New Mavic owner (tomorrow!) Advice please!

[djnee]

Hi all! I'm Neil from Geelong, Australia (emigrated from UK)
I bought a P3S back in January and got hooked on drones pretty quickly!!!
It's my Birthday tomorrow, and my amazing family have bought me a Mavic, and i don't think i've been this excited about a Birthday since i was about 8...lol.

My 'advice' question is as follows..

When i bought my P3S i thought you HAD to update the firmware to be able to fly the thing. So to be safe i updated the firmware before my first flight....and then found that i could only get a max range of about 50m before it would lose remote signal and RTH (yes, beginner mode off etc...i checked everything!!!)

After struggling for a week i took the unit back and got a new one, which i didn't update the firmware and was able to fly so much further.....so i ended up leaving it alone until i sold it to part fund my Mavic last month.

So, my question is: I'm not sure what firmware is on my Mavic as i don't get it for another 10 hours...haha..
But am i best leaving well alone, or just try and update firmware straight out of the box? I have read a few recent horror stories about people having the update get stuck, and then their RC is updated but AC is not...and then having to get DJI to sort them out a version .350 or something? (it's all a bit confusing)
But yeah, please let me know your thoughts on whether to just do the firmware update out of the box or not. I will be so gutted if i can't fly tomorrow as i sold my P3S last month and am gagging to fly the new Mavic.
Any advice appreciated.

All the best
Neil

 

[Bunny Too]

Hi all! I'm Neil from Geelong, Australia (emigrated from UK)
I bought a P3S back in January and got hooked on drones pretty quickly!!!
It's my Birthday tomorrow, and my amazing family have bought me a Mavic, and i don't think i've been this excited about a Birthday since i was about 8...lol.

My 'advice' question is as follows..

When i bought my P3S i thought you HAD to update the firmware to be able to fly the thing. So to be safe i updated the firmware before my first flight....and then found that i could only get a max range of about 50m before it would lose remote signal and RTH (yes, beginner mode off etc...i checked everything!!!)

After struggling for a week i took the unit back and got a new one, which i didn't update the firmware and was able to fly so much further.....so i ended up leaving it alone until i sold it to part fund my Mavic last month.

So, my question is: I'm not sure what firmware is on my Mavic as i don't get it for another 10 hours...haha..
But am i best leaving well alone, or just try and update firmware straight out of the box? I have read a few recent horror stories about people having the update get stuck, and then their RC is updated but AC is not...and then having to get DJI to sort them out a version .350 or something? (it's all a bit confusing)
But yeah, please let me know your thoughts on whether to just do the firmware update out of the box or not. I will be so gutted if i can't fly tomorrow as i sold my P3S last month and am gagging to fly the new Mavic.
Any advice appreciated.

All the best
Neil

Howdy from Wyoming djnee, welcome to the community, plenty of fine folk and excellent information here.

 

[Top Hat]

Welcome

 

[msinger]

Welcome to Mavic Pilots!

Firmware updates are optional, so you can fly on the firmware that comes with your Mavic. I'm flying on the current firmware and haven't run into any issues yet. If you decide to upgrade the firmware and need to downgrade for some reason, then check out this thread for more details on downgrading to any version.

 

[james_mav]

Hi all! I'm Neil from Geelong, Australia (emigrated from UK)
I bought a P3S back in January and got hooked on drones pretty quickly!!!
It's my Birthday tomorrow, and my amazing family have bought me a Mavic, and i don't think i've been this excited about a Birthday since i was about 8...lol.

My 'advice' question is as follows..

When i bought my P3S i thought you HAD to update the firmware to be able to fly the thing. So to be safe i updated the firmware before my first flight....and then found that i could only get a max range of about 50m before it would lose remote signal and RTH (yes, beginner mode off etc...i checked everything!!!)

After struggling for a week i took the unit back and got a new one, which i didn't update the firmware and was able to fly so much further.....so i ended up leaving it alone until i sold it to part fund my Mavic last month.

So, my question is: I'm not sure what firmware is on my Mavic as i don't get it for another 10 hours...haha..
But am i best leaving well alone, or just try and update firmware straight out of the box? I have read a few recent horror stories about people having the update get stuck, and then their RC is updated but AC is not...and then having to get DJI to sort them out a version .350 or something? (it's all a bit confusing)
But yeah, please let me know your thoughts on whether to just do the firmware update out of the box or not. I will be so gutted if i can't fly tomorrow as i sold my P3S last month and am gagging to fly the new Mavic.
Any advice appreciated.

All the best
Neil

I don't think I've seen a single post where someone thinks they've benefited from updating their FW but I've seen a ton of posts where someone needs to downgrade for a variety of reasons or updating has caused problems. I'd just get the thing flying & not worry about upgrading the FW to the latest version. The Mavic's going to give you a message that the FW needs to be upgraded but just ignore it.

