I’m one of the few, if not the only person within the TGGP crowd to own a Zune. It has performed quite well for me and is actually a great MP3 player. When I updated the firmware to 2.2 to match the firmware version of the latest Zune 2’s to hit the market, I was really looking forward to all of the new goodies. The problems started after I installed the latest version of the Zune Software.
The firmware update to the device never caused any problems. In fact, I thoroughly enjoyed the updates to the device. Especially the increase in battery life. However, hardware is only as good as the software running it. For starters, the Zune team completely changed the entire interface of the Zune software. I have no idea what the Zune Software Usability team was smoking, because they turned the software into something unusable. The old software was actually a modified version of Windows Media Player. Sure, it was a clunky in some areas and could of used some improvements, but it got the job done. One of the best features of the old software was the ability to drag and drop. The new software completely wiped that functionality off the map.
As I began to tinker with the new software, I became increasingly frustrated with not knowing what to do. I was so clueless as to how to use the new software, I couldn’t sync MP3 files to the device to listen to that night. After sleeping on it, I decided to check out the user guide. The user guide didn’t help me at all. The new Zune software is really big on automatically syncing and even though I tried my best to turn that option off, for whatever reason it kept syncing files. I had no idea on how to add files to the device and trying to browse the Zune via the software was a complete waste of time. The browse button hardly allowed any browsing at all.
After hitting the tipping point of my frustration and checking out PAGES upon PAGES of people demanding Microsoft provide a way for them to revert their firmware and associated software back to the previous version, I discovered a forum thread that included step by step instructions on how to revert the firmware to 1.4, the version I was using before the upgrade. It would of been awesome to have the new firmware on my Zune but then use the OLD software to sync files but Microsoft has made it so that the software and device firmware are matched pairs.
It took me a total of two days to go through the steps and figure out how to revert the software and firmware back to the previous version. If you really dislike the new Zune software, I highly encourage you to check out THIS FORUM THREAD. This thread provides step by step instructions on how to revert back. I encountered a few problems that no one else seemed to but Sracer and the rest of the gang in that thread really helped me out.
Thank god for this forum thread. My Zune is back on 1.4 and I’m using the old software which allows me to drag and drop to sync files manually. I can actually use the damn thing now without needing a Phd in the use of software. I’m just glad I was able to control my anger and disgust for the Zune team unlike THIS GUY who smashed his Zune with a hammer. Gallery Of The Zune Meeting Hammer
Jeff is a valued contributor to the GGP Blog and the unfortunate title of the only Zune owner I know, or at least the only one that has fessed up. Please go and console Jeff at his blog and tell him to get a real MP3 player.