Firmware update problem not cover by warrenty

clive yip · Jun 30, 2004

I am rather cheesed off today. I tried to update the new Firmware on my D70 yesterday. The first part of the update was ok. After updating the 2nd part and getting the DONE screen, I powered off and on the Camera just as instruction says but the camera seems to have hanged with the message “ PC ????" (forgot the last part of the message) displayed on the top LCD. I tried powering the camera on and off a number of times without success. Next I tried removing and inserting the battery. This action got rid of the LCD message but the camera was totally dead.

This morning I took the Camera to the Hong Kong Nikon Dealer ( as instructed on the web page if something goes wrong ) and explained the situation to them. Their conclusion is I did something wrong and shorted a circuit board. They will find out which board need replacing and I have to pay for the parts as THIS IS NOT COVERED BY THE WARENTY. They also said I should have taken the Camera to them for the firmware upgrade. Thinking about it I should have just said I don’t know what happen and let them sort the problem out. Anyway, what I don’t understand is

1. Why would Nikon post the Firmware on their site for people to download and update if it would void the warranty? Since the D70 has only been out for ½ year, any body who do the Firmware upgrade themselves risk having the warranty void. No doubt there would be a lot of people out there.

2. Why there was no message on the Nikon Web site warning people that the warranty would cover any damages if they perform the Firmware upgrade themselves.

3. The Firmware upgrade function is a legitimate part of the camera operation, so why would it void the warranty?

4. Why Nikon did not make their camera more fool proof. Sees to me it very easy to kill the camera.

Not sure who I can write to confirm in writing about the warranty issue. Maybe Nikon Japan or to the CEO of Nikon Hong Kong.

My message to everyone is DON’T UPDATE THE FIRMWARE YOURSELF, especially with warranty. Sod’s law states “ If something can go wrong will go wrong”. Let Nikon break the camera. You can then give they a good telling off and let them fix it.

Chip00 · Jun 30, 2004

I certainly understand your frustration with this problem.

Skidpan · Jun 30, 2004

person who has reported a failure in the update process.

It certainly doesn't sound as if you did anything wrong, so I'm mystified as to what went wrong.

Try to speak directly to Nikon Hong Kong - I'm sure that they can reflash the firmware via a different route - for example by taking the base off and connecting to a PC - who knows ?

Wish you luck - I had no problems with my upgrade.

clive yip said:
I am rather cheesed off today. I tried to update the new Firmware
on my D70 yesterday. The first part of the update was ok. After
updating the 2nd part and getting the DONE screen, I powered off
and on the Camera just as instruction says but the camera seems to
have hanged with the message “ PC ????" (forgot the last part
of the message) displayed on the top LCD. I tried powering the
camera on and off a number of times without success. Next I tried
removing and inserting the battery. This action got rid of the LCD
message but the camera was totally dead.

This morning I took the Camera to the Hong Kong Nikon Dealer ( as
instructed on the web page if something goes wrong ) and explained
the situation to them. Their conclusion is I did something wrong
and shorted a circuit board. They will find out which board need
replacing and I have to pay for the parts as THIS IS NOT COVERED BY
THE WARENTY. They also said I should have taken the Camera to them
for the firmware upgrade. Thinking about it I should have just said
I don’t know what happen and let them sort the problem out.
Anyway, what I don’t understand is

1. Why would Nikon post the Firmware on their site for people to
download and update if it would void the warranty? Since the D70
has only been out for ½ year, any body who do the Firmware upgrade
themselves risk having the warranty void. No doubt there would be a
lot of people out there.

2. Why there was no message on the Nikon Web site warning people
that the warranty would cover any damages if they perform the
Firmware upgrade themselves.

3. The Firmware upgrade function is a legitimate part of the camera
operation, so why would it void the warranty?

4. Why Nikon did not make their camera more fool proof. Sees to me
it very easy to kill the camera.

Not sure who I can write to confirm in writing about the warranty
issue. Maybe Nikon Japan or to the CEO of Nikon Hong Kong.

