Published: October 11, 2018
Firmware Update 2.00 for Sony a7 III & a7R III includes warning that appears if a non-compliant battery is detected. A number of readers report receiving the warning when Wasabi BTR-FZ100-WP batteries were used in a7 III or a7R III cameras.
This does not appear to be just a bad batch of Wasabi BTR-FZ100-WP batteries as readers report this warning even with the latest batteries.
Given that Sony rarely issues such warnings about third-party products, I would not risk damaging your $2,000+ Sony a7 III, a7R III & a9 camera just to save a few bucks!
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89 thoughts on “Sony Issues Wasabi BTR-FZ100-WP Battery WARNING!”
Not compliant with what?
Sony cameras with their safe batteries.
What happend?? You are not serius, just saying something you cant be sure about
Yes. This is serious.
It is any report of damages cameras , or is Sony trying to protect their battery sales??
The latest firmware update 2.00 detects irregularities in certain Wasabi batteries. I’m not certain if that’s all Wasabi batteries or just certain batches
Isn’t that sweet….gosh !..
What’s the source? Thanks!
I like the Wasabi A7rii batteries. I have one of these batteries but have not used it yet. There were reports of a bad batch back in April that were replaced
I’m not aware of any issues with their generic W-batteries used in a7R II. This warning appears for their Z-battery knock-offs
Thanks Brian!
I just bought two of them and they perform perfectly. I have Wasabi BTR-FZ100-WP-02. The -02 at the end is different than the image you show above. I hope that means these are OK. I do not want to damage that A7lll. That camera is a phenomenal piece of equipment. I’m a 20 plus year Canon shooter but now I’m all Sony. My wife has one also. We both switched to Sony.
Simply update to FW 2.00 and as long as you don’t receive a warning the batteries are compliant.
Many thanks Brian.
OK. I just updated my Sony A7lll from firmware version 1.01 to version 2.00
I put in a Wasabi BTR-FZ100-WP-02 battery and snapped a coupled of photos. Then…after about a minute the following message appeared on the Sony screen on the back of the camera.
“The operation and safety of this battery cannot be guaranteed. Continue use?”
Now I don’t know what to do. Should I return the batteries? I used to get a similar message on my Canon 5D Mark lll when I used Wasabi’s but nothing ever went wrong and I used them for years without incident.
What is your advice on this Brian?
Your camera cost $2,000. Do you want to risk that? I don’t.
I don’t get it, spend a lot of money on a camera and then go cheap on its fuel (battery)?
Marketing fooey.
While Sony never endorsed using third-party batteries, they have never issued a warning before. Consider it fair warning.
What’s next? A warning saying a third party lens might damage the camera? The only thing that is going to be damaged is Sony’s profit.
You spend $2,000+ on a camera, but want to risk damage just to save a few bucks on a knock-off Chinese battery?
Couldn’t agree more Brian.
OK. My Wasabi batteries do give me the warning. So…..I’ll send them back for a refund. One thing I’ll note however is the Wasabi dual battery charger they included in my purchase simultaneously charges two native Sony batteries which means you don’t need to charge the batteries in camera. I believe the charger can be purchased for $14 dollars. Anyway…..thanks for the info Brian. Peace of mind is worth a few extra bucks.
Glad you checked it out. I appreciate knowing that it’s not just early run Wasabi batteries that are affected
Canon has had the same warning for years to dissuade buying third-party batteries.
Sony NEVER posted this warning before. It’s a real issue with certain third-party batteries. Fair Warning.
I had a similar warning tonight with a newmowa battery. The manufacturer says if you press OK the message won’t reappear. I did press OK and it hasn’t reappeared.
…and that proves what, that you aren’tt risking to get your camera bricked<<<<<?
I’m getting this warning with genuine Sony batteries in my A7III
Where did you purchase the battery? My suggestion is to return it.
Ouch, some good sellers on eBay, but unfortunately some bad. PayPal should refund charges for counterfeit merchandise.
