[SOLVED] Warning: Don't buy samsung mp3 players

[PatrickMay16]

All the new samsung mp3 players must have music put on them through MTP. You cannot even use them as mass storage devices. Furthermore, I emailed samsung about this, and their reply showed me that they know Mac and Linux users can't use their mp3 players. They know this and they aren't bothering to do anything about it.

In short, Samsung sucks, as do their mp3 players. Don't buy any Samsung mp3 players unless you feel the need for a £60 paperweight.

[ryno519]

Do they at least warn you on the box that their product will only work with Windows?

[WishingWell]

All the new samsung mp3 players must have music put on them through MTP. You cannot even use them as mass storage devices. Furthermore, I emailed samsung about this, and their reply showed me that they know Mac and Linux users can't use their mp3 players. They know this and they aren't bothering to do anything about it.

In short, Samsung sucks, as do their mp3 players. Don't buy any Samsung mp3 players unless you feel the need for a £60 paperweight.

Thanks for the heads up. Still like my Samsung Mobile though and via IR i have no problems accessing it from Linux. :)

I was thinking about buying a new Samsung MP3 player for my daughter, i think i'll reconsider after this though, she uses a Macbook pro.

[PatrickMay16]

Do they at least warn you on the box that their product will only work with Windows?

It says on the back of the box, in the system requirements area: "Windows XP/Vista". That's about it, and you have to look close to find it.

[PatrickMay16]

Thanks for the heads up. Still like my Samsung Mobile though and via IR i have no problems accessing it from Linux. :)

I was thinking about buying a new Samsung MP3 player for my daughter, i think i'll reconsider after this though, she uses a Macbook pro.

Excellent! Good on you.

This is exactly it. If Samsung is going to abandon us Linux and Mac users, we must nack them in the TESTIS. Let's hit them where it hurts... I'm sure Samsung won't appreciate the loss of sales. No joke. We need so send a swift kick to their BALLS. I am going to smack them in the NADS.

[Kingsley]

It says on the back of the box, in the system requirements area: "Windows XP/Vista". That's about it, and you have to look close to find it.
So you had fair warning :).

[WishingWell]

Excellent! Good on you.

This is exactly it. If Samsung is going to abandon us Linux and Mac users, we must nack them in the TESTIS. Let's hit them where it hurts... I'm sure Samsung won't appreciate the loss of sales. No joke. We need so send a swift kick to their BALLS. I am going to smack them in the NADS.

Whoa there my good man, i was thinking more along the lines of avoiding their products and recommending that others do the same if they have incompatible software or equipment than kicking them in the NADS.

(if i owned a sports team i would name them NADS, and everyone would cheer them on by screaming GO NADS)

You have a better option for an MP3 player to recommend me, it would have to work with both MacOSX and Linux, i'd greatly appreciate it.

[happysmileman]

So you had fair warning :).

No, my USB stick said Windows XP/Vista, it works fine, and the company proudly state somewhere in the instructions that it works with Linux and Mac(can't remember who made it), just probably didn't feel need to put it on box because they thought it was obvious to Linux/Mac users that a removable storage device would work. Same with Printer (That's HP, the box said Windows but the instructions also mentioned Mac and even had a Mac install CD.)

The point is that if you get an MP3 player you expect it to just be a mass storage device that plays any MP3's on it, no-one will see that and think about whether it will work, because all other MP3 players they've seen worked fine

[cybrid]

So you had fair warning :).

What I don't like about this kind of devices is that in the rear of the box (when you buy the player) says windows xp/vista as a requirement but not as the only requirement; the warning should show that the "thing" is a WINDOWS ONLY product, clear and concisely.

[Billy_McBong]

So you had fair warning :).
almost every electronic says that. i think they just put that on there so they don't have to provide tech support for other OS's

i also don't like samsung. i bought a video camera from them and at the time all the major companies were using faulty parts so a lot of cameras started breaking, evey other company but samsung replaced the cameras free of charge. someone started a lawsuit against them then they finally gave in and started replacing the broken cameras for a small free. they will do anything to make a buck

[Lord Illidan]

So, if it is an MTP player, doesn't the libmtp take care of it, or am I just pig-ignorant?

