Cameras stopped working during OTA firmware update
Last week 3 of my GoCams stopped responding when I attempted an OTA firmware update. I retrieved the cameras and now they will not even turn on. They are completely unresponsive. Have you heard of this before or have any suggested fixes?
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Next step is to send an email to support@spartancamera.com
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All had fresh batteries. I may have missed one or two firmware updates before this one. The old computer module made it much easier to monitor if firmware was up to date. Seems now you have to check via camera settings if firmware update is available. Not ideal. Regardless, we'll see what the tech guys say about it.
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Sorry to hear it. I will likely never attempt an OTA update again. I think I'm about 0-for-4 on getting all cameras to update successfully. And on top of that, when you find out it didn't work, your camera is dead until you can get to it. Also, I know everyone will never be happy, but what's the deal with rolling g an update out in late October or November every year? There are literally 2 months out of the year that every camera on earth is in the woods, and those are the two.
I'm a longtime loyal Spartan guy, but man, some of this stuff is irritating.
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I would advise against OTA firmware updates for GoCams, especially around hunting season. I now have five dead cameras that remain unresponsive even after retrieving them, changing batteries, downloading firmware on SD cards, following tech support suggestions, etc. Three died literally within one second of each other during OTA updates on 10/11. The fourth died nine days earlier on 10/2, also during an OTA update. (At the time I did not realize it may have been related to the update.) All four of these cameras were functioning just fine until the attempted OTA firmware update. The fifth camera died on 9/29. I do not know if this was related to a firmware update but suspect that may be the case. I am a long time Spartan customer and love Spartan GoCams. John and Elizabeth are an awesome resource and I appreciate their timely support. My experience with tech support is quite good, but they're understandably bogged down this time of year. I sent the first two cameras in for service and will send the other three tomorrow. Fingers crossed that they can be restored, and if not I am confident Spartan will make things right. Will post updates as available.
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Thanks, Elizabeth. On your suggestion, I plugged in external power this morning and the cameras seem to come to life but only briefly. I see the Spartan logo screen and then the "You Don't Have To Be There" screen and then it dies and is totally unresponsive again. I've tried this with multiple configurations of SD cards and batteries in and out, Off, Setup, and On settings, etc. but no luck. I've boxed them up and will send them in tomorrow.
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Just a quick update... Ultimately I had six cameras go down and sent them in to Spartan. Four of the cameras were able to be restored with a firmware update by Spartan. One of those also needed a repair to the on/off switch. Two of the cameras could not be repaired and I had to replace them. The warranty on them had expired but Spartan offered a reduced price on the new replacements. Overall, although I am disappointed that the issue occurred and have concerns about camera longevity, I was very satisfied with the customer support from Spartan, especially during this busy time of year. The support team sent the cameras back to me with 1 or 2 day shipping so I could get them back into the field ASAP. Nice touch and much appreciated! My lesson learned here is that I will never do another firmware update OTA and will avoid updates altogether in or around hunting season.
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I'm glad things are squared away.
Just be aware that failing to do a FW update can be a double-edged sword, especially if the update is for connectivity issues. I understand your concern, but if you don't update, you risk the cameras going down because they can't communicate.
If you have a FB account, monitor the Spartan Camera Community page. If there are problems with OTA updates, that will show up there pretty quickly. It's fine to update manually, or you can try one camera OTA before you head to where your cameras are (far enough in advance that you know the update will happen so you can either confirm that it worked or be able to fix it manually if it doesn't).
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