P3 Firmware tips and tricks of phantom 3 family transmitters GL300A and GL300B

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hello guys though discontinued the phantom3 family remains among the most technically advanced fpv flying camera devices ever built; agile and reliable (in proper hands) and will remain in this rank for years to come,, and since it is wildly spread some are new commers to it even in 2020.. hopefully this thread will help by sharing tips and tricks of phantom 3 family transmitters GL300A and GL300B . every one is welcome...
 
first a caution advice never update a fw on a phantom3 aircraft unless you read the consequences and research for at least a week.... being late in such a decision is better than sorry for life!!! if it is running fine keep it there unless you really need a particular feature hence you probably know the details of what will come.
Another extremely valuable advice whenever you want to update a phantom 3 place any fan directed to air craft or gimbal if the fan is small enough to allow proper cooling for gimbal board, i even do that if sircraft is to idle for very long time.
 
well now back to the transmitter side of the story.. one key feature in gl300A and B is some times it needs firmware update to match for the firmware on aircraft, ill post first tips here i concluded after a discussion with a friend here who helped me understand the procedure for update and why we use it so.
as you all know the firmware on transmitter and on your phantom3 should match not necessarily in number but each group of phantom 3 aircraft firmware releases is matched by a corresponding firmware on tranny ( for example on phantom3pro the tranny on fw1.6 can fly the p3p on fw 1.8) now i will state my experience in particular on phantom3pro and using gl300A as its transmitter; the first firmware releases for air craft included on the same bin file the transmitter update corresponding firmware, for example suppose phantom 3pro fw 1.2.6 after you finish the aircraft update you use the same .bin file of that fw version put it on formatted sd card using usb sd adapter or even using the phantom its self as an sd usb reader where on the right side of gimbal board a miniusb port can be connected to a cable that will connect on its usb side into transmitter the story of this method ends at firmware(1.3.2) of the transmitter later the app method for update became the only possible method(for later firmware updates) ... now as i said it is not always necessary to update the transmitter firmware but some times it was necessary especially when encryption was changed where your transmitter will not give a video feed if mismatches are there, on the other side the downgrade is another story .some times we need a downgrade say for example you bought another transmitter and your phantom is on earlier firmware, here also it seems that messing with the transmitter firmware is way easier faster and less prone to devastating consequences then playing( updating or downgrading) with fw on the aircraft.
next post will include the details of what i learned so far and others will contribute to refine the info i will be stating which in reality are gathered into this thread .
 
Last edited:
well now back to the transmitter side of the story.. one key feature in gl300A and B is some times it needs firmware update to match for the firmware on aircraft, ill post first tips here i concluded after a discussion with a friend here who helped me understand the procedure for update and why we use it so.
as you all know the firmware on transmitter and on your phantom3 should match not necessarily in number but each group of phantom 3 aircraft firmware releases is matched by a corresponding firmware on tranny ( for example on phantom3pro the tranny on fw1.6 can fly the p3p on fw 1.8) now i will state my experience in particular on phantom3pro and using gl300A as its transmitter; the first firmware releases for air craft included on the same bin file the transmitter update corresponding firmware, for example suppose phantom 3pro fw 1.2.6 after you finish the aircraft update you use the same .bin file of that fw version put it on formatted sd card using usb sd adapter or even using the phantom its self as an sd usb reader where on the right side of gimbal board a miniusb port can be connected to a cable that will connect on its usb side into transmitter the story of this method ends at firmware(1.3.2) of the transmitter later the app method for update became the only possible method(for later firmware updates) ... now as i said it is not always necessary to update the transmitter firmware but some times it was necessary especially when encryption was changed where your transmitter will not give a video feed if mismatches are there, on the other side the downgrade is another story .some times we need a downgrade say for example you bought another transmitter and your phantom is on earlier firmware, here also it seems that messing with the transmitter firmware is way easier faster and less prone to devastating consequences then playing( updating or downgrading) with fw on the aircraft.
next post will include the details of what i learned so far and others will contribute to refine the info i will be stating which in reality are gathered into this thread .
Do you have a way to turn on FCC on GL300B? Firmware version 1.09.02.
 
