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RX100 IV battery depletes in 8 hours while switched off

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Tobers
Explorer

RX100 IV battery depletes in 8 hours while switched off

I'm wondering if anyone else has had this. My new RX100 IV depletes its battery down to zero when it's switched off. From googling I'm aware that the mkI had similar issues but not heard of anything similar for the mkIV.

 

I've tried several batteries (I have 4, 2 OEM and 2 third party) with the same results. I've also tried charging via USB to the camera and charging the batteries on an external charger. Same result.

 

The battery drains out over about 6-8 hours while the camera is definitely switched off, which is obviously wrong. I have a RX100 Mk2 which keeps it's battery for weeks with no issues. Same battery dies in the IV but is happy in the II.

 

I've removed the memory card to see if that had an impact, but the battery still drains out. Testing the voltage of a drained battery, there's 3.5v in there when the camera reports "battery exhausted" versus 4.2v in one fresh off the charger. The same batteries work fine and don't get drained out in the Mk2 I have.

 

I should add that the camera is sitting on a desk when I've been doing these drainage tests, not in a pocket or case where a button could be inadvertently pressed.

 

I'm going to send it back to Sony (cant take it back to the retailer as I bought it while on hols in the USA) but before I do though, I've decided to do a bit of investigation myself.

 

I've bought a voltage data logger from Maplin and wired up some connections to the battery + and - terminals so I can check the battery voltage while it is in the camera. The data logger checks the battery voltage every 2 seconds and records the results internally. You then plug the datalogger into a computer (USB) and download the results.

 

The first 3-hour test I did was very interesting. There's clearly something going on while the camera is switched off. I'll need to do a control test with the same battery on my mkII to eliminate any impact from the data logger that is doing the measuring.

 

RX100IV Voltage Test 1.JPG

5 REPLIES 5
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Tobers
Explorer

And here's a longer overnight test showing constant voltage depletion. I manually turned the camera on 4 times to check what was happening. Oh dear, it's a sad story. What's going on Sony?

 

RX100IV battery test 2.JPG

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Tobers
Explorer

And for completeness, here's a comparison of battery drain of my Sony RX100 mkII versus my Sony RX100 mkIV, using the same battery and measuring technique. Pretty conclusive. I now await Sony sending my repaired camera back to me.

 

RX100IV v RX100II battery test results.JPG

Hi

 

Is there any sollution for this problem ? 

The same happpens with mkIV 😞

Tombensam
New

Same is happening to my new camera

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Tobers
Explorer

The camera main circuit board needs to be replaced. There’s no DIY solution I’m afraid.