Product Review
[ASIN:B0023B14TK Flip UltraHD Camcorder, 120 Minutes (Black)]] I purchased a FLIP ULTRA HD on July 17 and received it approximately 3 days later. Upon receipt, I immediately attempted to charge the unit by connecting it to the USB port of my computer. During the charging process, the device stopped charging on numerous occassions and displayed "Check Battery Pack - Charging Paused" and "It's Really Hot - Charging Paused" error messages. The charging process was unsuccessful. Thinking I might have a battery problem, I ordered a second battery and was unable to charge that one as well with the identical results. I then ordered the optional Video Power Adapter and gave it another try. After approximately 20 minutes, charging would pause with an "It's Really Hot - Charging Paused" error message. After repeated unsuccessful attempts to charge the battery, I contacted FLIP technical support for assistance. This was a total waste of time and effort so I decided to send the unit to the FLIP repair center for either repair or replacement. This was done on July 23. Additionally, I wrote a letter to the FLIP CEO explaining the problem and conveying my suspicions that FLIP had either a design, manufacturing or quality problem. I also conveyed my concerns that the unit might present a potential fire hazard due to overheating. The letter was sent July 24. This problem appears to be wide spread as it has been reported in numerous reviews on this site. I also plan to contact the product safety group within Amazon to report the symptoms and problems that I have experienced with this unit.
You are absolutely right. I got three Flip Ultra HD Camcorder units one after the other and had the identical problems that you describe. I called Flip Tech support and they were all but useless. I had each unit for 24 hours and returned each and exchanged for another when I was unable to get it to charge. I went to different area Best Buys. I sent an email to tech support and still haven't heard a word. That was two weeks ago. I really wanted it to work...but the units and then tech support have creative a zealot who is telling everyone he knows how bad the unit is. I am surprised that it hasn't gotten anymore press or discussion. Thanks for telling the world.
I just bought the Flip Ultra HD a couple of days ago and ran into the same thing. I would charge it via USB for about 30 minutes before it stopped. "Too hot, charging paused" is the message it shows me. And I'm supposed to charge this thing for 6 to 7 hours, not happening. I took the device back to Best Buy and picked up another per Flip tech support request and it does the same thing. I've notified them and they have made some report but other than that I agree, useless. Don't know what to do and I too am surprised that there is not more coverage. I like Flip and don't want to have to get some other brand but if I can't charge it, what choice do I have? I know that I can just keep getting AA batteries but that is inconvenient and false advertisement. I even bought the wall charger, it does charge for a bit longer, about an hour before it heats up and stops FYI.
I don't really plan to use this site (facebook is bad enough) however I created an account specifically to leave feedback on this topic as I was experiencing the same problem. The following is directly from Flip Video support and it rectified this issue for me:
==========================================================================
If your battery pack is not charging properly, please try the following:
1) remove the battery pack from the camcorder
2) connect the camcorder to a powered USB port on your computer
3) when the "Connected" indicator comes on, insert the battery pack into the camcorder
4) safe eject your camcorder from your computer
5) reconnect your camcorder to your computer
6) the battery pack should now begin to charge within the camcorder
==========================================================================
After following this procedure the charging issue was rectified. Sounds like the usb device was hung in a state, maybe a problem with the journaled file system, that this cleared. In any event...it worked for me.
==========================================================================
If your battery pack is not charging properly, please try the following:
1) remove the battery pack from the camcorder
2) connect the camcorder to a powered USB port on your computer
3) when the "Connected" indicator comes on, insert the battery pack into the camcorder
4) safe eject your camcorder from your computer
5) reconnect your camcorder to your computer
6) the battery pack should now begin to charge within the camcorder
==========================================================================
After following this procedure the charging issue was rectified. Sounds like the usb device was hung in a state, maybe a problem with the journaled file system, that this cleared. In any event...it worked for me.
e-user001, I have a question about your instructions. When you say "safe eject your camcorder from your computer" I think you mean to use the "safe eject" feature of Windows, but not to physically disconnect the Flip from the USB port. So, when you then say "reconnect your camcorder to your computer", how do you do this? The Flip is already plugged in to the USB port, what more can I do?
I tried the safe eject, but my Flip still seems to cycle between charging and telling me to check the battery pack.
I tried the safe eject, but my Flip still seems to cycle between charging and telling me to check the battery pack.
