Canon r5 Firmware won't update

[MXguy]

I have formatted my card, put the firmware update on the card(I've tried both SD and CFExpress), set the camera to "P" and I'm still getting "Memory card containing firmware update is required to update" message. I have even tried older updates to try to bridge the gap. I am trying to update from 1.3.1 to 1.6.0 and I would LOVE any help. I am on MacOS monterey 12.5.1  

[Waddizzle · Accepted solution]

Make sure that there is only ONE memory card in the camera when you try an update.  It is advisable to use a card that has been formatted by the camera and not yet used for saving photos or videos in the camera.  

Make sure to unzip the file from the download package, and save it to the root directory on the memory card.  Again, make sure there is only one memory card in the camera.

[BEACHWALKER]

I had this problem in the manual it says to make sure your battery(s) are fully charged.Charged batteries and the software updated no problems

[BobArcand]

I am having a similar problem with my R5.  Fresh battery, formatted the card in camera, inserted card in my MacBook Pro (OS Ventura), think I have the update on the card (when I tried a second time, got an error message that the file is already on the card and do I want to replace, etc. ), insert the card in the camera, set to P, open the menu to firmware, but only the old/existing firmware shows up.  Even though I have the card in the camera, the firmware setting tells me that I must have a card with the firmware in the camera!  

[dunhill]

Similar problem with my R5.  Recharged battery, formatted, single card, no battery grip.  I've tried both card and computer firmware updates--the result is the same:  the camera turns off and I have to remove the battery in order for it to turn back on.  Firmware did not update. 

[SquirrelPhoto]

I'm having a problem similar to dunhill, for firmware version 1.9.0. Recharged battery, no lens, no flash, selected P, single card, just reformatted, even turned off bluetooth to make sure the remote is not connected. The camera "turns off" (i.e. screen goes blank) after I hit OK to update firmware (in step 5 of the instructions), and I have to remove the battery in order to turn it back on.

There is a hint in the instructions that "If this screen is not displayed, the firmware may not have been correctly copied to the card." But I copied the .FIR file to the root directory of the card, after reformatting it. The only vaguely possible explanation is that I'm using MacOS 14 (Sonoma).

[shadowsports]

Greetings,

This is an old thread now (1 yr plus) however, nothing is different than what Waddizzle mentioned above.  

Freshly charged battery

Camera not connected to anything   

The .FIR file should be copied to the root a freshly formatted full size SD card.

Camera in P, M, Tv or Av

Photo Menu > Wrench menu

Firmware > select the current installed firmware version, press set

The update confirmation page will display showing the current version and update to 1.9.0?

Now use the Quick Control dial to select OK, then press the Set button.  Then don't touch anything until the update completes. 

If anything besides the update occurs, either your battery is not charged, the card was not formatted, the .FIR file is not placed in the root directory, or the .FIR file is corrupt and cannot be read.  The OS you are using doesn't matter.  😀

[SquirrelPhoto]

I've done all of the above, and tried doing "Low-level format" after seeing that come up as an issue for the R7. I have done this firmware update before and it has succeeded before, last year. It's unclear why it's not working now.

I've also noticed that the red LED to the bottom-right of the dial flashes on/off a few seconds after hitting OK.

[SquirrelPhoto]

I finally found something that worked on my camera. Use the Canon Camera Connect app. I have the iOS version, and when I tried downloading an image off the camera directly to the phone, it prompted me to update the firmware. I thought, oh sweet, I'd been trying to do that before! The multishot pixel-shift is an interesting feature, but being able to share pics immediately before hitting the RAWs is awful sweet. Pairing the wifi didn't work initially, had to turn the camera on and off, but everything looks good now.

[shadowsports]

Good to hear.  👍