Danger! Odd Return to Home Firmware Issue After Update 01.01.0610 Mavic Air 2

[bravezoo63]

Have you checked the set RTH height?
Is the behaviour you are seeing during the initial part of the 'RTH' in accordance with that given in the manual?
Is there a restriction zone at the height? Temporary or otherwise.
With regards to down grading the firmware have you connected the drone to the computer running the relevant version of Assistant 2 and had a look to see if any downgrade options are offered?

RTH is set to 393'. I wasn't flying in a restricted zone. The only option Assistant 2 allows me is to refresh v.01.01.0700 - the new firmware upgrade. I did that to no avail

 

[bravezoo63]

Post #17 sounds like a possible cause.

The way to solve flight mysteries is to look at the recorded flight data to see what actually happened.

Go to DJI Flight Log Viewer | Phantom Help
Follow the instructions there to upload your flight record from your phone or tablet.
That will give you a detailed report of the flight.
Come back and post a link to the report it gives you.
Or .. just post the txt file here.

Was the drone possibly flying into bright sunlight? That can trip the obstacle avoidance and stop the drone from proceeding further. It would also possibly be trying to climb in that situation, which matches your report.

Unfortunately, no. It was fairly grey and gloomy this afternoon. Again, everything was copacetic before the new firmware was installed.

 

[bravezoo63]

Post #17 sounds like a possible cause.

The way to solve flight mysteries is to look at the recorded flight data to see what actually happened.

Go to DJI Flight Log Viewer | Phantom Help
Follow the instructions there to upload your flight record from your phone or tablet.
That will give you a detailed report of the flight.
Come back and post a link to the report it gives you.
Or .. just post the txt file here.

Here is the flight log. This RTH anomaly happened during every flight today after the installation of the new firmware. In this particular log, the event begins at minute 12:55. Conditions were cloudy. OA is set to Brake, although the anomaly occurred in Bypass and Off modes as well. I did refresh the firmware, although there is no option I can see in DJI Assistant 2 to revert to an earlier firmware version. I have read that this option has been eliminated? For all practical purposes this firmware update has disabled my RTH function. I have emailed DJI support, so will see if they might have some suggestions.

 

[Tufargon]

Here is the flight log. This RTH anomaly happened during every flight today after the installation of the new firmware. In this particular log, the event begins at minute 12:55. Conditions were cloudy. OA is set to Brake, although the anomaly occurred in Bypass and Off modes as well. I did refresh the firmware, although there is no option I can see in DJI Assistant 2 to revert to an earlier firmware version. I have read that this option has been eliminated? For all practical purposes this firmware update has disabled my RTH function. I have emailed DJI support, so will see if they might have some suggestions.

I think DJI stopped rollbacks because of Dronehacks. Anything after 01.01.0610.

 

[Meta4]

Here is the flight log. This RTH anomaly happened during every flight today after the installation of the new firmware. In this particular log, the event begins at minute 12:55. Conditions were cloudy. OA is set to Brake, although the anomaly occurred in Bypass and Off modes as well. I did refresh the firmware, although there is no option I can see in DJI Assistant 2 to revert to an earlier firmware version. I have read that this option has been eliminated? For all practical purposes this firmware update has disabled my RTH function. I have emailed DJI support, so will see if they might have some suggestions.

RTH starts at 778.2 and appears to be working normally until 788.7 sec when it slams on the brakes by pitching back 47°, bringing the drone to a stop and climbing 7 ft.
It starts moving forward again and pitches back again at 792.4 sec, at 796.2, 799.6, 803.4 & 801.7 sec.
The drone had been respecting the Max Altitude limit after climbing the first time.
At 806.1 sec you brought the drone down to 376 ft, still in RTH.
At 810.6 sec it slammed on the brakes again and climbed again, also at 814.7, climbing till it hit the 400 ft limit.
Shortly after, you cancelled the RTH and brought it home yourself.

This looks like obstacle avoidance behaviour with the drone stopping and trying to climb over a perceived obstacle in its path.

If you encounter it again, try disabling the OA sensors.
You might also have to disable OA in RTH.

 

[bravezoo63]

RTH starts at 778.2 and appears to be working normally until 788.7 sec when it slams on the brakes by pitching back 47°, bringing the drone to a stop and climbing 7 ft.
It starts moving forward again and pitches back again at 792.4 sec, at 796.2, 799.6, 803.4 & 801.7 sec.
The drone had been respecting the Max Altitude limit after climbing the first time.
At 806.1 sec you brought the drone down to 376 ft, still in RTH.
At 810.6 sec it slammed on the brakes again and climbed again, also at 814.7, climbing till it hit the 400 ft limit.
Shortly after, you cancelled the RTH and brought it home yourself.

