How I solved a6700 black screen/flashing red light problem

[HelloHelloHello]

I thought I'd write up what happened to me to help others with similar predicaments.

I stupidly didn't read the instructions when I updated the firmware on my a6700.

I inserted a freshly a6700 formatted SD card with the firmware update. And proceeded to start the update process. When the screen went black for a few seconds, I thought there was an error and shut off the camera, not realizing this was part of the update process. (I think it's a dumb idea to have a black screen for the update process.)

My camera wouldn't turn on. All I'd get was a black screen and a blinking red light on the bottom left side of the camera. I tried all sorts of things for hours upon hours. None of them worked.

Here's what did work:

I erased the SD card and formatted it in exFAT format on my Mac. Then I added the firmware update. Then I inserted the card and turned the camera on. After a few minutes, the screen turned on. (I think this should be done with a full battery.)

Anyways, I thought I'd have to have my camera repaired. But it turned out to be a simple solution.

 

[Richard A]

You're very lucky. You really need to follow instructions to the letter when doing firmware updates as it is easy to 'brick' your camera if you do it incorrectly.

[Cameratose]

On 8/14/2025 at 6:34 PM, HelloHelloHello said:

 

I stupidly didn't read the instructions 

 

Agreed.

Sony's crappy firmware updates fail enough on their own, you don't need to help them along.

[Richard A]

Yes, I would always wait a week before installing just to see if anyone has problems. This is good advice for any software updates to be honest.