Help with trouble shooting Phantom 3 4K

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I bought a DJI Phantom 3 4K very cheap from a friend of mine who had crashed it as he was not able to fix it, and was not too interested in it anymore either. He was of course open about the fact that it was not functioning as it should, but as I am more tech savvy then him, he hoped I could get some joy out of. I am not used to drones so I am not very familiar with it and how it is suppose to work.

The main problem is obviously that the connector on one of the cables to the camera unit has fallen of (the biggest of the two cables that connects to the camera unit). See picture. The camera itself might also be broken. My friend had already purchased a new camera so that should work. It looks the same but the sticker says Phantom 3 PRO instead of Phantom 4K. I guess it should work with this drone

The alternatives is to either try to change the cable myself, or to send it abroad to fix it. Sending it abroad will however be expensive.

In addition, I have some other problems with the drone. Before deciding to use a lot of money to ship abroad, I have tried to fix these other issues but has not been able to. I am not sure if these issues are connected to the broken cable or not, and is therefore hesitant to throw more money on it to fix the cable, if there is still other errors.

I’ll give a description of the situation:

Initially I start up everything - controller - app - drone. On my phone, I connect to the wifi that the controllers sets up (it is the controller with the micro USB so as I have understood it, I am not suppose to connect my mobile to the controller by cable).

When I open the app, I choose Phantom and it then states «Remote controller connected. Connect aircraft». So as I understand it, the aircraft is not connected to the remote according to the app. The little lamp on the controller is also solid red, which according to the instruction book, should mean that the drone is not connected. However, the drone flashes green twice, which means it is ready to fly. I am also able to fly it, so it is clear that it is connected to the remote.

On the app however, it does not seem like the aircraft is «part of the loop». Of course I understand that I don’t get to see any liveview as the cable to the camera unit is broken, but I guess I should be able to see the signal for the aircraft etc. in the app. It only state N/A, the same with Aircraft battery and aircraft battery temperature when I go into the menu.

I have tried to go into the app the reconnect the remote but when I search for the drone (and press the pairing button on the drone), it does not find it. However, afterwards they connect again and I am able to fly it again.

I have tried to delete cache in the app and reinstall but it does not help. Also tried with another device (iPad).

So, I am just wondering if anybody have some tips and if you think these are separate errors, or that this is connected to the broken cable so that it will be solved after the cable is changed.

Please share if any of you have any experience with replacing the cable. From what I have seen on YouTube videos, that cable is glued on to the board so it does not seem very easy to change it. I have changed screen and batteries on iPhones and Macs so I am familiar with repairing such things.
 
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The main problem is obviously that the connector on one of the cables to the camera unit has fallen of (the biggest of the two cables that connects to the camera unit). See picture.
Welcome to the forum.

From the photo, it looks as if it may be possible to simply repair the cable if you still have the missing connector. Often, those wires just push back into place. See the comment from @ianzone in this similar thread from a couple of days ago.

Also, it looks as though the so called "camera vibration absorbing board" has at least one broken and glued leg. This is the board in which the white vibration dampeners insert. The boards often break in a crash, and I would replace that as well if it were mine. [Note that in the photo in that recent similar thread I mentioned earlier, the board also has a broken leg.]
The camera itself might also be broken. My friend had already purchased a new camera so that should work. It looks the same but the sticker says Phantom 3 PRO instead of Phantom 4K. I guess it should work with this drone
The P3P and the P3-4K gimbal/cameras are not compatible. Do not try to use a P3P gimbal/camera on anything other than a P3P or a P3A.
Initially I start up everything - controller - app - drone. On my phone, I connect to the wifi that the controllers sets up (it is the controller with the micro USB so as I have understood it, I am not suppose to connect my mobile to the controller by cable).
Correct. The P3-4K is the same as the P3S in that the mobile device is not connected via a cable but via WiFi.
When I open the app, I choose Phantom and it then states «Remote controller connected. Connect aircraft». So as I understand it, the aircraft is not connected to the remote according to the app. The little lamp on the controller is also solid red, which according to the instruction book, should mean that the drone is not connected. However, the drone flashes green twice, which means it is ready to fly. I am also able to fly it, so it is clear that it is connected to the remote.

On the app however, it does not seem like the aircraft is «part of the loop». Of course I understand that I don’t get to see any liveview as the cable to the camera unit is broken, but I guess I should be able to see the signal for the aircraft etc. in the app. It only state N/A, the same with Aircraft battery and aircraft battery temperature when I go into the menu.

I have tried to go into the app the reconnect the remote but when I search for the drone (and press the pairing button on the drone), it does not find it. However, afterwards they connect again and I am able to fly it again.

I have tried to delete cache in the app and reinstall but it does not help. Also tried with another device (iPad).
With Phantoms, much goes through the gimbal main board so without one in place I am not surprised by the symptoms you noted.
 
Hi and welcome!

It's less common here for someone to inquire about fitting a P3 Pro camera onto a P3 4K. The usually-enquired-about swap is fitting a P3 4K camera onto a P3 Pro as the P3 4K camera is usually cheaper to buy.

See this thread (and others here - the search is magnifying glass at top right)) PSA: Do NOT put a P34K camera/gimbal on a P3P for the possible result of trying to fit a (cheaper) P3 4K camera onto a P3 Pro.

By extrapolation, I would guess that the end result could well be similar when trying to swap in the opposite direction, ie: as you are planning, fitting a P3 Pro camera onto a P3 4K.
 
Thank you very much to both of you for your comments. I really appreciate it. I was sure I had answered you, but saw that I forgot to press post the reply.

If it was not for the warnings I would probably have tried to connect the P3P if the P34K did not work, so there your potentially saved me from failure!

Yes, I tried to push them back into the connector, but the connector itself was also broken, so they do not stay in place. It would have been the easiest way to fix it, but I was not able to fix a new connector of that type. I have however ordered a new cable so hopefully I will be able to change the cable. As you point out I should also replace the vibration absorbing board. It definitely seems like it has been glued together.
 
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I just bought a phantom 3 4k drone which asked me for the new update, install it and it is giving me an IMU calibration error, how can you help me? Somebody help me
 

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