# LP-E6 battery failure - Canon 6D



## AnimationTrip (Dec 11, 2012)

I just got a Canon 6D. I sold my 5D Mark II a year ago, and kept my two extra Canon LP-E6 batteries. They should work fine on the 6D, but I get zero response when I put them in the 6D. Any ideas why? (The LP-E6 battery which came with the 6D works fine). 

Perhaps related to this, I charged the older batteries first, but I never got a solid green light -- it only progressed to the fast-flashing orange light stage of the charge. Are these batteries toast, perhaps due to non-use? I'm perplexed about why they both failed like this.


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## neuroanatomist (Dec 11, 2012)

How were they stored? If they were nearly empty when you put them away for the year, they may have self-discharged beyond the recovery point. Or, if they were fully charged then exposed to heat for a whine, that can permanently damage them. The fact that they couldn't be fully charged suggests they're dead (nothing to do with the 6D).


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Dec 11, 2012)

As Neuro noted, batteries self discharge, and can reach the point where the internal electronics will not let it take a charge.
Here is some information that applies to most all lithium ion batteries.
http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/low_voltage_cut_off


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## AnimationTrip (Dec 12, 2012)

Thanks for your thoughts. They were both fully charged a year ago, and stored in a cool dry place for these past 12 months. Per that article (link), do you guys know if there is any charger that has a "wake-up feature or boost" to reactivate and charge LP-E6 batteries that have fallen asleep? It would be a shame to throw away these expensive Canon batteries.


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## dpollitt (Dec 12, 2012)

A discussion was going on at dpreview about this issue a few days ago: http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/thread/3348133

Basically the 6D does not recognize 3rd party batteries, but they still function and provide power. I have one and it works fine, just no indication on the LCD or in the menu of its status.


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## AnimationTrip (Dec 12, 2012)

Actually, these are not third party batteries -- they are authentic Canon LP-E6 batteries. The issue seems to be that they gradually discharged, the internal voltage is very low, and now the Canon charger can't "wake them up" to begin the charging process. http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/low_voltage_cut_off

Do you guys know any way to reactivate and charge LP-E6 batteries that have fallen asleep?


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## Spaca (Jan 4, 2013)

Try this instruction: http://planetmediocrity.com/2012/05/lp-e6-charging-problem-and-solution/

It helped me.


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## hemidesign (Jan 5, 2013)

I'm going thru the same freaking problem.. the instructions above didn't work because my brothers (60D) batteries and my charger (or his charger) are brand new...

I bought the new 6D and I'm trying to use the LP-E6 from my brother's 60D.. and the camera won't read the batteries at all.. the camera works, but I cannot see the full batteries bar, and the screen says "communication with canon lp-e6 battery is irregular. continue to use this battery?" .. strange because his batteries are original and new.. and both cameras by Canon website uses LP-E6!! freaking strange...

Btw, I contacted Canon CPS.. waiting for the answer.. seems to be an newer version of the LP-E6 batteries.. just ridiculous! They should change the name for LP-E7 or something...


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## hemidesign (Jan 5, 2013)

I contacted Canon.. they will investigate this stupid thing..

many people has the same problems about the 6D using older version of LP-E6.. 

http://www.dslrfilmnoob.com/2012/12/11/canon-6d-decoded-battery-issues/

the problem above, the guy was using aftermarket decoded batteries.. I'm using ORIGINAL and got the same problem!!


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Jan 5, 2013)

I've seen about 3 or maybe 4 versions of the LP-E6, but they have all worked fine in my 5D MK II, 7D, and 5D MK III cameras. I have bought all from a reputable camera dealer. There are a lot of counterfit ones around that are sold on ebay, and some have appeared from 3rd party sellers at Amazon. Even some camera stores in the UK got fooled into selling them a couple of years back. The ones Amazon sells have always been genuine. I've had 8 or 10 over the years, but having sold off my two 5D MK II's, two 7D's, and one 5D MK III, I have just two LP-E6 batteries and a 5D MK III at the moment.


