Catastrophic app failure -- result, Mavic lost :*(

[dsd317]

Is it a mistype as I'm it is advisable to upgrade to 11.2

Not sure what you're trying to say. But for me, upgrading to 11.2 resolved my app crashing episodes.

 

[Montypaks]

Sorry... I'm = in

**** autocorrect

 

[Jaythrow]

I'm suggesting @Jaythrow run the current version of iOS on all Apple devices. DJI GO has been crashing on Apple devices running iOS 11.1.*.

I did not upgrade yet, it’s true. And I know that it should improve the stability. But I have always been in trouble with GO4, whatever the version was (iOS or GO4) - mainly random failures (GO4 or iPhone/iPad battery crash). And I never had any problem with Litchi. So I use GO4 for major updates or new MP set-ups when flying in new areas. And then switch to Litchi for the flights.

 

[787steve]

I'm suggesting @Jaythrow run the current version of iOS on all Apple devices. DJI GO has been crashing on Apple devices running iOS 11.1.*.

Newbie here. 3 days flying my Mavic Pro. First two days, multiple Go 4 app crashes using my iPhone 6+. I was in line of site, so I just flew it with controller till app restarted. Finally, after numerous restarts, I gave up on app and flew with just eyes and controller. Good training for a new guy. Last night updated phone IOS and today was seamless. No app crashes. I am hoping this was due to update and those problems are history. Time will tell.

But this thread has given me some questions. Can you run Litchi app and Go 4 at same time, on same device and do a "hot switch" of apps if primary fails? Seems unlikely, but it would be nice.
Also, on iPhone, how would one go about loading an older version of Go 4 app?

 

[Jaythrow]

Litchi requires (in its online documentation) not to run DJI GO4 at the same time, and then to kill GO4 before launching. But I have never made any test to check that constraint, and run both appli in //. Who did?

 

[wsteele]

How was your iPhone connected to your controller? I had multiple disconnects between my iPhone and the controller. I minimized these disconnects by using a cable between my phone and the USB port at the bottom of the controller.

As an alternative, I also replaced the OEM cable and still got disconnects but when I turned off Bluetooth and put phone in airplane mode the disconnects stopped.

I know this won't help you now but perhaps it will help others.

 

[msinger]

Can you run Litchi app and Go 4 at same time

No. You can only run one app at a time. It would be possible to shut down DJI GO and start Litchi mid-flight (or vice versa).

on iPhone, how would one go about loading an older version of Go 4 app?

Check out this thread.

 

[Boeropreis]

Yes can confirm that this is working from Msinger, but you may take some time (some secs) after closing one app, before you start the second app. Occassionaly you will unplug the lightning cable to start the second app correctly. Usually I have the Mavic hover quietly when I do this. Same if you want to use the Hangar app for 360 PANO.. In that case I usually count to ten after closing the app before I start up the new app. In case your mavic goes to ATTI mode, do not panic, but switch back and forth to Sport mode with the side switch on the RC and you will regain control again.

 

[deutschmavic]

The Fateful Flight:
I noticed it was somewhat windy so I put the Mavic up about 30 feet to see if it got high wind warnings, nope, all clear.

ALWAYS use the attitude indicator (little circle button in the map display) to determine safe wind. The warnings are not always gonna be correct.

 

[Classic flyer]

I've reverted back to 4.1.0 and it's been great so far!

How do I go back to 4.1.0 from the latest version

 

[Bachi]

So today I lost my precious Mavic.


Backstory:
I was in a pretty remote, forested, mountainous area, but with a number of roads, cabins, and clearings also. Definitely very low extraneous radio signals, in fact I had no cell service in the area. (iPhone 6S, iOS 11.2.1, DJI Go 4.1.18)


The Fateful Flight:
I noticed it was somewhat windy so I put the Mavic up about 30 feet to see if it got high wind warnings, nope, all clear. So I started to take it up further, maybe 100 feet, when the app crashes. The app has only crashed maybe 1 or 2 times in many flights so I didn’t panic, just restarted it. Everything came back and I saw the Mavic was struggling to hold position, I switched to Sport mode and tried to fly to the home position. This was all of maybe 15 seconds and the app crashed again. I open it again, connects for only about 2 seconds, and crashes.

