67 responses so far ↓

• 1 Terry H // Jan 20, 2008 at 12:47 am

  I have a very similar story with all the symptoms i that you are having. I have not been able to get it to work even on the back usb ports. Unfotrunately I have had mine long enough that there is no warranty left on it before I discovered the problem. Any suggestions.

• 2 Brian D // Jan 24, 2008 at 6:27 pm

  I had the same problem. After reading above, I plugged it into the back and my pc recognized the camera. My problem now is that when it’s plugged in it disables all the other usb ports…one of which is my mouse. Kinda hard to use a computer without a mouse. I’m waiting for a return email from the Flip teenager.

• 3 Greg // Jan 27, 2008 at 1:22 pm

  I have had several problems with my Christmas Flip. The same update probem on my Dell PC at home, at work and laptop. It played the videos but then stopped working. A few days later it worked, but in using it yesterday it shut down dead after a few minutes. In addition, Ithought it might be dead batteries. When I removed them they and the Flip were very warm. The new batteries resulted in the same heating and the camera still does not turn on. I did figure out the USB issue, but all of this has happened since then. Nice toy, but useless if it doesn’t work.

• 4 Brian D // Jan 31, 2008 at 10:02 pm

  I’ve figured out that if I disable the usb enhanced controller in Device Manager that I’m able to download my images. I can’t keep the setting this way because the other devices connected via usb start to act funny so I have to re-enable after the download. It’s a hassle, but at least I’m able to pull off the videos from the camera using Windows Explorer and edit using whatever software I want. Flip has not been able to help me with this issue as they cannot replicate it. Still, at least they’ve replied to my emails.

• 5 Rosemary // Feb 7, 2008 at 4:31 pm

  Flip Video. I am on my third. The first one burned out when i downloaded the patch that popped up on my software the first time I used it. I called and the customer service kid said sorry and hmmmmm, ok i will send you a lable and a camera tomorrow. of course he did not do anything so I called again and got to a supervisor who said she would send me the lable and camera and she did, the next day, unfortunately that flip didnt work either! The error message that installation had failed. I called back to kids customer service and explained the whole thing again and this time I got to another supervisor who was pretty rude about the whole thing. must have been a long day of “what the heck???”
  Then I saw the “TELL US WHAT YOU THINK LINK” at the bottom of the home page and did just that by email. The next morning I got a call from a nice person who listened to my entire flip story said and would send me a new flip ultra and he did, I got that the next day and guess what, it will not upload videos for sharing, which is the whole point of having the thing. Further on playback the videos look like a poorly dubbed foreign film when viewed on the flip software. I have tried plugging in the front, back, side nothing helps. I was going to bring this on vacation with me this weekend but what’s the point.
  Does anyone have a clue what to do to get the flip to do what it is suppose to do???
  Simply take a video and upload it without pulling your hair out in frustration.
  FLIP GET IT TOGETHER or GO AWAY!.

• 6 Bernie // Feb 11, 2008 at 3:43 am

  Our Flip malfunctioned after 2 months. My son plugged it into the T.V. and played his videos. When he unplugged it the Flip never worked again, he tried turning it on, but no luck.

• 7 Jesse // Feb 29, 2008 at 6:56 pm

  After reading some of the Flip posts, I must be one of the lucky ones as I have had no problems so far (holding my breath). I have a particular issue that I hope someone can help me with:

  I will be taking the Flip on vacation but will not have access to a PC in order to transfer images after 60 mins. of use. Does anyone know of a USB portable transfer device that will allow me to transfer my images from the Flip to a flash drive? I located a Belkin device that says will do the trick, but the reviews I read stated that it doesn’t transfer large files well, if at all. Since the Flip files can be rather large, I’m still searching for a solution. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Jesse

• 8 miinta // Mar 2, 2008 at 1:08 pm

  My story is the same as Gregs. It simply won’t turn on anymore. After transferring videos to my computer (which took a good 45min) I thout maybe the battery died or something. It woul turn on fo r a sec. and then immediatly shut off. I sent it in for repair, but haven’t gotten it back yet. Hey maybe Oprah can send us a different camera that works!

• 9 Gianna // Mar 24, 2008 at 9:24 pm

  Thank you so much! I got a Flip Video for Christmas and was never able to get it to work with my computer. I am so glad I found this!

• 10 hanna // Mar 24, 2008 at 11:49 pm

  When I first got the flip, everything worked great. At some point, when I plugged it in, the flip application stopped coming up. I was still able to access the flip using Windows Explorer. Then, it stopped working. It was still listed in Safely Remove Hardware and the Device Manager, but not in Windows Explorer.
  Several phone calls and (lame) emails from Flip later, I gave up and had my husband download the videos from his Mac.

