N2 doesn't turn on

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raynerd
Posts: 5
Joined: February 16th, 2022, 3:57 pm

February 16th, 2022, 4:14 pm

I tested a couple of months ago with a Nikon Z6 and the unleashed N2 worked, now I'm trying to use a Z7 II but the leds at the beginning slowly blinked red then turned off and now no matter what I do (turn camera off/on, remove the battery, reinstall the app, etc.) the led don't turn on anymore. tried on the z6 again and same, no leds flashing on any color. Please help. Too expensive gadget to just throw in the trash
Oliver
Posts: 1127
Joined: October 9th, 2018, 4:17 pm

February 27th, 2022, 6:47 pm

Hi, Sorry, I missed this post when you wrote it.

Could you send me a video of the LED?
a slow yellow/orange pulsing is completely normal, and your app should find the device then, but a red blinking is an error with very different troubleshooting options.
Founder & CEO of Foolography, Hardware & Firmware developer.
raynerd
Posts: 5
Joined: February 16th, 2022, 3:57 pm

March 2nd, 2022, 12:56 pm

Oliver wrote:
February 27th, 2022, 6:47 pm
Hi, Sorry, I missed this post when you wrote it.

Could you send me a video of the LED?
a slow yellow/orange pulsing is completely normal, and your app should find the device then, but a red blinking is an error with very different troubleshooting options.
Hi Oliver, the 1st time I tried the led slowly blinked red, then it went off and now it doesn't turn on on any color at all, I bought this N2 for a Z6 but I also have a Z7 II and for both cameras the same: no led turning on
Oliver
Posts: 1127
Joined: October 9th, 2018, 4:17 pm

March 2nd, 2022, 4:46 pm

Could you try without the USB cable plugged into the Unleashed?
There are three possible common issues:
  • USB cable plugged into the unleashed the wrong way round (cable needs to point toward the front of the camera
  • USB cable plugged in too far - a few of our cables seem to have the pins very slightly protruding from the plug, inside the unleashed they can touch a metal part, potentially causing some issues while touching - try pulling the plug out ever so slightly.
  • Z6/7 II tries to draw too much power via USB - disable the USB Power deliver in the camera menu
Most features work without the cable, so you can test like that too, and if everything works, add the cable, with consideration of the notes above.
Founder & CEO of Foolography, Hardware & Firmware developer.
raynerd
Posts: 5
Joined: February 16th, 2022, 3:57 pm

March 3rd, 2022, 9:46 am

Hi, it didn't worked, I tried the usb power delivery thing, the cable tweaking and also tried without the cable, the led isn't turning on. The cameras seem to recognize there's some kind of remote control attached since the joystick and some other controls don't work anymore but it's like the N2 device is dead. Shared a small video of the test https://photos.app.goo.gl/wLShsjFztvaYkL1J7
Oliver
Posts: 1127
Joined: October 9th, 2018, 4:17 pm

March 3rd, 2022, 9:52 am

Hi

Thanks for the video!

It's just as I wrote:
- USB cable plugged into the unleashed the wrong way round (cable needs to point toward the front of the camera

There's a slot in the plug, and a key in the casing which should prevent you plugging it in the wrong way round, but since the casing is plastic, a little extra force when plugging it in will allow you to overcome that key. Don't worry, we did foresee this possibly happening, and made sure nothing breaks electronically, it just won't work correctly while plugged in the wrong way round.

Just unplug the cable from the Unleashed (not from the camera) rotate it by 180 degrees, so it points to the front of the camera and plug it back in. Then it should work!
Founder & CEO of Foolography, Hardware & Firmware developer.
raynerd
Posts: 5
Joined: February 16th, 2022, 3:57 pm

March 3rd, 2022, 10:18 am

Oh no, I forgot to mention in the video I just flipped the cable just in case but I had it before pointing to the front and it's the same, also keep in mind that with NO cable at all the N2 doesn't work either, No leds and desn't show up in the app discovery

Like this https://photos.app.goo.gl/1ykS8wz2hYxsit1T9
Oliver
Posts: 1127
Joined: October 9th, 2018, 4:17 pm

March 3rd, 2022, 11:42 am

Ah, sorry, I missed that part about it not working without the cable.
could you do another video without the cable?

When the cable is plugged in the wrong way round, it does the same as fully pressing the shutterbutton minus the halfpress. Sometimes this means it will trigger when you halfpress, sometimes it locks the shutterbutton (as you're seeing in the video)
It will also disable Menu, joystick and other controls on the camera (same as when you hold the shutterbutton on the camera - you also won't be able to use those controls)

One more thing this does is turn off the LED on the Unleashed - our firmware turns off the LED when you press the shutterbutton or we detect that the camera is taking a photo. This is so that the LED won't show in your picture - a small led like that can light up an entire room in a long exposure or show as a reflection when shooting through glass.

I'm not saying there's definitely nothing wrong with your Unleashed, but all your described symptoms match with the cable inserted the wrong way.


Another possibility with the same symptoms is something conductive having gotten into the socket at the top of the Unleashed - either dirt or salt water spray that could lead to corrosion which might short one of the triggering pins with a neighbouring pin, essentially causing a halfpress or full press just as above.

So, when testing without the cable: do you also have symptoms of half-press/full press?
Could you check your top LCD on the camera whether it says [r29] instead of [1.8k] (just as when you halfpress the trigger on the camera)?

If not, make sure not to press any button on the camera then wait 10 seconds or so to check if the LED comes on (there's an additional 2s delay before the LED comes on again after releasing the shutterbutton)
Founder & CEO of Foolography, Hardware & Firmware developer.
raynerd
Posts: 5
Joined: February 16th, 2022, 3:57 pm

March 3rd, 2022, 12:07 pm

without the cable it shows r15 (sometimes r14 tho) I guess this is related to the remaining space on the camera buffer, and disables shooter, menus, etc from the camera, the contacts on the usb cable input socket look clean. Attached the video

https://photos.app.goo.gl/SvATx9HG4etKJBzTA
Kurt
Posts: 1
Joined: April 30th, 2022, 12:04 pm

April 30th, 2022, 1:48 pm

Hi Oliver,

Unfortunately I'm having the same issue with the N2 on my Nikon D750. Since I've purchased it (a while ago) it's only worked once. And by "worked", I mean connected to the camera/app. This message thread was enlightening, and I followed all of the suggestions you gave above. Nothing seems to work. The unit appears dead; no LED of any color comes on at any time. With cable, without cable, inserted firmly, cable slightly pulled back.....nothing. I'm deleted and reinstalled the app without success. I've tried adjusting camera menu settings without success.

The camera does "see" the device because when I insert it the menus turn off and the shutter fires once. If I turn the camera off and then turn it back on when the device is attached the shutter fires again.

Any additional suggestions or advice you could provide would be most appreciated; I love the stated functionality of the device and want to incorporate it into some of my photography.

Kurt
Kurt
Nikon D750
Birmingham, AL
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