Sony Pulls FX30/FX3 Firmware Amid Reports it Traps Them in a Boot Loop

FX30

Sony has suspended downloads of FX30 and FX3 firmware amid reports that in some cases it will cause the cameras to get trapped in a boot loop.

A boot loop is when the camera gets stuck in a loop of rebooting. The initial reports of this situation were publicized on Twitter on Thursday and shared by Sony Alpha Rumors. One video, in particular, showed the issue taking place and the problem effectively makes the FX30 inoperable.

It appears Sony immediately started investigating the issue, and this morning suspended downloads of the firmware while it investigated. While at first the situation appeared isolated, the company did manage to confirm it was possible and issued the following statement:

“It was confirmed that some updated products might not operate properly in some cases,” Sony writes. “Distribution is suspended as we are currently investigating the cause. If the issue (unstable operations such as repeating reboots or not working properly) occurs immediately after the update, please ask for repair.”

While the initial report seemed to indicate that the problem could affect both the FX3 and FX30, DPReview says that the problem was only impacting the latter camera. However, Sony doesn’t appear to be taking any chances as the most recent firmware update for the FX3 has also been suspended.

It should be noted that not all users who updated their FX3 or FX30 cameras noticed a problem, as some have said on Twitter that the update went smoothly and the cameras are “even faster” now.

Outside of the issues, these firmware updates were relatively minor. Before being pulled, they only addressed two bugs and promised some overall improved stability — so there isn’t a pressing reason for users to update while Sony figures out the problem. As DPReview notes, the updates fixed an issue where vertical video wasn’t rotating when moved onto a computer while the touch operations weren’t working in the Imaging Edge Mobile apps under certain conditions.

PetaPixel has reached out to Sony regarding the issue, but the company has yet to issue an official response outside of the warnings listed on the download pages for the FX30 and FX3 cameras.


Image credits: Sony

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