  This evening, I remembered that there was a conflict between a drive number I had mapped and the drive that the Flip was trying to use - the Flip was overriding the drive number . So, I tried something new (I couldn’t remember the drive number). In the Safely Remove Hardware dialog, select Properties and then Volumes. Click Populate. The Volumes list shows the drive number that the Flip is trying to use (on my computer, L:). I deleted the mapping that I was using for that drive letter and the Flip showed right up in the Windows Explorer. At this point, you can click the .exe to bring up the Flip program.

  Good luck!

• 11 GOTHMOM // Mar 25, 2008 at 8:06 pm

  I’m in the middle of my Flip nightmare. I loved that thing - I didn’t have the issues you guys are talking about but it gave out on me - the batteries got hot and I pulled them - after that - no go at all. I sent it in and waited more than 2 weeks. I just called to see what the deal was and got some very unsatisfactory customer service from someone who sounded bored and said it normally takes 3-5 weeks so I called too early and I should wait and call again next week. I find myself recommending tech devices quite often to friends and colleagues - if they screw this pooch, then this Maven will be letting the world know.

• 12 Tracy // Apr 2, 2008 at 2:56 am

  Lame Lame Lame.
  After I read about this in the NYTimes I thought I HAD to have one.
  Got one, went out and shot some classic footage. Can’t get it to work on my mini-mac, so tried on my PC. Again, no go. Tried the update and the update just failed, quit with no error msgs. Now my computer doesn’t even recognise the device.
  It’s going back, and my videos are gone. Ugh…crappiest product I’ve ever bought…even worse than that Ford Cavalier I got when I was a teenager. Trust me, that’s really really bad.

• 13 Sandra // Apr 3, 2008 at 2:54 pm

  Haven’t ever been able to get my Flip to work. Took about 5 minutes of footage, which is still on the camera, but have tried installing it and the software on 5 different XP computers (!) and the program always freezes. Have to take the batteries out of the camera to get it to turn off! And I wrote customer support, was advised of the patch, and can’t even get the patch to be recognized! Piece of crap. Never again.

• 14 shelley // Apr 8, 2008 at 1:27 pm

  I bought the 60 min version in dec ‘07. I’ve used it TWICE. The second time, it wouldn’t shut off. Batteries got very hot. Had to remove them to shut it off. When I put them back in, the flip pic comes up and just stays there. The only way to get it to turn off is to remove batteries. Like I say, I’ve used this product twice and because it’s past 90 days, they won’t do anything so I’ve in essence, thrown away $150. Never had an experience like this before with an electronic product. I’m very upset about this. I’m wondering if the good reviews I read prior to buying this were from those paid to say good things.

• 15 Stan Thompson // Apr 10, 2008 at 5:40 pm

  I had problems with my Flip also. I was very frustrated with the whole experience, until I asked for assistance. I found the support for the Flip to be very helpful. I’ll admit, they did sound young, but noone was rude to me and I always got timely responses to any questions I had. Has anyone else with problems tried to contact the technical support for the Flip? Just a thought.

  NOTE FROM THE EDITOR: I e-mailed this guy because his comments seems totally fishy and fake — this whole thread is about how terrible Flip customer support is, so why would he leave a comment like this? His name seems generic but then my e-mail reply to him bounced, which tells me it’s totally fake.

  So that means Flip Video staff, their PR firm or someone involved in the company is leaving fake comments about how great the company is. WHAT A JOKE!

• 16 Dana // Apr 11, 2008 at 9:12 pm

  My flip video has worked fine, but the problem is that it is full and I would like to get a dvd made at CVS like you are supposed to do. The 3 different CVS pharmacies that I have been to are not able to do it. One tried twice but it didn’t work.
  Has anyone else had a dvd made yet?

• 17 Interview with comic Paul Mecurio // Apr 14, 2008 at 11:27 pm

  […] I understand you’re a fan of the Flip Video. I’ve actually chronicled my experiences with their idiot customer service here, which is ranking pretty high on Google and getting lots of comments from peeved customers sick of the company’s 13 year-old customer service agents sitting in a warehouse somewhere. Flip is still ignoring me, but I’m just one lonely guy and his computer. Do companies you highlight in your stand-up act ever contact you to remedy your issues? No, never. They are afraid to confront the truth: to look themselves in the mirror and realize they are living a lie! Actually, that’s not true, there was this one company, the Rascal Scooter people — after my incessant complaints they explained that you are not supposed to be driving those things in the surf … who knew! […]

• 18 Mark // Apr 25, 2008 at 10:06 pm

  My flip will not turn on anymore. I am waiting for a reply from tech support but from what I am reading here that will not be much help. Sounds to me like a class action suit is in the near future. I know 10 different lawyers that will be willing to file it. I’ll keep y’all posted

• 19 Wendy // May 4, 2008 at 10:34 am

  I have a Flip video ultra (30 min.) that worked fine, until I agreed to upgrade the firmware when I connected it to USB port. I wish I hadn’t done that, because now the computer won’t recognize it. I am trying to download the software from the website, but my computer still refuses to recognize the camera (brand new computer - Vista premium). Any one else with same problem?

