Mavic 2 Pro falls out the sky ?

[sar104]

This is the flight log.

DJI Flight Log Viewer | Phantom Help

Upload and view flight logs from your DJI drones

www.phantomhelp.com

That's unfortunate. There is no indication of any problem in the txt log:



It might be worth a quick look at the DAT file (FLY027.DAT) just in case there are any indications of impending problems:

How to retrieve a mobile device DAT file: How to retrieve a V3.DAT from the tablet

 

[marcorasi1960]

This issue of battery disconnecting in flight sounds really like a nightmare. Can't think of anything worse when it comes to safety, not to mention to the health of the drone... Do you all know if before these events there is some type of 'warning', such as the battery feels a bit loose, or does not click as smoothly as usual when inserted? Or are there incidents in which everything seems and feels 100% and then the disconnect is totally out of the blue?

 

[MaxHam]

This issue of battery disconnecting in flight sounds really like a nightmare. Can't think of anything worse when it comes to safety, not to mention to the health of the drone... Do you all know if before these events there is some type of 'warning', such as the battery feels a bit loose, or does not click as smoothly as usual when inserted? Or are there incidents in which everything seems and feels 100% and then the disconnect is totally out of the blue?

Since the latest Go4 update you cannot take off anymore with a non fully inserted battery (you can hear a click on the left and right of the compartment if you don't push it down entirely vertical where both clicks appear in one sound).
Before that you got a warning but you were able to fly.

 

[DrBoost]

Wow. This thread has me nervous, and not looking forward to ever dealing with DJI’s warranty issues.
with the Skydio2 shipping shortly, maybe things will improve?

 

[Invincible Storm Films]

Wow. This thread has me nervous, and not looking forward to ever dealing with DJI’s warranty issues.
with the Skydio2 shipping shortly, maybe things will improve?

Some of my friends bought a separate insurance (State Farm) and got total, 100 percent covered for 70$ for thr year.

 

[Invincible Storm Films]

I would dispose swollen batteries. I did so a couple of months ago - a total of five, manufactured Aug/Sept 2018.
Only one batterie with production date 2019 is still ok.

I wouldn't trust these customer service guys. They often have insufficient knowledge.
DJI says itself in the manual: Don't charge, don't use.

View attachment 83929

Really wish that was the advice the. DJI agent gave me when we had a text conversation slhe told me to discharge and charge back to 100%

 

[Terry63]

You know something, My 3 batteries are swelling. I didn't think about it till now, I contacted DJI via chat, the technician told me that if it is swelling to discharge them fully and fully recharge them back and see if that works. I honestly didn't think that would work but he is a dji inhouse technician and I'm following his advice on what to do. I'm thinking this is one of those batteries that I do have a screenshot of that convocation. Strange.

So, are the batteries still swollen?

The other 2 out of the 3 appears to be slightly, but I don't use them. I don't know about the one that's in the craft because that's unretrievable. I'm thinking with the heat it might have gotten big in flight ??‍ but that's what was said to me and that's what I did.

I am reading between the lines here but If I correctly understand this conversation It sounds like you got the advice from the DJI tech to discharge the batteries fully and recharge them again, before you lost your Mavic 2 in the Hudson!
Am I understanding this correctly? Please correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[GadgetGuy]

Really wish that was the advice the. DJI agent gave me when we had a text conversation slhe told me to discharge and charge back to 100%

You may well have been conversing with a support bot, instead of a real person.
I would never rely upon anything from a DJI chat, and very little of what I am told on the phone. Between the language barrier and the lack of proper training and poor knowledge base support, you usually know more than they do! Best you can hope for is, while on hold, you figure it out yourself, because you are focusing on correctly framing the issue, which often leads to other solutions, while also googling to see if someone else has ever had the same issue, especially while researching our prior forum posts. We are crowd sourced, volunteer, DJI user based support!

 

[Taylor1430]

I love DJI but it's a sad state of affairs when we are using rubber bands to keep the batteries in. With that, would this actually prevent a disconnect? I haven't seen the swollen batteries but do they swell in such a way that contact could still be lost even if a rubber band is wrapped around the bird?

 

[GadgetGuy]

I love DJI but it's a sad state of affairs when we are using rubber bands to keep the batteries in. With that, would this actually prevent a disconnect? I haven't seen the swollen batteries but do they swell in such a way that contact could still be lost even if a rubber band is wrapped around the bird?

