Many reported issues with updating A7RIII firmware, so be aware

[Anthony1970]

Too bad that Sony does not update the same way Canon & Nikon do it. They have you load the firmware onto an SD card and then insert into the camera. It was always seamless. I had no problem with this Sony update, but I have had difficulties with other updates.

As indeed the process could be way simpler, never had in issue with upgrades with brands you mention.

Maybe Sony could ask Nikon how to since they do a lot of things together.

--
Jeff
Florida, USA
http://www.gr8photography.com

 

[Mike Stratil]

Many have suggested that Sony should switch its firmware update procedure to one based on a card. At first this sounds like a great idea.

But here is a hypothesis: suppose Sony's cameras have larger firmware that requires the availability of an external computer with much larger RAM and processing power in order to be installed? Just an idea.

 

[PWPhotography]

Usually suggestion is,

reboot your machine if necessary first

close all unnecessary applications

fully charge your battery

remove SD cards

use a good quality USB cable such as the one from OEM box

I also agree Sony FW update is tedious and nervous. Much prefer my old Canon FW update procedure that loads from CF or SD card.

--
https://www.flickr.com/photos/55485085@N04/albums
http://pwphotography.zenfolio.com

Are you serious? This is not the problem... read my post again. Of course i did all of this and i guess every one else has also who had the problem, Colby Brown included.

--
------------------
Photography for me is not about recreating what i saw through
the viewfinder but to show people the way i want to see the world
Cheers!
Richard Larssen http://www.flickr.com/photos/uberdogleg/
-------------------

Personally I have not encountered any FW update issues in my A7-series (A7r, A7II, A7r II) and A9, although I dislike this method as I said.

Another thing I learnt is that I will wait a few days or one week at least to hear if any issues from early adventurers, and also not buy new cameras/lenses until full reviews come out. One of reasons I didn't jump to A7r III right away, maybe sometime next year or even longer as it's not a big deal to me as already owned A9 as well A7r II.

--
https://www.flickr.com/photos/55485085@N04/albums
http://pwphotography.zenfolio.com

 

[fjbyrne]

Many have suggested that Sony should switch its firmware update procedure to one based on a card. At first this sounds like a great idea.

Minolta and early Sony/Minolta cameras used this mechanism and it should still exist IMO. It is asinine to require someone to own a computer with a specific operating system to update their cameras IMO. It is fine to support multiple mechanism but I think there should always be a way to update with just a memory card.

But here is a hypothesis: suppose Sony's cameras have larger firmware that requires the availability of an external computer with much larger RAM and processing power in order to be installed? Just an idea.

It's hard to say what the issue is but IMO the update mechanism just adds complexity to the situation. Sony now has computer software that it needs to keep up to date (and support older OS versions) just so you can update the firmware in your camera. My TV can update itself without a computer. My bluray player can update from a disk or over the internet without a computer. Why does my camera require a computer? Bad design IMO.

 

[SilvanBromide]

...Voila! Version 1.01.

It felt like a miracle. Camera was off and no battery when i ran the second update. I have done this like 20 times before and never had a fail"
Maybe this will not happen to you but with so many reports i think there is a problem with the updater.
Cheers

Sorry to read about your update problems. Glad it worked out in the end. Wonder if it has something to do with your OS version. You are the first I've read about problems. Update went smoothly/as nomral for me using the previous macOS Sierra. Albeit this Sony firmware update is not yet compatible with the lastest MacOS High Sierra.

Strange times.

Happy to report that the update went ahead without incident for me on the first try. Mac OS 10.12.6. All seems in order and I'm not seeing any issues with camera operability.

Odd that some have had significant trials with this update!

 

[Luis Gabriel Photography]

I did the same thing I have been doing since my NEX-6

Removed the lens and SD Card and ran the upgrade as Admin.

Flawless process for me on Windows 10.

 

[DavidB2]

Many have suggested that Sony should switch its firmware update procedure to one based on a card. At first this sounds like a great idea.

But here is a hypothesis: suppose Sony's cameras have larger firmware that requires the availability of an external computer with much larger RAM and processing power in order to be installed? Just an idea.

 

[PWPhotography]

I did the same thing I have been doing since my NEX-6

Removed the lens and SD Card and ran the upgrade as Admin.

Flawless process for me on Windows 10.

Just curiosity what's benefit of removing lens? Understand why it's better to remove SD card.

 

[SilvanBromide]

Many have suggested that Sony should switch its firmware update procedure to one based on a card. At first this sounds like a great idea.

But here is a hypothesis: suppose Sony's cameras have larger firmware that requires the availability of an external computer with much larger RAM and processing power in order to be installed? Just an idea.

 

[Luis Gabriel Photography]

I did the same thing I have been doing since my NEX-6

Removed the lens and SD Card and ran the upgrade as Admin.

Flawless process for me on Windows 10.

Just curiosity what's benefit of removing lens? Understand why it's better to remove SD card.

--
https://www.flickr.com/photos/55485085@N04/albums
http://pwphotography.zenfolio.com

More of a, "if its not broken dont fix it" thing. I have always done it that way and never had an issue so why change?