• 20 Mike Porterfield // May 7, 2008 at 9:00 pm

  My mac stopped uploading video as well, but when I read the comment about using a fast USB slot, I tried it and it worked! I didn’t realize one was slow and the other fast… Why not make them both fast? Oh well, now at least my flip works…

• 21 M.A. Britton // May 12, 2008 at 10:37 am

  Sad. We bought this for our 11 yr old for Christmas, she was so into ‘making movies’ and good at it - until, like many others on here - the flip-pin thing quit working - just turns on and then off - there has to be a fix for this.

  We will call the company, but I fear like others we are out $150… because it has been 5 months.

  Bummer

  Guess the lesson here — you get what you pay for, eh?

• 22 C D Hansen // May 24, 2008 at 6:05 pm

  I got a flip camera for christmas and it stopped working 2 months after i got it i have tons of videos of my new born son on it. It pisses me off that they have us buy a product that we are supposed trust that is going to work and put our most memorable events on them and then to have the product stop working. I am not only pissed off but i am sad about the videos that i had on it. customer support offers to take the videos off my camera but i want my camera to work 150 bucks is alot of money for people like me and to have it not work is rip off. Flip is taking advantage of people and not even posting anything about how to fix the issue. For there product they should offer an exchange for those cameras that don’t work or extend the warranty on them because they always seem to break a week after the warranty is expired. Its BS and i will never purchase this product again i just am waiting for another company to come out with a similar product so i can go and purchase there product and never let this company have my money again. This company has hurt alot of people for all problems they have caused there customers.

• 23 Stacy Bryan // Jun 4, 2008 at 12:02 am

  I was only able to download videos from my Flip camera ONE time. Now I get a “Video Preparation Error” on both my Mac and PC. I called the tech help, and they did answer, but it took them a long time to find the software update which is different than the firmware update they have listed on their site. I’m not sure how someone would know that, but here’s the link I was given and I’ll see if it works!

  http://theflip.com/app/prius/31/update/mac.aspx

• 24 Chris // Jun 18, 2008 at 3:00 pm

  I just called CS today and they were actually helpful. My Flip Video shows only 18:54 time left to recrod even though it’s completely empty. I had this same problem a year ago and CS sent me a download to re-install the software on the Flip. That worked at first, but then it messed up again. I did the re-buy/return and got a new working Flip Video, but experienced the same problem with it after a month or two.
  My Flip is over a year old and I have no reciept at all, but CS issued me a RMA and said they’d fix it for me. Sure there’s the delay of waiting for the label and getting the unit back, but all in all I’m satisfied with the RMA since it is an electronic and I’m way over the 90 day warranty period. I didn’t even have to argue with them about it.
  I sure wish they’d just send me out a Flip Ultra or Flip Mino instead of fixing mine. :-)

• 25 T.J // Jun 19, 2008 at 8:14 am

  My Flip Ultra worked twice. The Second time I worked for over an hour to get it to recognize on the PC-XP media. Then it stopped recognizing the connection. I can’t find it on My Computer. No USB ports work. The Tech support sucked. they told me my USB ports were bad. Then offered to reformat it but I would lose my video of my son’s graduation. It is still sitting in the Flip. I am going to try hooking it up to a new computer that i have never used with Flip before but am out of ideas. There probably should be a class action suit on this product. There is just no solution to these problems.

• 26 LP // Jun 28, 2008 at 4:42 am

  Found my way here b/c I couldn’t get past the “reading videos” stage despite all the fixes on the site.

  Finally just used Windows XP drive access to cut/paste all but one video to the hard-drive and ‘voila!’ that one it read.

  Seriously, the Flash app errors out constantly… and no, I’m not sending any more data.

  Great little camera - lousy connection with USB and Flash App.

  Hopefully the “new” new one (Mino) will fix the errors, but it looks doubtful.

• 27 Chris Lomeli // Jul 3, 2008 at 12:29 pm

  I have a flip ultra and i cant get it to work on my computer. i plug it in and my computer loads very slow and at times it doesn’t recognize the flip video at all. since day 1 i can not get the flip video software to load. Once i unplug the flip video my computer runs great. I don’t know what to do i have tried to down load new updated and still nothing Please help i love the product but the software sucks.

• 28 Alex // Jul 4, 2008 at 7:45 am

  If you guys think you have had problems consider my position. I live in Scotland,and have been trying to get my non working flip to be recognised in 3 diferent computers from across an ocean .After the pantomime dialog with disintrested children,i have now discovered that the $150 dollar paperweight will no longer switch on at all.But all is not lost because the flip is coming to toys are us over here,and i shall take great pleasure in letting the scottish retailers know that the product is utter rubbish and will cause the outlet nothing but greif,long into their future.Lets see how much efort is put into something after they have our hard earned cash.I think you already know the answer to that one.

