6d battery drain

[Sad6duser]

I placed a freshly charged canon battery into my 6d and left the power off for 24 hours. The GPS and wifi are off. After 24 Hrs. the battery was down to 33%. This is outrageous. None of the reviews I researched discuss this. Exactly what does OFF really mean these days. Is my camera defective or is this Canon standard design?

[CANCANGOR]

Hey Tim. 

I know about the drainage of the gps and i turned it Off from the menu. And even if i it had been on. a Drain from 100 to 0 in only 7-8 hours without the camera being turned on. is too much. But again. the GPS and Wifi were turned OFF from the menu and then the Camera itself was turned Off. 

[TCampbell]

It sounds like the GPS didn't really switch off.

I would power off the camera, eject and then re-insert the battery (this actually forces the firmware to reboot fresh), and then go check the GPS menu to see if it's still indicated as being "off" (e.g. I'm wondering if even though the menu says it is off... that it really stayed on.)

The power switch is technically a soft-switch (it doesn't really cut power).  Ejecting and re-inserting the batteries really does cut power and forces the camera to re-start the firmware.  If for some reason something was "wedged" (software-bug) then this should reset it.

Good luck!

[CANCANGOR]

Thanks for the advice. I did eject and reinstall the battery a couple of times. and after every time i checked the menu. GPS still shows OFF: But this doesnt really explain the situation. like i said. EVEN if the GPS was turned on. The battery being emptied in only in a couple of Hours is nor Normal. I read about exsess battery drain via GPS from other people and those complain about the battery being drained in 3-4 days with GPS on.SO I'm worried that my problem lies perhaps with something else. allthough i really hope its only something like the GPS not turning off properly ^^ 

[TCampbell]

I agree -- it should not be possible to drain the battery in a few hours -- even with everything switched on.  

I use the Canon external GP-E2 GPS (I have a 5D III) and I have it set to update my position only every 30 seconds (you can set it for more frequent, but that just drains the battery faster and I normally don't wander too far in only 30 seconds.)  That GPS will last for days on a single AA (Eneloop rechargeable) battery.

It sounds like something else is causing the drain.

Have you contacted Canon service?

[CANCANGOR]

Yes. I have sent them an e-mail explaining the situation. Waiting for reply... meanwhile . i will leave the camera in the bag tonight with NO lens attached. at least if it drains again. i'll know its not a short in the lens. Tomorrow night ill leave the battery out of the camera and see if its a Camera issue or the Battery itself. Funny though it only happens at nights. Camera has been 100% all day now. I might have a poltergeist who likes Shooting Canon lol

[Peter]

My 1000D drained my battery. Not in one day, but in one or two weeks without using it. I thought it was that Canon model, but after I updated the firmware, I can store the camera for a month without any problems.

[CANCANGOR]

You know what. thats another thing. im not running the latest firmware. maybe they fixed this issue. but i will wait for installation until im finished with the other tests. I really hope nothings wrong with the Body or the Lens 😞

[Peter]

I still use 1,1,3 on my 6D without any trouble.

[Sixti]

Hi Cancangor,

I seem to have a very similar problem. Could you please let us know, how you fixed your battery drain issue?

Thanks!

[Sad6duser]

I haven't actually got a fix for this. Also, I'm sure I'm not using latest firmware update. My workaround is to have the battery charger on an extension cord in my camera bag so I won't forget to but the battery in the camera fully charged if I go out on a shoot. This is actually a got habit for me. I see the extension cord and I know to insert the battery. The extension cord always goes with me on trips either in my luggage or in the car.