I have also had the same problems. I purchased one from costco and got the 'I'm too hot' error (my apt gets up to 80 deg, but none of my other equipment has problems). I returned the first one and got another one, but there's the same problem. The flip products have a great design, but their tech support is clueless. They first told me that the device didn't have a heat related error, so I sent them the screen shot of it. Now they want me to RMA it at my own expense. I told I would do it if they paid for the shipping and sent me a replacement, but they didn't go for that. I think the whole HD product line has hardware problems. So now the dilemma is that none of their competitors (sony and kodak) have 2 hours of battery life and storage, so there's nothing I can replace it with. Anyone have any alternative-product suggestions? I need HD and 2 hours of recording time.
e-user001's advice mostly worked for me. a few times it would still say "charging paused" and then i charged it again later.
I have had this problem with two Flip Ultra HDs and was ready to return my second one, when I tried this advice and it worked for me as well. Thanks.
All...thanks so much for posting these....I had the same problem. I was getting ready to RMA and with all of your notes I am not going to do it. I tried using AA batteries as Flip support told me they would last for weeks....Not so much....AA lasts for 1 hour at best. So I tried regular Duracell rechargeable batteries and they worked like a champ. I also reinserted the Flip battery and now it is charging in my PC ok. One thing I noticed is that the generic wall chargers work the worst. They "overheat" the unit very quickly; so unfortunately I am not going to use it. Good luck.....
I recently bought a FLIP Ultra HD - 120 mins (Black) and experienced similar problem. I tried using 2xAA batteries but that didn't last me more than 20 mins of recording time. I also tried as e-user001 suggested but the problem still persist. After 4 attempts, the unit stopped charging and promptly showed "It's Really Hot - Charging Paused". It's a pity the company did not make any effort to rectify the inherent problem given that this is one of the best camcorder around with superb video quantity and best of all - it's IDIOT PROOF! P.S. I'm still waiting for the 2nd battery and adapter to arrive - probably it's useless too.
I just wanted to thank e-user001 for their advice. I tried what they had suggested and now the flip charges fine. I appreciate your help! Here is the advice again;
Product Review: FLIP ULTRA HD BATTERY CHARGNG PROBLEMS
Posted on Aug 6, 2009 9:44 pm I don't really plan to use this site (facebook is bad enough) however I created an account specifically to leave feedback on this topic as I was experiencing the same problem. The following is directly from Flip Video support and it rectified this issue for me:
==========================================================================
If your battery pack is not charging properly, please try the following:
1) remove the battery pack from the camcorder
2) connect the camcorder to a powered USB port on your computer
3) when the "Connected" indicator comes on, insert the battery pack into the camcorder
4) safe eject your camcorder from your computer
5) reconnect your camcorder to your computer
6) the battery pack should now begin to charge within the camcorder
==========================================================================
After following this procedure the charging issue was rectified. Sounds like the usb device was hung in a state, maybe a problem with the journaled file system, that this cleared. In any event...it worked for me.
Product Review: FLIP ULTRA HD BATTERY CHARGNG PROBLEMS
Posted on Aug 6, 2009 9:44 pm I don't really plan to use this site (facebook is bad enough) however I created an account specifically to leave feedback on this topic as I was experiencing the same problem. The following is directly from Flip Video support and it rectified this issue for me:
==========================================================================
If your battery pack is not charging properly, please try the following:
1) remove the battery pack from the camcorder
2) connect the camcorder to a powered USB port on your computer
3) when the "Connected" indicator comes on, insert the battery pack into the camcorder
4) safe eject your camcorder from your computer
5) reconnect your camcorder to your computer
6) the battery pack should now begin to charge within the camcorder
==========================================================================
After following this procedure the charging issue was rectified. Sounds like the usb device was hung in a state, maybe a problem with the journaled file system, that this cleared. In any event...it worked for me.
I also have an issue with the battery/charging, but somewhat different. When I plug it into the usb it seems to charge up, and shows as fully charged after the requisite time period. Then the next evening when I connect to usb the battery shows as fully drained.
I have had a similar problem with my Flip which i recieved as a Christmas gift... Tech support clueless after multiple e mails.
Went through multiple recharge cycles and encountered most of the battery problems expressed in this thread.
The method suggested above by Heeter worked temporarily. That is : the unit charged rapidly( one hour ) with no overheating . Note that prior to the "fix" the case became very warm when the unit was in the recharge mode. After safe- eject and re-connecting, the display indicated a drained battery and started re- charging.