• 29 Mom in Wisconsin // Jul 4, 2008 at 7:07 pm

  I bought my son’s camera for his birthday in January. After some initial trouble downloading the software and videos (I hired a professional to do it), he’s absolutely loved his Flip. However, today we went to a parade. The camera was in my chair cupholder. As I stood up to pack up, it fell onto the street. Now, it won’t turn on. I’ve called customer service and since it’s outside the warranty, they are telling me very politely that I’m SOL. I’ve tried to appeal to her sense of integrity - I feel this was a very minor, nonabusive drop and their product should be sturdy enough to withstand a drop of about 1 & 1/2 to 2 feet, tops. If they are unwilling to compromise on a solution, I feel like I need to replace my son’s camera, since I “dropped” it…but I also feel very, very hesitant to replace it with another Flip. It’s very unfortunate, because he loves making and posting his movies on YouTube, and he loves the Flip. NOTE - I wrote this as I was on hold with CS. She agreed to as a “one time only” service, send me a RMA to see what they can do with the camera. HOPEFULLY, they will actually look at it and fix it. I’ll keep you posted! :)

• 30 Mom in Wisconsin // Jul 8, 2008 at 10:04 pm

  Monday, July 7th - I was emailed a UPS shipment label tonight. I’m encouraged by this. So far, so good…My son wrote them a note and gave them his youtube address, so they can see that he indeed uses it regularly. They will hopefully see it and be inclined to fix or replace his flip!

  Keeping you posted,
  mom

• 31 Mark // Jul 13, 2008 at 3:13 pm

  Hey,
  we just got our Flip and bought it mainly because we thought it would be so much easier and quicker to get stuff uploaded to Youtube.
  It turns out that the thing just won`t upload it.
  It says it is converting the video to a better format but gets stuck at 20 percent formatting, always 20 percent, every time.
  http://screencast.com/t/PCzd8ipQ
  Anyone have a solution??? Thank you! Mark

• 32 Boom Daniel // Jul 18, 2008 at 2:37 pm

  Got the Flip Ultra yesterday. Filmed great, uploaded once okay but now will not upload recognizable files to Windows XP or Vista. Windows Movie Maker will not recognize the file “UNSPECIFIED ERROR” is what I get….standard .avi file is what it shows from Windows Explorer.

  How disappointing.

  Going to try again and see how it goes.

  Boom

• 33 Anthony // Jul 22, 2008 at 2:29 pm

  Just thought I would add my experience here. I just got off the phone with BHphoto to return my Ultra Flip. You see, this is the second one within 3 weeks. The issue I had with both is that it would not turn on at all after replacing the batteries. I’ve used various type of AA and no luck. Both flip would get hot as if it was on, who knows. As it was stated in several posts here, customer service is the same quality as their products. I guest it’s true…you get what you pay for.

• 34 Anthony // Jul 22, 2008 at 2:32 pm

  Clarification:
  customer service was referring to The Flip company, not BHphoto. For BHphoto has excellent customer service.

• 35 MJ // Jul 31, 2008 at 10:06 pm

  I could not get my WindowsXP/ MediaPlayer or any of my Sony media software to ever identify my FLIP. Then realized, like others did, that none of my USB ports would recognize the FLIP. So, I am discouraged to even try it plugged to a TV. No Youtube luck either. Another quackery of mass produced pretties that Americans trust will work.
  I should have sent my money to Iraq so one of the soldiers there could buy a cell phone to call his family. Crummy Karma for me!!!

• 36 Cathy // Aug 2, 2008 at 4:46 pm

  Cant get my mac to download my videos what am I doing wrong??

• 37 john // Aug 4, 2008 at 5:02 am

  My flip mino will not turn on sometimes. It was frozen for half a day yesterday. I now have a black screen and cannot turn it on. It’s been at least 24 hours since I’ve been able to turn it on. The computer does not recognize it either. Anyone have any suggestions? Should I contact the company?

• 38 Matt // Aug 12, 2008 at 2:06 pm

  Not sure what I did but I was able to get my vids off after seeing similiar symptoms.

