I have a Canon G9 that got no power for no reason. From contacting one shop, they said it was not common. I called Canon, what do you know, they never heard of it either. I ended up contacting a third shop who just does Canons, they said they get the G7 and the G9 models in by the truckload with that problem. Further research showed me how common it is, two screws come loose in the camera and cause a short circuit, leaving the camera with no power. The repair cost me under $100 which was good and the place I used even serviced and cleaned the entire camera and did some type of corrective thing to those screws that come loose. I have it back now and it works excellent again but I’m mad that I had to pay when this is clearly a design flaw in the G7 and the G9 Powershot cameras. If anyone needs to have this fixed right, I used this site: www.camerasandparts.com I tried yelling at Canon first and got nowhere because my warranty was up. That place does a great job and you can get the parts there to if you want to tackle it yourself to. If you repair it, you need to do some type of correction or the problem will keep happening in time. If they fix it for you, the correction is done on every G7 and G9 they service from what was explained to me. I will never again buy another Canon. They make a great camera but they don’t realize that when they make a mistake, they should help the poor customer and not the rich company as Canon is. I suggest you all don’t buy Canons again. Canon is a company that won’t admit it’s product is faulty. How can so many people have this loose screw problem and then no power and Canon won’t help? I’m not buying that story, it seems more like they know of the problem and would just rather turn their back to it. Ask yourself what kind of reputable company operates like that!
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Canon doesn’t recognize that screw issue to be a problem. I called and they said that they hadn’t heard of the issue (ya right). My G9 did this after two years of light use. Never again will I buy a Canon, Canon should have at least admitted they know about the problem and do something about it to help customers but they don’t. Shame on Canon, that is how you lose customers.
Emily on March 1st, 2011 at 2:36 pm | Link
I had this same problem, no power on my G9 powershot and of course it went out shortly after my best buy extended warranty was up. I went with http://www.camerasandparts.com through a recommendation of a photography friend. They were wonderful and yes they do that fix inside the camera to prevent the problem from happening again. If you have the fatal G9 no power problem, they’re the guys to look after it.
I also bought a G12 while my camera was off being fixed, I didn’t learn the first time did I? Hopefully nothing goes wrong with it. So far my G12 has been great, although I prefer my G9 as do many professionals. No doubt, the G9 was the better camera aside for the no power problem. Once they do the fix on the G9, it’s perfect again and the no power thing doesn’t occur again. The camera has not missed a beat since having them service it. If I had to choose, I’d stay with the G9 though.
For service on these, the site I recommended is great and they were very reasonable with the cost. I agree, Canon should shape up a little. My friend had a G7 powershot with this exact problem. I too don’t feel it’s fair that Canon turns their back to us. Other than the fact that I love their cameras, the customer service at Canon is almost enough to turn me away.
Jesse on June 28th, 2011 at 9:04 pm | Link
This has happened to my G9 this weekend all of a sudden no power up at all. I am absolutely disgusted, it is only 2 years old! I am planning to contact Canon and see what they are going to do to rectify the problem as I do not intend to pay to have it fixed after I’ve been reading that it is a common fault (albeit one which they will not acknowledge). Hoping I can get this sorted.
Karen on July 2nd, 2011 at 1:09 pm | Link
I used tolove my g9 but with it screwing around or out i have fallen out of love cannon must be of the 1% persuasion as they dont seem to care about their customers as long as they get their money. I say divorce court here I come.
james meiser on October 31st, 2011 at 5:06 pm | Link
I too loved my powershot g7 that is until my screws also came loose. I just got off the phone with the canon number they told me to call to resolve my issue of a $176.00 repair bill that is to fix their loose screw problem.
They could do nothing as they are not aware of this type of problem in their cameras and mine is also out of warranty. How nice that the screws waited to fall out after my warranty was up. I will not have it repaired nor will I buy another Canon of anything choosing instead to put that money toward another brand. Canon has lost me forever as a customer and I will tell everyone who will listen just how bad their cameras are and that their service is worthless.
Lynn Keith on January 10th, 2012 at 11:02 am | Link
I have the same problem! It happened last night! I can’t believe this is happening! The camera is only 1 or 2 years old , it never fell to the ground either… However when I charged my battery and put it in the camera I saw smoke came out from battery department… I think it shorted out something due to those screws being loose , but i’ll check into that later..
If anyone knows how to repair this please send me an email
bobi_aa@net.hr
Thanks!
bobo on May 21st, 2012 at 9:58 am | Link
@bobo If you’re in the US then Cameras And Parts is the best bet for fixing these. I’m not for sure but they may even fix them if you’re not in the US. Otherwise you can try to find a repair shop where you live that fixes cameras and has experience on this specific problem. Mine was done through Cameras And Parts and they did a really nice job plus they cleaned the camera very well I was impressed. My camera has been working perfectly ever since.
Trevor on June 2nd, 2012 at 2:28 am | Link
Cameras and Parts fixed my G9 for this particular no power thing. They do terrific work. My camera is working like new again and I’m happy about that but I feel canon should have at least acknowledged the problem. Canon wouldn’t even do that but instead said there is no such problem on the G9. If you have the no power on problem I would recommend Cameras and Parts highly. The work quality is terrific through them. I wouldn’t even bother calling Canon, it was a waste of time even talking to them.
Andrew on August 27th, 2012 at 10:45 am | Link
You can get spare screws on ebay for £2 -3. M1.6 x 3mm. (1.6mm being the diameter of the threaded part, 3mm the length of the threaded part) The thread pitch(distance between peaks of threads) is 0.5mm but that’s probably standard on a M1.6.
Nige on October 11th, 2012 at 12:38 pm | Link
My G9 doesn’t turn on now. This happened on our trip when we needed it. I took it apart but messed it up completely now so now I don’t think any place can fix mine. This was the best camera that Canon made. The advise that I would give is if you don’t know how to fix it then don’t take it apart. That’s what I did and I broke a little clip that holds a ribbon cable down and also I think I might have broke a switch though I’m not for sure. Get it fixed before opening it. Does anyone want to buy mine for parts?
Mark on February 10th, 2013 at 11:48 am | Link
A message to Mark who posted above.
I would be interested in buying your broken G9.
I messed up something on mine when trying to fix the no power problem from the loose screws.
I’m pretty sure the part might still be good in yours. It’s the clip that holds down the ribbon to where the buttons are on the back.
Message me if you still have it. I would be really interested in buying it for parts if you can give me a good deal considering it’s broken. thanks
William on February 27th, 2013 at 2:12 pm | Link
By the way, I know you said you broke your ribbon cable connection thing too but there are more in the camera. They sure break easy don’t they?
I was thinking since there’s more of those in the camera that maybe I could get one from a different part in the camera and use it in that spot where I broke mine.
Please message me if you still have it, I can buy it as is if you can make me a good deal. thanks
William on February 27th, 2013 at 2:15 pm | Link
To William. I would have sold it to you because after opening mine I thought it was toast. I got it repaired through Cameras and Parts and it’s back now. I’m glad I didn’t toss mine. Even with what I did to it they got it working like new. Email them and tell them what you did to yours. I’m sure they can fix it. You’d never know mine was ever broken. I use it a lot for my job and it works like new since it was repaired.
Mark on March 9th, 2013 at 1:13 pm | Link