Anyway, I am happy with my rockboxed nano :P

[cybrid]

So, if it is an MTP player, doesn't the libmtp take care of it, or am I just pig-ignorant?

Anyway, I am happy with my rockboxed nano :P

The problem is that libmtp (now part of libgphoto I think), doesn't support all of mpt devices and not all of mtp functions in those players.

[SZF2001]

Sansa works fine for me - I don't carry much music though, and 4 gigs is plenty for me. Plus, it works as a storage device too, and you have the option of making it MTP or MSC.

Shameless plug for Sansa guide I wrote, cough cough... (http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=312196)

[dasunst3r]

If you are looking for an alternate music player, you should consider the Sandisk Sansa series. The one I have seen allows you to change between MTP and mass storage device mode. You could also try iRiver, although you will need to flash the firmware, available at http://www.iriveramerica.com/support/ums.aspx

[Iceni]

The best mp3 player I've owned (so far) is the Creative Zen V. The worst is by far a nano, horrible thing. I also have a sansa, it's great. Teand to stick with the Zen, tho.

[LookTJ]

You have a better option for an MP3 player to recommend me, it would have to work with both MacOSX and Linux, i'd greatly appreciate it.

Does Cowon work? Is it an mp3 player?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cowon

[WishingWell]

Does Cowon work? Is it an mp3 player?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cowon

That looks *very* nice, i'll look into that, thank you.

[LookTJ]

That looks *very* nice, i'll look into that, thank you.
Fair warning: I have not used their products.

[Nonno Bassotto]

I own a Samsung mp3 player, and I like it very much. While now it looks very basic, it plays ogg files and has a 5 band equalizer (i don't like presets), both of which were not obvious when I got it (and maybe now too). Never had any problem with it, since it is just a FAT32 removable disk.

It's sad to hear that new devices are not compatible with Linux, since I was thinking of Samsung when I should need a replacement.

By the way, what is this MPT thing?

[WishingWell]

Fair warning: I have not used their products.

Ok, i'll look into it, if i decide to buy one i'll report back. :)

[PatrickMay16]

By the way, what is this MPT thing?

It's the 'media transfer protocol'.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Media_transfer_protocol

It seems to be a microsoft thing.
You can use things like libmtp, but it can be a pain to set up, doesn't support all mtp devices, and doesn't support all the features that some specific devices might have, etc.
Using a file manager to organise music is much easier, I think.

[NET WT]

Hi,

I bought a Samsung mp3 player a short time ago. It works great with Ubuntu. Mine is the 2GB YP-Z5 model. When I updated its firmware a while back, I found that they had added an UMS option. Which can now be accessed on the device under "settings>System Info" . I am using firmware version 2.47 US. They added other features as well. It also plays .ogg which is nice. I am not sure about their newer devices, but I believe that they will do the same with them. I think their firmware updates require Windows though. I really like my player, I just wish I would have bought the 4GB model.

[WishingWell]

I own a Samsung mp3 player, and I like it very much. While now it looks very basic, it plays ogg files and has a 5 band equalizer (i don't like presets), both of which were not obvious when I got it (and maybe now too). Never had any problem with it, since it is just a FAT32 removable disk.

It's sad to hear that new devices are not compatible with Linux, since I was thinking of Samsung when I should need a replacement.

By the way, what is this MPT thing?

MTP is the Media Transfer Protocol (i assume that's what he meant because MPT is short for Motorola Phone Tools).

Now some devices uses MTP and some use UMS (Universal Mass Storage) UMS will work on Linux while MTP is like USB was when it was introduced, some motherboards worked with some USB devices, others didn't, the standard wasn't set in stone for USB back then and isn't set in stone for MTP now.

Someone correct me about MPT and MTP if i'm wrong, my phone uses MTP for MP3 and video/image transfer so i assume that is what he means.

[blithen]

So you had fair warning :).
That's not true, Razer Tarantula, and g11, and g15 (All three are gaming keyboards) and they say in the requirements area that you must have Windows, but they work fine in linux.

[Wolki]

That's too bad. I had strongly considered getting a samsung as my next mp3 player because they suppport ogg and it would be nice to have that. But I have no need for expensive paperweights.

