What to do when Rebel T3i is unresponsive?

The red battery light flashes when insert it, and the battery works my other camera, a T5I. But even with a good battery, the T3i remains unresponsive, dead, no menu, no auto-focus... as if it has no battery. The battery case terminals appear good, and look clean.

I am hoping there is some kind of software reset, or some simple fix i am missing?

tmcdanel wrote in post #17627278
The red battery light flashes when insert it, and the battery works my other camera, a T5I. But even with a good battery, the T3i remains unresponsive, dead, no menu, no auto-focus... as if it has no battery. The battery case terminals appear good, and look clean.

I am hoping there is some kind of software reset, or some simple fix i am missing?

Try jiggling/jacking the battery door and the SD card door. There are micro-switches in them that disable the camera when the door is open. Turn on the camera, jiggle the doors.

GeoKras1989 wrote in post #17627486
Try jiggling/jacking the battery door and the SD card door. There are micro-switches in them that disable the camera when the door is open. Turn on the camera, jiggle the doors.

If what GeoKras suggest doesn't work, make sure the camera is off, and remove the battery. Before putting the battery back in, turn the camera on and then hold down the shutter for about 15 seconds. Then turn the camera off and then reinsert the battery and retest. That should do a factory reset (you should have to reset date/time).

John from PA wrote in post #17627928

GeoKras1989 wrote in post #17627486
Try jiggling/jacking the battery door and the SD card door. There are micro-switches in them that disable the camera when the door is open. Turn on the camera, jiggle the doors.

If what GeoKras suggest doesn't work, make sure the camera is off, and remove the battery. Before putting the battery back in, turn the camera on and then hold down the shutter for about 15 seconds. Then turn the camera off and then reinsert the battery and retest. That should do a factory reset (you should have to reset date/time).

Thanks so much for your astute ideas, battery door & SD door. They are exactly the kind of thing i hoped i'd overlooked. And i was totally ignorant of the 15 second reset process.

I unwisely failed to mention that i use Magic Lantern in both the faulty 3Ti & the T5i, thinking it was not relevant. For people finding this thread in the future, this may be an aspect of the problem. The builds are different for 5Ti & 3Ti, and reside on the cards, but do not get routinely reloaded, to my knowledge. I am generally indifferent of what card i put in what camera.

I swapped the SD cards between the 3Ti & the 5Ti, hoping the problem would follow the card. It did not but the 3Ti woke up, repeatedly, until i swapped SD cards again. Both cards work fine in the 5Ti, but now the faulty 3Ti refuses to awaken again with any card. (Fortunately, while the 3Ti was working, i checked Magic Lantern (trash button) and it was wiped by the 15 second reset, which would indicate that Magic Lantern is not relevant to the issue.)

So my best guess is that the SD door is the culprit.
Final question, i am hoping a third party warranty is still covering it.
If not, is it realistic to pay to get it repaired?
Is there a site that people recommend?

Pennsylvania John and GeoKras, thanks again. You are the best.
terry.

Have you tried a card that doesn't have Magic Lantern on it? Since ML lives on the card, might be worth a try to use a different card.

Terry,

I'm the wrong person to ask about the feasibility of repairing a T3i. I prefer a body with a top-plate LCD and rear dial. Just personal preference.