Taking Care of your Sony ICD-ux560 Voice Recorder

Taking Care of your Sony ICD-ux560 Voice Recorder

Today, I’m going to offer unsolicited advice. Why? Was at the office and made the mistake of plugging my Sony ux560 straight into my computer. Moved my chair to talk to a colleague, crunch! I’d smacked the recorder. Fortunately, nothing broke. It still works, but I was really disappointed for not following my own advice.

Taking Care of your Sony ICD-ux560 Voice Recorder

So here we are, I’d like you to learn for my experiences (good or bad) and hopefully take better care of your digital voice recorder. And yes, I’ve shared similar advice on the Sony ICD-ux560 review post, but I feel that this topic is worth a separate post, if for anything, to stress the importance of taking care of your digital recorder.

Connecting Sony ICD-ux560 to your Computer

Use a cable. Use a cable. Use a cable. If I could, I’d SHOUT this tip. Please use a USB cable to connect your Sony ICD-ux560 recorder to your computer or USB charger. Because the built in USB is fabricated to slide in and out of the recorder, it’s not securely fixed to the body of the recorder. It can (and does) easily break off. Note to Sony: please do away with the slide out feature, fix a USB female port (preferably micro or Type-C) and ship this recorder with a cable. I’d trade off the convenience for durability.

Anyway, the recorder does not come with a standard USB cable (I consider it to be a must have accessory for the ux560) you’ll need to get one. I know it’s a pain, but they are only $5 on Amazon and worth every penny! Search for female to male Type-A USB cable (this is a good one from Amazon) and you’ll get lots of options. If you have a more recent Mac laptop (2016 or later model), you’ll have to get a cable to connect your Sony ICD-ux560 to your Mac computer. You’ll need a female USB A to male USB Type-C cable (here’s one from Amazon).

Female USB A to Male Micro B USB cable
Female USB A to Male Micro B USB Cable

I’d recommend you get a short cable (a foot long), so that it’s easily portable. If you have different work stations (like me), get a few of them.  And don’t buy an adapter in lieu of a cable. You’ll want something that’s flexible; easily bends when you (accidentally) whack the recorder.

Charging your Sony ICD-ux560

Charge your recorder as often as possible. After you’re done moving/copying files from the recorder to your computer, let it charge. It only takes a couple of hours to fully charge the recorder. Why do you want to charge the recorder as often as possible?

The Sony ICD-ux560 has an in-built lithium-ion battery which can’t be replaced (well you can replace the non-removable battery, but it’s no small feat either). So, you’ll want it to last as long as possible. Now, the key factor that determines how long a rechargeable lithium-ion battery lasts is the number of times it fully discharges; aka charge cycles. Most lithium batteries have an estimated 300-500 charge cycles. However, research has shown you can extend the battery life to 2500 cycles (about 10 times) if you recharge it as soon as 75% of the battery charge remains.

My advice, once you’ve recorded about 5 hours of LPCM audio using the Sony ICD-ux560 it’s time to recharge it. I actually run lower discharge cycles on my Sony ICD-ux560. Whenever I use the recorder, usually 1 or 2 hours of recording, I recharge it. I’m hoping that’ll get me about 5000 charge cycles on the recorder.

Storing your Sony ICD-Ux560

Keep your Sony ICD-ux560 cool. Ideally, you want to keep your recorder between 5 °C and 20 °C (41 °F and 68 °F). So, don’t leave your recorder on your car’s dashboard, near a heat source, etc. Find a cool dry place to store your recorder, even when you’re on the go. High temperatures will fry the battery, and are the most likely cause of lithium battery failures.

My second tip is to discharge the recorder to about 50% battery charge before storing it for long periods. Storing your recorder with a full charge reduces battery capacity. Keep in mind that the battery discharges during storage, so make sure that you charge the recorder (to 50%)  every 6 months.

Bonus tip: do not store data in your recorder for an extended period (more than a couple of weeks). Make sure that you copy/move your interviews, focus groups, or lectures recordings to a more secure storage as soon as you can. If you don’t have access to a computer, if you are in the field for a few months et al, I’d recommend that you record your interviews into an external microSD card as opposed to the internal memory of the Sony ICD-ux560.

That’s it for this post. Hope you’ve found it useful. If you have other tips you’d like to share on taking care of your Sony ICD-ux560 voice recorder or questions, please post them in the comment section below.

,

5 1 vote
Article Rating
Subscribe
Notify of
guest

41 Comments
oldest
newest most voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Tracy
Tracy
5 years ago

Do you know how the Sony Px-333 compares to this one besides the price?

Tracy
Tracy
Reply to  Isaac
5 years ago

Issac-
Thank you for the quick response and this information.
Tracy

Tracy
Tracy
5 years ago

Issac-
So I think I should return the Sony PX333 and save myself 40 dollars by purchasing the Sony-ux560. Overall, I’m thinking the Sony-ux560 is a better recorder?

Tariq Niazi
Tariq Niazi
5 years ago

Hi,
I am wondering how to set up that all my data is directly stored in my micro sd card instead of device memory.

Please guide

John Johnson
John Johnson
4 years ago

After reading your review I am definitely going to purchase the Sony ICD-UX560 to replace my old Olympus WS-811 which has just stopped working. Your tip to using earbuds to monitor / adjust the recording settings is just what I was looking for. My question is: what earbuds would you recommend? A pair with or without a built in microphone?

