Every Flight Is A White Knuckle Experience

[Canuk]

You could talk to a manager at Costco and tell him what’s going on . They might be ok for you to try one right there and see if you can find a good one .
The extra warranty is a plus if you can get one that’s not a paper weight

 

[VintageDude]

 

[DroningOn]

Amazon?

 

[VintageDude]

Even though I'm a Prime member, their prices, use of third party sellers with questionable ethics and products, plus Amazon's privacy issues have gotten to the point where I find that I'm buying a lot less from them. I'll wait until the holiday is over before I decide what to do, but thanks for the suggestions.

 

[Sprocket]

Kinda sounds like he bought a Keurig.

 

[Droneroni]

Mine came straight from dji, fwiw.

 

[AndyMustang]

We have a few other Costco's within a reasonable driving distance, so maybe I'll try a different store next time.

I'm in the UK and have similar problems sometimes, i get a whole range of problems popping up mid flight, sometimes its loss of signal, the worrying one that keeps popping up is compass error - error unknown! i can calibrate it with no major issues but in certain areas its almost impossible to fly, I think you do have a defective bird in my honest opinion, and i will say this... when they work, they are a pleasure to fly... dont give up and try another
It will be worth it in the end, the reason you purchased one in the first place is because of all the reviews and footage on youtube you have seen and the fact it's so popular should tell you this is an amazing bit of kit. I hope you get another one and this time everything will be ok..... third time lucky perhaps?
Happy flying fellow pilot

 

[Ripper7620]

This is just a shot in the dark, but if you have the tiny switch inside the SD card compartment switched to WIFI instead of RC, it can cause you problems.

 

[Freeasabird]

I have a MPP, I also wear a gps watch, mostly forget to put my phone/watch /tablet in airplane mode, all 3 devices have Bluetooth on and on me at the time of flight. I still am able to fly nearly 4000 km from my location not far for power substation and other various electronic equipment. I haven’t ever even seen any thing about strong signal interference or any interference for that matter. I’d tend to agree that you have received lemon#2

 

[UPTGrad]

Just note that the MPP and Mavic Pro Platinum & DJI Goggles, are currently out of stock (yesterday & today) at DJI.
I am in the minority, but I am hoping it is due to the MP2 coming out soon.
When Costco got them just a little while ago, some of us think it is due to DJI wanting to get rid of inventory.

 

[VintageDude]

Well, I took back the problematic MPP this morning and got another one. If third time isn't the charm, I'll return this one and find another source, even if I have to pay more for less.

Unboxed the AC & RC, then put both on the charger. This afternoon, I powered everything up and activated. It was smooth and uneventful as it should be -- what a nice surprise ! I took it outside and powered everything up. System quickly locked onto 16 satellites and full GPS bars, then showed Go Fly.

However, before I could lift off, I got a warning that the compass needed to be calibrated or the aircraft moved. I picked up the AC and started to rotate it, but only made it a 1/4 turn before the message turned green with Ready to Fly. Put it back down and told it to lift off, but as soon as it got up, the message to calibrate came back on. I started to rotate the AC on it's axis, but the warning immediately went away. Hmm, not another one !

I decided to take it for a short flight anyway, but kept it low, close and in sight at all times. I moved the gimbal around and took a couple of pictures. Got the compass warning again, but it went away as soon as I moved the AC. This continuted to happen periodically throughout the 5 minute flight, but didn't seem to be affecting the AC. I gave the Home signal and it came right back and landed within a inch or two from where it lifted off.

Powered it all down and came into the house. Hooked the AC up to my computer, started Assistant 2 and upgraded the firmware to the latest version. Then did the same to the RC. Going to go out back and fly to see if that makes a difference. Will report later.

 

[AMRE2ME2]

I would highly recommend calibrating the compass before taking off again. Do it away from any metal. There is no reason not to calibrate it when it tells you to. Just asking for trouble.

 

[VintageDude]

That's the first thing I did when I went back outside. It seemed to take and the status of both compasses was less than 30 before I took off.

However, I was only up a couple of minutes and got another compass error. I told it to Home, but I got the message that it would land where it was rather than returning, so I cancelled it. I was at just under 400 ft., so used the camera to orient the AC and flew it home manually. Winds here are running 8-13mph, so it was a challenge to land. Checked the compass status with the AC on the ground and both were under 20. I set Home manually.

I'm amazed at well this AC handles the wind, which is good as I get this kind of wind all summer in the afternoons and evenings. If I couldn't fly in good weather here, I wouldn't be doing much flying.

