I remember gearing up for an adventure-filled weekend, my GoPro charged and ready. But, as I hit the power button, all I got was a frustrating blue light flashing and the camera refusing to turn on. Have you ever faced a similar issue with your GoPro, ready to capture memories, only to be held back by a blinking light and a non-responsive device?
When a GoPro shows a blue light flashing but won’t turn on, it’s often due to a firmware issue. To fix this, remove the battery and SD card, then reinsert them after a few minutes. Connect the GoPro to a computer and use the GoPro software to update or reinstall the firmware, which should resolve the issue and get the camera working again.
Another reason for this problem could be a drained or faulty battery. Even if the battery indicator showed some charge before, it might not be sufficient to power the device. The solution is to charge the battery fully using a compatible charger. If the issue persists after a full charge, try a different battery to check if the original one is defective.
Finally, a corrupt SD card can also cause the GoPro to malfunction, indicated by a flashing blue light and failure to turn on. In this case, start by removing the SD card and try turning on the GoPro without it. If it powers up, the SD card is likely the culprit. You can attempt to fix this by formatting the SD card using a computer, or you may need to replace it with a new one if the problem continues. This should resolve the issue and allow your GoPro to operate normally.
If you intend to get enlightened about GoPro’s blue light, feel free to read this article until the end. It covers all the related information in readable sections.
GoPro Blue Light Flashing
When this scenario presents itself, you don’t need to worry. It just means the wireless function is active, and the camera isn’t currently recording anything. However, the flashing blue light can be annoying while using the camera. Furthermore, leaving it on will drain the battery rapidly and will attract your attention.
It’s wrong to assume that getting rid of the light will also turn off the wireless function. The steps below illustrate how to turn off only blue light while keeping the wireless function active.
Step 1: Launch the GoPro mobile app and enter the settings. Inside the screen, toggle the blue light on/off.
Step 2: Alternatively, find the wireless button on the camera and press and hold it for a few seconds until the blue light is off. Unfortunately, this method will also turn off the wireless function.
Step 3: In some GoPro models, instead of the wireless button, you’ll have to press and hold the settings button for about 4-5 seconds. That’ll turn off the blue light and the wireless function at the same time.
Please remember that the button’s locations will differ based on the models. Additionally, only the Hero4, Hero3, and Hero3+ models feature a blue light indicator out of the box.
GoPro Blue Light Won’t Stop Flashing
Now there can be times when your GoPro won’t stop flashing a blue light, which isn’t usual. You can try turning off the flashing blue light through the following procedures:
Step 1: Pull the batteries and insert them back. Turn on the Wi-Fi and check if the problem persists. Surprisingly, one user claims to have stopped the flashing blue light by this method.
Step 2: Try turning off the Wi-Fi in the camera’s settings. Alternatively, you should press and hold the Wi-Fi button for about 10 seconds.
Step 3: Attempt factory reset. Of course, it’ll erase the memory, so you should transfer all the data in the memory card and eject it to secure the content. To reset the camera back to factory settings, press and hold the power/mode button for about 7-10 seconds. There’s no guarantee that this will work, so save it for the last.
Step 4: Update the firmware through the mobile app.
The logic behind the last two steps is that the user might have accidentally tweaked the settings, keeping the blue light illuminated indefinitely. Firmware update and factory reset are two options that target restoring the factory settings. Hence, there’s a high chance of gaining success.
However, please note that firmware update merely updates the camera’s firmware to the latest available version. It inherits a couple of settings and resets the remaining ones. It means that a firmware update doesn’t guarantee success every time. Also, it’ll erase all your data, so you’ll have to make extra efforts to back up all the contents before proceeding.
Copyright protected content owner: ReadyToDIY.com and was initially posted on March 19, 2021.
GoPro Won’t Turn On But Blue Light Is Flashing
If your GoPro isn’t starting even after plugging the charger, then it’s probably a power-related issue. It may happen if you used incompatible batteries in the past. Alternatively, it may indicate damage received by the camera due to a faulty power cable.
