Phantom 3 - Compass error free flights? Anyone?

[Tommy Iversen]

I'm new to phantoms. Bought last week used P3S. First 12 kilometers without any problems. Did about 10 flights My max distance was 960m (with windsurfer) from home point with latest firmware (many ppl have range problem with this one). Few days ago i went to about 500m range and experienced first warning:Compass Error. Exit P-GPS Mode. As a new user i wasn't aware about possibility of compas errors midflight so it was strange to me that it started to drift on the wind. I had still some visual and hit RTH. Somehow it went back to me in one piece. Now i'm afraid to fly longer distances. I will do complete calibration soon but there is bad weather anyway so no hurry. Got question for you guys: In case of compass error which will occur for extended peroid of time, when i hit RTH or lose conection with phantom, will it use GPS to come home or it will be drifting till crash?

Btw. I've flown later to test it again and when i was 100 meters from home point i had compass error again. Arrrggg.

About RTH it could go either way pending on severity of your problem. Had a P3A with this problem, returned it and got another P3A with this problem. (Finally i got a P4 with no problem) Anyway, both of my P3A drones responded and safely returned when initialising RTH after getting Compass error. Exit P-GPS mode. However, some have reported flyaways at RTH when this error occur or no reaction at all. Loss of control / crashes is also common with compass errors, so it´s a nasty error with creates fear and kills fun when flying.
You can try changing location and do a full recal in an open area, but i´m not so sure if it´s going to help you. The drones are not as compass sensitive as some makes them to be. Most cases with this type of error seems to end up like mine. They have to go back to for repairs. Anyway, good luck! Hopefully for you it will solve easily and you can get back to flying in no time

 

[Håkan22]

Hello!

After sending in my Phantom 3 Advanced for inspection at DJI's US service center in California, it was repaired under warranty and shipped back to me. The repair "quote" (even though it was repaired under warranty) indicated it had the "Phantom 3 main control board component" replaced.

I received the Phantom back, performed all necessary firmware checks and calibrations (as indicated by DJI's technical support), and unfortunately I still have the same issue: the "Compass Error. Exit P-GPS Mode" warning message comes up repeatedly in every flight, and the Phantom tends to slightly deviate (mostly to the left) when commanding it to fly straight, regardless of the calibration or flying location. Same as before I sent it in the first time, I've carried out several compass calibrations in open fields, away from any metal or magnetic sources, with nothing metal on me (except the zipper in my pants...), more than 10 ft. away from the RC, several IMU calibrations, etc, and the results are still the same. I've even traveled to another state, re-calibrated, tried flying in an open beach, and still: the "Compass Error. Exit P-GPS Mode" warning message comes up repeatedly in every flight, and the Phantom tends to slightly deviate (mostly to the left) when commanding it to fly straight, regardless of the calibration or flying location.

So before going through the hassle of sending the bird back for repair again or requesting a replacement unit, and seeing multiple threads reporting similar issues, I'd like to ask other Phantom 3 Advanced pilots: Has anyone flown without ever (or at least regularly) seeing compass error messages?

Thanks in advance for the feedback!

My first Pro (the same as yours except the camera) had the same issue you reporting. I as you made a lot of research around the problem, At one point I even ordered new legs (as some of the posts indicated the compass module, located on one of the leg was the culprit). As I had the option I decided in the end to return the whole unit and got my money back. I then purchased another one. It has about 10-15 flights by now and no compass error. Notably. The last one I got seemed to be from an older batch having an older FW installed at arrival. It appears to me that some of the later batches are suffering from this problem. If you have the option to replace it, do so. If not try to replace the compass module (it was not expensive at all) That would be my advice.

 

[scooot]

One thing I picked up on when dji were talking about the mavic was the compass.
They say they have put 2 in the mavic so if one fails the other will take over.
Is this a admission that they know the compass is indeed of great concern.

Scott



Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots

 

[Tommy Iversen]

One thing I picked up on when dji were talking about the mavic was the compass.
They say they have put 2 in the mavic so if one fails the other will take over.
Is this a admission that they know the compass is indeed of great concern.

Scott



Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots

It probably was when they released the P4, as it too holds dual compass/IMU.

 

[scooot]

Hi Tommy,
Ok.Im new to this so didn't realise dji already used dual compass in previous model.