Do you have a way to turn on FCC on GL300B? Firmware version 1.09.02.
honestly no, iam a novice user not an expert but like to learn from experts and any one is welcome to introduce any link or info , your question is impressive, dji 1.09.02 on tranny was introduced when dji opened wide their eyes to cripple the capabilities of p3p hardware so the answer it will not be easy, i hope some one came up with a method.. and if you have a method for earlier firmware 1.8 and 1.6 in particular please share it
 
honestly no, iam a novice user not an expert but like to learn from experts and any one is welcome to introduce any link or info , your question is impressive, dji 1.09.02 on tranny was introduced when dji opened wide their eyes to cripple the capabilities of p3p hardware so the answer it will not be easy, i hope some one came up with a method.. and if you have a method for earlier firmware 1.8 and 1.6 in particular please share it
Power zone (FCC/CE) in GL300a/b/c RC Firmware · Issue #10 · o-gs/dji-firmware-tools
This link has a method to open FCC on a lower version of the firmware. But I have not personally used it, on a lower version of the firmware. I have always wanted to perform a HACK operation on the latest firmware, but all failed.
 
first a caution advice never update a fw on a phantom3 aircraft unless you read the consequences and research for at least a week.... being late in such a decision is better than sorry for life!!! if it is running fine keep it there unless you really need a particular feature hence you probably know the details of what will come.
Another extremely valuable advice whenever you want to update a phantom 3 place any fan directed to air craft or gimbal if the fan is small enough to allow proper cooling for gimbal board, i even do that if sircraft is to idle for very long time.
 
the first tip i learned a couple of weeks ago is a way around the aircraft locked situation that faced me a month ago! i was trying to fix a faulty p3p i bought for that i binded it to a gl300B transmitter on fw 1.8(i use this transmitter for another perfectly working p3p that is on fw 1.8.80) after a couple of tests... i went back to bind this transmitter to the working p3p and i was shocked to hell the goapp gave me a message that aircraft is locked and i need to update fw to get it flying, i was too frustrated to death... am happy with every thing now i have to force update... which means maybe force kill my best p3p...i read what fw 1.11.20 is how it limits every thing, i really was about to cry!! but hoped to give it some tests... and got around that sucking situation... among what i tried removing the cash on app mangment
smile.gif
and solved the warning and saved me!!
smile.gif
smile.gif

lessons learned are it is adviced never ever launch djigo app when you are connected to the internet and never ever update if the app mentions the craft is locked ( unless you like to update ) do nothing i made it around that , if the app mentions that aircraft is locked so you just go to your phone and clear the data in cashe related to dji app from your phone / tablet and you will be good to go
biggrin.gif
cool.gif

dji will forget about you right after that
 
the first tip i learned a couple of weeks ago is a way around the aircraft locked situation that faced me a month ago! i was trying to fix a faulty p3p i bought for that i binded it to a gl300B transmitter on fw 1.8(i use this transmitter for another perfectly working p3p that is on fw 1.8.80) after a couple of tests... i went back to bind this transmitter to the working p3p and i was shocked to hell the goapp gave me a message that aircraft is locked and i need to update fw to get it flying, i was too frustrated to death... am happy with every thing now i have to force update... which means maybe force kill my best p3p...i read what fw 1.11.20 is how it limits every thing, i really was about to cry!! but hoped to give it some tests... and got around that sucking situation... among what i tried removing the cash on app mangment
smile.gif
and solved the warning and saved me!!
smile.gif
smile.gif

lessons learned are it is adviced never ever launch djigo app when you are connected to the internet and never ever update if the app mentions the craft is locked ( unless you like to update ) do nothing i made it around that , if the app mentions that aircraft is locked so you just go to your phone and clear the data in cashe related to dji app from your phone / tablet and you will be good to go
biggrin.gif
cool.gif

dji will forget about you right after that
Very good experience. To be honest, I have a bit of obsessive-compulsive disorder and always like to use the latest firmware. What exactly did DJI do with the 1.11.20 firmware that makes us all hate it so much?
 
