Mavic gets buggier with each new flight

[scottmphoto]

Hello! First time posting.

So bought my Mavic about 3 weeks ago and out of the box it was perfect. Flew awesome. Never crashed, not even a hard landing. I am a pretty experienced pilot.

Recently, the following issues started to appear:

1. RTH/Battery: I would be literally 10 feet from my Mavic (and the home point) and would get an error at 46% that there was only enough battery for RTH. I am pretty sure we don't need 46% battery to go 10 feet. I ignored the errors.

2. Gimbal overload: 2 days ago my gimbal started acting up in flight. Vibrations in video and unable to control the gimbal. This typically happened after a sport mode flight, and I assume the extreme pitch of the craft is causing an issue with the gimbal. Submitted a ticket. (Yes the clamp was removed)

3. Today I flew (did not engage sport mode, and had no gimbal errors) but the video feed froze. Even when the craft was back within 5 feet of me and I restarted the app. Image still came back frozen on the screen. All data was correct and updated, but the image was frozen.

I am beginning to get more and more concerned, as it seems like each new day there is an issue.

Anyone else have issues like these? I will be submitting a ticket each day I guess.

Scott

 

[cdronefly]

The odds of you getting easy and accurate answers on multiple tickets are about zero. You may just be setting yourself up for a lot of time wasted.

The key with every single drone I have ever had is to try and learn as much as possible about the nuances and the possible fixes on the particular unit. A lot of problems...are one-off or environmental situations and cannot be fixed by DJI.

Although I can't answer every query regarding your experiences...a few comments that may help are below.

1. Turn off bluetooth on your mobile device. Maybe even turn off wireless.
2. In high winds (which is the same as sport mode to the drone!), I have had gimbal vibration errors. That's the way it is....I doubt there is a fix. DJI may, over time, improve the firmware...but that tiny gimbal being yanked and blown all over the place is going to throw off errors.
3. Trying a different SD card often fixes many problems when all else fails.
4. Same goes with the typical tech solutions - turn off - remove battery, insert new battery...

After those things it's reinstallation of the firmware and/or app....but, in my experience, I have not had to do this very often.
I have never owned a drone that worked 100% of the time without using various workarounds...and I have never submitted a ticket even having owned 7 DJI models over the last 4 years. Rather I go online and ask/find the answers to my various concerns. It has never failed me...that is, I never had a model I could not use or that I had to return.

Flew Mavic this morning - it lost video feed and said disconnected when close by. But I still had control...brought it closer in and turned off bluetooth and it worked perfectly after that.

Good luck with your Mavic. I've had two of them (sold the first one when demand was high) and they are my fav model.

Oh, on the RTH battery thing - make sure every flight starts with a fresh 100% battery. Starting with any less can cause errors and problems.

 

[4wd]

You might try deleting the app and download again.
The freezing part way through a flight is less likely if you restart the phone just before, and/or make sure nothing else much is running.
If it happens during flight you could still pause and restart phone if restarting app doesn't help.
A lot of problems go away if you use a good cable in bottom USB rather than the poorly shielded short flat one they give you.

 

[SteveM]

Send it back to DJI

 

[scottmphoto]

The odds of you getting easy and accurate answers on multiple tickets are about zero. You may just be setting yourself up for a lot of time wasted.

The key with every single drone I have ever had is to try and learn as much as possible about the nuances and the possible fixes on the particular unit. A lot of problems...are one-off or environmental situations and cannot be fixed by DJI.

Although I can't answer every query regarding your experiences...a few comments that may help are below.

1. Turn off bluetooth on your mobile device. Maybe even turn off wireless.
2. In high winds (which is the same as sport mode to the drone!), I have had gimbal vibration errors. That's the way it is....I doubt there is a fix. DJI may, over time, improve the firmware...but that tiny gimbal being yanked and blown all over the place is going to throw off errors.
3. Trying a different SD card often fixes many problems when all else fails.
4. Same goes with the typical tech solutions - turn off - remove battery, insert new battery...

After those things it's reinstallation of the firmware and/or app....but, in my experience, I have not had to do this very often.
I have never owned a drone that worked 100% of the time without using various workarounds...and I have never submitted a ticket even having owned 7 DJI models over the last 4 years. Rather I go online and ask/find the answers to my various concerns. It has never failed me...that is, I never had a model I could not use or that I had to return.

Flew Mavic this morning - it lost video feed and said disconnected when close by. But I still had control...brought it closer in and turned off bluetooth and it worked perfectly after that.

Good luck with your Mavic. I've had two of them (sold the first one when demand was high) and they are my fav model.

Oh, on the RTH battery thing - make sure every flight starts with a fresh 100% battery. Starting with any less can cause errors and problems.

So I disabled the bluetooth and wi-fi and SO FAR, no image freezing! So thanks for that.

And I hear you on the YouTube thing, I have been doing that from day 1. My concern is just that it seems to be getting less and less reliable over time, and that is worrying. All the YT videos in the World won't bring back my confidence when I am flying $1k+ around, and having more and more issues.

