Canon 600EX II-RT drops link- HELP!

[Phillyphoto]

Scenarios I have tried: 

Using Canon Transmitter ST-E3-RT as the master and (2) 600 EX II-RTs as slaves.

Using A 600EX as master and B 600EX as slave.

Using B 600EX as master and A 600EX as slave. 

I get the same result of the slave dropping link. The time varies. Sometimes it drops link in 4 mins, sometimes 10mins, sometimes 20 or more minutes. The only way to relink them is by turning everything off and back on.

All channels are the same. Yes, I have scanned for the best connection as well as every other channel and AUTO.

All IDs are the same. 

Not near a wifi-router or airport, I'm in a row home in Philadelphia. 

Using NiMh rechargeables and using freshly charged batteries for every test. Batteries are about 2 years old. 

I have spoken to 2 Canon service reps and neither of them has any idea what the problem is. I really don't have the money to spend on sending everything in for "repair". 

Any help is greatly appreciated, thanks!

[MMCphoto86]

I'm experiencing the exact same issue - I've been using one 600 ex ii on-camera master and two of the same models as slaves. I've had them for about 5 years. I've tried switching them around and even added a brand new speedlite to the mix. I've tried multiple bodies (an R6, a Mark III, and a Mark IV). I've had them serviced by Canon multiple times now and still they are dropping the link - Canon says they are in perfect working order. It's immensely frustrating given the amount of time I've spent going into Canon HQ - not to mention how unreliable the flashes are at a wedding! I don't know what else to do at this point. Thanks!

[tseager]

How much do they charge to service? Given your experience though, I will likely look for alternatives. 

[Steppy]

Like others, I'm having exactly the same issue. It renders all my 600EXs absolutely useless. Did you (or anyone else) manage to resolve this issue?

Step

[MMCphoto86]

Apologies for the delay! It was about $175 per flash and was unsuccessful. 

[MMCphoto86 · Accepted solution]

Sadly I couldn't resolve the issue and Canon insisted they couldn't find a problem. I ended up buying new flashes - not an ideal outcome! 

[silverdoggg]

So I have come to the conclusion that it is something inside of my house that is causing interference with the trigger. If I take the setup to a park or my job then they work great will stay linked until the battery dies but but at my house it only last 5 minutes before the connection is lost. I have tried to narrow it down to find out what the culprit is but I cannot. For now I am using Godox X2 trigger and receivers. With the 600 speedlites it works flawlessly but the Godox receiver on the EL-1 speedlite it is a dumb trigger so  You cannot change settings from the transmitter but it will fire if you set them manually. I encourage others to try shooting in a park or secluded location to see if it yields the same results

[tseager]

No. Still looking for a solution. Very frustrating. I have six Canon 600EX II units, and get from 3 shots to 3 minutes, before I have to reset them all, all at once.

[silverdoggg]

Try the Godox X2t Trigger and X1r receivers it works flawlessly with the 600ex rt II speedlites 

[Steppy]

Interesting… I had tried them outside the house, about 10 yards into the garden, away from all Wi-Fi, but I still had the same issue. Today I took them across the field, around 100 yards away, and the link remained good! It turns out the limit in my case is around 15-20 yards from my house. That’s at about the full range of my Wi-Fi as far as my laptop is concerned.

I’ve been collecting 600EX-RT units for a future project (fortunately I stopped at 3) and tested each as I received them, inside and outside the house, with no obvious problems. I can’t imagine having changed anything significant since the last tests. I also use 3 550EXs with Phottix Laso receivers and they work wonderfully.

I recently added a Canon ST-E3-RT to the constellation, so I now have a total of 7 RT units. This would put my system into the range of the issue reported by p4pictures of 7 or more units, although the error description is rather obscure. However, this may be unrelated if others have the same issue with an EL-1 and a ST-E3_RT Ver. 2, and tseager with only 600EX II units, i.e. no Ver 1 units involved at all.

Yesterday I ordered a Yongnuo YN600EX-RT II flash (cost me the same new as a second hand Canon 600EX) and so far it’s working exactly as expected. I originally wanted to go the Canon route for quality, compatibility and reliability reasons, but that’s not looking to be a very good choice at the moment.

I’d like to bring the units back into the house and systematically turn off all Wi-Fi devices to see if I can identify any offending sources, but that will have to wait until tomorrow as my wife won’t appreciate me interrupting her Zoom meeting!

Thanks for all your responses

Step

[Steppy]

After several hours of experimentation I can confirm that the source of interference in my particular constallation were 2 Apple HomePod minis. If I disconnect power to both devices the 600EX-RT slaves remain connected. I've successfully tested for about an hour so far without issue. If I connect power to either HomePod the slaves lose connection within a couple of minutes. Both HomePods behave the same. I have not identified any other problems with any other Wi-Fi devices being affected by these HomePods.

Quite possibly these HomePods are generating more noise than other WiFi devices, and I'm guessing the noise immunity of the Canon flashes is perhaps marginal. The Phottix receivers and the Yongnuo flash do not appear to be affected at all.

While the Yongnuo flashes look virtually identical to the Canon units, you have to look very closely to tell them apart, there are very slight differences in build quality. They even have more features than the Canon units, but I really need them so haven't tested them out yet. Obviously it's early days, but if I were looking for a reliable flash system then I certainly wouldn't eliminate 3rd party products (anymore).

Thanks silverdoggg for your suggestion

Step