Zune: How To Reset
If your Zune locks up or fails to respond, you can reset it by following this tech-recipe:
1. Make sure that the Hold switch is turned off.
2. Hold down the Back button and Up on the control pad until you see the Zune logo appear on the screen.
Once the device finishes starting up, your Zune should function as normal. This procedure will not delete any of your media files.
Update: This will not fix the 12/31/08 30-Gig Zune brick. Go there for additional details.










Victoria said on October 4, 2008
Thank you so much. I had no idea how to reset or make my zune respond. It had never just shut off while I was using it. This restart function helped LOADS! Thanks again!!
Adam said on October 8, 2008
thank you!
i was freaking out until i searched this and found it.
ugh thank you again.
made my day.
brad said on October 9, 2008
mine is frozen on the logo screen ad it wont reset
Troy said on October 13, 2008
Yeah thanks for the helpl
Daryl said on October 13, 2008
thank you so much now its working. what a relief
William said on October 15, 2008
Wow! You’re a life saver!!!!!!!!!!!
Evan said on October 21, 2008
Wow thanks so much for this info!
Wurgy said on October 21, 2008
Sweet! I was getting an error saying my Zune wouldn’t connect with the software and unplug and try again or contact support. This worked perfectly! Saved me cause I just reformated my PC and was going to download my music from the zune. Whew….now I know better. backup, backup, backup.
Marlon said on October 28, 2008
Awesome. Ever time i do it my battery is out of a sudden but it still cool.
joker said on November 4, 2008
mine is too what did you do?
Lea said on November 7, 2008
Thanks so much… i was freaking out. i love my zune so much
i thought i lost it forever!!!!
khash said on November 8, 2008
thank you. my zune will randomly freeze up. its so annoying. atleast now i know how to fix it!
kari said on November 13, 2008
my zune wont turn on and i tried to reset it but i jus wont turn on i tried to look for the customer service number for the zune microsoft and i jus cant find it i need help!!!!!!!!
weaz said on December 21, 2008
thanks bro. I thought it was all over appreciate it.
rick leadley said on December 31, 2008
I tried that and it is frozen on the logo. still won’t reset, any suggegestions
Steve said on December 31, 2008
Mine will charge, but it will get to the logo and load up bar and sit there and not load up. I can’t do the reset, because it won’t respond. It just site at the logo screen until the battery dies. Can anyone give me some help?
aaron said on December 31, 2008
hey!!! i am having the same problem. how did you fix it bro?
Anonymous said on December 31, 2008
mine to its stuck on the login screen and wont reset!
usdnundr said on December 31, 2008
Same here… won’t reset and won’t allow any input
Buck said on December 31, 2008
Interesting. My Zune also is “stuck” at the startup screen and will not move beyond it, nor will it reset. This seems to be happening to a lot of people in the last day based on postings here and elsewhere. Has anyone had any luck?
Rob said on December 31, 2008
Something must have happened to the network around 3:00 in the morning. If I can connect the thing to the internet (I’m on dead battery now), I’m going to shut off the wireless connect option.
John said on December 31, 2008
Mine is stuck on the boot screen too (logo) too! Damn it!
Rob said on December 31, 2008
Uh oh. I can’t even seem to get the device to charge. It doesn’t recognize it as connected. Why do I have a feeling we’re all gonna need a new mp3 player?
melo said on December 31, 2008
WTF!!!..i fell asleep listenin 2 my zune like i do every nite..it stays plugged in while i listen 2 it..den wen i woke up i noticed tha music had stopped nd wen i looked at my zune it was stuk on tha logo screen..plz sum1 tell me dat it can b fixed..i tried that reboot nd nuttin happens
Steve said on December 31, 2008
WTF? Same thing here! Was working fine last night before bed. Now stuck on Zune screen.
bruce said on December 31, 2008
Mine’s stuck on the startup screen to – this sucks big time!
seth said on December 31, 2008
wtf mine is stuck on the logo 2 i plugged mine in before bed and wokeup and it was sitting on the login screen
kris said on December 31, 2008
i went to sleep it was fine i woke up now its stuck at the reset screen
Charles G said on December 31, 2008
I woke up this morning to s stuck Zune too… stuck on logo screen.