My message to everyone is DON’T UPDATE THE FIRMWARE YOURSELF,
especially with warranty. Sod’s law states “ If
something can go wrong will go wrong”. Let Nikon break the
camera. You can then give they a good telling off and let them fix
it.

clive yip · Jun 30, 2004

Nikon Hong Kong was the name and address on the warranty card and the place I went to. They are the one who told me the warrenty do not cover damages caused by self update of firmware. Maybe I did do something wrong by mistake or maybe I am just unlucky. I may be the first but I doubt I be the last. We are just human after all. I tried to give a detail account of what I did to help the Nikon engineers but all I got was "maybe you did this or did not do that" . The message I got was "it your own fault and the warranty wouldn't buy you out of this one". Just like to warn everyone if the warranty do not cover D.I.Y. firmware update is true then there is a risk that any problems encountered is going to cost you $$$$.

Skidpan said:
It certainly doesn't sound as if you did anything wrong, so I'm
mystified as to what went wrong.

Try to speak directly to Nikon Hong Kong - I'm sure that they can
reflash the firmware via a different route - for example by taking
the base off and connecting to a PC - who knows ?

Wish you luck - I had no problems with my upgrade.

clive yip said:

I am rather cheesed off today. I tried to update the new Firmware
on my D70 yesterday. The first part of the update was ok. After
updating the 2nd part and getting the DONE screen, I powered off
and on the Camera just as instruction says but the camera seems to
have hanged with the message “ PC ????" (forgot the last part
of the message) displayed on the top LCD. I tried powering the
camera on and off a number of times without success. Next I tried
removing and inserting the battery. This action got rid of the LCD
message but the camera was totally dead.

This morning I took the Camera to the Hong Kong Nikon Dealer ( as
instructed on the web page if something goes wrong ) and explained
the situation to them. Their conclusion is I did something wrong
and shorted a circuit board. They will find out which board need
replacing and I have to pay for the parts as THIS IS NOT COVERED BY
THE WARENTY. They also said I should have taken the Camera to them
for the firmware upgrade. Thinking about it I should have just said
I don’t know what happen and let them sort the problem out.
Anyway, what I don’t understand is

1. Why would Nikon post the Firmware on their site for people to
download and update if it would void the warranty? Since the D70
has only been out for ½ year, any body who do the Firmware upgrade
themselves risk having the warranty void. No doubt there would be a
lot of people out there.

2. Why there was no message on the Nikon Web site warning people
that the warranty would cover any damages if they perform the
Firmware upgrade themselves.

3. The Firmware upgrade function is a legitimate part of the camera
operation, so why would it void the warranty?

4. Why Nikon did not make their camera more fool proof. Sees to me
it very easy to kill the camera.

Not sure who I can write to confirm in writing about the warranty
issue. Maybe Nikon Japan or to the CEO of Nikon Hong Kong.

My message to everyone is DON’T UPDATE THE FIRMWARE YOURSELF,
especially with warranty. Sod’s law states “ If
something can go wrong will go wrong”. Let Nikon break the
camera. You can then give they a good telling off and let them fix
it.

Click to expand...

Skidpan · Jun 30, 2004

I would make some noise, try to get through to someone more senior in Nikon Hong Kong.

IMO THERE IS NO WAY THAT YOU CAN CAUSE PHYSICAL DAMAGE TO ANY CIRCUIT BOARD BY LOADING FIRMWARE FROM A CF CARD !

At worst you've corrupted the flash software, and Nikon should have a way of reloading that. If they don't, then the D70 has a design problem.

If the technicians keep up with the circuit board damage story then they are either ignorant or devious.

And I am not sure that I agree with the warranty story either. Firmware upgrades are discussed in the D70 manual, and I think that it could be classified as a normal maintenance procedure. But I haven't checked all the fine print.

clive yip said:
Skidpan said:

It certainly doesn't sound as if you did anything wrong, so I'm
mystified as to what went wrong.

Try to speak directly to Nikon Hong Kong - I'm sure that they can
reflash the firmware via a different route - for example by taking
the base off and connecting to a PC - who knows ?

