M10-R Leica FOTOS and WiFi - though not a connection question, haha.

[KT90]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

New to the forum and what a wonderful treasure trove of information it has been for me as a new Leica owner. Thank you!

I just recently purchased a used M10-R BP as I've been using variously adapted LLL and Voightlander lenses on my A1 and finally wanted to try them on the camera they were designed for, haha. I shot film for several decades in my youth though usually Olympus, Canon, and Mamiya RZ67 until I got into Nikon DSLRs and then Sony mirrorless.

Anyway, my new-to-me M10-R has the bug that prevents the camera from generating a QR code so I cannot find a way to connect my iPad/iPhone in order to off load a few images to share. I only recently got used to this sort of functionality with the A1 and it is pretty convenient at times. I've  upgraded the Leica to the most recent firmware and reset the camera several times and I am fairly convinced it's just not going to work. I've read enough forum post to realize it seems a common problem with just about any Leica series (even the M11) but not every camera has it.

My question is, how much does this affect my ability to resell the camera in the future? at all? and at what, if any, discount from FMV? I can live without the functionality though I would use if it did work. My real concern is can I sell a "crippled" camera say next year? In three-five years?

Thank you for any thoughts on this matter!

[dugby]

Welcome to the world of Leica and congratulations on purchasing a BP version of a wonderful M10-R.

So that we are on the same page, could you let us know the following-

Exact M10-R firmware version ?

Exact Fotos version ?

What smart device and OS version ?

[Advertisement]

The Leica Q3 is available for pre-order at B&H Photo Video and Adorama

[Siriusone59]

I don't use Fotos but do occasionally use LeicaSync to off load a few images.   Have never used the QR code to connect with my MacBook and only entered the camera generated password to establish connection.  

Camera would set there with a spinning circle where the QR code should be...  But that has changed after connecting manually a few times.  Now my camera creates a QR code after about 10 seconds of the spinning circle.  Apparently it healed itself after using it and it wasn't due to any firmware update since mine is still on 20.20.47.37,  strange bug I suppose.  

I wouldn't consider the camera "crippled" in any way, it just takes a bit longer to start running.😉

[KFo]

The discount from FMV is a hard thing to estimate. If the WiFi is completely non-functioning I think that will be an issue...

May I suggest just using the camera for awhile?  There are plenty of idiosyncratic things about a Leica to get used to (or hate as some find) that are more in the core of photography- WiFi aside.

You can connect to the camera WiFi by noting the network name and password, heading over to your iPhone WiFi settings and putting them in manually.  It's a little fiddly at first but works fine after the network is known to your phone and Fotos has connected the first time.

In terms of how quickly the connection is established, think of the time required to connect to many public WiFi hotspots.  It's about the same.

[KT90]

20 hours ago, dugby said:

Welcome to the world of Leica and congratulations on purchasing a BP version of a wonderful M10-R.

Thanks!

So that we are on the same page, could you let us know the following-

Exact M10-R firmware version ?

30.22.23.34

Exact Fotos version ?

4.0.1

What smart device and OS version ?

iPhone 13 Mini - iOS 16.5

 

[dugby]

Thanks for affirming your versions of software.

I found, when you turn on Fotos in the M10-R , it usually takes up to 30secs to be in a ready state before you can attempt to launch the IPhone Fotos app to perform a connect.

 

You do not need to search or toggle any WiFi in the iPhone settings.

 

 

[KT90]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Thanks! I've let the spinning circle go until the battery died. Never connects. I just don't think this one's going to work, sigh.

[KT90]

Thanks. I tried but the SSID is not found by any of my devices.

I like the camera immensely so plan to just keep using it. I hope Leica will eventually fix these via a firmware update ... unless there is an actual hardware issue with my particular camera.

[dugby]

What is the distance between M10-R and iPhone ?

I've always had my combination within 5-15cm of each other. The spinning circle on the M10-R display takes about 30 secs to produce the QR code.

 

Presumably, you are not near a strong WiFi router at the time of these issues.

Apple has an optional APP that can be installed on your iPhone from the Apple App Store ; AIRPORT UTILITY  that scans for all WiFi signals.