  SYMPTOMS:
  - Flip will not turn on
  - Flip will turn on but screen freezes when press record button.
  - Flip will turn on and play 1-2 videos then freeze with still image left on screen but not as bright.
  - Flip powers on when connected to USB but files only visible for 30-60 seconds then XP doesn’t recognize.
  - Flip hot
  - Batteries warm

  FIX
  - Get new batteries
  - Blow in holes near battery contacts.
  - Gently Twist like you would an ice cube tray
  (twist top and bottom in opposite directions)
  - From this point forward handle flip by edges and gently.
  - Put in new batteries
  - Leave cover off
  - Power on flip with side switch
  - Immediately start playing a video
  - Sit Flip on flat surface allow it to play for 30 seconds or more.
  - While still playing connect to USB
  - Because I have a laptop I actually flipped my laptop on it’s side to connect flip to USB on the other (so there wouldn’t be any forces pushing
  up or down on USB connection).
  - Tell XP to open as a folder (I did not use the Flip program)…
  - You may only be able to view videos if you previously installed the flip software (otherwise download from their site)
  - Have your folder open on your computer and drag the whole \VIDEO\ folder to your PC not a specific file.
  - Support the flip without shaking it during copying.

  I think there is a short in the circuit board beneath the buttons on the back of the flip. Potentially form someone pressing too hard on ont in the center of the record butotn. The twisting potentially disconnects this short temporarily and the gentle treatment does not allow short to reconnect. Pulling out the batteries

  - If at any point flip freezes, take out batteries and start over. Don’t leave batteries in flip. The warm battery symptop leads me to believe there is a short in the circuit board that could drain batteries left in the flip.

  Sorry I didn’t have time to deduce the specific problem and solution, but something in this made it work just long enough to download my videos. (took 5-10 minutes)

  Hope that helps!

  Matt

• 39 Matt // Aug 12, 2008 at 2:06 pm

  ps-Mine is a Flip Ultra.

  If you have a flip Mino there is a video on youtube about doing a “reset”

• 40 Anne // Aug 13, 2008 at 9:55 am

  I sent my flip to be reloaded as no sofware was ever even loaded. It has been over 4 weeks and after many emails to customer support to find out where my flip is, I am totally ignored.
  Does anyone have the phone number available? I can’t seem to locate it.

  Anne

• 41 Jerry // Aug 17, 2008 at 5:16 pm

  I was able to download all my videos the very first time and since. My problem is Movie Maker refuses to recognize the Flip videos either in avi or mov? Does anyone have a fix for this? (using Windows XP Pro and/or Home)

• 42 Doris // Aug 24, 2008 at 5:32 pm

  I bought the Flip Ultra in July and took it w/us on vacation and it worked great. Took almost 60 minutes of videos. Yesterday I was looking at some videos on the camera, deleted a few and then when I went to look at another one the sound was funny, kind of crackling and then the screen turned gray and snowy and that was it. I’ve put in new batteries a few times but it still won’t turn on. I contacted Flip support but the response was to download an updated version of the software onto the camera. Of course that didn’t work b/c the camera won’t turn on. I sent them another email. I’m so disappointed b/c the Flip seemed so great, until I saw all these messages. :[

• 43 Michelle // Aug 26, 2008 at 10:24 am

  Bought the Flip Mino a couple weeks ago. No problems loading to my Mac. Files play in preview mode easily, as well as transfer — and pretty quick I might add. Transfer quality to youtube is mediocre, but I love the convenience of this thing. HOWEVER, tonight it froze. Video image froze and I could not turn off/on - rewind - nothing. Luckily I had backed up the videos last night- - but still - I was bummed! So I called CS, and a very nice but, honestly, seemingly in-the-dark girl tried to help me. I explained the problem — she said hold on while I open a new Internet browser so I can check online (Huh? I can do that). She put me on hold for 6 MINS so she could ask a colleague. Came back — still unsure — finally I asked if there was a reset button — HOLD again - then came back, YES, it’s in the same hole as tripod connector, but you will lose all your video (she was sincerely sad for me — points for that)— I had no choice. I lightly pressed it; everything came back! I explained to her that they appear to have a “soft” reset. Where if you press it once, it may react and your video won’t be deleted — but if you hold the button down for awhile - it will (I didn’t test that theory!) - Who knows, maybe I was lucky. Long story short - my video is back but I have a bad feeling this might happen again. Love the FLIP but when are they going to start offering better technical support — or at the very least a board where people can post their solutions to frequently experienced problems?

• 44 Bill // Sep 3, 2008 at 1:53 pm

  My flip works just fine. Downloaded the new software after buying a new computer and that works great. However, I’m not using any version of Windows….. Get a Mac!!

• 45 Wes // Sep 26, 2008 at 1:32 am

  Sending my camera off to flip video tomorrow. They issued me an RMA… It’s a brand new camera and these are the problems I’m having.

