Sony Camera Error Codes and Warnings: What Sony Says to Do

When your Sony camera shows an error code or warning, the meaning and the fix you can trust come from the Help Guide for your exact model, so write the message down word for word and look it up there. This guide covers the warning messages Sony documents for the a6400, what Sony tells you to do about each, and a safe order of checks for any code on the a6400, ZV-E10, a6700 or a7 IV that will not clear.

A straight answer about the numbered codes

If you searched for a specific numbered code, such as one starting with C or E, this article will not hand you a meaning for it. Sony's page that decodes those numbers was not among the sources this guide was written from, and a guessed meaning for an error code can send you down the wrong fix or into an unnecessary repair. What follows sticks to what Sony's own Help Guide pages and named reviews actually say.

That still covers the problems new owners hit most: cards the camera refuses, the shutter that will not fire, lens messages, folder limits, Wi-Fi refusals and power behavior. For a numbered code, use the lookup steps and the check order further down.

Start with the Help Guide for your exact model

Sony publishes a separate online Help Guide for each camera, filed under the model number printed on the body rather than the marketing name. There is one for the ILCE-6400, a separate one for the ILCE-6400A, one for the ILCE-6700 and one for the ILCE-7M4. Check the label on your camera before you read anything, because two guides for closely related models can still differ.

Version matters too. The a7 IV Help Guide warns that displayed contents may vary depending on the camera's firmware version. Both the a6400 and a7 IV guides also say the screens shown are guidelines and may differ from the actual display. So if your screen does not match a picture online word for word, that alone does not mean something is wrong.

Before you power the camera off, write down or photograph the exact message. Many codes vanish after a restart, and you will need the precise wording if you end up talking to Sony support.

Warning messages Sony lists for the a6400

The a6400 Help Guide has a Warning messages page. These are the entries in the research for this guide, with Sony's explanation and fix.

Situation	What Sony says is happening	What Sony says to do
Card was formatted on a computer	The file format on the card was modified	Select [Enter] and format the card; all previous data is erased; if the message still appears, change the card
No card in the camera	The shutter can be released without a card only if a setting allows it	Set [Release w/o Card] to [Enable]; images will not be saved
Power zoom lens retracted	The retractable lens with power zoom is retracted	Turn off the product, eject the battery pack, then reinsert it
Folder limit reached	A folder on the card has the first three digits "999"	The camera cannot create any more folders

The card was formatted on a computer

To format a card means wiping it and building a fresh file structure. Sony's a6400 guide says a card formatted on a computer can carry a modified file format, and the fix is to format it again in the camera. Sony notes the card is usable again afterward, but all previous data on it is erased, and the format may take some time. If the message still appears after that, Sony's advice is to change the memory card.

Copy anything you want to keep off the card on a computer first. After that, make in-camera formatting your habit for every card you use in this camera.

The shutter fires but nothing is saved

This one catches people out the other way round. With [Release w/o Card] set to [Enable], the a6400 will take a picture with no card inserted, and Sony states that images will not be saved. If you borrowed a camera or reset settings and came home with nothing, check this setting and look in the card slot.

The folder number reached 999

The a6400 guide says that once a folder on the card has the first three digits "999," the camera cannot create more folders. Back up the card, then format it in the camera so the numbering starts clean.

Memory card trouble on any model

Card problems cause a large share of the errors new owners see, and many of them are about the card type rather than a fault. Digital Camera World lists the a6400's single slot as taking Memory Stick Pro Duo, SD, SDHC and SDXC cards, at UHS-I speed. A faster card class than the slot supports will still work, but it will not write any faster than the slot allows.

Slow saving can look like a frozen camera. Imaging Resource found the a6400 is not fast to save images, and after a burst of full-resolution RAW photos you should expect to wait before you can cleanly browse them in Playback. If the camera seems stuck right after a burst, let it finish writing before you pull the card or the battery.