[WishingWell]

That's not true, Razer Tarantula, and g11, and g15 (All three are gaming keyboards) and they say in the requirements area that you must have Windows, but they work fine in linux.

Well, that just means that they have tested them with Windows, if they work with other systems, great, if they don't, well, you had a fair warning.

It's like the "designed for" logos, usually it will work with Linux but if it doesn't you can't blame the manufacturer, they never said it would.

Now if you went out to buy a product that stated that it would be compatible with Linux (they would have to include < 2.6.12 or something) and that didn't work, then you'd have a perfectly good complaint about their information.

[ry4n]

when are we Linux users going to be enough that they start making the software for us... making sure that it works with windows/mac/Linux as well. I am sure a few do but when will say apple make itunes for Linux. (but on the bright side if u have a ipod rythmbox is really good)

[WishingWell]

when are we Linux users going to be enough that they start making the software for us... making sure that it works with windows/mac/Linux as well. I am sure a few do but when will say apple make itunes for Linux. (but on the bright side if u have a ipod rythmbox is really good)

Each and every day i get to know more Linux users by having them call me about Linux instead of Windows, same persons, it's spreading.

One day the world will be free.

[ry4n]

Each and every day i get to know more Linux users by having them call me about Linux instead of Windows, same persons, it's spreading.

One day the world will be free.

I really hope your are right, in fact i am betting on that people want to be free. It just seems when you tell some people about Gnu/Linux they scared to try something new as if it will hurt if they put that live CD in their computer.

but i am getting off topic so sorry

[Colonel Kilkenny]

Hi,

I bought a Samsung mp3 player a short time ago. It works great with Ubuntu. Mine is the 2GB YP-Z5 model. When I updated its firmware a while back, I found that they had added an UMS option. Which can now be accessed on the device under "settings>System Info" . I am using firmware version 2.47 US. They added other features as well. It also plays .ogg which is nice. I am not sure about their newer devices, but I believe that they will do the same with them. I think their firmware updates require Windows though. I really like my player, I just wish I would have bought the 4GB model.

I have Samsung YP-Z5F (4Gb) and I absolutely love it. It basically almost doubles the battery time compared to Nano and plays oggs.
Updating the firmware can be done from linux. It is just a dat-file which must be moved to device and then it reboots itself & installs it.

[FuturePilot]

Possibly a solution? I've been trying to compile this since I also have an MTP mp3 player.
http://www.adebenham.com/mtpfs/

[rdwtux]

Some of the samsung players can load "international" versions of the firmware and then work just as a mass storage device. The 4gb Samsung k3 falls into this category... although, after I tried the UMS version of the firmware, the player became unstable so it went back to the store.

I would recommend the Cowon players... the Cowon d2 plays FLAC, OGG, MP3, etc.. very nice device.

[PatrickMay16]

Possibly a solution? I've been trying to compile this since I also have an MTP mp3 player.
http://www.adebenham.com/mtpfs/

I tried that, it barely worked.

[spooner]

I've got a couple of Samsung YP-U1's and they both work fine (mines a 512Mb and my other half has a 2Gb) both work exactly like usb sticks. I guess the upgrades the YP-U2 and YP-U3 will both work grand with Linux.
They are really the only open source media players around... you find me another £20-£50 quid ogg vorbis player!!!

[PatrickMay16]

I've got a couple of Samsung YP-U1's and they both work fine (mines a 512Mb and my other half has a 2Gb) both work exactly like usb sticks. I guess the upgrades the YP-U2 and YP-U3 will both work grand with Linux.
They are really the only open source media players around... you find me another £20-£50 quid ogg vorbis player!!!

Yeah, but the YP-U2 and YP-U3 don't work grand with linux. I had a YP-U3 (which I almost immediately sold on ebay), and it DID NOT work exactly like a usb disk. You need to use MTP software, which is mostly windows only (there exist hacks to use MTP in linux/mac).

The point is, Samsung knows that linux and mac users will mostly not be able to use their new stuff because of this MTP crap, and they couldn't care less. Do you want to support that?

And BTW, I have a YP-U1 as well, and it makes a quiet but annoying high pitched whine noise when playing Ogg Vorbis. But not when playing Mp3. So that sucks too.