 

[scottmphoto]

You might try deleting the app and download again.
The freezing part way through a flight is less likely if you restart the phone just before, and/or make sure nothing else much is running.
If it happens during flight you could still pause and restart phone if restarting app doesn't help.
A lot of problems go away if you use a good cable in bottom USB rather than the poorly shielded short flat one they give you.

Thanks. The USB-C cable was the first thing I bought for the Mavic, along with a separate mobile holder. That flat cable design is terrible. Also I am running a brand new Samsung Galaxy S8 active with plenty of RAM, so I am hesitant to think its apps. The freezing was only on the image side - the rest of the screen was updating just fine. So the phone itself wasn't frozen. At this point, it looks like BT/Wi-fi interference may have been to blame.

 

[scottmphoto]

BTW am I the only one that is nonplussed with DJI responses?

 

[sdharris]

The RTH error is difficult to judge as without knowing more about the flight, and DJI GO 4 is a funny beast on android, I use it on both android and iOS and it seems happier on iOS. One thing with that gimbal error though, if it continues you should send it straight back to DJI and get a replacement. It could well be a problem with the ribbon cable and no amount of fiddling will solve it.

Good luck.

 

[FlyGuy8675309]

All the YT videos in the World won't bring back my confidence when I am flying $1k+ around, and having more and more issues.

The controller is $300 of the $1000 so you're really only flying around $700 or so.

 

[bonzo]

Try not using dji go 4 at all.
i use"mavic fpv"

 

[HWCM]

I had a similar problem with a battery that initiated RTH at 30% regardless of setting in app of 10%.

Later the battery fully discharged over a few day period to zero volts.

Just be careful using that suspect battery and return it if you have any further issue.

It seems like it was doing exactly what it was supposed to.
Setting the low battery warning to 10% will cause an immediate landing, not RTH. There is no battery RTH setting. It's a low battery warning. You can cancel it. Also, the software determines how far away you are and how much battery is required to RTH. It could initiate the smart RTH at 65% if you are out and high enough.
The battery discharge after a few days is programmed to do so. You can set it from 1 day to 10 days auto discharge. It is to preserve the battery during storage.
There is an owners/operators manual on DJIs website. It has a lot of good information in it. It should be read by all Mavic owners...a couple times to get a good understanding of the Mavic before you crash it and blame it on something else.

 

[HWCM]

Umm no, the low level battery warning is triggered at 30%, not the RTH.
But RTH was triggered at 30% on one of my battery's. Thanks for the history lesson but i dont think you are comprehending what i said.

The battery discharged to zero in three days instead of the 65% or so.
The battery started discharging the minute it was off the charger. It was set to 10 days.
The battery was faulty yet you try to claim it wasnt.
I sent it back and it was replaced under warranty.

I simply noted that the 30% RTH indicated to me that something was faulty with this battery, i didnt intend to turn this into a defensible argument about something you know nothing about.

Go read the manual they say, well im not allowed to type here what my response is, but lets say you are not on my xmas card list.

Someone was triggered. Calm down son.
It's not a big deal that you are not familiar with how the battery works. It's okay, this is how you learn new things. That is why this forum is here. You don't have to thank me. I volunteered the information.
Happy flying.
P.S. Here is the link to the Mavic owners manual.
Happy reading and flying!
https://dl.djicdn.com/downloads/mavic/20170411/Mavic+Pro+User+Manual+V1.6.pdf

 

[HWCM]

Dont worry HWCM, you will learn to read and comprehend one day.

I was offering friendly advice to the OP to be wary of the battery that he made note of, only to be rangled into this childish argument with some goose trying to look like he knows something.

Awesome. Thank you for listening and understanding. We all start somewhere. You will understand how the Mavic and DJI products work in time. Keep at it and keep your chin up. Don't let the negativity get you down. The more you read and fly, the better understanding you will have.

 

[FlyGuy8675309]

^^^ This is why we can't have nice things. ^^^^

 

[TerryJ]

Hello! First time posting.

So bought my Mavic about 3 weeks ago and out of the box it was perfect. Flew awesome. Never crashed, not even a hard landing. I am a pretty experienced pilot.

Recently, the following issues started to appear:

1. RTH/Battery: I would be literally 10 feet from my Mavic (and the home point) and would get an error at 46% that there was only enough battery for RTH. I am pretty sure we don't need 46% battery to go 10 feet. I ignored the errors.

2. Gimbal overload: 2 days ago my gimbal started acting up in flight. Vibrations in video and unable to control the gimbal. This typically happened after a sport mode flight, and I assume the extreme pitch of the craft is causing an issue with the gimbal. Submitted a ticket. (Yes the clamp was removed)

3. Today I flew (did not engage sport mode, and had no gimbal errors) but the video feed froze. Even when the craft was back within 5 feet of me and I restarted the app. Image still came back frozen on the screen. All data was correct and updated, but the image was frozen.

