I still receive e-mails from people from time to time about the sweat and moisture issues that caused many NWZ-W202 wearable Walkman music players to malfunction. We originally had a post up (1, 2, 3) that had called Sony out on the matter, to which they responded very quickly by issuing a replacement service to those that were affected. The page disappeared about a week later and we never heard what happened. I just looked again today and it looks like Sony has restored the eSupport article with new information about the NWZ-W202 moisture issue, which they will fix until 2011. Very nice, Sony! I must note though that no serial number ranges are given, so I truly think that this was a problem on a bigger scale than Sony initially realized.

Here is the refreshed alert about the Sony NWZ-W202 wearable Walkman:

It has come to our attention that a limited number of NWZ-W202 headphone-style Walkman players may experience performance issues following exposure to sweat due to sports or outdoor use. We take all customer feedback seriously. While the device is not designed to be splash proof or water resistant, we have implemented additional safeguards to reduce the effect of sweat on the players. We have determined that this only occurs in a limited number of NWZ-W202 players.

Affected models: NWZ-W202BLK (black) and NWZ-W202PNK (pink) Headphone-style Walkman Players.

We have determined that this issue only occurs in a limited number of NWZ-W202 players within a certain serial number range. Until June 30, 2011, if the service center confirms that the unit is experiencing symptoms related to this issue, Sony will replace, free of charge, the affected Walkman player within the applicable serial number range. If you have any questions or require assistance, please call Sony Support at 888-868-7393.