Did I damage my drone? Please help

itsfwizzy · Mar 30, 2022

So I went to activate my mini indoors and for some reason it wanted to fly into the cieling and I grabbed it before it could hit any of the walls, whil grabbing it I kinda touched the gimbal enough to slightly move it and the propellers started going fast, I’m assuming due to me holding it and my hands activating the sensors. After a few mins, the battery eventually ran out but I’m very sad now and curious on if I did any damage do any of the parts and now I do not want to touch it

I know this mistake was very irresponsible and any information would be greatly appreciated as I hope to become a better drone owner

GadgetGuy · Mar 30, 2022

Don't fly indoors on your first flight.
Remove the props before activating to make sure it can't fly.
If it's damaged, hopefully you bought Refresh.

Yorkshire_Pud · Mar 30, 2022

Firstly if it started the motors and took off with out input from you via either touching the launch button or using the CSC stick position then I think it you need to be careful of this drone it may be faulty.
Secondly if it did not need activation then it it not new. (Did you buy it as new?) If it was new and needs activation then it should not take off with out being activated. If it did I would be wary of it.

Thirdly.
The normal method of stopping the motors of a drone held still/stationary in the hand is to hold the throttle closed, this should stop the motors after a few seconds. If the drone is fighting you then it may take longer as it first needs to sense that it is still/stationary before it will stop the motors.
There are two method of emergency shut down.
Ordered by ease of use the first, and not an official method, is to quickly tilt the drone to 90deg so that the propellers are vertical but this may not always work. The alternative needs you to go into the menus of the control app, find the emergency shut down option and change the setting to "Anytime". Then put the sticks into the CSC position and hold them there, the motors should stop after the position has been held for around 2 seconds.

Once the motors have stopped switch the option back to "Emergency Only", it is too easy to trigger a mid air shut down with the option left at "Anytime".

I suggest you read the manual before you make another attempt, I assume this is a Mini 2 in which case the manual can be found at pdf . (Click on the brown print of "pdf".)

Starz · Mar 30, 2022

Next time you grab it, turn it upside down. It will shut down.

Faster · Mar 30, 2022

Starz said:
Next time you grab it, turn it upside down. It will shut down.

This^^^^^^^

Yaros · Mar 30, 2022

I do not think that it would be damaged by you touching the gimbal when it's in flight, or the battery running out.
I have touched the gimbal multiple times while it's on, nothing bad happened.
About the battery, I'm not sure. Fully charge the battery and try to fly it outdoors with a GPS lock, it should work. However, if it ran out of charge completely, the battery might be broken. If the battery doesn't seem to be charging, leave the battery on charge for about 8 hours and see if it starts charging, it should recover.

zeusfl · Mar 30, 2022

The gimbal is the most delicate part of our drones. Is true that just for touch will do no damage but gimbals are calibrated and is not recommended mess with it. Also when a drone crash, propellers, and gimbal are the most common part that will be damaged.

zeusfl · Mar 30, 2022

And welcome to the forum !!

eric32 · Mar 30, 2022

The gimballs on these drones are pretty resilient though. I flew a mavic 2 pro straight into a hill on a golf course at about 30 MPH. One of the propellers snapped, but no major damage, including to the gimball. Recalibrated it, and the gimball worked perfectly. I did have to send it in to fix one of the motors where the propeller broke, but gimball was all good. They're delicate, but they do take a beating.

Jack C · Apr 2, 2022

I would just as a precaution go into the menus and recalibrate the gimbal. Very easy to do.

snowghost · Apr 2, 2022

Probably hit Auto Takeoff by mistake.

ashyt16 · Apr 11, 2022

I had hold of my mini the other day inside and out of 'stupid' curiosity I started the auto take off.
After a second or so the motors went full on and I was taken aback by how much force there was, it almost pulled out of my hand.
I was worried it was gonna smack into the ceiling if I let go and didn't want to tilt it at such a high speed. Luckily I managed to shut it down by the sticks using one hand.

No damage, but surprised me though.

Yorkshire_Pud · Apr 11, 2022

Holding just the throttle fully closed will stop the motors in such an event, just tested it,
Ditto sharply tilting the drone to one side so that the propellors are vertical, again just tested.
Do not use the twist thing as a routine method of stopping the motors, eep it for 'emergencies', I doubt it's good for the motors or the airframe,
Also don't make a habit of holding a 'fighting drone' for prolonged periods, I was doing some testing that necessitated that and got an ESC warning when the motors were finally stopped.
I am not suggesting you will, or do, hold a fighting drone as a matter of routine, I am merely suggesting that such could lead to problems.

Mavic Merrick · May 5, 2022

itsfwizzy said:
So I went to activate my mini indoors and for some reason it wanted to fly into the cieling and I grabbed it before it could hit any of the walls, whil grabbing it I kinda touched the gimbal enough to slightly move it and the propellers started going fast, I’m assuming due to me holding it and my hands activating the sensors. After a few mins, the battery eventually ran out but I’m very sad now and curious on if I did any damage do any of the parts and now I do not want to touch it I know this mistake was very irresponsible and any information would be greatly appreciated as I hope to become a better drone owner

It is totally normal for the drone to try to fly off if it is grabbed. Sounds to me like your drone is not damaged. Just go outside to an open area and take a flight.

Mavic Merrick · May 5, 2022

I would also practice manually taking off and landing the drone in your hand it’s none of the automated features because it is very important to know how to do manual incase of emergency. I made the exact mistake before I was familiar with taking off and landing manually in the house and got freaked out so I tried to sneak in the back and take the battery out, resulting in a decent cut in my finger are the battery still in the drone. Made second attempt more carefully and got the battery out.

ashyt16 · May 5, 2022

Mavic Merrick said:
I would also practice manually taking off and landing the drone in your hand it’s none of the automated features because it is very important to know how to do manual incase of emergency. I made the exact mistake before I was familiar with taking off and landing manually in the house and got freaked out so I tried to sneak in the back and take the battery out, resulting in a decent cut in my finger are the battery still in the drone. Made second attempt more carefully and got the battery out.

Take the battery out?