m said on December 31, 2008
help – me too! just a logo. tried to plug to computer and nothing… HELP
m said on December 31, 2008
zune 80g please someone help frozen logo. does not recognize connection to computer
Anonymous said on December 31, 2008
I am having the same problem this morning. Stuck on startup screen. Won’t reset even when plugged in. Computer won’t ever recognize that it is plugged in. Anyone have any ‘fixes’? Thanks!
michael said on December 31, 2008
it is 12/31/2008 amd mine too is locked up. I want my money back
He3 said on December 31, 2008
Are these comments all happening right now? 12/31/2008? Happy new year zune users! mine is stuck too
mcsmiley said on December 31, 2008
Stuck on logo screen
aecdh said on December 31, 2008
Could it be a “ZUNE VIRUS” that went off some time this morning? Mine did the same thing and it’s 12/31/08. Just a thought… :-)
Matt said on December 31, 2008
Mine has literally just done the same thing, i can charge it when it runs out of battery but then it just returns to the same logo screen, fucking scam…
Paul said on December 31, 2008
mine did it this morning as well. That’s going to make my flight this afternoon seem even longer than it already was.
matt said on December 31, 2008
Mine is stuck too.
m said on December 31, 2008
Zune’ers try this site – take out the bottom cover (Use xacto knife) and unscrew phillips head – here is the full pictorial:
http://www.rapidrepair.com/shop/zune-repair-guides.html
good luck – i have to go and buy the small phillips – the flat head screwdrivers don’t work.
m said on December 31, 2008
http://www.rapidrepair.com/shop/zune-repair-guides.html
m said on December 31, 2008
hi i agree. WTF? I just bought this thing two months ago from a friend and was really diging the videos while traveling to work. maybe you are right or microsoft has a Zune problem going on. I was able to sign onto the zune website. but when I plug in the unit nothing happens.
D said on December 31, 2008
Unbelievable… mine, too. This has to be more than a coincidence. Who has the hotline phone number to Microsoft? I’m sure they’ll want to help us all out with this issue… ;-)
TechCow said on December 31, 2008
Add another to the queue of unexplained lockups this morning. Frozen at the logo screen. I was afraid it was a power issue (I didn’t notice it until I tried plugging it in on my morning drive) but it seems there are a lot of people running into the same issue.
So far, no luck on Google or Microsoft searches. I’ll post a followup if I find anything.
raintheory said on December 31, 2008
WTF, mine is stuck the same way this morning…. Zune30
Crazy,
SkullShank said on December 31, 2008
Same boat here….stuck on logo screen since about 8am EST.
weird that this is all happening to people now
Rich said on December 31, 2008
I had the same issue and followed the instructions on this site for disassembling the Zune and then reset the battery. After doing so mine came back up fine and is working great!!!
Bill said on December 31, 2008
Add another to the mix. My is frozen at the logo as well. 12/31/08
Robbie said on December 31, 2008
Yup! Dec. 31, 2008!!!!! LOCKED ON STARTUP SCREEN – It’s the 3.1 Software – it’s a major GLITCH! Hopefully not deliberately set by some hacker! Happy New Year from Zune! I’ve had nothing but lock-ups, freezes and shut downs since version 3.0 came along……..
gogo said on December 31, 2008
+1 me too
damn it. do you guys think it has something to do w/ the date?
Anonymous said on December 31, 2008
pop just the bottom of the case, I used my finger nail and then gently lift the battery lead off the board for 10 seconds. Then reconnect. It will then reboot and everything is good. I just done it to mine. Please pass this on. No need to remove case from body. It is a little tough aligning the switch on the top.
RL said on December 31, 2008
Tried to turn mine on at 8:00am MDT and it froze up too, must be a virus. The MS help line will be flooded, hopefully they will get a patch out today, and someone from MS is reading this board. The Zune is a POS
Jeff said on December 31, 2008
Add me to the list.
I haven’t synced my Zune for a few months, so it must be an issue that was created a while back.
Haven’t had any problems until now.
mjlsr said on December 31, 2008
My 30 gig locked up when I turned it on this morning. Just thought I would add to the growing list.
Anonymous said on December 31, 2008
WOW, Mine messed up this morning too… stuck at boot / logo screen.
I will try the battery reset fix and post results.
Haywood said on December 31, 2008
damn, add me to the list! Was just trying to add a few more albums and bam! Logo screen!
