Gimbal Settings won't stay & Camera/video mid flight failure

[Fast13]

Hi All,

I'm new here but have been using this forum for help for a long time. FYI I owned the P1 when it first came out and have built 3 F450's and one F550 so have both experience and technical ability. I bought the P3P because you simply can't build all that capability into your own platform for the price point so I jumped on the band wagon and have been VERY impressed with the P3P until I performed the latest update which in my option wrecked it or at the very least my opinion of it. Yes, I've had the instability issues like the rest and although mostly fixed I am not happy to the level I was. The gimbal was solid, never failing, and now it's always off and requires a lot of time to self correct. I live in San Francisco and have a lot of crooked pictures of the Golden Gate bridge. Hopefully they come out with a fix soon or give us a way to downgrade. (I work in tech and it's totally unprofessional that they don't have a way to fall back to what worked.)

Now I have two remaining problems that I'm hoping you can help me to solve: (I'm running IOS 8 on an iPad mini 2 and the P3P hasn't been crashed and all updates and calibrations have been performed. I've also recently reinstalled the Pilot App.

1. My camera fails mid flight and it's unpredictable. Really it seems like it stops recognizing the SD card. Most of the time the video continues to stream for the FPV and the camera "locks up", meaning it looks as if it is recording but the time is frozen and none of the buttons respond. Additionally where the exposure, number of pic's left, recording time left, ISO, etc is all shows "N/A" making me think the SD Card is just.... going away? I've used all class 10 cards including the one that came with the unit. Doesn't seem to make a difference. It could go for 10 min without a failure or it could go 30 seconds. Also, in the extreme case the camera "stopped" to the point that the FPV link looked good but there was no video. Of course this happened while about a mile out over the ocean... but it came back and the map, altitude, distance, speed, altitude, etc still worked. Any ideas? Help? Seems like a fresh install of the latest firmware would maybe help but there doesn't seem to be any way to do that?

2. My settings DON'T stick. Specifically the gimbal settings, every time I fire the thing up I have to go into the gimbal settings and reset them. It insists on keeping the settings I originally put in when I first bought it. Turns out I didn't like those setting and I want the default settings back. I keep hitting the reset button and they work fine but then when I take it out the next time there they are again, all messed up. It's driving me crazy! Also, now that same behavior is happening with the camera. Once maybe 5 or 6 flights ago the camera failed mid flight while it was in manual mode and now every I fire up the P3P it comes up in manual mode totally overexposed because when it failed I was shooting long exposure night photos of the Golden Gate bride.... They didn't come out. Now it's stuck and won't stay at the default settings even though I reset it each time I fly.

Needless to say EXTREEMLY frustrating and I've learned my lesion regarding the firmware updates.

Anyone have suggestions? BTW, yes I've tried to reset everything back to the original settings performed ALL calibrations and reinstalled the IOS app.

Thanks in advance.

Craig

 

[Fast13]

Ouch... what did I say? No help at all?

 

[Donnie Roache]

I have the same issue. The elapsed time stops on the video and I can't stop/start it. Another symptom I am experiencing is when this happens it seems to time stamp the files with a date of Dec.31/2013 at 11:00. Sometimes the files are corrupt and other times I can view them.

Has another else experienced the Dec.31st time stamp?

 

[bobmyers]

1. Uninstall and reload the App from the DJI website
2. Try a different SD card-- check https://www.phantomhelp.com/
for brands of SD cards that are compatible-- not all are. issues on this forum regarding issues caused by SD Cards. Format the SD card using the app.
3. Try a different usb fireware cable-- lots of issues if the cable is not connecting properly, or has a bad contact.
4. Try a different IOS device-- maybe you can borrow one to check this out.

After you eliminate these potential problems, it may be a warranty problem with the camera/gimbal-- issues on the forum where Phantom had to be sent back for gimbal replacement or repair.

Good luck

 

[Donnie Roache]

Unfortunately I tired all the above but the problem still persists. I was really hoping I wouldn't have to send it off for repairs. that would mean missing the entire summer

 

[bobmyers]

Unfortunately I tired all the above but the problem still persists. I was really hoping I wouldn't have to send it off for repairs. that would mean missing the entire summer

Did you buy from a dealer or direct? If your resources allow, purchase another from a reputable dealer, and send this back for repair. You can always sell it, when you get the first one back.

 

[Fast13]

1. Uninstall and reload the App from the DJI website
2. Try a different SD card-- check https://www.phantomhelp.com/
for brands of SD cards that are compatible-- not all are. issues on this forum regarding issues caused by SD Cards. Format the SD card using the app.
3. Try a different usb fireware cable-- lots of issues if the cable is not connecting properly, or has a bad contact.
4. Try a different IOS device-- maybe you can borrow one to check this out.

After you eliminate these potential problems, it may be a warranty problem with the camera/gimbal-- issues on the forum where Phantom had to be sent back for gimbal replacement or repair.

