Leica M11 USB-C charging problems

[Simon_Germany]

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All, 

This is a great forum and I have been reading along for some time. I have now purchased my first Leica (M11 with Summicron-M 50mm f2) and have a problem. There are a few threads discussing problems with charging the M11 - but I haven't seen anyone with my problem:

• Brand new, AD purchased Leica M11 EU edition in black. 
• Charging the battery with the external charger that came with the M11 (BC-SCL7 M11) works fine.
• Charging the camera directly via the built-in USB-C port does not work:
  • if the M11 is turned off when the USB-C charging cable is plugged into the M11, it does not charge. The bottom green LED remains off. The LED on the back next to the display lights up orange when the cable is plugged in and goes off a few seconds later. Battery is currently at about 10 percent and it stays at that level, i.e. does not charge in this state. According to the official Leica online manual, USB-C charging should (only) work when the camera is turned off (or in standby mode). So this should work, but doesn’t. 
  • if the USB-C charging cable is plugged in when the M11 is turned on: the bottom green LED lights up and pulses slowly (approx. 2s on, 2s off) - also: the menu shows that the battery is charging. After approx. 10s, the charging sign in the menu goes out and the bottom green LED flashes quickly/nervously (more than twice per second), which - according to the online manual - signals a charging error. Then it changes seemingly randomly from slowly pulsing (charging) to rapidly flashing (no charging). This process does not seem to affect the battery's charge (it stays at about 10 percent). 
• USB charging is enabled in the menu.
• I have tried several different cables and charging modules, always the same problem.
• Firmware is 1.6.0.0.

Has anyone come across this? I will contact my Leica store but am currently out travelling with the M11 (and my USB-C cables/chargers but not with the external Leica battery charger). If USB-C charging the M11 would not reliably work - including with the cables/charging modules I use for my other equipment, such as the iPad Pro, this would be a deal breaker for me. Some of the appeal of the M11 is that it is much lighter and less hassle then my Fuji (GFX 100s). 

Many thanks! - S

[anickpick]

Not all USB-C cables work. 

Try something like this: Belkin Thunderbolt 3-Kabel USB-C 40Gb/s 100W

[Rassy]

I’m having a very similar problem. Erratic light charging when done in camera constant solid lights when using the external charger. I believe/am hoping it’s a battery issue. I just got my M11 new also and no matter what I do it won’t go above 15% charge. Have ordered a new battery until the store is open again in the new year. I’ll be watching this thread.

I was told today that certain newer batteries when not used for a while after their initial factory charge go into ‘hibernation’ mode, whatever that means - and was instructed to let the battery deplete completely and then charge to prompt a wake up. This did change the signals on the LED lights of the external charger but ultimately did nothing for the charge itself. You might have better luck.

Ras

[ymc226]

Although I have the M11, I charge using the external charger and put away the box, not bothering to remove the cable that came with it.  Is the include cable the one that you tried to charge the camera with or is it not USB C?

[SrMi]

4 hours ago, Simon_Germany said:

All, 

This is a great forum and I have been reading along for some time. I have now purchased my first Leica (M11 with Summicron-M 50mm f2) and have a problem. There are a few threads discussing problems with charging the M11 - but I haven't seen anyone with my problem:

• Brand new, AD purchased Leica M11 EU edition in black. 
• Charging the battery with the external charger that came with the M11 (BC-SCL7 M11) works fine.
• Charging the camera directly via the built-in USB-C port does not work:
  • if the M11 is turned off when the USB-C charging cable is plugged into the M11, it does not charge. The bottom green LED remains off. The LED on the back next to the display lights up orange when the cable is plugged in and goes off a few seconds later. Battery is currently at about 10 percent and it stays at that level, i.e. does not charge in this state. According to the official Leica online manual, USB-C charging should (only) work when the camera is turned off (or in standby mode). So this should work, but doesn’t. 
  • if the USB-C charging cable is plugged in when the M11 is turned on: the bottom green LED lights up and pulses slowly (approx. 2s on, 2s off) - also: the menu shows that the battery is charging. After approx. 10s, the charging sign in the menu goes out and the bottom green LED flashes quickly/nervously (more than twice per second), which - according to the online manual - signals a charging error. Then it changes seemingly randomly from slowly pulsing (charging) to rapidly flashing (no charging). This process does not seem to affect the battery's charge (it stays at about 10 percent). 
• USB charging is enabled in the menu.
• I have tried several different cables and charging modules, always the same problem.
• Firmware is 1.6.0.0.

