing. firmware 2.23 and I have a 32gb. I wish I ran into this problem like, when I first got it I could have sent it in then, not find this out years later!

03-27-2012, 14:01	#7
Enzyme (A)rrogance (B)reeds (I)gnorance Join Date: Jan 2011 Posts: 975	you could try holding the reset in for a lil while, like 10 seconds, if no luck repeat that while pressing the play button on and off. that got me out of a few nasty lockups with 2.23. (no idea why the play button did anything but it worked on a couple of occasions (could just be coincidence). the other option, (im guessing its still active\powered up just stuck in some non standard state) is to let the battery drain totally so it cant even get stuck in the lockup state, although how long that'll take i cannot say. then try the pc again and see if you cant update the firmware.

04-25-2012, 00:02	#10
mandude Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Posts: 18	UPDATE! Very strange. I went to do this tcc tool thing. I figured WHAT THE HECK, let me try one more time. I tried turning on the unit, no luck. I then plugged it into a power outlet. The screen flashed white really bright for less then a second. Then it started charging!!!! This is about a month later. So I guess the battery drained. I dunno what to think, but I dont care I am just glad it is working again.. I have missed my music so much! You can bet your sweet butt I am backing up my entire mp3 as we speak! Hope this info helps anyone that may have had this happen. Let it sit for a month (painstaking, I know).