[AlwaysAl]

Had a heart stopping moment.

Going through the preamble of putting the newly acquired K-3 III into service, selecting preferred settings, etc.

Having read on the Forum of a Firmware update, thought this should be done to ensure this device is in the best position to start.

Anyway, a weird problem developed; each time the upgrade was attempted, the camera went through its timed cycle only to annouce the update had "failed". To be clear, the resident firmware had remained intact...no "bricking".

I'm a believer in updates and have successfully updated every Pentax I've ever owned. This is the first time I've encountered an issue.

To make a long story short, tried different cards, multiple formats, even tried the second slot, two cards in, grip on, grip off, different batteries, I was coming to the point of thinking the camera connection to the card for that functionality was in trouble. In somewhat of desparation mode, went into the menu and hit the reset. Turned the camera off and on and then made a final attempt and viola, it worked just like it should.

To be honest, although the functionality remained, this inability to upgrade firmware had me concerned and, dreading the idea I might have got a "Monday/Friday" version requiring a trip to the warranty shop.

So, can't explain what may have been off but it seems hitting the reset put everything back to normal. The main changes I had done to the menu system was fairly basic; selecting the RAW file format, Adobe colour space and the .dng extension. Nothing I believe would have "upset" the camera.

Thought I'd share this observation in case someone else encounters a similar problem. Looking back, probably should have hit the reset first off just for general purposes.

[Not a Number]

Working after the reset may just have been a coincidence. The updates will fail if there is not enough charge in the batteries to safely allow the upload. Resetting the camera may have turned off WiFi and Bluetooth (provided they were on) which lessened the power drain enough to allow the update.

You won't really know until the next time you update the firmware.

[AlwaysAl]

Working after the reset may just have been a coincidence. The updates will fail if there is not enough charge in the batteries to safely allow the upload. Resetting the camera may have turned off WiFi and Bluetooth (provided they were on) which lessened the power drain enough to allow the update.

You won't really know until the next time you update the firmware.

Hi Not a Number, really appreciate your input.
Knowing that battery status was critical, had been using my spare batteries while the "new" ones charged and the battery that gave me the last "failed", after pushing the reset, allowed the update. It was weird.
In hindsight, especially with the touch screen, now wondering if I touched something (or a combination thereof) unknowingly that upset the software.
So, until the next time, sitting here with fingers, toes and eyes crossed hoping it was a sefl created anomaly.
Thanks again for reading and I always feel secure knowing there's people like yourself on this site willing to help a fellow Pentaxian. It's a great group and wish more people knew it

[kypfer]

Just a thought … you weren't in a "User Mode" when you tried the update, were you?
I vaguely remember this being an issue on a previous model, but not a circumstance I've encountered.
Good luck in the future

[leekil]

If there is not enough battery to perform the update, it will not allow you to do it.

Did you try downloading the firmware update again? And you had the correct update - the K-3 III one, not the K-3 II one, for example?

[AlwaysAl]

If there is not enough battery to perform the update, it will not allow you to do it.

Did you try downloading the firmware update again? And you had the correct update - the K-3 III one, not the K-3 II one, for example?

Thaks for aksing, Yes, knew about this and was using a spare fully charged battery. Downloaded and extracted the update file serveral times and included a variety of ways to extract the "bin". Formatted the SD card in the camera and, as I have updated all of my Pentax DSLRs several times, noticed the formatted files included a couple of other folder entries not present on the earlier camera formatted cards. Tried deleting these files, leaving thse files, etc. even tried moving the a step above the root to see if that changed anything. It was only when in desparation pushed the reset button and then tried it worked (with the same battery, same formatted card and file) that had just failed a few moments before. It was weird but everything is good now and the only thing I can do is wait and see what happens wiht the next update, Hopefully only an anomaly,