Sent AC up again up to about 200 ft. and 400 ft. out. Got another compass error, so sent it a Home. Again, it told me that it would land where it was, so I cancelled and flew it back manually. After landing, I checked the compass status and both were again under 20. These inflight compass errors are clearly causing the AC to lose how to get home, but I can't find anything else wrong. Much better than the last AC which frequently disconnected and left me without any flight controls ! Plus, haven't had a hint of electromagnetic interference.

Time to read up on how to get the flight data and see if anything to explain the compass errors only during flight shows up.

 

[Canuk]

I’m not sure how you can only get less than a 1/4 of the way into a compass calibration and it tells you its good to fly .
When I start to calibrate mine I need to complete it before the Pro is happy

 

[VintageDude]

It's clearly a misbehavior on the MPP's part. After my experiences and searching the forums, I'm beginning to think that the compasses on the MPP are it's major weakness.

 

[hacks909]

Just note that the MPP and Mavic Pro Platinum & DJI Goggles, are currently out of stock (yesterday & today) at DJI.
I am in the minority, but I am hoping it is due to the MP2 coming out soon.
When Costco got them just a little while ago, some of us think it is due to DJI wanting to get rid of inventory.

To much for hoping to have MP II coming out soon. Looks like DJI has Mavic back in stock. I dont have high hopes on DJI releasing MP II anytime soon.

 

[VintageDude]

After a few short flights yesterday evening, I came in and upgraded everything to the latest firmware. And, I didn't get any warnings, failures or hang ups.

I've been able to fly 3 batteries of test flights today with only 3 unexpected warnings, each of which were one offs on different flights and none resulted in any unusual behavior. I've sent the AC up to max. height and out over 1,600 ft. I've really given the camera and gimbel a good workout. Every RTH has brought the AC right back within inches from where it lifted off.

Bringing everything up to the latest version seems to have ironed out the few wrinkles I was experiencing yesterday. I think I've finally found a keeper on the third try ! Today's flights were actually enjoyable and I'm starting to be less anxious when the AC is in the air. I'm finally starting to experience some of what all those positive reviews are about.

It looks like I'm going to be able to retire this thread and just Go Fly !

 

[Moby-ssx]

I'm new to drones and have had 2 MPPs in the last 3 weeks. I spent a week working with DJI trying to get the first one to activate, but they told me to take it back for a replacement.

I was able to get the second one to activate and fly. However, I'm finding that nearly every flight is a white knuckle experience with random "Recalibrate compass...", lost GPS, RC disconnects and "Extreme interference..." issues along with a few short uneventful flights. For every battery worth of flying, I end up stressed out and spending hours researching, installing firmware/software and trying to download and analyze the fight data in an effort to find out why I keep having these issues.

Everything is up to the latest version installed multiple times to make sure it sticks, but every time I start to fly, it's a whole new adventure. Sometimes the problems start as soon as I get everything powered up, other times it's after flying for 1-x minutes. All my flights have been in a semi-rural area with no power lines and only 3 houses with barns in about 20 acres. I always put my Galaxy S7 in airplane mode.

Is all this normal for drones in general, DJI products, the MPP in particular ? If it is, I think I'll find another hobby. If not, was I just unlucky and got another defective MPP ?

Never experienced this much trouble with mine. Either you are really unlucky with your equipment or you are always trying to fly in a bad area. I'd say get out in the woods away from everything and try there. If its still messed up it gotta be another faulty model

 

[Desertdude]

Have you tried flying it with an iOS device, lots of people have issues with android.

 

[truckstop]

Just wanted to chime in to say that I've had a Mavic Pro (two actually - one was replaced with Care Refresh after a crash) for almost a year - I've flown it all over the world. And I've never had the kinds of issues you're describing. You're right - it shouldn't be this hard to fly. The possibilities that come to mind for me include everything from bad cables from the RC to your tablet / phone to actual EM interference near your home for some weird reason to possibly just the bad luck of two bad units. But rest assured, the experiences you're describing are not normal. I've flown in many different locales - some truly in the middle of nowhere - and have undertaken flights with distances up to two miles away (again, in the middle of nowhere with proper flight plans filed - NEVER do this in even a remotely populated area!) and have found the bird and its nav / electronics to be rock solid, with very few exceptions. I hope you're able to figure things out. Mainly, though - you're not crazy - and flying the unit should be far less stressful. Good luck.