Has anyone come across this? I will contact my Leica store but am currently out travelling with the M11 (and my USB-C cables/chargers but not with the external Leica battery charger). If USB-C charging the M11 would not reliably work - including with the cables/charging modules I use for my other equipment, such as the iPad Pro, this would be a deal breaker for me. Some of the appeal of the M11 is that it is much lighter and less hassle then my Fuji (GFX 100s). 

Many thanks! - S

There is a bug with M11 in-camera and the bottom green LED light. The camera is being charged without the green light blinking.

Sometimes you connect the camera to the charger, it keeps charging but the bottom green light remains off (can be checked with a USB power meter). If that is the case, once the camera is off and connected to the charger, turn the camera briefly on and then off. The green light should start blinking.

 

 

[hillavoider]

I’m having the same issue since the firmware update but I cannot charge via the external charger either 

cannot get the battery charged no matter what I do and I’m on the other side of the planet on a holiday 

same green light randomly flickering and the red light stays on for about 10 seconds then goes out, battery will not charge 

external charger just flicks green for days and the battery doesn’t charge 

I think it’s the battery 

Edited December 29, 2022 by hillavoider

[Photoworks]

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You can plug in the battery into a power bank with pd.

this way you can test if it is the charger or the battery my guess is that either the Cable or the charger

[Simon_Germany]

11 hours ago, anickpick said:

Not all USB-C cables work. 

Try something like this: Belkin Thunderbolt 3-Kabel USB-C 40Gb/s 100W

Thank you. I have ordered that cable and will post here if it works. 

[Simon_Germany]

10 hours ago, Rassy said:

I’m having a very similar problem. Erratic light charging when done in camera constant solid lights when using the external charger. I believe/am hoping it’s a battery issue. I just got my M11 new also and no matter what I do it won’t go above 15% charge. Have ordered a new battery until the store is open again in the new year. I’ll be watching this thread.

I was told today that certain newer batteries when not used for a while after their initial factory charge go into ‘hibernation’ mode, whatever that means - and was instructed to let the battery deplete completely and then charge to prompt a wake up. This did change the signals on the LED lights of the external charger but ultimately did nothing for the charge itself. You might have better luck.

Ras

Thank you. I don‘t think it is the battery in my case, as I was able to charge it in the external charger at home. 

[Simon_Germany]

8 hours ago, ymc226 said:

Although I have the M11, I charge using the external charger and put away the box, not bothering to remove the cable that came with it.  Is the include cable the one that you tried to charge the camera with or is it not USB C?

Many thanks. I have tried using the cable and USB power brick that came with the M11 with the external battery charger. That worked. The external battery charger worked with any USB cable and power brick for me, including my iPad chargers/cables. I do not have the original Leica cable with we while travelling, so I cannot say if that works directly in camera - but I will try that out once at home and will post result here. It is a USB-C cable. 

[Simon_Germany]

8 hours ago, SrMi said:

There is a bug with M11 in-camera and the bottom green LED light. The camera is being charged without the green light blinking.

Sometimes you connect the camera to the charger, it keeps charging but the bottom green light remains off (can be checked with a USB power meter). If that is the case, once the camera is off and connected to the charger, turn the camera briefly on and then off. The green light should start blinking.

 

 

Many thanks - this gave me some hope 🙂. Unfortunately, it does not seem to be just an LED malfunction for me. The charging status remains at 10 percent and when I connect the camera to the iPad, the Leica FOTOS app warns me immediately that the charging level is low at 10 percent. So I think it really is not charging. Also, when I turn on the camera whI’ll connected, the nervous/fast blinking of the green bottom led starts but no charging. 

