Fiio M3 Complete User manual

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M3 Complete User Guide
(Applicable to firmware version 1.0 and later)
Foreword
Thank you for purchasing FiiO’s M3, our micro-sized 96kHz/24bit lossless music
player. To let you better utilize the M3 to enjoy high-quality music, we have
prepared this complete user manual and answered some frequently asked questions
by users. We hope this manual will help you get to know the M3 and unleash its
full potential.

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Contents
A. Introduction............................................................................................................................... 3
B. Buttons and ports explained.................................................................................................... 3
C. Firmware Updates.....................................................................................................................4
D. Menu operation (pictorial guide).............................................................................................6
1. Categories Menu...................................................................................................................... 6
2. Quick Menu..............................................................................................................................1
3. Custom EQ............................................................................................................................... 8
E. Menu operation (textual guide)............................................................................................... 8
1. Powering on and off.............................................................................................................. 8
2. Now Playing interface...........................................................................................................8
3. Categories Menu................................................................................................................... 9
4. Quick Menu........................................................................................................................... 9
a. Play Mode................................................................................................................................9
b. Add to playlist.........................................................................................................................9
c. Equalizer................................................................................................................................. 9
d. Song info................................................................................................................................10
e. Delete..................................................................................................................................... 10
f. Settings.................................................................................................................................. 10
5. Settings................................................................................................................................. 11
a. Play settings.......................................................................................................................... 11
b. System settings......................................................................................................................12
F. Tips on Usage...........................................................................................................................15
G. FAQ.....................................................................................................................................16
1. Charging.............................................................................................................................. 16
2. Transferring songs.............................................................................................................. 17
3. Firmware updates............................................................................................................... 18
4. Storage..................................................................................................................................19
5. Playing music.......................................................................................................................20
6. Other operations................................................................................................................. 21

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A. Introduction
The M3 is a HiFi-class digital audio player, supporting lossy and lossless music
formats including MP3, WAV, WMA, APE, FLAC, and Ogg Vorbis. A maximum
sample rate of 96kHz/24bit is supported and other features include CUE sheet
support, playlist support and auto sleep / shutdown. The following sections are an
illustrated guide to using the M3.
B.Buttons and ports explained
Micro USB port
3.5mm headphone out
Micro SD card slot
Power
Hold slider
Menu
Left
Right
OK / Play
button
Up
Down
Display
1) Display: 262k color 240x320 TFT LCD displays user interface and other info
2) Menu button: Press briefly in Now Playing screen to show

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Categories menu;
Hold in Now Playing screen to show Quick menu;
Hold in any music listing to show operations menu;
Press briefly within any menu to go back up a menu level
3) OK / Play button: Press briefly in Now Playing to play / pause music;
Press briefly in any menu or listing to enter submenu /
select item / perform chosen action
4) Left: Press briefly in Now Playing to skip to previous track;
Hold in Now Playing to rewind
5) Right: Press briefly in Now Playing to skip to next track;
Hole in Now Playing to fast forward
6) Up: Press briefly in Now Playing to increase volume by 1;
Hold in Now Playing to continue increasing volume;
Press briefly in any menu or listing to move selection highlight Up
7) Down: Press briefly in Now Playing to decrease volume by 1;
Hold in Now Playing to continue decreasing volume;
Press briefly in any menu or listing to move selection highlight Down
8) Power:Hold down while M3 is powered off to turn on M3;
Hold down while M3 is powered on to turn off M3;
Press briefly while M3 is powered on to turn display on/off
9) Hold slider: Slide up along arrow to lock buttons;
Slide down along arrow to unlock buttons
10) 3.5mm headphone out: Headphone port for headphones with 3.5mm jacks.
Also supports most inline headphone remotes;
Remote function on supplied earphones:
Press once: Play / pause
Press twice: Next track
Press 3 times: Previous track
11) Micro USB port: For data transfer and charging the M3
12) Micro SD card slot: Supports micro SD cards of up to 64GB capacity
13) Lanyard lug: For strapping on supplied lanyard.
C. Firmware Updates
Firmware updates may update the player with new features and optimize the
playback experience; not upgrading to the latest firmware does not affect current
operation of the unit. The unit supports firmware upgrades via update files loaded
into the internal memory of the M3. Improper operation during firmware updates
may cause the unit to malfunction! Please read the following instructions for
firmware updates carefully before proceeding.
Before updating:

