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!

[ncolarusso]

In my case it is my mini HomePods and Apple TV. When they are plugged in my flashes lose contact within minutes. When I unplug them I can go on for hours with my flashes.

[Steppy]

You mentioned that CPP has "nothing like this on record" but did they record your issue? If they continue to receive complaints and never record anything this will never change!

You also appear to be focussing on "WiFi sites" i.e. routers, but every device connecting to a router is also a transmitter. The culprit is just as likely to be a device looking for a router. I've reported here that my Apple HomePods are the source of interference in my specific case, but any other device could be responsible. In San Fransisco your options are probably limited, but I'd recommend retesting after turning off ALL Wifi, Bluetooth and home automation devices, including phones and watches.

[Steppy]

Check out this thread:

https://community.usa.canon.com/t5/Speedlite-Flashes/Radio-communication-issues-EL-1-600EXII-RT-430E...

I wouldn't bet my money on it 😞

[Steppy]

Canon offer an upgrade from the original ST-E3-RT to a version II, but over in Europe they charge around $100 for the mod. I'm quite sure this will NOT solve our issues but this price would seem to imply that a simple firmware upgrade is not possible with these units, even on an opened unit by Canon. As the 600EX-RTs behave in the same manner as the ST-E3-RTs I'm also assuming (due to the lack of other reliable information) that they incorporate the same RF related circuitry and firmware. If this is correct, a simple firmware update is probably also not possible.
If the above is correct, to resolve these connection issues we'd most likely be talking about the replacement of circuit boards. Canon wouldn't want such a problem to get too public because this might turn into a rather expensive recall. I'm not holding my breath...

[Nick55]

Phillyphoto. 
My 5 600’s and two ST-E3 RT starting doing the same exact situation as you have described here in Delaware County. 
these have been working flawlessly for over ten years. Just last week they started losing “LINK”. 
Is there a real solution?
Does the FIRMWARE update solve the situation many of us are having. 
Channel 15, 1 or AUTO same result. 
ID Numbers changed same.

My house or friends house, same result. 
transmitter or 600 as Transmitter same result. Swapped NiMH recently charged with new out of package AA batteries… same result.

could it be that the component for Radio Communication has a useful life??????

[Nick55]

Phillyphoto. 
My 5 Canon 600’s and two ST-E3 RT starting doing the same exact situation as you have described here in Delaware County. 
these have been working flawlessly for over ten years. Just last week they started losing “LINK”. 
Is there a real solution?
Does the FIRMWARE update solve the situation many of us are having. 
Channel 15, 1 or AUTO same result. 
ID Numbers changed same.

My house or friends house, same result. 
transmitter or 600 as Transmitter same result. Swapped NiMH recently charged with new out of package AA batteries… same result.

could it be that the component for Radio Communication has a useful life??????

[Steppy]

No known fix exists to this problem - other than to photograph in the middle of a field.
Have either you, or anyone in the close neighbourhood installed any new network connected devices in the last week or so? I'm thinking of something like an Apple HomePod speaker?

[Nick55]

Steppy. 
I do not own an Apple HomePod Speaker. 
however I did just purchase a Bose Soundlink Revolve II speaker. It is powered off in next room and I also took it outside again powered off and upstairs in bedroom off as well. 

[Steppy]

It could be due to any new wifi connected device, either in your own home or from a neighbour. One other contributor and myself have verified that HomePods are related to these issues, but the basic problem appears to be either poor noise immunity and/or lockup due to interference of the Canon devices.

I tried to open my ST-E3 RT to see if there was any evidence of a factory firmware update capability, but I couldn't get it to come apart easily and I didn't want to break the case.

I had another issue just the other day when I thought I was out of range of the HomePods. However, I was still close to one of my power-line adapters which routed the signals across to the other side of the building. I turned this adapter off and all was well again. I haven't investigated further, but it would appear that the "source" (I'm my case the HomePods) had routed the disturbing signals to the wifi router, which in turn had distributed them throughout the property via both wifi and the power-line. This is really inconvenient.

[abmoran]

I posted this to CPS and received this response:

Canon has not released an official statement as we have not verified exclusively what is causing the issues that individuals are experiencing when using these transmitters and flashes. As you mentioned, when there is no interference in the vicinity, everything works fine. We do state that there could be connectivity issues in such cases where there is radio interference with other devices.

So, Canon is aware of the problem but doesn't fully understand it.