Chosen Solution

Hi I have an A6000 camera that suddenly is acting very strange. It will not allow me to make any adjustments in Apeture, Shuttter priority or Manual modes. Neither will it let me access the menu or even see pics already taken. I am at a loss at why this has happened as it has not been dropped or handled aggressively. I used it briefly on Monday and then on Tuesday evening the problems arose. I don’t know what to do or where to go for help. I have been using your tutorials to learn how to use the camera so I decided to reach out for help. I have not down loaded any apps as I don’t know how to do that nor have I updated any firmware. Oh I should mention in the auto mode like SCN or Intellegent plus it does take pictures although there is a slight delay or stickiness when shooting. I have been looking for a reset button to see if resetting would help but I have not been able to find one. So I am really at a loss on what to do next. (ps I live in Ghana so Incannot call Donys toll free number from here. Keeping my fingers crossed you can help, Karen

SOLVED! I had this problem and scoured many forums. Suddenly all the dials became unresponsive while shooting. First noticed playback button didn’t work.. then it did …then it didn’t, for good. The only responsive interface was the focus select (center of dial) and the c2, set as zoom to focus to dmf/mf settings. Menu, Fn, AEL, Play, etc, were not responsive, ONLY in shooting mode. The shooting mode dial was sometimes responsive, and EVERYTHING worked in menu mode (which was accessible when usb connected, or by jamming the menu button in the preview seconds after taking a shot) A number of other forum threads hinted that the problem was the camera getting stuck in ‘half shutter’ press. The physical button was not stuck, but the camera was tricked into thinking it was in half-press mode, wherein it was only focusing and none of the other feature settings are available. Some other replies noted some improvements with wd40 in the shutter button mechanism (WOULD NOT SUGGEST), but hinted that the switch maybe the culprit. A local repair shop gave an estimate of $565 CAD to replace the “circuit power circuit board”, sounded suspect so I took my chances DIY’ing it with a precision phillips head and a spudger. THE FIX Camera was off warranty so I gave a go at a proper diagnosis. ifixit has a guide to remove the back and top panel on the sony a6000, very simple, just keep track of your screws as they are not all the same size. Once the top panel is removed it was clear that there is an excess of lithium grease on the switch mechanism, it’s possible some excess has migrated into the actual switch on the pcb causing the issue. Essentially, the pcb switch is contacting in a way it believes the camera is in half-press mode when it’s not. With isopropyl and a cue tip, I carefully dropped some cleaner in an around the pcb switch. Just enough cleaner to permeate the mechanism but not to drip about the pcb. Quickly wiping any excess, I let it to dry for about 5min. I click assembled the panels (without screwing), put the battery in and tested, immediately 80% improvement. Prior there was 0 response from rear panel buttons, now I could clearly see that it was ‘sticking’. I could shoot and the buttons functioned normally most of the time, with some ‘sticking’ prevalent which was often remedied by lightly tapping the shutter button to jog it fully open again. I made a second pass with alcohol, cleaning and letting it to dry another 10min before re-assembling the device completely. I’ve shot for a few minutes without 0 of the issue. Expect that it might pop up again but I know how to quickly repair it now. I removed some of the excess grease as well around the shutter / on/off mechanism, in case that was potentially the cause of the short in the switch. One caution in opening the ilce-6000 was a smaller foam o-ring around what appeared to be the camera mic (located under the right side of the hot shoe when front facing) was difficult to replace as the adhesive had dried. I’ve left it out for now but seldom do video recording so don’t expect any noticeable effect. If you’ve found unresponsive of or sudden failure of the controls in shooting mode in your sony a6000 , a6300 , or NEX camera, I hope you find this guide and give a shot at repairs. It was very simple and saved me hundreds!

After reading the great answers on here, I am inspired to at least buy the wd40 recommendation, but I’d also like to mention my simpler solution, that I decided to try after reading what the culprit was… I banged the upper front of my camera (by the shutter button) with the bottom of my palm. It fixed the problem (at least for now), but wouldn’t be surprised if it returned, as this hardly seems thorough. In a sudden pinch though, this worked for me.

Hi there, Try to press and hold down the Fn button for 5 seconds and look on the display ?? GrtZ, Doka

Had the same problem. Turned out the shutter button was stuck in half-way down mode. Pressing the shutter button took a picture, but then the button only released half-way, preventing the rest of the buttons to work. I pressed hard and slightly sideways on the button a few times, changing sideways direction for each press. That unstuck the button. If you have similar problems, it could be a different button. Try the same procedure on all the buttons, preferably with the camera turned off.

I have an A6500 that did this. The only access to menu via movie setting on dial. The problem occurred twice and seems related to a new SD Card. All fine until it fills up a bit then problem occurs. Card is SanDisk Extreme Pro U3 128GB 170MB/s. Still have to go through reset nausea but problem goes away until I use the card again and it fills up. Bought to record fast rate for slo mo video.

My final opinion about FREEZING ISSUE: No sensor at all. Shutter button 1000%. I had same problem 3 years ago (SONY 6000). I was desperate! First: I never opened my camera. I used WD40 Electrical Cleaner Type over/inside shutter button for several months as I found on DPREVIEW.COM (remove battery and SD card!). Wait some hours before using again. I was forced to repeat it one month yes, one month no…weak solution… Then I used another way too: I moved Pressing Button to AEL button too (both ways working)… Now after 3 years no more need of WD40 (elecrical one) and my camera works great…and I use only the principal/natural shutter button. I repeat I was so close to change camera! Sure the problem is humidity/dust in the shutter button! (I storage my camera with a humidity little bag now and I never at all expose it to rain outside (plastic bag for fridge!)