Aircraft Disconnected kept happening today

[RonanCork]

Hey Guys,

Getting an "Aircraft Disconnected" message continually today - wondering could you guys help ? See details below

Problem?

Getting Aircraft disconnected message when i fly more than 30/40m. Was flying my MA no more than 50/70m away from me and no more than 20/30 ft in altitude, was a little windy.
I've shot in this same location many times before today with no issues. Note I did get a 'strong aircraft interference' message a few times when flying. Kept on getting the
aircraft Disconnected message, screen would go gray then would correct itself n be ok. But this happened lots of times. See attached popup and flight log

Was unit in a crash? No, but 2 weeks ago it was caught by wind and while only 1/2m high tipped over into high grass, no obvious damage.

What have you tried so far?: Restarted drone and mavic air. Tried blowing in the usb-c port. Can try tomorrow using an air blower on it to properly do it.

What device are you using? Huawei P20

What firmware are you running ( aircraft, remote controller)? Not sure but I bought the drone in Jan of this year and update straight away so the firmware is 6 months old.

What Go app version are you using? v4.3.20

Any modification? No

Did you change anything or install any apps? No

Do you have a video or pictures of the problem? Yes - attached image of popup (see below in thread)

Flight logs:

DJI Flight Log Viewer | Phantom Help

Upload and view flight logs from your DJI drones

www.phantomhelp.com

DJI Flight Log Viewer | Phantom Help

Upload and view flight logs from your DJI drones

www.phantomhelp.com

Thanks Ro

 

[old man mavic]

maybe the terrible weather we are experiencing at the moment in the UK affected the compass and GPS lock we are having lots of thunderstorms in many parts that keep knocking out sky reception where i live in wales just a thought

 

[Moose1967]

Try a new usb cable and also check your ports for dust and debris - if you can still control the aircraft then the issue is between the controller and the mobile device - if the aircraft is returning to home automatically then it's between the controller and the quad.

 

[RonanCork]

Hey. Thanks. Forgot to mention when I get this aircraft Disconnected message - I also get a popup saying that return to home will start. the buttons are cancel and ok. If I hit cancel then I regain control of the aircraft albeit temporarily till out happens again a few seconds later. Sorry I don't know how I forgot to mention this important bit of info
Thanks Ro

 

[Moose1967]

Hey. Thanks. Forgot to mention when I get this aircraft Disconnected message - I also get a popup saying that return to home will start. the buttons are cancel and ok. If I hit cancel then I regain control of the aircraft albeit temporarily till out happens again a few seconds later. Sorry I don't know how I forgot to mention this important bit of info
Thanks Ro

Does this happen at multiple sites or just this spot. I fly a lot in remote places so I don’t see that’s message often - the one time I started getting disconnects and gimbal restarts I got a new 90 degree cable and I was surprised to see crud in the ports one my iPad - cleaned it out and never had them again - I really think it was the crud not that the new cable but the cable was only $5 on aliexpress so I a must not complaining.

 

[Deleted member 94047]

Hey. Thanks. Forgot to mention when I get this aircraft Disconnected message - I also get a popup saying that return to home will start. the buttons are cancel and ok. If I hit cancel then I regain control of the aircraft albeit temporarily till out happens again a few seconds later. Sorry I don't know how I forgot to mention this important bit of info
Thanks Ro

This is definitely not a cable issue; the radio link between your remote controller and the MA is getting disrupted. A cable disconnect does not trigger RTH. At the distance and height you mentioned, you shouldn't be experiencing a signal loss. Strong interference (such as from WiFi networks for example) at your location is most likely the issue. Search in this forum about enabling the FCC mode on the MA, it is really simple and might solve your problems.

 

[RonanCork]

Hey Guys,

So this is the actual popup I see. Tired it again today and it's the same. I can seem to actually still fly the MA but the RC isn't usable till it reconnects. I did again today hey a strong aircraft interference message

Later tonight I'll update my original post to be in the correct format to show versions of MA, go app etc

Also to answer other replies in this thread, weather was fine just cloudy n didn't get a different location from yesterday. I can try tommrw.

Thanks Ro

 

[RonanCork]

Try a new usb cable and also check your ports for dust and debris - if you can still control the aircraft then the issue is between the controller and the mobile device - if the aircraft is returning to home automatically then it's between the controller and the quad.

Hey thanks. Tried to clean the port by blowing into it. Maybe there is a better way? But didn't seem to help. As you can see from my last post. I can still control the craft by sight. But this is far from ideal. If I hit cancel on the return to home it then usually comes back n I can bring it home but then I'll get it again a few secs later.

