M9-P stopped reading all but one of my SD cards

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Clancycoop

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I know what you are thinking, "This has been discussed before! The M9 is picky when it comes to SD cards!"

But no! This is something different.

In all of my searching the web, I haven't found anyone with a similar experience as me.

Here is my tale:
Bought M9-P, used Eye-Fi Pro X2 16GB card for a month with no problems. One day, I turned on the camera and it said "Attention No SD Card" even though there definitely was a card in there.

Let me stop you here, I know that they don't recommend you use Eye-Fi cards in the M9. But it worked just fine for a month! Also, there is no physical dimension size difference in a new style Eye-Fi card so I think their recommendation is more related to it not working through the heavy metal bottom cover.

I tried other cards I have. They didn't work either. Upon Googling, I learned about the suggestion to not use Eye-Fi cards (too late). HOWEVER, I do have one memory card that works just great. An old 4GB Promaster card.

Here is where it gets weird... I have an 8GB card just like the one that works. The 8GB card doesn't work, even though its 4GB sibling does.

The Eye-Fi card and all other cards work just fine on my Mac. The cards are all fully operational. The M9-P can read an SD card, just not most of them.

My old M8 can read the Eye-Fi card and all other cards that my M9-P can't.

I have:
  • Reset the camera
  • Updated the firmware
  • Re-installed the firmware just to be sure
  • Formatted the Eye-Fi card with my M8 (the M9-P can't see it so 'Format' is greyed out.
  • A trick where you take off the bottom plate and then push the plate button in with a pin to trick the camera that the plate is back on, take the card out, then put it back in.
  • Tried a bunch of cards. So far only the one 4GB card works.
  • Formatted the card with Disk Utility on the Mac
  • Changed the folder names to various different configurations.

    UPDATED WITH RFF MEMBER SUGGESTIONS
  • Ensured that the cards are not locked.
  • Tried blowing out the slot with compressed air.
  • Tried formatting the card with sdFormatter for Mac.

So, does anybody have any ideas? I know that I could send the camera to Leica and it would probably be expensive and take forever to get it back. I use my camera professionally, and I don't have a backup. The M8 is listed here in the classifieds and will probably sell soon.

Help is appreciated!
 
Until you get this sorted out, I think you should pull the M8 ad, so that you will have a Leica that works. Just use a wider lens than you use on your M9. I use the 28mm a lot on my M8.2, and the 21mm Elmarit and 15mm CV with aux finders.
 
As I recall there was a difference in the technology of SD cards... At the time of the M8 release it recognized SD cards but not SDHC, right? SD cards were limited to 2Gb in size except some 4Gb were able to fool the system and work ok. It took a firmware update to recognize SDHC.

So... on to your issue with the idea that your M9 might have lost its ability to deal with SDHC cards, so now recognizes only the 4Gb non-SDHC cards and all 2Gb cards. Does this seem to match your situation?

In any case, it might well need a trip to a Leica service facility. You could give them a phone call and see if they have any suggestions.
 
Thank you for the suggestion. Trying that program now.

The cards are not locked. Thank you for the suggestion. I will add that to the things that I have tried.

Kwesi said:
Try using the SD Formatter to format your card first
https://www.sdcard.org/downloads/formatter_4/
Don't worry if they don't have the latest Mac os version. The latest one they have will work.

Also is there any chance all but one of your cards are locked?
Click to expand...
 
This sounds like a very plausible scenario. The 4GB card I have is quite old and I haven't used it for a long time.

I haven't ever dealt with Leica service before, I didn't know that you could just call them. For some reason I equated it to Wonka's factory. Being a moderator, you have been here a long time. What should I expect in terms of service time if they recommend sending it in.

Thank you for your help.

Doug said:
As I recall there was a difference in the technology of SD cards... At the time of the M8 release it recognized SD cards but not SDHC, right? SD cards were limited to 2Gb in size except some 4Gb were able to fool the system and work ok. It took a firmware update to recognize SDHC.

So... on to your issue with the idea that your M9 might have lost its ability to deal with SDHC cards, so now recognizes only the 4Gb non-SDHC cards and all 2Gb cards. Does this seem to match your situation?

In any case, it might well need a trip to a Leica service facility. You could give them a phone call and see if they have any suggestions.
Click to expand...
 
Hope it works. Once the "official formatting" is done format it using the m9 menu , the light version is fine, before proceeding to use the card.
Also any chane that a piece of debris got in the slot?
A blast of air only might dislodge it.
 
Neither the formatting program nor the compressed air worked. Thank you for the suggestions. I will add those to things tried in the original post.

Kwesi said:
Hope it works. Once the "official formatting" is done format it using the m9 menu , the light version is fine, before proceeding to use the card.
Also any chane that a piece of debris got in the slot?
A blast of air only might dislodge it.
Click to expand...
 
Certainly living dangerously with an Eye-Fi card in an M9. Some of the older slower cards work well. I have a recent Kingston 8 G which lost some images on my Monochrom. I have had zero problems with Lexar 4 and 8G cards and a Panasonic 16. It was the 8G Sandisk Extreme which caused me and many others problems. Every now and then I have my camera tell me there's no card in it. I will be retiring all the Kinsgton cards soon I reckon.
 