Good luck

Yes. I've also tried everything you stated above. (Although the statement about the IOS program from the DJI website doesn't make sense as you can only get IOS Apps from the iTunes Store.) I've used 2 iPads and my iPhone 6. It's not the IOS device, it's the camera crashing or failing to recognize the one of 5 different cards I've been using. I appreciate the suggestions but I've tried them all already.

I think this has everything to do with their crappy firmware upgrade and no way to reverse it. Does ANYONE know of a way to downgrade the firmware? If I have to send it in the 4th of July Fireworks awesomeness is going to be screwed.... although I guess DJI have done a good job of ruining it for me already. Thanks guys.

 

[Jeff48920]

From I what I understand the "adjust gimbal roll" settings (not the "gimbal auto calibration" or "camera Forward/Down" settings) are not permanent and have to be reset at the start of each flight.

As to the camera freezing, i have no solid advice except to ask if there is a possibility of a hard wiring issue resulting in an intermittent disconnection? If that is the culprit I am afraid it is going to require a warranty return.

 

[bobmyers]

Yes. I've also tried everything you stated above. (Although the statement about the IOS program from the DJI website doesn't make sense as you can only get IOS Apps from the iTunes Store.) I've used 2 iPads and my iPhone 6. It's not the IOS device, it's the camera crashing or failing to recognize the one of 5 different cards I've been using. I appreciate the suggestions but I've tried them all already.

I think this has everything to do with their crappy firmware upgrade and no way to reverse it. Does ANYONE know of a way to downgrade the firmware? If I have to send it in the 4th of July Fireworks awesomeness is going to be screwed.... although I guess DJI have done a good job of ruining it for me already. Thanks guys.

You need to download the IOS app from the DJI website-- not from the ITunes store. The version on the DJI website was more current at one time, although that may not be the case now. What version do you have on your IPad? Apps are indeed available on the DJI website.

 

[TBear]

I have the same problem.
When i start recording it hangs after 10 seconds to 2 minutes. I then need to restart the Phantom to be able to record again. The USB connection with the SD-card when the unit is hooked up to my Mac is lost in the same way.
I have tried with different cards and video settings with no luck.
Its clearly a hardware issue and it gets worse when the unit is getting hot.
I have been in contact with the dealer in a long mail dialog, and they now want me to return the whole kit to be forwarded to Dji factory repair. That means that there will be no flying this summer i guess.

I´m thinking about buying a new Professional Camera kit and sell my existing one as spare parts since the camera itself without the unit with the card slot should hopefully be usable for someone else.
However the Camera kit is still on backorder.

 

[TAZ]

You need to download the IOS app from the DJI website-- not from the ITunes store. The version on the DJI website was more current at one time, although that may not be the case now. What version do you have on your IPad? Apps are indeed available on the DJI website.

I think you're confusing the Android with the iOS download. The Android Store version didn't match the DJI version, and could be downloaded from the DJI website. Not so with the iOS download. That has always matched, and only downloadable from the App Store. When you visit the DJI website, it redirects you to the App Store (not the iTunes Store). Always has.

 

[Fast13]

You need to download the IOS app from the DJI website-- not from the ITunes store. The version on the DJI website was more current at one time, although that may not be the case now. What version do you have on your IPad? Apps are indeed available on the DJI website.

I'm sorry but I disagree. The DJI website, when you click the button, directs you to the iTunes download. I'm very familiar with how Apple and iTunes works. Unlike Android they are very tight with what's approved and how it's distributed. They are two very different animals and I can assure you that unless you've jail broken your IOS device that the download you are getting is coming from the iTunes store. Thanks for trying though.

 

[Fast13]

Thank you all for trying to help, it's much appreciated. I guess I'll have to deal with DJI and their crappy customer service. It worked perfectly prior to their silly and useless firmware update ruined the experience for me. Hopefully there will be some real completion in the market soon so I can vote with my wallet but for now they're the only game in town worth considering.

 

[Fast13]

I have the same issue. The elapsed time stops on the video and I can't stop/start it. Another symptom I am experiencing is when this happens it seems to time stamp the files with a date of Dec.31/2013 at 11:00. Sometimes the files are corrupt and other times I can view them.

Has another else experienced the Dec.31st time stamp?

Hi! Yes. I just checked and I am getting the 12/31.13 date stamp..... interesting. The plot thickens... what a pain in the butt.

 

[YolevonALLin]

Those time stamps usually are associated with a corrupt video card.. Maybe when you reset it, it's kind of the same effect as turning off the Phantom without hitting the stop recording button... So your card writer in the Phantom is locking up, halting recording mid record, corrupting video file and messing up the time stamp.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

 

[Fast13]

Those time stamps usually are associated with a corrupt video card.. Maybe when you reset it, it's kind of the same effect as turning off the Phantom without hitting the stop recording button... So your card writer in the Phantom is locking up, halting recording mid record, corrupting video file and messing up the time stamp.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

Okay. I can see that making sense but how is it corrected?