Scott


Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots

 

[Skyer]

My first Pro (the same as yours except the camera) had the same issue you reporting. I as you made a lot of research around the problem, At one point I even ordered new legs (as some of the posts indicated the compass module, located on one of the leg was the culprit)....

Thanks for the feedback Håkan. My P3A went back to the DJI service center last week, and sure enough they'll replace the "right landing gear component" this time, which I understand holds the compass module antenna. I've asked them to test it thoroughly flying outdoors, to make sure the problem is resolved for good.

I'll share the outcome once I get it back...

 

[Håkan22]

I loo forward to a positive report!

 

[Wellsy]

My P3A, about 6 months old had the same problem several times every flight, I am based in Tasmania, Australia and the same thing anywhere in the state despite multiple compass calibrations.
Am presently in Western Australia and for the first time flew using Litchi - no problems, also last week controller firmware was updated and am now flying with Go app with no problems, interesting to see what happens when I return home next week!

 

[mkr]

I sure had some problems with the compass in my P3P. When i first got the aircraft i didn't have the possibility to upgrade the firmware at first, så i flew on v1.3.20 i think it was, andeverything worked fine in several flights.

Then i got home after a week and upgraded the firmware to the latest version (v1.9.something) and in one of the first flights after that the compass error showed up. I don't know if it was actually caused by the firmware or because i have placed the box too close to a subwoofer at home.
Nonetheless, i downgraded to version 1.8.something and still the same. Tried calibrating everything several times, and the compass several placed, even as far as 600-700 km away. Still the same error.
The errors was never very long, from under a second and it got signal and GPS position back, to several seconds.I could sometimes provoke an error by flying fast and turning hard.

The error did however not do anything for me, other than disable the GPS, and the aircraft would just start to drift and i could take control and fly it back.
I have also discovered some strange behavior when hovering. It would hover and then start hovering around in a circle which keeps getting bigger and bigger and then suddenly stop doing the circles (mabye it got signal or reliable values again). After that it would start a little again with the circles all this with 16 satellites or more.

I also experienced the thing where it would not fly exactly how the app showed, it steared a bit to the right and would miss the way i steared towards.

Then i tried to degauss the compass using a small powerful magnet attached to a drill bit spinning fast and just moving it around the compass in the landing gear.
This actually worked after a compass calibration and i flew a full battery without any error.

The next flight however came with an error again, sadly.

My dealer shipped me a new set of landing gear (with a compass installed) which i changed. It was a bit hard but some youtube videos on how to take the shell apart and some common sense dig the trick and the landing gear got changed.

The test flights was without error and it flies on the exact line the app showed so, so far problem was fixed.

And all i did (which actually worked) was to change the compass.
I hope the post was usable and made sense. And the only thing i have found with my countless hours on various forums was that others only got it to work when they got the compass changed.

 

[Dave Walters]

Hi there, I've had it twice now, I only fly in fields and quite rural areas. It's usually within the first few minutes of taking off, buzzing around and finding my feet etc. Then it goes away and it's fine. I've not noticed any deviation or unusual behaviour from the drone..

I just put it down to some kind of interference... Last few times I've flown, it's not happened...

I re calibrate the compass before most flights as I travel about and don't always fly in the same spot

Hope this helps

Hello!

After sending in my Phantom 3 Advanced for inspection at DJI's US service center in California, it was repaired under warranty and shipped back to me. The repair "quote" (even though it was repaired under warranty) indicated it had the "Phantom 3 main control board component" replaced.

I received the Phantom back, performed all necessary firmware checks and calibrations (as indicated by DJI's technical support), and unfortunately I still have the same issue: the "Compass Error. Exit P-GPS Mode" warning message comes up repeatedly in every flight, and the Phantom tends to slightly deviate (mostly to the left) when commanding it to fly straight, regardless of the calibration or flying location. Same as before I sent it in the first time, I've carried out several compass calibrations in open fields, away from any metal or magnetic sources, with nothing metal on me (except the zipper in my pants...), more than 10 ft. away from the RC, several IMU calibrations, etc, and the results are still the same. I've even traveled to another state, re-calibrated, tried flying in an open beach, and still: the "Compass Error. Exit P-GPS Mode" warning message comes up repeatedly in every flight, and the Phantom tends to slightly deviate (mostly to the left) when commanding it to fly straight, regardless of the calibration or flying location.