Yes apparently. When I started using them I had no idea of the 'warning' though even after hearing of it I can't fathom why it should be any different from using any other SD. I need the ability to transfer images to my phone occasionally so if I can't ever use an Eye-Fi I don't know what I will do for a digital camera. The typ 240 doesn't have built-in wifi transfer either.

I have never been burned by a Leica product before so it is extremely frustrating.

Richard G said:
Certainly living dangerously with an Eye-Fi card in an M9. Some of the older slower cards work well. I have a recent Kingston 8 G which lost some images on my Monochrom. I have had zero problems with Lexar 4 and 8G cards and a Panasonic 16. It was the 8G Sandisk Extreme which caused me and many others problems. Every now and then I have my camera tell me there's no card in it. I will be retiring all the Kinsgton cards soon I reckon.
Click to expand...
 
Not sure if this is your issue but there seems to be potential for physical damage using the X2 crds with M9 cameras.

"Eye-Fi has received reports that the Leica M9 may experience physical damage to the SD card slot after inserting and ejecting an Eye-Fi Card. An Eye-Fi Card should not be inserted into the Leica M9 because the removal of the card may render the SD card slot inoperable thereafter. This known issue is present in Eye-Fi X2 Cards."
From the Eye-Fi site.
I used Transcend and Fuji 32gb sdhc cards with M9 and M9Ps with zero issues. Oh have now switched to M240 and there seems to be a some provision for wireless cards with the rubber cover on the baseplate.
In any case if need be call Leica NJ if you are in the US. They have been very helpful to me in the past regarding quick turnaround.
 
Thank you for that. I actually read that when first researching this issue, and it about scared me half to death. I thought I had broken something inside the SD card slot

Until... I tried the 4GB card and it worked perfectly, and has continued to work for the past couple weeks. If no card worked in the camera, it would be much simpler; the card slot would be clearly toast. It is the fact that there is a card that it can in fact read which throws the whole troubleshooting process off...

Kwesi said:
Not sure if this is your issue but there seems to be potential for physical damage using the X2 crds with M9 cameras.

"Eye-Fi has received reports that the Leica M9 may experience physical damage to the SD card slot after inserting and ejecting an Eye-Fi Card. An Eye-Fi Card should not be inserted into the Leica M9 because the removal of the card may render the SD card slot inoperable thereafter. This known issue is present in Eye-Fi X2 Cards."
From the Eye-Fi site.
I used Transcend and Fuji 32gb sdhc cards with M9 and M9Ps with zero issues. Oh have now switched to M240 and there seems to be a some provision for wireless cards with the rubber cover on the baseplate.
In any case if need be call Leica NJ if you are in the US. They have been very helpful to me in the past regarding quick turnaround.
Click to expand...
 
I would send Eye-Fi a succinct email/message through the Support or Contact on their web site.

I would ask two very specific, focused questions. Please detail the nature of the physical damage you warn about regarding the M9? Is it possible the nature of the physical damage is such that some non-Eye-Fi cards can still work while other non-Eye-Fi cards can not?

I'm not convinced the fact that one of your cards still works means the card slot is not damaged.
 
I would contact Leica about a possible service to your M9. Better be sure than be sorry. The M9 is not a cheap camera after all.
I recommend that you buy new 4GB cards for future use after the M9 gets checked out. I bought 10 such cards, and I have no such problems.
 
This is a good suggestion. Thank you.

willie_901 said:
I would send Eye-Fi a succinct email/message through the Support or Contact on their web site.

I would ask two very specific, focused questions. Please detail the nature of the physical damage you warn about regarding the M9? Is it possible the nature of the physical damage is such that some non-Eye-Fi cards can still work while other non-Eye-Fi cards can not?

I'm not convinced the fact that one of your cards still works means the card slot is not damaged.
Click to expand...
 
The point is that the card is a bit thicker and will bend your contacts - making most but not all cards inoperable. New SD slot I fear....
 
The Leica M9 / M9 Titanium / M9-P is not compatible with Eye-Fi X2 Cards.
Eye-Fi has received reports that the Leica M9 may experience physical damage to the SD card slot after inserting and ejecting an Eye-Fi Card. An Eye-Fi Card should not be inserted into the Leica M9 because the removal of the card may render the SD card slot inoperable thereafter. This known issue is present in Eye-Fi X2 Cards.
The wireless range of an Eye-Fi card inserted in the Leica M8 and Leica M9 models is generally limited to less than 15 feet (5 M) due to the metal plate that covers the bottom of the camera. When using an Eye-Fi Card in these models, keep the camera as close to the wireless router or computer (if using Ad Hoc) as possible to maximize performance. This known issue is present in Eye-Fi X2 Cards.
Click to expand...

Straight from their site.

Edit: after a re read it appears you already found this. I'm sorry but it sounds like a costly repair and not an easy fix. Perhaps it would be worth it to get in the card slot with a pair of tweezers and see if you can bend the pins back down.
 
BLKRCAT said:
it would be worth it to get in the card slot with a pair of tweezers and see if you can bend the pins back down.
Click to expand...

IMO worth a try because the worst that can happen is you will further damage only the SD card slot (which is a replaceable part). An alternative approach is to make your other SD cards a little thicker by glueing some thin plastic on to them.
 
I might see if putting the SD card and something very thin like thin cardboard makes a difference. If it will then read it at least I know that the problem is.
 
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