[Simon_Germany]

8 hours ago, hillavoider said:

I’m having the same issue since the firmware update but I cannot charge via the external charger either 

cannot get the battery charged no matter what I do and I’m on the other side of the planet on a holiday 

same green light randomly flickering and the red light stays on for about 10 seconds then goes out, battery will not charge 

external charger just flicks green for days and the battery doesn’t charge 

I think it’s the battery 

Many thanks - sounds very similar. Note that I also did the firmware update, but have not tried charging before I did. I am quite sure that my external charger works, because when I received the M11 and put the battery in, all remained back until I externally charged the battery. I have been working with that charge ever since. 

[Simon_Germany]

1 hour ago, Photoworks said:

You can plug in the battery into a power bank with pd.

this way you can test if it is the charger or the battery my guess is that either the Cable or the charger

Thx, will do and post result here. But as the external charging works, I don‘t assume that is a problem. 

[SrMi]

4 hours ago, Simon_Germany said:

Many thanks - this gave me some hope 🙂. Unfortunately, it does not seem to be just an LED malfunction for me. The charging status remains at 10 percent and when I connect the camera to the iPad, the Leica FOTOS app warns me immediately that the charging level is low at 10 percent. So I think it really is not charging. Also, when I turn on the camera whI’ll connected, the nervous/fast blinking of the green bottom led starts but no charging. 

You can get an inexpensive USB watt meter to monitor whether the battery is being charged. That is how I figured that, in my case, the battery is being charged without the light blinking.

[Simon_Germany]

On 12/28/2022 at 11:16 PM, anickpick said:

Not all USB-C cables work. 

Try something like this: Belkin Thunderbolt 3-Kabel USB-C 40Gb/s 100W

By way of update: I have now tried the Belkin Thunderbolt 3 USB-C 40Gb/s 100W cable and, unfortunately, it does not work.

I could further confirm that the camera’s charge steadily decreases, so it is, in fact, not charging. 

I have heard back from Leica and they assume that it is a technical malfunction in my copy of the M11. I will update how this turns out. Happy new year everyone. 

[Photoworks]

2 hours ago, Simon_Germany said:

By way of update: I have now tried the Belkin Thunderbolt 3 USB-C 40Gb/s 100W cable and, unfortunately, it does not work.

I could further confirm that the camera’s charge steadily decreases, so it is, in fact, not charging. 

I have heard back from Leica and they assume that it is a technical malfunction in my copy of the M11. I will update how this turns out. Happy new year everyone. 

Most USB-C 2.0 cable charge correctly with PD and they can be used with Fotos app on iPad to connect.

USB-C cable 3.1 and higher can charge but not transmit data with FOTOS app. But it a Fotos app limitation.

I have been using the USB-C cable from the IPad Pro and it works fine to charge.

[weeker]

Hi. S.

I'm having the same problem.
I wonder how you solved this problem.
Please let me know.

 

[Simon_Germany]

Hi, this was not solved. I was told that it is a firmware issue that will eventually be addressed. It was not addressed with the last updates. I can use all functions, but I cannot (i) charge via USB-C and also not reliably transfer larger file numbers over the USB-C port. 

[neonvoid]

When I leave my M11 connected to the PC it actually drains the battery completely if I forget to turn the camera off or to disconnect it.

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[marchyman]

On 5/7/2023 at 12:14 PM, Simon_Germany said:

Hi, this was not solved. I was told that it is a firmware issue that will eventually be addressed. It was not addressed with the last updates. I can use all functions, but I cannot (i) charge via USB-C and also not reliably transfer larger file numbers over the USB-C port. 

The process that works charging my M11 however I have it configured is this:

• Plug the cable in
• Turn on the camera
• Wait until the green LED at the bottom of the camera comes on
• Turn off the camera

The camera then charges from the USB cable.  I found that process by hit or miss and it may simply be coincidence that it works, but work it does.  So far.  On my camera.  Your camera may be different.

I tried a transfer to Fotos once and it was very slow.  I've not tried it since.  Faster for me to remove the card and use a fast SD card reader.