Haha yup and I paid full price for all three fakes. Have submitted what I regard as concrete evidence to PayPal. Apparently the seller is trying to dispute this now and it’s being reviewed by PayPal now. Fingers crossed they won’t turn a blind eye to this illegal activity. Thank you, your blog post has helped me to uncover this scam. Cheers
Please report the seller. Others beware: stay off eBay for battery purchases!
It’s happening with Ravpower as well. I contacted the seller, they told me that they will replace my batteries with batch 2 which I should receive in 3 weeks. Batch 2 will supposedly solve the problem. The seller is on Amazon with 99% rating. So fingers crossed…
An update, after almost 2 months, Ravpower have figured it out and they have indeed sent me replacement batteries that are working perfectly. There is no warning message anymore and the battery percentage is showing properly. Battery life is also as good as the original.
Look at that…thanks to Sony, at least one third-party battery manufacturer is making batteries that actually conforms to camera specs.
I’ll get the same massage with original Sony battery, why???
Where did you buy it, Miki?
They are most likely counterfeit fakes. See my post above, happened to me as well. PayPal is refunding my money now.
Where did you buy them?
It seems to be all 3rd party batteries. Can confirm with Leifire and DTSE.
The warning will also flag any counterfeit batteries.
What if you replace your car battery with an aftermarket one and every time you pull up from a traffic light your windscreen view is blocked by a message saying: “the operation and safety of this battery cannot be guaranteed” – cancel/OK. Would you accept that?
I have been using third party (V-mount) batteries in my professional Sony ENG cameras for years without any issues. In fact in “broadcast land” this is common practice. The nag screen on the Sony A7 cameras is meant to discourage users from using third party batteries and boost Sony battery sales, period.
It’s more like that buzzer that comes on warning you to buckle your seatbelt. You can ignore it if you choose but you’ve been warned of the risk. Same thing here. If you’re using a battery that doesn’t comply with standards – the risk is yours.
This warning doesn’t appear for third-party batteries that comply with standards (such as V-mount)
Buckling up is for the safety of the driver rather than the car. Besides that, the buckle buzzer does not inhibit driving the car – if you’re deaf, you won’t even notice it.
NB Using bad battery in your car can also be dangerous; it can cause fire or make your car stall on a busy road. Yet no car manufacturer interferes with your choice of car battery.
Sony issued a warning on their website for counterfeit batteries (with Sony logo). That warning should have been sufficient. Sony decided however – without notifying the user – to build a nag screen into the latest firmware, affecting all – even legit – non-Sony batteries and thus reducing the functionality of the camera when using third-party batteries (the nag screen pops up almost every time the camera is switched on). If this is really all about counterfeit batteries and not about discouraging users to use third-party batteries, I think Sony’s approach is a bridge too far.
Since I purchased my A7III in May, I took more than 4000 pictures and numerous videos without any issues, using the third-party (KingMa) batteries. So I go from no issues with firmware version v1.01 to a camera with reduced functionality with firmware v2.0; I find this unacceptable and I’m considering to return the camera and ask for a refund.
My point regarding V-mount batteries is that the camera manufacturer (Sony) does not force me use their brand of batteries.
Most people would not wish to risk damaging their $2,000+ camera by using a non-compliant battery that does not meet standards. As with seat belts no one can force you to be safe.
Exactly, that’s for everyone to decide individually, not to be enforced by the manufacturer. By the way, third-party batteries are not necessarily of lesser quality than those with a Sony label.
If third-party batteries meet specs, no warning will pop up.
Total BS, my $50,000 F-150 has many high tech electronics and Ford is not telling me to buy a certain battery or my truck will become toast. Sony has a reputation of doing this kind of thing for years.
Your $50,000 F-150 runs off a standard 12-volt car battery.
However if Ford designed a custom battery specifically for the F-150 you’d be a damn idiot to use a battery that didn’t comply with the specs.
So you gotta ask yourself, “Do I feel like an idiot? Well do ya?”
And here is the complete list of batteries that meet these specs: https://bit.ly/2OBldgV (spoiler alert: it’s only the Sony battery).
