Hey everyone, the Zune team is aware of the battery issue and has been actively working on finding a resolution. Unfortunately I can't comment on the progress or when a fix might be available. Those types of announcements have to come through official channels and the decisions on when to make those announcements are made by people much higher up the corporate ladder than me. I use things too and I know how frustrating it can be when it feels like you're talking to a brick wall. I just wanted to poke my head out the door and say we feel your pain (we use Zunes too) and we're doing the best we can.
As an FYI, if you have issues with your Zune here is my personal list of Do's and Dont's for getting someone's attention. Mostly it is being civil and using common sense. Luckily the vast majority of the posts I have seen have been of the Do type rather than the Don't type.
DO
-Call the support line. This is probably the single most important thing you can do. Even if they are completely unhelpful the issue is logged in a database. Support calls are the primary way we find out what kinds of problems people are having. When enough people call in with a battery problem it bubbles up to the top of the list of issues to address.
-Post a message on the forum describing your problem. Include as much detail as you can. Which Zune model do you use? How long have you had it? When did the problem start happening? Does it happen all the time, most of the time, rarely? What are you doing when the problem happens? Listing to music? Viewing pictures? Browsing your library? Too much information is much better than too little information. The forum is an unofficial feedback mechanism but there are a few Zune staffers who read it.
-When you start a new thread describing a problem, try to include key identifying words in the title: Battery, Zunepad, screen, headphone jack, etc. "Help" might be a good one too. For myself, I don't have time to go through all the threads. I tend to use the search feature to find threads I can specifically help out with.
-If somebody else has already posted a thread about your issue or closely related to your issue, don't start a new thread about it. One thread with 150 replies is much more likely to be noticed than 15 threads with 10 replies.
-Try the solutions other users have posted and post your results. You never know what might work and there is a chance it could help direct us to a solution.
DON'T
-Make demands in 150 point bright-red font. I can promise there isn't a single person here who will read a message like that and say, "OMG, this person used 150 point bright-red font! We'd better do something about it!" I find that just plain annoying; I suspect others do too. If I am annoyed at a thread I am unlikely to respond to it.
-Make assumptions about our motives. Contrary to popular belief, those of us who work at Microsoft don't sit around smoking $1000 bills and thinking of ways we can stick it to the customer. Just like everyone else we take pride in our work and want people to enjoy the results of our efforts. When customers are happy, we're happy. When customers aren't happy, we're not happy. Most likely your assumptions are wrong and I'll just get annoyed.
-Insult us. We're all very busy and don't have time to engage in "conversation" with someone who is more interested in arguing that discussion. Besides, I'll get annoyed.
-Title your post "ZUNE STAFFER PLEASE READ!!!!!!!!!!" I'll read what I want thank you very much. If you want me to read your post, write something interesting. ![Wink [;)]](/emoticons/emotion-5.gif)
I find all caps and multiple exclamation points annoying.
-Use 1337 5p34k. (Is there anyone who doesn't get annoyed at that?)
These are just my personal guidelines for posting. If you want to say, "2u(\)3 5uxx0rz, 1p0d r0xx0rz" in huge, multi-colored, flashing font, by all means do so. Just don't expect a response.
-Dak
Zune Product Team
.: This posting is provided "as-is" with no warranties, and confers no rights :.
