DJI "Dropgate"

[GMack]

Saw this in the dpreview forum about the DJI Smart batteries starting out fine, then dropping from 70-80% and then suddenly dropping down to 3-6%. Dropgate - Why Are So Many DJI Inspires and Phantoms Dropping Out of the Sky?

I've never been a fan of their Smart Batteries. Should have left them alone for a Smart Charger to sort them out like normal RC heli's and planes.

 

[msinger]

That's an article from February 2016. If it was a real issue, I'm thinking we would have heard about it here too. No?

 

[GMack]

That's an article from February 2016. If it was a real issue, I'm thinking we would have heard about it here too. No?

Dunno. Still might explain why some do fall, flip over, disconnect, etc. DJI still suffers from their magenta tint cameras using manual white balance now going on 3-4 years with the Inspire X5 series cameras - like mine - where any other camera makers knows they have to allow for a magenta/green tint control in white balance, but DJI doesn't allow for it. DJI is exactly speedy on fixes, like the current P4 firmware going on six months.

 

[sar104]

Dunno. Still might explain why some do fall, flip over, disconnect, etc. DJI still suffers from their magenta tint cameras using manual white balance now going on 3-4 years with the Inspire X5 series cameras - like mine - where any other camera makers knows they have to allow for a magenta/green tint control in white balance, but DJI doesn't allow for it. DJI is exactly speedy on fixes, like the current P4 firmware going on six months.

I haven't seen any logs showing that kind of battery behavior except when flights have been started with batteries that are either partially depleted from a previous flight or partially auto-discharged. And all the disconnects that I've seen have occurred during what looks like perfectly normal battery depletion rates.

 

[GMack]

I haven't seen any logs showing that kind of battery behavior except when flights have been started with batteries that are either partially depleted from a previous flight or partially auto-discharged. And all the disconnects that I've seen have occurred during what looks like perfectly normal battery depletion rates.

What the article alluded to was also the days to self-discharge. I've wondered why DJI provides a battery update to its firmware and if there may have been an issue if the self-discharge ran concurrently with the flight causing an issue. Seems odd the battery ever needs a firmware update (i.e. "Inconsistent firmware" updates when changing batteries), only DJI never says why nor would they admit they messed that up, or ever do a recall like happened with the Karma.

 

[sar104]

What the article alluded to was also the days to self-discharge. I've wondered why DJI provides a battery update to its firmware and if there may have been an issue if the self-discharge ran concurrently with the flight causing an issue. Seems odd the battery ever needs a firmware update (i.e. "Inconsistent firmware" updates when changing batteries), only DJI never says why nor would they admit they messed that up, or ever do a recall like happened with the Karma.

The only reason for a recall would be a hardware issue. Most problems that I've seen with DJI equipment is clearly firmware or software, and they fix those with updates. I would guess that batteries get firmware updates for exactly the same reason that the aircraft do; these are fairly sophisticated devices and DJI keeps improving the programming, performance, and adding features.

 

[Helihover]

What the article alluded to was also the days to self-discharge. I've wondered why DJI provides a battery update to its firmware and if there may have been an issue if the self-discharge ran concurrently with the flight causing an issue. Seems odd the battery ever needs a firmware update (i.e. "Inconsistent firmware" updates when changing batteries), only DJI never says why nor would they admit they messed that up, or ever do a recall like happened with the Karma.

The Phantom can drain the battery so much faster than the self discharge feature. You would have to be hard pressed to notice a difference in flight time if the battery was in discharge mode during a flight.