Cannot update PEN-F Firmware

[Brian_G]

My PEN-F has firmware 3.0 installed.
I note from the Olympus support site that Firmware 3.1 is available, so I decided to update.
I have downloaded Olympus Workspace and when I connect the camera to my computer, the camera switches to USB mode, with a menu that gives the options of "Storage", "MTP","Print" and "Exit" so the camera knows it's connected to the computer.
Whichever option is selected, if I press "OK" I get a "Please wait" message that never goes away, except for "Exit" which gives the message "Please remove the USB cable."
However, when I select "Camera" & "Update" from within Workspace, I get the message "Unable to detect the camera"
It would appear that the camera knows it is connected to the computer, but the computer doesn't know the camera is connected.
I cannot find any information in either the operators manual nor on-line about this situation.
In fact the manual doesn't mention anything about how to update the firmware.

Anyone got any suggestions or should I just leave it alone with firmware 3.0?

 

[SVQuant]

Can you ensure that Olympus workspace sees the images when you connect the camera in storage mode? That should eliminate any cable issues.

Storage is the right mode for firmware updates, btw. Just did this with my new to me Pen-F last week.

 

[Ross the fiddler]

Is the cable correct & not damaged? Is the USB port in the computer? What OS & level are you using?

 

[Brian_G]

Is the cable correct & not damaged? Is the USB port in the computer? What OS & level are you using?

Well I only have one USB cable because of the dedicated connector that Olympus insist on using, so I cannot try another.
I must say the camera USB connector doesn't "feel" terrribly secure, but as I said, the camera seems to know it's connected to the computer, it's the computer that cannot see the camera.
I'm using W10 and connecting to a USB3 port (which works OK with other things) on my laptop.

Can you ensure that Olympus workspace sees the images when you connect the camera in storage mode? That should eliminate any cable issues.

Storage is the right mode for firmware updates, btw. Just did this with my new to me Pen-F last week.

The camera seems to default to "Storage" when I connect it.
I haven't looked at whether Workspace can see the camera image files. I will do that.

 

[Brian_G]

Update:
I tried loading "Workspace" on my desktop computer and the results seem to be the same.
If I try to view the images on the camera I get a message that the camera is not connected, yet when I plug it into the computer, the camera sets itself to "USB" mode. It's like the USB connection is only working in one direction, so maybe I have a problem with the usb cable.
This is all becoming rather tedious, so maybe I'll leave things alone and keep the camera on Firmware 3.0.

Thanks for your help.

 

[Ross the fiddler]

Update:
I tried loading "Workspace" on my desktop computer and the results seem to be the same.
If I try to view the images on the camera I get a message that the camera is not connected, yet when I plug it into the computer, the camera sets itself to "USB" mode. It's like the USB connection is only working in one direction, so maybe I have a problem with the usb cable.
This is all becoming rather tedious, so maybe I'll leave things alone and keep the camera on Firmware 3.0.

Thanks for your help.

It is sounding like the cable might have a fault.

 

[Ross the fiddler]

There is another way to update your camera if you're keen. https://lightsnowdev.com/Olympus/

 

[MorningWalk]

My PEN-F has firmware 3.0 installed.
I note from the Olympus support site that Firmware 3.1 is available, so I decided to update.
I have downloaded Olympus Workspace and when I connect the camera to my computer, the camera switches to USB mode, with a menu that gives the options of "Storage", "MTP","Print" and "Exit" so the camera knows it's connected to the computer.
Whichever option is selected, if I press "OK" I get a "Please wait" message that never goes away, except for "Exit" which gives the message "Please remove the USB cable."
However, when I select "Camera" & "Update" from within Workspace, I get the message "Unable to detect the camera"
It would appear that the camera knows it is connected to the computer, but the computer doesn't know the camera is connected.
I cannot find any information in either the operators manual nor on-line about this situation.
In fact the manual doesn't mention anything about how to update the firmware.

Anyone got any suggestions or should I just leave it alone with firmware 3.0?

I'm not sure if you are aware of this website: https://lightsnowdev.com/Olympus/. You can update your PEN-F's firmware without connecting it to a computer, I did all the updates of my PEN-F following the instructions on that site and I never had a problem.

 

[Brian_G]

I'm not sure if you are aware of this website: https://lightsnowdev.com/Olympus/. You can update your PEN-F's firmware without connecting it to a computer, I did all the updates of my PEN-F following the instructions on that site and I never had a problem.