Rams said on December 31, 2008
Yet another stuck “logo”…
terry said on December 31, 2008
Frozen on logo…Won’t reset.
What do I do?
Help!
Ryan said on December 31, 2008
My zune still wont go off the frozen white bar screen, is there anyone else with the problem where reset isnt helping it?
dazza said on December 31, 2008
just got from a nice holiday in the south african sun to find today 31/12/08 that my zune 30GB stuck on the logo/start up screen…….does someone have a link that was posted above how to remove the battery that worked for him?
thanks darian
Jay said on December 31, 2008
Mine Too!!!! WTF! Worked perfectly for the last 2 years!!
Dan said on December 31, 2008
I have THREE Zunes….two of the three locked up in the middle of the night.
The (2) 30gb ones locked up. The (1) 4gb Zune did not lock up.
Mike said on December 31, 2008
Same here. Stuck on Logo. Worked fine yesterday, turned it on this morning and Logo. What to do?
KB said on December 31, 2008
add one more 30 gig… this is wierd…
mark said on December 31, 2008
SCROLL UP.. There are many posts with the link to a “fix”
dazza said on December 31, 2008
found this detailed steps to remove the casing, i will try and remove the battery and reconnect and post back in 30mins.
wish me luck!
http://www.zunemods.net/850mAh_Battery_Upgrade_Mod-va20.html
darian
Haywood said on December 31, 2008
Resetting the battery fixed it for me…..for now. I’ve got a full charge, so I can at least get through work without having to listen to the jokers around me!
In a little while I’m going to try to sync it up and see if I can get a few more albums on it.
Matt said on December 31, 2008
Yup, one more 30gb, this is crap!
Dennz said on December 31, 2008
Oh well, why not? My 30gb is also frozen on the logo screen. First time it happened, and none of the reset combination works. Ah well, may have to wait for some kind of solution without having to mess around with the casing.
slut said on December 31, 2008
my 30gb locked last night. i just removed the bat and it was fine till i shut it down and restarted it. now its locked again. guess its a monster MS programing glitch. hope its fixed before i get out of the shower or my party tonight will be ever so silent.
HDH said on December 31, 2008
Same here, have two 30 gig zune both lock in logo screen. 12/31/08.
Enrique said on December 31, 2008
this sucks. Same problem here. I need the zune for work to help me deal with morons
LSG said on December 31, 2008
I have the same issue with my 30 gb zune. Frozen on the logo screen.
David said on December 31, 2008
Same problem, stuck on start up screen, noticed about 2am. Woke up hoping to find solution.
James said on December 31, 2008
This worked for me too.
Reavien said on December 31, 2008
>> Been stuck at the logo since I got up this morning. Looks like everyone’s in the same boat. WHEEEEE. How unfun
Frankh2 said on December 31, 2008
I have 2 30 gb Zunes and BOTH have the same lock up. Nothing on the MS Zune page. I’ll try the fix suggested!
Pete E said on December 31, 2008
I have 5 Zunes in my household, all five are of the 30 gig type and all have same problem,
Pete E said on December 31, 2008
I would not advise anyone to do the work around posted here. If you do this you could void any type of warranty from Microsoft. I am a computer technician and I have seen this type of problem before, let Microsoft work on the issue and post a fix before opening up your Zune and voiding its warranty.
J said on December 31, 2008
I had the same problem 30gb zune wouldn’t reset from the startup logo… reset battery works great now.
B. said on December 31, 2008
6hr drive today is going to suck SO bad now.
Bob said on December 31, 2008
1-877-438-9863 BUt good luck getting through to them
Anonymous said on December 31, 2008
We’re stuck with this bug till the new year, I guess. I’ll be at Times Square because I’ll be too bored with out the ZUNE! :*( Happy New Year Guys
Zack said on December 31, 2008
same problem…
i was using it ALL YESTERDAY for hours on end.. it still had some juice left, but i went to charge it, and the logo screen popped up w/full loading bar.
yay y2k9
Stealth999 said on December 31, 2008
thanks bro I really hate these zunes you would think that people have enough brains to make a working device But thats Microsoft for you…. same old crap over and over but thanks for the info I can finally play music in my car again!
dazza said on December 31, 2008
PHEW…i can confirm that taking the battery off works and i am now a happy camper and my new years party can go ahead!
follow steps at http://www.zunemods.net/850mAh_Battery_Upgrade_Mod-va20.html to remove the casing, the reconnect and voila!
good luck!
