I purchased a refurbished Canon EOS M6 Mark II back in early August 2022 after selling equipment to KEH (side note, I’m trying to go back through my earlier videos and create at least a simple website article about each. One of which will be about the KEH selling process)
Here’s how buying the camera and initial unboxing went:
The purchasing experience was good, but the camera had a few issues…
- The AF point positioning button doesn’t have as much travel as the other buttons.
- The bottom panel shows a bit of paint gone.
- The LCD does have a dark spot toward the center of the screen.
Technically everything worked, but the one button was especially odd. I ended up keeping it. In retrospect not the smartest idea.
I used that camera for photography a number of times, but eventually swapped it out with the black M6ii I had in my indoor video rig. The silver version didn’t seem as robust as the black so it made sense.
Five months later I noticed that the troubled button got worse. It technically still worked but now the button would sound like a mixture of crunchy and sticky when pressed, so that concerned me as to what was going on inside the camera. I decided to see if I could get it repaired under warranty.
Here’s a video going over the repair process. Though, in this case they sent me a replacement instead of fixing the original:
I have a lot more notes from this process than the purchase and unboxing of the camera. Let’s go over most of it.
I logged into Canon USA’s website. Added my camera and a photo of the receipt. Though, I wonder why it wasn’t in there considering it’s the same email address and account used. Maybe I didn’t use that account to purchase but bought it without logging in. I can’t remember.
I used the website email form to start:
What does the warranty actually cover? The AF point button has felt odd since I received the camera. Now it’s starting to sound worse. There isn’t much travel to the button compared to the other ones. All that said, the button still technically functions. Is that enough to allow for sending the camera in to be repaired?
My first message to Canon USA.
That was my first contact attempt with Canon after not seeing any method to initiate warranty repair inside the website. I expected some type of web form for each product registered in their website.
Their first response:
Thank you for contacting Canon. My name is ***** and I would be happy to help you with your warranty inquiry for your EOS M6 Mark II camera.
You may click on the following link to view information about the Canon USA warranty:
https://downloads.canon.com/nw/cso/warranties/warranty_EOS_digital_camera.pdf
It basically covers manufacturing defects with the camera. If the auto focus button was off since receiving the camera, then I would suggest on sending the camera to our facility for service.
Items purchased directly from Canon USA or from an Authorized Canon Dealer do include a one-year warranty if the item was purchased less than a year ago. You may view a list of Authorized Canon Dealers by clicking on the following link. I would recommend including a copy of your Proof of Purchase when sending in your item for the facility to review for any in-warranty service or repair.
https://www.usa.canon.com/internet/portal/us/home/contactus/where-to-buy/authorized-dealers
Please fill out the attached repair form and include it inside the box with the camera.
With the camera, please ensure you remove all accessories off of it. You will hold on to the battery pack, lens, camera strap, memory card. Since it’s not necessary to include the lens please place the body cap back onto the camera. Wrap the camera in about 3-5 inches of bubble wrap and place it inside a plain, non-descript box. Please ensure there’s enough padding material inside to prevent the camera from shifting during transit. You may ship the camera with any shipping carrier of your choice, but we do recommend on adding tracking and insurance.
Canon USA and The UPS Store have partnered to provide our customers with a convenient repair drop-off solution at any one of the 4,500 UPS retail locations. With the Canon Shipping Solution program, you receive a 20% discount on the packaging (box, tape, bubble wrap) of your item to be sent in for repair and discounted shipping rates of 5% – 8% (off local retail rates). Simply print the following PDF document and bring it to your nearest UPS Store retail location:
https://downloads.canon.com/support/canon_shipping_03282018.pdf
Please let us know if we can be of any further assistance.
After all of that the warranty form wasn’t attached. Must be a real person instead of an AI responding.
To make a long story slightly shorter, I requested the warranty repair form. I sent two emails because I had found a second email address on their website and wasn’t sure about contacting the correct department.
Thank you for your continued correspondence with Canon product support. This is *****.