Wish you luck - I had no problems with my upgrade.

clive yip said:

I am rather cheesed off today. I tried to update the new Firmware
on my D70 yesterday. The first part of the update was ok. After
updating the 2nd part and getting the DONE screen, I powered off
and on the Camera just as instruction says but the camera seems to
have hanged with the message “ PC ????" (forgot the last part
of the message) displayed on the top LCD. I tried powering the
camera on and off a number of times without success. Next I tried
removing and inserting the battery. This action got rid of the LCD
message but the camera was totally dead.

This morning I took the Camera to the Hong Kong Nikon Dealer ( as
instructed on the web page if something goes wrong ) and explained
the situation to them. Their conclusion is I did something wrong
and shorted a circuit board. They will find out which board need
replacing and I have to pay for the parts as THIS IS NOT COVERED BY
THE WARENTY. They also said I should have taken the Camera to them
for the firmware upgrade. Thinking about it I should have just said
I don’t know what happen and let them sort the problem out.
Anyway, what I don’t understand is

1. Why would Nikon post the Firmware on their site for people to
download and update if it would void the warranty? Since the D70
has only been out for ½ year, any body who do the Firmware upgrade
themselves risk having the warranty void. No doubt there would be a
lot of people out there.

2. Why there was no message on the Nikon Web site warning people
that the warranty would cover any damages if they perform the
Firmware upgrade themselves.

3. The Firmware upgrade function is a legitimate part of the camera
operation, so why would it void the warranty?

4. Why Nikon did not make their camera more fool proof. Sees to me
it very easy to kill the camera.

Not sure who I can write to confirm in writing about the warranty
issue. Maybe Nikon Japan or to the CEO of Nikon Hong Kong.

My message to everyone is DON’T UPDATE THE FIRMWARE YOURSELF,
especially with warranty. Sod’s law states “ If
something can go wrong will go wrong”. Let Nikon break the
camera. You can then give they a good telling off and let them fix
it.

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

lawnmower · Jun 30, 2004

All that I can say is that I hope it works out. That sounds like bad buisness to me. They should take care of your camera. My firmware update went well last night. I wish I could say the same for you.

clive yip said:
Skidpan said:

It certainly doesn't sound as if you did anything wrong, so I'm
mystified as to what went wrong.

Try to speak directly to Nikon Hong Kong - I'm sure that they can
reflash the firmware via a different route - for example by taking
the base off and connecting to a PC - who knows ?

Wish you luck - I had no problems with my upgrade.

clive yip said:

I am rather cheesed off today. I tried to update the new Firmware
on my D70 yesterday. The first part of the update was ok. After
updating the 2nd part and getting the DONE screen, I powered off
and on the Camera just as instruction says but the camera seems to
have hanged with the message “ PC ????" (forgot the last part
of the message) displayed on the top LCD. I tried powering the
camera on and off a number of times without success. Next I tried
removing and inserting the battery. This action got rid of the LCD
message but the camera was totally dead.

This morning I took the Camera to the Hong Kong Nikon Dealer ( as
instructed on the web page if something goes wrong ) and explained
the situation to them. Their conclusion is I did something wrong
and shorted a circuit board. They will find out which board need
replacing and I have to pay for the parts as THIS IS NOT COVERED BY
THE WARENTY. They also said I should have taken the Camera to them
for the firmware upgrade. Thinking about it I should have just said
I don’t know what happen and let them sort the problem out.
Anyway, what I don’t understand is

1. Why would Nikon post the Firmware on their site for people to
download and update if it would void the warranty? Since the D70
has only been out for ½ year, any body who do the Firmware upgrade
themselves risk having the warranty void. No doubt there would be a
lot of people out there.

2. Why there was no message on the Nikon Web site warning people
that the warranty would cover any damages if they perform the
Firmware upgrade themselves.

3. The Firmware upgrade function is a legitimate part of the camera
operation, so why would it void the warranty?

4. Why Nikon did not make their camera more fool proof. Sees to me
it very easy to kill the camera.

Not sure who I can write to confirm in writing about the warranty
issue. Maybe Nikon Japan or to the CEO of Nikon Hong Kong.

My message to everyone is DON’T UPDATE THE FIRMWARE YOURSELF,
especially with warranty. Sod’s law states “ If
something can go wrong will go wrong”. Let Nikon break the
camera. You can then give they a good telling off and let them fix
it.

