Hi Folks,

I recently purchased my first DJI drone, which is the Spark Fly More Combo. I've had a total of just about 20 flights so far and I've experienced some strange flying/control behavior with my Spark during two flights. The first one was when I very first flew the drone for the first time. I did an auto take off and when it flew to a few meters high and took control of it trying to go higher, the aircraft was trying to reject my increase in altitude, resulting the aircraft to have a bouncing effect in the air (about 3 meters). When I hold on to the joystick to increase altitude, it rejects it by going down a bit and since I'm still holding the joystick to go upwards, it had this bouncing effect. So when I try to land it, the same thing happens in the opposite way, although it slowly decreases altitude as I muscle the aircraft to go downwards. And when it did reach the pavement, it bounced at the pavement twice before I could steadily hold it down with the joystick and power it down. The sound of the propellers were also unusual as it sounded like when you rev the gas pedal of a car in neutral and blipping the throttle quickly. Since the wind was quite strong that day, I thought it was just the wind and opted to try another day.

The following 18 (roughly) flights were normal after that. Today, it happened again but with less wind. And on my second take off (with new battery) as the first one was normal. It did exactly the same thing and I don't think it's the wind anymore. Can someone please enlighten me with this?

P.S. I've exported the log files, as well as the black box, and flight record from the app but I'm not sure how to post it here or if there is a correct way.

Thanks in advance!

Additional info:

When both issues happened on my first and last flights, I've noticed that the aircraft was less steadier than usual in terms of holding its position. It's basically like fighting off the aircraft not to crash or hit anything else. There were instances where you sort of gain control and then it tries to go fight me off again.

Please try to calibrate the IMU and RC sticks and test again. Besides, please contact our support to start a data analysis, we will also help to evaluate it. Please send an email to support@dji.com and provide the data to them, thank you.

DJI Thor Posted at 2017-8-17 04:36
Please try to calibrate the IMU and RC sticks and test again. Besides, please contact our support to start a data analysis, we will also help to evaluate it. Please send an email to  and provide the data to them, thank you.

Okay, thank you. I will send an email.

Did you calibrate the spark / rc?

Montfrooij Posted at 2017-8-18 06:16
Did you calibrate the spark / rc?

At first, I calibrated the compass and then the IMU. It was fine after that but during my last flight (wherein I calibrated the compass before take off), when i changed battery, the issue appeared again.

The RC I have yet to calibrate.

Hi Evan

Please have a look at this video i took of my Spark at https://youtu.be/anCXCsy24qs

Was your Spark doing something like this?

djiuser_saQ7SrE Posted at 2017-8-19 17:14
Hi Evan

Please have a look at this video i took of my Spark at https://youtu.be/anCXCsy24qs

Hey there! That's exactly it!!! I had the exact same issue during my first flight and my 20th, which was the last flight I did so far while all the flights in between were normal. Mine was also bouncing on the floor when I try to lower it. It was also doing that exact same sound!

I've already sent an email to DJI Support but since its the weekend, I haven't heard from them. This video will definitely be of big help. Did you contact support as well?

Additional Info:

Here is the onboard footage from djiuser_saQ7SrE's Spark which has the exact same issue.

As mentioned in his video, these were the problems:
1) Acceleration/deceleration at a rapid succession;
2) Started bouncing on the floor.

I experienced all of the above. Notice how the motor sounds as well.

DJI might want to officially address this issue as I have heard many more experiencing this.

Their initial advice which you would most likely get would be to replace the existing propellars on your drone.

I have sent my Spark back to DJI for their further checking as replacing new set of props did not eliminate this problem. You might want to have yours sent to DJI. Hopefully you are still within their 15 days replacement(from the date of activation) policy.

Factory reset/downgrading/upgrading firmwares did not help either. Plus, I will not be surprised if your drone was manufactured in June 2017.

Oh and try not to fly it until it gets rectified. My gut feeling tells me that the next stage of this problem would be the sudden shutdown during flight.

Evan_Racing Posted at 2017-8-20 07:10
Additional Info:

Here is the onboard footage from djiuser_saQ7SrE's Spark which has the exact same issue. https://youtu.be/anCXCsy24qs

Mine acted like that once.  I didn't leave the yard as it was unstable.
If I increased power, go up, it would become stable till it reached hover. Then the same jumpy stuff.
It's never done it again.

I think the battery may not have been seated well.

Evan_Racing Posted at 2017-8-20 07:10
Additional Info:

Here is the onboard footage from djiuser_saQ7SrE's Spark which has the exact same issue. https://youtu.be/anCXCsy24qs

It's very hard to tell what's happening just by looking at the video, that up down bouncing could be caused by gps or VPS or both you really ne to post your flight log so as others can see what might be going on.

http://www.phantomhelp.com/LogViewer/Upload/

Here is the log flight from my entire flight. The first and second to the last flights are when the issue occurred:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/uspjc1a9cur21gt/DJI%20Logs%20as%20of%208-16-2017.zip?dl=0

Hi Evan_Racing, i'm facing the same issue here. Did you resolve the problem?