Chelsea said on December 31, 2008
AHH MINE TOO!!
yaney said on December 31, 2008
Add mine into the mix of 30 gb not working, it was totally fine around 1am and when I went to bed around 4 am it showed the low battery sign and I thought “that’s way weird because I just charged it yesterdat and haven’t used it since then” after letting it charge for a few min I tried resetting it the startup logo, 9 hours later… it’s STILL on the startup logo. My sister has a 30gb as well… I told her not to turn it on since everyone is having this problem.
davak said on December 31, 2008
Yeah, guys… looks like the problem is confirmed by Microsoft now. Disconnect/Reconnect of battery and changing time on your syncing system is a temp work around…
http://www.tech-recipes.com/rx/3790/zune-30-gig-deaths-on-123108/
Michael said on December 31, 2008
Take off the back of the Zune by removing the plastic around the charger port and unscrewing the two screws on either side. Use an exacto knife and a phillips head screwdriver. Once the back is off, you will see the black battery pack (with a bar code) towards the top and the large silver colored part below it. Follow the copper colored wiring from the battery pack down to the bottom of the Zune, just to the right of where you would plug in the charger. Where the copper wiring reaches the bottom, there should be a small brown plastic tab holding it in place. Use your fingernail to lift that tab and the Zune will shut off. Keep the tab unconnected for about 5 minutes and just push the tab back down to reconnect. It worked perfectly for me.
Bob said on December 31, 2008
remove the battery
davak said on December 31, 2008
Has anybody tried just letting the battery run down and then resync on a PC with the date moved backwards? It might accomplish the same reset without the disassemble.
kyle said on December 31, 2008
ya same thing happened to me. ive had it for over a year and it has worked perfectly till now. i was using it all this weekend while skiing and nothing was wrong, then this morning wen i plugged it into my car it was stuck with the zune logo and a full loading bar
dazza said on December 31, 2008
Taking the thing apart, pulling the battery off and putting it all back together worked for me! The hard part was finding a screwdriver that fit that tiny little screw, I found one at Halfords (for those of you in the UK).
Amanda said on December 31, 2008
Yeah mine is stuck on the Zune screen too!!!! I’ve tried the resetting tips people have given but nothing works…I thought it was cuz I loaded new media on my Zune last night but now everyone is having this problem???? wtf is going on?
Binger Sinh said on December 31, 2008
http://www.tech-recipes.com/rx/3790/zune-30-gig-deaths-on-123108/
This worked for me.
Frankh2 said on December 31, 2008
The battery remove/replace fix works! [So Far]
Amanda said on December 31, 2008
So my battery finally died and I guess I may as well not recharge til they fix it? How are we supposed to know when the problem is resolved? My Microsoft Word has also crashed twice today. I don’t know if it’s just a coincidence, but it’s frozen twice and I’ve had to close it and restart twice. Hmmm….What is going on?
David said on December 31, 2008
Man, my Zune isn’t even showing the logo screen anymore. Now it just flashes a battery with an exclamation point. What do I do? I love my Zune
Amanda said on January 1, 2009
that means your battery is dead. Wait until we know there is a fix and then recharge it. Hopefully it will work sometime tonight. I’m hoping it will at least!
Amanda said on January 1, 2009
Update from Zune site:
http://forums.zune.net/412486/ShowPost.aspx
Early this morning we were alerted by our customers that there was a widespread issue affecting our 2006 model Zune 30GB devices (a large number of which are still actively being used). The technical team jumped on the problem immediately and isolated the issue: a bug in the internal clock driver related to the way the device handles a leap year. The issue should be resolved over the next 24 hours as the time change moves to January 1, 2009. We expect the internal clock on the Zune 30GB devices will automatically reset tomorrow (noon, GMT). By tomorrow you should allow the battery to fully run out of power before the unit can restart successfully then simply ensure that your device is recharged, then turn it back on. If you’re a Zune Pass subscriber, you may need to sync your device with your PC to refresh the rights to the subscription content you have downloaded to your device.
Customers can continue to stay informed via the support page on zune.net (zune.net/support).