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1. Please ensure that the M3 is adequately charged, preferably fully charged,
before updating the firmware, to prevent loss of power during the update.
2. You can only enter the shortcuts menu and from there the settings menu and
the firmware update option by holding the menu button from the Now Playing
screen. Therefore, please load the M3 with at least one song and play a song
before attempting to update the M3.
3. You may go to System settings -> About M3(on last page) to check the firmware
version of the M3.
To update the M3's firmware:
1. Extract and copy M3.hex to the root directory of the internal storage of the M3.
2. While playing a song on the M3, in the Now Playing screen, hold the menu
button (upper left button on main panel) to open the shortcuts menu; choose
and select the cog icon at the bottom to enter settings menu; click "up" once to
choose "Firmware update" at the end of the System settings menu and select it
to update the firmware, select the tick to confirm; the following screens will
appear while the update is in process.
Do not push the M3’s buttons while the update is in process.
3. The M3 will update its firmware and then reboot.
It is normal for the first reboot after the update to take longer than usual.
4. Choose your preferred language for the M3 again.
Notes:
1. Songs / data in internal storage would not be deleted by firmware update
process.
2. If the internal storage had been reformatted by a connected computer, update
may fail. To solve this problem, reformat the internal storage using the System

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settings->Storage formatting->Format internal memory option on the M3.
Please back up data / songs in the internal memory first as formatting deletes all
data there.
D. Menu operation (pictorial guide)
1. Categories Menu
To enter Categories menu: press Menu button
briefly in Now Playing screen
Button usage guide:
Menu: Press to show menu / back up one menu
level; Hold in music listing to show operations
menu
OK/Play: Enter submenu / perform action
Up / Down: Move selection highlight up /
down
e.g. Up/Down to choose a category type and
OK to enter its category listing
Playlists
Shows the 3 built-in playlists and
playlists based on CUE sheets
★Up/Down to choose a playlist
★Press OK briefly to show playlist
contents
★Hold menu button while a playlist is
chosen to show operations menu for
chosen playlist.
All Songs
Shows all songs loaded on M3
★Hold menu button while a song is
chosen to show operations menu for
chosen song.
Artists
Shows list of artists for loaded songs
★Up/Down to choose an artist, OK to
show list of albums by chosen artist
→ ★Up/Down to choose an album, OK
to show list of songs in chosen
album
★Hold menu button while an artist /
album / song is chosen to show
operations menu for selection.
Albums
Shows list of albums in loaded songs
★Up/Down to choose an album, OK to
show list of songs in chosen album
Folders
Shows music files according to folder
structure
★Up/Down to move selection highlight,
OK to enter chosen drive / folder / play
selected song
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Status bar legend
1——Volume icon
2——Volume level value
3——Present equalizer mode
4——Micro SD card
5——Playback status
6——Play mode
7——Sleep timer
8——Battery indicator

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2. Quick Menu
Add to playlist
★Press OK to add now playing song to a
selected playlist
Equalizer
Press OK to show list of equalizer
settings
★Choose and select “Custom” to show
settings screen for Custom EQ
Song info
Press OK to show various info on the
now playing song
Settings
Press OK to enter settings menu
(including play settings and system
settings)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Status bar legend
1——Volume icon
2——Volume level value
3——Present equalizer mode
4——Micro SD card
5——Playback status
6——Play mode
7——Sleep timer
8——Battery indicator
To enter Quick menu: hold Menu button in
Now Playing screen
Button usage guide:
Menu: Press to back up one menu level;
Hold in music listing to show operations menu
OK/Play: Enter submenu / perform action
Up / Down: Move selection highlight or slider
up / down
Left / Right: switch between options for chosen
item / move selection highlight left / right
Play Mode
Press OK to switch between
Sequential Loop Single
Loop list Shuffle
Delete
Select to delete now playing song (after
confirmation dialog)

