A7 IV Disconnects from iPhone Imaging Edge

[martinc199]

Hi all, first-time poster here. I love my new A7 Mk IV. I was a bit disappointed it didn't have inbuilt GPS like my previous Canon 5D Mk IV but being able to pair with my iPhone and Imaging Edge sort of makes up for this. However I have problems. The devices paired fine and the iPhone is switched to ALWAYS share location with IE but Location drops out if IE app isn't in foreground and the A7 is turned off and on again later. Is this expected behaviour? It's not very convenient and with my memory what it seems to be these days, having to check my phone everytime I turn on my camera doesn't really work for me. Any ideas? Thanks in advance, Martin

[danardeng]

The same here.

And the same with the oldest 3th series.

The connection work well for a wile (also after some power off-power on), and than stop to work.

[mczachurski]

Hi,

I have exactly the same issue. I have Sony A7 IV and I connected it with iPhone (iOS 16). I can transfer images, shoot remotely etc. I’ve enabled “Location Information Linkage” in Setup menu. When Image Edge (version 7.7.1) is opened then camera can see GPS location. When I lock the phone (or switch to other application) after ~one minute camera cannot read GPS location from the phone (icon on camera is changing to “Location Information not obtained”). 

When I had my previous camera Sony A7 III everything worked correctly, but then “Location Information Linkage” has been configured in other way in IE application. 

Do you know haw to fix that issue? I like to have GPS information in my photos. And that issue is very annoying. 

[HannahEd01]

Hey guys, 2 out of 3 have iPhones, that tells me it might be something with the phones? Have you tested it with other phones? 

I also found this: 

• Location information can be linked when Imaging Edge Mobile is running on your smartphone, even if the smartphone monitor is off. However, if the camera has been turned off for a while, location information may not be linked immediately when you turn the camera back on. In this case, location information will be linked immediately if you open the Imaging Edge Mobile screen on the smartphone.
• When Imaging Edge Mobile is not operating, such as when the smartphone is restarted, launch Imaging Edge Mobile to resume location information linking.

[mczachurski]

Hi,

In my case the issue is very simple to reproduce:

 - turn on the camera

 - open IE app on the phone -> location icon is changed to success

 - lock the phone and wait one minute -> location icon is changed and GPS coordinates cannot be retrieved.

I tested this on my phone (iPhone 14 Pro) and on my wife’s phone (iPhone 12 Pro). Both with newest iOS. 

Maybe this is an issue connected with iOS 16 or new IE version (7.7.1) or Sony A7 IV software bug (I updated camera to latest version 1.10). 

Does anyone else have similar problems?

[HannahEd01]

Hey mczachurski, I just tested it on my phone, 13 pro max, same thing, wasn't doing it before. It might be the update? Can anyone else confirm? Or test with a different phone? 

[mczachurski]

I checked that on iOS 16.1 the error is still present. My biggest suspicions are that the new version of IE 7.7.1 (which has been published a week ago) introduced that issue.

Do you know where is the best place to report this problem, so that it reaches the Imaging Edge team?

[HannahEd01]

Hey mczachurski, the IE support is the same team as the PS support. You can reach them through here: https://www.playstation.com/en-gb/ 

[RevDave_50]

Yes, I have the same problem. The annoying thing is that I upgraded from an A7Riii, which worked fine and consistently with IE, to an A7RV and now it doesn't work. As most of my photography is landscape geotagging is very important to me. At first I assumed it must be the new camera set up but then realised the IEM app got updated about the same time so now I'm not sure. It seems to disconnect when the phone goes into sleep mode rather than when the camera powers down to save battery. Really annoying. 

[HannahEd01]

Hey RevDave_50, are you also using an iPhone? What's the IOS version, if yes? Did you test with another phone?