AA batteries work OK but I suspect that they will not last very long
I purcashed this product for many of its many fine features including the USB recharge capability. Unfortunately I will be returning it for refund since it appears that the product has a serious design flaw . What dissapoints me greatly is that the problem has a history dating back at least 6 months . The Company does not appear to be acting in a completelty honest manner with its customers . This alone would be enough to stop doing business with them ....
Went through multiple recharge cycles and encountered most of the battery problems expressed in this thread.
The method suggested above by Heeter worked temporarily. That is : the unit charged rapidly( one hour ) with no overheating . Note that prior to the "fix" the case became very warm when the unit was in the recharge mode. After safe- eject and re-connecting, the display indicated a drained battery and started re- charging.
AA batteries work OK but I suspect that they will not last very long
I purcashed this product for many of its many fine features including the USB recharge capability. Unfortunately I will be returning it for refund since it appears that the product has a serious design flaw . What dissapoints me greatly is that the problem has a history dating back at least 6 months . The Company does not appear to be acting in a completelty honest manner with its customers . This alone would be enough to stop doing business with them ....
I had the same problem too with this Flip Ultra HD 120 mins (black). Fortunely I found this posting and now it's clear that is a case of manufactural problem with the rechargable batteries. Probably the best solution will be to use another brand of batteries as Flip is not getting responsible for its own product but... "made in China"... mmm unafortunely this advise is only visible once you open it and read the instructions. But there's a 'responsible party' by Pure Digital Technologies in SFO...
Mine has been a major headache, but conveniently (for them) after the 90 day warranty period. I will never by another product from Pure Digital! I have tried all of the suggested fixes but nothing works. It turns on for about 1 minute and then poof! It's too bad, it worked great for the first three months and now it's a piece of garbage!
I found this on the web, try this at your own risk. "The problem isn't in the camera, it is in the battery pack design and construction. Check the contacts on the bottom of the pack. for some reason, the plastic sheathing covers the positive contact of one of the batteries. I took an xacto knife and cut a small hole to expose that end. after that, voila, no more charging problem. I woke up to a full charge this morning."
I have not used the supplied battery pack myself, at all.
I am a pro photographer with a fairly large collection of quality rechargeable batteries and two La Crosse high quality battery charging units. Sanyo eneloops are the top rated rechargeables on the market, but the pre-charged Duracells are very good as well.
I charge all of my devices only with my La Crosse units and always with a small PC cooling fan blowing across the batteries while charging.
These batteries give me TWO FULL hours of camera running time with no ill effects at all. Energizer 2350mAh batteries should last even longer, as the supplied Flip battery pack is rated at 2100mAh. Stay away from rechargeables over 2350 mAh, as they will all suffer from a HSD (High Self Discharge) problem inherent in all brands over 2350 mAh. This means that even sitting on a shelf, a HSD battery will lose their charge in four to six weeks. LSD batteries can hold 85% of their charge on a shelf for up to a year.
The camera, Flip Ultra HD 2nd generation works flawlessly.
Hope this is of some help.
I have not used the supplied battery pack myself, at all.
I am a pro photographer with a fairly large collection of quality rechargeable batteries and two La Crosse high quality battery charging units. Sanyo eneloops are the top rated rechargeables on the market, but the pre-charged Duracells are very good as well.
I charge all of my devices only with my La Crosse units and always with a small PC cooling fan blowing across the batteries while charging.
These batteries give me TWO FULL hours of camera running time with no ill effects at all. Energizer 2350mAh batteries should last even longer, as the supplied Flip battery pack is rated at 2100mAh. Stay away from rechargeables over 2350 mAh, as they will all suffer from a HSD (High Self Discharge) problem inherent in all brands over 2350 mAh. This means that even sitting on a shelf, a HSD battery will lose their charge in four to six weeks. LSD batteries can hold 85% of their charge on a shelf for up to a year.
The camera, Flip Ultra HD 2nd generation works flawlessly.
Hope this is of some help.
Grimbeorn said: "made in China"... mmm unafortunely this advise is only visible once you open it and read the instructions"
Actually, the Sanyo Eneloops are made in China and are rated as probably the highest quality rechargeable available on the market. Batteries made in Japan are of MUCH lesser quality and those made anywhere else... forget it.
Actually, the Sanyo Eneloops are made in China and are rated as probably the highest quality rechargeable available on the market. Batteries made in Japan are of MUCH lesser quality and those made anywhere else... forget it.
