Firmware skeptics

Since joining this forum, one thing I've learned is that the fear mongering on here is rampant. As a result, it turned me into a "wait a few weeks before I update" P3 owner.

Then I started seeing a pattern. Aside from 1.5 and flying in cold weather, every firmware release has proven to be stable assuming your bird's hardware is in working order and you update it correctly. Yet there is a persistent pessimistic view by a lot of members about updating firmware.

It's the same story with each release: a few people (literally, 2 or 3 out of 1,000s) post a problem and claim "this never happened when I was on X.XX.XXX firmware!!" And a long winded debate follows with the usual responses of "that's why I'm still on X.XX.XXX and will NEVER update!!"

Then after a few weeks of "the new firmware works great for me" with little to no proof of any problems/bugs in the firmware the threads go silent. 3 months later, the exact same debates happen when a new release comes out.

What seems to be left out by these OP's is its 99% due to error and inexperience with the process, OR defective parts unrelated to the firmware.

Am I the only one who sees how laughable this has become?
Well I have no luck updating a new advanced after 6 hrs I give up it just wont take the update any Ideas
 
Not jumping on the latest update doesn't mean someone is technically challenged. Some employ the simple logic, "If it ain't broke why fix it?" .........

Similarly I still run Windows 7 on all of my computers. I'm not a fan of Windows 8/10 & I see no compelling reason to update. It doesn't mean I am incapable of updating I just don't like it! :cool:
Not exactly on topic - but related. I just closed my business after 30 years. I'm a retired computer tech and MCSE with a ton of credentials and experience. Regarding sticking with Windows 7 - there are several very good reasons to not install Windows 10 at this point. For example, the handshake between MS Office 2007 - between Word and Access - can not be restored in Win 10 - regardless if it's a 32-bit or 64-bit version. So if you have a template in Word, that uses an Access database, you can not manipulate the database in Word, you can open a single record but that's it. MS Support "has opened a ticket" on it. That was almost 6 months ago with no resolution. Reverting back to Win 7 64-bit - everything works.

What I have seen of DJI's updates is when they find a problem, they are pretty responsive to correct it. That is exactly the reason you see updates that appear within days of the last update.

IMO, folks need to understand this technology is prone to human [programmer] errors. To move forward with technology, we have to embrace the technology and communicate with the company/programmers to effect corrections when we users find those errors. It's up to the company/programmers to be responsive - DJI appears to be in my experience.

It's not all good, but it's all we have to work with.
 
Nope. Nothing in that list is having any adverse effect on my birds. The last two "fixes" simply imposed limits on your Phantom's performance. I'll pass...

You don't think these fixes are worth it? [emoji848]

1. Improved aircraft stability through optimized flight controller logic.
2. Optimized gimbal parameters.
3. Fixed clip preview error in 2.7K resolution mode.
4. Improved encryption to enhance security during transmission
5. Improved compass accuracy.
6. Fixed issue of image being corrupted in rare occasion
7. Improved battery reliability when using the aircraft in cold environments.
8. Optimized battery management




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Oil becomes contaminated & loses its ability to lubricate over time. Firmware doesn't wear out. If you had things your way we all be forced to update to Windows 10?

Not saying people are wrong for not updating based on preference and lack of any problems with their bird. "If it ain't broke..." is a mantra I apply to many aspects in life.

But i do believe that firmware/software will always need tweaking. I assume the majority of us update our phone/tablet apps (all apps, not specifically GO), as well as new iPhone iOS updates, laptop computer software/Windows updates , and other gadgets in our lives.

Not updating software on all computer devices is like not changing the oil in your car "because it runs just fine" or never updating your antivirus program "because you don't have any viruses." Seems counterproductive


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Well I have no luck updating a new advanced after 6 hrs I give up it just wont take the update any Ideas

I haven't followed your post - but I had a Phantom that failed to take an update multiple times and from previous experience, I knew it usually took under half an hour - so I repeatedly killed the upgrade when it had surpassed the 1 hour mark. After coming to grips with the assumption that i now owned a brick, I decided to try once more. I re-downloaded the firmware, copied it to a different, freshly formatted SD card, inserted a fully charged battery and powered it up in the garage so I didn't have to listen to it beeping. Just over an hour later - it was still going - but I left the house to attend a dinner party and just left the Phantom beeping in the garage. 4 hours later when I arrived home - I was welcomed by a fully operational, successfully upgraded phantom. Since then, all firmware updates have gone without issue and taken less than half an hour. I don't know what went wrong that one time

You may have already tried this - but at this point would it hurt to try once more? Just let it sit until it's complete or until the battery runs out - and cross your fingers!
 
Well I have no luck updating a new advanced after 6 hrs I give up it just wont take the update any Ideas

Any luck yet? If not, you're likely not doing something simple. What's been happening in your prior unsuccessful attempts?


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No, sir. You can view them and copy them to another location, but you cannot modify or delete them.
Thanks for your input. I just tried it again to confirm what I already knew before I replied back to you. It worked perfectly as it always does. I deleted a single internal flight record with no trouble at all, then disconnected and reconnected to check if it was still gone. It was still gone. Possibly the most recent versions have finally removed the ability, but at least on the versions I use (see below) it works with ease.
 