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on 1.11.20 the phantom3 will be in beginner mode 30m distance 50m altitude, you need to register the ac to theapp or you will never fly beyond that... say you were camping or out in a 100kms life trip and some thing wrong went to your phone/tablet say some one else have the app on his tab/phone you will not be able to use the p3 beyond 30m, a lot of people have to register again every time before flight what if you have not internet access in a remote place???..... and along that some claim much larger circles of no fly zones, say the nfz is 20km from an air port several users claim it goes almost double that in reality in this new firmware!!.... on the other hand dji made fw roll back harder going from 1.11.20 to earlier may brick the p3p according to dozens of operaters who had that happen to them so in other words dji is forcing you to get stuck on 1.11.20 with its lmitations
 
ok ive just had some time to put this together , now every gl300A or B comes with a corresponding firmware all versions prior to fw 1.3.2 were updated via usb port on back of transmitter. say your gl300(X) came with fw 1.2.X
you can update to any later fw versions via usb up to 1.3.2 once on fw 1.3.2 you can make updating via goapp. to any fw upto 1.9.2 or 1.9.3 , now fw 1.6 of transmitter and version 1.9.2 have changed encryption changes so if your gl300x has fw 1.6 or later the phantom3pro should be on fw 1.8 or latter. fw 1.11.20 and 1.11.30 on aircraft work on fw 1.9.2 and 1.9.3 on transmitter (i didnt test this combination personally) , a great work and comments on this were done by our great friend mr Oso.
the following text is quote of his reply with links to valuable threads on fw matching..
"
Here's a bullet from my 2016 tips post:
> 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.

In a nutshell, if you have later than 1.8 on your AC, the RC needs to be at least 1.6. The version numbers do not need to match.

If you need 1.3.2 or 1.4.1 for your RC, here's another bullet from my 2016 tips post:
> DJI has historically maintained an archive of FW versions on their site even though they don't always show links to them. For archived FW versions directly from DJI, follow the links in this post.
"
 
now a lot of this is known to great number of users but what i didnt find in any place is the roll back of fw on gl300x transmitter, i found nothing but a tip from Oso hopefully some one will make it clear how to apply.
this is his quote text
"
as for rolling back, you can’t go to any version. You can only go back to what they offer you when you do the long press. Sometimes nothing is offered. Other times just the prior one or two. I don’t think it’s fully understood why.

FYI - I very rarely reply to the numerous DMs I get because it denies other members a chance to learn. As such, I won’t reply again. Good luck!
"
what is the long press??? is it pressing c1c2 record and pic buttons then turning off then on of the transmitter while still pressing those????/?
 
what is the long press??? is it pressing c1c2 record and pic buttons then turning off then on of the transmitter while still pressing those????/?

@mj2019 said:
i have just done a usb update successfully on my gl300A to fw 1.3.2 i have just connected it to app and for the first time i see the firmware version in app (cause i bought this transmitter bricked so i flashed it first and now updated it ) i long pressed the box on the upper right side of the app and it showed downgrade to i saw all later firmware versions up to 1.9.3

@Oso replied:
You can only go back to what they offer you when you do the long press. Sometimes nothing is offered. Other times just the prior one or two. I don’t think it’s fully understood why.
 