We know this has been a big inconvenience to our customers and we are sorry for that, and want to thank them for their patience.
Q: Why is this issue isolated to the Zune 30 device?
It is a bug in a driver for a part that is only used in the Zune 30 device.
Q: What fixes or patches are you putting in place to resolve this situation?
This situation should remedy itself over the next 24 hours as the time flips to January 1st.
Q: What’s the timeline on a fix?
The issue Zune 30GB customers are experiencing today will self resolve as time changes to January 1.
Q: Why did this occur at precisely 12:01 a.m. on December 31, 2008?
There is a bug in the internal clock driver causing the 30GB device to improperly handle the last day of a leap year.
Q: What is Zune doing to fix this issue?
The issue should resolve itself.
Q: Are you sure that this won’t happen to all 80, 120 or other flash devices?
This issue is related to a part that is only used in Zune 30 devices.
Q: How many 30GB Zune devices are affected?
All 30GB devices are potentially affected.
Q: Will you update the firmware before the next leap year (2012)?
Yes.
Matt Akers
Zune Product Team
Amanda said on January 1, 2009
Update from Zune support:
http://forums.zune.net/412486/ShowPost.aspx
Early this morning we were alerted by our customers that there was a widespread issue affecting our 2006 model Zune 30GB devices (a large number of which are still actively being used). The technical team jumped on the problem immediately and isolated the issue: a bug in the internal clock driver related to the way the device handles a leap year. The issue should be resolved over the next 24 hours as the time change moves to January 1, 2009. We expect the internal clock on the Zune 30GB devices will automatically reset tomorrow (noon, GMT). By tomorrow you should allow the battery to fully run out of power before the unit can restart successfully then simply ensure that your device is recharged, then turn it back on. If you’re a Zune Pass subscriber, you may need to sync your device with your PC to refresh the rights to the subscription content you have downloaded to your device.
Customers can continue to stay informed via the support page on zune.net (zune.net/support).
We know this has been a big inconvenience to our customers and we are sorry for that, and want to thank them for their patience.
Q: Why is this issue isolated to the Zune 30 device?
It is a bug in a driver for a part that is only used in the Zune 30 device.
Q: What fixes or patches are you putting in place to resolve this situation?
This situation should remedy itself over the next 24 hours as the time flips to January 1st.
Q: What’s the timeline on a fix?
The issue Zune 30GB customers are experiencing today will self resolve as time changes to January 1.
Q: Why did this occur at precisely 12:01 a.m. on December 31, 2008?
There is a bug in the internal clock driver causing the 30GB device to improperly handle the last day of a leap year.
Q: What is Zune doing to fix this issue?
The issue should resolve itself.
Q: Are you sure that this won’t happen to all 80, 120 or other flash devices?
This issue is related to a part that is only used in Zune 30 devices.
Q: How many 30GB Zune devices are affected?
All 30GB devices are potentially affected.
Q: Will you update the firmware before the next leap year (2012)?
Yes.
Matt Akers
Zune Product Team
cj said on January 1, 2009
Hey Brad CJ my zune screen is stuck on the logo screen also, did you ever find a way to fix your problem
TeddYc said on January 1, 2009
Y2K9 Virus has attacked my Zune its stuck on the loading screen like everone elses!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Please send help how am i going to snoboard w/o it…………………..
New Years Resoultion
1. Sue Microsoft
: (
Kevin said on January 1, 2009
this is the offical post in Zune website.
looks like we need to wait until 12:02 a.m. Jan 1, 2009
http://www.zune.net/en-us/support/zune30.htm
Bill said on January 1, 2009
I just hooked my 30gb zune to my computer via usb port and now working fine
zunecop said on January 4, 2009
I opened the case and pulled the battery and it worked fine until I shut it down. Then it locked the same way after the 1/1/09 time line. I fixed it by opening the case back up, pulled the battery and connected the unit to my PC immediately after I reconnected the battery. The time changed during the Zunes boot up and it has worked perfect ever since.
Haywood said on January 5, 2009
Mine is still bricked. Battery drained over the holiday, brought it to work to charge. Hooked up, got the battery icon for a while, then right back to the frozen logo screen. Have let it drain and retried, but still will not get past the logo screen.
Haywood said on January 5, 2009
I’m thinking I’ll have to wait another month – since I followed that one guys advice to set my clock BACK, technically my zune thinks it is December 5th!
