EV1 battery won't charge

[DenverSteve]

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For Leica users and anyone actually interested, Leica has explained why they aren't including what is a (for most buyers) superfluous charger.  It is wdely known and if you think you want one, buy it when you order your camera along with a second (and or third) battery. Additionally, if you're purchasing a $9,000 camera body -  it would behoove you to read the owner's manual and make sure you are equipped to charge the camera.  The majority of these issues are due to operator error = lack of adequate knowledge of the equipment.  Additionally, it doesn't matter whether it's cars, cameras or other high-priced consumer items I NEVER buy the first (read early) production runs.  Let the kinks get sorted out as, if there are going to be any, they usually show up early in the first or first few production runs. 

Edited December 3 by DenverSteve

[jaapv]

On 10/27/2025 at 5:26 PM, lincoln_m said:

If the M EV1 batteries came from a batch years ago that were meant for the M11's they didn't build but made a new top plate with EVF inside to go on top of the M11 body for the EV1, then that might explain why the batteries are now totally flat for the new M EV1's. It sounds like Leica test the M EV1 while its being built but not the "new", on the shelf for years, battery they package with the M camera.

That's just me guessing.

I can understand that if I was flying a plane full of Li-ion batteries from China I'd want them to be at the lowest, or zero, charge as possible.

Anyway Leica CS should be working out a fix/procedure for this issue, hopefully not a camera recall as that would be further inconvenience but a replacement with a charged battery might be OK.

You would not wish for the batteries to be flat, the airline would require it 

[Derbyshire Man]

The general jujitsu which enabled my battery to charge on my brand new m11p when on a skiing holiday with only only battery was to have the camera on, pop out the battery, then plug in a decent usb and put the battery back in with the camera still turned on.  It seemed to reset some sort of power management routine and off it went. 
 

Having said that the battery did have 15% charge left when I did it. Might be worth heading to a store or swapping for a new battery that the Leica store has charged!

[gmvtex]

This is just a little off topic, but think it may be related.

I just took delivery of an M EV1 last Friday and had been experimenting with it - using a variety of Leica M and R lenses of various focal lengths to see how well I could get my shots focused on the M EV1 and comparing the lens results against each other.   Tonight, when shifting to the Leica 135mm APO 3.4 from the older 100mm APO Macro R lens, the camera would not turn back on after filling on the 135mm.   The first thing I did was replace the battery with a fresh one (as verified on my M-11) thinking the extra use of the EVF had caught me unawares.  Unfortunately, that didn't help.   The fully charged battery didn't cause anything to happen whatsoever.  (Checking the battery taken from the M EV1 in the M-11 showed the battery at 60%.)

I've done a little 'troubleshooting' by taking on and off different lenses and putting in an SD card (I was using internal memory only) and nothing seems to stir the camera at all.

I mention my issue tonight because the issue folks are having with batteries might possibly NOT be the batteries but instead certain cameras.   In fact, the battery I used was NOT the battery that came in the camera package, but a spare M11 battery that I had previously charged and registered at 100%.   

I know having the camera as the culprit is NOT the preferred answer, but this idea of bad/flat/unchargeable batteries being the culprit may need a second look.   The mention of a dead internal battery sounds interesting, but I have no knowledge of how it gets power or what happens when it dies.   I would assume that a fresh main battery would be sufficient, but know that things can be much more complicated.

One thing I have not tried is charging with a USB-C cable.   I would think that a 100% battery would obviate the need to test that, but who knows.

Will post what I find out in my particular case.  I'll be taking it to my dealer tomorrow about noon, NYC time.   If he doesn't have an answer (gave him a heads up via email tonight) it may be a few days.

Cheers,

Greg

[gmvtex]

5 minutes ago, gmvtex said:

This is just a little off topic, but think it may be related.

