EOS 6D Mark II - Bluetooth and WiFi confusion

[RaySiS]

Hi,

I am a little baffled by the Bluetooth and WiFi functionality on the EOS 6D Mark II. I am linking it to my Android-based smartphone.

I've managed to get the remote functionality through WiFi working once. It seems every time I want to re-connect to my phone, I have to delete all the settings and forget the pairing and start from scratch. My phone seems to connect to other devices without having to do anything once paired: my car, my speakers, my watch, but not my EOS.

What can I do with just a Bluetooth connection? All that seems to be possible is to activate a WiFi connection.

There are separate enable settings for Bluetooth and WiFi. If WiFi is needed to do anything, why are the separate? Why have Bluetooth at all?

The WiFi User Guide is only marginally helpful. I think I need to get my head around some of the workflow concepts to make sense of this. Can anyone give me an Idiot's Guide type of overview? Is there a tutorial somewhere that goes through this?

[Dansky56]

So let me try and understand what Raysis is saying.
If I'm out in the field, miles away from any wifi, my camera will blue tooth to my phone and I will have a local wifi connection between the two devices. Is that correct?

[CaliforniaDream]

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@Dansky56 wrote:
So let me try and understand what Raysis is saying.
If I'm out in the field, miles away from any wifi, my camera will blue tooth to my phone and I will have a local wifi connection between the two devices. Is that correct?

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Not via bluetooth, but via WiFi.  At least that is what it looks like to me.

[heyjp]

Exactly! You got it!!

[jbartleman]

I requested clarification from Canon Technical Support and received the following response, which I am not sure is consistent with other information Canon has put out and some of the other responses in this forum regarding bluetooth.  However, it does appear to be consistent with how my camera works. .  

Thanks for following up with us.

Let me clarify how Bluetooth works. Bluetooth cannot be used to transfer images, operate Remote Live View, nor View images on the camera, by itself. In order to do any of these three functions there has to be a Wi-Fi connection. It's just a quick way to get the initial setup. Once you've set up the Wi-Fi connection, you won't use Bluetooth again.

Let us know if you have any other questions, and thanks again for choosing Canon.

Sincerely,

Nick
Technical Support Representative

[CaliforniaDream]

If it works like it does on 5D MarkIV then the camara becomes like a hot spot.  If it is connected to a WiFi network then you access it through that.  IAfter it i set up, if no WiFi network is available the you attch to the camara directly, something like a hotspot but no internet available.

[heyjp]

Dansky,

You got it. I have used it way out in the middle of nowhere (or further) taking Astro images with my 6D-II. Connects via hotspot WiFi generated by the camera.

Jim in Boulder

[RaySiS]

So, I'm experimenting with this... again. Since this discussion, when I read the "Wi-Fi Function Instruction Manual", it starts to become a little more clear. I found this little gem on p.18 which seems to explain it all:

When you connect the camera to a Bluetooth-compatible smartphone via Bluetooth, you can establish a Wi-Fi connection by operating only the camera or the smartphone.

The key part here seems to be  "... by operating only the camera or the smartphone." 

To connect to the camera directly via Wi-Fi requires a little back-and-forth between the camera and phone. Presumably with Bluetooth, you can accomplish the entire task from one end - either from the camera or the phone. I say "presumably" because, for me, it just doesn't work. I get:

• Find a network             [check]
• Connect to a network  [spin endlessly until timeout]
• Connect to the camera

I never get to the "Connect to the camera" part. 😕

I've been working with my android tablet since the larger screen gives me better visuals for control. And for my next question:

- Can the EOS 6D Mark II Bluetooth be paired with more than one device?

I ask because when I go to the Bluetooth menu, "Pairing" was greyed out. I had previously paired my phone. So I cleared the connection data, which activated the menu item allowed me to access "Pairing" allowing me to pair with my tablet. After that, "Pairing" was again greyed out.

Both my phone and tablet indicate that they are "paired" via Bluetooth with the camera, but the camera will only connect the the most recently paired device.

I've got both tablet and phone paired for Wi-Fi, so that end is not a problem. I will likely use direct Wi-Fi connection since Bluetooth

1. Doesn't do anything on it's own other than try to connect to Wi-Fi, and
2. It just doesn't seem to work (for me).

It seems the only real use for 6D MkII  Bluetooth is to use it with the Bluetooth remote.