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Thanks for your input.

Oso,

You're the perfect person to ask, based on the different versions you're flying on your birds. Have you seen a better product and result on your upgraded bird? I'm not slamming anyone for doing the upgrades but I'd like to know about the improvements "you've" experienced in your upgraded bird. Honestly, Based on the firmware notes that DJI provides, it all sounds like a bunch of non-specific hogwash to me. Before I get slammed, I'm just asking a question of someone that is flying different versions of firmware.

Thank you in advance for any insight you may be able to provide,

Jerry
 
Oso,

You're the perfect person to ask, based on the different versions you're flying on your birds. Have you seen a better product and result on your upgraded bird? I'm not slamming anyone for doing the upgrades but I'd like to know about the improvements "you've" experienced in your upgraded bird. Honestly, Based on the firmware notes that DJI provides, it all sounds like a bunch of non-specific hogwash to me. Before I get slammed, I'm just asking a question of someone that is flying different versions of firmware.

Thank you in advance for any insight you may be able to provide,

Jerry
In my experience, my current versions work fine. If I were new to the P3 and these were the first versions I've seen, I would probably be happy since the P3 itself is so amazing and I wouldn't have any personal knowledge of the older versions. The thing is that I've used every version in the past 12 months, and none of them have been as awesome for me as 1.19.

I know that one of the staff here often adds that 1.19 had some sort of curved horizon issue, but I wasn't impacted by that at all. It was just greatness for me. Totally stable, beautiful horizon and video, rock solid connections, speed, distance, ultra soft landings, very accurate RTH location, etc.

One important point is that I very rarely use the cool features we got with 1.4. If they are important to someone, 1.19 would suck for them.

Also, something I think about but can't answer objectively. Do I think 1.19 was the best because it was early and I was still super thrilled and excited with my new toy? Then when each new version came out it was routine by then so I was less impressed? My gut tells me no, since I have seen the little nagging and sometimes head scratching issues introduced with new versions. For me, I really think that 1.19 was better.

I guess that my experiences place me in the camp with people who feel like each version takes something away or makes something less awesome. Of course, the autonomous features of 1.4 excluded.

I know that this topic is polarizing and I may get flamed, but since you specifically asked my experience I wanted to be as open as I could be.
 
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Thanks for your input. I just tried it again to confirm what I already knew before I replied back to you. It worked perfectly as it always does. I deleted a single internal flight record with no trouble at all, then disconnected and reconnected to check if it was still gone. It was still gone. Possibly the most recent versions have finally removed the ability, but at least on the versions I use (see below) it works with ease.

I guess that explains it. I'm running the latest firmware.
 
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Not updating can lead to these type of problems: decoding what incremental upgrades must be performed to get current. Funny how he gave the same reasons most do for not updating "it flew just fine."

No signal - healthy p3p now bricked


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Not updating can lead to these type of problems: decoding what incremental upgrades must be performed to get current. Funny how he gave the same reasons most do for not updating "it flew just fine."

No signal - healthy p3p now bricked

That's one of the things which I feel is absolute horseshit on DJI's part.

Firmware/software updates should be cumulative. Always. Period. Yes, that means the file size gets larger with each one, but who cares? We're not on dialup anymore..

(apologies to anyone on dialup)
 
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Would agree with that only if the release notes explicitly stated that the update includes a fix that may prevent a crash.
I cannot agree MORE!!!
When an update is released, the release notes are VERY vague and don't go into any detail on WHAT was changed/added/deleted!
They seem to pick and choose what they want to say, and leave out the "possibly" undesirable changes.

It is almost like DJI is hiding things and doesn't want anyone to know that just maybe they screwed something up with the last update.

Also, they don't provide detailed update procedures. I have read several threads on the proper update procedure and they are great, but WHY didn't DJI have this information in the first place???

I have never had any problem updating my P3A, and have no problem trying them, but for some people there needs to be explicit instructions provided... not trying to flame anyone, it's just necessary for the developer to provide this information... after all, they wrote the software!
 
I cannot agree MORE!!!
When an update is released, the release notes are VERY vague and don't go into any detail on WHAT was changed/added/deleted!
They seem to pick and choose what they want to say, and leave out the "possibly" undesirable changes.
1. Improved aircraft stability through optimized flight controller logic.
2. Optimized gimbal parameters.
3. Fixed clip preview error in 2.7K resolution mode.
4. Improved encryption to enhance security during transmission
5. Improved compass accuracy.
6. Fixed issue of image being corrupted in rare occasion
7. Improved battery reliability when using the aircraft in cold environments.
8. Optimized battery management

What's so vague about these release notes? Do you expect DJI to give you some technical dissertation on each improvement?



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8. Optimized battery management

What's so vague about these release notes? Do you expect DJI to give you some technical dissertation on each improvement?



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Nah, it's like: "Killing all third party battery support" but that's no where mention in the release note.
They aren't transparent their release note.

As a QA of a software company, we would release 50 item, some of them are critical bug, but we would tell the customer 5 things like:
1) Improve overall processing speed

When we really meant to say: Just fix a huge memory leak bug that will crash your system.
 

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