GoPro Hero 11 Error F34 Fix Guide

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What This Error Means

F34 on a GoPro Hero 11 is a firmware / SD-card communication fault.

In plain language: the camera can’t talk cleanly to the memory card, freaks out, and throws F34 instead of recording properly.

Official Fix

Here’s the by-the-book routine, roughly what GoPro support will run you through.

  • 1. Hard restart and reseat the battery
    • Power the camera off (hold the Mode button until it shuts down).
    • Pop the side door, pull the battery out for 30 seconds.
    • Reinsert the battery firmly and power it back on.
    • If F34 was a one-off glitch, it may be gone already.
  • 2. Check the SD card spec
    • Use a microSD U3 or V30 or better card, from a known brand (SanDisk, Samsung, Lexar, etc.).
    • Avoid cheap no-name cards; they trigger these faults constantly.
    • If the card is older, has been used in multiple devices, or is heavily full, mark it as suspect.
  • 3. Backup and format the card in the camera
    • Copy everything you care about off the card using a computer.
    • Put the card back into the GoPro.
    • On the Hero 11: swipe down > tap the Preferences / wrench icon > look for Format SD Card (sometimes under Reset or Storage).
    • Run the format. This rebuilds the file system the way the GoPro expects.
    • Test by recording a short clip; see if F34 reappears.
  • 4. Do a factory reset
    • Menu path is usually: Preferences > Reset > Factory Reset.
    • This wipes settings, not your card contents.
    • After reset, set date/time, basic options, and test again with the same card.
  • 5. Update the firmware the official way
    • Pair the camera with the GoPro app (or GoPro Quik) on your phone.
    • Let it check for firmware updates and install whatever it finds.
    • After the update, power-cycle the camera once more and test recording.
  • 6. If F34 repeats with more than one good card
    • Test a second known-good, U3/V30 microSD card.
    • If F34 shows up on multiple fresh cards after format and firmware update, GoPro considers this a hardware/service issue.
    • At that point, the official next step is to contact GoPro support for repair or replacement options.

The Technician’s Trick

Here’s how a field tech usually beats F34 faster than the script.

  • 1. Kill all leftover charge
    • Remove battery and SD card.
    • With both out, hold the Mode button for 15–20 seconds to bleed off any stray charge.
    • Let it sit one more minute, then reinstall the battery only and power it on (no card yet).
    • If it boots clean with no F34 and no card, you just confirmed the camera itself can start fine.
  • 2. Prep a known-good, clean card from a computer
    • On a PC or Mac, fully format a quality microSD card as exFAT (64 GB and up) or FAT32 (smaller cards).
    • Quick format is fine; the goal is a clean, empty file system.
    • Do not copy any old GoPro folders (like DCIM or MISC) back to it yet.
    • Insert that card into the GoPro, power it up, then format it again inside the camera.
    • Now test with a few 30–60 second clips at high resolution (5.3K or 4K60). If it survives that, the problem was your old card or its file system.
  • 3. Manual firmware reload (offline)
    • If F34 still pops, a tech will often do a manual firmware reinstall via SD card.
    • They grab the latest Hero 11 firmware package from GoPro’s support site, unzip it to an empty card, then boot the camera so it forces a fresh update.
    • This can clear weird, card-related firmware glitches that the app-based update doesn’t always clean up.
  • 4. Strip it down and isolate the fault
    • Test the camera bare: no Media Mod, no lens mods, no cables, just battery + card.
    • If F34 disappears bare, one of the add-ons or a bad cable was dragging voltage or causing noise on the bus.
    • If F34 still shows up after all this with two or more good cards, call it what it is: an internal board problem.

Is It Worth Fixing? (The Financial Verdict)

  • ✅ Fix: Under warranty, or F34 only shows with one old / sketchy SD card and goes away with a new V30 card and fresh firmware.
  • ⚠️ Debatable: Out of warranty, error is rare, you can work around it by using just one known-good card and avoiding max resolution/bitrate.
  • ❌ Replace: F34 appears with multiple brand-new cards, camera locks or reboots often, and any quoted repair cost is close to a used or new Hero 11 (or newer model).

Parts You Might Need

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See also

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