topic Re: EOS R6 depletes battery when turned off in EOS DSLR & Mirrorless Cameras

EOS R6 depletes battery when turned off

QuietNoise — Sat, 08 Jan 2022 12:07:54 GMT

Hi,

I'm fighting with problem for weeks now. The camera depletes the fully charged battery completely after few days even when it's completely turned off during that time (the power dial on camera is in OFF position).

I went through many forums without clear solution for this model.

So, far I have camera in Airplane Mode on (thus WiFi and Bluetooth are off) and with GPS disabled. This happens to every battery I tried and those same batteries can sit in other canon DSLR cameras for weeks or months and still maintain their charge.

Is there anything else I can do make the EOS R6 stop battery draining when turned off (other that taking the battery out after every shoot)?

Re: EOS R6 depletes battery when turned off

Waddizzle — Sat, 08 Jan 2022 12:25:32 GMT

It sounds like you have checked the right boxes. Switch the camera to USB mode by disabling Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Disable the internal GPS.

The next step is resetting the camera back to factory defaults. You can save your current settings in a Custom Shooting Mode, if you want. Speaking of which, what shooting mode is the camera in when you turn it off?

Also, does the battery still drain itself without an installed lens or mount adapter? I noticed that you refer to “battery”, not “batteries”. My next piece of advice would have been to remove the battery grip. Strip the camera down to just a camera body with nothing attached, not even a USB cable.

Is this a new problem, or has it always behaved this way. If you are still having issues, then you need to contact Canon Support.

Re: EOS R6 depletes battery when turned off

ebiggs1 — Sat, 08 Jan 2022 15:08:28 GMT

Two things to try, Airplane mode and remove the lens or adapters. If removing the lens fixes it, the lens may need repair. I would call Canon 1 (800) 652-2666

Re: EOS R6 depletes battery when turned off

QuietNoise — Tue, 11 Jan 2022 12:29:56 GMT

Camera is in M mode. No grip. It always behaved like this. I will give the factory reset a try and see where it goes.

Re: EOS R6 depletes battery when turned off

QuietNoise — Tue, 11 Jan 2022 12:30:14 GMT

Thanks. Wil give it a try.

Re: EOS R6 depletes battery when turned off

Pixelboy — Thu, 20 Jan 2022 11:24:19 GMT

Hi I’ve had a problem like this with a 5Dmk3 and it was a faulty pcb unit which controls power to the camera. If I left a fully charged battery in for a few days it would be dead. I would recommend sending it to Canon to be assessed, my R5 battery has the same charge even after a week with no drain. Hope this helps

Re: EOS R6 depletes battery when turned off

Phynx — Thu, 21 Apr 2022 18:40:18 GMT

I had the same problem with my R6 batteries draining after 3 days when the camera wasn't being used. Through trial and error I found that without the RF to EF adapter (Viltrox) and lens attached (EOS EF 24-70mm f2.8) the battery's did not drain. Therefore it's either the adapter or lens that's draining the battery's. At least in my case.

Re: EOS R6 depletes battery when turned off

QuietNoise — Thu, 21 Apr 2022 18:47:31 GMT

Apologies for late reply as I didn't have chance to test it sooner. I use the camera with Viltrox adapter and EF lenses. When I remove it the problem with battery drain goes away. So as of now I have a cause of the problem but not the solution.

Re: EOS R6 depletes battery when turned off

QuietNoise — Thu, 21 Apr 2022 18:50:40 GMT

Factory reset didn't help but removing the lenses did (I use EF lenses with Viltrox adapter). Still don't know how to solve it but I'm getting closer.

Re: EOS R6 depletes battery when turned off

Tronhard — Thu, 21 Apr 2022 19:35:56 GMT

Given that you have isolated the issue to the lens configuration, and you say you are using a Viltrox adapter for your EF lens, it would be worth seeing if the adapter may be the issue, as it is not a Canon device. See if you can find a Canon adapter and try that.

