My Flip Video Won't Turn On

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The USB charging latch is located on the side of the Flip.
Image Credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images

Without video functionality, your Flip video camera is little more than a fancy one-eyed paper weight. If your Flip video camera won't turn on at all, you may need to reset the device. Before you do, make sure the batteries aren't dead. After you've verified that the batteries are charged, you can reset certain Flip models by removing and reinserting the battery pack. If this doesn't fix your problem, there's a tiny button hidden on the bottom of all Flip cameras that you can press to reset the device to its factory settings.

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Step 1

Verify that your batteries are charged. Flip open the USB charging arm on the side of the device and connect it to a powered USB port on your computer. Leave the device connected for at least three hours to fully charge the batteries and then try to turn the camera on again. If it won't turn on, perform a battery reset.

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Step 2

Remove the batteries from the device, wait at least 60 seconds and then replace the batteries. The location of the battery compartment varies depending on which Flip camera you use. On the UltraHD, for example, you expose the battery compartment by releasing the battery latch and then sliding down the black panel on the front of the device.

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Step 3

Try to turn the camera on again. If it still won't turn on, perform a physical reset. Find a safety pin, tack or other pointed object and insert it into the small hole located inside the camera's tripod mount. Do not use a toothpick or similarly fragile object that could break off inside the hole.

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The tripod mount is the small threaded hole found on the bottom of your Flip camera. The reset hole is found within this larger hole.

Step 4

Press and hold the pointed object as far into the hole as it can go. Wait at least five seconds and then remove the object.

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Step 5

Press and hold the "Power" button on the Flip camera for at least five seconds. After five seconds, release the "Power" button and turn on the camera.

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