 

[Hosko]

Couldn't just swap out the ram to the massive sd card connected to the camera?

 

[sabesh]

I wrote my story on the Facebook A7RIII page and afterwards there was several reports that it had happened to a lot of other people, exactly the same way. So be aware that things can go wrong on your first try and your camera will appear dead and bricked.

Here is what i wrote on the facebook page :

Firmware update issues on Sony A7RIII?

"I have never been so frightened in my life. I just updated the firmware(Win 10 64 bit) and for the first time in my 6 year sony history it went wrong. "The update could not be completed, please remove bla bla...."
And afterwards the camera was dead, only a red light beside the C4 button was glowing.
I tried everything for about 15 minutes. taking of the lens, (memory cards was already out before the update) battery in and out. I even tried to connectagain via usb and run the update without sucess, all dead cept for the light when i plugged in usb og inserted the battery.
Then i turned off the camera and took out the battery, connected to USB and ran the update program again and the green progress bar slowly began to move. I just sat there for the 4 minutes it went on with a pulse of 200 staring at the green bar. Voila! Version 1.01.
It felt like a miracle. Camera was off and no battery when i ran the second update. I have done this like 20 times before and never had a fail"
Maybe this will not happen to you but with so many reports i think there is a problem with the updater.
Cheers

 

[Brandneutral]

Many have suggested that Sony should switch its firmware update procedure to one based on a card. At first this sounds like a great idea.

But here is a hypothesis: suppose Sony's cameras have larger firmware that requires the availability of an external computer with much larger RAM and processing power in order to be installed? Just an idea.

 

[RichardLarssen]

I wrote my story on the Facebook A7RIII page and afterwards there was several reports that it had happened to a lot of other people, exactly the same way. So be aware that things can go wrong on your first try and your camera will appear dead and bricked.

Here is what i wrote on the facebook page :

Firmware update issues on Sony A7RIII?

"I have never been so frightened in my life. I just updated the firmware(Win 10 64 bit) and for the first time in my 6 year sony history it went wrong. "The update could not be completed, please remove bla bla...."
And afterwards the camera was dead, only a red light beside the C4 button was glowing.
I tried everything for about 15 minutes. taking of the lens, (memory cards was already out before the update) battery in and out. I even tried to connectagain via usb and run the update without sucess, all dead cept for the light when i plugged in usb og inserted the battery.
Then i turned off the camera and took out the battery, connected to USB and ran the update program again and the green progress bar slowly began to move. I just sat there for the 4 minutes it went on with a pulse of 200 staring at the green bar. Voila! Version 1.01.
It felt like a miracle. Camera was off and no battery when i ran the second update. I have done this like 20 times before and never had a fail"
Maybe this will not happen to you but with so many reports i think there is a problem with the updater.
Cheers

 

[sabesh]

RichardLarssen wrote:

glad it worked out the second time for you. I guess you were nervous like i was when the first time failed big time

More like "Bummer, I'm going to waste time exchanging this at the store - They may not even have stock!"

Thanks,

 

[Brandneutral]

My update was fine and worked first time.

 

[Viramati]

Updated on my mac with no problems

 

[Nivedita]

[No message]

 

[Nivedita]

I wrote my story on the Facebook A7RIII page and afterwards there was several reports that it had happened to a lot of other people, exactly the same way. So be aware that things can go wrong on your first try and your camera will appear dead and bricked.

Here is what i wrote on the facebook page :

Firmware update issues on Sony A7RIII?

"I have never been so frightened in my life. I just updated the firmware(Win 10 64 bit) and for the first time in my 6 year sony history it went wrong. "The update could not be completed, please remove bla bla...."
And afterwards the camera was dead, only a red light beside the C4 button was glowing.
I tried everything for about 15 minutes. taking of the lens, (memory cards was already out before the update) battery in and out. I even tried to connectagain via usb and run the update without sucess, all dead cept for the light when i plugged in usb og inserted the battery.
Then i turned off the camera and took out the battery, connected to USB and ran the update program again and the green progress bar slowly began to move. I just sat there for the 4 minutes it went on with a pulse of 200 staring at the green bar. Voila! Version 1.01.
It felt like a miracle. Camera was off and no battery when i ran the second update. I have done this like 20 times before and never had a fail"
Maybe this will not happen to you but with so many reports i think there is a problem with the updater.
Cheers

--
------------------
Photography for me is not about recreating what i saw through
the viewfinder but to show people the way i want to see the world
Cheers!
Richard Larssen http://www.flickr.com/photos/uberdogleg/
-------------------

Updated with Mac. I usually use Windows 10 machine for these types of things but I was not confident based on all the comments that I read.

Updating with Mac just went fine. These updates are long - It took something like 15-20 mins for everything complete. This is not a good approach. Sony should definitely consider the updating using the SD card method (just like other camera manufacturers). Also, I think these updates are completely replacing the OS with the new one - it is surprising for a 0.01 release (1.00 to 1.01).

-Nivedita

 

[ylimehajile]

I'll admit I haven't read this entire thread. For those who HAVE upgraded is it really worth it? I'm aware of the file naming issue but beyond that...? No point is risking the brick just for a file name issue.