Nikon stops forcing Snapbridge on users – unlocks real WiFi on the D850, D500, D7500 and D5600

Well, this is certainly an interesting bit of news. Nikon has actually, finally, stopped forcing their proprietary Snapbridge wireless system onto Nikon photographers. After a false advertising claim over the D500’s WiFi capabilities back in 2016, and then an open letter from LRTimelapse creator, Gunther Wegner in 2017, Nikon is finally capitulating and giving us real WiFi back.

A round of new firmware updates for the Nikon D850, D500, D7500 and D5600 now adds support for standard WiFi alongside Snapbridge – as it is with the Nikon Z mirrorless cameras. Now, users can finally choose which software they wish to use to control their cameras.

First, here’s the links for those who already get it and just want to update their cameras.

• Nikon D850 Firmware v1.10
• Nikon D500 Firmware v1.20
• Nikon D7500 Firmware v1.10
• Nikon D5600 Firmware v1.10

The addition of Snapbridge to Nikon DSLRs, and the locking out of standard WiFi was one of the reasons I haven’t upgraded any of my Nikons to Snapbridge-enabled bodies. And I know a number of people who switched brands entirely to be able to get simultaneous wireless control of multiple cameras from tablets.

I use qDslrDashboard (which is now ControlMycamera on iOS) regularly over WiFi to remotely control cameras, especially when shooting video. I’ve been using it for years. It’s a fantastic piece of software, offering a lot of control over how you can control your camera (or cameras – it supports a whole bunch at once), and Nikon’s Snapbridge app just doesn’t even come close.

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Fortunately, though, Nikon has finally listened to the users who have been asking for their WiFi back for three years. And as well as giving people their WiFi back, the firmware updates also offer a few other new fixes.

Nikon D850 Firmware v1.10

• The camera now also supports direct Wi-Fi connections to devices running SnapBridge. For more information, see the “Addendum to the User’s Manual” in which this feature is described. Before using this feature, upgrade to the following version of the app:
  – SnapBridge version 2.5.4 or later
• Fixed the following issue:
  – The camera sometimes had trouble focusing on subjects in the focus points at the edges of the frame.

Nikon D500 Firmware v1.20

• The camera now also supports direct Wi-Fi connections to devices running SnapBridge. For more information, see the “Addendum to the User’s Manual” in which this feature is described. Before using this feature, upgrade to the following version of the app:
  – SnapBridge version 2.5.4 or later
• Fixed the following issues:
  – The camera sometimes had trouble focusing on subjects in the focus points at the edges of the frame.
  – The camera would sometimes stop responding during shooting in continuous high-speed (CH) release mode.
  – The camera would sometimes not turn off after the power switch was rotated to “OFF”.

Nikon D7500 Firmware v1.10

• The camera now also supports direct Wi-Fi connections to devices running SnapBridge. For more information, see the “Addendum to the User’s Manual” in which this feature is described. Before using this feature, upgrade to the following version of the app:
  – SnapBridge version 2.5.4 or later
• Fixed the following issues:
  – If the mode dial was rotated from P to U1 and then back to P, ISO sensitivity would be set to the value selected for U1.
  – Repeatedly pressing the zoom in and zoom out buttons during movie live view would cause unexpected behavior when 3840×2160; 30p was selected for Frame size/frame rate in the MOVIE SHOOTING MENU.

Nikon D5600 Firmware v1.10

• The camera now also supports direct Wi-Fi connections to devices running SnapBridge. For more information, see the “Addendum to the User’s Manual” in which this feature is described. Before using this feature, upgrade to the following version of the app:
  – SnapBridge version 2.5.4 or later
• Fixed the following issue:
  – Touch Fn would sometimes not be available.

So, if you’ve been hoping to get real WiFi back again, now you have it. At least for those cameras.

The Nikon D5 is noticeably absent from this round of firmware updates. Although, the Nikon D850, D500 and D5 are also expected to get a new firmware soon to add CFexpress support. So, perhaps the D5 will get its WiFi back again then. There’s also no mention of the Nikon D3400 or D3500 this time around, either.

But, at least we’re off to a good start. I’m sure Nikon will get caught up eventually.

Thank you to Gunther for leading the charge for the past couple of years, and thank you to Nikon for finally listening to what your customers actually want.

[via LRTimelapse]