# Tether - lose connection, why?



## Christian (Sep 5, 2021)

I tether with my R5 in Lightroom. After different time the camera loses the connection to the notebook. On the camera display is then often "Saving" and a number. I can turn off the camera, but it does not turn off. Only when I remove the tether cable, the camera can be switched off again. Then I connect it again and can connect to Lightroom again.

It's not like I shoot a lot of photos in a row and the notebook can't keep up.

Does anyone have any idea what the problem is?


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## YuengLinger (Sep 8, 2021)

First thing I'd question is the tether-cable. How long is it? Are you sure you have one rated for data and power? (Is it the one that came with the camera?) Has it been bent at a sharp angle? If you do try another cable, try a different brand, and be sure it is rated for data transfer. I got this trouble-free one from Amazon:



https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MZIPYPY/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1



From there...

Do you have EOS Utility 3 installed too? Might you be having conflicts? If you are only using LR Classic and you have EOS Utility 3 installed too, try uninstalling it to see if that eliminates the flakiness. Then try reinstalling the very latest version.

Have you tried tethering with only EOS Utility 3? Try that as well.

Otherwise, you have some troubleshooting ahead, as the R5/R6 should be tethering with the latest version of LR without issues. You might be having port issues, or OS/drivers issues...

Which OS are you using, btw? I'm using Windows 10, no problems.


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## Christian (Sep 9, 2021)

YuengLinger said:


> First thing I'd question is the tether-cable. How long is it? Are you sure you have one rated for data and power? (Is it the one that came with the camera?) Has it been bent at a sharp angle? If you do try another cable, try a different brand, and be sure it is rated for data transfer. I got this trouble-free one from Amazon:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Hi

Thank you for your feedback.

I'n using this tether cable: https://tethertools.com/product/tetherpro-usb-c-to-usb-c/

with a length of 4,6 m (181.1 inch)

I've the same issue with Utility. I tried both. 

I also have Windows 10.

Sometimes I get the message that the device gets too little power to charge it. Of course I don't want to charge the notebook or the camera via the tether cable. No idea if this still causes a problem.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Sep 9, 2021)

Christian said:


> Hi
> 
> Thank you for your feedback.
> 
> ...


The cable is the 99.9% reason for the issue. 5 meters is long and the message that pops up about too little power is a way of telling that to you. Can you use a shorter cable? I use 6 and occasionally 10 foot cables with no issue but a 15 foot USB C cable is getting long. There may be some that will work, I have a 15 foot one that I use for charging. I originally got it for tethering my EOS R. I haven't tethered my R5 with it, but I suspect that I'd see issues.



https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B078B6SBZ3/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1



The max length spec for the cable is 2 meters or 1 meter for very high speed transfer. Try a cable that is shorter. 









How Long can a USB-C cable be? | Cable Matters Blog


With the extensive capabilities and increasing prevalence of USB-C, many are now wondering, “How long can a USB-C Cable be?” That entirely depends on what you need it to do; read on to learn more.



www.cablematters.com


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## Christian (Sep 9, 2021)

Mt Spokane Photography said:


> The cable is the 99.9% reason for the issue. 5 meters is long and the message that pops up about too little power is a way of telling that to you. Can you use a shorter cable? I use 6 and occasionally 10 foot cables with no issue but a 15 foot USB C cable is getting long. There may be some that will work, I have a 15 foot one that I use for charging. I originally got it for tethering my EOS R. I haven't tethered my R5 with it, but I suspect that I'd see issues.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Thanks. I ordered now a 1,8 m (6') cable. Let's see...


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## Christian (Sep 20, 2021)

The cable lenght wasn't the issue but my notebook. I changed the notebook and the problems are gone. Strange... what I noticed is, that I never got a message "can't charge your device". I got this message each time when I used my other (much newer) notebook. So I don't know why it doesn't work with my new notebook.


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## privatebydesign (Sep 20, 2021)

The problem with long cables that are not active and outside standards is they are inconsistent. They will work on some devices and not on others for no apparent reason other than they are out of standard specs. You have found a notebook that works despite the fact you hav an out of standard. cable, your other one didn't.

The mystery is not that the newer one doesn't work, it's that the older one does work.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Sep 21, 2021)

Does your older notebook have a USB 2, 3, or 4) port? The older notebook may be USB 2 which accepts longer cables but slower speeds. The newer one might be USB 3.1 which is more sensitive to long cables but not as critical as the USB 3.2 or USB 4 version. Its very confusing. Those names like Superspeed confuse the issue. USB 3.2 and higher always use a USB C connector but now, USB 2.0, 3.0 and 3.1 can also have a USB C connector.


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