At this point I note that the controller is still connected and the distance is increasing slowly with no user input.

Crap, the wind is too strong, I need to put this down somewhere safe and walk to it. But I need visuals to do that.

As a slight panic is building I think how can I get the app to work? So I kill every app in task manager and completely restart the phone and start walking/jogging in the direction the wind is blowing, hoping this will reset whatever is causing the crash.

No luck, over and over the app crashes and I can’t get a visual. I am still connected through the controller and racking my brain trying to decipher from the controller display where it could possibly be, but all I can tell is that it is too far to hear (over 1km) and no matter how I try to rotate the craft and go forward nothing is reducing the distance number. I try reducing the altitude to get below the wind it doesn’t seem to be working, and I’m unsure how low I can go before getting in the trees.

It starts trying to come home, it can’t, as the distance number keeps slowly climbing. I watch in dismay as eventually it starts landing in some unknown location, now some 2km away, and eventually the signal is gone forever.

...

Lessons? Questions?

As I’ve had a few hours to reflect, I can’t think what I could have done differently other than not fly at all. Even in hindsight my choice to fly in a wind seems reasonably cautious, the high wind alert never activated, and if the app hadn’t failed so badly I would have still been able to land in a safe location.

Why is my app crashing? Even now without the drone it crashes after about 30 seconds trying to look at the flight logs or other functions.


Why did the high wind alert never sound?


Given this predicament, any genius ideas to safely land and locate the drone with no visuals?


Any chance DJI could look at some logs, acknowledge their app shouldn’t have failed so badly, and replace my Mavic or give a heavy discount?

It did happen to me several times, more often if I fly the drone straight up (poor antenna orientation). The best way to solve this problem is to switch off the remote control and wait for the Mavic to return home once the signal is completely lost. The best approach is to practice "emergency drills" in a safe environment, when you know on advance what will be happening and so you can stay calm. In a known and open area fly your drone to a reasonable altitude and distance (i.e. 30 mts and 50 mts) where con can see it. Drill one: disconnect your phone and flight it back (or return it home using the button in the remote control) without it, meaning using just the remote and the information it provides you. This will train you in case the app crashes, your phone runs out of battery, the USB cable gets broken or whatever may result in your not having a working screen. You will become confident that the phone is a plus but not a must and you will learn to read the information on the remote's screen. In case you get too nervous, you can always reconnect you phone (have it at hand just in case) The second, and even more dreadful drill, is just to switch off the remote (you can leave your phone connected and app running, the screen will freeze and go grey). The drone will be left flying on its own and after a few second it will return to its recorded home point. This is what you have to do when you have intermittent signal (radio signal). HD signal is not a problem if you know you can fly without a phone (after drill 1). In case you get too nervous, you can always switch on the remote and regain control The real problem most people are having is an intermittent RC signal (low or intermittent but not completely lost) so you cannot fly the drone and it may not respond to the RTH command. Normally it would hover and drift away with the wind while you panic and risk losing it. Hope this comment helps
Mostrar menos

 

[Lon Denard]

Have you tried home button on remote? Was not working at all? That would be the point to focus

Was wondering about that as well...

 

[Roc Rat]

I used to have problems with the App on my phone (Galaxy7) that I attributed to DJI and just about to give up flying out of paranoia of losing my bird. Then, after reading somewhere on this site I bought another phone (An android based with good specs for $125. and dedicated its use to my drone). (Bought it on Gearbest.com) It has no sim card to phone use and conflict is avoided. The DJI app is the only one on the phone and was wifi downloaded on the phone. All I can tell you is, my bird has flown without error or conflicts ever since. I think we expect too much from these phones and apps when so much computer processing is going on in the background. I can only share what worked for me in Colorado.

 

[Lil' DronePilot]

That's a neat tool! Unfortunately, the log stops 26.9s into the flight, the first app crash. None of the reboots started a new log.

