5D Mark IV won't turn on - help!

No-one?

Not nice... the 1DX had a 'common' fault with the power circuit board. By common I mean one of only things hardware wise in that model to die on many people early in the lifespan. I hope the 5dIV does not suffer the same fate. Anyway, this would be my guess at what has happened (same symptoms)...  and only a service centre will be able to fix it.

The only thing that comes to mind is trying a hard reset. I'm not sure if the 5DIV works the same way, but earlier models had a reset procedure that involved removing the main battery AND the lithium backup battery, waiting a few minutes, then replacing them. It's a long shot, but there's nothing more you can do at this point.

Andre Affleck wrote:

The only thing that comes to mind is trying a hard reset. I'm not sure if the 5DIV works the same way, but earlier models had a reset procedure that involved removing the main battery AND the lithium backup battery, waiting a few minutes, then replacing them. It's a long shot, but there's nothing more you can do at this point.

Thanks, I thought of that but I can't even locate that battery on the body. It's not placed like on the Mark II or III, and the internet doesn't seem to know either. Anyway, as pointed out by others, it's unlikely this will be fixable on my own – I'll be sending the camera back to Canon once I get back from my travels and see what's up.

AronQZ wrote:

Not nice... the 1DX had a 'common' fault with the power circuit board. By common I mean one of only things hardware wise in that model to die on many people early in the lifespan. I hope the 5dIV does not suffer the same fate. Anyway, this would be my guess at what has happened (same symptoms)... and only a service centre will be able to fix it.

Not nice no, travelling half way around the world on assignment just to have your camera die on you. I never had a single issue with the Mark II or Mark III, both of which I used in very extreme conditions for years and years. The Mark IV so far has been nothing but a disappointment, and now this. I'll be sending the camera back once I'm back from my travels and see what's up.

Same thing happened to me.  I was in the middle of shooting and it just died.  Will not power back up.  Tried new batteries, cards, etc.  Just sent it back for a replacement.

Sorry no answer here, I just signed up after having my Mk4 die in the middle of bridal prep yesterday, and finding this thread when searching for solutions. So +1 for dead Canon MKIV.

Will not turn on, all usual trouble shooting failed to resolve. Looks like it's back to Canon for this shiny new toy, disappointing, my MK2 and MK3 are going strong and the MK4 is a great camera... when it's working

Put me down as another +1 for this happening.

Middle of wedding portrait shoot - 5DIV was working perfectly, then just went blank. Won't power up, tried new batteries, memory cards, lenses, all the usual.

Have owned for 2 months. Shot around 20,000 frames.

Will contact Canon and CPS today and see what they say

Reporting that I have encountered the exact same failure as rorystorm and several others with my brand new Canon 5D Mark IV. Died suddenly while in use after taking just over 100 shots. Have tried everything to power back on but not a flicker of life.

Especially upsetting since as with rorystorm we are travelling and can’t visit a Canon service centre until late January.

I appear to be the fifth person on this forum to be afflicted with the same failure so clearly a Canon design or manufacturing fault with the Mark IV.

My 5D Mark II worked without a glitch for 7 years and I fully expected the same quality and reliability from my Mark IV.

I will not have confidence with even a replacement 5D4 and will never travel again without a backup camera.

Man, having a hard time with the same issue, TWICE.

Here's my story, and current situation...

A few months ago, my 2 month old 5D Mk IV randomly quit working while I was shooting. A buddy of mine took it a part and found no issues. We took some photos before putting it back together and the next day I sent it in to Canon for repair.

The issue was that the camera wasn't receiving power. The light didn't flicker when the battery was inserted, no sign of power.

Canon diagnosed it and said the issue was impact damage, siting a large crack in the bottom of the camera. In the photos that were taken just before the camera was packed and shipped by FedEx, there was no crack. I decided to bite the bullet and pay the $250 to get the camera fixed.

