Beware of .900

[PROMOLOZO]

Wow....I'm new to this forum, and I've discovered that one must be careful what you post here....you guys are brutal!
Like most pilots, you're going to make a mistake....it's just a matter of time. The Mavic is very easy to set up and fly, and because of that, the details in settings and firmware can be overlooked if you get in a rush.
It may help you to develop a pre-flight and post-flight checklist to mitigate those mistakes.Tailor it to suit you, include as many steps as you need. Obviously some of you geniuses don't need a checklist......
BTW, this is called POSITIVE feedback.

Probably also adding checking the device being used and cables-making sure its working in tip top shape as well

 

[Fleek]

I was approximately 250 feet into the air when the wind started to blow I turned the Mavic to bring it home as to not crash at the wind caught the gimbal and broke one of the fingers off the plate mount it was covered

This wind excuse sounds bizarre. Pilot error is more like it.

 

[Lake_Flyer]

Wow....I'm new to this forum, and I've discovered that one must be careful what you post here....you guys are brutal!
Like most pilots, you're going to make a mistake....it's just a matter of time. The Mavic is very easy to set up and fly, and because of that, the details in settings and firmware can be overlooked if you get in a rush.
It may help you to develop a pre-flight and post-flight checklist to mitigate those mistakes.Tailor it to suit you, include as many steps as you need. Obviously some of you geniuses don't need a checklist......
BTW, this is called POSITIVE feedback.

This is not about check lists, which is good advice anyway.
OP warns us about a firmware release while messing stuff up himself and even taking it for a spin without completeting FW install and do a proper IMU calibration afterwards, thus giving BAD advice, at least to other newcomers here.

 

[masaphotog]

This is not about check lists, which is good advice anyway.
OP warns us about a firmware release while messing stuff up himself and even taking it for a spin without completeting FW install and do a proper IMU calibration afterwards, thus giving BAD advice, at least to other newcomers here.

I did recalibrate the IMU and did a test without blades before hand. But people didn't think to ask that. I know this cause all the soap boxes I tripped over on day two of this thread.

 

[bucefalo]

if there is something I do not like about this forum is that there is no empathy and there is sometimes just a wish to BLAME pilot.. probably this guys made a big mistake.. but there are 1000 ways to tell him this without having this hidden "anger" versus him... guys seriously what's wrong? you feel glorious just to say "hey noob you made a mistake"? let's try to have a different kind of approach, can we?

 

[pure3d2]

This is not about check lists, which is good advice anyway.
OP warns us about a firmware release while messing stuff up himself and even taking it for a spin without completeting FW install and do a proper IMU calibration afterwards, thus giving BAD advice, at least to other newcomers here.

I think his "failed fw" install is a red herring. From what I know, if any part of the firmware install is messed up, the drone will not fly.

We know this because we had a guy tell us that he accidentally flashed his P4P with P4 firmware. It completed part way through, but the logs show during boot up, the drone gets hung up on a component which doesn't exist on a P4P, but does exist on a P4 (2.4 GHz module vs 5.8 GHz module).

As I've already explained, his 'failed fw" update was probably DJI Assistant hanging at 99% when his drone was actually done with the update itself (did the gimbal dance, rebooted twice, and did the DJI chime sound).

We have been keeping track of the .900 fw issues--there have been a lot of crashes related to the .900 update even when there were no problems with the update process and folks went through the recalibration of their IMU + compass.

He is not giving bad advice.

 

[Ron_Dog]

The MP is just like any other mass produced product! There are lemons,and there are good ones! There are successful firmware up grades, and there are failures. The MP put's a burden on the owner to keep it updated with the latest,and greatest firmware. DJI has made this a pain for people that "just want to go fly"! Turning it into a online class,of firmware updating,electronic trouble shooting,analizer reading,ect. My wife can't tell you where a spark plug is in her SUV,but she can drive it,and use all the functions it has,without her taking a night class at the local colledge. This quad could operate the same way. Most people just want a product that performs the way it is supposed to,without constantly jumping through hoops,and tinkering to get it to do it! There is NO doubt that DJI leads the current industry in constantly having to do firmware updates, (most unwanted or needed,and no real benefit to the owner). Apprently DJI never heard of the old addage,"If it ain't broke,Don't fix it"!

 

[masaphotog]

Can you give more details about the failed firmware update? Did you get an error message during the flashing process?

I don't think the firmware update failed because if it did, your drone would be bricked. I think what happened was the update process got to "99%" in DJI Assistant when in actuality, the update was finished on the drone itself.

If the drone's front red LEDs were flashing slowly, that means the update was still going. If the gimbal went through its calibration movement and you also heard the DJI startup sound, it means the update was fine and that the "failure" was just DJI Assistant getting hung up at 99%.

Wanna know something cool? The update percentage is controlled by the drone, not DJI Assistant. The drone tells DJ Assistant how far along it is. Sometimes DJI Assistant will get hung up on updating the progress bar and will just sit at 99% forever. The update process' secret sauce is this:

1). Firmware is downloaded from DJI's servers and saved to your hard drive
2). The firmware file is then uploaded to the drone through an FTP connection over a COM port
3). A flag is set on the drone and then the drone gets rebooted
4). The firmware process starts after the reboot
5). The drone reboots again when the update is finished

This whole time, DJI Assistant is just a spectator telling you how far along it is. All it does is upload the firmware file to the drone and sets a flag. The drone does everything else.

