Accidentally updated EOS R7 Firmware with Lens Attached

[vindegosh]

Hi! I just got a Canon R7 secondhand and I was trying to update the firmware using EOS Utility. The update seems to have completed successfully, but I forgot that they advise to remove all accessories, including lenses, before updating. Is this something I should be worried about?

[JFG]

Hi SignifDigits,

@SignifDigits Great catch, and yes, that line does appear in some Canon manuals, but here’s the twist:

That warning is not in the official Canon USA/Canon Europe manuals for the R6 Mark II or R5 Mark II.

It appears only in the Canon China / Asia-Pacific PDF packaging, and it’s a generic legal‑safety clause Canon has reused since the mid‑2000s.

Why that line exists in the 2005‑style R6 Mark II manual

Canon Asia includes a boilerplate warning: “Before the firmware update, please remove the lens, external Speedlite, and all other accessories from the camera.” This line dates back to 2004–2006 DSLR manuals (e.g., 20D, 30D, 5D Classic).

Back then, Canon included it for two reasons: 1. Old DSLRs had fragile communication pins. Early EF bodies had less robust hot‑shoe and lens‑mount communication.  Canon added the warning to avoid: shorting pins. accidental button presses, third‑party accessory misbehavior.   2. Third‑party flashes sometimes caused lockups during boot.  Old Yongnuo, Sigma, and Sunpak flashes could cause the camera to freeze during startup.  

Canon added the “remove accessories” line to avoid firmware‑update interruptions. Canon never removed the line from some regional templates. Canon Asia still uses a legacy manual template that includes this clause even though it no longer applies to modern R‑series cameras.

Why Canon USA/Europe manuals do not include this warning? Canon’s official English‑language manuals for the R6 Mark II and R5 Mark II say: Insert card Ensure battery is full Do not turn off camera. No mention of removing lenses or flashes. Because on modern mirrorless bodies: 1. Lens firmware updates require the lens to be attached. Canon literally instructs you to mount the lens. 2. Hot‑shoe flashes are electrically isolated during firmware updates They are not powered unless the camera boots into flash‑communication mode. 3. R‑series cameras have robust communication buses. There is no risk of accessory interference during firmware flashing. 

So what should you actually do?

Here’s the real‑world, Canon‑supported guidance: Body firmware update Safe with lens attached; Safe with flash attached. Canon does not warn against it. Canon service centers update bodies with lenses attached all the time. Lens firmware update, Lens must be attached. Removing it would make the update impossible.

🎯 Bottom line: That warning is a leftover from early DSLR-era manuals and is not technically relevant to the R6 Mark II or R5 Mark II.

Canon USA/Europe do not include it because modern cameras do not require removing lenses or flashes for firmware updates. 

However it is all a personal decision, if you feel safer removing lenses, flashes and other camera gear before updating your Canon R bodie's firmware, than just do it. Just remember that for Lens Firmware updates, the specific lens must be on the camera before and during the firmware update. 

I, out of habbit, always take my lenses off after a shoot, clean them, then clean my camera bodies, take the SD cards and download the photos for processing.  Check to see if any new firmware updates are available, if so, I  proceed to update the firmware on my camera body.  If there's a new firmware update for one of my lenses, I then install the specific lens an perform the firmware update.   Having said that, I have updated the firmware on my R camera bodies with a lens on them without a glitch or problem, Easy peasy, lemon squeeze.  

I hope this helps..

[SignifDigits]

@JFG.  Thanks for the very thoughtful and thorough reply.  That said, maybe we are talking apples and oranges and I haven't been specific enough to make the point.  First, I have not discussed nor referenced any manuals.  I downloaded the latest R6 Mark II eosr62-v170-win firmware  from the Canon USA support site below, not Europe.  The Canon USA support site is https://www.usa.canon.com/support/p/eos-r6-mark-ii   In that eosr62-v170-win WinZip package downloaded from Canon USA is the "camera-firmwareupdate-en.pdg" file where I snipped those items I posted earlier denoting removing of the lens prior to firmware installation.  Now Canon USA may be using internationally sourced files, but Canon USA has attached those English instructions to their US-sourced firmware.  Thus, I consider it a Canon USA recommendation and not limited to other countries. 

