Just bought a P3A, No Camera Button in DJI Go App

[Fly Dawg]

Hmmm......Ok. Just for the heck of it, do you still have the .bin file on a USB drive? If so, plug that back in to the controller with ONLY the .bin file on it. Then turn on the controller. Give it about a minute or so and see if it ever starts updating. If not, then it is looking like you have a USB Port and/or another issue on the controller. Unless of coarse for some reason you have the compressed .bin file on it and not the actual .bin. I would doubt it though.

 

[mestguy182]

Hmmm......Ok. Just for the heck of it, do you still have the .bin file on a USB drive? If so, plug that back in to the controller with ONLY the .bin file on it. Then turn on the controller. Give it about a minute or so and see if it ever starts updating. If not, then it is looking like you have a USB Port and/or another issue on the controller. Unless of coarse for some reason you have the compressed .bin file on it and not the actual .bin. I would doubt it though.

I already tried that and it's definitely the .bin file, not zip, but I think the reason it's not starting the firmware update is because after a certain firmware, the only way to update the RC is via the Go app and since I can't connect to the Go app, I'm sort of up **** creek. I agree with your assessment, something is probably wrong with the USB port or the firmware that was last put on the RC messed something up.

I started a return with eBay, the seller has until 2/3 to respond before they get involved, please let me know if you (or anyone else!) thinks of something else I can try. Thanks again for all of your help.

 

[Fly Dawg]

If you want to verify that it is indeed a USB issue with the controller. Try to find an older copy firmware and try that. If it as well does not load then you know its the Port.

 

[mestguy182]

If you want to verify that it is indeed a USB issue with the controller. Try to find an older copy firmware and try that. If it as well does not load then you know its the Port.

I tried that last night actually, after reading it somewhere else on a board, no dice.

 

[Oso]

I can see from the log by the previous owner that it came with v1.6 on it, and I put 1.11 on last night.

I worded it poorly so my apologies but the original firmware was 1.6 the one that I received it with was 1.10.0090.

Gotcha. v1.10 on the AC when you got it should mean that the RC has at least v1.6 and likely no mismatch in that regard. Some good news for you anyway.

Several people have reported issues with the USB port on the RC, so @Fly Dawg may have narrowed it down well.
It is unfortunately not uncommon to have USB issues with the RC. Some fix it by getting the HDMI module and some by buying a new/used RC. Something to keep in mind if you have trouble with eBay and/or the seller.

 

[mestguy182]

Gotcha. v1.10 on the AC when you got it should mean that the RC has at least v1.6 and likely no mismatch in that regard. Some good news for you anyway.

Several people have reported issues with the USB port on the RC, so @Fly Dawg may have narrowed it down well.
It is unfortunately not uncommon to have USB issues with the RC. Some fix it by getting the HDMI module and some by buying a new/used RC. Something to keep in mind if you have trouble with eBay and/or the seller.

Thanks for the suggestion. There's a P4 factory refurb being sold by DJI on ebay right now that doesn't sound terrible at the moment!

 

[doozey54]

I am having the exact same issue and have done all the stuff suggested above as well and still getting the gray out how to connect and no camera view button. I am using a galaxy s 7 active. My mom's galaxy s5 works fine. I am beyond stumped.

 

[mestguy182]

I am having the exact same issue and have done all the stuff suggested above as well and still getting the gray out how to connect and no camera view button. I am using a galaxy s 7 active. My mom's galaxy s5 works fine. I am beyond stumped.

Let me first say sorry, because I know how frustrating it is. At first I thought it was my S8 but now I've also tried an iPad Air, iPad mini, Amazon fire 8 and a Galaxy S7 all with multiple cables and nothing has worked. I actually just got the seller to agree to a refund about an hour ago, sorry, I know that doesn't help you too much. The only thing I've seen consistently work across all of the threads I've read is to replace the USB bat on the RC, most people seem to get the HDMI one. I think one of the updates jacked the USB ports. Good luck man.

 

[doozey54]

Let me first say sorry, because I know how frustrating it is. At first I thought it was my S8 but now I've also tried an iPad Air, iPad mini, Amazon fire 8 and a Galaxy S7 all with multiple cables and nothing has worked. I actually just got the seller to agree to a refund about an hour ago, sorry, I know that doesn't help you too much. The only thing I've seen consistently work across all of the threads I've read is to replace the USB bat on the RC, most people seem to get the HDMI one. I think one of the updates jacked the USB ports. Good luck man.

The only good thing going for me is I do have a phone I can use in the mean time.

 

[Mikelikesu]

Hey guys,
One of the phantom 3 pros I was working on for a customer of mine had this same issue. I had a remote and the app wouldnt connect it and the USB update did not work.

The way i had to update it was, I pulled out an old phone with the DJI GO APP that wasnt updated for like 1.5 yearsish. The app then recognized the remote, I updated it and then plugged it back into my current phone with the current version of the App and updated it again.

To summarize, I think some old version of the remote is buggy and the new DJI GO APP won't recognize it. So you will have to download an older version of the App and update it then update it again with the current version of the DJI GO APP.

Took me forever to figure out and just was lucky when I tried the old version of the app

 

[msinger]

@mestguy182, if you want to give that a try, you can download old DJI GO 4 APKs here.

 

[mestguy182]

Hey guys,
One of the phantom 3 pros I was working on for a customer of mine had this same issue. I had a remote and the app wouldnt connect it and the USB update did not work.

The way i had to update it was, I pulled out an old phone with the DJI GO APP that wasnt updated for like 1.5 yearsish. The app then recognized the remote, I updated it and then plugged it back into my current phone with the current version of the App and updated it again.