For picking a card that keeps up with each video mode on the a6700 and ZV-E10, see Best SD Card for Sony a6700, ZV-E10 and FX30 by Video Mode.

Lens messages and contact errors

The only lens-specific message in the research here is the a6400 warning for a retracted power zoom lens, where Sony's fix is to turn the camera off, eject the battery and reinsert it. That is worth knowing because the 16-50mm power zoom is the kit lens sold with the a6400.

For any other lens message, a careful sequence costs nothing. Turn the camera off, remove the lens, look at the gold contacts on both the lens and the mount for dirt or debris, then remount the lens until it clicks fully into place. If the message follows one lens to every body, or appears with every lens on one body, that tells you where the problem lives. Do not scrub contacts with anything abrasive, and stop if any contact looks bent or damaged.

"Camera Error. Turn the power off then on"

The exact wording and Sony's specific advice for this message were not in the sources for this guide, so take the message at its word first. Turn the camera off and back on. If it returns, turn the camera off, take the battery out, wait a moment, and put it back in, then remove and reseat the card and the lens one at a time so you can tell which change cleared it. Record the full message each time it appears.

Overheating warnings

The research for this guide does not include Sony's overheating guidance or temperature limits for these four cameras, so nothing here should be read as Sony's figures. Look up the temperature warning in your model's Help Guide. Until then, the sensible response is the obvious one: stop recording, turn the camera off, and move it out of direct sun to cool before you try again.

Power and battery behavior

A drained battery can produce odd behavior that looks like a fault. The a6400 runs on the NP-FW50 rechargeable battery and ships with one battery, an AC/USB adapter and a Micro USB cable for in-camera charging. Imaging Resource strongly recommends buying an additional battery or two for longer outings. Its reviewer also found battery life pretty sub-par if you shoot video or do not turn the camera off between shots.

Before chasing an error, try a fully charged battery. It is the cheapest test you can run.

Wi-Fi "errors" on the a6700

Sometimes a connection failure is a firmware rule, not a fault. Sony's a6700 Help Guide states that with firmware Ver.2.00 or later, wireless connections using WEP or WPA are not supported. If the camera will not join an older router or hotspot, check that network's security type before anything else. For the rest of the a6700's setup, see Sony A6700 Setup Guide for Photo and Video Beginners.

A safe order of checks for any code

1. Write down or photograph the exact message or code.
2. Find the Help Guide that matches the model number on your camera's label, and check its warning or troubleshooting pages.
3. Turn the camera off and on.
4. Take the battery out, reinsert it, and try a fully charged battery.
5. Remove the card, back up anything you need on a computer, and format it in the camera.
6. Try a different card.
7. Remove the lens, check the contacts, and remount it. Try a second lens if you have one.
8. Check that your firmware is current using Sony's support site for your model.

Change one thing at a time. If the code disappears, you know which part caused it, and that matters if it comes back.

When it is time for a repair

Some problems are not yours to fix. Contact Sony support when the same code returns after every step in the list above, when it appears with different cards, batteries and lenses, or when it follows a drop, water exposure or a lens that will not seat properly. Stop forcing a lens that resists mounting or a zoom that grinds. Give support the exact code, your model number, your firmware version, and what you already tried, so the conversation starts from the right place.

If your camera is still under warranty, do not open it or attempt internal fixes yourself.

The cameras this guide covers

Digital Camera World describes the ZV-E10 as sharing the a6400's technology, with only the external design different. That makes the a6400 entries above a reasonable place to start on a ZV-E10, but confirm against the ZV-E10's own Help Guide before you act on a message.

The a6700 has its own Help Guide under ILCE-6700, including the Wi-Fi firmware note above.

The a7 IV's Help Guide sits under ILCE-7M4, and it is the guide that warns displays can change with firmware. For setup that heads off many first-week problems, see Sony A7 IV Mistakes New Users Make (And Fixes).

If a message turns out to be a setting rather than a fault, Sony Camera Menu Setup Guide walks through the menus where most of those settings live.