Intermittent problems getting my PC to recognize my Sony a6000 and a5100 mirrorless cameras led me to some web searching for solutions that I thought would be either software, driver, system OS, or firmware related. I found the following instructions which shed some light on the issue:
Insert USB-A into computer and Micro-USB into camera; and power the camera on.
If the computer doesn’t recognize the camera, try another cable…
Try a third usb cable…
…et voilà I was up and running!
Things I had tried without success–on the cameras:
On my PC:
As it turns out Sony a5xxx and a6xxx cameras seem to be sensitive the quality of the Micro-USB cables used. Out of 25 USB-A to Micro-USB cables tested by me, only three worked correctly. However, all the cables worked fine in other applications. It is hard to tell what the difference between working/not-working, but I suspect it is a combination of interference along the cable and the production tolerances of the Micro-USB connector. Two of the working cables were rather short, and the third was a 15 ft sheilded cable with one of those magnets attached.
I stocked up on some dedicated cables for my cameras from Monoprice, the source of the my working 15 ft sheilded cable. I’m sure the OEM Sony cables are reliable and were probably what I had been using up until my problems, so they are worth keeping track of and assigning to camera-only duties to prevent them from being misplaced.
Published on April 25th, 2022 by Alexander Crosby