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Henry Goh · Jun 30, 2004

I had the same problem and went to Nikon Singapore. They immediately said that this means they have to change some board and that it was not covered and it will cost heavily.

I said BS.

They took the camera in and I will wait to hear from them. If it turns out they want to charge me for this, I'm going to make sure they pay heavily.

To start with, when a camera needs 2 firmware upgrade in less than 6 months, it is faulty.

Last month I was happy with their service and I posted to tell everyone how good they were. Well, if they think after I have spent so much time promoting the D70 because I felt it was good from since 26th February and now stick this in me, they are going to also know I can bad mouth them as nastily.

I sure hope Nikon get the act together and learn something about technology products. They better don't assume that their software is so perfect that anything failure in upgrading means it is caused by the user. Furthermore, they had better learnt that they cannot hide behind some legal clause on their web site and disclaim responsibilty.

Let's see what teratment I get from Nikon Singapore.

cc this post to Nikon Singapore.

Henry Goh

lanef · Jun 30, 2004

Thanks for sharing the upgrade problem, I feel quite apprehensive to upgrade mine now as the camera works fine. I have also heard for someone that, he did not have backfocus problem before, but has it now after the upgrade.

Now, will NIKON do the upgrade without any charge?
What about in Australia?

Cheers
Jacques

clive yip said:
I am rather cheesed off today. I tried to update the new Firmware
on my D70 yesterday. The first part of the update was ok. After
updating the 2nd part and getting the DONE screen, I powered off
and on the Camera just as instruction says but the camera seems to
have hanged with the message “ PC ????" (forgot the last part
of the message) displayed on the top LCD. I tried powering the
camera on and off a number of times without success. Next I tried
removing and inserting the battery. This action got rid of the LCD
message but the camera was totally dead.

This morning I took the Camera to the Hong Kong Nikon Dealer ( as
instructed on the web page if something goes wrong ) and explained
the situation to them. Their conclusion is I did something wrong
and shorted a circuit board. They will find out which board need
replacing and I have to pay for the parts as THIS IS NOT COVERED BY
THE WARENTY. They also said I should have taken the Camera to them
for the firmware upgrade. Thinking about it I should have just said
I don’t know what happen and let them sort the problem out.
Anyway, what I don’t understand is

1. Why would Nikon post the Firmware on their site for people to
download and update if it would void the warranty? Since the D70
has only been out for ½ year, any body who do the Firmware upgrade
themselves risk having the warranty void. No doubt there would be a
lot of people out there.

2. Why there was no message on the Nikon Web site warning people
that the warranty would cover any damages if they perform the
Firmware upgrade themselves.

3. The Firmware upgrade function is a legitimate part of the camera
operation, so why would it void the warranty?

4. Why Nikon did not make their camera more fool proof. Sees to me
it very easy to kill the camera.

Not sure who I can write to confirm in writing about the warranty
issue. Maybe Nikon Japan or to the CEO of Nikon Hong Kong.

My message to everyone is DON’T UPDATE THE FIRMWARE YOURSELF,
especially with warranty. Sod’s law states “ If
something can go wrong will go wrong”. Let Nikon break the
camera. You can then give they a good telling off and let them fix
it.

lawnmower · Jun 30, 2004

Hey, it is what it is. I would have a problem if I was in your shoes also. Nikon should get their act together. Buy the way, my wife’s cooking is still pretty good. Don't make mention when you figure this out. Someone wouldn't leave me alone. No problems lately.

Henry Goh said:
I had the same problem and went to Nikon Singapore. They
immediately said that this means they have to change some board and
that it was not covered and it will cost heavily.

I said BS.

They took the camera in and I will wait to hear from them. If it
turns out they want to charge me for this, I'm going to make sure
they pay heavily.

To start with, when a camera needs 2 firmware upgrade in less than
6 months, it is faulty.

Last month I was happy with their service and I posted to tell
everyone how good they were. Well, if they think after I have
spent so much time promoting the D70 because I felt it was good
from since 26th February and now stick this in me, they are going
to also know I can bad mouth them as nastily.

