New D500 : Bluetooth & network not selectable ?

<p>Having traded in my D300 & D300S camera's for a new D500, starting setup .<br /> For Snapbridge to work, it needs "Bluetooth switched on but both setup menu bluetooth & Network functions are , and remain grayed out and not selectable...<br /> Anyony got a clue on what i am missing here ? (airplane mode is switched of, so that is not the cause..)</p>

<p>I'm not a D500, but I do believe that you have to switch "airplane mode" to on.</p>

<p>Nope, airplanemode selects whether you can transmit anything, whne switched to on then snapbridge switches of alltogether...</p>

<p>I'm sorry, I mean to OFF.</p>

<p>Ok guys, found the answer, and it looks like that i will not be able to get snapridge, r any other networking function in the D500 to work withut spendi ng more money , either buy another tablet, or buy an expensive WT-7A device<br>

I think this is a big fail from Nikon ....<br>

<br /> http://blog.iamnikon.com/en_GB/product-news/6-things-you-can-do-with-snapbridge-the-nikon-d500/#comment-468111</p>

<p>I don't have any cameras that support networking but don't Bluetooth devices need to be paired together before they will agree to work?</p>

<p>Yes Chris, they do, but the Snapbridge App needst to do the pairing, because a non standard protocol is used, the app is then responsable for setting up a ptp WiFi connection.<br /> Nikon uses a Bluetooth lvl 4 with Low Energy extention for this in the D500<br /> Most Tablets ( at least the ones that contail Intel Processors) do not support this Low Energy extension.<br /> Apart from that the Tablet needs at least 100mb work memory free to support the App ( so not storage but active processing Memory).<br /> The tested and supported tablets are mentioned in the answers on the page i gave the link for, and unfortunately all of my tablets ( i own multiple) are not among the supported ones, so if i want to use snapbridge i will need to spend money to obtain one of the supported tablets.<br /> I have had no difficulties of using one of my cheaper camera's ( obvioulsy not a Nikon) in different modes of operation with WiFi ( network mode, hotspot functionality , direct connect to any smartPhone or tablet i ever owned) so i think it is a fail for Nikon to not supply such an expensive tool with such limited connectivity possibilities... ( even de USB connector is not a standard USB connector anymore..) .</p>

<p>The USB connector looks like one which is standard for USB 3, and exists on e.g. portable hard drives etc. These cords are easy to find.</p>

<p>The D500 supports 1) Snapbridge connectivity with selected devices, 2) it can take an SD card which provides more standard wifi support; 3) alternatively you can attach the WT-7 which provides long-range wireless connectivity, and 4) you can purchase the much more affordable Camranger which should work with most Nikon DSLRs (and provide more sophisticated functionality). It seems to me that there are plenty of wireless connectivity options with the D500. One issue with conventional wifi e.g. in the D750 is that each time the camera is turned on, the connection needs to be established from the settings of the smartphone ... and I have a tendency to turn the camera off when I'm not shooting. Snapbridge is designed to solve this problem by maintaining the connection even when the camera is turned off. It seems from various sources that there are some issues with it that are likely to go away with time. In any case it is sensible to investigate what kind of connectivity a product supports before purchasing. I don't have an Android phone or tablet. Current lack of iOS device support is discussed all over the internet. I hope they can get it to work soon. To me this development seems a crucial step towards bridging the dedicated cameras into the current world where images are shared electronically. If one needs to every time establish the connection once the camera is turned on, it's a non-starter for me. There is no way I'd use the wifi on the D750 for transferring images onto my iPhone after initially testing it, because of this problem. However, what it can be used for is remote firing the camera, even though Nikon's app is very rudimentary.</p>

<p>I think I will eventually purchase the Camranger product since it seems to support all my cameras and the application seems versatile for situations where I need to control the camera remotely. But Snapbridge seems very convenient for social media applications, from what I understand about the product. Since I don't have a D500 nor and Android smart device I cannot currently test how well it works, but this is in my opinion a step in the right direction. Hopefully it will be rapidly developed and supported by third party application developers so that we get more features.</p>

<p>I do own several androiddevices, none of them suports the Snapbridge ap as they contain an unsupportedprocessor , although they support the required bluetooth spec, memory, and operating system.<br>

For now Camranger also doe not support the D500 ( otherwise i would have used it) , it either needs an upgrade , or a newer version will be required. Camranger is working on a new version . THis will also require an additional 300+ in dollars when it becomes available ( which is not to be expected in my country within a year).<br>

I fail to understand why this kind of challenges was taken care of for cheap canon ( powershot N) camera's over 4 years ago already, and Nikon now comes up with hald thought through solutions like a snapbridge app which works on only a few of the existing android devices, other that it likes to sell its 1000+ euro WT-7a devices( hell thats even expensive for a fully functioning smartphone already, which can do a lot more that the $2 chip in that WT-7A)<br>

Nikon keeps its secrets closely guarded by introducing a low energy bluetooth signal which is required to even get the networking capabilities activated between the camera and android device with app, so not so much chance for developers to start with..<br>

ANd yes , Nikon published full websites arround the world telling how great and convinient the current version of snapbridge is ( Nikon used that name before in older versions of camera software allready..) but i have not met anybody who can confirm it even works in any stage ofstability.<br>

In Germany, now a courtcase has started about the misleading supposed WiFi capabilities of the D500, so im curious to see what happens there...<br>

For the german readers :<br>

http://www.heise.de/foto/meldung/Kunde-vs-Nikon-Abmahnung-wegen-proprietaerem-WLAN-mit-Bluetooth-Zwang-3238593.html </p>

<p> </p>

The wifi (not bluetooth) version of Nikon's wireless app is called Wireless Mobile Utility, not Snapbridge. There was some

webpage confusion however after the D500 was announced they got mixed up as far as I know. When I got the D750 only

WMU was available.