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3. Custom EQ
E.Menu operation (textual guide)
1. Powering on and off
Hold down the power button for two seconds and release it to turn on the M3
(language selection dialog would appear the first time the M3 is powered on);
While the M3 is powered on, hold down the power button for 3 seconds to turn
off the player.
2. Now Playing interface
The Now Playing screen is shown after power-on (except the first power-up after
purchase / firmware update). From this screen:
Press Menu button briefly to show Categories menu /
Hold Menu button to show Quick menu;
Press / hold Up button to increase volume by 1 / continuously increase volume;
Press / hold Down button to decrease volume by 1 / continuously decrease
volume;
Press left / right button briefly to skip to previous / next track;
Hold left / right button to rewind / fast forward current track;
The Custom EQ allows you to customize
the response level at and around 5 set
frequency bands to customize the sound
output of the M3 to your personal tastes.
To operate:
Menu: Cancel changes and go back to
Equalizer listing
OK: Save changes and go back to Equalizer
listing
Up/Down: Increase / decrease response at
selected frequency band
Left / Right: Change frequency selected for
adjustment

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Press OK button to pause / play the music.
3. Categories Menu
From Now Playing screen, press menu button briefly to enter Categories Menu.
There are 5 category types available: Playlists, All Songs, Artists, Albums and
Folders.
Press Up/Down to choose a category type and OK to enter its category listing.
From Categories Menu screen, hold the Menu button to enter Quick Menu. From
Categories Menu screen, hold the Menu button to enter Quick Menu.
For details please refer to D. Menu operation (pictorial guide)—1. Categories
Menu.
4. Quick Menu
From Now Playing screen, hold menu button to enter Quick Menu.
The 6 options shown are: Play mode, Add to playlist, Equalizer, Song info, Delete
and Settings.
Press Up/Down to choose an option and OK to activate / change the option or
enter its menus.
a. Play Mode
Play Mode refers to the way in which the M3 chooses the next song to play.
The M3 can choose between
Sequential, Loop Single, Loop List and Shuffle.
Press OK on the current Play Mode icon to switch between the 4 modes.
b. Add to playlist
Select this option to add the now playing song to a built-in playlist.
The 3 built-in playlists on the M3 are: Favorites, Playlist 1 and Playlist 2.
Press OK on this option to show the 3 playlists. Press Up / Down to choose
between the 3 playlists and OK to add the now playlist song to the selected playlist.
To confirm the addition, press OK once more. To cancel, use Up / Down to
choose “x” button in confirmation dialog or simply press the Menu button.
c. Equalizer
Select this option to change the equalizer effect applied to the M3’s sound

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output. The following options are available:
Off: No equalizer applied;
Built-in equalizers (fixed): Rock, Blues, Metal, Jazz, Classical, Electronic;
Custom: Custom EQ allows user-defined adjustments of the response level at
and around the 5 frequency bands of 62Hz, 250Hz, 1kHz, 6kHz and 16kHz。
To operate the Custom EQ:
1) Use Up / Down to choose “Custom” from list of equalizers and press OK to
select Custom EQ and show Custom EQ adjustment screen;
2) Press Left / Right to choose the frequency for which adjustment is desired
3) Press Up / Down to increase / decrease response at selected frequency band
(range of adjustment from -6dB to +6dB)
4) Repeat (2) and (3) until all desired adjustments are made;
5) Press OK to save changes and go back to Equalizer listing (or press Menu to
cancel changes and go back to Equalizer listing)
d. Song info
Select (press OK on) this option to display various info about the now playing
song.
The info shown (from top to bottom) are as follows: file name, album name,
artist name, genre name, bitrate, sample rate, file size, song duration, and
number of channels.
Press the menu button to exit the info screen.
e. Delete
Select (press OK on) this option to delete the now playing song.
Confirmation dialog will appear, showing name of the song to be deleted.
Cancel (“x”) icon is selected by default. To cancel, choose “x” icon and press OK
(or simply press Menu button).
To confirm deleting the song, use Up / Down button to choose “ ” icon and
press OK to select.
“Delete” deletes the song fully from the M3 and not just from any playlist the
song may be in. Do not use unless you don’t want to listen to this song on the
M3 again.
f. Settings
Select (press OK on) this option to show the various other options for the M3 (as
listed in “5. Settings” below) for review and adjustment.