I sure hope Nikon get the act together and learn something about
technology products. They better don't assume that their software
is so perfect that anything failure in upgrading means it is caused
by the user. Furthermore, they had better learnt that they cannot
hide behind some legal clause on their web site and disclaim
responsibilty.

Let's see what teratment I get from Nikon Singapore.

cc this post to Nikon Singapore.

Henry Goh

Skidpan · Jun 30, 2004

Henry Goh said:
I had the same problem and went to Nikon Singapore. They
immediately said that this means they have to change some board and
that it was not covered and it will cost heavily.

No bad flash recovery procedure - that implies that the D70 has a design problem. Only way to reflash is to change circuit board with flash memory on !!! Can this be true ?

Henry Goh said:
I said BS.

I agree. Firmware upgrade is trivial procedure if you follow the steps.

Henry Goh said:
They took the camera in and I will wait to hear from them. If it
turns out they want to charge me for this, I'm going to make sure
they pay heavily.

To start with, when a camera needs 2 firmware upgrade in less than
6 months, it is faulty.

I don't necessarily agree with that. After all, the camera is really just a complex little computer. After all, you have to upgrade WinXP all the time. But upgrading the D70 should be a simple failsafe procedure. If it isn't, then it is poorly designed.

Henry Goh said:
Last month I was happy with their service and I posted to tell
everyone how good they were. Well, if they think after I have
spent so much time promoting the D70 because I felt it was good
from since 26th February and now stick this in me, they are going
to also know I can bad mouth them as nastily.

I sure hope Nikon get the act together and learn something about
technology products. They better don't assume that their software
is so perfect that anything failure in upgrading means it is caused
by the user. Furthermore, they had better learnt that they cannot
hide behind some legal clause on their web site and disclaim
responsibilty.

Let's see what teratment I get from Nikon Singapore.

cc this post to Nikon Singapore.

Henry Goh

Skidpan · Jun 30, 2004

lanef said:
Thanks for sharing the upgrade problem, I feel quite apprehensive
to upgrade mine now as the camera works fine. I have also heard
for someone that, he did not have backfocus problem before, but has
it now after the upgrade.

I think that was a hoax.

But I'm not saying it's without risk, we have now seen one failure in Hong Kong and one in Singapore.

BTW my upgrade took a few seconds and was trivial. I have an Asian model (SN 700XXX) and used the US firmware.

lanef said:
Now, will NIKON do the upgrade without any charge?
What about in Australia?

Cheers
Jacques

clive yip said:

I am rather cheesed off today. I tried to update the new Firmware
on my D70 yesterday. The first part of the update was ok. After
updating the 2nd part and getting the DONE screen, I powered off
and on the Camera just as instruction says but the camera seems to
have hanged with the message “ PC ????" (forgot the last part
of the message) displayed on the top LCD. I tried powering the
camera on and off a number of times without success. Next I tried
removing and inserting the battery. This action got rid of the LCD
message but the camera was totally dead.

This morning I took the Camera to the Hong Kong Nikon Dealer ( as
instructed on the web page if something goes wrong ) and explained
the situation to them. Their conclusion is I did something wrong
and shorted a circuit board. They will find out which board need
replacing and I have to pay for the parts as THIS IS NOT COVERED BY
THE WARENTY. They also said I should have taken the Camera to them
for the firmware upgrade. Thinking about it I should have just said
I don’t know what happen and let them sort the problem out.
Anyway, what I don’t understand is

1. Why would Nikon post the Firmware on their site for people to
download and update if it would void the warranty? Since the D70
has only been out for ½ year, any body who do the Firmware upgrade
themselves risk having the warranty void. No doubt there would be a
lot of people out there.

2. Why there was no message on the Nikon Web site warning people
that the warranty would cover any damages if they perform the
Firmware upgrade themselves.

3. The Firmware upgrade function is a legitimate part of the camera
operation, so why would it void the warranty?

4. Why Nikon did not make their camera more fool proof. Sees to me
it very easy to kill the camera.

Not sure who I can write to confirm in writing about the warranty
issue. Maybe Nikon Japan or to the CEO of Nikon Hong Kong.

