NicoX Posted March 30, 2024 Share #1 Posted March 30, 2024 Advertisement (gone after registration) Hey guys, It's completely distraught that I'm writing this... I went from ecstatic to distraught in no time... Got my SL3 today. That's the ecstatic part. Unpacked the camera, put the battery in it, and put it to charge with the provided USB-C cable. After 15 minutes of charging, I put my SD card in it and formatted it in camera. I then took that SD card and downloaded firmware 1.1 on my computer. Used the same SD card to update the firmware. As far as I can tell, the update process went smoothly, up to the point where I was invited to reboot the camera. I pressed the power button to that end, a couple of seconds. And since then the camera is dead. The LED no longer displays any color. No charging indicator. Nothing on the top screen, nothing at all. I removed the battery and put it back in. To no avail. I have no idea what went wrong, nor what I can do at this stage. I followed the update process by the book, did this a million times... I don't suppose anyone around here has an idea? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted March 30, 2024 Posted March 30, 2024 Hi NicoX, Take a look here I bricked my brand new SL3 after less than 5 minutes of use.... I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
LocalHero1953 Posted March 30, 2024 Share #2 Posted March 30, 2024 6 minutes ago, NicoX said: nor what I can do at this stage Er....take it back to the dealer? Just stating the obvious. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted March 30, 2024 Share #3 Posted March 30, 2024 15 minutes charge is extremely short. Updates should be done on a full battery; charge overnight and see what happens. 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
NicoX Posted March 30, 2024 Author Share #4 Posted March 30, 2024 The camera appeared to have more than 50% battery (judging by the icon of the battery) and was still charging when I performed the firmware update. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
albireo_double Posted March 30, 2024 Share #5 Posted March 30, 2024 I asked the dealer to perform the firmware update in the shop when I was picking up the camera. Luckily I had my own SD card with me, as their own did not seem to work. We used a fully charged battery from one of the Leica Academy bodies that was in the shop. The update went smoothly. The camera also updated firmware in my lens that I brought along (and later in all my lenses). In your place, I would just bring the camera back to the shop and let them deal with it. Btw, I suspect the battery status indicator is not entirely reliable on the SL3. Fully charged battery seems to drop to like two thirds very soon, after shooting around ten images. Maybe new batteries need to be charged and discharged a few times before they perform as advertised. I would definitely let the battery charge for several hours before updating firmware. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SrMi Posted March 30, 2024 Share #6 Posted March 30, 2024 (edited) I always do firmware updates only on full batteries. A new battery that was not fully charged may not correctly report its status. Edited March 30, 2024 by SrMi 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Photoworks Posted March 30, 2024 Share #7 Posted March 30, 2024 Advertisement (gone after registration) sorry to hear that RedDotForum mentioned that some people had issue updating with FOTOS app, and suggested to use the SD card, which you did. I would get it exchanged. I had my lens bricked. I have to wait 7 months to get the lens back and pay. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted March 30, 2024 Share #8 Posted March 30, 2024 53 minutes ago, NicoX said: The camera appeared to have more than 50% battery (judging by the icon of the battery) and was still charging when I performed the firmware update. All camera makers specify a completely full battery when updating. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simone_DF Posted March 30, 2024 Share #9 Posted March 30, 2024 23 minutes ago, Photoworks said: sorry to hear that RedDotForum mentioned that some people had issue updating with FOTOS app, and suggested to use the SD card, which you did. I would get it exchanged. I had my lens bricked. I have to wait 7 months to get the lens back and pay. There shouldn’t be any difference if proper checks are in place. Basically the update needs to run a check to verify all software has been properly downloaded to the camera by verifying checksums / hash before launching the update. This is a very basic safety check, and the standard for any software update, from smartphones to your connected home appliance. I’d be very, very surprised if the SL doesn’t perform a sanity check before launching the update, but with the state of Leica’s firmwares of late, who knows. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simone_DF Posted March 30, 2024 Share #10 Posted March 30, 2024 10 minutes ago, jaapv said: All camera makers specify a completely full battery when updating. Doesn’t make any difference as long as there’s enough power to go through the update without the camera powering off mid-update. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Y Posted March 30, 2024 Share #11 Posted March 30, 2024 vor 2 Stunden schrieb NicoX: Hey guys, It's completely distraught that I'm writing this... I went from ecstatic to distraught in no time... Got my SL3 today. That's the ecstatic part. Unpacked the camera, put the battery in it, and put it to charge with the provided USB-C cable. After 15 minutes of charging, I put my SD card in it and formatted it in camera. I then took that SD card and downloaded firmware 1.1 on my computer. Used the same SD card to update the firmware. As far as I can tell, the update process went smoothly, up to the point where I was invited to reboot the camera. I pressed the power button to that end, a couple of seconds. And since then the camera is dead. The LED no longer displays any color. No charging indicator. Nothing on the top screen, nothing at all. I removed the battery and put it back in. To no avail. I have no idea what went wrong, nor what I can do at this stage. I followed the update process by the book, did this a million times... I don't suppose anyone around here has an idea? What lens do you have attached? Same behaviour if you try to startup without a lens attached? Sometimes there’s a mismatch between camera and lens firmware and the camera won’t start. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
