topic Re: Speedlite 600EX-RT link drops - please help if you can! in Speedlite Flashes

Speedlite 600EX-RT link drops - please help if you can!

gwynnewade — Sat, 17 Sep 2022 18:45:27 GMT

I suddenly have the same problem a couple others have mentioned. I use an ST-E3-RT to link three 600EX-RT flashes with a 5D MIII. Recently the link started randomly dropping on all the flashes (after some random amount of time from 1.5 minutes to about 4.5 minutes). The only way to fix it is to turn everything off and reset each flash to slave. Not good during a photo portrait session since it happens multiple times.

I have tried a ton of troubleshooting. I used to shoot weddings so I have 2 cameras and two transmitters. I've tried all combinations and the link drops regardless of the camera or transmitter and even if the transmitter isn't on a camera (hand held for test). Both transmitters drop. I tried several different channels and auto - no change. I tried each flash by itself to see if is something with 3 flashes - no. Same problem with only one. I have 4 flashes and I tried the 4th just to see - same problem.

One last piece of info. When the link on the flash drops, the light on the transmitter still shows green (so it thinks it is linked). Turning on and off the transmitter doesn't re-sync the flashes.

This seems crazy. It can't be the camera (I even tried it with a new R6 that my husband got - same issue), because it happens when not connected to the camera. Why would both transmitters go bad? Why would all 4 flashes go bad. I don't know what else to try.

Any ideas, I'm pretty desperate at this point.

Re: Speedlite 600EX-RT link drops - please help if you can!

gwynnewade — Sat, 17 Sep 2022 18:47:01 GMT

I forgot to add, I tried using the 4th flash as a transmitter - link still drops.

Re: Speedlite 600EX-RT link drops - please help if you can!

Mark35mmF2 — Sun, 18 Sep 2022 04:58:06 GMT

Hi,

Hard to say exactly what might be causing the disconnect, but since the common element would be the connection between the units regardless of transmitter or flash as transmitter it might be a matter of settings or interference. There are a couple things we can check.

If you haven;t done so already I recommend clearing the settings entirely on a couple pieces to make a brand new connection. When doing this I also recommend changing the channel and wireless radio ID to something away from the default, that way we might shift the signal away from potential interference from other sources. If the connection stays stable then I would suggest adding each additional piece to the system with time in between to confirm that one of them is not reintroducing the issue.

Re: Speedlite 600EX-RT link drops - please help if you can!

gwynnewade — Sun, 18 Sep 2022 20:05:52 GMT

Thank you for the suggestions, however unfortunately this didn't work. I cleared all function settings on 2 flashes and a receiver and I changed both the group and the channel (I scanned to find a good channel). Flashes still unlink after a short time. I will have to call Canon in the morning to see what they say. Very frustrating. P.S. - although I use these in my home studio, I also had it happen twice outdoors where there was no wi-fi around.

Re: Speedlite 600EX-RT link drops - please help if you can!

ajlockwood — Mon, 26 Sep 2022 19:26:15 GMT

I have had the exact same problem with my 430ex iii-rt units. They use to work flawlessly. I tried resetting cameras and flashes. I tried multiple combinations to identify the problem. Nothing has worked. If you do discover a fix, please let me know. If I discover a fix, I will let you know. In the meantime, it's frustrating as it ruins the flow in a photoshoot, which you already know.

Re: Speedlite 600EX-RT link drops - please help if you can!

Flash_Speednite — Mon, 26 Sep 2022 20:46:34 GMT

I am also having this problem. I've acquired my (3) 600 EX-RTs over time and from numerous sources. This has been a problem in the past, but has seemingly gotten worse lately. They're effectively unusable now for professional work as i look foolish constantly power cycling the units to get them to reconnect. I'd love to know if there's a solution. Thanks for posting this.

PS: I also use an ST-E3-RT to link three 600EX-RT flashes with a 5D MIII

Re: Speedlite 600EX-RT link drops - please help if you can!

gwynnewade — Mon, 26 Sep 2022 21:01:43 GMT

I have sent the flashes and the transmitters to Canon. Estimate of $195 shipped to fix each flash and $170 shipped to fix each transmitter. However this is just an estimate. I read someone else had this problem and they couldn't find anything wrong. Hopefully they will be able to fix it and it won't cost as much as the estimate because that's very expensive. Agree on looking foolish and that's why I sent them to see if they can be fixed. I will keep you updated when I get anything back on the repair.

Re: Speedlite 600EX-RT link drops - please help if you can!

gwynnewade — Mon, 26 Sep 2022 21:03:58 GMT

I will let you know. They are all into Canon for repair.

Re: Speedlite 600EX-RT link drops - please help if you can!

ajlockwood — Mon, 26 Sep 2022 21:35:50 GMT

At that cost, it might be cheaper and more effective to get a godox transmitter and receiver and use the flashes as dumb units sitting atop them. I'm checking with my local camera shop for when the canon rep is coming to town.