My message to everyone is DON’T UPDATE THE FIRMWARE YOURSELF,
especially with warranty. Sod’s law states “ If
something can go wrong will go wrong”. Let Nikon break the
camera. You can then give they a good telling off and let them fix
it.

Click to expand...

Henry Goh · Jun 30, 2004

that dinner is ready so I'll take a raincheck on this ;O))

How shooting these days?

Henry

--

http://www.pbase.com/henry_h_c_goh

lawnmower · Jun 30, 2004

I don't think you have been around this forum much. Henry Goh is one of the most credible people that writes on this forum. He is a professional photographer and has ties at the Taiwan Nikon plant where the D70's are manufactured. If fact dpreview posted his article, pictures, and findings on the front page on the front page of dpreview under the news section before the D70 even hit the States or anywhere else for that matter. Henry was taken on a tour at the Nikon plant. Do yourself a favor and avoid questioning Henry. I think he knows what he is talking about.

Thank you.

Skidpan said:
Henry Goh said:

I had the same problem and went to Nikon Singapore. They
immediately said that this means they have to change some board and
that it was not covered and it will cost heavily.

Click to expand...

No bad flash recovery procedure - that implies that the D70 has a
design problem. Only way to reflash is to change circuit board
with flash memory on !!! Can this be true ?

Skidpan said:

I said BS.

Click to expand...

I agree. Firmware upgrade is trivial procedure if you follow the
steps.

Skidpan said:

They took the camera in and I will wait to hear from them. If it
turns out they want to charge me for this, I'm going to make sure
they pay heavily.

To start with, when a camera needs 2 firmware upgrade in less than
6 months, it is faulty.

Click to expand...

I don't necessarily agree with that. After all, the camera is
really just a complex little computer. After all, you have to
upgrade WinXP all the time. But upgrading the D70 should be a
simple failsafe procedure. If it isn't, then it is poorly designed.

Skidpan said:

Last month I was happy with their service and I posted to tell
everyone how good they were. Well, if they think after I have
spent so much time promoting the D70 because I felt it was good
from since 26th February and now stick this in me, they are going
to also know I can bad mouth them as nastily.

I sure hope Nikon get the act together and learn something about
technology products. They better don't assume that their software
is so perfect that anything failure in upgrading means it is caused
by the user. Furthermore, they had better learnt that they cannot
hide behind some legal clause on their web site and disclaim
responsibilty.

Let's see what teratment I get from Nikon Singapore.

cc this post to Nikon Singapore.

Henry Goh

Click to expand...

JordyB · Jun 30, 2004

lanef said:
Thanks for sharing the upgrade problem, I feel quite apprehensive
to upgrade mine now as the camera works fine. I have also heard
for someone that, he did not have backfocus problem before, but has
it now after the upgrade.

Now, will NIKON do the upgrade without any charge?
What about in Australia?

Cheers
Jacques

That is almost imposible for the camera to not have backfocus before and then have backfocus after the upgrade, as the fix for backfocus is a manual adjustment inside the camera...dosnt make much sense to me...

--
JordyB

Skidpan · Jun 30, 2004

I know about Henry, and I'm supporting him, not criticising him !

All I'm saying, and I stand by that, is that two firmware changes doesn't mean that it's a bad camera, it just means that Nikon is very attentive to fixing little bugs.

And I will state categorically that if the design of the D70 is so poor that it requires a board change in the event of a failed firmware update then it has a MAJOR design problem. I think that Henry agrees with that.

I don't think that I've said anything that affects Henry's credibility. In fact I agree with everything that he has said except the provision of firmware updates by Nikon.

And I will agree that Nikon maybe should have finalised the firmware better before release, but it hasn't been that buggy and let's face it, there was a lot of pressure to deliver.

lawnmower said:
Thank you.

Skidpan said:

Henry Goh said:

I had the same problem and went to Nikon Singapore. They
immediately said that this means they have to change some board and
that it was not covered and it will cost heavily.

Click to expand...

No bad flash recovery procedure - that implies that the D70 has a
design problem. Only way to reflash is to change circuit board
with flash memory on !!! Can this be true ?

lawnmower said:

I said BS.

