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RED V-RAPTOR Stuck at Amber LED — Won't Power On, Hard Reset Procedure

ALL RIGS

Summary

The RED V-RAPTOR shows only an amber LED next to the power switch — no fans, no LCD activity — and refuses to boot. This is a V-RAPTOR-specific hang state, typically triggered by a recent firmware update, unexpected power loss, or a camera configuration change (e.g. flipping the sensor). The fix is to remove all power (both battery and AC adapter) for several minutes, then restart from AC only with no battery.

Symptoms

  • Amber LED next to the power switch, solid or pulsing
  • No fans spinning
  • No LCD display
  • Camera does not respond to any button press
  • Was working normally the day before

Fix

[FIELD GUIDANCE] Full power cycle — remove all power sources

2022-10-05 — Mike Greenberg / IanH

  1. Remove the battery plate completely (or detach the V-LOCK / Gold Mount battery)
  2. Remove the AC power adapter (power brick)
  3. Leave the camera with no power for several minutes (at least 5 min)
  4. Reconnect AC power only — do not attach the battery
  5. Attempt to power on — should boot normally on AC
  6. If it still doesn't boot with AC, try the opposite battery (if a different battery is available) — a failed or deeply discharged battery can sometimes prevent startup
  7. Check that the correct power supply is matched to the camera (incorrect voltage can cause this)

Mike Greenberg, Oct 2022

"I think amber is usually related to battery. Solid is it's charging, and flashing means communicating with it. Can you try DC power with no battery attached and see if it resolves? Also ensure it's the right power supply."

If none of the above works: the camera may have a hardware fault — contact RED Support.

confidence_score: 0.75

WhatsApp Excerpts

[5/10/2022, 12:51:18 am] ~ Dan Gottesman: anyone have experience with the red v-raptor - specifically, it's not powering on properly. just an amber LED next to the power switch, no fans, nothing on the LCD… just sitting there, hanging. is there a way to hard reset it with some button presses or something?

[5/10/2022, 1:00:32 am] ~ Mike Greenberg: I think amber is usually related to battery. Solid is it's charging it, and flashing means communicating with it. Can you try DC power with no battery attached and see if it resolves? Also ensure it's the right power supply.

[5/10/2022, 1:03:55 am] ~ IanH: We tried that and still no luck getting it powered -- will let you know if it's resolved but it could just be a hardware issue

[5/10/2022, 1:11:14 am] ~ Mike Greenberg: Got it. Good luck. We encountered this once, and I think just pulling all the power - even the plate adapter for a few minutes fixed it. Typical RED behavior