[spooner]

The point is, Samsung knows that linux and mac users will mostly not be able to use their new stuff because of this MTP crap, and they couldn't care less. Do you want to support that?
And BTW, I have a YP-U1 as well, and it makes a quiet but annoying high pitched whine noise when playing Ogg Vorbis. But not when playing Mp3. So that sucks too.
First point... no I don't want to support that but then most of the time I don't see a way around these things. There are not enough people using linux to make Samsung worry. (And if you have a mac then you have already sold yourself out and you might as well buy and ipod). Its a bit like the graphics card problem... both Nvidia and ATI have closed source drivers but how many people go out and by intel graphics cards (not many cause the are rubbish for gaming)?
Second, I'm sorry to hear that your YP-U1 makes a high pitched whine. Neither of mine do.
Overall, arguing about is Samsung better Apple, Creative etc. very much like arguing about car manufacturers. There are so many things wrong with all of them that you always end up comprising. I depends massively on what you want. If you want a cheap, open source, good looking, good quality, good sounding, drm free, not made in Redmond or by a company trying to take over the world, high capacity, long battery life, linux supported media player then I think you are going to be out of luck!

[little_penguin]

Totally agree, Samsung sucks - mine has just gone South after only 1 year, dead as a dodo. No way will I buy another. Complete garbage.

[Df_Yz]

I'm sorry for my bad English and some mistakes(, but author may change /dev/hands, because my Samsung mp3 (U3) works greatly.

p.s. Did you try play some files before copy new?
After playing mp3,(I have playing mp3's,what already have been in player memory), by Amarok my U3 works fine as a usb flash-drive.

p.p.s. My OS:
Kubuntu 7.10, AMD64.

p.p.p.s. Samsung SGH-X700 also works like "flash" without any problems.

[SomeGuyDude]

I bought a YP-T9 and it currently works under Linux after upgrading it to the "international" 1.80 firmware to make it UMS. Relatively painless.

[Nonno Bassotto]

Does the YP-Z5 work under linux?

[macogw]

They work fine with Rhythmbox, Amarok, Gnomad2, Exaile...pretty much everything. libmtp has been around for a while, and I used it on my "Windows only" Creative Zen a month before this thread started. Any mp3 player that says "Windows only" will work perfectly fine because we have perfectly good MTP support. If it doesn't say "Windows only" you don't know what protocol it uses, but this way, you know for sure that it works :)

[trash]

All the new samsung mp3 players must have music put on them through MTP. You cannot even use them as mass storage devices. Furthermore, I emailed samsung about this, and their reply showed me that they know Mac and Linux users can't use their mp3 players. They know this and they aren't bothering to do anything about it.

In short, Samsung sucks, as do their mp3 players. Don't buy any Samsung mp3 players unless you feel the need for a £60 paperweight.

As a rule now I don't buy anything unless it says on the box 'windows/mac/linux'

And for those who care, I also don't buy from companies that 'obsolete' their own products. In my experience so far US Robotics and Logitech.

[Nekiruhs]

Mmm. Gotta' love the three E's that Microsoft stands for:
Embrace, Extend, Extinguish.
MTP is just another attempt to Embrace (Encourage companies to only use MTP), Extend (Use Windows specific addons), Extinguish (Make the majority of Players use MTP, thereby hurting Linux + Mac PMP sales).

[21jeremy21]

the yp-z5 will work all over linux's face-- all you need to do is upgrade the firmware(which i had to do from a windows machine :cry:) and then ubuntu 7.10 recognized'er and she popped up on the desktop like nobody's business :guitar:YEEAAAH METALLICA!!!!!!!!!!

:confused:

[zipperback]

All the new samsung mp3 players must have music put on them through MTP. You cannot even use them as mass storage devices. Furthermore, I emailed samsung about this, and their reply showed me that they know Mac and Linux users can't use their mp3 players. They know this and they aren't bothering to do anything about it.

In short, Samsung sucks, as do their mp3 players. Don't buy any Samsung mp3 players unless you feel the need for a £60 paperweight.




It's certainly a shame that your new MP3 player doesn't work with Linux currently. However, if it is a brand new unit, I would suggest taking it back and getting one that is known to work really well with Linux.

