Hello Everyone - New member from Central Wisconsin

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Hello everyone – I’m a new member to the forum and was curious to see if anyone has replaced the main control board on their Phantom 3 Advanced / Pro aircraft, and what needed to be done to get the desired firmware version installed and what the end results were.

My P3A started having occasional “IMU Calibration Required” error messages a couple of years back, but always was easily corrected by running the calibration procedure. (Aircraft has never crashed or had a hard landing) After a lengthy winter up here in Wisconsin, I finally had the time and weather to go flying about a week ago. Right after everything booted up I got the IMU error again. I tried running the calibration, but this time it failed at the 2% mark with an “Unknown Error” message. I tried calibrating several more times and ended up having the same results. I started researching the forums and saw some folks with similar problems were able to clear the error message by giving their drone a solid thump to free up some kind of stuck pendulum inside the IMU sensor. I tried jarring my P3A from different directions a couple of times, but did not help. Other suggestions were to “update the firmware to the newest version”. This one really bothered me, as I am a firm believer in “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. Other than the random IMU errors, my Phantom flew great every time. So begrudgingly, I updated the firmware to version 1.11.20. The entire process was successful and went exactly as the DJI instructions stated. All of the logs that were generated also showed success. The RC controller was also updated to version 1.8.0. At this point I now began to fully understand the abundance of angry forum posts for flawed / buggy firmware updates. (and confirmed why I always resisted doing them)
The IMU error was unfortunately not corrected by running the firmware update, and in addition I now have a totally garbled video downlink, which worked perfectly prior to the update. My video is full of multi colored bands and broken up images. I also receive repetitive aural warnings of being restricted to 30 meters altitude and 50 meters distance.

I contacted a DJI dealer / repair shop after this downward turn of events, and the owner stated that repetitive IMU errors are very likely a sign of a failing component on the control board.

Replacement control boards are somewhere in the 150$ range. I’m comfortable with soldering, so the installation shouldn’t be too much of a problem. What I’m really concerned with is the firmware. Ideally I would like to end up at (or around) 1.5.30+ for the aircraft, which is where I started out at. I was able to roll back the firmware on the RC controller back to 1.5.80, which is only slightly newer than original.

If anyone can share their experiences it would be greatly appreciated.

Also - I have a sample photograph attached of what my video downlink looks like now after the 1.11.20 firmware update. This was actually posted by another user, but mine looks virtually identical.


Thanks in advance for any information or suggestions!


111261
 
Welcome to the forum.

I updated the firmware to version 1.11.20.
I also receive repetitive aural warnings of being restricted to 30 meters altitude and 50 meters distance.
Make sure you understand the changes related to AC FW 1.11.20. It was released in July 2017 and introduced forced flight restrictions similar to beginner mode (height of 30M / distance of 50M) if you haven't "registered" your app with DJI. Click here for more info.

I was able to roll back the firmware on the RC controller back to 1.5.80, which is only slightly newer than original.
What I’m really concerned with is the firmware.
AC FW 1.8 and RC FW 1.6 were released together with an encryption change. If you have one (or later), you must have the other (or later) or you will have issues. DJI also noted this in the release notes, but even so we have seen several people here who were not aware and inadvertently created an encryption mismatch.

If you now have AC FW 1.11.20 and RC FW 1.5.8, then you also now have an encryption mismatch.

When you changed your RC to 1.8, was that that the only available option? Asking because that is not the latest for the RC.

Perhaps try to go to the latest RC FW version and then do the steps required for AC 1.11.20 (log out/in; relink, etc) and see if you at least get back to clear video.

[Note that I am assuming you've already done the basics such as check to see if the images are clear on the SD card and also checked wires and cables including the cable from your mobile device to the RC]
 
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Hello Oso - Thank you for your quick reply. The information you provided is greatly appreciated.

When I updated to the latest firmware version, I should have investigated the results of doing so in greater detail before proceeding. At the time I felt I had nothing to lose, as the aircraft was unflyable with the IMU error.
When I completed the firmware update, the Phantom was at 1.11.20, and the RC was at 1.8.0. The RC was updated via the DJI Go app, and 1.8.0 was the only version offered to me at that time. I did not go back to see if there were any additional versions available. The DJI Go app was not showing any additional firmware update messages.

Since the update did not resolve the IMU error, I downgraded the RC back to version 1.5.8 in anticipation of replacing the main control board in the Phantom.

The still photos I took with the Phantom while the garbled video was being displayed were sharp and clear, so the camera appears to be working. I did not try any video at the time. What seems to have been affected is the live feed to the mobile device.

I tried connecting the RC to an entirely different mobile device (including cable). I installed DJI Go for the first time on this device, and it was displaying the exact same garbled live video as my original tablet computer.

After seeing the problems with 1.11.20, I'm hoping on avoiding these types of issues when bringing the new Phantom control board on line for the first time.
 
Yip welcome from NZ,,just out of curiosity what colour your rc light is it flashing between red green fast flash or solid green,,to me also sounds like mismatch of firmware,,I have p4 remote doing same thing so I use my other,,image just like yours,,mine was like it when it arrive 2nd hand new,,I still can't update it,and it brand new so I just use my modified rc till I look into it,,,all atempts to try give me a failed so gave up for a bit,,,when I use old p4 remote it's perfect
 
Hi ianzone - Thank you for your reply. The light on my RC flickers between green and red very rapidly. It started doing that immediately after the firmware update was completed on both the Phantom and the RC.
I have downgraded my RC firmware back to 1.5.80 in the mean time, as it looks like I may have to replace the main circuit board inside the Phantom due to the IMU errors.
 
Welcome from New York. Sorry to hear about your control board issues and hope you can get things worked out and back in operation.
 
Welcome to the forum.
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 . Thumbswayup
 
I have had this same problem with my P4P. After calibrating the IMU and compass the problem was resolved as long as I wasn't getting interference from the surrounding area. Maybe try flying in an area where the possibility of interference is at a minimum.
 

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