This looks like obstacle avoidance behaviour with the drone stopping and trying to climb over a perceived obstacle in its path.

If you encounter it again, try disabling the OA sensors.
You might also have to disable OA in RTH.

Thanks Meta4 for analyzing my flight data. I really appreciate your time and effort. Here's the update: I turned off Brake and Bypass and had smooth RTH on 3 of 3 flights - so progress. I still don't have vertical control during RTH though, which from reading other forum posts might be a new DJI thing. As long as I don't try to control my RTH descent the drone returns to the home point on an altitude of its own choosing. If I try to descend (or elevate) during RTH the drone will return to its predetermined altitude for the flight home. Like others, I don't like the loss of control and not being able to descend to a lower wind speed to conserve battery, or heaven forbid, descend quickly to avoid an aircraft. I guess exiting RTH to do this is still an option, albeit now an option with an extra step. So the bottom line is I have workable RTH, but without Bypass or Brake modes and without much vertical control. I am still working with DJI support who asked me to refresh v01.01.0700, which I had already done. They did tease me with the possibility of directly down loading the old firmware onto my drone via computer linkup, so I'll pull on that thread to see where it goes. Again, THANK YOU for your time and suggestions.

​

 

[bravezoo63]

Post #17 sounds like a possible cause.

The way to solve flight mysteries is to look at the recorded flight data to see what actually happened.

Go to DJI Flight Log Viewer | Phantom Help
Follow the instructions there to upload your flight record from your phone or tablet.
That will give you a detailed report of the flight.
Come back and post a link to the report it gives you.
Or .. just post the txt file here.

Update on MA2 firmware 01.01.0700/RTH anomaly...
After trying all of DJI's usual fixes (ie. recalibrating sensors, refreshing firmware, wiping off the sensors with soft cloth, etc),
they decided a DJI Refresh claim and drone replacement was the best solution. There is absolutely no longer an option to downgrade firmware. So in their mind the issue will be classified as "natural wear". I have heard from 2 others who experienced the exact same MA2 RTH problem after updating to 01.01.0700. One member actually has two MA2s. After upgrading firmware, one of them experienced the anomaly, the other didn't. I am pretty satisfied with DJI service on this claim and am looking forward to being back up in the air soon. Again, thanks for reviewing my log and for your suggestions.

 

[bravezoo63]

Post #17 sounds like a possible cause.

The way to solve flight mysteries is to look at the recorded flight data to see what actually happened.

Go to DJI Flight Log Viewer | Phantom Help
Follow the instructions there to upload your flight record from your phone or tablet.
That will give you a detailed report of the flight.
Come back and post a link to the report it gives you.
Or .. just post the txt file here.

Update on MA2 firmware 01.01.0700/RTH anomaly...
After trying all of DJI's usual fixes (ie. recalibrating sensors, refreshing firmware, wiping off the sensors with soft cloth, etc),
they decided a DJI Refresh claim and drone replacement was the best solution. There is absolutely no longer an option to downgrade firmware. So in their mind the issue will be classified as "natural wear". I have heard from 2 others who experienced the exact same MA2 RTH problem after updating to 01.01.0700. One member actually has two MA2s. After upgrading firmware, one of them experienced the anomaly, the other didn't. I am pretty satisfied with DJI service on this claim and am looking forward to being back up in the air soon. Again, thanks for reviewing my log and for your suggestions.

 

[Tufargon]

Update on MA2 firmware 01.01.0700/RTH anomaly...
After trying all of DJI's usual fixes (ie. recalibrating sensors, refreshing firmware, wiping off the sensors with soft cloth, etc),
they decided a DJI Refresh claim and drone replacement was the best solution. There is absolutely no longer an option to downgrade firmware. So in their mind the issue will be classified as "natural wear". I have heard from 2 others who experienced the exact same MA2 RTH problem after updating to 01.01.0700. One member actually has two MA2s. After upgrading firmware, one of them experienced the anomaly, the other didn't. I am pretty satisfied with DJI service on this claim and am looking forward to being back up in the air soon. Again, thanks for reviewing my log and for your suggestions.

So you had to pay a Refresh claim for something they did that broke your drone?
This is another reason why I didn't update past 01.01.0610. Anything after that is irreversible.