I just used this APP, it takes about 35-40 secs for the APP to display the camera's SSID, which is  LeicaM10R-xxxxxxx (where xxxxxxx is the serial number of your camera),and it registers a -38dBm signal on Channel 11.

 

 

Also common sense dictates that the following should NOT matter,....But what SD card is in the M10-R, have you formatted it with the SDCARD dot ORG tool ?

https://www.sdcard.org/downloads/formatter/

 

 

[KT90]

Hey dugby, thank you agaij for you interest and help with my FOTOS issue.

So, I've always has the camera and iPhone in close proximity. I never get a QR code even with leaving the circle spinning until the battery dies.

I tried using Airport Utility to scan for the SSID and it found nothing.

I have an old Lexar Professional 1667x 128GB SDXC UHS-II card formatted with the camera. Apparently I might get better performance formatting with the tool you recommend?

[Fred Miranda]

 

It seems that there is a defect in the WIFI chip or another hardware component of your camera. I encountered a similar issue with one of my previous M10-R bodies where the reliability of the QR code was compromised. The QR code would occasionally show up, but most of the time it would not. Despite attempting various troubleshooting steps such as changing the camera's location, resetting it, and upgrading the firmware, none of these measures proved effective. Ultimately, I had to send the camera to Leica for repair.

[KT90]

Hey, thank you, Fred. I bought this camera from Tim selling for a client of his. The camera is still in wtty. His client is the original owner and they have offered to get it fixed for me. I may have access to wtty repair through him, not sure how this would work. I cannot as Leica wtty only good for the original owner.

[Fred Miranda]

2 hours ago, KT90 said:

Hey, thank you, Fred. I bought this camera from Tim selling for a client of his. The camera is still in wtty. His client is the original owner and they have offered to get it fixed for me. I may have access to wtty repair through him, not sure how this would work. I cannot as Leica wtty only good for the original owner.

If the camera's serial number is covered by the warranty, you can send it to Leica for repairs, and they should fix it without any additional charges. I had a similar experience where I bought a used camera that was still under warranty, and Leica repaired it at no cost. They replaced the WIFI hardware, and now the QR code always appear when I activate the camera's WIFI functionality.

[dugby]

16 hours ago, KT90 said:

Hey, thank you, Fred. I bought this camera from Tim selling for a client of his. The camera is still in wtty. His client is the original owner and they have offered to get it fixed for me. I may have access to wtty repair through him, not sure how this would work. I cannot as Leica wtty only good for the original owner.

Somewhere in this forum, I recall that other owners have contacted Leica to have the ownership transferred , so as to prepare to undertake a repair.

No harm in asking Leica.

 

As for the sdcard format tool, it has become ‘best practice’ for many so as to avoid unpredictable outcomes.

Edited June 4, 2023 by dugby

[ramarren]

I noted that switching on the option to use Leica FOTOs with my M10-R was kinda slow, so I made the effort to test and time it. On mine, it works reliably, but it takes the M10-R 1.5 minutes (average of three connection tests) to bring up the QCode and be ready to connect. By comparison, it takes my M10-M 34 seconds (again, average of three connection tests) to do the same. 

In subsequent use, I've found the M10-R WiFi startup to have pretty large variance, ranging from about 40 seconds to 2 minutes... The camera was purchased as a Leica USA refurb and sent back for a re-do just after I received it due to collimation/calibration error with the RF. My understanding was that they did a complete overhaul and test of the entire camera a second time. It certainly works perfectly now; I just don't understand the inconsistency in WiFi startup time.

G

[KT90]

The prior owner will supply his purchase receipt so sounds like I should be able to send it in on my own. 

I hate to part with it after only a week but I know I'll use it once fixed.

Thank you all for the tips!

[ramarren]

Yes, I had a similar thing happen with mine: Even though it came out of Leica as a refurb from my favorite dealer, when I got it I found the rangefinder collimation and calibration was off. My dealer friend was great, it went off to Leica two days later and all was taken care of. 

Stuff happens. Fix and move on.

G