New Hero5 black can't connect over USB anymore after firmware update

[Anonymous]

Hi,

I just bought today a Hero5 black.

I shot some photos and videos this afternoon, using a Sandisk Ultra 32 Gb card.

I had no problems reading the photos and videos on the Hero5 itself, and on the Capture app on my iPhone.

Then I tried to connect the Hero5 to the GoPro Desktop App, on a Windows 10 PC.

The app recognized the camera well as a Hero5 black, but indicated there were "no files to import", and that the SD card's size was "0 Gb" !

However, I could see the camera as an external device under "This PC" in Windows' file explorer. But when I tried to go into the DCIM folder, I couldn't see its contents. Maybe it was because the camera was recognized as a MTP USB device.

Then I saw that there was a firmware update available. I thought maybe this would allow the GoPro app to better recognize my brand new Hero5.

So I installed the firmware update (v 01.20) using the Capture app, but since, the Hero5 is not seen as an external device anymore !!

I tried on a PC and on a Mac, and both don't react at all anymore when I plug the Hero5 on any of their USB ports !

I did a factory reset (and passed through all the 1st time config process again), but it didn't change anything.

Also, since the update I got 2 other bugs :

- my Hero5's name disappeared : in the "About this GoPro" menu, its name is now blank (and I can't edit it, that's not possible on the Hero5).

- in the Connect menu, when I go in the "Name and password" submenu, I got an error message saying "Wi-Fi not ready, try again later".

So I cannot access to my Hero5 anymore with the Capture app on my iPhone, either.

I also installed the new Quik app, thinking maybe the Hero5 could connect to this app even if it didn't show as a USB device in Windows, but with no luck.

I thought GoPro was a synonym of quality, but I'm beginning to regret my buy !! My Hero5 has only a few hours and is already unusable !.. 

[Anonymous · Accepted solution]

Hi,

Yes, I had the 3 same symptoms, but I have news....

This morning I upgrade the firmware following the manual process, downloading the firmware in my laptop, unzip the file and instaling in the microSD and introduce in the Hero5 Black.

The upgrade was ok, but when I start the Hero5 it's seems to have the sames symptoms, the wifi doesn`t works. I made a reset connections and start to work the wifi. :)  I can pair with my iphone. The name of the gopro appears again. The hero5 keeps the original name and changes the password to connect via wifi.

After solves the wifi problem, I had test the laptop connection. When you conect the gopro to the laptop, until you don't push the mode button, the windows10 doesn't detect gopro and you can't reach via Quik Laptop. After push the mode button, you can pair without problems.

Anyway, I'll test during the next days to check that all it's ok,

Regards,

Jose

[danielr15]

@Anonymous

PLEASE, please do not use SanDisk Ultra.  This is a terrible card for GoPro cameras and causes nothing but problems.

If you can, use a recommended card https://gopro.com/help/articles/Block/microSD-Card-Considerations

I personally stray away from SanDisk in general as I have seen more issues with their cards than any other.  GoPro does recommend the SanDisk Extreme and some people say they work fine for them, I however can only recommend Samsung Pro/Pro+ and Lexar cards as they are the only cards that have given me trouble free use.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for your answer, but do you really think that the SD card could be the issue here ?

Because I still can browse my photos and even 4K videos without any problem on the camera itself.

The problem is that since the firmware update, the Hero5 is not recognized by my PC or Mac anymore, when I connect it on a USB port (but it does charge the battery, though).

But since the camera itself can read the card, one would suppose it could also be able to forward its data to a PC throught the MTP protocol.

And furthermore, 2 other problems appeared since the update : the camera lost its name, and whenever I try to use a connection option, it says the WiFi "is not ready". And I don't see what these 2 things could possibly have to do with the SD card model.

[danielr15]

@Anonymous

SD card aside (you really shouldn't be using SanDisk Ultra), you might want to run the manual update https://gopro.com/support/product-update/register-camera . During the process you will name your camera and set the wi-fi password.  Since you say the name is missing and the Wi-Fi reports being unavailable, this might correct your issue.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the idea, but the manual update requires to put the binary file of the firmware on the SD card, isn't it ?

'cause I'm not sure I've still got an adapter to read my SD card (I bought it some years ago) 

Also, my Hero5 already has the latest FW, and I don't even know if it's possible to "update" it with the same version.

Finally, this method requires to register the device, and I'm considering an exchange so I'm not sure I'll keep this camera for long after all.

Apart from that, is there some tech people from GoPro that answer questions on this forum sometimes, or is it just between users ?

Thanks

[danielr15]

@Anonymous

I'm pretty confident that a manual update is necessary and yes, the camera will take it even if already updated.  It might not solve all of your issues but it will restore your camera name and wi-fi. Registering the camera isn't really a problem.  If you do return the camera and someone else ends up with it, they will be able to register the camera without issue.

As far as GoPro tech support, you should use the Customer Service Contact page https://gopro.com/help/PKBContactus

We do get GoPro moderators on here who give advice but this is mainly a user community support forum.

Regards,

Daniel

[Anonymous]

I finally found my SD adaptor, and did a "manual" update.
Everything went well ; it ended with the check mark icon on the camera's front display.
But nothing changed; it still hasn't recovered its name, and all options in the Connect menu still end up with the "Wi-Fi not ready" message... :(
I contacted GoPro's tech support, before returning the camera back for an exchange.

[danielr15]

I'm sorry it didn't work but I'm glad you were able to get it done. It's one last thing Customer Service will have to consider. You just might need an exchange. Luckily GoPro is very good at making this happen.