My new Mavic Air doesnt fly backwards.

plainman007 · Jul 25, 2018

My steps used to correct this issue (For other beginners who might come looking for it)...

1. Aircraft Reset to factory condition by using DJI Assistant for PC > USB to MAir using cable
2. Firmware Refresh by using DJI Assistant from PC > USB to MAir using cable. (remote wouldn't connect with PC for refresh using the same method).
3. Again Aircraft Reset to factory condition by using DJI Assistant for PC > USB to MAir using cable.
4. Optical Sensors Calibration using DJI Assistant from PC > USB to MAir using cable.
5. IMU Calibration of MAir as per DJI youtube instructions.
6. Compass Calibration of MAir as demanded during start of flight.

plainman007 · Jul 26, 2018

InvisibleName said:
I’d say you have a problem then! I think maybe you should raise a service request with DJI

Thanks for extending your help. Much appreciated.

plainman007 · Jul 26, 2018

JDawg said:
The guy asked a legitimate question, it happens dozens of times here and 'most' people are willing to help, it is what makes the site great.

Thanks for your support.

plainman007 · Jul 26, 2018

As an after thought i still wonder why the RC wont connect thru DJI assistant for firmware refreshing. There seems like theres no way to do a "refresh" from the remote+phone combo.

And secondly, all my phone cached footage runs super-fast when played back on the phone. Is this normal for all Mavic AIR owners ? Ive set Adaptively Degrade Cache to OFF.

Kankkis · Jul 26, 2018

Plainman, do you mean your PC and DJI Assistant 2 doesen't even find the whole controller, i had this problem first.

Lzet · Jul 26, 2018

plainman007 said:
Hi Lzet,

I did the calibration today morning and got to fly it this evening. I would say it was much better. I was able to fly in reverse for about 300 feet which is a big difference now. Thanks to you and everyone who helped. And especially for your patience. Ill post below the steps i took consolidated from all your advice so that members who have a similar problem can have something to work on.

Glad to see the progress. Enjoy it with a lot of fun. As I say your videos will get the third dimension. Send greetings to all birds arround

plainman007 · Jul 26, 2018

Kankkis said:
Plainman, do you mean your PC and DJI Assistant 2 doesen't even find the whole controller, i had this problem first.

Yes Kankkis, when we fire up DJI Assistant 2 and the connect our mavic to the PC it shows up as an icon right. The remote never shows up. But if you search YouTube for DJI's official video showing the process they show you that DJI A2 can firmware refresh / update for both the aircraft and for the remote. But in reality it doesn't recognize the remote because the requisite USB drivers to recognize the RC are not loaded properly by DJI A2.

A search on other forums show that many have had this problem and that the earlier versions of DJI A2 had the correct drivers side loaded with the software on the PC. The latest version doesn't. So theres some sort of workaround where you download the earlier versions and install them and then install the latest version of DJI A2. Tried it but it doesn't work for me.

plainman007 · Jul 26, 2018

Lzet said:
Glad to see the progress. Enjoy it with a lot of fun. As I say your videos will get the third dimension. Send greetings to all birds arround

Talking about birds i was all set to start a separate thread on that. Im being harassed by birds wherever i fly. They seem to identify the MA's noise from far away and they come all around it in curiosity. Curiosity killed the cat but in this case it will kill my drone. I found that they do the same in the city and in the open rural areas that ive flown in. I think the MA has a freq of sound that irritates them a lot. In all fairness the sound is loud enough to irritate us itself.

Kankkis · Jul 26, 2018

plainman007 said:
Yes Kankkis, when we fire up DJI Assistant 2 and the connect our mavic to the PC it shows up as an icon right. The remote never shows up. But if you search YouTube for DJI's official video showing the process they show you that DJI A2 can firmware refresh / update for both the aircraft and for the remote. But in reality it doesn't recognize the remote because the requisite usb drivers to recognize the RC are not loaded properly by DJI A2.

A serach on other forums show that many have had this problem and that the earlier versions of DJI A2 had the correct drivers side loaded with the software on the PC. The latest version doesn't. So theres some sort of workaround where you download the earlier versions and install them and then install the latest version of DJI A2. Tried it but it doesn't work for me.

Yes, that's exactly how i get it working, installed old version of assitant, uninstalled and installed newest version again.

