Mavic 2 Pro Camera Flipped After Crash

Rarasmus · Mar 26, 2020

I clipped a small tree while flying my Mavic 2 Pro and the drone dropped about four feet onto my driveway. The drone has a few scuffs but the camera flipped 180 degrees and is now facing backwards. (See picture) I have tried to gently force it back into place but don’t want to break it further. The camera will still rotate 90 degrees upwards. Any ideas on how to fix?

Phochief · Mar 27, 2020

Have you tried recalibrating the gimbal with the DJI Go App? I had to do that once after a minor crash that knocked the gimbal out of alignment and it was pointing sideways.

MAvic_South_Oz · Mar 27, 2020

It's flipped over and jammed from the photo . . . well jammed.
Maybe do a YouTube search on replacing the gimbal, it you remove it as if you were replacing, got it out from the body, you could flip and reassemble, probably don't even need to disconnect harness etc.

Rarasmus · Mar 27, 2020

Thanks for the suggestion to recalibrate the gimbal Phochief. I tried to recalibrate and discovered two issues. 1) I get a “Gimbal motor overload” error when starting up he drone. (no surprise) 2) The gimbal icon doesn’t show in the DJI app. (See picture). This is probably due to the motor overload error massage.

Rarasmus · Mar 27, 2020

Thanks for the suggestion to recalibrate the gimbal Phochief. I tried to do it and my discovered two issues. 1) I get a “Gimbal motor overload” error when starting up he drone. 2) The gimbal icon doesn’t show

MAvic_South_Oz said:
It's flipped over and jammed from the photo . . . well jammed.
Maybe do a YouTube search on replacing the gimbal, it you remove it as if you were replacing, got it out from the body, you could flip and reassemble, probably don't even need to disconnect harness etc.

I was afraid that my only option was going to be the removal of the gimbal assembly. From what I have seen online, it is a straightforward procedure but still makes me nervous. The camera still rotates freely within the bracket, although in reverse.

Jeff A · Mar 27, 2020

MAvic_South_Oz said:
It's flipped over and jammed from the photo . . . well jammed.
Maybe do a YouTube search on replacing the gimbal, it you remove it as if you were replacing, got it out from the body, you could flip and reassemble, probably don't even need to disconnect harness etc.

This is a good suggestion by Mavic_South_Oz. As long as you are handy with tools, the two videos linked below could be of great help:

I bookmarked these two videos after watching them. I have no desire to tear down my Mavic 2 but you never know what can happen in the future.

Jeff A · Mar 27, 2020

Good luck!

Rarasmus · Mar 27, 2020

Ok guys, i think i solved my issue with the gimbal. After watching the videos posted here I was ready to start doing surgery on my drone. Before I began, I noticed that one of the brackets on the side of the camera had a small gap (see picture). It felt like this bracket is designed to limit the normal 90 degree rotation of the camera. I had a hunch that my crash forced the camera outside of this limit. I took a flat screwdriver and forced the bracket away from the camera and was able to rotate the camera back into its original position. I started the drone and the gimbal calibration symbol reappeared in the DJI 4 app. I performed the recalibration and it went well. I haven’t tried to fly yet, but I am confident that my drone is back in service. Thank you all for your repair recommendations!

PointJoe · Mar 27, 2020

This is how this great forum is supposed to work ...

Rarasmus · Mar 27, 2020

I agree. Yesterday I was facing the likelihood of sending my drone to DJI for An expensive repair. Today I am back in the air. Thank you MavicPilots!

GadgetGuy · Mar 29, 2020

Rarasmus said:
I agree. Yesterday I was facing the likelihood of sending my drone to DJI for An expensive repair. Today I am back in the air. Thank you MavicPilots!

That large separation is disconcerting, but as long as it is working, don't fix it!

JAW · Mar 29, 2020

GadgetGuy said:
That large separation is disconcerting, but as long as it is working, don't fix it!

I agree 100%.
Avoid the “If it ain’t broke, fix it till it is” syndrome.

Moathsonbol · Apr 15, 2020

Rarasmus said:
Ok guys, i think i solved my issue with the gimbal. After watching the videos posted here I was ready to start doing surgery on my drone. Before I began, I noticed that one of the brackets on the side of the camera had a small gap (see picture). It felt like this bracket is designed to limit the normal 90 degree rotation of the camera. I had a hunch that my crash forced the camera outside of this limit. I took a flat screwdriver and forced the bracket away from the camera and was able to rotate the camera back into its original position. I started the drone and the gimbal calibration symbol reappeared in the DJI 4 app. I performed the recalibration and it went well. I haven’t tried to fly yet, but I am confident that my drone is back in service. Thank you all for your repair recommendations!

Hello Rarasmus
Thank you for sharing your journey with fixing your drone.
I recently had the exact same problem with my drone, and i fixed it the same way you did and it worked fine.
But i noticed that as if there was more weight on the back of the camera, cause when ever i turn off the drone the camera face upwards! (I don’t remember this happening before the issue)
I tried to move it with my hand to different directions but it kept going back to the same upwards position.
Also there is still this gap between the bracket and the camera, i don’t know if it’s going to be a problem.
So i was just wondering if you had these problems too?

DanMan32 · Apr 15, 2020

GadgetGuy said:
That large separation is disconcerting, but as long as it is working, don't fix it!

The gap troubles me too. Usually if there's a gap, the motor connection to both sides is broken. However the M2 gimbals hold the assembly on both sides so perhaps the side that separated doesn't have the motor, but only a rotation limiter.

GadgetGuy · Apr 15, 2020

DanMan32 said:
The gap troubles me too. Usually if there's a gap, the motor connection to both sides is broken. However the M2 gimbals hold the assembly on both sides so perhaps the side that separated doesn't have the motor, but only a rotation limiter.

I've also noticed a small gap on the same side on all 6 of the new M2P cameras to which I have had access. It is larger than the minimum gap on the other side. It appears the even larger gap, after a crash, can also sometimes be asymptomatic, despite the concerning appearance.

Rarasmus · May 11, 2020

Moathsonbol said:
Hello Rarasmus
Thank you for sharing your journey with fixing your drone.
I recently had the exact same problem with my drone, and i fixed it the same way you did and it worked fine.
But i noticed that as if there was more weight on the back of the camera, cause when ever i turn off the drone the camera face upwards! (I don’t remember this happening before the issue)
I tried to move it with my hand to different directions but it kept going back to the same upwards position.
Also there is still this gap between the bracket and the camera, i don’t know if it’s going to be a problem.
So i was just wondering if you had these problems too?

I notices the same issue with the camera tilting upwards when power is turned off. I have been flying for a month now, probably 2 dozen flights, and I had had no issues with the camera.

Doug1234 · Dec 6, 2020

Thanks so much for sharing. I was just about out of all options and about to send my drone for repair. It was going to take a few weeks to get back. However had same issue, small pry open and back to normal. Did have to re calibrate the gimbal in the app as was slightly of level afterwards.

Tom Smart · Oct 8, 2023

Rarasmus said:
I agree. Yesterday I was facing the likelihood of sending my drone to DJI for An expensive repair. Today I am back in the air. Thank you MavicPilots!

Thank you, I fixed mine the same way.