  1. Longer videos around 10+ minutes won’t transfer onto computer.
  2. Mac computers won’t detect it when plugged in
  3. When trying to download longer videos on PC the camcorder screen freezes with the “connected” screen on it… even when unplugged from the PC it stays on. I must take batteries out to turn it off.
  4. The “Time Left” indicator on the camcorder has less than 60 minutes and the only way to view the videos on it, are by plugging it into the PC. The camcorder will not let you view it.
  5. An error pops up on the longer videos when trying to import them onto my computer that says “Data error (cyclic redundancy check)”
  6. Flip Video Update Version 1.0.0.8 does not work and cannot be completed when ran.
  7. Sound does not always match up to the video playing

• 46 Robert // Sep 28, 2008 at 7:17 pm

  Got a Flip Ultra. Same problem as many have stated above. Connecting to and downloading videos worked ONCE…but not twice.

  Following Hanna’s advice (SEE her “hanna // Mar 24, 2008 at 11:49 pm “) post… I was able to get the Flip working again. Turns out that our newly re-installed USB external hard drive device was blocking the Flip. I removed the USB external hard drive device via device manager, and now can use the Flip.
  HOWEVER… as I type this, I am waiting for the videos to transfer for the FIRST time since getting this thing working. So, I’ll have to test to see if I can do it a second time. And, I believe I have disabled the use of my wife’s Canon USB port (just before I leave town) shhhhhh…don’t tell her. Also, I guess now I have to figure out how to use the USB Flip AND the USB external hard drive device together. I’d rather have a good backup strategy than the ability to transfer personal videos. …the testing continues.

• 47 Alicia // Oct 12, 2008 at 6:47 pm

  I am having similar problems getting videos to transfer… :( I’m with the guy about a class action law suit.

• 48 niki // Oct 28, 2008 at 1:23 pm

  hi. my aunt gave me this flip ultra just last month and i loved it until today. i uploaded the videos for the first time and it all worked fine (although i used the windows explorer) then when i was about to use it a few hours later, all i could see was the flip icon. it won’t do anything and the batteries as well as the flip was hot. i will try matt’s theory about the batteries and hopefully it will work not just to get the videos but to use the flip again..and again…and again, with no problems.

• 49 Archie McDowall // Oct 31, 2008 at 9:27 am

  Buyer beware at Pure Digital
  I received from Amazon my (Flip Video Ultra Series Camcorder, 60 Minutes (Orange) on July 31st 2008 Initially all went well and the quality was great and no problems with software. however I noticed a problem getting the camera to start and stop, it continued to worsen and I decided to contact tech support on October 11th 2008. After several email exchanges I was given a RMA# but no offer to send a prepaid label, believing that as it was still in warranty, I paid $7.00 to ship UPS. Than on a web search regarding problems with this item I was amazed at the number of very negative responses to their customer service and did discover that some has been issued prepaid labels and when I challenged them about that was told that it was not their policy to pay shipping, however they would make an exception and attached a prepaid label (now was too late as I has already paid shipping and requested a refund which was denied) I requested was action was being taken on my start/stop problem and the only answer I got was that it was being returned to me. They were unable to save any of my video’s (that was not an issue)
  So I urge you to consider well before you make a purchase
  If you ever need customer service, BE AWARE
  I am awaiting return to see if the problem has been fixed

• 50 Alex // Oct 31, 2008 at 12:32 pm

  My sister got the flip for her birthday but she was torn between the Kobian HD camcorder which is $99 and the Flipvideo ultra $160. i got the other one to try it and i found that it works great. the only problem with the Kobian is that you also have to buy a SDHC card as well. The problem with the flip on is there is a lot of software issues. all i can say is dont use the software on the product it self but to get new software off the internet.for the flip get the new 3ivx decoder 4.5.0.2 it should clear alot of the problems. the flipvideo to pc or mac should be alright as well. but the problem my sister is having is that now she cant make movies. when it gets to 100% it locks up. plz help if possible.

• 51 josh // Nov 4, 2008 at 1:56 pm

  i have had a problem with the flip ever since ive purchased it.ill plug it into my pc,and it recognizes it but it wont load past 1% if anybody has any answer please help

  thanks

• 52 Isabel // Nov 5, 2008 at 12:55 pm

  @josh this may the same problem I was having. Look for the system folder and then the install folder - you can then pick the option suitable 3ivx thingy for your system. Once you have done that when you try and load the software it should load straightaway.

• 53 Amanda Galbincea // Nov 17, 2008 at 6:01 pm

  I am having a problem with my flip ultra. It will work about once a day it seems. I turn on the camera and it freezes at the initial screen. Has anyone figured out a solution to this? I received this camera as a baby shower present so that I could video the day that my first girl is born and I am afraid if I send it in (as they are suggesting) that it won’t be back in time. Should I just chalk it up to a lost $150 (not mine but I still feel badly) and buy a new more reliable one?

• 54 Simon // Nov 28, 2008 at 1:40 am

  FLIP VIDEO STOP WORKING AFTER 90 DAYS WARRANTY
  Our Flip video suddenly stop working and we don’t know why. I change to a new battery and it will still NOT power on. I can’t even retrieved the videos now since my pc can’t recognized the usb if the Flip is not on.

