Factory Reset for SL3? [merged]

[tedwill]

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I applied the firmware update 1.1.9 when it came out a few weeks ago.  I had been shooting with it for several days without any problems.  Yesterday, I was on a trip and took about 150 photos when I noticed the battery was low.  I turned off the camera and replaced the battery with another of the new Leica 2200 mAh batteries.  It immediately asked for the language and date and time as if it being set up for the first time, or had a firmware update.  I tried to set the language and date and time, but the screen had a red line around the edges and was jumping.  I took out the battery, waited 10 minutes and tried again.  Still no luck.  I removed the lens (a newer 24-90 Leica) thinking that some thing in the contact between lens and the camera body could be the issue. But the same problem occurred with another lens as well as no lens at all. 

Since I can't get to the menu, is there a factory reset combination of buttons to press as I started so I can get back to the set up menu and start all over again?  I'd rather not send it in for several weeks or even months of waiting for repair. I work in the software industry and this to me. Looks like a hard crash. I'm wondering if anyone else has experience that and if there is a workaround.

Thank you!

[frame-it]

33 minutes ago, tedwill said:

is there a factory reset combination of buttons to press as I started so I can get back to the set up menu and start all over again?

prolly better to take it to the closest leica store?

 

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[tedwill]

1 hour ago, frame-it said:

prolly better to take it to the closest leica store?

 

I work in the software business.  I see this as a simple reset to factory settings.  I'm also pretty remote on a location with several days travel just to get to an airport.  Even if I were near a store, they would just send it to Wetzlar or New Jersey for several months.  I can almost get to the menu, but it restarts again and again.

Edited August 10 by tedwill
typo

[Photoworks]

4 minutes ago, tedwill said:

I work in the software business.  I see this as a simple reset to factory settings.  I'm also pretty remote on a location with several days travel just to get to an airport.  Even if I were near a store, they would just send it to Wetzlar or New Jersey for several months.  I can almost get to the menu, but it restarts again and again.

The date issue is usually based on the internal battery being empty, you would leave the battery in for 24h and it should be good.

Now you are experiencing more than the date issue. I would take out the battery for some time and see if it goes away.
I had issues where the camera is staring at a lens firmware at boot, maybe turn the camera on without a lens.
That I know there is no reset option. but I would put in a call at the NJ service, they have people who can talk you through different steps.

[tedwill]

2 minutes ago, Photoworks said:

The date issue is usually based on the internal battery being empty, you would leave the battery in for 24h and it should be good.

Now you are experiencing more than the date issue. I would take out the battery for some time and see if it goes away.
I had issues where the camera is staring at a lens firmware at boot, maybe turn the camera on without a lens.
That I know there is no reset option. but I would put in a call at the NJ service, they have people who can talk you through different steps.

This whole thing started when I needed to change my battery in the field. The battery on the system board which like any computer, retains the date / time settings and other user settings.  Are you thinking that battery needs to be replaced?  This camera is only about three months old and it seems strange that the internal battery would be depleted this quickly.  Most likely this battery on the system board is not user replaceable.

Also, when I attempt to enter the date, it does not let me scroll down with the joystick. I can only use touch controls. I can't hit enter here and then it restarts with Japanese characters. I've attempted to load the Fotos with the cable and Bluetooth, and neither works. But the fact that the screen is jumping around with the red line around it,  usually indicates that the firmware is corrupted, which is why I want to do a reset.  I've tried leaving the battery in for several hours. I've tried resetting it without a lens attached so it didn't go into a firmware update for the lens and it keeps coming back to this. I think this is a serious corruption issue with the firmware for some reason and a full reset is probably not allowed by end users, but their service is so slow and I hate to be without my camera for several months.