 

I thought the Camranger support of the D500 would be a software update, but I just assumed that could very well be mistaken; I don't

know how the D500 support will be implemented. The manufacturer says it's coming soon. I guess it is safest to wait and

see how it works out. Early adopter problems I guess. The D5 is already listed as supported.

 

Bluetooth LE is covered by the Bluetooth standard so it should not require much reverse engineering to support the D500.

Anyway Nikon says Snapbridge support will be in almost all their upcoming camera models so I am sure the motivation to

develop apps which support it is there. Nikon software tends to be buggy so it may be best if someone else does it.

<p>In my experience Nikon's WMU app is a pain to initially set up, but once a connection is established the paired devices will automatically reconnect when both are switched on and in range. IIRC you can choose to only download a thumbnail version of the camera's pictures to the Android device, thereby reducing the transfer time.</p>

<p>I have to wonder though, why use an expensive DSLR when only a tiny and low-quality picture is needed for instant web-sharing? I'm pretty sure there are pocketable compacts available with a huge zoom range that have better WiFi/Bluetooth connectivity. Such cameras are barely bigger than a spare En-El15 battery. Or then again there's a camera built into most Android devices.</p>

<p>Ok, it may be a settings issue for me. I will try to see if I can make the wifi connection happen automatically. It does get established automatically to my home wireless network, but not to my D750. I'll have to investigate.</p>

<p><em>I have to wonder though, why use an expensive DSLR when only a tiny and low-quality picture is needed for instant web-sharing?</em></p>

<p>Maybe if one needs a telephoto lens to catch a moving subject and time the shot correctly, or one may want shallow depth of field, or shoot in low light. I frequently want all of these at the same time, and yet I may want to e-mail it to friends etc. easily. I don't post my images on general social media because of unacceptable terms of use though, but I know many that do, and their business can benefit from being able to do it quickly, as close to in real time as possible. I don't see any point in shooting low quality images for any application - it's a waste of time if the images are then not generally applicable or different from my normal style.</p>

<p>My D750 switches the network connection OFF after I turn the camera off and back on again, and I have to change this setting in the camera (enable) and then choose the network from my iPhone settings / wifi menu. Every time I have the camera off I have to re-establish the connection in this way. </p>

<p>In my experience Nikon's WMU app is a pain to initially set up</p>

<p>THe D500 does notwork with WMU, otherwise ther was not really a problem.<br>

The D500 uses the new version of "Snapbridge"wich is a combination of a LE Bluetooth conction, which setsup andcontrols a PTP WiFi connction for data transfer. THi Combo only works with the Snapbridge App which in turn only runs on selected Android devices. <br>

Setup of the connection ( Pairing) preferably is done by using the NFC chip in the camera and the Android device, but can also be done through the bluetooth connectionon close range.<br>

Altranatively, you can also connect the new WT-7A device to the camera, which gives it network capabilities, either through cable, or through WiFi.<br>

The WiFi capabilities integrated in the camera itself are "locked"by software in the camera , although Nikon advertises that integrated WiFi capabilities are available, and even prints the WiFi Logo on the camera, which is only allowed if the camera adheres to the Iee 802.11 xxx standards (which it does not...). This is the misleading part ...... ( for which in Germany a class act was started recently..).</p>

<p>Mine works fine. Automatic download is great feature.<br>

My mobile phone is LG G3. I turn both bluetooth and NFC on my mobile phone and allow automatic download.<br>

Pair the camera and mobile phone. Once connected, it is automatic download. I choose 2 MB file (not original).<br>

I keep my mobile phone on my pocket. I keep myself busy shooting. When it is break time or done with the shoot, the files are already transferred to mobile phones and i can share the pics to social media (i.e : instagram). <br>

So far it works well for me.</p>

<p> </p>

Allen, why are you resurrecting old threads with spurious information?

 

The link you made above is to an LG D500 mobile phone not to the Nikon D500 camera manual.

 

Not only that, but the LG manual is hosted on a very dodgy-looking website. In fact I see that all of your posts give links to that same "getmanuals.com" site. Why?

Edited May 3, 2017 by rodeo_joe|1

I gave up on Snapbridge with my D500. If I want wifi in a DX cam, I use my D7200 instead!

 

Dire implementation and no updates/upgrades to software or firmware... that is no way to run a techie railroad in 2017:mad:

 

PS. I'm going no-where near that linked site, I've been there before on another wild goose chase of click-baited adds.

I have a D500 and all the equipment to make it work -- but it doesn't. After wasting a lot of time on it I gave up. Snapbridge is all smoke and mirrors as far as I'm concerned. BTW, I love the camera. Snapbridge was never a feature that I felt important.