[bwd]

My Pentax-K3 battery died during the firmware update - Loaded a new battery but the camera is dead what should I do ????

[stevebrot]

Welcome to the Pentax Forums!

I am sorry this happened to you. Unfortunately, sympathy is the only thing I have to offer beyond suggesting that you contact Pentax support. There may be other members of this site with additional advice though conventional wisdom is that a bricked camera requires a trip to service.


Steve

[tvdtvdtvd]

Just out of curiosity, was the battery fully charged when you did the firmware update?

[davidreilly3207]

Afraid a trip to the service center is your camera's only option.

[aleonx3]

Curious how it happened because I remember the camera flash a warning when it detected the battery is low before it starts to upgrade the firmware... unfortunately, the only fix is to refresh the firmware of the camera which as other suggested, only the Pentax support center people can perform that task properly.

[AquaDome]

Was this a genuine Pentax battery, or was it an off brand?

[bwd]

Genuin and half loaded that should be good for update of f-ware, K-3 genuine Pentax battery dies after a year days the retailer on .se Glad Im using Nikon then :-)
helping my brother with hes Pentax ;-)

[bwd]

Never bye a black keyboard and use it in a dark room Sorry for all spelling misstakes I can not edit the msg?? Hope
ypu can read anyways

[jpzk]

Maybe this might help ? ...

https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/6-pentax-dslr-discussion/293262-fixed-k-3...e-attempt.html

---------- Post added 06-07-15 at 04:15 PM ----------

And please .... never forget this:

Latest K-3 Firmware Update : Software Downloads | RICOH IMAGING
•Fully charged battery (D-LI90)

*Be sure to use fully charged battery (D-LI90)
If the camera turns off during updating due to lack of battery power, the camera will become inoperable. If this happens, a charge will be made for repairs even if within the warranty period

I assume you already knew this but sometimes we seem to think that because the battery has enough "juice" for the update that all will be fine.
Sorry about your mishap!

JP

[Al_Kahollick]

Genuin and half loaded that should be good for update of f-ware

Has to be some other issue. F/W update won't start with a 1/2 loaded battery. I had 2 batteries in my K3, in the body and grip, the grip battery was just shy of full, update would not proceed until I switched camera to use the body battery, which was full.

[jpzk]

F/W update won't start with a 1/2 loaded battery

I had one mishap with my K7 a long while ago ... battery was half full and it did proceed to start the updating but stopped in the process.
Better always have the fully charged battery, no matter what.

JP

[stevebrot]

Genuin and half loaded that should be good for update of f-ware, K-3 genuine Pentax battery dies after a year days the retailer on .se Glad Im using Nikon then :-)
helping my brother with hes Pentax ;-)

For future reference, your Nikon has the same vulnerability. Always start with a fully charged, known-good battery when doing a firmware update. Do not trust the indicator on the LCD. The battery technology that drives the display presents a "perfect world" estimate at best and is not reliable. As for the Pentax battery dying after a year, the dealer is on crack. While lithium ion batteries do generally have a limited life span, three years is a reasonable expectation with a quality battery and reasonable care. FWIW, the original battery on my K10D was still going strong when I sold it last year, seven years after purchase.


Steve

[jpzk]

Genuin and half loaded that should be good for update of f-ware, K-3 genuine Pentax battery dies after a year days the retailer on .se Glad Im using Nikon then :-)
helping my brother with hes Pentax ;-)

What ???

[rawr]

Glad Im using Nikon then :-) helping my brother with hes Pentax ;-)

Nikon and Pentax work differently. Although the firmware update procedures are similar, one shouldn't assume the Nikon firmware update procedure you may be used to is identical to the Pentax firmware update procedure.

Did you follow every step of the firmware update procedure [see below], and correctly copy the firmware .BIN file to the SD card you inserted?

Updating Procedure
Provide a formatted SD memory card for the update software.
The download file is self-extracting. The following file is extracted.
•Fwdc220b.bin: This is the updated firmware.
Copy the above Firmware file [fwdc220b.bin] to the root directory in the SD card.
If your computer does not have a card slot, you can copy the firmware update file by inserting the SD card into your camera and then connecting the camera directly to your computer.
Insert the D-LI90 battery into the camera and confirm the battery is full by battery level indicator then turn the camera off.
Insert the update SD card (prepared in step 1) into the camera (slot 1) and close card cover.
Turn the camera power on while pressing the MENU button.
"Updates the camera firmware" appears in the LCD monitor.
Ver: 1.00/1.01/1.02/1.03 /1.10 / 1.11/1.20→1.21　will be displayed.
Press the four-way controller to select "Start" and press the "OK" button.
"NOW LOADING" appears on the LCD monitor and updating starts.
Please do not under any circumstances switch off the power before the update is completed.
When update is completed, the "COMPLETE" will be displayed at the left bottom of the LCD monitor, then turn the camera off.
Remove the update SD card from the camera.
*Confirm the version of firmware with above [How to check version].

[Caution]
When updating is finished, the update SD card still contains the Firmware file.
If you want to use this card to take pictures, format the card by the camera to delete firmware file first.

[Al_Kahollick]

I had one mishap with my K7 a long while ago

We're talking K-3, not K-7. Two different animals.


FWIW, My K-30 won't start a f/w update with less than a fully charged battery either.