[JFG]

@SignifDigits  Just one question:  What year manual are you looking at?  It must be a 2005 manual?  Also, Canon, then is contradicting itself because it also tells you that you must have the lens on the camera to update the firmware on your lens.  If its ok, and a must to have the lens on to update the firmware on your camera with the lens on the body for the lens firmware update, then it is ok to do a camera body firmware update with a lens on.  Therefore, it is Safe to update the firmware on your camera body with a lens on.  Just as it is Safe to update the firmware on your camera body with your lens off.  

Lens firmware update:  Lens must be attached. Removing the lens would make the update impossible.

This brings up back to the point: “Before the firmware update, please remove the lens, external Speedlite, and all other accessories from the camera.”  That warning is a leftover from early DSLR-era manuals and it's not technically relevant to the R6 Mark II or R5 Mark II or any R camera.  But if you want to do your camera body firmware updates without a lens, or flash on, than that most definitely is your prerogative.  I just wanted to set the record straight for @vindegosh and let him know that his R7 is safe updating the firmware with the lens on or off.  As he stated "The update seems to have completed successfully," and this would not have been the case if it is unsafe to do it.  So, bottom line, Jus Do It either way, Commando or Not, it's ok.   😁

The proof is that all of us: JFG, shadowsports, FloridaDrafter, ebiggs1, wq9sc and many others on this forum are updating firmware on their camera bodies with the lens on which goes to show that it is SAFE..

😉

[SignifDigits]

@JFG  from my previous posts:

• "First, I have not discussed nor referenced any manuals." 
• My reference information is in the CURRENT firmware download package on the Canon USA support site.  The copyright is 2025, NOT 2005.
• "I downloaded, opened and read YESTERDAY prior to responding to the OP,...the LATEST R6 Mark II eosr62-v170-win firmware from the Canon USA support site below, not Europe.  The Canon USA support site. is https://www.usa.canon.com/support/p/eos-r6-mark-ii  "
• "The snip below is from the R6 Mark II "update-procedure.pdf" file [folder] from their eosr62-v170-win firmware package "camera-firmwareupdate-en.pdf" [file]"
  

[JFG]

@SiginifDigit  OK so what's your point?  So it is as you say.  However, it is Safe to update the firmware on your R7, R6, R5 or any R series camera with the lens on as stated by so many members that have been doing it this way for years.  That's the main point I'm trying to make here.  like I said, I just wanted to set the record straight for @vindegosh and let him know that his R7 is safe updating the firmware with the lens on or off.   BTW, I accidently typed 2005 (the R6 Mark II wasn't out in 2005) when I meant to type 2025.  However, it is all irrelevant.  Also, if is as you state "My reference information is in the CURRENT firmware download package on the Canon USA support site."  Then I guess that Canon still using the generic legal‑safety clause Canon has reused since the mid‑2000s and that is still showing up.  But that doesn't change the facts that it is safe to update the firmware with or without a lens on.

[SignifDigits]

@JFG, the point of the last email was to 1) reiterate that I had not been referring to manuals and 2) clarify the date and source of the guidance.

My overall point is that regardless however many years of experience anyone might have official written Canon guidance is what responsible parties here should embrace and use when advising others.

To the OP's point I believe we've made it abundantly clear that our collective recommendation is to proceed without fear as nearly all of us have done.  I thank them for pointing out something I hadn't known previously, and I want them to feel good about having read the Canon instructions and asking their question here.  We should collectively recognize this was a great thread for them to bring up.

Again, if Canon thinks there is even the remotest chance of a firmware update failure and advises an action to avoid that, I will follow that and believe we should be affirming that guidance her rather than dismissing it.  I have no experience as to what it would be to have a failed update, but I expect it could be a nightmare. 

Anyone's personal guarantee here isn't very valuable if someone is the one in a million with a failed firmware update (and I'm guessing there are thousands to millions of successful updates represented in our collective experience). 

