A1 mainboard died following FW update |
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Jonas A-R ![]() Senior Member ![]() Joined: 29 December 2007 Country: Denmark Location: Denmark Status: Offline Posts: 1742 |
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Hi all,
I have made this post on dpreview describing how my a1 died following a FW update. It is in for service, and I hope to get it back soon in working order. I thought some might find it of interest and, as stated in my dpreview post, I would love to hear from others who have had similar problems. Best, Jonas Edited by Jonas A-R - 04 February 2025 at 18:28 |
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a1 20/1.8G 21/2.8 Loxia 35/1.4GM 50/1.2GM 85/1.4GM 90/2.8G Laowa 100/2.8 2:1 100/2.8GM STF 135/1.8GM 24-105/4G 100-400/4-5.6GM 200-600/5.6-6.3G 1.4x 2x TC
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addy landzaat ![]() Senior Member ![]() Joined: 22 April 2006 Country: Netherlands Location: Netherlands Status: Online Posts: 15867 |
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You mentioned repair costs in Swedish Kroner, you're not in Denmark?
I guess your camera is over two years old? It is an expensive bummer- really annoying! |
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Jonas A-R ![]() Senior Member ![]() Joined: 29 December 2007 Country: Denmark Location: Denmark Status: Offline Posts: 1742 |
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I’m in Denmark, but apparently we do not have a repair facility here. It was Sony support who facilitated contact to the Swedish company.
And yes, it is out of warranty. |
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a1 20/1.8G 21/2.8 Loxia 35/1.4GM 50/1.2GM 85/1.4GM 90/2.8G Laowa 100/2.8 2:1 100/2.8GM STF 135/1.8GM 24-105/4G 100-400/4-5.6GM 200-600/5.6-6.3G 1.4x 2x TC
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Jozioau ![]() Alpha Eyes group ![]() Joined: 13 May 2007 Country: Australia Location: Melbourne Status: Offline Posts: 10480 |
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I had a similar issue with the a1 after uploading firmware V2 when the Bluetooth and WiFi were not able to connect to smart phone Creators App nor to the Bluetooth RMT P1BT remote commander.
Fortunately the camera was within its 2 year warranty and Sony replaced the motherboard and uploaded latest firmware at no cost to me. I have recently successfully uploaded latest firmware V3 without any issues. Sorry that for you it's going to cost. |
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Jonas A-R ![]() Senior Member ![]() Joined: 29 December 2007 Country: Denmark Location: Denmark Status: Offline Posts: 1742 |
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I assume it was fw2.00 which broke your camera? Mine broke after going from 1.32 to 2.02 long after Sony retracted 2.00. Problems with the later versions are less documented and so far Sony has not acknowledged there is a problem with the fw. |
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a1 20/1.8G 21/2.8 Loxia 35/1.4GM 50/1.2GM 85/1.4GM 90/2.8G Laowa 100/2.8 2:1 100/2.8GM STF 135/1.8GM 24-105/4G 100-400/4-5.6GM 200-600/5.6-6.3G 1.4x 2x TC
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Jozioau ![]() Alpha Eyes group ![]() Joined: 13 May 2007 Country: Australia Location: Melbourne Status: Offline Posts: 10480 |
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Jonas,
All the details about the a1 firmware update to V2.0 (soon withdrawn after release), then V2.01, are in this thread: a1 firmware updated to version 2.0 then 2.01. I never uploaded V2.0, but uploaded first V1.35 then V2.01. |
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"Your first 10,000 photographs are your worst" - Henri Cartier-Bresson
My FlickrPro site |
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Jonas A-R ![]() Senior Member ![]() Joined: 29 December 2007 Country: Denmark Location: Denmark Status: Offline Posts: 1742 |
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I see, so your main board was destroyed by fw2.01 just like mine. Poor job by Sony! |
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a1 20/1.8G 21/2.8 Loxia 35/1.4GM 50/1.2GM 85/1.4GM 90/2.8G Laowa 100/2.8 2:1 100/2.8GM STF 135/1.8GM 24-105/4G 100-400/4-5.6GM 200-600/5.6-6.3G 1.4x 2x TC
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Jozioau ![]() Alpha Eyes group ![]() Joined: 13 May 2007 Country: Australia Location: Melbourne Status: Offline Posts: 10480 |
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My a1 was not 'destroyed' by V2.01 - everything worked photographically, only the Bluetooth remote would not pair as it was supposed to. I took it back to the camera shop where it hd been bought less than 2 years before, and they tried unsuccessfully to pair.
