There are two other threads about App 1.6.8 and both have comments about screen lock ups on the RC controller. There is no thread dedicated to the issues. There are reports on the internet as well. This Tech Drone Media video i the s an example, although my particular experience was a bit different the two events are similar.
Now that I have also experienced partial loss of control of the aircraft, I thought the topic deserved its own thread.
After updating to Fly App 1.6.8 I was able to use--to the limited extent I could test it, Active Track features. This is a new drone and that feature previously had not made itself available no matter what I did. After the update which includes firmware V01.00.0200 I had some ability to use Active Track. I also noticed that the RC controller began to populate videos in the APP section of the viewer. I also recall that my maximum distances for height and flight were set to new and very long numbers.
What was worrisome was that I had a several minute lock up of the RC controller screen which did not self-resolve. Prior to this prolonged lock up I had experienced both some stuttering screen updates (not in active track or other intelligent mode) and a brief lock up. When I did have the long lock up I do not believe I was in any intelligent mode, either. I did not lose control of the aircraft and I was able to land it manually. I did have some warning screen I could not read and I did lose some video. I resolved the issue by powering down and back up. I was able to fly only a few more minutes due to battery status, but in free flight the controller and M3P seemed to work normally. In none of these episodes was there any issue with strength of connections and the aircraft was either several hundred feet or less than 10' away. I may or may not have been using screen recording during any of the anomalous behaviors.
Today I upgraded to firmware v01.00.0201 and went to test fly--This is when the Mini 3 Pro with RC Controller became potentially dangerous due to partial loss of aircraft control. The aircraft was never very far from me--like 2 to 80 feet?, and I never saw any connection warnings. I allowed wifi and blue tooth to turn off. I was using screen record when possible.
The failure in flight controls started after first use of Active Track--always in landscape. Active track did not behave appropriately, as I could not engage all modes. One confounding issue may have been that the screen recording status box overlaid the Active track menu--hence turning off screen record during testing, and the other was with there being more than one target "+" sign over me when there was but me and grass in the frame. I believe with screen recording off and the status box out of the picture, I still could not engage Active Track reliably.
As before there began to be stuttering screen updates. This was followed by RC Controller Screen Lock up and partial loss of control of the aircraft, and then later a black screen.
The aircraft would Yaw only sometimes and then only very VERY slowly counterclockwise with one or two exceptions where there was almost imperceptible rotation clockwise. The Mini 3 Pro would not land manually. It seemed as though some unexecuted Yaw commands were being interpreted as height commands. Otherwise, the aircraft would ascend/descend and go fore/aft briskly in response to control inputs. Eventually the RC control screen went black. I made a small test of input controls (no change), said, "heck with this," and went to try to hand catch the drone. (It was a poor attempt as I hadn't realized hand-catching isn't a luxury maneuver but an emergency maneuver to be practiced, and I caused the drone rise.) I went back to the controller after the failed attempt to catch the "Golden Snidget" and the screen was back on but not updating. The drone would not land manually. I tested one other thing which did work. I used the Land Drone/Home feature. I pressed the icon on the Left side of the screen, the box opened and allowed me to select Land, which the aircraft did do.
Couple other things--As was the case yesterday, there was no response to "wait/close app" when the "App Not Responding" box appeared. New today, I did notice a series of what looked like "cached commands" simultaneously displayed on the screen at one time. If you've seen screen recordings where finger presses show as circles, this is what I saw on the screen over my frozen image and the warning box mentioned above--a bunch of those circles.
Not sure where to go with all this. Active Track seems to be a precipitating feature for my two flights and at least one other person's, so I suppose I will test fly without it if I can get the right conditions. Maybe.
Not sure if it is reportable to NTSB according to this NTSB Advisory, because of the qualifying statement below.
Sorry for the long post. This seems serious and worth telling in enough detail that it doesn't just get flamed as "knucklehead and his drone" by a very loyal DJI enthusiast who doesn't want to believe such a failure is possible. Not that those exist...
And actually, I am very sorry to report this. This is a whole lot of "not flying" I am doing so that I may report the issue to my fellow pilots. To be completely honest, I am experiencing a real loss of confidence and a pretty big disappointment. At any rate, the experience I am having is not the one for which I purchased this drone in the first place. Quite the opposite. This is more like "taxation and vexation" instead of "relaxation" and I am having trouble not seeing more of it ahead of me.