Click to expand...

I agree. Firmware upgrade is trivial procedure if you follow the
steps.

lawnmower said:

They took the camera in and I will wait to hear from them. If it
turns out they want to charge me for this, I'm going to make sure
they pay heavily.

To start with, when a camera needs 2 firmware upgrade in less than
6 months, it is faulty.

Click to expand...

I don't necessarily agree with that. After all, the camera is
really just a complex little computer. After all, you have to
upgrade WinXP all the time. But upgrading the D70 should be a
simple failsafe procedure. If it isn't, then it is poorly designed.

lawnmower said:

Last month I was happy with their service and I posted to tell
everyone how good they were. Well, if they think after I have
spent so much time promoting the D70 because I felt it was good
from since 26th February and now stick this in me, they are going
to also know I can bad mouth them as nastily.

I sure hope Nikon get the act together and learn something about
technology products. They better don't assume that their software
is so perfect that anything failure in upgrading means it is caused
by the user. Furthermore, they had better learnt that they cannot
hide behind some legal clause on their web site and disclaim
responsibilty.

Let's see what teratment I get from Nikon Singapore.

cc this post to Nikon Singapore.

Henry Goh

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Skidpan · Jun 30, 2004

JordyB said:
lanef said:

Thanks for sharing the upgrade problem, I feel quite apprehensive
to upgrade mine now as the camera works fine. I have also heard
for someone that, he did not have backfocus problem before, but has
it now after the upgrade.

Click to expand...

That was a hoax.

JordyB said:
JordyB said:

Now, will NIKON do the upgrade without any charge?
What about in Australia?

Cheers
Jacques

Click to expand...

That is almost imposible for the camera to not have backfocus
before and then have backfocus after the upgrade, as the fix for
backfocus is a manual adjustment inside the camera...dosnt make
much sense to me...

The fix for MF is a manual adjustment. For AF it is mainly electronic adjustment, but can also be manual adjustment (but not necessarily).

JordyB said:
--
JordyB

lawnmower · Jun 30, 2004

I see your point.

Skidpan said:
All I'm saying, and I stand by that, is that two firmware changes
doesn't mean that it's a bad camera, it just means that Nikon is
very attentive to fixing little bugs.

And I will state categorically that if the design of the D70 is so
poor that it requires a board change in the event of a failed
firmware update then it has a MAJOR design problem. I think that
Henry agrees with that.

I don't think that I've said anything that affects Henry's
credibility. In fact I agree with everything that he has said
except the provision of firmware updates by Nikon.

And I will agree that Nikon maybe should have finalised the
firmware better before release, but it hasn't been that buggy and
let's face it, there was a lot of pressure to deliver.

lawnmower said:

Thank you.

Skidpan said:

Henry Goh said:

I had the same problem and went to Nikon Singapore. They
immediately said that this means they have to change some board and
that it was not covered and it will cost heavily.

Click to expand...

No bad flash recovery procedure - that implies that the D70 has a
design problem. Only way to reflash is to change circuit board
with flash memory on !!! Can this be true ?

Skidpan said:

I said BS.

Click to expand...

I agree. Firmware upgrade is trivial procedure if you follow the
steps.

Skidpan said:

They took the camera in and I will wait to hear from them. If it
turns out they want to charge me for this, I'm going to make sure
they pay heavily.

To start with, when a camera needs 2 firmware upgrade in less than
6 months, it is faulty.

Click to expand...

I don't necessarily agree with that. After all, the camera is
really just a complex little computer. After all, you have to
upgrade WinXP all the time. But upgrading the D70 should be a
simple failsafe procedure. If it isn't, then it is poorly designed.

Skidpan said:

Last month I was happy with their service and I posted to tell
everyone how good they were. Well, if they think after I have
spent so much time promoting the D70 because I felt it was good
from since 26th February and now stick this in me, they are going
to also know I can bad mouth them as nastily.

I sure hope Nikon get the act together and learn something about
technology products. They better don't assume that their software
is so perfect that anything failure in upgrading means it is caused
by the user. Furthermore, they had better learnt that they cannot
hide behind some legal clause on their web site and disclaim
responsibilty.

