topic Re: my T3i will not power up with SD card in place in EOS DSLR & Mirrorless Cameras

my T3i will not power up with sd card in place

majorblunders — Tue, 13 Aug 2013 07:16:12 GMT

My Rebel T3i fails to power up with sd card in place. I have three fully charged batteries and have tried each one. I've checked for debris in the battery compartment, cleaned the contacts. I've checked the contacts for both of my lenses and the contacts on the body where the lenses attach. Tried several different sd cards as well.

The camera will start up w/o the sd card in place, but must first remove and replace the battery, after removing the card. Only then will it start..

Help! Any ideas what causes this? Is there something I can do to remedy this situation without resorting to sending it in for repairs? Seems to me that nearly $200 is a lot to charge for what may only be dirty contacts internally for the sd card..(.Just guessing, of course)

Thanks

Re: my T3i will not power up with sd card in place

Mykolas — Thu, 15 Aug 2013 16:11:21 GMT

Hi majorblunders!

Thank you for posting.

I understand your EOS Rebel T3i will not power on. I would like to help, but I need to get some specifics about the cards you are using. This will go a long way toward figuring out what needs to be done at this point. Please tell me the following about your cards:

Manufacturer:
Capacity:
Speed Rating:

If this is a time sensitive-matter, additional support options are available at Contact Us.

Re: my T3i will not power up with sd card in place

majorblunders — Fri, 16 Aug 2013 16:08:10 GMT

Thank you for your response!

In answer to your question: Manufacturer - Sony Capacity - 64 GB Speed rating - 10

Again thank you for any help you may have to offer

Carl

Re: my T3i will not power up with sd card in place

ScottyP — Fri, 16 Aug 2013 23:31:09 GMT

Did that card work in the past? Do you have another card to try?

Re: my T3i will not power up with sd card in place

majorblunders — Sat, 17 Aug 2013 02:54:27 GMT

Hi Scott,

It worked well for a month or so. I have a 32 GB card my wife is using in California, but I don't remember the brand, but it has a speed rating of ten, there is a 2 GB with her as well - speed rating 10. All worked well until a week ago.

I'm stumped...

Carl

Re: my T3i will not power up with sd card in place

TCampbell — Sat, 17 Aug 2013 17:30:55 GMT

This may seem like a silly question to ask... but I just want to confirm that this isn't caused by the card not being inserted correctly.

When you are inserting the card, you are inserting it so that the label on the memory card faces the back of the camera. The side where you can see the gold cantacts is facing the front of the camera.

Also... I want to confirm that you're pressing the card in until it clicks (it will spring back out just a millimeter or two after clicking.

The memory card door has to be completely closed and latched into place (there are sensors for this.)

Re: my T3i will not power up with sd card in place

ScottyP — Sun, 18 Aug 2013 05:28:32 GMT

Hi Majorblunders,

That sounds much more like a bad SD card than a bad camera. I repeat that I think you need to try another SD card in the camera.

And try formatting the card in the camera menu?

Re: my T3i will not power up with sd card in place

majorblunders — Sun, 18 Aug 2013 06:21:43 GMT

Hi Scott,

I have tried 3 different cards, and re-formated two of them.

Thanks for your interest and your suggestions, but I think I'm going to have to bite the bullet and send it in for repairs.

Thanks to all that replied.

Carl

Re: my T3i will not power up with sd card in place

Mykolas — Mon, 19 Aug 2013 10:38:54 GMT

majorblunders,

To start the repair process, you'll need to complete a Repair Request on our website.

Re: my T3i will not power up with sd card in place

majorblunders — Mon, 19 Aug 2013 20:20:59 GMT

I've tried that, but I don't remember the purchase date and it is required before I can complete the request.

Re: my T3i will not power up with sd card in place

Naomi — Mon, 19 Aug 2013 20:42:42 GMT

Hi majorblunders!

If you can recall the approximate year and month, that should suffice. For example, if you remember you purchased your camera in August, 2012, use August 15th, 2012 as the purchase date.

Hope this helps!

