Zunes are indestructable

Phlag · 06-18-2007, 05:14 PM

I bought a Zune a while ago, and then I won a free one. So, in order to return my original Zune (so I could use the money for other things), I decided to go ahead and break my Zune to cash in on the warranty I got (which I got because I've had such terrible problems with MP3 players in the past). It's immoral, I know. That's not the point. This isn't a thread about the morals and ethics of warranty fraud.

My friend and I have tried our DAMNDEST to break this thing - not a crack in the screen, the warranty doesn't cover that. At first we tried pouring water into the headphone and USB jack while leaving the Zune on. No luck. The thing works fine.
Then we filled up the sync, started playing a movie, and left it there for 20 minutes. That seemed like it worked - the video froze after a while. We let the battery drain. The next day, we plugged it into the USB charger to make sure it wasn't working. It was.
Then we started playing music and beating the hell out of it. We pounded it on our floor as hard as possible, switching songs so that it was reading from the hard drive. We passed it back and forth until our hands were sore. The thing is, it kept detecting the trauma. It would stop playing music whenever we hit it especially hard.
Next, we got a power cord, cut off the female end, stripped the wires, and plugged the male end into the wall. Then we put the bare wires into the USB connector. It got zapped good and hard, setting off a fuse. A little bit of the power cord's wiring melted to the inside (which we chipped off). The Zune still worked just fine.
We did it again. It still worked fine. We did it a third time - it's as good as new. It boggles my mind.
My next plan was to reformat it. While it was doing so, we pounded it on the floor with all our strength, hoping to mess up SOMETHING. It froze. We let the battery drain and then charged it up again. This time it came up with an error message: "To recover from an error, Zune must clear all content." I push "Okay," it reboots, and presents the same message. I'm guessing that we could theoretically force a reformat (reboot, then hold return, center, and pause while booting), and things would be back to normal. But I'm willing to bet that Geeksquad doesn't know about that, so they'll probably accept the return. But in reality, the thing still isn't really broken.

With the iPods I've had, the harddrives would fail if I exhaled in their direction. Zunes are GODDAMNED TANKS. They have numerous failsafes to protect the integrity of the hardware. If you bought a Zune - which I highly recommend - rest assured that it will last you a long time. You won't be able to break it if you try.

Wootmasta · 06-18-2007, 05:19 PM

Good to know

Nice story
But they might be extra picky like apple is. Apple didn't give my friend a new nano because there was a slight dent in the back. Bull****

crimsonwolf · 06-18-2007, 05:20 PM

Zune is extremely resistant in comparison with all other mp3 players known to man, it will take a helloutalota damage and remain unscratched, but unfortuately it is not indestructible, for instance, try hitting it with a hammer, or droping it in acid, or nuking it, or giving it to 3 year old, and so on and on.

Cursemaster0 · 06-18-2007, 05:36 PM

Yes I agree wih crimsomwolf. I droped mine on the cement and now there's a dent in the corner.

nhanson · 06-18-2007, 06:58 PM

lol i baby mine..haha bought the protection plan from bestbuy and bought the DLO squishy case which came with a belt clip and armband...

Mrtacobell · 06-18-2007, 08:51 PM

I really feel sorry for that zune

Phlag · 06-18-2007, 09:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crimsonwolf

Zune is extremely resistant in comparison with all other mp3 players known to man, it will take a helloutalota damage and remain unscratched, but unfortuately it is not indestructible, for instance, try hitting it with a hammer, or droping it in acid, or nuking it, or giving it to 3 year old, and so on and on.

I'm not sure if you were kidding or not, but when I said that it was indestructible, I was using hyperbole. Sort of like how at the end I said that Zunes are tanks, I didn't really mean that it was an enclosed armored military vehicle with canons. Hitting it with a hammer wouldn't work in my case because it would blatantly void my warranty. Same with nuking and dropping it acid (aside from the fact that those two things are infeasible). And giving it to a 3-year-old will NOT break the Zune. Two healthy twenty-year-olds put all their strength in pounding the hell on the Zune with no substantial results. Unless the 3-year-old knows something we don't know, or if he has access to your nukes and acid, he won't have any luck either.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cursemaster0

Yes I agree wih crimsomwolf. I droped mine on the cement and now there's a dent in the corner.

My post wasn't about cosmetic damage - repeatedly I specified that what I did was to try and break its inner-workings. And even still, from my experience the Zune is pretty resistant to cosmetic damage. I've had my Zune since a week or so after launch, and it has no visible scratches. Drop ANYTHING on concrete and it will get scratched.