I am beginning to get more and more concerned, as it seems like each new day there is an issue.

Anyone else have issues like these? I will be submitting a ticket each day I guess.

Scott

My mavic has been 100% perfect since day 1!! Not a single issue in 5 months now.

 

[scottmphoto]

Well we have a new advancement tonight. Took the Mavic out for the same flight I have been doing for a while now. Monitoring a logging project in my neighborhood. Typically pop it up to 400 and then engage sport mode, and direct fly over to the location.

While taking some photos of the site, my live view on my phone went black and the red banner said "Aircraft Disconnected." I could see on my controller RPMs were still good. Elevation was 1000' (I follow a ridgeline in elevation, so I was still within roughly 400' AGL). I was about 2800' in distance from the controller.

Restarted app, nothing. Hit RTH. Controller beeped and claimed to be RTH. It maintained 1000' alt and eventually said it was within 6' of me. It was nowhere to be seen. Not within 6', not within 1000'. RPMs were still turning so I knew it hadn't crashed or lost power.

As a hail Mary, I restarted the controller. Got image, telemetry, and control back. Craft had NOT MOVED at all from the point where I lost the connection. Even though the controller SHOWED distance closing during RTH.

Never had this happen before. Phone wi-fi and BT was OFF. No interference, at least that I would know about. I live in the sticks.

Image is right when disconnection happened.

 

[TheLightSpeed!]

Well we have a new advancement tonight. Took the Mavic out for the same flight I have been doing for a while now. Monitoring a logging project in my neighborhood. Typically pop it up to 400 and then engage sport mode, and direct fly over to the location.

While taking some photos of the site, my live view on my phone went black and the red banner said "Aircraft Disconnected." I could see on my controller RPMs were still good. Elevation was 1000' (I follow a ridgeline in elevation, so I was still within roughly 400' AGL). I was about 2800' in distance from the controller.

Restarted app, nothing. Hit RTH. Controller beeped and claimed to be RTH. It maintained 1000' alt and eventually said it was within 6' of me. It was nowhere to be seen. Not within 6', not within 1000'. RPMs were still turning so I knew it hadn't crashed or lost power.

As a hail Mary, I restarted the controller. Got image, telemetry, and control back. Craft had NOT MOVED at all from the point where I lost the connection. Even though the controller SHOWED distance closing during RTH.

Never had this happen before. Phone wi-fi and BT was OFF. No interference, at least that I would know about. I live in the sticks.

Image is right when disconnection happened.

At any rate, have you attempted a IMU and Compass calibration?

Seems to me that you need to start over from scratch. Reset it all 100% and redo everything. Reload the app and see what happens.

It is weird it is disconnecting. You may have something wrong or interfering?

Also, do you know someone with another remote? That might be an idea.

Lastly, if your remote is displaying all the info on its built in screen and everything you see is just in the app you probably have a device issue. I know you tried to replace the cord, but maybe take a normal cord and plug into the remote and then into the phone.

Good luck! We will get it figured out!

You might try to upload your flight logs

 

[scottmphoto]

Thanks. How do I upload the logs?

I'll do a factory reset on everything, good idea.

Like I said, this is the FIRST time ever I had a disconnect like this. I did notice lately (after the latest firmware update) that every flight gets a "Battery overcurrent, discharging" error, regardless of battery - I have 3.

I will also do calibrations on all after the reset tomorrow. I don't know of any other pilots with Mavics around me. Wouldn't DJI have safeguards in place for that?

 

[TheLightSpeed!]

Thanks. How do I upload the logs?

I'll do a factory reset on everything, good idea.

Like I said, this is the FIRST time ever I had a disconnect like this. I did notice lately (after the latest firmware update) that every flight gets a "Battery overcurrent, discharging" error, regardless of battery - I have 3.

I will also do calibrations on all after the reset tomorrow. I don't know of any other pilots with Mavics around me. Wouldn't DJI have safeguards in place for that?

Yes!

What firmware are you on?

I would do a IMU calibration and a Compass calibration.

Start there and see what happens.

 

[scottmphoto]

Ok, so I did a total reset and re-update to the FW to version V01.03.1000. Reset my settings to the way I had them.

Took it for a test flight and everything seemed OK. Controller claimed at one point there was interference, but I don't know what it could possibly be. I live in the sticks. Does anyone else get interference errors?

Tonight I did notice one interesting thing, I flew it low along my dirt road, about knee height. And my phone said 14 feet! Any ideas why the altitude would be so off?

Also, I was reviewing the errors and it has this really weird thing in yesterday's record "Current RTH route will pass a no-fly zone. Pay attention to the aircraft's position to avoid RTH failure." There are ZERO no-flight zones out here. There is one for a forest fire but it is 13 miles away minimum and nowhere near where I am flying. Why would this say that?

I am attaching the error as well as a no-fly zone map.

Clearly not 14 feet:

Error from yesterday's weirdness.

No fly zone is the red area, top of map.