I just took delivery of an M EV1 last Friday and had been experimenting with it - using a variety of Leica M and R lenses of various focal lengths to see how well I could get my shots focused on the M EV1 and comparing the lens results against each other.   Tonight, when shifting to the Leica 135mm APO 3.4 from the older 100mm APO Macro R lens, the camera would not turn back on after filling on the 135mm.   The first thing I did was replace the battery with a fresh one (as verified on my M-11) thinking the extra use of the EVF had caught me unawares.  Unfortunately, that didn't help.   The fully charged battery didn't cause anything to happen whatsoever.  (Checking the battery taken from the M EV1 in the M-11 showed the battery at 60%.)

I've done a little 'troubleshooting' by taking on and off different lenses and putting in an SD card (I was using internal memory only) and nothing seems to stir the camera at all.

I mention my issue tonight because the issue folks are having with batteries might possibly NOT be the batteries but instead certain cameras.   In fact, the battery I used was NOT the battery that came in the camera package, but a spare M11 battery that I had previously charged and registered at 100%.   

I know having the camera as the culprit is NOT the preferred answer, but this idea of bad/flat/unchargeable batteries being the culprit may need a second look.   The mention of a dead internal battery sounds interesting, but I have no knowledge of how it gets power or what happens when it dies.   I would assume that a fresh main battery would be sufficient, but know that things can be much more complicated.

One thing I have not tried is charging with a USB-C cable.   I would think that a 100% battery would obviate the need to test that, but who knows.

Will post what I find out in my particular case.  I'll be taking it to my dealer tomorrow about noon, NYC time.   If he doesn't have an answer (gave him a heads up via email tonight) it may be a few days.

Cheers,

Greg

Sorry, should have been 'fitting' on the 135mm lens.

Cheers, Greg

[gmvtex]

A quick update on what I thought was a dead M EV1.   

I took the dead M EV1, along with the entire camera box with accessories, to the dealer today.   Surprisingly, when I went to demonstrate that the camera was dead, it came alive when I turned the power switch on (with the spare 100% M11 battery already in it).  I had checked the EV1 just before leaving the house and it was still not working. I even tried using the USB-C cable from the stand alone battery charger plugged into the M EV1, to see if it would jump start the camera, but with no apparent success.   At the store, with the camera back to life, it worked fine when I put the 135mm APO 3.4 M on the EV1 and took several photos.

I did notice that next to the battery level indicator on the M EV1 display was the word "uncoded" - which I hadn't noticed before.   However, this is the message you get when the lens being used does not have the 6 digit coding on the lens flange and is not associated with the battery (which is the case for my older 135mm lens).   The only difference between the new battery and my older 'spare' that I noticed was that the new battery has an actual serial number associated with it - both are made in China.

Wish I had a more satisfying answer about my loss of power/functionality last night, but will update this thread if the situation changes or new explanations are available.   Friday it will be a week in my possession.

Cheers and Happy Holidays,

Greg

[AlanJW]

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21 hours ago, gmvtex said:

A quick update on what I thought was a dead M EV1.   

I took the dead M EV1, along with the entire camera box with accessories, to the dealer today.   Surprisingly, when I went to demonstrate that the camera was dead, it came alive when I turned the power switch on (with the spare 100% M11 battery already in it).  I had checked the EV1 just before leaving the house and it was still not working. I even tried using the USB-C cable from the stand alone battery charger plugged into the M EV1, to see if it would jump start the camera, but with no apparent success.   At the store, with the camera back to life, it worked fine when I put the 135mm APO 3.4 M on the EV1 and took several photos.

I did notice that next to the battery level indicator on the M EV1 display was the word "uncoded" - which I hadn't noticed before.   However, this is the message you get when the lens being used does not have the 6 digit coding on the lens flange and is not associated with the battery (which is the case for my older 135mm lens).   The only difference between the new battery and my older 'spare' that I noticed was that the new battery has an actual serial number associated with it - both are made in China.

Wish I had a more satisfying answer about my loss of power/functionality last night, but will update this thread if the situation changes or new explanations are available.   Friday it will be a week in my possession.

Cheers and Happy Holidays,

Greg

Happy to see it got sorted out.  Now go enjoy it,