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How To Turn Off GoPro to Avoid Battery Drain

Running out of battery on your GoPro hero is a real problem, especially if you’re in the middle of an adventure. 

It’s not just frustrating to have your camera die when you need it most, but also costly. You could be missing out on capturing priceless moments that can’t be replaced.

The good news is there’s a way to avoid battery drain when your GoPro hero isn’t in use, and it doesn’t involve constantly unplugging the cable or removing the batteries.

There are a few ways to avoid running out of power and I’ll show you how below!

How To Turn Off Your GoPro to Avoid Battery Drain

Turn Off GoPro HERO7/6/5

This method will power down your GoPro HERO5 Session.

Hold the mode button for four seconds, then tap the shutter button five times quickly. Confirm by pressing OK on the screen that pops up.

If you don’t see a confirmation screen, check the menu settings for this option and make sure it’s switched on.

If not, turn your camera off completely (by holding down the mode button for four seconds) and turn it back on.

Then follow the above steps to confirm you want to power down when prompted after holding down mode for four seconds.

Turn Off GoPro Fusion

You can turn off your GoPro HERO7, HERO6 Black, or HERO5 Black by pressing the Mode/Power button for two seconds. The red light under the button will blink briefly to confirm that it’s powered down.

Turn Off GoPro HERO7 Silver/White

You can turn off your GoPro HERO7 Silver or HERO7 White by pressing the Mode/Power button for three seconds. The light will blink on and off to show that it’s switched off.

Auto Power Off

Choose an Auto Power setting that works for you.

Go to the main menu screen by pressing the back button, then Settings > System >Power Supply, and choose one of the following options: High – The camera powers off when in standby mode after 10 minutes.

Medium – The camera powers off after two hours. Low – The camera powers off after six hours. Off – Your GoPro hero will never power down automatically.

Voice Control

Tell your GoPro “GoPro, Turn Off.”

To turn it off, hold down the Power/Mode button for three seconds until you hear a beep and see two quick vibrations.

If you don’t see a message on the screen, the voice command wasn’t recognized. Make sure that your camera is awake and you haven’t already said a voice command recently. You may need to wait a few seconds if it’s currently recording or taking a photo.[1]

Using QuQuikCapture To maximize battery life

Use QuikCapture to stop your GoPro from turning off.

Turn on QuickCapture by pressing the Shutter Button once, and wait for the light under the shutter button to turn green. Then press and hold down the Shutter Button again until you hear a tone. The camera will now stay powered on as long as you hold down the shutter button.

Let go of the Shutter Button to stop recording or taking photos.

QuikCapture isn’t available with Time Lapse Photo mode, Burst mode, or Night Lapse. Make sure to switch off QuickCapture when you’re not using it. If your GoPro turns off while recording video, it’ll pick up where it left off after you turn it back on.

When your GoPro is switched off, it consumes more battery power than when it’s on.

If you’re still experiencing a significant amount of battery drain when your camera is turned off, try these tips to reduce the power consumption:

If you don’t need Bluetooth, turn it off.

Unmount the GoPro from its tripod or another mount so it doesn’t have to power the accessory.

Keep your camera warm when charging. When batteries are cold, they hold less of a charge, so keeping them warm will help them last longer.

Charge your batteries outside of your camera (if possible). If batteries are stored inside a cold camera and then taken outside to charge, they might not be able to provide as much power to the camera.

Clean your battery contacts. Dirty contacts can reduce battery life by up to 20%. To clean them, use a cotton swab or rub alcohol.

Charge with the side doors open. This gives the battery more surface area for a faster charge.

If none of these tips work, your batteries may be damaged and need to be replaced. You can purchase additional batteries from GoPro.

Frequently Asked Questions and Answers

Q: My camera doesn't turn off, even when I hold down the power/mode button for several seconds.

A: If your  GoPro HERO Session is frozen or unresponsive, you’ll need to force it to power down before attempting to turn it back on again.

To do that, press and hold both the Shutter Button and Mode/Power Button for 10 seconds. You should see a message on the screen confirming that your GoPro is powering down.

Once it’s off press the shutter or release the buttons. Your camera will power back up automatically.

Q: My camera doesn't turn on or stay turned on; it only turns off and then immediately powers back on again.

A: This could mean that your battery is drained or faulty. Try charging it for several hours to see if that fixes the problem. If not, you may need to replace the battery.

Q: I have trouble hearing my GoPro beep when trying to turn it off using voice control.

A: You can adjust the volume level of your GoPro’s voice prompts in the settings menu, so make sure the volume is turned up in your voice command.

If you’re still having trouble hearing your GoPro’s voice prompts, try powering it off using the method above.

Q: When I turn my camera on after turning it off with QuickCapture, it takes several seconds to start recording or taking photos again.

A: There’s a slight delay in your camera powering back up after QuickCapture turns it off. If you’d like, you can turn off  QuickCapture and press the shutter so that your camera shuts down immediately when you hold the Shutter Button.

Conclusion

Thank you for reading this article. I hope that this has been helpful to you and that you understand how to turn off your GoPro, as well as a few tips on how to prevent battery drain.

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