Now, two months later, I'm on day 8 of a 19 day trip in Guatemala and the camera has done the EXACT same thing. In between shots, with 50%+ battery life, the camera shut off. I tried two other fully charged batteries in the camera and nothing.

I have a wedding to shoot the day I get back an 10 shoots in that week.  I'm devastated.  Seriously considering a switch to Sony.

Can I ask if this happened with a single battery power or it happened with fully loaded battery grip on camera as well.

Re my 5D4 post of a few days ago. In attempting to resuscitate my dead camera, I have found in repeated tests that a fully charged LP-E6N battery discharges within hours while in the camera. This is with the camera power switch set to OFF, confirming there is something seriously wrong with the power circuitry (suspect power is being dissipated via a fried component). I am posting this additional information in case a Canon engineer is following this thread.

Per Sid911’s request, I am equally keen to hear from rorystorm and others regarding Canon’s diagnosis of the power-on failure. The retailer from whom I bought the camera has been trying to make contact with Canon on my behalf but they have not yet re-opened for 2017.

As for the recent comment “Oh I wouldn’t worry about it”. This pattern of sudden failures definitely IS something to worry about. The failure of my expensive new 5D4 at the start of a month long overseas trip has badly marred our holiday. Not to mention the frustration of lugging an 8kg backpack of unusable equipment as we move around – and $1000 worth of new 4K memory cards that I bought especially for my 5D4.

Do you have the GPS turned on? That can really drain these batteries fast.

Thanks for your comment Selene. The GPS on my 5D4 was set to Mode 2 before the camera died suddenly between shots. For Mode 2, page 231 of the manual states “When the power switch is set to OFF (per my previous post), the GPS function will turn off”. In any event, the camera is completely lifeless before the battery discharges. Even the red LED access lamp doesn’t flicker when the memory card cover is closed. So I am sure the abnormal and rapid draining of the battery is linked to the underlying failure of the camera electronics which is preventing turn-on. I have removed the battery from the camera as a safety precaution.

TnTNZ wrote:

Sorry no answer here, I just signed up after having my Mk4 die in the middle of bridal prep yesterday, and finding this thread when searching for solutions. So +1 for dead Canon MKIV.

Will not turn on, all usual trouble shooting failed to resolve. Looks like it's back to Canon for this shiny new toy, disappointing, my MK2 and MK3 are going strong and the MK4 is a great camera... when it's working

A further update to this. TnTNZ is my husband. Almost 8 weeks and we are still waiting. It was fast tracked to the 5 day CPS membership level, but the complication was larger than anticipated. They have worked through the issue and have now ordered a new part as a course of action. This part will take up to a couple of weeks to arrive, so we are still waiting. They have offered us an earlier model loaner body if we wish. They don't have any MK IV bodies to loan out. 
I've discussed this with my local wedding photographers collective and another member has reported the same issue.

RCW103 wrote:

Per Sid911’s request, I am equally keen to hear from rorystorm and others regarding Canon’s diagnosis of the power-on failure. The retailer from whom I bought the camera has been trying to make contact with Canon on my behalf but they have not yet re-opened for 2017.

As for the recent comment “Oh I wouldn’t worry about it”. This pattern of sudden failures definitely IS something to worry about. The failure of my expensive new 5D4 at the start of a month long overseas trip has badly marred our holiday. Not to mention the frustration of lugging an 8kg backpack of unusable equipment as we move around – and $1000 worth of new 4K memory cards that I bought especially for my 5D4.

My 5DMK4 has been back with Canon for 7 weeks now, (returned it as soon as it happened, and I've got CPS!!). They're not elaborating on what the issue is and blaming 'calibration issues' as a reason for the delay. We have no date for resolution as yet.

Two other photogs in the wedding industry in our state have had the same thing happen. Not looking like isolated incidents. It's a real shame, cause when it's working the camera is incredible.

And we're trolling?!? Good one. Cause you know, a new camera, having an issue wouldn't cause people looking for answers to come to site where a bunch of people with cameras post stuff...