topic Re: Canon 600EX II-RT drops link- HELP! in Speedlite Flashes

Canon 600EX II-RT drops link- HELP!

Phillyphoto — Wed, 10 Feb 2021 15:37:20 GMT

Scenarios I have tried:

Using Canon Transmitter ST-E3-RT as the master and (2) 600 EX II-RTs as slaves.

Using A 600EX as master and B 600EX as slave.

Using B 600EX as master and A 600EX as slave.

I get the same result of the slave dropping link. The time varies. Sometimes it drops link in 4 mins, sometimes 10mins, sometimes 20 or more minutes. The only way to relink them is by turning everything off and back on.

All channels are the same. Yes, I have scanned for the best connection as well as every other channel and AUTO.

All IDs are the same.

Not near a wifi-router or airport, I'm in a row home in Philadelphia.

Using NiMh rechargeables and using freshly charged batteries for every test. Batteries are about 2 years old.

I have spoken to 2 Canon service reps and neither of them has any idea what the problem is. I really don't have the money to spend on sending everything in for "repair".

Any help is greatly appreciated, thanks!

Re: Canon 600EX II-RT drops link- HELP!

rs-eos — Wed, 10 Feb 2021 17:03:29 GMT

Sounds like you've already done quite a bit of troubleshooting. I've never experienced this myself with the ST-E3-RT or any of the 600s (I have the original version 1 units).

Have you tried resetting the 600's to their default settings?

What mode are you using?

Re: Canon 600EX II-RT drops link- HELP!

Waddizzle — Wed, 10 Feb 2021 21:34:32 GMT

What came4a body are you using? Are you saying that you can maintain communication with a master, which I assume is mounted on your flash shoe.....but the communication to the slaves keeps dropping?

It sounds like you are in a very busy area, with lots of RFI. If you move to a less densely populated location, does it still drop?

Re: Canon 600EX II-RT drops link- HELP!

Phillyphoto — Wed, 10 Feb 2021 21:41:20 GMT

I have a Canon Mark III but this happens on or off the camera. The master always works but whichever is set to slave it drops link. I’m not in a densely populated area and this happens any where I go.

Re: Canon 600EX II-RT drops link- HELP!

Phillyphoto — Wed, 10 Feb 2021 21:42:10 GMT

I have reset them all multiple times, same issue.

Re: Canon 600EX II-RT drops link- HELP!

p4pictures — Fri, 16 Apr 2021 11:59:05 GMT

In general I've found the radio really reliable. The link does go down when the transmitter goes to sleep but for me always comes back on when the camera wakes and wakes the transmitter.

There was a factory / service centre installed firmware update forthe Mk1 600EX-RT and also the ST-E3-RT that was mostly to do with stability of the radio link. They said it was more beneficial when using multiple lights, often more than 5. You can tell if your transmitter was updated by opening the battery door. Next to the hinge and above the right hand AA battery there should be a white paint dot on updated transmitters. There's also a serial number range to check.

I wrote this post on my website in the past, and had all my 600EX-RT and the ST-E3-RT updated at Canon UK's service centre for no cost. https://www.p4pictures.com/2015/12/canon-speedlite-600ex-rt-st-e3-rt-firmware-update/

Re: Canon 600EX II-RT drops link- HELP!

tseager — Mon, 09 Aug 2021 13:41:51 GMT

Did you find a solution to this? I have tried different cameras, channels, and four flash combinations.

I haven't pulled them out in a few years, and am using the same settings I so reliably used before, based on saved memory configurations.

Re: Canon 600EX II-RT drops link- HELP!

silverdoggg — Mon, 13 Dec 2021 00:21:22 GMT

I am currently having this same issue with a brand new EL-1 and brand new ST-E3-RT version 2 trigger. I thought it my trigger was faulty so I patiently waited for the Version 2 trigger to pair with the EL-1 but I am still having the same issues. Looks like I'm gonna have to scrap these canon triggers and get a godox or profoto system. I can't keep chasing down these flashes during shoots

Re: Canon 600EX II-RT drops link- HELP!

tseager — Mon, 13 Dec 2021 14:18:13 GMT

Sad to hear. I was going to try a ST-E3-RT.

I am having the same issues with the flashes, taking the ST-E2-RT out of the mix, and will likely move to Godox or Profoto as well, or use dumb triggers to leverage my investment. Sad I paid 3-4x for the Canon flashes, to end up with an equivalent feature set as knockoff flashes, to produce the same result.

Re: Canon 600EX II-RT drops link- HELP!

canon600 — Fri, 21 Jan 2022 21:53:53 GMT

Hi, I’m experiencing the same issue after using the 3 600ex-rt for about 5+ years. Pls let me know if u were able to find the solution. Thanks a lot

Re: Canon 600EX II-RT drops link- HELP!

MMCphoto86 — Thu, 24 Feb 2022 00:13:36 GMT

I'm experiencing the exact same issue - I've been using one 600 ex ii on-camera master and two of the same models as slaves. I've had them for about 5 years. I've tried switching them around and even added a brand new speedlite to the mix. I've tried multiple bodies (an R6, a Mark III, and a Mark IV). I've had them serviced by Canon multiple times now and still they are dropping the link - Canon says they are in perfect working order. It's immensely frustrating given the amount of time I've spent going into Canon HQ - not to mention how unreliable the flashes are at a wedding! I don't know what else to do at this point. Thanks!

