Leica’s official statement on the M9 battery issue

After the M9/SD card compatibility issue, Leica Camera AG issued another statement today about a potential M9 battery issue reported by several websites in the past few weeks:

Leica Camera has recently become aware of an issue being experienced by owners of the M9 in regard to the battery. The issue occurs when an M9 battery is fully charged and inserted into the camera. After a very short time, long before the normal drain period, the camera incorrectly shows a “battery low” message. This may happen every time the camera is used or only periodically.

Leica engineers have identified the source of the malfunction. It is caused by an electronic component that needs to be replaced. Once the component is replaced, the defect is remedied. There have been 15 cases of this problem, which is equal to 0.05% of the total units sold.

If you encounter this issue, please make sure that you are using original Leica batteries and send your camera to your local representative for repair. We will put a high priority on these repairs and fix them free of charge. We apologize for any inconvenience this issue has or may cause.