Fujifilm Issues Urgent download warning for its own camera firmware
News | By Stephan Jukic | January 19, 2023
Fujifilm has released an urgent warning and an apology to users of its cameras today. The company’s latest firmware download through the Fujifilm app has caused many people’s cameras to completely freeze up.
Recently, a large number of Fujifilm camera owners abruptly noticed that their cameras would freeze right up after downloading Fuji’s latest recommended downloads for different camera models.
The freezing problem only happened if the firmware downloads were done through the Fujifilm app for smart devices, but this still included many users of cameras to which the firmware applies.
Previous to this, on November 29th, 2022, Fujifilm released several key firmware updates for many of its most important camera models and recommended that users download them as soon as possible to improve camera performance.
It was during the weeks that followed this recommendation that an undisclosed number of Fujifilm camera owners reported their own cameras becoming totally unresponsive after they had downloaded their respective firmware versions.
However, the problem only occurred for users who did these downloads through the Fujifilm Camera Remote app on their mobile devices. Users who did their downloads and installs through an SD card haven’t had any trouble so far.
The firmware versions and cameras affected by this odd technical glitch consist of the following:
- Firmware Ver.1.00 and Ver.1.01 for Fujifilm X-T5
- Firmware Ver. 1.70 for Fujifilm X-T4
- Firmware Ver. 4.50 for Fujifilm X-T3
- Firmware Ver.2.60 and 2.61 for Fujifilm X-S10
- Firmware Ver.1.20 for Fujifilm X-T30 II
- Firmware Ver.1.50 for Fujifilm X-T30
In its statement about the problem Fujifilm said,
“In response to the above issue, we will release the revised firmware on the firmware download page on Jan 19 2023. Therefore, we apologize for the inconvenience, but we would like to ask you to update the revised firmware.”
In other words, if you have one of these cameras and were considering a firmware update, either do it through the SD card method or wait until a day after January 19th.
Fujifilm also recommends the SD card method for now,
“When updating the firmware with the revised version, please be sure to update the firmware using an SD card according to steps below. (This phenomenon does not occur when updating firmware using an SD card.)”
You can find out which firmware versions are available for which cameras here on Fujifilm’s page for camera firmware downloads.
Fuji also has a handy video that explains the manual SD-based update process:
To install your specific firmware if you’re the owner of one of the cameras affected by this problem, follow these instructions:
- Download the latest version of your applicable firmware FOR YOUR CAMERA MODEL through your computer to a fully, freshly formatted SD card. Also make sure that your camera is fully charged.
- Place your SD card inside your camera as if you were going to use it to take photos or capture video. However, when activating the camera, press the DISP/BACK buttons at the same time. This will offer a screen that shows your current firmware.
- Press Menu/OK on this screen and select the latest firmware, which should be the one you downloaded to your SD card.
- Follow the remaining onscreen instructions and click OK to finalize your update, which should take a further 90 seconds or so.
Once you’ve done the above, turn the camera off, then turn it on again while again pressing the DISP/BACK button. Do this to make sure that it now shows that your downloaded firmware is running.
After January 19th, you might be able to avoid the above steps by taking the mobile app route, but why risk your camera’s functionality over a minor delay?
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Stephan Jukic is a technology and photography journalist and experimental photographer who spends his time living in both Canada and Mexico. He loves cross-cultural street photo exploration and creating fine art photo compositions.