Re: Speedlite 600EX-RT link drops - please help if you can!

Danfaz — Tue, 27 Sep 2022 00:24:44 GMT

There are a few threads about this issue here. WiFi interference with the 2.4 GHz these flashes use seems to be the agreed-upon culprit. This happened to me with 2 different R6s and 2 different 600EX II-RTs. Sent to Canon to diagnose, but no luck.

Interestingly enough, this hasn't happened so far with EL-1 and version 2 ST-E3-RT.

Re: Speedlite 600EX-RT link drops - please help if you can!

BillWayToday — Sat, 01 Jun 2024 17:39:33 GMT

You have described my issue perfectly. As of today (1-June-24) - no resolution.

Re: Speedlite 600EX-RT link drops - please help if you can!

Flash_Speednite — Mon, 03 Jun 2024 17:07:19 GMT

I have also had this problem for years now, I'm shooting less so only have to think about it very occasionally, but this has been a problem since at least 2022, if not before that.

Same equipment, (1) ST-E3-RT, (4) 600EX-RT, (2) Canon 5D MKIII. I've tried every different grouping and configuration I could think of. The only resolution I've discovered is to power cycle the transmitter and flashes, sometimes as frequently as every few minutes.

Re: Speedlite 600EX-RT link drops - please help if you can!

BillWayToday — Mon, 03 Jun 2024 19:36:54 GMT

My "solution" is that I'm going to continuous lighting. No more speedlites unless I'm out in the wilderness away from all electronics. I don't have the words to describe how frustrating this is.

Re: Speedlite 600EX-RT link drops - please help if you can!

sfogel2 — Sat, 14 Sep 2024 12:58:06 GMT

My "solution" is to trigger the slaves with my pocket wizards. I was going to use the slaves in manual anyway. Only trouble is I'll have to set them up and leave them at the same manual setting unless I want to run around every time I have to change levels. So if you have Pocket Wizards, this might be a solution. They come with cables that fit the trigger port of the 600EX-RT.

If you get the Vello HSA-PSC adapter (unfortunately no longer available on B&H), which passes through the intact TTL signal from the hot shoe to the flash, and which has a trigger port, you can still mount a Speedlite in the hot shoe and shoot TTL flash, while triggering the slaves with the Pocket Wizards.

This is kind of a disgrace. But in Canon's defense, could they have predicted the ubiquity of 2.4Ghz signals these days?

Re: Speedlite 600EX-RT link drops - please help if you can!

BillWayToday — Sat, 14 Sep 2024 16:38:26 GMT

Gwynne, as of now it seems that there is no Canon hardware/software solution, and Canon as a company has its head buried deep in the sand. I have 5 Canon flashes which are pretty much useless. As you have perhaps read, this is due to the congestion in the 2.4GHz band and Canon's software being unable to reset itself (without human intervention) after an interruption.

I keep hoping for a Canon (or clever user) software update solution, but so far it's crickets. I'm generally a fan of Canon, but in this case they score a "F" for "Failing to support the customer".

Re: Speedlite 600EX-RT link drops - please help if you can!

sfogel2 — Sat, 14 Sep 2024 23:04:36 GMT

Canon, we need a solution. I have 4 600EX-RT’s, $2000 worth of gear that is now either useless or too cumbersome to use for my purposes (shooting events in large dark rooms). This obsolescence is not OK

Re: Speedlite 600EX-RT link drops - please help if you can!

sfogel2 — Tue, 01 Oct 2024 00:45:25 GMT

Has anyone tried the Yongnuo YN-E3-RT II transmitter with Canon 600EX-RT slaves? Wonder if that would solve the dropped link issue. The transmitter is claimed to be compatible with the 600s. Thanks

Re: Speedlite 600EX-RT link drops - please help if you can!

sfogel2 — Fri, 11 Oct 2024 01:13:06 GMT

I sent four 600EX-RTs and my ST-E3-RT transmitter into Canon to see if they could get them to fail. At the Costa Mesa, CA repair center, they couldn't get them to fail. So an alert supervisor had me send them to the Virginia repair center. The tech worked for 2 days to try to get them to fail and could not. Wish I knew what to tell them. Could it be that the San Francisco Bay Area is much more saturated with 2.4GHz signals than their repair centers?

Re: Speedlite 600EX-RT link drops - please help if you can!

BillWayToday — Fri, 11 Oct 2024 01:45:25 GMT

It's not that they "fail". They succumb to RFI in a very busy band. They work exactly as they were designed - which includes no auto "re-start" capability in the face of RFI.

Re: Speedlite 600EX-RT link drops - please help if you can!

sfogel2 — Fri, 11 Oct 2024 02:27:24 GMT

In that case, poor design. Not robust.