Please add your experiences with this update and any advice you may have.
Mike107
Now that I have also experienced partial loss of control of the aircraft, I thought the topic deserved its own thread.
After updating to Fly App 1.6.8 I was able to use--to the limited extent I could test it, Active Track features. This is a new drone and that feature previously had not made itself available no matter what I did. After the update which includes firmware V01.00.0200 I had some ability to use Active Track. I also noticed that the RC controller began to populate videos in the APP section of the viewer. I also recall that my maximum distances for height and flight were set to new and very long numbers.
What was worrisome was that I had a several minute lock up of the RC controller screen which did not self-resolve. Prior to this prolonged lock up I had experienced both some stuttering screen updates (not in active track or other intelligent mode) and a brief lock up. When I did have the long lock up I do not believe I was in any intelligent mode, either. I did not lose control of the aircraft and I was able to land it manually. I did have some warning screen I could not read and I did lose some video. I resolved the issue by powering down and back up. I was able to fly only a few more minutes due to battery status, but in free flight the controller and M3P seemed to work normally. In none of these episodes was there any issue with strength of connections and the aircraft was either several hundred feet or less than 10' away. I may or may not have been using screen recording during any of the anomalous behaviors.
Today I upgraded to firmware v01.00.0201 and went to test fly--This is when the Mini 3 Pro with RC Controller became potentially dangerous due to partial loss of aircraft control. The aircraft was never very far from me--like 2 to 80 feet?, and I never saw any connection warnings. I allowed wifi and blue tooth to turn off. I was using screen record when possible.
The failure in flight controls started after first use of Active Track--always in landscape. Active track did not behave appropriately, as I could not engage all modes. One confounding issue may have been that the screen recording status box overlaid the Active track menu--hence turning off screen record during testing, and the other was with there being more than one target "+" sign over me when there was but me and grass in the frame. I believe with screen recording off and the status box out of the picture, I still could not engage Active Track reliably.
As before there began to be stuttering screen updates. This was followed by RC Controller Screen Lock up and partial loss of control of the aircraft, and then later a black screen.
The aircraft would Yaw only sometimes and then only very VERY slowly counterclockwise with one or two exceptions where there was almost imperceptible rotation clockwise. The Mini 3 Pro would not land manually. It seemed as though some unexecuted Yaw commands were being interpreted as height commands. Otherwise, the aircraft would ascend/descend and go fore/aft briskly in response to control inputs. Eventually the RC control screen went black. I made a small test of input controls (no change), said, "heck with this," and went to try to hand catch the drone. (It was a poor attempt as I hadn't realized hand-catching isn't a luxury maneuver but an emergency maneuver to be practiced, and I caused the drone rise.) I went back to the controller after the failed attempt to catch the "Golden Snidget" and the screen was back on but not updating. The drone would not land manually. I tested one other thing which did work. I used the Land Drone/Home feature. I pressed the icon on the Left side of the screen, the box opened and allowed me to select Land, which the aircraft did do.
Couple other things--As was the case yesterday, there was no response to "wait/close app" when the "App Not Responding" box appeared. New today, I did notice a series of what looked like "cached commands" simultaneously displayed on the screen at one time. If you've seen screen recordings where finger presses show as circles, this is what I saw on the screen over my frozen image and the warning box mentioned above--a bunch of those circles.
Not sure where to go with all this. Active Track seems to be a precipitating feature for my two flights and at least one other person's, so I suppose I will test fly without it if I can get the right conditions. Maybe.
Not sure if it is reportable to NTSB according to this NTSB Advisory, because of the qualifying statement below.
I am not sure this event is exempt. Does anyone know?
Sorry for the long post. This seems serious and worth telling in enough detail that it doesn't just get flamed as "knucklehead and his drone" by a very loyal DJI enthusiast who doesn't want to believe such a failure is possible. Not that those exist...
And actually, I am very sorry to report this. This is a whole lot of "not flying" I am doing so that I may report the issue to my fellow pilots. To be completely honest, I am experiencing a real loss of confidence and a pretty big disappointment. At any rate, the experience I am having is not the one for which I purchased this drone in the first place. Quite the opposite. This is more like "taxation and vexation" instead of "relaxation" and I am having trouble not seeing more of it ahead of me.
Please add your experiences with this update and any advice you may have.
Mike107