I experienced app issues as you described recently. I deleted and reinstalled the app from my iPhone. Unfortunately I deleted all my vids I had on the app. Small price to pay I guess in comparison to flying blind, panicking and loosing your MP. I try to keep drone in vlos for the most part, but being as small as the MP is it’s often difficult to always see it. When the app crashes and video feed is nonexistent, pucker factor sets in and one panics. Luckily for me, I lost and found an MP before, therefor I learned from my mistakes, took the advise given to me on this forum and now calmly exercise my plan of action when unexpected issues occur. (Pucker factor seems to always be part of the plan of action)

 

[Andrew F]

It did happen to me several times, more often if I fly the drone straight up (poor antenna orientation). The best way to solve this problem is to switch off the remote control and wait for the Mavic to return home once the signal is completely lost. The best approach is to practice "emergency drills" in a safe environment, when you know on advance what will be happening and so you can stay calm. In a known and open area fly your drone to a reasonable altitude and distance (i.e. 30 mts and 50 mts) where con can see it. Drill one: disconnect your phone and flight it back (or return it home using the button in the remote control) without it, meaning using just the remote and the information it provides you. This will train you in case the app crashes, your phone runs out of battery, the USB cable gets broken or whatever may result in your not having a working screen. You will become confident that the phone is a plus but not a must and you will learn to read the information on the remote's screen. In case you get too nervous, you can always reconnect you phone (have it at hand just in case) The second, and even more dreadful drill, is just to switch off the remote (you can leave your phone connected and app running, the screen will freeze and go grey). The drone will be left flying on its own and after a few second it will return to its recorded home point. This is what you have to do when you have intermittent signal (radio signal). HD signal is not a problem if you know you can fly without a phone (after drill 1). In case you get too nervous, you can always switch on the remote and regain control The real problem most people are having is an intermittent RC signal (low or intermittent but not completely lost) so you cannot fly the drone and it may not respond to the RTH command. Normally it would hover and drift away with the wind while you panic and risk losing it. Hope this comment helps
Mostrar menos

For anyone following This Thread, I think this comment is the most pertinent. If you actually practice losing your app, then the Panic doesn't set in. And you realize you have most of the tools needed to solve almost any problem. Unless his GPS was down simultaneous to losing the app, then his bird was not in nearly as much trouble as he thought. Again, this is very easy to see in hindsight. So for those who have not practiced this, I think practicing without your app or by shutting your app off in mid-flight and doing a return to home either manually or automatically, is a great thing to do. I'm guilty of almost never using rth and almost forget it exists. However, I always verify my rth is set to my real location, and I always verify my return height is above any object that could possibly get between me and my drone. If you do those two things, you are going to be okay 99.9% of the time.

 

[Hal]

@br-travel, check out your TXT flight log to see if it gives any hints as to where your Mavic might have landed. You can upload and view it online here. If you'd like other people to review and comment on your flight log, then please post a link back here after you upload it.


I doubt it. The Mavic is flown with the remote controller (not your mobile device). That means you technically should have no trouble flying even if DJI GO crashes and/or your mobile device shuts down.

True. I lost the app before and just flew VLS with no issue and landed. Wonder if it was in gps or attitude Sorry for loss

 

[Za_tbr]

I can not even see if that is something in the air or on the ground let alone wat it is ..

 

[RileyS13]

Hey br-travel, really sorry to hear about your loss, but THANK YOU for starting this thread. It's made me think about loss of control scenarios I definitely hadn't considered and recovery techniques. If the location of your flight is within 100 miles of Reno NV and you want company trekking around the area looking, let me know. I wouldn't post that area online, though, for somewhat obvious reasons if you have any hopes of returning to try to find your Mavic.

 

[Lon Denard]

Hey br-travel, really sorry to hear about your loss, but THANK YOU for starting this thread. It's made me think about loss of control scenarios I definitely hadn't considered and recovery techniques. If the location of your flight is within 100 miles of Reno NV and you want company trekking around the area looking, let me know. I wouldn't post that area online, though, for somewhat obvious reasons if you have any hopes of returning to try to find your Mavic.

HEEEeeeyyyy! Just what are you driving at buddy? Hahahaha!

 

[aerialpatagonia]

I lost my visual feed on a Android phone with an earlier version of the app. At about 300m high. With some bareable wind. My first thought was RTH. And Im glad i did push that button. The bird then returned to a safe distance and i could control it. The videos was all messed. Thankfully i got myself an iPad and the experience is from another world. Shame on Dji. Really.