EOS R3 Freeze-up Issue - The likely cause!

[sbunting]

My friends,

I believe I found the issue causing freeze-ups in the Canon R3!!!

Recall the following:

1) I experienced freeze-ups with my Canon R3 the first week I received it.

2) Canon CPS took the camera in for repair, replicated the issue, reinstalled the firmware, reset it to factory settings, tested it, found no more freeze-ups, declared it fixed and returned it to me.

3) I restored my settings manually and the freeze-ups still occurred.

4) Canon replaced my original R3 with a brand new R3

5) I updated my firmware to V1.1.1 and restored my settings from a CSD file this time, and the freeze-ups still occurred.

6) In all cases my freeze-ups were such that the buttons and dials would not respond (including power switch), yet touch functions still functioned including the smart controller. It would also freeze-up, at times, while asleep and could not be awakened. Of course, since the screen was black (asleep), no touch function could work. The only way to restore the camera was to pull the battery and then reboot the camera.

I have since, of course, contacted Canon and am awaiting a response, as Canon's engineering department seems to be in a denial mode, despite a Canon repair technician in Virginia having replicated the freeze-up issue when it first went in for repair.

I advised Canon that while I await their response, I was going to, one by one, change my settings to default and see if any particular setting eliminated the freeze-ups.

My first setting change was to restore the aperture and speed change dial settings to default, as I had them reversed. No change. I still had freeze-ups, so I restored my setting.

Next, I reasoned that, since the freeze-up even occurred while the camera was asleep, the only function I had changed that would involve activity during the sleep mode would be the GPS setting, which I had set to Mode 2. I disabled the GPS altogether. Since I have done so, I have left the camera on 24x7. Not once has it failed to awaken from sleep mode nor has it frozen at all while awake and being used. I have been testing for a solid week now (on 24x7) and I'm optimistic that this is the cause of the freeze-ups, as before I could rarely go a day without a freeze-up.  

I'm asking that some of you who are experiencing freeze-ups with the R3 such as I have been experiencing to check this setting and 1) verify it is enabled on your camera and 2) verify that by disabling it that the freeze-ups no longer occur.

Similarly, those of you who have an R3 and have experienced no freeze-ups, can you verify that your GPS is disabled.

Again, I'm optimistic that this is the issue, but I'd like to get feedback from others to verify what I'm experiencing before I approach Canon.

Steve

[sbunting · Accepted solution]

Lenses were with another post, but here goes.  All Canon L glass.  RF100-500, EF135, & EF17-35, the latter two with Canon adapters.  Complete Canon all the way.  CF card not an issue as it has occurred with the CF card removed.  Two different SD cards, both high end and so I think you can rule out SD cards.  The only thing I’ve done is disable GPS mode 2.  Boom, no more freeze up for two weeks running.

[babygiant]

Thank you so much for going through all the trouble to figure this out. I was also having freeze issues (though for me, powering off / on does work and I don't need to do a battery pull). I have an R5 as a backup (no freezing so far) and when I power cycle the R3 it does work for some time until it experiences a nap / sleep. Then the freeze happens. I will report to Canon.

[Wyimaginowany]

I sent the camera to the service center and the motherboard was replaced. after replacement, the camera works even worse and the veneers are peeling off.

[Mark1app]

My R3 is also locking up. After turning off the GPS I have had no lock-ups.

I want to know what Canon is doing about this issue?

Mark Saylor

[sbunting]

I can't speak for Canon.  I have passed along my observations to Canon and just today sent screenshots of the 3/25 and 4/28 posts indicating others found this solved the issue.  I guess the answer is when they post an update to the firmware.

[dotsson]

My R3 has locked up on 3 occasions. Have to remove battery and reinstall to "unfreeze". Once with EF 500 4.0, next two times were the EF 300 2.8, with Canon EF adapter.

GPS has been off since I bought it three weeks ago.  No GPS whatsoever.

[LindsayScar]

I, too, was having freeze up issues.  I have had my GPS off the last few days and so far have not had freeze up issues.  Did Canon ever respond with a solution for this?

[sbunting]

I have passed along my observations to Canon and just today sent screenshots of the 3/25 and 4/28 posts indicating others found this solved the issue.  I guess the answer is when they post an update to the firmware.

[fgphoto]

sbunting, 

Thank you for your time isolating the issue and taking the time to post here with your solution. I have had the same issue and have been slowly trying different things (the same steps you have taken) but never considered the GPS... which I have set to Mode 2 in both of my cameras (and both have the odd lockup issue).

After turning off GPS I had about a four hour shoot last night and had no lockups at all... both cameras worked perfectly. Normally I would have experienced at least a couple lockups in that time. 

Thank you again for your time running this down and sharing it with the rest of the community! 

I also made a call to CPS to share your findings and that it did appear to be successful in solving the problem. The person I spoke to was particularly unhelpful and implied there was no way that turning off GPS would be a solution for a problem that was locking up the camera. I encouraged him to take a look at the forums here before making a blanket statement like that but he then doubled down to say it must be a hardware issue with my specific cameras because they have no data to show there is a lockup issue with the R3's... sigh...

[fgphoto]

So after more than a month and a half of turning off GPS I have not had a single lockup or freeze on either of my R3 bodies. Hopefully Canon is digging in to how this can be fixed. I have made a few more calls to CPS pointing out this issue and the no-GPS solution that makes the lockups go away, but thus far getting at most a lukewarm response from those answering the phone for CPS.