 

[Moose1967]

I agree with Doppler now that you clarified - I don't think this is the issue but out your mobile device in airplane mode too - I flew on my property the other day and its way away from everything but my biddy was there with his MPP - as soon as he fired it up I got the strong interference warning. I never get that when I am there myself. Even if you didn't have the antennas up this shouldn't cause an issue either.

Try compressed air from a can or compressor

 

[RonanCork]

maybe the terrible weather we are experiencing at the moment in the UK affected the compass and GPS lock we are having lots of thunderstorms in many parts that keep knocking out sky reception where i live in wales just a thought

Hey, thanks for the reply. Only thing though it was cloudy but windy at the time, Had been raining earlier in the day.

 

[RonanCork]

Hey Guys, I've updated the original message to now be in the correct format.

Thanks Ro

 

[RonanCork]

I agree with Doppler now that you clarified - I don't think this is the issue but out your mobile device in airplane mode too - I flew on my property the other day and its way away from everything but my biddy was there with his MPP - as soon as he fired it up I got the strong interference warning. I never get that when I am there myself. Even if you didn't have the antennas up this shouldn't cause an issue either.

Try compressed air from a can or compressor

Hey - cheers I'll try the compressed air trick and see if that works. Btw - should I always fly in only Airplane mode ? I fly with wifi off, airplane mode off and location on. Maybe this combination isn't advisable ? -but I've only had the AD message happen 2/3 times before this in 5 months of flying.

 

[RonanCork]

This is definitely not a cable issue; the radio link between your remote controller and the MA is getting disrupted. A cable disconnect does not trigger RTH. At the distance and height you mentioned, you shouldn't be experiencing a signal loss. Strong interference (such as from WiFi networks for example) at your location is most likely the issue. Search in this forum about enabling the FCC mode on the MA, it is really simple and might solve your problems.

Thanks I'll check out FCC.

 

[RonanCork]

Hey Guys,

In the meantime, I've the flight logs here, some interesting things in them I think - you might be able to make sense of them.

DJI Flight Log Viewer - PhantomHelp.com
DJI Flight Log Viewer - PhantomHelp.com

Thanks Ro.

 

[Deleted member 94047]

Ronan, I will leave the flight log analysis to the experts but it is clear that you are experiencing problems with the downlink (transmission from the drone to the remote controller). Again, at those distances and height, you shouldn't be experiencing these issues. My bet is on local interference at your site. Change locations and see if the issue persists. If it does, then you may have a more serious issue. If it doesn't and the interference is localized, you can try switching frequencies or channels. You can also consider the FCC hack. Good luck with figuring this out

 

[RonanCork]

Ronan, I will leave the flight log analysis to the experts but it is clear that you are experiencing problems with the downlink (transmission from the drone to the remote controller). Again, at those distances and height, you shouldn't be experiencing these issues. My bet is on local interference at your site. Change locations and see if the issue persists. If it does, then you may have a more serious issue. If it doesn't and the interference is localized, you can try switching frequencies or channels. You can also consider the FCC hack. Good luck with figuring this out

Thanks - I'll try the change of location, might be a day or 2 before I get a chance to fly to check it out (work commitments). I'll keep you posted.. Also (as an aside) is it best practice to have Airplane mode switched OFF? I usually have it OFF and also I have wifi and everything else switched OFF too.

 

[Deleted member 94047]

Also (as an aside) is it best practice to have Airplane mode switched OFF? I usually have it OFF and also I have wifi and everything else switched OFF too.

I would say anything that you don't actually need while flying is better left switched off; less distraction, less demand on your phone's resources, and less chance of something going wrong. I generally fly with my phone in Airplane mode, with everything other than location services turned off.

 

[Moose1967]

Hey thanks. Tried to clean the port by blowing into it. Maybe there is a better way? But didn't seem to help. As you can see from my last post. I can still control the craft by sight. But this is far from ideal. If I hit cancel on the return to home it then usually comes back n I can bring it home but then I'll get it again a few secs later.

Forced air is better if you are blowing into it you are adding moisture. I used my Samsung 8 phone that has a magnifier on it and I could not beleive how much crud was in my mini ipad 2 - looking forward to finding out if you resolved this issue

 

[RonanCork]

Hey Guys,

Sorry I've not got a chance to check out this (compressed air and also the FCC mode option) due to work commitments and also the lovely Irish summer (which is rain at the moment!). As soon as I do I'll let you know.

Thanks - Ro

 

[RonanCork]

Hey Guys,

So, following your advice, I set the drone to use FCC mode and it looks to have fixed the problem. I went 300m distance with no problem (previously it was only 40m!). It also seemed less laggy too. So a good result all round. I'll be doing more flying later this week so I'll get more of chance to use it.

Thanks - Ro