  I emailed them and they just said QUALITY IS NO GOOD AFTER 90 DAYS.

  WE SHOULD TELL THE WORLD ABOUT THIS…
  http://flip-video-problem.blogspot.com

• 55 Michael // Dec 1, 2008 at 12:16 am

  I’m having a similar issue as some. I’ve had my FLIP (Original Model) for about a year. About 2 months ago my son said it was working off and on. I believe this was the battery going dead but didn’t think much of it. I’m now ready for vacation so figured I’d replace the batteries and get it ready to go but…… The little POS won’t turn on. I called the FLIP support team and asked about a reset on the older models. They said the only thing they could think of to reset it would be to leave the batteries out for 48 hours and try inserting again. And sorry. No warranty. Until this problem this worked well. No power. No USB connectivity (Mac or PC). I’ll post of the 48 hour reset works. Fingers are crossed.

• 56 Joe // Dec 2, 2008 at 3:27 pm

  Michael:

  I am having a similiar problem. I have not heard back from support yet. Let me know how your battery thing goes.

  My problem is that my ultra will turn on, but it wont get past the “flip video” screen. If i leave it connected to my computer for a couple hours and then take it off and try to use it, once in every 10 times it might work. But only until you shut it off and back on again.

  Frustrated, mine is only 6 months old, but obviously more than 90 stupid days….

• 57 W. // Dec 6, 2008 at 2:45 pm

  Thanks for posting about plugging it into the back of the computer! My (admitted brand-new) camera works great, and it downloads just fine now. When I plugged it into the front USP ports it gave me the same error message that you posted about. I found this post after going so far as to print the return label. Of course, after reading the other posts, I may regret keeping it, but it works just fine so far. For the money, I’ll take my chances that I’ll be one of the lucky ones whose batteries don’t heat up or it flakes out.

• 58 Sad Shell // Dec 7, 2008 at 2:25 am

  I’ve had my flip ultra for about three months. I loved it at first and was taking movies all the time, but when I wanted to share them-no dice. Another problem I have had is that I often can’t eject it from the computer. I get a message window saying that Windows can’t eject it as it is still in use. The flip and the batteries get hot when I use it, and they also get hot when it is plugged into the computer. Yesterday when I was replaying a video, the flip screen scrambled, turned gray and shut off. I was able to get it back on again after letting it cool with the batteries out. It would turn on again but only for a second before it just shut off. Now it won’t turn on again at all. How frustrating.

  Customer service has not been helpful as yet, and because I am in Canada, the telephone contact number doesn’t work for me. I am stuck communicating with them through email, which is not working so far. Good luck to all of you.

• 59 W. // Dec 7, 2008 at 12:16 pm

  Ugh, never mind! Today it won’t even work when I plug it into the back of my computer. Plus, soon after I wrote my last post, I turned it on and it turned itself off again. It’s going back! There are too many other options, and it seems to be a constant problem.

• 60 Katherine Mitchell // Dec 23, 2008 at 4:47 pm

  My Flip won’t upload videos to my computer anymore, it did the first 2 times or so then just stopped altogether. I have some really great footage I want to email to family and friends but it won’t upload :P If anyone can help I would greatly appreciate it. Hasn’t been working now for 2 months, always thought it was just my computer but today I tried it at friend’s house and wouldn’t work on hers either. Goes to upload screen then just shuts off. :(

• 61 Dan // Dec 28, 2008 at 12:01 pm

  I just got a Mino HD a couple of days ago and cannot email videos. Customer service says their network is backed up. Anyone else not able to send in the last few days?

• 62 C Melzak // Dec 30, 2008 at 3:53 pm

  I have had my Flip Video for a little over a year. It has performed almost everytime. Once I had a problem with the program not showing up on the computer. Today I went to download my videos that I took in Nov. and Dec of 7 minutes and when Flip is connected all I get is work CONNECTED. I tried to download the 3.1 software program from online. Wasn’t successful because it said I needed to connect my Flip which won’t connect. I was downloading the 3.1 software so I could store in permanently on line and not have to depend on the camera’s hardware. But it didn’t work. The camera doesn’t have any other issues, only connective issues. If there are serious problems with most of these cameras, then there should be a class action suit against Pure Digital with full reimbursement for everyone. I am waiting to here from them through an email. I am sure it won’t solve the problem.

• 63 Dawn L. // Jan 2, 2009 at 4:28 pm

  My husband just had to have a Flip Ultra after seeing a friend’s e-mailed videos of their little girl singing Christmas songs. He wanted to send video greetings to family overseas. The downloaded software created problems with my PC recognizing my 500GB external hard drive, which I use for additional storage and program files, and several times I was forced to reboot my PC and disconnect the external drive, then reconnect after boot-up to get my PC to recognize it again.