 

[msinger]

I've seen a ton of posts where someone needs to downgrade for a variety of reasons or updating has caused problems

This is not uncommon for a forum. Many people come here only when looking for help. They rarely come to sing praises after new firmware updates.

 

[djnee]

Many thanks James..

 

[djnee]

This is not uncommon for a forum. Many people come here only when looking for help. They rarely come to sing praises after new firmware updates.

Yes, that's definitely true as well... I think i might just fly on the original firmware for a few days and then go for the updated firmware once i've got over the 'initial excitement' stage

 

[dirkclod]

Welcome to Mavic Pilots .
I hope you will find our site helpful and look forward to any input , photo's/video's you might post .
Don't be shy and ask anything if you can't find it by searching .

 

[LuvMyTJ]

Hello,
It is a pleasure to welcome you to the Mavic Pilots forum.
I hope that you will be able to use the forum to further your safety knowledge and for the exchange of innovative ideas and as a resource for current developments in Mavic quadcopter’s.
Enjoy!
*MAVIC MANUAL: https://dl.djicdn.com/downloads/mavic/20170418/Mavic+Pro+User+Manual_V1.6.pdf

 

[butterflyslicer]

Hi all! I'm Neil from Geelong, Australia (emigrated from UK)
I bought a P3S back in January and got hooked on drones pretty quickly!!!
It's my Birthday tomorrow, and my amazing family have bought me a Mavic, and i don't think i've been this excited about a Birthday since i was about 8...lol.

My 'advice' question is as follows..

When i bought my P3S i thought you HAD to update the firmware to be able to fly the thing. So to be safe i updated the firmware before my first flight....and then found that i could only get a max range of about 50m before it would lose remote signal and RTH (yes, beginner mode off etc...i checked everything!!!)

After struggling for a week i took the unit back and got a new one, which i didn't update the firmware and was able to fly so much further.....so i ended up leaving it alone until i sold it to part fund my Mavic last month.

So, my question is: I'm not sure what firmware is on my Mavic as i don't get it for another 10 hours...haha..
But am i best leaving well alone, or just try and update firmware straight out of the box? I have read a few recent horror stories about people having the update get stuck, and then their RC is updated but AC is not...and then having to get DJI to sort them out a version .350 or something? (it's all a bit confusing)
But yeah, please let me know your thoughts on whether to just do the firmware update out of the box or not. I will be so gutted if i can't fly tomorrow as i sold my P3S last month and am gagging to fly the new Mavic.
Any advice appreciated.

All the best
Neil

First off , your a pom so don't be discouraged..
Secondly , go for the box... if it is not broken why fix it?

 

[lisadoc]

Yes, that's definitely true as well... I think i might just fly on the original firmware for a few days and then go for the updated firmware once i've got over the 'initial excitement' stage

I wouldn't update, unless you see a definite need to change something in its operation. Firmware updates can cause as many problems as they fix, so if your MP is operating as you expect/want it, there's no intrinsic value in updating. Look at the version you have, look at the listed changes/improvements in the newer firmware versions (and some changes you may consider negative - such as NFZs, need to register, etc), and decide if the changes outweigh the risks of decreased performance or risk to aircraft operation (just look at this post from yesterday to see what I mean: Firmware Update Killed My R/C Sept 2017).

My TV is working as I want it. Even if Sony offers me a firmware update, I generally wouldn't consider using it. Unless Sony was offering a new fantastic specific feature I wanted in the update, I wouldn't risk my perfectly functioning television on the firmware update process.

And honestly, I haven't seen a beneficial change/feature in the firmware since .400 (or .700 if you have the goggles) and since I have no performance problems in either of my Mavics, I leave them be. I see only further restrictions, minor tweaks, and potential problems (who wants a forced landing if I wander into a NFZ?) in the updated firmware, as DJI tries to take over for the FAA's failure to regulate UAS's.

 

[djnee]

Tragedy has struck..... I really can't believe i'm posting this, but i have been an idiot. After many hours of safe and sane drone flying, i invited a DJI newbie down to watch me fly and show him my new drone. I decided to show him the fantastic 'sports mode' that i have recently discovered...and stacked into a metal football goalpost at a full 60km/h. This is a place that i have flown my previous P3S many, many times. But i judged the height wrong...and then BOOM...my Mavic is in pieces after 26 minutes of flight time. Gutted is not the word to use......devastated is more appropriate. And i meant to take out the DJI Care plan too...but got busy.....

 

[lisadoc]

Sorry for your loss....

 

[djnee]

Thanks We will rebuild...