I have a Creative MuVo 1GB player, and it works great with Linux. I just connect it to the usb port and it automounts up as a storage device, then I can just drag and drop my music to and from it. And while it doesn't have all the cool features of an ipod or something like it, it does meet my personal needs, and plays mp3 files. The sad thing is that the only file format for music it supports its mp3 files. And it's a very basic player.

An ipod however is a highly supported player with Linux, so I guess it depends on how much you want to spend. There are numerous other ones too.

I feel though that if a company doesn't want to provide at least some sort of minimal support for Linux users, then they don't get my business.

Just my opinion of course.

- zipperback
:popcorn:

[HunterThomson]

I have a YP-U3 and I love it and it has been working grate for one year now...I think it is better then buying an iPod... I hate $teve Job$. In any case almost all mp3 player that use MTP work grate with Linux. I found a fix.

sudo apt-get install gnomad2

It is a program to read/wright from your MTP music player. I hope this helps someone:guitar:

[barbedsaber]

jesus that was close, I was litteraly JUST about to buy one.

i'm not kidding, I had picked one out cuz it supported OGG.thank you so much for the advice.

[HunterThomson]

NO get one OGG is grate and Gmonad2 works grate!

[Ioky]

I do agree, samsung mp3 players might be suck, but Samsung doesn't suck? They make the one of the best Monitors, and TV even, I have been using their displacement for years, and Love it. except the time that I get one pixel that always goes green on my 22" LCD monitor. Well, but those thing happen all the time anyway. is not just them. so what can I so.

[LaRoza]

I do agree, samsung mp3 players might be suck, but Samsung doesn't suck? They make the one of the best Monitors, and TV even, I have been using their displacement for years, and Love it. except the time that I get one pixel that always goes green on my 22" LCD monitor. Well, but those thing happen all the time anyway. is not just them. so what can I so.

I don't know about mp3 players, but I use Samsung monitors only now.

[TeraDyne]

My pink Samsung YP-U3 works just fine with Gnomad, thank you very much.

Seriously, the Samsung players are fine. I listen to oggs on my U3 all the time. In fact, I use the built-in FM player during tornado situations (I live in the middle of Tornado Alley), and the battery life is very good. I don't use the voice recorder, though.

[xeth_delta]

All the new samsung mp3 players must have music put on them through MTP. You cannot even use them as mass storage devices. Furthermore, I emailed samsung about this, and their reply showed me that they know Mac and Linux users can't use their mp3 players. They know this and they aren't bothering to do anything about it.


I have a quick question for the ones who already have new samsung players.
Is this happening only with the newest series? It would be good noting that at least a part of the older models do work with any operating system.

I own a YP-Z5 (previous generation Samsung players) and it worked with Linux out of the box with UMS / Mass storage device.

I wonder if it has anything to do with different firmware being available to different geographical regions. I live in Europe and hence got the firmware for this region.

[days_of_ruin]

So you had fair warning :).

Seriously they all say that.

[macogw]

I have a quick question for the ones who already have new samsung players.
Is this happening only with the newest series? It would be good noting that at least a part of the older models do work with any operating system.

I own a YP-Z5 (previous generation Samsung players) and it worked with Linux out of the box with UMS / Mass storage device.

I wonder if it has anything to do with different firmware being available to different geographical regions. I live in Europe and hence got the firmware for this region.

As far as I know, *all* mp3 players work with Linux just fine. This is a very old thread from before Linux gained MTP support.

[xeth_delta]

As far as I know, *all* mp3 players work with Linux just fine. This is a very old thread from before Linux gained MTP support.

Thanks for the observation. How recent was MTP support added? The thread was started on late August last year. I remember reading last year, when I was looking for a player, that MTP support was being developed, but I decided to go for a UMS unit anyway.

[leftfield technology]

Hardy has a new version of MTP (v7 I think) that should add support for some of the newer devices.

..although my wife's MTP player has always worked fine with Gutsy.

[HunterThomson]

Why are people still on this thread???? MTP is no problem......This thread should have had the (Solved) Tag a long time ago.... It is just misleading.:confused:

[LaRoza]

Why are people still on this thread???? MTP is no problem......This thread should have had the (Solved) Tag a long time ago.... It is just misleading.:confused:

Marked solved, and closed.