John Johnson
John Johnson
Reply to  Isaac
4 years ago

Thanks for your reply 🙂

John Parkyn
John Parkyn
4 years ago

Hello…. I’m having difficulty finding a female to male Type-A USB cable … short in length … to link my Sony 560 to my MacBook Pro… Just like what you recommend… Please suggest a source.

John Parkyn
John Parkyn
Reply to  Isaac
4 years ago

Thank you Isaac… MacBook Pro Retina 13 inch, early 2015… Processor 2.9 GHz … Intel Core i5… running Mac OS 10.11.6

John Parkyn
John Parkyn
Reply to  Isaac
4 years ago

Thank you Isaac

John Parkyn
John Parkyn
4 years ago

re Micro SD card… What is “sensible” size to buy … not too large, not too small?

John Parkyn
John Parkyn
4 years ago

re interviewing technique when using an external mic … With the mic attached to the interviewee, how can the interviewer recall the questions asked? … One can infer from the answers and one can jot questions before and as the interviewee talks… Any other strategies?

John Parkyn
John Parkyn
Reply to  Isaac
4 years ago

Thank you Isaac… Please tell me more about double-mic.ing … But the recorder only has one mic port???

Alice
Alice
4 years ago

Isaac, I deleted a big wav file using the computer iMac, not the Sony recorder. The recorder says there are no files in the Rec File and Folder01, but when I link it to the iMac it says there are only 2.74 GB available on the Sony.
Did I make a huge error? I thought I could delete the recording on the Sony by using the iMac . What should I do?

There is a new file called “capability_02.xm”. Could that be something about the deleted file? When I click it I get a lot of gobbly-gook but it was added about when i deleted the file. I could send the gobbly-gook if you want. Ot os pm;y 9KB.

Thank you.
Alice

Alice
Alice
Reply to  Isaac
4 years ago

Is there a way to compensate you for kind and excellent help?
Where is the format feature? How should I format it?

Alice
Alice
Reply to  Isaac
4 years ago

It worked to Reformat. What Micro SD should I buy? Do you have a link to it?

Alice
Alice
Reply to  Isaac
4 years ago

The library where we are storing the Oral History asked for the following:
We prefer .wav files recorded at 16 bit (or 24 bit), with a sampling rate of 44.1kHz (or higher). Is this the automatic setting when we do the Wav on the Recorder? Or do I need to do something added?

MAHALAKSHMI R.MAHALINGAM
MAHALAKSHMI R.MAHALINGAM
4 years ago

Hello Isaac,
Thank you so much for doing this blog. I’m a PhD student in community development and I am in India now, studying women who do collective farming for my dissertation. I have two questions: 1) Does the Sony ICD-ux 560 voice recorder has 40 hours of recording time? 2) I’m unable to charge the recorder often when I’m out in the field recording interviews in rural areas. Can I record four, 1 ½ hour interviews (a total of six hours) and then recharge the recorder? Is this possible, or will the recorder run out of charge after a couple of hours? I understand the importance of charging often, but I’m in a situation where that will be difficult to do. I am planning to buy a power bank as they call it in India (I’m not sure what the US terminology is because I’m not a tech savvy person) and carry it with me but it will still be difficult to keep charging the recorder often, because I will be using it, interviewing back to back. I could of course take breaks between the interviews just to charge the recorder, but every day I travel long distances to the field and I would like to do as many interviews as possible in one day without taking breaks to charge the recorder. I could perhaps, charge it after 3 hours, when I take a lunch break. Once I get back for the day, I can charge it before I leave for the next day. Please advise.
Maha

MAHALAKSHMI R.MAHALINGAM
MAHALAKSHMI R.MAHALINGAM
Reply to  Isaac
4 years ago

Thanks a ton Isacc. I will look at the link in detail and come back to you depending on what I can get in India.

MAHALAKSHMI R.MAHALINGAM
MAHALAKSHMI R.MAHALINGAM
Reply to  MAHALAKSHMI R.MAHALINGAM
4 years ago

Thanks for all your help Isacc. Regarding the mp3 format, which you do not recommend, what is it(pardon my ignorance) and what is the format you recommend and how do I set the recorder to the best format. Each day, I will be transferring the recorded interviews to my university dropbox via my computer and deleting them from the recorder, for secure storage of private data.Do I still need to use the SD card ?

Dante Ramirez
Dante Ramirez
4 years ago

Is there any way at all to fix lithium-ion battery being burnt.
Can I use a spray or can I put in the freezer.

viv
viv
1 year ago

hello my sony icd-ux560f freezed to the “please wait” screen while charging. how do i troubleshoot this? the please wait disappears when my laptop is sleeping ot turned off but reappears when i remove it from the laptop and when it is turned on. Also, after the “please wait” screen appeared, my laptop does not recognize the recorder when plugged.

Last edited 1 year ago by viv
Derek
Derek
11 months ago

How many years/hours of recordings can such a battery last?
I checked the Sony repair service and the ux560 and ux570 are “disposable” products. The service does not replace the batteries in them. In the event of a failure during the warranty period, the entire device is replaced.
So I’m curious how many years will it last?
How much do these devices serve you?