I cannot blame you for not biting the hand that feeds you, Brian.
I’m not certain why anyone wouldn’t want third-party batteries to fail to meet manufacturer specs.
Hopefully the warning will push third-party manufacturers to improve their batteries to comply with manufacturer specs.
This happens with the teather tools also.
I assume you’re referring to TetherTools infinite Power Adapter. If it in fact does fail compliance, I’m absolutely certain that TetherTools will fix it so it does.
Should we wait for the fix before firmware update?
What Fix???
The battery fix for the Sony A7R iii!!!
There’s no need to wait and hope third-party manufacturers “fix” their batteries. Use the real deal now…
Sony just wants to go the Apple route and force people to only use their “overpriced” batteries. $80 for any battery is insane. It’s a great camera, but fully a $70 mark up. More often than not batteries are all assembled in the same factories just to get unique branding and pricing per company. Guess they have to protect profits but sad. It’s not like they don’t already make plenty with the $2k-$5k cameras and $1k-$4k lenses they sell.
You don’t know hat you’re talking about.
Not only does Sony assemble all their own batteries in Sony factories – but Sony developed the NP-FZ100 Rechargeable Lithium-Ion Battery. Third party manufacturers simply disassemble them and reverse-engineer.
In this instance, third party manufacturers got a few things wrong. If you want to risk your $2k-$5k camera to save $40 – that’s your choice to risk it.
As for your comparison with Apple:
Would I purchase a third-party case for my iPhone? Absolutely!
Would I replace the original battery with a third-party battery? Not in a million years…
I get a warning with a Watson battery I got free as part of deal with B&H. I just select ‘ignore’ or whatever it says & it works. Not ideal.
Why don’t we all buy Sony OEM Batteries! B&H & Adorama, can’t forget Unique, start giving out free OEM Batteries as a package deal.
Yes Indeed!!!
While no doubt there are some cheap Chinese manufactured batteries out there of questionable quality, I have used Wasabi batteries in my last 4 Sony cameras and in all of my GoPro cameras over the years and have never experienced a single issue. Save a few dollars? I have saved many hundreds of dollars considering how many I’ve purchased over the years.
Sony has never issued a warning for any other batteries since other third-party batteries meet camera specs. These don’t.
I’ve heard that Wasabi is revising the batteries so they meet compliance, but thus far they have not issued any official statement to that effect.
Wasabi replaced my batteries at no cost to me and the new batteries are working perfectly with the current firmware and no warnings in the camera.
Excellent to hear. I have not seen any official comment from Wasabi, but it’s good to know they are replacing batteries for those who ask.
RavPower has revise its battery so that there is no longer a warning with it. Newova batteries still have the warning.
I understand the issue with 3rd party batteries. I love and hate them at the same time. My experience with 3rd party batteries have been good and bad. They saved me a few bucks here and there. On the Sony A7rII it saved me about $175 bucks. That’s the good part. The bad is that one of those 3rd party batteries stopped charging and another started expanding in camera. There goes the bad. Luckily by some miracle it didn’t break my A7rII.
The reason why 3rd party batteries are skeptical is because of the parts they use internally. The places that these 3rd party batteries are made are not always reliable. I have wasabi batteries and watsons as they seem to be the best rated and honestly I would rather stick with original batteries. On my A7RIII I ended up just getting original Sony batteries because I know they work and Sony cells are regarded as some of the best in the industry.
Hey to all aftermarket Battery Subscribers!
We pay all this money for our Camera’s, why settle for less? Get genuine OEM!
Yup totally agree. Spen $90 to get genuine sony or spend $20 for 3rd party that might work and might do damage to your $2000 or $3000 camera, I would stick to original batteries.
OMG! Now Sony is issuing BS propaganda just like Canon and Nikon to keep their profit margins higher. Same old crap to scare people from buying third party batteries. Corporate greed at its finest. Don’t believe the hype people!