Re: my T3i will not power up with SD card in place

majorblunders — Mon, 19 Aug 2013 20:56:43 GMT

Well, I wish I could..I'm not even sure of the YEAR I purchased it! Don't understand why that matters as I know this much; It's not under warranty.

Re: my T3i will not power up with SD card in place

TCampbell — Mon, 19 Aug 2013 22:09:35 GMT

If it's not a warranty claim, I'd make your best rough stab at it and don't worry that it's not even close to correct.

I suspect Canon only wants that date to attempt to establish whether it might be a warranty claim as even owners of brand new cameras would use the same page.

Re: my T3i will not power up with SD card in place

Zytron — Fri, 25 Oct 2013 19:00:28 GMT

I think I might be having the same problem. Did you figure out a way to fix it with out sending it for repairs?

Sometimes when I turn on my T3i, it just doesn't come on. It's like as if you were to power it up with the card or battery door open. Power comes into the camera, but it's blocked from Turning on.
The reason I believe that power is actually coming, is because my lens responds when I stick it on. I have a Canon 28-135mm, and if you've ever used this lens, you've probably noticed that when you stick it on the body, it seems to fire up the IS for a second. It just makes a little clicking sound what I believe is the Image Stabilizer. Anyway, it does this even when the body is doing it's little "play dead" action. Even when it's having the problem and the body isn't turning, the IS still fires off when I stick on the lens. So this is why I believe that it that power is coming in from the battery, but the camera isn't coming on as if it thinks one of the doors is still open.

When this happens, I've tried opening and closing the doors repeatedly. Pulling out, and reinserting the card and battery. Using different SD cards and batteries.
Then somewhere along the way randomly it will just come on. Then it's good for awhile and 2 days...A week... Maybe a couple months down the road it will do it again. Seems to be completely random when it pulls this stunt. Pretty irritating though because I'll pull out my camera to grab a shot and.....it doesn't come on. You can understand why this would get in the way.

Anyways.... All that to say, have you figured anything out?

Where majorblunders said "The camera will start up w/o the SD card in place, but must first remove and replace the battery, after removing the card. Only then will it start.." This seemed to be the case for me also. If I take the card out, and replace the battery, it will start up, but that's still about useless because I kind of need a card in there to take pictures..

Cheers.

Re: my T3i will not power up with SD card in place

majorblunders — Fri, 25 Oct 2013 19:53:20 GMT

I still haven't sent mine in for repairs, although I will need to do so soon. I've discovered that I have one sd card only that will work. It's a 2GB card. I've tried 6 or 7 other cards and had no luck with any of them. Sometimes my shutter release cable will work, sometimes not; sometimes it will power-up and other times it's as dead as a doornail, and I haven't been able to discern any logical reason for this. Perhaps our cameras are haunted... Seriously though, this seems to be a common enough problem that Canon should offer a free replacement for our cameras, or at least a large discount on a new one.

Good luck with your problem. If I find a solution, I will post it on this site.

Carl

Re: my T3i will not power up with SD card in place

Sagnik7896 — Mon, 29 May 2017 19:58:05 GMT

Bro am having the same problem, infact even my camera turns on only when 2 GB card is there or am using it without a card. You found any solution to this problem?

Re: my T3i will not power up with SD card in place

RobertTheFat — Mon, 29 May 2017 21:34:13 GMT

@Sagnik7896 wrote:
Bro am having the same problem, infact even my camera turns on only when 2 GB card is there or am using it without a card. You found any solution to this problem?

Maybe you're using a card that's not properly formatted or is too large for the camera. Check the Instruction Manual for possible remedies.

Re: my T3i will not power up with sd card in place

romibustelo — Sun, 10 Nov 2019 05:35:51 GMT

Hi! im having the some issue, were u able to fix it? thanks

Re: my T3i will not power up with sd card in place

Waddizzle — Sun, 10 Nov 2019 15:45:11 GMT

@romibustelo wrote:
Hi! im having the some issue, were u able to fix it? thanks

The most likely cause is a bad memory card. Try a new one from a major manufacturer. Do not use a micro-SD card with an adapter. Buy a full size card. Do not exceed 32GB capacity. I recommend a Sandisk Extreme 32GB SD card.