Woohoo! Happy New Year!
Anonymous said on January 9, 2009
Okay I have a 80 gb and my zune was working great til this morning. it went off and wont turn back on. The reset doen’t work. Should I attempt the disassemble repair method?
doysh said on February 12, 2009
thanks man
ur momma said on March 14, 2009
my zune froze like 3 nights ago and i pushed the back butoon and the up button on the control pannel and it dosent even turn on now…what do i do
Derek said on March 28, 2009
i was listening to my zune and it just turned off on me. i have tryed eveything
Abhijeet gandhi said on March 30, 2009
This also works for the Zune 120
Brianna said on April 29, 2009
I tried holding the back and up button at the same time but it’s not turning off. The hold switch is set to unlock but it simply will not turn off. The d-pad is completly frozen it won’t navigate. The only buttons that work are the back and play button!! Help!
Brianna said on April 29, 2009
Ik, like mine froze this morning and I’ve tried the whole back up button shit and mind won’t even reboot itself. Stupid piece of shit! Knew I should’ve went with an iPod
Tomas said on May 18, 2009
everytime I use my wall charger it locks up the d pad and makes it so that any direction you hit still functions as the regular center button so that I can’t press up in order reset it.
Adam said on May 26, 2009
Re-install games update if you can sync normally.
Janni said on December 22, 2009
Tried that, won’t reset. Just turns on as normal. Can’t play any of my music, only help I ever get is to reset. Too bad I can’t. Help?
Brandon said on January 10, 2010
wow…mine is stuck on the passcode screen and is frozen there and won’t even reset. my problem is that i transfered all my music from zune to itunes to put the music on my ipod, but my computer reset deleting all the music so now i can’t even freakin put my music back on here w/ the zune b/c its locked up and when it reset the music from i tunes deleted deleting all the music of my ipod to. so thnx to my zune freezing up mt ipod gets no music either. its like it knows or something
Paul said on January 12, 2010
zune 30gig loads at start up then goes to a black screen with backlight, I have let battery run dead as well as hard shutdowns problem is the same. Wen connected to laptop it powers up but does the same thing. The computer does not recognize the zune as wel.
Net Success said on January 26, 2010
Thanks! I was wondering how to reset a zune, just in case i need too in the future.
Anonymous said on February 25, 2010
Trying to reset my Zune 80 gb and it keeps getting stuck on error message screen 3, please wait. How long should this take to finish?
milissa said on June 24, 2010
Yeah it worked!!!
milissa said on June 24, 2010
Yeah it worked!
Hammy said on June 26, 2010
set it down and let the battery go all the way dead. Then recharge it. That fixed mine
Fairyangel135 said on July 7, 2010
OMG thanks so much! I thought my zune had broke and frozen for good.
Aprildawn said on August 13, 2010
Thanks, i wiped all the music off my zune and having difficutly adding it back, it keeps telling me its not responding when im trying to put music on it, and cant figure how to turn it off or restart.. this worked thanks!!!
Phredd said on September 10, 2010
my zune keeps telling me the item is missing or can not be played
Jessey said on September 22, 2010
Mine’s locked on a black scene. it won’t connect to the computer via. ubs and I’ve tried this. it doesn’t do anything.
Mikkiandshaun said on October 13, 2010
its not resetin i’m holdin them both down at the same time wats wrong with it
eric said on November 4, 2010
i have a similar problem, how did you fix it?
JLarsonRN said on December 9, 2010
Mine’s been doing that all day – nothing works…podcasts, music, games. I tried reloading it and now it’s stuck on the logo screen! AARRGGHH!
Jon said on December 17, 2010
same hear and its pissing me off
Pinseeker712 said on January 22, 2011
i have two zune both r the same 30g one works fine but cant be detected by the zune software and the onther wont turn on ive rest it the zune logo pops up and loads a screen pops up that says please wait and shuts back off
technette said on October 10, 2011
you rock!!!!!!!!
Kim said on December 27, 2011
Is there anyway to do a hard reset on a 80gb zune without using the play/pause button? My zune is out of warranty and the play/pause button isn’t working.
PoloBoi said on January 16, 2012
My zune has a 5 wit a circle around it. and it says contact support. WHAT DO I DO???!!