Re: Canon 600EX II-RT drops link- HELP!

tseager — Fri, 25 Feb 2022 14:40:04 GMT

How much do they charge to service? Given your experience though, I will likely look for alternatives.

Re: Canon 600EX II-RT drops link- HELP!

Steppy — Mon, 11 Apr 2022 07:23:23 GMT

Like others, I'm having exactly the same issue. It renders all my 600EXs absolutely useless. Did you (or anyone else) manage to resolve this issue?

Step

Re: Canon 600EX II-RT drops link- HELP!

MMCphoto86 — Mon, 11 Apr 2022 21:58:47 GMT

Apologies for the delay! It was about $175 per flash and was unsuccessful.

Re: Canon 600EX II-RT drops link- HELP!

MMCphoto86 — Mon, 11 Apr 2022 22:02:14 GMT

Sadly I couldn't resolve the issue and Canon insisted they couldn't find a problem. I ended up buying new flashes - not an ideal outcome!

Re: Canon 600EX II-RT drops link- HELP!

silverdoggg — Mon, 11 Apr 2022 22:12:25 GMT

So I have come to the conclusion that it is something inside of my house that is causing interference with the trigger. If I take the setup to a park or my job then they work great will stay linked until the battery dies but but at my house it only last 5 minutes before the connection is lost. I have tried to narrow it down to find out what the culprit is but I cannot. For now I am using Godox X2 trigger and receivers. With the 600 speedlites it works flawlessly but the Godox receiver on the EL-1 speedlite it is a dumb trigger so You cannot change settings from the transmitter but it will fire if you set them manually. I encourage others to try shooting in a park or secluded location to see if it yields the same results

Re: Canon 600EX II-RT drops link- HELP!

tseager — Tue, 12 Apr 2022 16:24:28 GMT

No. Still looking for a solution. Very frustrating. I have six Canon 600EX II units, and get from 3 shots to 3 minutes, before I have to reset them all, all at once.

Re: Canon 600EX II-RT drops link- HELP!

silverdoggg — Tue, 12 Apr 2022 16:55:59 GMT

Try the Godox X2t Trigger and X1r receivers it works flawlessly with the 600ex rt II speedlites

Re: Canon 600EX II-RT drops link- HELP!

Steppy — Tue, 12 Apr 2022 17:53:44 GMT

Interesting… I had tried them outside the house, about 10 yards into the garden, away from all Wi-Fi, but I still had the same issue. Today I took them across the field, around 100 yards away, and the link remained good! It turns out the limit in my case is around 15-20 yards from my house. That’s at about the full range of my Wi-Fi as far as my laptop is concerned.

I’ve been collecting 600EX-RT units for a future project (fortunately I stopped at 3) and tested each as I received them, inside and outside the house, with no obvious problems. I can’t imagine having changed anything significant since the last tests. I also use 3 550EXs with Phottix Laso receivers and they work wonderfully.

I recently added a Canon ST-E3-RT to the constellation, so I now have a total of 7 RT units. This would put my system into the range of the issue reported by p4pictures of 7 or more units, although the error description is rather obscure. However, this may be unrelated if others have the same issue with an EL-1 and a ST-E3_RT Ver. 2, and tseager with only 600EX II units, i.e. no Ver 1 units involved at all.

Yesterday I ordered a Yongnuo YN600EX-RT II flash (cost me the same new as a second hand Canon 600EX) and so far it’s working exactly as expected. I originally wanted to go the Canon route for quality, compatibility and reliability reasons, but that’s not looking to be a very good choice at the moment.

I’d like to bring the units back into the house and systematically turn off all Wi-Fi devices to see if I can identify any offending sources, but that will have to wait until tomorrow as my wife won’t appreciate me interrupting her Zoom meeting!

Thanks for all your responses

Step

Re: Canon 600EX II-RT drops link- HELP!

Steppy — Wed, 13 Apr 2022 13:14:19 GMT

After several hours of experimentation I can confirm that the source of interference in my particular constallation were 2 Apple HomePod minis. If I disconnect power to both devices the 600EX-RT slaves remain connected. I've successfully tested for about an hour so far without issue. If I connect power to either HomePod the slaves lose connection within a couple of minutes. Both HomePods behave the same. I have not identified any other problems with any other Wi-Fi devices being affected by these HomePods.

Quite possibly these HomePods are generating more noise than other WiFi devices, and I'm guessing the noise immunity of the Canon flashes is perhaps marginal. The Phottix receivers and the Yongnuo flash do not appear to be affected at all.

While the Yongnuo flashes look virtually identical to the Canon units, you have to look very closely to tell them apart, there are very slight differences in build quality. They even have more features than the Canon units, but I really need them so haven't tested them out yet. Obviously it's early days, but if I were looking for a reliable flash system then I certainly wouldn't eliminate 3rd party products (anymore).

Thanks silverdoggg for your suggestion

Step