NicoX Posted March 30, 2024 Author Share #12 Posted March 30, 2024 I have no lens attached to it. And i confess i assumed that as long as the battery was charged enough and the camera was plugged in, charging, that i would be good to go. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted March 30, 2024 Share #13 Posted March 30, 2024 Should be. But sometimes s**t happens. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MakinMemories Posted March 30, 2024 Share #14 Posted March 30, 2024 I charged the battery overnight using my Q3 charger, used the FOTOS app and updated SL3 firmware using body only and went very smoothly. I know you can update with lens attached but... Do you have another Leica battery charger? If so, I would charge overnight and see if comes to life. Just for the hell of it might try removing the SD card before you reinstall the battery. If you have no other way of charging the battery I would still remove the SD card and charge overnight and then remove the battery for a bit before trying to turn again. Good luck! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
250swb Posted March 30, 2024 Share #15 Posted March 30, 2024 If it isn't a full battery software can be triggered to reject an update, it may start ok and then the level changes. I don't know why you'd try to do everything in the first few hours before the battery was fully charged (given there is also another small internal battery to take a charge), but take it back to the dealer and explain in some way Leica didn't supply you with explicate information. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted March 31, 2024 Share #16 Posted March 31, 2024 I must say that I agree. When I get a new camera I will open the box, take it out and look it over, then charge the battery to full. During that time I can flick through the manual to see if there is anything that I should look into. Pop the battery and card and run through the menu to do the initial settings. I don't even look at the firmware version at this stage Then I will not be doing any "test shots" but simply start using the camera, picking up possible gremlins, tweaking settings as I go. After a few weeks I will have a pretty good idea what the camera does and doesn't. Only then will I check for any updates and read up on the changes. I will update if it is relevant for my use, but if not, I won't. I will never update for update's sake and there is certainly no need to rush into updates That will cause you to stumble and occasionally fall flat on your face. Certainly with Leica who doesn’t allow regressing to an earlier firmware. I have had cameras that I sold years later still on firmware 1.1. There never was a reason to change anything. It is not like a computer operating system that must have regular security updates. Firmware only serves to keep the camera running properly. If it ain't broke don't fix it. 9 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
londond Posted March 31, 2024 Share #17 Posted March 31, 2024 Sorry to hear NicoX’s frustration. When I updated the firmware via Fotos on my brand new SL3, it appeared to go completely dead. I’m familiar with similar Fotos updates (M11, Q2M, SL2) and this was unlike any of those. Conscious of the dire warnings about not losing power mid update, I had an anxious 30 mins while I left it to do whatever, then pulled the battery from the entirely unresponsive camera. Fortunately, it restarted OK. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dkCambridgeshire Posted March 31, 2024 Share #18 Posted March 31, 2024 Try reformatting the SD card in your computer and then fit it back into the camera. If there is some charge in the battery, the camera might then switch on – enabling the SD card to be reformatted 'in camera' and battery to be fully charged. You could also try another SD card after reformatting same using your computer. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted March 31, 2024 Share #19 Posted March 31, 2024 And there we go again - no charger included...🥵 If the camera "dies", possibly because of a battery problem there is no recovery. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
NicoX Posted March 31, 2024 Author Share #20 Posted March 31, 2024 Hey guys! Thank you for the suggestions you made. I'm back at being ecsatic! I'm not sure what did the trick but I: - Reformatted my SD card on my computer this time, and put firmware 1.1 back on it (and only that); - I left the camera without battery and the SD card for 1 hour; - I put the SD card and battery back in the camera afterwards and left it plugged into a socket overnight without a power strip. The camera came back to life afterwards. The only logical explanation is that the plug on which I had connected the camera when I performed the firmware update wasn't delivering enough juice (not sure how that's possible, but OK) and the firmware update somehow drained the battery altogether (and the battery icon was probably misleading indeed). Lesson learned: firmware updates on fully charged batteries only. Always. At all times. And now to enjoy this gorgeous camera! Thanks again to all who chipped in, much appreciated! Happy Easter! 9 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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