I was updating my Mavic yesterday and the same thing happened with DJI Assistant getting stuck at 99%. I looked at the LED lights on the Mavic (according to the manual) and then tested by turning on the RC. When the RC connected to the Mavic, I knew the update process was completed. DJI Assistant still read 99%. I turned the Mavic off, then back on again, closed DJI Assistant then reopened it. DJI Assistant connected to the Mavic and then showed that I had updated successfully.

I don't think your flyaway incident was due to the "failed update" simply because your drone was able to fly in the first place.

Perhaps your flyaway problem is related to the .900 fw. I've seen this reported in various places. I'm sure it's fine for the majority of people.

We've been looking at the firmware and testing it in a variety of conditions and have found that .900 does some strange things when certain conditions are met.

The process never rebooted once the program just shut down. No error messages no codes. I left it sitting there for nearly an hour it did nothing. I rebooted it my self and no errors from my ipad. So i took the blades off and spun it up full throttle no errors all motors worked and stopped at the same time. I calibrated the drone and put the blades back on and took it outside. Thats when it acted up.

 

[tomnjfl]

Bought the Mavic for my grandkids. It arrived January. Due to ill health and other circumstances it has never left the ground, now I am petrified that my settings and the software installed will not be compatible. I can't find anyone in the area who can help me.

Totally off topic, but you absolutely, 100%, hands-down, win the "best username" award.

 

[pure3d2]

The process never rebooted once the program just shut down. No error messages no codes. I left it sitting there for nearly an hour it did nothing. I rebooted it my self and no errors from my ipad. So i took the blades off and spun it up full throttle no errors all motors worked and stopped at the same time. I calibrated the drone and put the blades back on and took it outside. Thats when it acted up.

Which fw version are you on now? I'm on .700 and plan to keep it there.

 

[masaphotog]

Which fw version are you on now? I'm on .700 and plan to keep it there.

The crash completely destroyed the gimble and I had to send it back to DJI for repair I assume it is either at .800 or a failed .900.

 

[dbyantis]

What could possibly block the sensor. It was on a sidewalk.

Your shortest trip to some sort of answers will be when you get a chance to post your flight logs here, then the guessing can at least have some data.

 

[masaphotog]

I have 1750 flight hours across 5 different DJI products. I can honestly tell you I have no idea how to do that? I don't have the MP it is at DJI. I know it is stored at DJI but how do I get it out into a file?

 

[pure3d2]

I have 1750 flight hours across 5 different DJI products. I can honestly tell you I have no idea how to do that? I don't have the MP it is at DJI. I know it is stored at DJI but how do I get it out into a file?

If you flew it with the DJI Go app (it stores a copy of the flight logs), you should be able to get it.

 

[Ron_Dog]

When you start it and then spin the motors up, that's what's called "FLYING."

Bud

Uh? When you liftoff,that's called flying! You have to leave the ground first!

 

[Jixxerz]

Wow I wouldn't blame the guy if he never came back on this site. Instead of offering help and advice ( maybe I'm wrong but I thought that was sorta the point here) let's all see how bad we can make the guy feel and make fun of him. Some of you did offer helpful info, but most of you just had a contest to see who could be the bigger ***.
Good job guys.

 

[tastetickles]

Totally off topic, but you absolutely, 100%, hands-down, win the "best username" award.

Mine wasnt good enough apparently

 

[Ron_Dog]

If it's a programming problem/operator error then there's 2 things that went wrong. we all make mistakes,no matter how long we have flown,so the problem here is, there is nothing getting done to find and resolve the orginal problem. I've flown RC for over 40 years,and have screwed up many times,and prouably will again before I'm done.We need to change the name of this thread to "Pile On the OP"! LOL!

 

[Oyibo VFX]

Outside of this sometimes useless discussion, I think I go back one or two versions due to the fact that since the last update, I can't take no more panorama's. I thought it was Autopilot but this weekend I found out, it's not. Curious

 

[Robbyg]

I think his "failed fw" install is a red herring. From what I know, if any part of the firmware install is messed up, the drone will not fly.

We know this because we had a guy tell us that he accidentally flashed his P4P with P4 firmware. It completed part way through, but the logs show during boot up, the drone gets hung up on a component which doesn't exist on a P4P, but does exist on a P4 (2.4 GHz module vs 5.8 GHz module).

As I've already explained, his 'failed fw" update was probably DJI Assistant hanging at 99% when his drone was actually done with the update itself (did the gimbal dance, rebooted twice, and did the DJI chime sound).

We have been keeping track of the .900 fw issues--there have been a lot of crashes related to the .900 update even when there were no problems with the update process and folks went through the recalibration of their IMU + compass.

He is not giving bad advice.

The OP really got slammed on this one. I think most of the guys did not understand that a failed update is most likely not a real failure.

Every firmware version seems to have its quirks when installed on certain mavics. Why do 90% of the people have succes with any update they use and 10% find success with only particular versions is a mystery to me.

Rob