Canon 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

[Wyimaginowany]

Hi! Do you have a video of when the camera goes into busy mode? because I have the same problem, only I can't record ID for the website because it happens at weddings when I don't have a phone with me. Can you send me for email [Removed personal info per Community Guidelines]?

[sbunting]

From one of my earlier posts in this thread:

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 leave GPS on, as I need that feature and shouldn't have to disable to not have the camera freeze up, so, as of now, my second R3 camera still has freeze ups.  Please note that this is my second R3.  The first was replaced due to freezes.  The replacement suffers the same problem.  I've described this in detail earlier in this post.  In essence, it doesn't freeze up in a factory default condition.  Add my custom settings file and voila, it freezes up.  I had to force Canon to want and accept my custom settings file.  No word back after months.  Freeze ups persist.  Of import, when it freezes up, none of the button features work, including the on/off switch. Note in every photo attached, the camera is switched to off and yet the screen is still lit.  Oddly enough, all touch screen functions continue to work.  You'd think there'd be enough data points, including my custom settings file, for Canon to reach some solution by now, but not.  $6K for a camera body that freezes up!  Are you kidding me?  I'd gladly work with them as I tried to do if anyone seemed to care enough to reach out.  John Q wants to point at dirty contacts on batteries and lenses instead of something internal inside the camera.  Brand new cameras and lenses out of the box and the camera freezes.  Yeah, dirty contacts.  Seriously, it it time this issue was addressed.  My custom settings file is still available if someone at Canon would just ask.

[jagn4]

I've had similar results to sbunting.

I have a video of my 1st R3 freezing, with no buttons working and pulling the battery as a solution.  Unfortunately, I'm not able to upload the video to this discussion.  I've uploaded images earlier in this thread.

I went round and round with Canon over this issue and because I purchased CarePak was able to get a second camera.  The second camera also had freezing issues, but less frequent.  I believe it must be the different custom settings that confuses the camera (computer processing).  I have change settings with mixed results.

I too am still waiting on a firmware update to solve the issue.

[Wyimaginowany]

https://youtu.be/fXPzVlHqpWo?si=3AAvme7ytU4zmtUH 

[HighOctanePhoto]

I thought my freezing issues had improved, as the R3 hadn't locked up much at all for me for a while, even with some heavy use, but I just spent 2 weeks travelling Cambodia and taking a fair few photos along the way, and had maybe 10 - 20 lock ups in those 2 weeks, nothing to stressful though, no race meetings going on, so plenty of time to pull battery, reinsert and re-compose the shot... 

However, any notions that my particular R3 had grown out of this childish behaviour are now dispelled... and unfortunately, it's been a while sine Canon had anything to contribute by way of a firmware update either... 

(I do still love the R3 and the GPS logging has been invaluable, and pin point accurate, so there is that)

[HighOctanePhoto]

If anyones wondering, the latest firmware (1.5.1) mentions fixing a couple of lock up situations... however it doesn't fix all of them... I did the firmware update a couple of days ago, and had 2 lock ups at an event last night... one I caught in time, the other cost me a couple of good shots... 

[Waddizzle]

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@HighOctanePhoto wrote:

If anyones wondering, the latest firmware (1.5.1) mentions fixing a couple of lock up situations... however it doesn't fix all of them... I did the firmware update a couple of days ago, and had 2 lock ups at an event last night... one I caught in time, the other cost me a couple of good shots... 

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This is an older thread.  If you wish to discuss your issue, then please start a new thread.  GPS works by establishing contact with multiple satellites, not just one, so that it can triangulate your position.

The OP reports the issue is related to GPS being enabled.  I do not find that surprising.  Nor do I feel that it is a camera or firmware issue.  Guess what happens when you go indoors.  You are likely to lose contact with one of more GPS satellites, either intermittently or permanently.  Meanwhile, the camera begins to hunt for satellites to reacquire the signals.

Similarly, if you travel long distances, then the camera may lose constant contact with one or more GPS satellites and must now search for another.  

Another user setting that can cause the camera to seem to lockup is having wireless communication enabled when you are not proactively using it, particularly Bluetooth.  As you move about your camera may detect a Bluetooth enabled device and try to establish a connection.  It could even be your own smart device in your pocket running Canon connect. Control switches to the phone in your pocket and suddenly half your buttons seem dead.

[wq9nsc]

A camera should NEVER lock up just because it loses full sync with the GPS constellation, that IS a firmware/design issue. 

If I owned a camera that was randomly and unexpectedly locking up at events causing me to miss images, I would very quickly be a former owner of that camera.  All of the features and technology in the world don't make up for the absence of basic product reliability.

Rodger

[John_SD]

"If I owned a camera that was randomly and unexpectedly locking up at events causing me to miss images, I would very quickly be a former owner of that camera."

This should be marked as the solution. I have seen threads like this one where the unfortunate photographer has been tying himself into knots for over a year, trying one thing after another to no avail. In cases like this one, the solution is clear, and that is to get rid of the unreliable tool and switch to something else, even if it means switching companies. There have been too many of these "random" lockup reports with the R3.

[Waddizzle]

My 6D would get a little sluggish when it was hunting for satellites, even when it was outdoors.  This would only happen after losing the signal locks after it had initially been established.  This would happen most often indoors, where signal reception might be poor or blocked.

I know that they have also changed the way GPS satellites communicate.  I had to update the Garmin devices in my vehicles because of it.

GPS receivers moving at relatively high speeds for ground based transportation would now experience difficulty switching from one GPS satellite to another as the GPS device traveled across land.

This was done to protect against missiles and rockets from using off-the-shelf GPS receivers in their internal, automated guidance systems.

[EDIT]. Note that the OP reported a solution was to disable Mode 2.  In this mode the GPS is disabled when the camera is switched off.  But the camera will still periodically try to maintain or reestablish satellite locks when the camera goes to sleep.