I have a problem with my Canon 600ex-rt flash

I have 4 of these flashes, and have been using them for over 1 year and a half with zero issues. I love them, and have been 100% reliable for me.

Until now.........I used one of the flashes on camera at party on Thursday night with zero issues the entire time.

Than I went to use the exact same flash on Friday night at another party, and it is not working.........let me explain in detail what the problem is. because it is as not simple, as it doesn't flash.

When it is in ETTL the flash does not show up in the photo. It fires, but it must not be syncing with the shutter, and firing fractions of a second too early, or too late.............This happens in all sync setting, first curtain, second curtain and high speed.......Flash fires, but no light shows up in my photo

Than when I place it in Manuel, it always fires at full power, even if it says 1/128 on the back of the flash, I am getting a full power flash in my photo.

I than used this exact flash off camera as a slave, and I am getting the same exact issue, fires but does not show in the exposure in ETTL, and only fires at full power in M. So this occurs when on camera, or in Slave mode off camera.

I have tried the flash on 2 seperate camera bodies with the same exact issue, a 5D3 and a 6D.

My other 3 600ex-rt's work without any issues at all on both camera bodies.

Has anybody heard of this problem before or experienced it themselves. I really would appreciate any help I can get. Thank you all in advance.

P.S. If I use it as a master in my hotshoe, it triggers my slaves with no problems at all.

Also to complicate things, even though I am from New Jersey, USA, and only lived 15 minutes from the Canon facility where they could have checked it out for me. I am currently in Lima, Peru for the forseeable future. So I can't just send it into a Canon service.

I really hope I am just over looking something simple to fix the issue...........a new Canon 600ex-rt flash costs almost $1,000 down here to replace it. While only about $500 back at home in the USA.

I have had the exact same issue with two out of three 550ex's. Sadly it was after Canon stopped supporting them, so they were done. It also was the motivation for me to upgrade to the 600's. That said, I think a call to Canon is in order. They usually have a blanket price to cover any needed repairs that is a fraction of the cost of a new one.

WillMass wrote in post #17113960
I have had the exact same issue with two out of three 550ex's. Sadly it was after Canon stopped supporting them, so they were done. It also was the motivation for me to upgrade to the 600's. That said, I think a call to Canon is in order. They usually have a blanket price to cover any needed repairs that is a fraction of the cost of a new one.

Thank you for responding WillMass, I appreciate it.........I'm sorry you had the same problem, and with 2 flashes!

But also glad to hear someone else is experiencing the same exact issue, and I am not the only one. It just strange it was a different model from years ago.

I will see if there is a way I can contact Canon via email, but I would not be able to get the flash to them until the next time I am in the states, and I am not sure exactly when that will be..........also I am sure it would only be a 7 day trip, and do not believe they would be be able to repair it and get back to me that fast.

This does not bode well...

PhotoMatte wrote in post #17115475
This does not bode well...

No it does not!........I emailed Canon's ''Care Center'' this morning, explaining the problem with my broken flash. They said I will get an email response tomorrow.

I purchased the flash in January 2013, so it is only a year and a half old, I hope if it needs to be sent in, they can cover it free of charge.

The behavior is very similar to the behavior of 580EXII and 580EX speedlites when they, due to miscommunication due to bad pin connections, reverted to TTL mode rather than ETTL mode.

Since it is happening on and off camera but not when acting as the command communicator, my guess is that something happened to the circuit board. Maybe the firmware, but more likely its a physical problem.

CPS, when you can get it to them will probably change a board.

dmward wrote in post #17115605
The behavior is very similar to the behavior of 580EXII and 580EX speedlites when they, due to miscommunication due to bad pin connections, reverted to TTL mode rather than ETTL mode.

Since it is happening on and off camera but not when acting as the command communicator, my guess is that something happened to the circuit board. Maybe the firmware, but more likely its a physical problem.

CPS, when you can get it to them will probably change a board.

Thanks for chiming in DMWARD..........I think you are correct, with the flash actually firing and communicating with the camera, I do not think it is a pin or communication problem......but something physically broke inside of the flash.

Again, when the flash is in Manuel On or Off camera, and I adjust the power output, you see the level on the back of the flash changing, but only fires at Full 1/1 power, as seen in the photo taken.

" .. Thanks for chiming in DMWARD..........I think you are correct, with the flash actually firing and communicating with the camera, I do not think it is a pin or communication problem......but something physically broke inside of the flash .. "

I wouldn't be completely certain of that. The disconnect can be momentary. Once in TTL, not ETTL, it won't revert, even though other comms seem to be working, without a reset.

Canon have a re-designed pin set replacement part for the 580ExII - it's also part of the reason behind the redesign of the 600 series foot / pin set. Good luck.