They then sent the camera with a report back to Sony and a few weeks later it was returned in 'as new' working order with the mother board having been replaced under warranty, and the latest firmware uploaded. The bluetooth remote now paired and worked. And recently I uploaded V3.0 firmware without any issues. But from what we've both seen on line the connectivity problems seemed to be a result of some bad code in V2 that ultimately required motherboard replacement. Is it worth trying to get Sony to at least come to the party with a discount or contribution to your fix? |
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"Your first 10,000 photographs are your worst" - Henri Cartier-Bresson
My FlickrPro site |
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Jonas A-R ![]() Senior Member ![]() Joined: 29 December 2007 Country: Denmark Location: Denmark Status: Offline Posts: 1742 |
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Destroyed is perhaps a bad description. However, a required replacement of the motherboard is a pretty serious damage in my opinion.
I am in contact with Sony support, but my hope is pretty low that they will acknowledge it was because of the firmware and will offer to cover some or all of the cost. |
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a1 20/1.8G 21/2.8 Loxia 35/1.4GM 50/1.2GM 85/1.4GM 90/2.8G Laowa 100/2.8 2:1 100/2.8GM STF 135/1.8GM 24-105/4G 100-400/4-5.6GM 200-600/5.6-6.3G 1.4x 2x TC
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Micholand ![]() Admin Group ![]() Knowledgebase Contributor Joined: 30 October 2005 Country: Germany Location: MUC Status: Offline Posts: 19232 |
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Posted it back then in another older thread already, the issue with the BT/WiFi hardware error surfacing after running through FW updates (especially v2.01) can be found on Sony support here and obvioulsy applies to certain batches of a1, a7sIII, a9III bodies.
Edited by Micholand - 05 February 2025 at 19:05 |
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Jonas A-R ![]() Senior Member ![]() Joined: 29 December 2007 Country: Denmark Location: Denmark Status: Offline Posts: 1742 |
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I cannot see which firmware version in the link. Are you sure it is 2.01 rather than 2.00? |
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a1 20/1.8G 21/2.8 Loxia 35/1.4GM 50/1.2GM 85/1.4GM 90/2.8G Laowa 100/2.8 2:1 100/2.8GM STF 135/1.8GM 24-105/4G 100-400/4-5.6GM 200-600/5.6-6.3G 1.4x 2x TC
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Micholand ![]() Admin Group ![]() Knowledgebase Contributor Joined: 30 October 2005 Country: Germany Location: MUC Status: Offline Posts: 19232 |
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Release date of V2.01 was 24-04-2024.
The Sony support article was updated on the same date:
It's the update to V2.0x which seems to reveal this HW error in the end, especially since V2.01 is just an increment to V2.00 and on the V2.01 FW download site this is also stated:
Unfortunately the benefits on some circuit boards seems to be a broken BT/WiFi chip like in your case ![]() ![]() Technically it would be interesting what a chip failure analysis (incl. x-ray) of such "broken" BT/WiFi units would reveal, but for sure such internals won't be disclosed to the public by Sony and in the end the customer service will just swap the complete circuit board ![]() |
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Jonas A-R ![]() Senior Member ![]() Joined: 29 December 2007 Country: Denmark Location: Denmark Status: Offline Posts: 1742 |
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That is interesting! I naively assumed they would have fixed this problem when they quickly pulled 2.00 and then made 2.01 available. |
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a1 20/1.8G 21/2.8 Loxia 35/1.4GM 50/1.2GM 85/1.4GM 90/2.8G Laowa 100/2.8 2:1 100/2.8GM STF 135/1.8GM 24-105/4G 100-400/4-5.6GM 200-600/5.6-6.3G 1.4x 2x TC
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Jonas A-R ![]() Senior Member ![]() Joined: 29 December 2007 Country: Denmark Location: Denmark Status: Offline Posts: 1742 |
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I got my camera back from repair, and so far everything seems to be in working order. It is a bit of a relief!
I am still waiting for Sony in Denmark to decide if they will cover my expense. |
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a1 20/1.8G 21/2.8 Loxia 35/1.4GM 50/1.2GM 85/1.4GM 90/2.8G Laowa 100/2.8 2:1 100/2.8GM STF 135/1.8GM 24-105/4G 100-400/4-5.6GM 200-600/5.6-6.3G 1.4x 2x TC
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