Leica Q3 battery drain when switched off

[Peter Branch]

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A couple of times recently I have picked up my Q3 to find that the battery is completely flat.

I always leave the camera with a fully charged battery, formatted SD card, etc ready to pick up and go - old habits die hard!

It is often that that I don't touch it for six weeks or more This does not happen with my Q2 Mono.

Is this a fault or is it a feature of this model?

 

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[JNK100]

That's not happened to me after six month's ownership.

[Le Chef]

Do you have WiFi and Bluetooth turned on? And do you use the Fotos app? If so your phone and camera may be trying to talk to each other even though the camera is off.

[Peter Branch]

it is not at all clear to me why Bluetooth or Wi-Fi should be doing anything if the camera is switched off,

I keep the camera locked in a metal safe so there is no possibility of any electromagnetic signals being involved.

[David Wien]

23 minutes ago, Peter Branch said:

it is not at all clear to me why Bluetooth or Wi-Fi should be doing anything if the camera is switched off,

I keep the camera locked in a metal safe so there is no possibility of any electromagnetic signals being involved.

It may be that the camera is trying hard to make a connection by means of wifi or bluetooth, faíling, and in the process using more power than in normal circumstances.

David

[Le Chef]

3 hours ago, Peter Branch said:

it is not at all clear to me why Bluetooth or Wi-Fi should be doing anything if the camera is switched off,

I keep the camera locked in a metal safe so there is no possibility of any electromagnetic signals being involved.

You don't say whether you have BT, Wifi and/or Fotos activated or not.

[SingingSnapper]

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6 hours ago, Peter Branch said:

it is not at all clear to me why Bluetooth or Wi-Fi should be doing anything if the camera is switched off,

I keep the camera locked in a metal safe so there is no possibility of any electromagnetic signals being involved.

If you go to Fotos you can operate the camera with the camera switched off

[bobtodrick]

As stated here https://sci-ena.com/leica-q3-keep-battery-en/#Step_5_Turn_off_WiFi_and_Bluetooth

if you don’t physically turn off connectivity even when you power down the camera is searching for a wi-fi connection which eats power.

[David Wien]

6 hours ago, bobtodrick said:

As stated here https://sci-ena.com/leica-q3-keep-battery-en/#Step_5_Turn_off_WiFi_and_Bluetooth

if you don’t physically turn off connectivity even when you power down the camera is searching for a wi-fi connection which eats power.

Excellent advice on that site. It confirms what I wrote above: that, even when turned off, putting the camera in a closed metal container does not stop the Q3 from trying to communicate by means of wifi or bluetooth, if they are not disabled in the menu, and thereby using up battery charge..

David

[michaelstokes]

I have been experiencing battery drain since I’ve got my Q3 last September. It has not been used for about five weeks since I returned from vacation. When I tried to start it up yesterday, the battery was fully drained. The Fotos setting in the camera is in the off position and I can’t see any other settings for Wi-Fi or Bluetooth.

[David Wien]

See pagea 234-5 of the user manual, where the advice is to engage Airplane Mode in order to turn off wi-fi and bluetooth completely.

David

[michaelstokes]

This setting is off on my Q3.  Interestingly, my Nikon Z9 which has not really been used since I got the Q3 is not showing any noticeable draining of the battery in over ten  months. 

[ckern]

On 7/24/2024 at 7:53 AM, Peter Branch said:

A couple of times recently I have picked up my Q3 to find that the battery is completely flat.

Quote

PERFORMANCE MODE

Bluetooth is permanently activated, allowing anytime Geotagging (where enabled). Wi-Fi is similarly permanently activated. This option offers the fastest access to Leica FOTOS and therefore an excellent user experience.

▸ Select Leica FOTOS in the main menu ▸ Select Connectivity
▸ Select Performance mode

ECO MODE

Bluetooth is permanently activated, allowing anytime Geotagging (where enabled). Camera Wi-Fi will be enabled only during the transfer of settings or files, and will otherwise remain off. This is a power saving option.

▸ Select Leica FOTOS in the main menu ▸ Select Connectivity
▸ Select Eco mode

AIRPLANE MODE ( Off )
All RF connections will be deactivated if this option is selected

▸ Select Leica FOTOS in the main menu ▸ Select Connectivity
▸ Select Off

—Manual Q3/EN/2023/05/1.1/2

In “Eco Mode,” the Q3 reportedly uses Bluetooth Low Energy, which consumes very little power.  Personally, that’s a trade-off I’m happy to make in order to have geotagging enabled whenever I fire up the camera.  I’ve often been frustrated by apps from other manufacturers and third-party geotagging devices because I’ve forgotten to enable location tracking before shooting—or because some technical hiccup has disconnected the camera from the geolocation source.  The Leica app avoids the first problem with its “Eco Mode” option and the second because apparently it was competently coded.  (No mean feat.)   I’m comfortable accepting a small amount of battery drain when the camera is idle in order not to have to worry about connectivity when I need it.  As far as I’m concerned, this is one of the best features of the Leica FOTOS app.

If you need to have other mobile communication services enabled, or want to avoid any idle power consumption, the manual text cited above describes the other options and explains how to invoke them.

[Overgaard]

I had this error, and this was the remedy: 

Leica Q3 discharges battery in few hours "for no reason"

The Leica Q3 may discharge a battery while in power off mode not being used, or used just randomly. After a few hours, the battery is unexplaniably empty. Happens with both Leica SLC 4 and Leica SLC 6 batteries. No sign on the camera that it is doing anything other than in battery power save mode (2 minutes power down or 5 minutes power down). 
How to fix: Make sure the Leica Fotos connectivity is set to off and not Eco or Performance. When not off, the camera connects to, or is ready to connect to, Apple Fotos App on your phone, and that is what draining the battery. ref