So before going through the hassle of sending the bird back for repair again or requesting a replacement unit, and seeing multiple threads reporting similar issues, I'd like to ask other Phantom 3 Advanced pilots: Has anyone flown without ever (or at least regularly) seeing compass error messages?

Thanks in advance for the feedback!

 

[apprentice]

I only got this compass warning once I guess. That happened because I took off too close to my car. I didn't think of that before. After that I always take care of any metal object that may be around.

 

[Skyer]

My P3A, about 6 months old had the same problem several times every flight...

I sure had some problems with the compass in my P3P...

Hi there, I've had it twice now, I only fly in fields and quite rural areas...

I only got this compass warning once I guess...

Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences and perspectives.

There seems to be a consensus that unless you are taking off or flying very close to large metal objects, or someting that can cause electromagnetic interference, it is definitely not normal to see repetitive compass errors. And when it happens, the ultimate solution seems to be replacing the landing gear that holds the compass module antenna. I hope to confirm that was indeed the fix, once I receive my Phantom back later this week.

Stay tuned...

PS. For those in the US, don't forget to vote tomorrow!

 

[Skyer]

Happy weekend everyone! My P3A is back from DJI's service center, and I took it out for a spin this morning.

I am glad to report that the compass error problem seems to be finally resolved! Flew a couple of batteries, and for the first time since I received this Phantom new, no warnings or compass issues whatsoever! Even though it was windy around here, the bird managed to fly straight back and forth, as well as to hold position in hover. I tried using POI, which used to be an issue since it would exit any auto flying modes whenever the dreaded compass error came up, and this time no problems at all. I then flew a few lapses at full throttle, taking very sharp turns and 180 spins, and still no warnings of any kind!

So this seems to confirm what I mentioned in my previous post, that having repetitive compass errors while flying under normal circumstances is indeed not normal, and that the ultimate solution is to replace the landing gear that holds the compass module antenna (the "right landing gear component" according to DJI's repair report).

While it was a hassle having to send the drone back to DJI for inspection & repair twice, it is fair to acknowledge that through all the process the email responses from their product support personnel were very quick and polite, and all repair costs (shipping included) were covered by DJI under warranty without question. So kudos on their customer support improvement efforts.

Fly safe and have fun!

 

[Håkan22]

Thanks for your update and I'm happy to hear you now start to gain confidence in your P3A. I was almost going to replace my compass module myself but in the end I returned mine as it was a new purchase. It took almost a month before I got my money back and could get a new one. But I think it confirms there is a bad batch of those compass modules that has ended up in quiet a lot of P3A and P3P. I think DJI should have showed more interest in this problem.

 

[Smokie]

Hey guys, new here so please forgive me if I'm posting in the wrong forum.
I recently purchased a used P3P and like Skyler I was getting "Compass Error. Exit P-GPS Mode" Multible times each flight. I have tried many different areas to try and rule out any interference and re-calibrate the compass at the beginning of every flight.

It happens a few minutes into the flight and will not pick up GPS for a good 4-5 minutes (I'm ok flying with ATTI mode). I will have 16 satellites then all of a sudden "Compass Error. Exit P-GPS Mode"

After seeing this thread and many others, I replaced the compass and after testing it happened again on the first flight.

It only happened once during the flight and eventually picked up GPS again and flew as normal.

Firmware is as follows..
App Version 3.1.10
Aircraft Version 1.10.90
Remote controller 1.8.0

Has anyone any advice as to what I should try next?
Many Thanks.

 

[Skyer]

Hey guys, new here so please forgive me if I'm posting in the wrong forum.
I recently purchased a used P3P and...

Hi Smokie! Sorry to hear you're having issues with your Phantom.

Unless you're flying next to a powerful antenna or something, it seems unlikely that the repetitive compass error warnings were caused by external interference or even a poor calibration. Also, it should not take more than a minute or less in locking the GPS signal.

After DJI replaced the compass on my P3A, I've only had compass error warnings a couple of times, and it's been while handling the drone with my hands (motors off...) over where the GPS receiver is.

You said that after you replaced the compass, the error came up only once on the first flight and then flew normally. Have you flown more after that? After replacing the compass, did you do an initial calibration away from metal structures, your cellphone, and the RC itself?

Skyer

 

[skyacramer]

I've always had this error, I thought it was gone until the other day it just lit up screen. If it's really a bad component I might try to send it in