Sony has withdrawn the most recent firmware update for the Sony Alpha 7 IV full-frame mirrorless camera. Some users reported that firmware 6.00 made their cameras unstable and unusable.
What has Sony said?
Firmware update 6.00 for the Alpha 7 IV was released on November 25. However, within days, Sony had removed the download from its support website. The update page currently has the heading “Important Notice Regarding the ILCE-7M4 Camera Update.” It goes on to say, “We confirmed that some ILCE-7M4 cameras may not operate properly after installing the version 6.00 update. We have suspended the update while we investigate the cause.”
Sony has listed two possible faults that can occur after firmware update 6.00 was installed on the Alpha 7 IV. Some cameras began to repeatedly reboot after the update was installed, effectively making them unusable. This looks to be a serious issue, as the Sony website states, “If unstable operations such as repeated reboots occur immediately after installing the update, please contact our support center”.
Power saving mode
The second common issue with the Alpha 7 IV after the update was less serious but still frustrating. Users who were affected reported that their cameras entered power saving mode whenever the monitor was closed. This occurred regardless of the Power Save by Monitor setting on their Alpha 7 IV. Thankfully, Sony has identified a solution for this bug. However, you need to initialize all the settings on your camera to their default status. This means that you would lose any custom configurations you had previously set up on your Alpha 7 IV.
What next?
At the time of writing, Sony hasn’t given an indication of when firmware update 6.00 will be made available again. Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time that an update for the Alpha 7 IV has caused issues. Back in 2022, Sony had to withdraw firmware update 1.1 for the camera the day after it was released as it caused some cameras to stop operating properly. In addition, in 2024, firmware 7.00 for Sony’s Cinema Line FX3 camera was withdrawn after it caused some cameras to not switch on. It was around a month before that update was fixed and relaunched.
What we think
Sony isn’t alone in having issues with firmware updates, causing issues with its cameras. Over the past few years, Canon, Nikon and Ricoh have all had to withdraw new firmware after users reported problems. It’s a concerning situation for camera owners who are becoming understandably wary about updating their cameras until new firmware has been out for some time and tested in the field. Unfortunately, this means that many people miss out on new features or other bug fixes for several months or longer. Hopefully, manufacturers can improve their testing before releasing firmware updates in the future. The alternative is unhappy customers and a big bill for repairing broken cameras.