[tedwill]

Also, the few times I'm able to get to an actual screen can see the menu and I'm able to see all of the options but after a few minutes, it completely freezes up and I can't do anything without taking out the battery and re inserting it

[frame-it]

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6 minutes ago, tedwill said:

Also, the few times I'm able to get to an actual screen can see the menu and I'm able to see all of the options but after a few minutes, it completely freezes up and I can't do anything without taking out the battery and re inserting it

sounds like its nothing to do with the internal battery on the main board, but something has gone wrong while changing the battery, perhaps it had not shutdown properly

[Photoworks]

I would talk to NJ people, and even send it to them.

Unfortunately, the service of these cameras is still all in Germany. The last few times they sent my repairs in they estimated 7 months, but it came back in 3 months.
If you ask they can put you on a list for a loaner, that will probably be an SL2.

The internal battery is designed to be recharged.

[jaapv]

Desperation measure - try to use a card with a firmware update on it - it may just "think" it needs to be updated. 

[AvishekK]

I am having this exact same problem. Is anyone else seeing this issue? how did you end up solving the problem? 

[Rmccoole]

I would hope someone from Leica, preferably in Germany, monitors this site and in cases like this would reach out to a person with this serious kind of problem.

[AvishekK]

I am having this exact same issue that another user is having. Yesterday, I was on a trip and took about 250 photos when I noticed the battery was low.  I turned off the camera and replaced the battery with another of the new Leica 2200 mAh batteries.  It immediately asked for the language and date and time as if it being set up for the first time, or had a firmware update.  I tried to set the language and date and time, but the screen had a red line around the edges and was jumping. I can't hit enter here and then it restarts with Japanese characters (which translates as "please start the camera again".  I took out the battery, waited 1 hr and tried again. Tried it again by waiting all night.   Still no luck.  I removed the lens (a newer 24-90 Leica) thinking that some thing in the contact between lens and the camera body could be the issue. But the same problem occurred with another lens as well as no lens at all.

I am beginning to realize that no one from leica monitors these sites. I am having some serious quality issues with them regarding their firmware. Ever try doing a long shutter release photoshoot for a timelapse? The thing stops by itself in 45 minutes to 1 hr even if the battery is still not depleted. I have been telling leica about this issue for months and there is still no fix on this. I was forced to buy a Fuji 100C to cover my shoots. 

I will take it to the leica shop today and see if the can do anything. The SL 2 has had no issues for 3 years. The SL 3 is having all kinds of issues with their firmware. 

[frame-it]

1 hour ago, AvishekK said:

I am beginning to realize that no one from leica monitors these sites. I am having some serious quality issues with them regarding their firmware.

so email leica support

[jaapv]

Threads merged. Please do not start multiple threads on the same subject.

[tedwill]

9 hours ago, AvishekK said:

I am having this exact same issue that another user is having. Yesterday, I was on a trip and took about 250 photos when I noticed the battery was low.  I turned off the camera and replaced the battery with another of the new Leica 2200 mAh batteries.  It immediately asked for the language and date and time as if it being set up for the first time, or had a firmware update.  I tried to set the language and date and time, but the screen had a red line around the edges and was jumping. I can't hit enter here and then it restarts with Japanese characters (which translates as "please start the camera again".  I took out the battery, waited 1 hr and tried again. Tried it again by waiting all night.   Still no luck.  I removed the lens (a newer 24-90 Leica) thinking that some thing in the contact between lens and the camera body could be the issue. But the same problem occurred with another lens as well as no lens at all.

I am beginning to realize that no one from leica monitors these sites. I am having some serious quality issues with them regarding their firmware. Ever try doing a long shutter release photoshoot for a timelapse? The thing stops by itself in 45 minutes to 1 hr even if the battery is still not depleted. I have been telling leica about this issue for months and there is still no fix on this. I was forced to buy a Fuji 100C to cover my shoots. 

I will take it to the leica shop today and see if the can do anything. The SL 2 has had no issues for 3 years. The SL 3 is having all kinds of issues with their firmware. 