OK, here is the deal. Since I was not going to use the supplied battery pack that came with my flip ultra anyway, I decided to give the batteries a thorough test using my LaCrosse BT900 Charger/analyzer. I had to cut open the battery pack and un-solder the metal strip which connected the two batteries positive to negative. I placed the (now separated from each other) batteries in my charger and ran several tests on the batteries. Both rate very good. Mfr states they are 2100mAh batteries, one tested at 2210mAh, the other at 2140mAh. I will now place the dated batteries on a shelf for four weeks and measure voltage once again, to determine if these are HSD or LSD batteries. But so far, the batteries look like quality batteries. I am still pleased that I chose to use my Eneloops in the Flip rather than the supplied battery pack, because I KNOW I can trust Eneloops. They are rated at 2000mAh but do supply two full hours of use in the camera. My guess is that the internal charger of the camera isn't all that it should be, but as for the camera itself - awesome awesome images.
Alcain, I tryed to remove the battery but that was not effective. The "Check Battery Pack - Charging Paused" and "It's Really Hot - Charging Paused" error messages still appearing on the display.
So, I don't know why, I put a fan in front at the open Flip during the charging process and... works! Full charged battery, for the first time ever!
So, I don't know why, I put a fan in front at the open Flip during the charging process and... works! Full charged battery, for the first time ever!
I assume that these charging issues are due to high resistance connections with the battery packs. I had the same charging problems as many as you, i.e. No Charging whatsoever. So I looked at the insulation around the bottom of the battery pack and looked at the terminal in the camera... pathetic design from what I can tell. No spring? Are you kidding me? I trimmed back the insulation on the battery pack and put it back in the camera to see if it will charge this time. I'll let you know how that works out.
so, tried the eject process listed here, still getting the overheat... so right now the flip is sitting on an icepack and charging fine.
I am having the same problem and nothing seems to works. I am sitting at the PC looking at my Flip trying to charge with an ice pack on it. Goodness...
Seem to be three issues here. Lack of support from the company, a technical glitch when the Flip is unplugged from a computer, and a genuine overheating problem. If the support isn't there, I guess we're in the business of icing the battery or following e-user001's advice. Personally, the latter has always worked, irrespective of the spurious error message announced by the Flip. Which I guess is why I'm very happy with my camera and so is my eldest son - quite literally, child's play to use. :-) Feel sorry for you folks with genuine overheating issues though - the company should really come clean on that :-(
4) safe eject your camcorder from your computer
This means you have to go to My Computer, find Flip USB device, right click and choose "Eject". It will re-connect with PC right away by my computer just then announced that new USB device has been discovered, installed something blah blah and then ... USB Device not recognized, please remove...
Anyway on another forum I found advice to simply remove battery cover when charging, it should fix the problem in many cases...
This means you have to go to My Computer, find Flip USB device, right click and choose "Eject". It will re-connect with PC right away by my computer just then announced that new USB device has been discovered, installed something blah blah and then ... USB Device not recognized, please remove...
Anyway on another forum I found advice to simply remove battery cover when charging, it should fix the problem in many cases...
I used the solution provided by e-user001 and it worked!
My flip now recharges fine and does not say "It's Really Hot - Charging Paused".
==========================================================================
e-user001: The following is directly from Flip Video support and it rectified this issue for me:
If your battery pack is not charging properly, please try the following:
1) remove the battery pack from the camcorder
2) connect the camcorder to a powered USB port on your computer
3) when the "Connected" indicator comes on, insert the battery pack into the camcorder
4) safe eject your camcorder from your computer
5) reconnect your camcorder to your computer
6) the battery pack should now begin to charge within the camcorder
==========================================================================
My flip now recharges fine and does not say "It's Really Hot - Charging Paused".
==========================================================================
e-user001: The following is directly from Flip Video support and it rectified this issue for me:
If your battery pack is not charging properly, please try the following:
1) remove the battery pack from the camcorder
2) connect the camcorder to a powered USB port on your computer
3) when the "Connected" indicator comes on, insert the battery pack into the camcorder
4) safe eject your camcorder from your computer
5) reconnect your camcorder to your computer
6) the battery pack should now begin to charge within the camcorder
==========================================================================
I got my Flip Ultra HD two weeks ago and love it. But man - was I having trouble recharging my completely drained battery pack! Following blog advice I tried unsuccesfully to plug it in, remove the pack et al.
I finally took a razor blade and very carefully cut away the plastic on the negative terminal and voila - It Works Like A Champ! Thank you so much for the advice.
I finally took a razor blade and very carefully cut away the plastic on the negative terminal and voila - It Works Like A Champ! Thank you so much for the advice.
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