Problems with LeapPad 2??

[bigmama67]

Hi,

So we bought DD a LeapPad 2 for her 4th birthday. We got it in August from Leapfrog.com but we gave it to her on 10/13 (so just over 3 weeks ago). She has had all sorts of problems with it and is getting very frustrated. Even my son who is almost 10 has trouble getting it to do what they want. The main problem seems to be that it does not recognize what you tap on - in Disney Animation Studio, if we try to draw a character, the lines we draw show up way off from where we draw them. In the Home Screen, we have to tap repeatedly, and off the desired game, to get it to recognize what we are trying to do.

I looked online for a calibration instructions, though we should NOT have to do this with a brand new unit. I am calling Leapfrog tomorrow and if I need to, I will send it back and get a new one (I know from a problem we had with a Leapster years back, that I will probably need to lay out the funds and then get a credit back once they receive the defective unit)...it's just such a pain and disappointing to think DD will not be able to use her birthday gift for awhile. Also we already put some apps on it so we have to deal with switching them over, etc.

Also I already got rid of the original packaging, but they'll just have to deal with that. I got it through their website so there is a record of when I bought it.

Has anyone else had a similar experience with this tablet? I would love to know. I would consider getting her the first generation one at Target which is less $$ now, but this is the Disney Princess bundle and she just LOVES it!!

Ugh...

 

[ashleyasiegel]

I haven't opened our up yet as its a christmas gift but I will be doing it before christmas. I would ask on their Facebook page as they are usually quick about responding if you don't get help from calling their customer service.

I just wanted to say that when we first got her Leapster Explorer July 2011 we had do a pen calibration thing when we first started using it and I read on the facebook page about people having to do that also and then their leappad worked fine.

Good luck and please report back what you find out! I hope to be able to get it out soon to see if it will work correctly before I wrap it up for Christmas. We also bought the princess one

ETA - there is a 1 year warranty so they should be willing to help you!

 

[jillily]

I bought one last Christmas and 3 months later the battery elements stopped working. It only worked by plugging it in. They sent me a brand new one. I had to write some code on the front of the old one and email them pics. They had great customer service and did not ago for the old one back.

 

[bigmama67]

Thanks! I took your advice about posting on Facebook and they gave me the calibration instructions. Lord only knows where our instruction booklet went... ...but I am surprised they don't have a link to such a basic thing on their website.

Anyway, it responds on a dime now, and everyone is happy here! I appreciate the replies! Have a great day!

 

[CluelessDisFan]

My DD has had hers since August and we haven't had much problems with it. Sometimes Jake and the neverland pirates freezes. I've noticed sometimes your finger will work and sometimes it seems not to. My DD typically uses the stylus on hers.

 

[scard192]

I bought one last Christmas and 3 months later the battery elements stopped working. It only worked by plugging it in. They sent me a brand new one. I had to write some code on the front of the old one and email them pics. They had great customer service and did not ago for the old one back.

My niece got the orignal Leap Pad in Februry for her birthday and the adapter. It started shutting off when using the adapter or battieres. My sister has contacted Leap Frog and it sounds like they are going to replace it for free. They want a code inside the unit and she will have to send some piece back to them.

 

[bigmama67]

Interesting. We actually invested in 2 sets of rechargeables. So far so good. I'll keep an eye out for battery issues though, as several people mention issues with that.

She was playing Pet Pals tonight and got a bit frustrated, but this time it was because she's still getting the hang of tapping it, and not because it was completely off track. Definitely a huge improvement!

 

[erisgirl44]

I bought a leappad 2 for my two year old. He tries to play with my older son's leapster 2 that we still have. Do you think he will have a lot of problems with it?

 

[bigmama67]

Oh, I"m sure he'll be fine, particularly if he's already familiar with the type of games they have. DS had a Leapster he outgrew (actually we have 2 of them and a bunch of games - long story) - but she used to try to play those games when she was a bit younger and would struggle with it. We considered getting her the LeapPad last year when she had her third birthday, but we decided she would handle it better this year. She's taken to it like a duck to water, really.

I have heard people say their 2 and 3 year olds do fine with it...YMMV. However, one of the things I really appreciate about LeapFrog is the way their games work on many different levels. In fact, my 9 year old is a bit envious so he set up a profile on her LeapPad and has adopted a puppy on Pet Pals! MAYBE once he gets his Touch (Hanukkah/birthday gift) he'll let her have her gift back!

 

[Fjobe]

I got both of my DDs a Leap Pad for Christmas last year. One of theirs stopped turning on 3 weeks after Christmas. I had bought them the September before Christmas, and threw all the packaging away after they worked when we opened the box. They rarely played them, so I didn't do anything about it at the time. The other one works fine and they are starting to show more interest in it.

 

[bigmama67]

You may try contacting LeapFrog anyway - they worked with me to replace a Leapster years back that was more than a year old with no packaging available. I don't remember the details but they were awesome!