Here’s what you can do to overcome this issue.
Step 1: Try charging the camera with a different power cable. Let it charge for a few minutes and see if the light goes off. Alternatively, try replacing the batteries.
Step 2: Remove the batteries, memory card, and every other accessory plugged into the camera. Let it sit for a while. The light must have gone since there’s nothing to power it up. Now insert the batteries and turn on the camera usually.
Step 3: Alternatively, try inserting the batteries and power cable at once and turn on the camera.
Step 4: Try hard reset. Press the power button for 10 seconds.
Step 5: The ultimate solution, as per the discussion, is to contact customer care.
Sometimes users install incompatible batteries, which aren’t meant for their camera. The difference in the voltage can cause permanent damage to the motherboard upon prolonged use.
Furthermore, the damaged part of the power cable may cause a minor short circuit. It can burst the IC (Integrated Circuit) and, or, other internal components, which you may never realize without a professional inspection.
Blue Light On GoPro Won’t Turn Off
It’s entirely possible that even if you turned off your GoPro camera, the blue light might be on. It indicates that the camera might be connected to a network or is ready to connect. When you’re not using the camera, you’d want to turn off the light to avoid battery drain.
Copyright article owner is ReadyToDiy.com for this article. This post was first published on March 19, 2021.
Before following the steps below, ensure that the camera is turned off and the blue light is still on. Then follow the steps below to resolve the issue:
Step 1: Press and hold the Wi-Fi button for a few seconds. The light will blink and then go off.
We did this earlier (under the GoPro Blue Light Flashing section) to turn off the wireless connection. The situation here’s different because here, we’re doing it when the camera is turned off. Earlier, we did this thing while the camera was on.
Step 2: If the above method failed, re-insert the batteries.
Step 3: Turn on the camera. Go to settings and look for something similar to turning off the Wi-Fi. Then turn off the camera and see if the problem persists.
A camera that’s switched off may still have a blue light flashing. It’s because that allows users to connect to the camera anytime remotely. But if you’re not interested in the remote connection feature, turn it off.
How To Turn Off GoPro Blue Light
The previous section targeted turning off the blue light that flashed even when the camera was off. But this situation’s different. If you want to turn off the blue light, follow the steps below.
Step 1: While the camera is on, press the info or the wireless button.
Step 2: Press it repeatedly until you reach the “select wireless control or app and RC” or something like that. You’ll see the Wi-Fi icon over there.
Step 3: Now press the shutter button to select it. You’ll notice that the Wi-Fi icon animates when the Wi-Fi is on. On the other hand, if it’s off, the icon will be static (won’t animate).
Please remember blue light doesn’t consume much power. Hence some people tend to leave it on, assuming that the battery won’t drain anytime soon. However, the blue light indicates that the network hardware embedded on the motherboard is still active. It means that it’ll consume power as well. Hence the battery will drain faster than expected.
GoPro Blinking Blue When It’s Off
While the camera is off, the blinking blue light doesn’t indicate a problem with your camera. Here’s a list of reasons why it’s blinking.
- If you tried turning off the Wi-Fi in the past and the problem persisted, that means maybe you didn’t follow the procedure correctly.
- Perhaps the camera’s settings force the Wi-Fi network to stay active, making the blue light blink even if the camera is turned off.
- There’s a high chance that you exited from the GoPro app incorrectly and didn’t disabled the Wi-Fi.
A blinking blue light indicates that the camera is ready to connect to a wireless network. Now, if you’ve left your camera turned off with a blinking blue light, it’s vulnerable to hacking attempts. In the worst-case scenario, your content in the camera may get stolen. If you’re looking for solutions, we’ve already discussed them in the above section(s).
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ReadyToDIY is the owner of this article. This post was published on March 19, 2021.