David · 06-18-2007, 11:54 PM

ummm... I dont' know about best buy... but I know that pouring water in your zune would void the microsoft warrenty.

godbeast · 06-19-2007, 01:18 PM

good to know, i'm pretty brutal on my electronics and all my friends who have Ipods are always getting them broke so I've been extra careful with this. (aside from using shuffle while I run a couple miles)

Guess I don't have to be so worried about dropping it now. lol

Cabe · 06-19-2007, 01:25 PM

Why don't you just stick it in the microwave and see what happens.

crimsonwolf · 06-19-2007, 02:54 PM

Anonymous541 I know what you meant, and yes I was kidding, just kinda adding to your point of view. And if you really want to see the limit of your zune's resistance just drop it in a fusion reactor (if you can find one), that will destroy it for sure, and make some sweet fireworks too.

Phlag · 06-20-2007, 06:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gold.n.god

ummm... I dont' know about best buy... but I know that pouring water in your zune would void the microsoft warrenty.

Best Buy doesn't need to know that I intentionally broke this Zune. I just told them that it stopped working. (I know, it's immoral, illegal, unscrupulous, etc.)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cabe

Why don't you just stick it in the microwave and see what happens.

That crossed my mind. I didn't want to cause any damage to my microwave, though.

And sorry for responding to your post in such a dickish way, Crimsonwolf.

David · 06-20-2007, 07:38 PM

so you got your money back for your original zune, and you're keeping the free zune.

lucky you.

thefadednight · 06-21-2007, 06:15 AM

why not be nice and give your friend one?

MasterShake · 06-21-2007, 07:01 AM

soak it in alcohol

Nurta · 06-21-2007, 07:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anonymous451

Unless the 3-year-old knows something we don't know, or if he has access to your nukes and acid, he won't have any luck either.

Three year olds know a lot of things the rest of us don't.

David · 06-21-2007, 11:47 AM

like what?

jessy · 06-22-2007, 08:29 PM

something about how their saliva is really corrosive.

David · 06-25-2007, 01:47 AM

lol I guess so.

Zuneary Bypass · 06-25-2007, 06:52 AM

or you could have simply taken it back and said it was broken. that usually works, but what do i know?

06-18-2007, 05:14 PM	#1 (permalink)
Phlag Posting Disabled Squirt Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 13 Reputation: 10 $zB: 0 Donate	Zunes are indestructable I bought a Zune a while ago, and then I won a free one. So, in order to return my original Zune (so I could use the money for other things), I decided to go ahead and break my Zune to cash in on the warranty I got (which I got because I've had such terrible problems with MP3 players in the past). It's immoral, I know. That's not the point. This isn't a thread about the morals and ethics of warranty fraud. My friend and I have tried our DAMNDEST to break this thing - not a crack in the screen, the warranty doesn't cover that. At first we tried pouring water into the headphone and USB jack while leaving the Zune on. No luck. The thing works fine. Then we filled up the sync, started playing a movie, and left it there for 20 minutes. That seemed like it worked - the video froze after a while. We let the battery drain. The next day, we plugged it into the USB charger to make sure it wasn't working. It was. Then we started playing music and beating the hell out of it. We pounded it on our floor as hard as possible, switching songs so that it was reading from the hard drive. We passed it back and forth until our hands were sore. The thing is, it kept detecting the trauma. It would stop playing music whenever we hit it especially hard. Next, we got a power cord, cut off the female end, stripped the wires, and plugged the male end into the wall. Then we put the bare wires into the USB connector. It got zapped good and hard, setting off a fuse. A little bit of the power cord's wiring melted to the inside (which we chipped off). The Zune still worked just fine. We did it again. It still worked fine. We did it a third time - it's as good as new. It boggles my mind. My next plan was to reformat it. While it was doing so, we pounded it on the floor with all our strength, hoping to mess up SOMETHING. It froze. We let the battery drain and then charged it up again. This time it came up with an error message: "To recover from an error, Zune must clear all content." I push "Okay," it reboots, and presents the same message. I'm guessing that we could theoretically force a reformat (reboot, then hold return, center, and pause while booting), and things would be back to normal. But I'm willing to bet that Geeksquad doesn't know about that, so they'll probably accept the return. But in reality, the thing still isn't really broken. With the iPods I've had, the harddrives would fail if I exhaled in their direction. Zunes are GODDAMNED TANKS. They have numerous failsafes to protect the integrity of the hardware. If you bought a Zune - which I highly recommend - rest assured that it will last you a long time. You won't be able to break it if you try.