Update on my issue.  I am on a photo workshop in Greenland.  I was fortunate that the group could loan me an SL2 and a 24-90, so I could continue.  I was very happy they could accommodate me.  Leica Store Miami is the best. I'm usually the person on a workshop who needs no help, but they enabled me to keep working.

However, the issue took a turn for the worse. 

Each lens that I mounted oringally on my SL3 no longer work. I could not mount either my new 24-90 and my relatively new 90–280 lens. I attempted to mount them to the loan SL2 and each time both lenses went into a "updating lens firmware" loop for an infinite amount of time. At one point, I let it run all night and it never finished. The one lens that I didn't use on my SL3, the 16–35 works just fine on the borrowed SL2. It's as if the firmware corruption also somehow spread to the two lenses that I mounted when I was troubleshooting the SL3.  My thinking was that if I mounted another lens, it would somehow break out of the loop of system crashes.

I also tried to load the 1860 mAh battery, knowing that the warning would pop up and break out of the loop. I was able to get through the menu system (it defaulted to Japanese) and found a new "Hidden Menu" with diagnostic options.  There is a "reset" function in that menu tree, but each time I try that, the system locks again.  I also tried using Fotos with both the cable and Bluetooth, but the camera freezes about halfway through.

The folks at Leica Store in Miami are working with me and the product team, so I'm going to wait to see what they recommend.  There could be a software fix coming soon.  From what I've seen here others are having the same issue.

Most likely, I'll need to send in the camera and the two lenses.  Worst case, if I need an SL body and lenses I can rent them.  I have nothing planned for the new few weeks that my M11 can't handle.  Both the lenses and the SL3 are all under warranty.  

This is a strange system issue.  My thinking is that they rushed the 1.1.9 release out the door to fix the file overwrite bug, but in the process introduced bugs.  This happens without stringent regression and user testing before release.  I'm just guessing here, but having worked in the software industry for over 30 years, this feels like a corrupt firmware update.  

And the strangest thing, is that I applied the firmware update 10 days ago and continued shooting using all my lenses in Iceland and Greenland on this trip.  The problem happened until I noticed the battery was low (around 20%) and I shut off the camera and changed the battery with another new 2200mAh battery when I was asked for the date and time and preferred language.   

I'll update this thread when I get any additional information. 

[Photoworks]

the firmware is a problem.

I did a full-day shoot yesterday, using some APO SL lenses and 24-90, camera and lenses are up to date.

twice the lens firmware update came up with 2 lenses, the stage part is that the lenses have the latest firmware, and this happened when I was already using the lens on the camera for hours, not when I first mounted the lens.

the SL2 had no problems when it came out, but the SL3 is full of bugs, I am submitting new bugs to Leica every month! many of them are in video.

I have not heard back from Leica on the last few emails, they are probably overloaded, or just marked my email as spam ( that happened before LOL)

[frame-it]

30 minutes ago, Photoworks said:

the firmware is a problem.

I did a full-day shoot yesterday, using some APO SL lenses and 24-90, camera and lenses are up to date.

twice the lens firmware update came up with 2 lenses, the stage part is that the lenses have the latest firmware, and this happened when I was already using the lens on the camera for hours, not when I first mounted the lens.

the SL2 had no problems when it came out, but the SL3 is full of bugs, I am submitting new bugs to Leica every month! many of them are in video.

I have not heard back from Leica on the last few emails, they are probably overloaded, or just marked my email as spam ( that happened before LOL)

send a Fax..cant be ignored

[tedwill]

Since my SL3 and two primary lenses don't work due to a firmware bug, which happened during a photo workshop, I have worked closely with the great people at Leica Store in Miami.  Two of their people were with me on the photo workshop and graciously loaned me other gear to finish the workshop.  They're working with customer support and sent them a detailed email with videos of my screen showing the lockups.  Most likely, I'll have to send the SL3 and lenses to support.  I'm hoping they use my equipment to do a post mortem to troubleshoot the code and issue a corrective update.  I'd rather know why this happened rather than a quick fix.  I'll update this group when I have further information.