Jani

plainman007 · Jul 27, 2018

Kankkis said:
Yes, that's exactly how i get it working, installed old version of assitant, uninstalled and installed newest version again.

Jani

After i downloaded and installed the old version of DJI, everything seems to have gone haywire, now whenever i download DJI A2 from the DJI site, after the file downloads it creates system lockups and freezes. I thought i downloaded a corrupt file, hence re-downloaded and again same issue, it doesn't let me touch the file, install it, or even cut and paste it into any folder, just touching it with the mouse causes the entire system to freeze and lock up and finally windows explorer crashes.

Its not a deal breaker though. I found if we deactivate Anti-Virus the problem goes away.

Air Beetle · Jul 27, 2018

lol take up golf

plainman007 · Jul 27, 2018

Air Beetle said:
lol take up golf

Nobody's rear to sniff at home ?

BJR981S · Jul 28, 2018

plainman007 said:
I tried the calibration method again and it went through. Though the bottom sensors part was freezing a lot during the box chase move. Still i held it patiently and it says calibration complete. The back sensors went thru smooth and fast just like the front sensors. Only the bottom sensors calibration seems to stall / act very finicky. Is this the same for others who have done it ?

Now theres a new surprise. DJI assistant latest ver wont recognize my remote to do a firmware refresh on that too. Any suggestions what i should do please ?

I am not sure if this question was actually answered or not.

The remote for the Spark cannot be updated by the DJI Assistant program. It can only be updated from the DJI 4 GO app.

Cheers

vedkontho · Jul 28, 2018

plainman007 said:
Im sorry but i didnt quite get your sentence correctly. Im flying much higher above ground level only. Still it goes to about 100 feet up straight above me and then i want to pull back to have a more frontal view and it goes maybe 50 feet backwads and then just stops, it doesnt want to go further backwards.

Looks like u still have the beginner mode on. That makes your drone stay within a virtual cylindrical area. Make sure u have that switched off, but be cautious.

Also what s the backward obstacle sensor reading on your remote. What's the value. Do share for clarity.

As far as drone physics go, if it can hover, climb up and go forward then it can also fly back, there is no physical restriction or malfunction here, unless it's software restricted.

If all else fails and u think u have tried everything, go to an open field climb 100ft and jog the sport mode toggle on.... That shud bypass ur obstacle sensors....

vedkontho · Jul 28, 2018

plainman007 said:
I bought it here in India form a DJI shop. But with no warranty / no support of any kind is what they told me when selling it. It was however a sealed box which they opened in front of me.

I fly in India as well. However got it from Singapore.

vedkontho · Jul 28, 2018

Looks like u sorted the issue already. There were simply too many responses to go thru. Goodluck and happy flying.

DaveBart · Jul 28, 2018

plainman007 said:
Hi there !

I removed beginners mode specifically. Thats why i went to this rural area outside the city. So i can fly with beginner mode OFF. But that turned out like this.

Go back to the beginning and go through the complete set-up again. Make sure you download the updated firmware. There could be a glitch in the software. DJI will have you go back and go through a complete setup as well.

C_Greg · Jul 28, 2018

I encountered a similar, albeit short term problem like this when I accidently started a flight without the software update being completed. Maybe you should check to see that any software or firmware updates completed correctly

DaveBart · Jul 28, 2018

plainman007 said:
I bought it here in India form a DJI shop. But with no warranty / no support of any kind is what they told me when selling it. It was however a sealed box which they opened in front of me.

What else did they tell you? Why would they sell a product in a sealed box with no warrantee? You may want to contact DJI Support directly.

plainman007 · Jul 28, 2018

vedkontho said:
Looks like u still have the beginner mode on. That makes your drone stay within a virtual cylindrical area. Make sure u have that switched off, but be cautious.

Also what s the backward obstacle sensor reading on your remote. What's the value. Do share for clarity.

As far as drone physics go, if it can hover, climb up and go forward then it can also fly back, there is no physical restriction or malfunction here, unless it's software restricted.

If all else fails and u think u have tried everything, go to an open field climb 100ft and jog the sport mode toggle on.... That should bypass ur obstacle sensors....

The beginner mode suspicion was raised right in the beginning where i clarified that it was not in beginner mode. It was a software/sensor error which was righted by firmware refreshing.

Thanks for the methods you've suggested but we sorted the drone out 2 days back itself and the issue is resolved.