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thanks for reply, i thought there is a method to do like factory reset of the gl300!!! hahaha so the long press is just what most of us already know in go app on the upper right side of screen on the first screen that appears once you open app.. i thought you meant another thing:D:D
 
here is a big question that i have assumption answer for it and not tested it practically. lets suppose a phantom3 pro has a problem or crash that led to a lost gimbal, now lets say some one wants to use this phantom to fly it with the transmitter only( i mean no go app is used,since no gimbal is there to transfer any thing), even we can use a separate 5.8 ghz video transmitter like those we use for fpv... now if we fly this combo and signal is lost or some one wants a rth by pressing the home button on transmitter will that work????
 
now a lot of this is known to great number of users but what i didnt find in any place is the roll back of fw on gl300x transmitter, i found nothing but a tip from Oso hopefully some one will make it clear how to apply.
this is his quote text
"
as for rolling back, you can’t go to any version. You can only go back to what they offer you when you do the long press. Sometimes nothing is offered. Other times just the prior one or two. I don’t think it’s fully understood why.


"
again i want to focus on the bolded line in the quote, am wondering can the rolling back be affected by the updates??? i mean if some one updates a version after another passing by all firmware versions successively and another one just updates to latest one only, if both guys try to roll back will they have same choices or the one with more versions of update will have more choices to downgrade??
 
here is a big question that i have assumption answer for it and not tested it practically. lets suppose a phantom3 pro has a problem or crash that led to a lost gimbal, now lets say some one wants to use this phantom to fly it with the transmitter only( i mean no go app is used,since no gimbal is there to transfer any thing), even we can use a separate 5.8 ghz video transmitter like those we use for fpv... now if we fly this combo and signal is lost or some one wants a rth by pressing the home button on transmitter will that work????
i answered my self , i dont have a phantom without gimbal but i will take out my p3p tomorrow its on fw 1.7.6 with rc on 1.6 and will fly iy without the go
wink.gif

app , but i had no patience for tomorrow i charged a battery to 70% and tested it on rc no app 400 yards distance 300 yards up no problem, no limits, i suppose radio will work flawlessly to its full range.p3p on fw 1.7.6 rc 1.6
 
well another story today, a friend bought his GL300A to me to help him after turning on by 20 sec it starts beep beep.... tone endlessly, i once saw this on another gl300a but the fix was easy simply the throttle stick should be moved a bit to center and its good to go and stops beep, now in the current gl300A i tried to move all sticks and buttons but with no result, i tried to factory reset i once read it on github to press c1 then c2 then camera option and turn off but it didnot work too, so i started a firmware downgrade, my freind addmited when i told him that i see fw 1.9.2 installed that he saw in app update required and he pressed it... any way i decided to roll back to fw 1.8 the gl300A was on for 7min when i made my desicion but still beep beep.. it took 15min and the upgrade done, no more beep beep , the big story today is not all this but i remember once i pressed the download of firmware a sound like a fan started inside the transmitter!!!o_O i own a gl300b and a gl300A but never heard of a fan inside tranny, i kept listening closely its a fan i even feel some air blowing...once update over every thing started ok but after a min or so the fan starts up, who has some knowledge or info on this???i know gl300A contains vid processor but a fan too?? is it on all gl300A or this is not a gl300A ??
 
well i used this gl300A that makes a fan sound to fly a p3 for around 6 min but itdidnt make that fan sound, when i have time i will take is apart and have a look whats insde it
 
well i came upon some thing strange i will post hopefully i will get an explanation or solution, i will post it here and in other threads or forums, its some thing ive been having and testing for a couple of days, i have fixed a p3p and downgraded it to fw1.8.80 and the rc on gl300A is on 1.8, i did the first test flights indoors and out doors for a short time no more than 3 min, as i felt safe to fly i started my first out door flights i came to a strange trouble , after taking off by some 5 min or less or more the video starts lagging and making interference until it becomes non flyable, i started trouble shooting i swapped the transmitter, to another gl300A i have same problem... i linked the p3p to a gl300B the problem was gone!!! i repeated the test over and over with same results??? could it be a bug on gl300A on 1.8 ??? has any one came across such a trouble??by the way gl300B is also on fw 1.8.
 

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