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## RustyTheGeek (Jan 5, 2013)

I have one Canon LP-E6 battery that looks perfectly genuine but throws the Error Msg in the 6D. It matches pictures some reviewers have posted on Amazon that are counterfeit. So I got one fake Canon battery that looks real. I remember now that when it came, it came in a small "Canon" box. The genuine batteries come in clear plastic/cardboard packages that can hang.


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## hemidesign (Jan 5, 2013)

answer from Canon CPS:

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Thank you for contacting Canon product support regarding the battery options for your EOS 6D. I'm sorry that you're running into battery problems with some batteries.
Let me suggest that you take out the battery from the camera and clean the contact points in the camera casing, as well as on the battery itself, with a pencil eraser.

After leaving the battery and memory card out for at least 30 minutes, put them both back into the camera. It might even be a good idea to ensure that the battery is fully charged before placing it back into the camera's battery compartment. 

Also, check the problem battery and see if it matches the logo appearance and style of the good battery. There are knock-off batteries that other companies sometimes try to pass off as Canon batteries, they look identical as the Canon ones with serial code, and these knock-off are the batteries which doesn't work like the originals, and might damage the camera, which is why we suggest that you stick with the authentic Canon batteries, make sure you have bought the batteries from Canon store or any reputable Canon store reseller.
Let us know if you have any other questions, and thanks again for choosing Canon. 
Sincerely,

Nick from Canon CPS
Technical Support Representative

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So.. my brother's batteries are FAKE.. I don't know how and why... ????


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## uernst13 (Feb 2, 2013)

I have a 7D and a 60D. Since I am used to having to upgrade the battery every time I buy an upgrade for my point-and-shoot (S90, S95, S100), I was pleasantly surprised that they both used the same battery, the LP-E6. When I got my 6D, I was pleasantly surprised again when I discovered that it also uses the LP-E6. So now I have three original Canon batteries, all looking the same to me. From what I gather here, they may not be exactly the same. 

The problem that I have found is that the batteries discharge in the 6D, even when the camera is turned off. And now I am in the field, found that the battery in the camera had discharged, and can't even charge that battery (on a 220 V outlet), so once the backup battery is gone, so much for shooting. I may have made the mistake of not tracking which battery and which charger came with what camera. And of course you discover that in the field.


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## J.R. (Feb 2, 2013)

uernst13 said:


> The problem that I have found is that the batteries discharge in the 6D, even when the camera is turned off.



It happened with me when I had the GPS logging information activated on the camera. Luckily I had a spare battery and realized that I should be careful with the GPS usage.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Feb 11, 2013)

DB said:


> AnimationTrip said:
> 
> 
> > Actually, these are not third party batteries -- they are authentic Canon LP-E6 batteries. The issue seems to be that they gradually discharged, the internal voltage is very low, and now the Canon charger can't "wake them up" to begin the charging process. http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/low_voltage_cut_off
> ...


Eneloop batteries are NOT Li-on batteries and do not have a electronic circuit inside the battery that makes it impossible to charge it. It shuts it off, and no quick charger for AA batteries is going to help.
You cannot use nimh technology for li-on batteries.


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## tpatana (Feb 11, 2013)

Mt Spokane Photography said:


> DB said:
> 
> 
> > The solution: take 1 x old LP-E6 and connect 2 x pins (one into +ve and other into -ve) into the rectangular sockets. Take 2 short lengths of insulated electric cable and wrap around the pins or use dragon clips. Repeat at the other end of the cable, this time into the good/working (fully charged) LP-E6.
> ...



I've done the above mentioned method for 3.7V Li- batteries with protection circuit inside, and it worked.

I can't guarantee it'll work with LP-E6s, the protection circuit could be different, but worth the try.

However, if they were too low voltage for too long period of time, the performance is significantly reduced. You can still use them if you're able to recover them, just keep in mind that they might give you even 50% or less capacity than they used to give.

Couple notions:

-If possible, find a power supply with current limiter, and set it at nominal voltage (or just a tick over) and e.g. 500mA. Use that for 15 seconds at a time, and measure voltage in between. Limiting the current helps to prevent any accidents.

-If no such device available, use the cables as mentioned connecting to another (fresh) battery but only short durations at a time. LP-E6 should be able to give out several amps, and you don't want to keep that for long.

-It might be the protection circuit doesn't allow such raw charging method, so it might not do anything


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