I have attached the repair form to this email for you. If you have a problem with the attachment, I have included a link HERE to our Service & Repair webpage. On this page, scroll down until you see Repairs and Service FAQs. Under that, you should see a link that says Request Forms & Service Programs. Click that and select the Camera Repair Request Form. I hope this is helpful.
Please let us know if we can be of any further assistance.
Have a great day.
Thank you for choosing Canon.
That worked!
- I filled out the repair form. Printed that.
- Wrapped the camera in a plastic bag.
- Wrapped the three papers around that.
- Put it inside another plastic bag.
- I used the original refurbished camera box as an inner box. Probably a bad idea for most people sending a repair to Canon, but I didn’t care that much about keeping it.
- I put that in a second box.
- I used packing materials to secure the camera and both boxes without much play so nothing flops around.
- Printed out the repair facility address and the shipping discount UPS Store paper.
- Found a UPS store and sent it off with $800 insurance added on.
December 12th (Monday)
The UPS Store experience was a little unusual. The employee had never done anything like what the paper described, but she appeared to figure it out.
$20.87 shipping from Illinois to Virginia.
$16.97 for $800 worth of insurance.
Total of $37.84, ouch! Starts making my refurbished camera deal not so sweet. In retrospect I should have RMA’d the camera immediately once I noticed the button issue.
The receipt says “work order” so there seems to be some type of system connection between UPS and Canon. All I had to do was give the employee my last name. Somewhat odd, but it made things easier.
The employee suggested I take a photo of the shipping label because the tracking information didn’t show up on the receipt. Smart! Probably something to do with how Canon and UPS have their system set up.
December 14th (Wednesday) Wow, fast shipping…
Please find attached to this communication an important update from the Canon USA Factory Service Center regarding your Canon product for Repair ID *****.
Please note Adobe Acrobat is required to open the attachment. Below we have provided information to assist you with obtaining this software.
If you have difficulty opening the attachment, please contact Customer Service at 1-800-OK-Canon.
We appreciate the opportunity to serve you.
http://youtu.be/nCFlc66ZL9k Watch this video to learn more about our service process.Canon USA Factory Service Management
From the PDF:
“We have received your product for evaluation and repair or replacement. In an effort to provide our valued customers with a fast and economical repair
solution for in-warranty products like yours, this model is exchanged as a whole unit when sent in for service. Below is our estimate for this repair or
replacement. An equivalent new or factory-refurbished replacement product will be shipped to you and your original unit will be recycled, reflecting our
commitment to environmental sustainability. You can expect the replacement to be shipped by the end of the next business day from the date shown above.
There is no need to respond to this notice.”
I guess that works. I think the M6ii or maybe all EF-M cameras as this point are a special case.
“Customer states the camera has had auto focus issues since purchasing. Repairs are not performed on the model you sent in for repair. We will exchange
your original model with a new or factory refurbished product. No response necessary. Thank you.”“Notice: Canon reserves the right to dispose of, or recycle products which have been submitted to Canon for repair, but which remain unclaimed after Canon has sent a final notification that the repair has been completed or that such repair cannot be performed.”
December 15th (Thursday)
Notification of shipment of a replacement camera.
Estimated delivery Monday but the original date was Tuesday. Came from the repair facility, so my guess is a refurbished unit that they fixed up beforehand. We will see…
December 19th (Monday)
I had received the replacement camera. It’s surprising how quick the entire process was! This was probably a special case with the M6 Mark II because I think it’s at the end of it’s product lifecycle. The new camera is in better condition than the original by far. No quirky buttons as far as I can tell and also no spots on the LCD. One thing I didn’t attempt to check, which I should have, is the shutter count on both cameras. Oppsie! Kind of expected to get what you get when buying or repairing a refurbished camera.
How did it all turned out?
I spent money on sending the original in, which made my original deal not as great as it could have been. However, the replacement they sent me was the entire refurbished camera package which included another battery, charger, and strap so I’ve now got two sets of those. Having the additional official battery basically pays for what I spent on shipping. The second charger is a nice bonus. I don’t use OEM straps but I’ll probably include it with the camera whenever I eventually sell it.
Overall a great experience in my case. They said to expect the process to take up to one week once they receive the camera.