  Also, attempts to e-mail video files of more than a few seconds-worth hung interminably at 20%, and the short test videos I succeeded in e-mailing had fast-forward the audio so I sounded like one of Alvin and the Chipmunks on amphetamines. Husband had same problems on his PC, which admittedly has 1.0 USB ports (slower). But I have 2.0 USB ports (the faster variety) so slower USB hardware and drivers is not the problem in this case. Attempts to download the upgrade software helped nothing. Oh, and BTW, their uninstall executable is absolutely worthless … had to manually uninstall, and there are still 2MB of Flip software I am unable to delete (thanks, Flip dudes …).

  Husband returned the Ultra after a day of frustration and a fruitless conversation with Flip’s “NO HELP DESK” (a.k.a. customer support). He traded it in for a Mino, and no better luck with that, so far. I’m telling him to take the bloody thing back and forget about the Flip devices altogether.

  What unqualified pieces of techno-garbage these are! Poorly designed, numerous hardware and software glitches, incompatibility errors, flawed executable files, and clueless customer support. It just doesn’t get any worse than this. Any high-profile recommenders of this product should think twice about soiling their reputations by tying their good names with these Pure Digital products. I smell a big class-action lawsuit coming …

• 64 Dale Bell // Jan 2, 2009 at 10:45 pm

  I have Several Channels on You Tube, I have use the Flip Camera for All the Video I have ever taken! I make the mistake of UPGRADING to the new stupid Flip Upgrade! So, I can no longer use Windows Movie Maker to make Videos for You Tube! They make you use their stupid program…
  Crap some videos, and a song and pray it all goes together? Well It just does not work for me! I still can not get to all the hundreds of videos I have ever taken! I deleted the new program and still can not find them! I even sent May at Corparate a screen shot of the blue empty file I see (3 weeks ago) I have not heard back from her! I warned Flip Camera, I would make a video, I even gave them my Channel name… As soon as I uploaded the video, I was attacked by some flipvideoroxz freak! This Channel was created that Day! and the guy is friends with the Famous FRED of You Tube! Now you just don’t become friends with Fred that easy! I got scared and I put the video on private for now… I have created a New Channel: Filpedoff I just emailed them minutes ago… I gave them 24 hours to make this right, after three months of BS. This brand new Channel Will include parts of the Video I pulled, the threatening comments posted on that video from this coward, from this fake Channel… and the Emails I received from them!
  There is a huge network here, so big it scared me to death! I have read the complaints above. I can not be the only one that Hates the new UPGRADE!? I have had my camera long before Oprah ever even saw it! I am Talking about the “NEW UPGRADE” only, and how it has ruined everything that I ever did on You Tube! I know I am one of the first to speak openly about this.
  The people a Flip act so surprised to to hear of my dislike? I am sorry you guys, but I am so upset! I did cut out the bad language here. Lol
  I am glad this site is here! I am about to take on Flip Camera on International You Tube! Once I post the Video, I don’t think they came remove it, because it is the truth? However, if they are connected to You Tube, I could be taken down!
  You are all my witnesses! I mean Business!
  Want my Camera? I’ll Flip ya for it! Lol
  If They don’t contact me in 24 hours from now and make it right… I will go forward with my plans… Wish me Luck! I may need it! Dale

• 65 Jim B // Jan 3, 2009 at 8:40 pm

  Hi Folks. I’ve had the Flip Ultra for some time, but not used it too much. I recently ran into the “sorry, Windows doesn’t recognize this device USB error” problem. Fortunately, I have a laptop running one of the many flavors of Linux, and it easily recognizes the flip as a USB drive. I can transfer my vids off the camera, and then either use a linux video editor or pop the files over to my Windows XP.

  Now that being said, for those of you having similar troubles, you can download and burn many of the copies of linux (all free!) into a bootable CD. Reboot your windows machine via the CD into the fully functional linux OS…mount your directories, transfer your files to hard drive, reboot to Windows and you’re back in business. I have not tried this method explicitly yet, but I think it will work. I use linux versions Ubuntu and Linux Mint, and I think Windows users will find the desktop easy to manipulate.

  Hopefully this will help some of you recover those trapped vids. Good luck!

• 66 Jim B // Jan 3, 2009 at 8:57 pm

  Oh yeah, how about some Linux links…

  http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/download
  http://www.linuxmint.com/download.html

  Burn the .iso image file to CD after download. Then make sure your PC checks to boot from CD/DVD. Pop the disk in, and it will boot to Linux. Plug in your Flip and it should auto-mount. Browse the drive. You’re off and running.

• 67 matt // Jan 7, 2009 at 12:04 am

  these things are crap
  i need it for a school proj. tommarow and now my comp wont reconize it???????
  load of bull shit
  im not a thechie
  can someone help me that can explain it in small words

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