Nope. Some third party batteries have complied with standards – others have not. The firmware update lets you know which batteries are safe to use and which are not. It’s not corporate greed. There is a lot of R&D cost when a company actually DESIGNS a battery as Sony did with NP-FZ100.
I just updated my A7Riii to firmware version 3.10. Suddenly the third party Enegon batteries that I’ve been using for over two years are deemed ‘unsafe’ by Sony. And they did so using a firmware update. They could’ve fixed any number of problems that have been hanging around since launch, but instead they chose to add an updated battery nag. Ergh.
That warning came a few updates ago. Many third-party batteries did not comply with Sony specs. A previous update added warnings for those that don’t. Stick to batteries that comply. It’s not worth risking your expensive camera to save a few dollars on sub-par knock-off batteries.
Your battery was probably never updated to the new Sony firmware. Many 3rd Party batteries seemed to done it already so they are fine in the Sony cameras. You just need to get newer batteries with updates in it from your 3rd party brand.
Agree with Brain 100%. I went through a similar situation and in the end just bought a Sony battery. Problem solved. No more worries about a cheap battery ruining my gorgeous camera.
I was using 3rd party batteries for several months now and got the warning and was allowed to continue to use them, but since yesterday with out doing any firmware updates, the camera says I cannot use the battery and then shuts down…? WTF. I should be able to risk breaking my camera or not. But now they are not working at all. Anybody else have this problem…??
I used a Wasabi dual battery charger to charge batteries for the Sony a7 (NP-FZ50). Now, I have upgraded to the Sony a7riii. Can I use the same charger with the upgraded NP-FZ100 batteries?
No. The batteries will not fit.
It’s not just the wasabi batteries, it’s all non-Sony batteries. The warning screen is annoying how it randomly pops up, not just when the camera is first powered on. Pulling this move will alienate a lot of sony users and it’s pushing me in that direction.
Hello Douglas,
This warning is issued to protect your camera.
Sony developed Sony NP-FZ100 Rechargeable Lithium-Ion batteries in house to address battery life issues that plagued previous generation batteries.
Once a7R III was released with NP-FZ100 batteries, many third-party battery manufacturers scrambled to tear them apartr and replicate them – but most of these batteries failed to meet Sony battery compliance standards.
Since this warning was released, many third party battery manufacturers have updated their batteries to comply.
While I recommend using original Sony batteries, I know that some of you want to save a few bucks. But PLEASE do not do so with batteries that do not meet Sony battery specs.
Hi Brian
What is the current firmware update for Sony Cameras?
That’s different for every camera, Gino. if you search this site for “Firmware Update (Camera Model Name)” you should find a link. Sony only posts the current firmware.
I have an A7iii ver. 4.01 and another A7iii also ver. 4.01 that I bought from a friend so he could buy an A1 and he added a couple extra batteries. RAVPower SAVIOR SERIES Sony NP-FZ100 BATTERY PACK Model: RP-BC018 7.4V 2000mAh 14.8Wh SUNVALLEY JAPAN but MADE IN CHINA on the label.
When I went out turned on to use the warning came up on the LCD Screen. I immediately turn the camera off and took out the battery.
I have read all the naysayers or those who have ignored the warning and kept using. But let me say this Sony has circuitry on their batteries that check things. i take it seriously!!!
The new materials inside today’s rechargeable batteries are so specialized I will not even charge left alone. Back when the new type batteries came out YouTube was full of videos of batteries catching fire and also exploding, also had a fellow photographer who had his Canon battery catch fire while charging and got it out of his travel trailer just in time.
Batteries today are made with so many special rare earth materials that have to blended just right. When home I keep all my batteries IN a fireproof safe and next to a smoke alarm. Also when traveling keep in a separate container with a small but loud smoke alarm.
Everyone should be thanking Sony for the message, a battery fire is hard to put out!!!!
Just purchase a Sony OEM Battery and forget about the money you saved! Or wait for a Sony Webinar coupon code that offers 10 to 20% off.
NO PROBLEM, SONY IT IS!!
Thanks for the article and info!
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