To summarize, I think some old version of the remote is buggy and the new DJI GO APP won't recognize it. So you will have to download an older version of the App and update it then update it again with the current version of the DJI GO APP.

Took me forever to figure out and just was lucky when I tried the old version of the app

Hey guys,
One of the phantom 3 pros I was working on for a customer of mine had this same issue. I had a remote and the app wouldnt connect it and the USB update did not work.

The way i had to update it was, I pulled out an old phone with the DJI GO APP that wasnt updated for like 1.5 yearsish. The app then recognized the remote, I updated it and then plugged it back into my current phone with the current version of the App and updated it again.

To summarize, I think some old version of the remote is buggy and the new DJI GO APP won't recognize it. So you will have to download an older version of the App and update it then update it again with the current version of the DJI GO APP.

Took me forever to figure out and just was lucky when I tried the old version of the app

I had the same idea last night but whenever I download a version of the Go App older than like March of last year, it won't go past the frost page where you have to agree to the EULA. It pops up a box that says the app must be updated to continue. Not sure if I can do anything about that.

 

[mestguy182]

@mestguy182, if you want to give that a try, you can download old DJI GO 4 APKs here.

Thanks, anything past March of last year don't go past the EULA and tells me I have to update my app.

 

[Embo]

Hey guys,
One of the phantom 3 pros I was working on for a customer of mine had this same issue. I had a remote and the app wouldnt connect it and the USB update did not work.

The way i had to update it was, I pulled out an old phone with the DJI GO APP that wasnt updated for like 1.5 yearsish. The app then recognized the remote, I updated it and then plugged it back into my current phone with the current version of the App and updated it again.

To summarize, I think some old version of the remote is buggy and the new DJI GO APP won't recognize it. So you will have to download an older version of the App and update it then update it again with the current version of the DJI GO APP.

Took me forever to figure out and just was lucky when I tried the old version of the app

 

[Scottwillo]

I just purchased a used P3A and spent about 4 hours troubleshooting it last night. The RC connects to the AC fine, I can start the props, move the camera, etc., although the light blinks green very slowly on the RC. However, I am unable to connect to the RC using the DJI Go App, there is no Camera button in the app for the P3, all I see is "How to Connect". There is a Grayed out camera button for the inspire, but clicking it brings me to a black camera screen where nothing is connected and everything says N/A.

I found out that there are many threads with this issue both on this site and on DJI.com, but none of them have been updated since July of last year and none of them had a solution so I'm hoping there is something else I can try before I send it back to the seller on eBay.

Here's what I've tried so far, none of which has worked:

1. Using different cables and mobile devices. I've tried my Galaxy S8+, an ipad Mini and an Amazon Fire 8, all with different cables.

2. Updating the RC Firmware. Since I can't get into the camera view in the app, I have no idea what firmware the RC or the AC are on. I tried updating the RC by using a thumb drive, an SD Card and by connecting the RC via USB to the AC. To do the latter I updated the AC to the latest firmware available on DJI's site. None of these methods let me actually update the RC, nothing ever turned blue on the RC, I tried holding C1+C2+Video Record Button+Dial which made the Blue button start blinking and a constant beep, but nothing ever started updating. I read that there could potentially be an issue with the new firmware, so I tried all of the above with an older firmware too, but it wouldn't start to update the RC that way either.

3. I tried older versions of the GoApp, but it looks like I can't go back past 3.1.2 (or is it 3.1.3?) and none of them made any difference. It's also worth nothing that after I created an account in the Go App, it never asked me to register my aircraft or name it or anything like that as I've seen in some of the YouTube videos.

4. I also tried Litchi, whatever the newest version is from the PlayStore, same issue with the black camera, even after uninstalling the Go App which Litchi suggested. I refunded it in the time period Google Allows.

Possible Solutions:

I'm sort of at a loss unless someone has something new to suggest here. I thought about trying a different version of Litchi just to see if that would work but haven't done so yet. I'm kind of scared to return this P3A and get another one, I'm worried I'm going to run into the same problem.

Sorry for the wall of text, just trying to be thorough.

Are you getting a no camera transmission in the top left of your phones screen???

 

[BillyBottle]

I had this on a p3p. I ended up getting a replacement camera video board, from a p3a, which fixed it. I got it in the shop for a repair estimate, they said camera scrap, so had it sent back by mail, tried when I got it back, video feed was there! Shop had done nothing except fault finding, but exactly what I dunno. Should have known better, but switched it of and back on again,,, heyho no video! I can't remember if it allowed me to connect (99% sure it did) so has been ok since with now a p3a video spec, 2.7k as against 4k of p3p. I bought a new p3p camera but not fitted it as 2.7k ain't that bad IMHO.

 

[mestguy182]

Are you getting a no camera transmission in the top left of your phones screen???

No, I just see a button that says "how to connect" there is no camera screen for me to get into.

I actually returned it to the seller though. I have a factory refurbished Mavic Pro coming on Tuesday.

 

[mestguy182]

I had this on a p3p. I ended up getting a replacement camera video board, from a p3a, which fixed it. I got it in the shop for a repair estimate, they said camera scrap, so had it sent back by mail, tried when I got it back, video feed was there! Shop had done nothing except fault finding, but exactly what I dunno. Should have known better, but switched it of and back on again,,, heyho no video! I can't remember if it allowed me to connect (99% sure it did) so has been ok since with now a p3a video spec, 2.7k as against 4k of p3p. I bought a new p3p camera but not fitted it as 2.7k ain't that bad IMHO.

Yeah, I think that or replacing the usb board on the RC would fix the issue. But since I just bought it, I returned it to the seller and have a DJI refurbed Mavic Pro coming Tuesday.