I am sure you know what you are doing having 4. But despite having 3 for about 2 minutes one of mine would not fire OCF, using radio mode. Neither would the green link light come on.
I can't remember exactly what was the issue, but it seemed it was not in the proper 'slave' mode.
I turned it off and on - assuming it would come back to the 'saved' setting. It did not!
But by pressing the Mode or Wireless/Linked shooting button repeatedly, though the whole loop and back to slave position, suddenly everything was perfect. And on came the green link light.
I may have removed all the batteries - sorry can not remember. ( a bit of panic set in as we had driven for 90 minutes to this location, and the model had high expectations - and as it was unusually bright I knew I needed all three units working.)

I assume it was a bit like one day the Whole Command Sat/Nav radio unit on my SL when bonkers. I stopped the car, turned it of took out the key waited 20 sec and re-started it, - fortunately all was well, and stayed well for 17,000 miles (touch wood it never happens again as its out of warranty :-0 now ). I put this down to a computer glitch, and the cure being the equivalent of a reboot of a Laptop.

Yes its a long Shot, but hope it works ( if you have not already tried it )
Oh in my case the trigger was the STE-3.

I had the same problem with a 580 EXII. It required A trip to Canon. They replaced the foot and a board.

Submariner wrote in post #17116037
I am sure you know what you are doing having 4. But despite having 3 for about 2 minutes one of mine would not fire OCF, using radio mode. Neither would the green link light come on.
I can't remember exactly what was the issue, but it seemed it was not in the proper 'slave' mode.
I turned it off and on - assuming it would come back to the 'saved' setting. It did not!
But by pressing the Mode or Wireless/Linked shooting button repeatedly, though the whole loop and back to slave position, suddenly everything was perfect. And on came the green link light.
I may have removed all the batteries - sorry can not remember. ( a bit of panic set in as we had driven for 90 minutes to this location, and the model had high expectations - and as it was unusually bright I knew I needed all three units working.)

I assume it was a bit like one day the Whole Command Sat/Nav radio unit on my SL when bonkers. I stopped the car, turned it of took out the key waited 20 sec and re-started it, - fortunately all was well, and stayed well for 17,000 miles (touch wood it never happens again as its out of warranty :-0 now ). I put this down to a computer glitch, and the cure being the equivalent of a reboot of a Laptop.

Yes its a long Shot, but hope it works ( if you have not already tried it )
Oh in my case the trigger was the STE-3.

Thank you for sharing your story!

With your previous issue, You can set the 600's in Slave mode ''Radio'' or Slave mode ''Line of sight''.......I believe you might have had your slave in infrared line of sight mode, and your commander was transmitting in radio.

I did that a couple of time by mistake when I first purchased my 600's.

How do I go about ''rebooting'' my 600's?

scorpio_e wrote in post #17116057
I had the same problem with a 580 EXII. It required A trip to Canon. They replaced the foot and a board.

Yes, Canon emailed me this morning. The technician I chatted with said he knows of no setting on the flash or camera that can cause what I am experiencing, and he is almost positive something is physically broken inside the unit.......and to send it in.

But as I wrote here, and to Canon as well, I am currently living in Peru. I am coming to visit my home in New Jersey in October, but only for a 5 day trip, than I have to return here to Peru.

It will be impossible to give them the flash, have them fix it, and get it back in 5 days before I leave again.

My only choice is to send it in, they will mail it my address there in New Jersey after they fix it (Someone lives there to receive it for me), but I will not have the flash in my hands until my next time back, which will be at least one year. I will have to buy a new 600 while I am in town. Since they are half the price at B&H, compared to $1,000 here in Peru.

An unplanned expense I was not expecting right now.

I have the same issue with my 600ex. Did Canon quote you a price for the repair?

Dustman wrote in post #17116829
Thank you for sharing your story!

With your previous issue, You can set the 600's in Slave mode ''Radio'' or Slave mode ''Line of sight''.......I believe you might have had your slave in infrared line of sight mode, and your commander was transmitting in radio.

I did that a couple of time by mistake when I first purchased my 600's.

How do I go about ''rebooting'' my 600's?

Hold the two center function buttons down for several seconds will reset your flash.

sunny_j wrote in post #17116994
I have the same issue with my 600ex. Did Canon quote you a price for the repair?

They quoted me approx. $183 + tax..........However without even looking at the flash, I have no idea how they came to that amount. It can end up being a lot more or even a lot less.

While it is cheaper than buying a new 600ex-rt flash...........It was only 18 months old, never abused or dropped. So shelling out $200 every year and half if the problem pops up again in the future, will not make me happy obviously.

But Canon only offers 12 months of warranty on all the merchandise......and I knew that going in.