Re: EOS R6 depletes battery when turned off

QuietNoise — Fri, 20 May 2022 00:19:50 GMT

I can now 100% confirm the fault is with the Viltrox adapter. At the time I bought it because Canon didn't their own in stock. I now use Canon's original adapter for few weeks and the problem with battery is no longer there.

Viltrox does not seem to plan to address this issue as such, if you are the owner of this adapter, you are left with 3 options:
* remove the adapter when not shooting,
* remove the battery when not shooting,
* use Canon's adapter or RF lenses.

Re: EOS R6 depletes battery when turned off

Photoapeal — Fri, 09 Dec 2022 02:00:27 GMT

I have the same issue with my R5 and I have the Canon Ring Adapter. Someone else has the same issue on facebook on the R5 forums. I've been having to remove my batteries from the camera grip to avoid this drain.

Re: EOS R6 depletes battery when turned off

Photoapeal — Wed, 19 Apr 2023 15:29:32 GMT

I've also been able to confirm that my RF Lenses don't drain the battery at all it's only when using the adapter. Doesn't seem to matter if it's the Canon Adapter or a 3rd party adapter.

Re: EOS R6 depletes battery when turned off

Rene2 — Tue, 16 Jan 2024 00:44:42 GMT

Correction on the Canon Ring Adapter "parasitic electrical draw", As an electrician who specializes in mobile installation used to recharge drones for the movie industry, the draw isn't from the ring adapter but from the camera trying to reestablish communication with the lens, flash or the camera wifi-bluetooth if you include the EL1 or EL5 flash, same circumstances, Mirrorless R7 attached to the EL5 flash does the same thing. Spoke with Canon and confirmed the findings. When the Camera isn't being used, the same with the flash - both batteries have to be removed and marked or numbered to return it once again to be reused until it fully drains batteries. The new "R" series mirrorless cameras do this, it is called "parasitic voltage drop" in circuits because electronic cameras are "electronic" it consume batteries! Best advice: When not in use "Remove", "Remove" rechargeable batteries to retain the longevity of the battery, hope this helps everyone...

Re: EOS R6 depletes battery when turned off

odair — Tue, 30 Jul 2024 02:08:54 GMT

I use Canon's adapter and Canon RF lens with R6M2.

But I have the same issue of battery draining.

I will look into this issue and update here if I found solution.

Re: EOS R6 depletes battery when turned off

tomellis — Sat, 21 Dec 2024 21:57:58 GMT

I just discovered that I have the same problem, but mine is happening much faster. I put a freshly charged battery into my R6 in the late afternoon. When I started my shoot that evening the battery was already dead! Fortunately I had some spares so I was OK.

After replacing the battery I notice that even after the camera was turned off, I kept hearing/feeling the camera doing something internally. Sometimes audibly, other times I could feel something happening inside the camera but could not hear anything. I ended up opening the battery door when not actively using the camera and that seemed to help. But the problem is so new I have not really had time to diagnose exactly what is happening.

I use a Canon lens adapter so Vitrox is not the issue. The only thing that I have done differently recently is that I used an aftermarket shutter release cable for a couple of Santa shoots. But the cable was only in the camera during those shoots, and I did not notice any battery charge loss in the 5 days between those sessions.

Currently have removed the lens adapter and leaving camera turned off to see what happens.

Any ideas will be gratefuly accepted!

Re: EOS R6 depletes battery when turned off

lightchaser80 — Sat, 17 Jan 2026 15:17:10 GMT

This is exactly my situation! Using Canon adaptor as well. Did you find a solution?

Re: EOS R6 depletes battery when turned off

Waddizzle — Sat, 17 Jan 2026 19:06:23 GMT

“ This is exactly my situation! Using Canon adaptor as well. Did you find a solution? “

The solution for the OP is tagged as the answer. The most common cause has been the use of third party mount adapters and/ot the use of third party EF mount lenses.

Not actually switching the camera OFF is another cause. Not disabling the wireless communications when not in use is another cause.

Everyone may have the same symptoms, but the cause can vary from one user to another.