06-18-2007, 05:19 PM	#2 (permalink)
Wootmasta What what? In the butt Retired Staff Super Zuner Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 1,828 Reputation: 155 $zB: 155 Donate	Good to know Nice story But they might be extra picky like apple is. Apple didn't give my friend a new nano because there was a slight dent in the back. Bull**** __________________ To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. It's not that I'm lazy, it's that I just don't care.

06-18-2007, 05:20 PM	#3 (permalink)
crimsonwolf Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: WTF do u care? Posts: 593 Reputation: 20 $zB: 0 Donate	Zune is extremely resistant in comparison with all other mp3 players known to man, it will take a helloutalota damage and remain unscratched, but unfortuately it is not indestructible, for instance, try hitting it with a hammer, or droping it in acid, or nuking it, or giving it to 3 year old, and so on and on. __________________ To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

06-18-2007, 05:36 PM	#4 (permalink)
Cursemaster0 Experienced Zuner Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 202 Reputation: 12 $zB: 4 Donate	Yes I agree wih crimsomwolf. I droped mine on the cement and now there's a dent in the corner. __________________ To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

06-18-2007, 11:54 PM	#8 (permalink)
David I eat sand Retired Staff Expert Zuner Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: right behind you Posts: 2,800 Reputation: 60 $zB: 54 Donate	ummm... I dont' know about best buy... but I know that pouring water in your zune would void the microsoft warrenty. __________________ To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

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06-18-2007, 06:58 PM	#5 (permalink)
nhanson Uber Zuner Jr. Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Minnesota Posts: 359 Reputation: 32 $zB: 3 Donate	lol i baby mine..haha bought the protection plan from bestbuy and bought the DLO squishy case which came with a belt clip and armband...

06-18-2007, 08:51 PM	#6 (permalink)
Mrtacobell Jr. Member Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 410 Reputation: 12 $zB: 1 Donate	I really feel sorry for that zune

06-19-2007, 01:18 PM	#9 (permalink)
godbeast Squirt Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 27 Reputation: 10 $zB: 0 Donate	good to know, i'm pretty brutal on my electronics and all my friends who have Ipods are always getting them broke so I've been extra careful with this. (aside from using shuffle while I run a couple miles) Guess I don't have to be so worried about dropping it now. lol

06-19-2007, 01:25 PM	#10 (permalink)
Cabe Squirt Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Glasgow, Scotland Posts: 10 Reputation: 10 $zB: 0 Donate	Why don't you just stick it in the microwave and see what happens. __________________ To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

06-19-2007, 02:54 PM	#11 (permalink)
crimsonwolf Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: WTF do u care? Posts: 593 Reputation: 20 $zB: 0 Donate	Anonymous541 I know what you meant, and yes I was kidding, just kinda adding to your point of view. And if you really want to see the limit of your zune's resistance just drop it in a fusion reactor (if you can find one), that will destroy it for sure, and make some sweet fireworks too. __________________ To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

06-20-2007, 07:38 PM	#13 (permalink)
David I eat sand Retired Staff Expert Zuner Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: right behind you Posts: 2,800 Reputation: 60 $zB: 54 Donate	so you got your money back for your original zune, and you're keeping the free zune. lucky you. __________________ To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

06-21-2007, 06:15 AM	#14 (permalink)
thefadednight Experienced Zuner Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: NY USA Posts: 236 Reputation: 5 $zB: 0 Donate	why not be nice and give your friend one?

06-21-2007, 07:01 AM	#15 (permalink)
MasterShake Zuner Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: SoCal Posts: 74 Reputation: 10 $zB: 0 Donate	soak it in alcohol __________________ To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

06-21-2007, 11:47 AM	#17 (permalink)
David I eat sand Retired Staff Expert Zuner Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: right behind you Posts: 2,800 Reputation: 60 $zB: 54 Donate	like what? __________________ To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

06-22-2007, 08:29 PM	#18 (permalink)
jessy Experienced Zuner Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 178 Reputation: 10 $zB: 16 Donate	something about how their saliva is really corrosive.

06-25-2007, 01:47 AM	#19 (permalink)
David I eat sand Retired Staff Expert Zuner Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: right behind you Posts: 2,800 Reputation: 60 $zB: 54 Donate	lol I guess so. __________________ To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

06-25-2007, 06:52 AM	#20 (permalink)
Zuneary Bypass Zuner Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 52 Reputation: 10 $zB: 4 Donate	or you could have simply taken it back and said it was broken. that usually works, but what do i know? __________________ To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

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