DJI Go4 Shutdown mid flight?

[Hiwayman]

So whether it’s health care or car mechanics or whatever, I believe in only making one change at a time so I know what actually works. In my case I was using the current software and the USB port and an iPhone. I’m going to change my cable and fly again this weekend. Is that a logical next move?

I think so, but you won't know for sure if it solves it, depending on the frequency of this intermittent glitch. I may be flying later today with a fresh cable.

 

[Laserbear]

I wonder if there is a more general thread about this issue. I had two alarming crashes of the DJI Go4 app with a Mavic Air mid-flight on Sunday. Had to re-start the app (android version) and reconnect both times. The second time, it informed me that the home point was updated, while the drone was well away from the launch point. I've never had this kind of problem in the 9 months of previous flying.

 

[Robnoxious]

Try clearing local cache in the go4 app. Also make sure the SD card is quick enough for the task.
Good luck

 

[WAXMAN]

Same here my Go4 app crashed mid flight. This was on a CS screen. Didn’t panic, just rebooted the CS then carried on flying. Only happened once last night.
The message that was on my screen was “go4 app stopped responding”
Then something about rebooting it.

And it's not even April 6 !!!!!!!!! lol

 

[Porky]

And it's not even April 6 !!!!!!!!! lol

I definitely won’t be flying on April falls day, lol

 

[GlynH]

This happened to me today flying my M2P using the Smart Controller - maybe not so smart after all!

I was flying the only Waypoint I have created which is a simple 5 point outline around the perimeter of a park at a constant height of 160 feet when somewhere between waypoints 2-3 I noticed the height, speed etc. at the bottom of the controller were all showing N/A before the app closed.

I'm sure I saw a brief message about the app closing but can't be sure because panic had already set in in milliseconds!

I mashed the RTH hard button on the Smart Controller and watched as the Mavic started to head for home.

I restarted DJI Go 4 and when it came back up it connected and all looked OK but I let the aircraft fly home, land and then turned it off followed by the Smart Controller before powering up the SC followed by the aircraft and all seemed back to normal.

It did throw an error when I went to load the Waypoint giving me the option to recover but I did get that feeling of doom when it disconnected.

I'll be happy if I don't see that message again...

-=Glyn=-

 

[Hiwayman]

This happened to me today flying my M2P using the Smart Controller - maybe not so smart after all!

I was flying the only Waypoint I have created which is a simple 5 point outline around the perimeter of a park at a constant height of 160 feet when somewhere between waypoints 2-3 I noticed the height, speed etc. at the bottom of the controller were all showing N/A before the app closed.

I'm sure I saw a brief message about the app closing but can't be sure because panic had already set in in milliseconds!

I mashed the RTH hard button on the Smart Controller and watched as the Mavic started to head for home.

I restarted DJI Go 4 and when it came back up it connected and all looked OK but I let the aircraft fly home, land and then turned it off followed by the Smart Controller before powering up the SC followed by the aircraft and all seemed back to normal.

It did throw an error when I went to load the Waypoint giving me the option to recover but I did get that feeling of doom when it disconnected.

I'll be happy if I don't see that message again...

-=Glyn=-

I had a short 10 to 15 minutes flight with new cable tonight with no drama. Given the number of reports following my first post on this device thread, I'm not convinced it was my kit that caused the problem.

 

[GlynH]

Well I flew a further two batteries after my incident yesterday and all four batteries today including flying the Waypoints without a repeat of yesterday’s drama so like you I’m hoping I won’t be seeing that again!

Hope all continues to go well for you but I have to say my peace of mind took a beating after the app bombed out yesterday...

-=Glyn=-

 

[Jwelz]

So whether it’s health care or car mechanics or whatever, I believe in only making one change at a time so I know what actually works.

Depending on how difficult to change a variable or parameter, it may be quickest to change 1/2 of them at once. If that fixes it, you undo 1/2 of those changes to see if it's still fixed. If it didn't, you undo the first changes and then change 1/2 of the things you didn't change the first time around. Repeat until done. It's like finding a place in a book with sorted chapters, sections and subsections where you are given the reference but don't know how many chapters, how many sections per chapter that happen to vary by chapter and how many subsections that may vay by section.

You open the book to the middle and if you're low, you split the 2nd half of the book in half to see if you're above or below. If you're high, you split the 1st half in the middle to see where you are.

Changing one page at a time takes potentially 1000 checks to find the spot in a 1000 page book. Using a binary search gets you to the page within no more than 10 attempts.

In practical terms, you should test those things that are easy and efficient to change first. If trials are easy, you may choose to change fewer variables. If complex and trials require rare specific conditions to undertake, the binary approach is much more efficient.

 

[Jwelz]

Well I flew a further two batteries after my incident yesterday and all four batteries today including flying the Waypoints without a repeat of yesterday’s drama so like you I’m hoping I won’t be seeing that again!

Hope all continues to go well for you but I have to say my peace of mind took a beating after the app bombed out yesterday...

-=Glyn=-

I bought a formerly DJI recommended Android device to run Go4. The device is no longer on their approved list.

Since that device had an Android version update, Go4 has crashed at least once per flight for every flight lasteng over 5 minutes and sometimes multiple times per flight. I have scoured the forums and help sites and tried every possible adjustment and setting, cable, micro SD card, closing apps, USB debugging, reboots, data roaming, network choice etc. Go4 simply will not run reliably without crashing on the phone that I bought on DJI's express recommendation.

The good news is that this in no way puts the drone at risk provided you maintain line of sight, orientation and situational awareness. All you lose is the camera view and a bit of information. Loss of the map and orientation arrow could be problematic if you lost sight of the drone or awareness of the direction it was aimed. Using an otherwise rock solid device which is stable and reliable with GoPro, Nikon, Canon and Moza gimbal apps and a similar array of hardware resources but just won't work reliably with Go4.

I've been cautious by ensuring I have no magnetic interference and adequate GPD before flying and the intermittent loss of Go4 has almost no impact on my use of the drone. So far Go4 has restarted and reconnected promptly after a crash so I could continue a shoot. When needed, I have an older deactivated phone which, thoughnot recommended by DJI, has proven reliable with Go4 despite less ram, a much used slower micro USB port vs USB C, a less powerful processor...

 

[Ziz ONE]

I actually had a similar problem. I was on my roof using WiFi control... as soon as I hit about 6 feet high the app would start bugging out. Controls would inverting upside down on the screen, the app would constantly reboot, and would switch from app home page to controls constantly. Luckily I was able to hit the auto-land button when it would appear briefly. This was not a one-time issue. It happened multiple times after rebooting drone and phone. The video I would start before takeoff all abruptly end at the same time the app started bugging out.

 

[burma419]

Mine disconnected today about 3 minutes into flight using iPad Mini 4. Screen went blank. Hit return to home unplugged and replugged tablet. It reconnected and I continued on with my flight. This was my second flight with Mavic Pro 2.