Thank you for the link. I will give it a look.

 

[Brian_G]

I'm not sure if you are aware of this website: https://lightsnowdev.com/Olympus/. You can update your PEN-F's firmware without connecting it to a computer, I did all the updates of my PEN-F following the instructions on that site and I never had a problem.

Thank you for the link. I will give it a look.

 

[Brian_G]

Thank you!
Updated and up and running with firmware 3.1.
That method of flashing the firmware is similar to that which I have used with Canon cameras.

I have no use for that Olympus "Workspace" software, since I already have a raw devepment program that I use for my other cameras.

Thanks again, that was very useful.

 

[MorningWalk]

Thank you!
Updated and up and running with firmware 3.1.
That method of flashing the firmware is similar to that which I have used with Canon cameras.

I have no use for that Olympus "Workspace" software, since I already have a raw devepment program that I use for my other cameras.

Thanks again, that was very useful.

I'm glad I could help you.
I never used the Olympus software (it doesn't run on the OS I use). But I do like to have the latest firmware.

 

[Brian_G]

As a follow up, I managed to find another Olympus USB cable and it behaves exactly the same way - the camera knows it's connected to the computer, but the computer doesn't recognise the camera.
Very strange.
I think if there is a fault, it's with the USB connector on the camera, since it's the same on two different computers and it's unlikely that both cables have the same problem.

 

[Ross the fiddler]

As a follow up, I managed to find another Olympus USB cable and it behaves exactly the same way - the camera knows it's connected to the computer, but the computer doesn't recognise the camera.
Very strange.
I think if there is a fault, it's with the USB connector on the camera, since it's the same on two different computers and it's unlikely that both cables have the same problem.

The socket on that camera has been around for many models & I managed to destroy one in an E520 DSLR years ago by not noticing I had pushed the plug in the wrong orientation. The centre broke & pins became squashed, bent & broken (I separated them so I could continue to use the camera without any USB use). It may be possible that one of the pins has been pushed in with your PEN-F.

 

[Brian_G]

The socket on that camera has been around for many models & I managed to destroy one in an E520 DSLR years ago by not noticing I had pushed the plug in the wrong orientation. The centre broke & pins became squashed, bent & broken (I separated them so I could continue to use the camera without any USB use). It may be possible that one of the pins has been pushed in with your PEN-F.

Thank you.
The USB connector does seem to be rather fragile and I am very careful to make sure the plug is inserted the right way round.
I will examine the camera connector carefully to see if there is any visible damage.
As I mentioned, I have successfully updated the firmware using the SD card method, so there is no immediate need for me to use the USB connector.

 

[ph.]

Hope your communication problems become solved. I have found that the USB 3 ports on my computer behave in a different way to the USB 2 port. Even if so, the quite limited firmware does not fix the major problem of the magnification frame moving around at random when using heavy manual optics. Maybe Olympus sees fit to change this in the future.

p.

 

[Brian_G]

Hope your communication problems become solved. I have found that the USB 3 ports on my computer behave in a different way to the USB 2 port. Even if so, the quite limited firmware does not fix the major problem of the magnification frame moving around at random when using heavy manual optics. Maybe Olympus sees fit to change this in the future.

p.

I dont think the USB port is the problem, since when I tried it on my desktop computer I tried both USB3 and USB2 ports.
USB3 is supposed to be backwards compatible with USB2.

I've carefully examined both the USB socket on the camera, and the plug on both the USB cables, and they appear to be undamaged.
Since the objective was to update the firmware and I have now done this, I'll now leave things alone.

 

[Matt Drown]

Turn off the "menu" for storage, gear "D", the "usb mode", set it to storage. Try again. This means it just goes immediately to storage mode when plugged in.

I had issues similar to this because it would connect/disconnect when it was in the auto/menu mode.

 

[Brian_G]

Turn off the "menu" for storage, gear "D", the "usb mode", set it to storage. Try again. This means it just goes immediately to storage mode when plugged in.

I had issues similar to this because it would connect/disconnect when it was in the auto/menu mode.

Brilliant!

That was the answer.
The program/computer now recognises the camera .
Of course, since I have updated the firmware it doesn't show any available updates.

Thank you very much, I'll leave it set to "Storage" from now on.

Yet another "feature" not covered in the manual.