[JFG]

@SignifDigits I understand your concern.  If Canon believes there is even a remote chance of a firmware failure and explicitly advises a step to prevent it, then of course we should follow that. No one here is arguing against following Canon’s actual guidance. But the key issue here is what Canon considers “actual guidance” for the R‑series, and that’s where the misunderstanding comes in. You’re correct that the line: “Before the firmware update, please remove the lens, external Speedlite, and all other accessories from the camera.” appears in the camera‑firmwareupdate‑en.pdf inside the R6 Mark II firmware package.
But here’s the critical context:  1. That PDF is not written specifically for the R6 Mark II — it’s a generic template Canon bundles with multiple cameras. Canon has used that same boilerplate block since the mid‑2000s DSLR era.  It appears in some firmware packages simply because Canon reuses the same template across regions and models.  It is not the R6 Mark II’s model‑specific update procedure found in the R6 Mark II manual and updated R6 Mark II's PDF files.

2. Canon’s actual R6 Mark II documentation does NOT include that instruction. If you open the R6 Mark II user manual the, R6 Mark II online support page,  the R6 Mark II model‑specific firmware instructions… you will not find any requirement to remove the lens or Speedlite.  Canon is extremely consistent about safety warnings.  If they believed lens removal was necessary for the R‑series, that warning would appear in the model‑specific documentation (model specific manuals)— not only in a legacy template PDF.

3. Canon’s engineering reality contradicts the legacy template warning. 

Modern R‑series bodies:  update lens firmware, update adapter firmware, update hot‑shoe accessory firmware These updates require the lens or accessory to remain attached.  Canon would not design a system that requires the lens to stay on, then simultaneously warn users to remove it.

4. So we’re not “dismissing” Canon — we’re following Canon’s current R‑series guidance. Your caution is completely reasonable.  A failed firmware update would be a nightmare for anyone.  But the most responsible thing we can do is follow the instructions Canon engineers actually maintain for the R‑series, not the older DSLR‑era template that Canon still bundles in some firmware ZIPs for convenience. The presence of that line in the generic PDF doesn’t mean Canon believes it applies to the R6 Mark II. The absence of that line in the R6 Mark II’s model‑specific documentation (Manuals) is what tells us Canon’s real intent.  Read the latest camera specific Manuals for advice and instructions.  We are here to answer questions with the latest factual information found in Camera Specific Manuals.  Also note that, Canon does not rewrite or replace the full camera manual when a major firmware update adds new features.  Instead, Canon follows a consistent, documented pattern: 1. Canon publishes a separate “Firmware Addendum” or “Supplemental Information” PDF.  This is Canon’s official method for documenting new or changed features introduced by firmware updates.  These addendum documents are published alongside the firmware notice on Canon’s support site.
Examples include: EOS R5 Mark II – Firmware Version 1.3.1 Notice (Canon USA) EOS R6 Mark II – Firmware Version 1.7.0 Notice (Canon USA)

These advisories link to firmware files and describe changes, but they do not replace the manual.  2. Canon’s Knowledge Base provides generic firmware‑update instructions. Canon USA maintains a general article titled “How do I install the firmware update for my camera?”
This article includes broad, catch‑all warnings such as:

“Before the firmware update, please remove the lens, external Speedlite and all other accessories from the camera.” 

This is not model‑specific guidance.
It is a universal template Canon has used for many years.  3. Canon does not update the model‑specific manual unless the camera undergoes a rare, major system overhaul.  Canon’s camera manuals for the R‑series (R5 II, R6 II, R3, etc.) are not revised when firmware adds features.
Instead, Canon attaches:  A firmware notice, A supplemental PDFA generic update‑procedure PDF (camera‑firmwareupdate‑en.pdf)

Canon’s “camera‑firmwareupdate‑en.pdf” is a generic attachment Canon’s Knowledge Base links to this same PDF for all interchangeable‑lens cameras.
This is why the PDF sometimes contains DSLR‑era boilerplate language, it is not written specifically for the R6 Mark II, even when included in the firmware ZIP.

I hope this makes the matter crystal clear.

[wq9nsc]

I have updated the firmware for most of my "great white" telephoto primes and my EF 200-400 f4 "extender" lens and the update firmware instructions state any of Canon's EOS bodies from 2012 on (with listed exceptions) are designed for updating lens firmware using the camera memory card and with the lens attached.  Image below from PDF for the lens update firmware process.

Rodger