Let's see what teratment I get from Nikon Singapore.

cc this post to Nikon Singapore.

Henry Goh

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

THomasAdams · Jun 30, 2004

Hello,

The reason the board is in need of repair, is much the same as a computer motherboard bios. What happens is that for what ever reason, the flash is unsuccessful you are left with a bad bios, one that will not turn on, that would require a new EPROM to be placed in it. Now on the cpu motherboard, these are generally in sockets, although most often than not, you will find that the manufacturers DO NOT offer the EPROM’s for sale, but instead you must replace the entire board. Besides they make more money on it that way.

Back to the story at hand, I believe most computer motherboards now out have information regarding the flashing of the memory, and I am sure that the 2 different manufacturers that I have dealt with do not state that harming the bios will void warranty.

The problem is, this is Nikon and not a computer manufacturer. I agree with the above, I would raise a stink about it. IT does not state in the manual to take your camera into a warranty/repair/certified Nikon shop to upgrade the firmware. It is a USER (hence what they call it) upgrade. One that should be easy to do, following directions and one that should not under normal conditions harm the camera. This is not a normal condition, Nikon should make it right.

The other part that bothers me is that there is no program to verify that the .bin is valid, and or not corrupted due to downloading from the internet. This is another important issue. If there is just a small bit (pun intended) of information that is corrupted this could very well lead to problems in a firmware upgrade. Perhaps a feature that could be added to a program update, or a standalone program to download with each revision hereafter.

I wish you all the best of luck, and do not take no for an answer! Stand your ground, and I support you 100%!!!

Best regards,
Thomas Adams

--
http://www.280dgamingclan.com/ThomasAdams/gallery/

Henry Goh said:
I had the same problem and went to Nikon Singapore. They
immediately said that this means they have to change some board and
that it was not covered and it will cost heavily.

I said BS.

They took the camera in and I will wait to hear from them. If it
turns out they want to charge me for this, I'm going to make sure
they pay heavily.

To start with, when a camera needs 2 firmware upgrade in less than
6 months, it is faulty.

Last month I was happy with their service and I posted to tell
everyone how good they were. Well, if they think after I have
spent so much time promoting the D70 because I felt it was good
from since 26th February and now stick this in me, they are going
to also know I can bad mouth them as nastily.

I sure hope Nikon get the act together and learn something about
technology products. They better don't assume that their software
is so perfect that anything failure in upgrading means it is caused
by the user. Furthermore, they had better learnt that they cannot
hide behind some legal clause on their web site and disclaim
responsibilty.

Let's see what teratment I get from Nikon Singapore.

cc this post to Nikon Singapore.

Henry Goh

stashu72 · Jun 30, 2004

To save frustration, just do not tell them you tried to upgrade the firmware, just say it has errors. Just a thought. Stan

clive yip · Jun 30, 2004

I hope no one take this the wrong way but I feel a bit more comfortable in knowing someone also encounter a simular problem. I was having self doubts and don't know who to turn to for advice. If more people encounter the same problem then maybe it would bring to light that the Firmware can kill the camera and Nikon will take note.

I just hope the Hong Kong Nikon engineers don't take the easy route of finding which board is not working and just replacing it without finding what the problem is. They say the cost of board replacement would be around HK$1000 ( approx US$130) depending on which board they replace. Hell, the camera is only 2 months old and cost HK$8000. Thats over 10% of the cost of a new camera. This is my first Nikon system and the service I got from Nikon Hong Kong certainly leaves a bad taste in the mouth

JordyB said:
lanef said:

Thanks for sharing the upgrade problem, I feel quite apprehensive
to upgrade mine now as the camera works fine. I have also heard
for someone that, he did not have backfocus problem before, but has
it now after the upgrade.

Now, will NIKON do the upgrade without any charge?
What about in Australia?

Cheers
Jacques

Click to expand...

That is almost imposible for the camera to not have backfocus
before and then have backfocus after the upgrade, as the fix for
backfocus is a manual adjustment inside the camera...dosnt make
much sense to me...

--
JordyB

Firmware update problem not cover by warrenty

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