The swollen M2 batteries are limited to Production Dates of 2018.07 and 2018.08. Batteries with more recent production dates are not exhibiting the same issue. At least not yet!

 

[Invincible Storm Films]

I am reading between the lines here but If I correctly understand this conversation It sounds like you got the advice from the DJI tech to discharge the batteries fully and recharge them again, before you lost your Mavic 2 in the Hudson!
Am I understanding this correctly? Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Yes that was the advice that was given to me via chat and that's what I did ? I'll upload a photo of the chat

 

[GadgetGuy]

Yes that was the advice that was given to me via chat and that's what I did ? I'll upload a photo of the chat

I assume that it didn't remove the swelling?

 

[Terry63]

Yes that was the advice that was given to me via chat and that's what I did ? I'll upload a photo of the chat

DJI may not have been able to help and were just clutching at straws ( an old expression that means acting out of desperation). But they never should have given such bad advice.
Besides my MP I also like to fly Tiny whoop style micro racing quadcopters. It's not unusual to go through 10 batteries in a single outing. I found that in one case a single over-discharge so greatly affected performance it cut flight time from 3 minutes to 2 minutes, caused the battery to swell and and have terrible voltage sag. ( ie. cruising at 12v hit throttle drop to 10.5v) making the battery all but useless. I have never had a bloated battery perform to its original spec. Yes I still use slightly swollen batteries in my micro quads because crashes have little consequences with micro quads.

I have never seen any credible source recommend using swollen LiPO batteries. Several sources say that using swollen batteries increases the likely hood of a battery fire. I would not wittingly discharge a LiHV battery below 3.0v per cell and that is probably too low for battery longevity.

Unfortunately Successful large corporations frequently succumb to greed, I work for one, Integrity of the product increasingly takes a back seat to profit. Quality and service go down hill. Still It can remain in business for decades if it has good brand recognition. I truly hope that DJI has not reached this point yet.

 

[MaxHam]

Here is another scenario that can happen will a swollen batterie.
In fact this is how I first detected I had one:

The swollen battery pushed down in the battery compartment and apparently made the processor fan stop intermittently .
That caused the following message:


After landing I kept the drone on and with a slight downward push on the battery I could hear how the fan stopped.
Interesting was that there was no way to stop the RTH procedure. I tried everything - no chance.

 

[Invincible Storm Films]

I assume that it didn't remove the swelling?

It appears to have been otherwise I would not have gone flying with it but still, this was one of the battery it went down with unfortunately.

 

[deleted member 877]

It appears to have been otherwise I would not have gone flying with it but still, this was one of the battery it went down with unfortunately.

It would be great if you could tell us whether or not the swollen batteries that you have in your possession (not the one that was lost with the drone) are still swollen after you fully discharged and then recharged them as per the advice that you received from DJI.

Sorry but I don't fully understand your answer previously posted.

 

[Invincible Storm Films]

It would be great if you could tell us whether or not the swollen batteries that you have in your possession (not the one that was lost with the drone) are still swollen after you fully discharged and then recharged them as per the advice that you received from DJI.

Sorry but I don't fully understand your answer previously posted.

Looking at them at this minute it looks like the DJI technician didn't know what he was taking about. Looking at them now they still have slight puffs. I'm more and more starting to think this advice by the tech may have cause my drone to fall. I've recently gotten a hold of DJI phone number (customer service number) I will give them a call and see where this will go.

 

[4wd]

Mine did the same thing, due to "Battery Swelling"...and of course I sent my Flight Data to DJI, then they wanted me to send the entire Aircraft to them.....ahhhhh NO! Im NOT sending my entire Mavic to them for a Battery Swelling Issue!!!!
does ANYONE know if DJI has addressed this issue, and if New NON-SWELLING Batteries are Out???? Im Scared to DEATH to Fly over Water now, and I live in FLA!!!! LOL

The recent firmware did include an additional check that the battery was fully seated, if it's tending to swell when it gets hot it could still conceivably pop the latch I guess.
It's clear that if you see any sign of swelling or difficulty latching in, it's unwise to continue to use that battery.

 

[DrBoost]

Some of my friends bought a separate insurance (State Farm) and got total, 100 percent covered for 70$ for thr year.

Really?! That's downright reasonable. Thanks for that.

 

[DanMan32]

The swollen M2 batteries are limited to Production Dates of 2018.07 and 2018.08. Batteries with more recent production dates are not exhibiting the same issue. At least not yet!

There have been a few supposedly 2019 batteries but not nearly as many produced 7-8/2018