Dear Evan, you may want to see this:
http://forum.dji.com/thread-111584-1-1.html

i got the same problem resulting in a crash. but for me this problem only appear if i took of using the csc command. auto take off works fine

PedramN Posted at 2017-9-3 10:33
Dear Evan, you may want to see this:
http://forum.dji.com/thread-111584-1-1.html

http://forum.dji.com/thread-111584-1-1.html

First post here, this is now happening to my spark also!

Happend yesterday on an area i always have flown with no problems. Was launched from a wall too! Luckily survived....

Anyone has reply from support yet???

Have video on youtube but cant post here
//youtu.be/SJWuUsqfcfw

Andrew Chen Posted at 2017-9-3 09:36
Hi Evan_Racing, i'm facing the same issue here. Did you resolve the problem?

Hi Andrew, I reported it to DJI Support already and there's an open case for it. They're still "analyzing".

PedramN Posted at 2017-9-3 10:45
http://forum.dji.com/thread-111584-1-1.html

Dear PedramN, I saw the thread and it looks to be the same issue. Multiple cases opened with this issue. Hopefully it's just a software bug that needs to be updated. Otherwise DJI will have to replace all our drones. Mine is under DJI Care Refresh but since my case is still in the "analyzing" phase, no official solution yet.

Olivare Posted at 2017-9-5 14:28
First post here, this is now happening to my spark also!

Happend yesterday on an area i always have flown with no problems. Was launched from a wall too! Luckily survived....

No findings or solutions yet. Support is still analyzing.

MAvicMinh Posted at 2017-9-3 10:40
i got the same problem resulting in a crash. but for me this problem only appear if i took of using the csc command. auto take off works fine

The issue occurs on both occasions, whether I do auto take off or manually take off. Although it's not something that I can just show because it randomly happens.

Thanks for the reply Evan

Guys,

I'm trying to extract all the flight data that DJI Support requested of me. And they said that I needed to send a data from a specific date and for some reason, I don't know why I could not see the data from the previous dates. It's only like for the month of August. I started flying the drone since July 30th and these dates seems to be missing. Can someone please enlighten me?

This is the instructions they sent me: https://www.skypixel.com/videos/57af84e2-e82f-4fce-b579-d5028e9e2898

I don't understand why DJI Support can't just have a Webex / screen sharing session so I can show them the difficulty in facing retrieving what they ask. The worst part is, they just apologized and said they can't help me, just because I couldn't send what they needed. My case has been on for weeks already only for them to tell me what the other support already told me. It has been ping ponging from China support, US support, then now back to China. This is so frustrating! I expected more from DJI!

I'm having this issue as well. At first I could not believe that a battery could cause this issue but good thing I had an open mind and followed the steps that my co-droners told me. I had two batteries and after testing them individually, it's really true. Looks like this intelligent battery is really intelligent but randomly gets crazy. I hope DJI can look into this before our drones fall from a very high altitude. Good thing my drone is still intact and did not sustain significant damage.

Update:

So here's the response I got from DJI support:

"We are terribly sorry for the trouble. For this case, i have reviewed all the email history and also contacted all related department. After further analysis, it is found that the incident was caused by the aircraft itself. We would like to offer Spark without remote to you.

You original purchased the red one, but it's not in stock. We now have white, blue and green ones in stock. Which color do you prefer? "


From what support is saying, it is a defect of the aircraft itself so they're offering me a replacement. Still waiting for their response as I questioned their offer of replacing my unit with a Standalone, when I purchased a Fly More Combo that includes the DJI Care Refresh pack. As far as I know, it should be replaced with the same.

djiuser_4n5ATLg Posted at 2017-9-19 05:50
I'm having this issue as well. At first I could not believe that a battery could cause this issue but good thing I had an open mind and followed the steps that my co-droners told me. I had two batteries and after testing them individually, it's really true. Looks like this intelligent battery is really intelligent but randomly gets crazy. I hope DJI can look into this before our drones fall from a very high altitude. Good thing my drone is still intact and did not sustain significant damage.

Please see DJI's response on my update above.

Evan_Racing Posted at 2017-9-20 06:25
Please see DJI's response on my update above.

How long before you got DJI's reply? I already reported my issue but I only got a reply asking some few details.

djiuser_4n5ATLg Posted at 2017-9-20 06:56
How long before you got DJI's reply? I already reported my issue but I only got a reply asking some few details.

It took exactly almost a month after being passed on to support groups around the globe asking me the same exact thing repeatedly and when I got mad at them because they were really not helping me at all, someone stepped in (probably one of the managers) and finally told me that it was a defect and offered a replacement.

It's also strange as I was reading up last night about the DJI Care Refresh pack, which I got with my Fly More Combo and it was actually mentioned that I have the option to skip the troubleshooting and analysis but support didn't even bother asking me. I'm still waiting for their reply regarding the replacement.

Hmmm..Looks like I need to wait for a while then. Hopefully that will not happen to me. I got a case number now and we'll see how DJI will address my problem. Thanks Evan..

JB Droner Posted at 2017-9-22 09:37
Hmmm..Looks like I need to wait for a while then. Hopefully that will not happen to me. I got a case number now and we'll see how DJI will address my problem. Thanks Evan..

You're welcome. Please keep us posted in this thread. I'm curious to see if DJI Support will have the same resolution for all users with this issue.

Evan_Racing Posted at 2017-9-24 04:50
You're welcome. Please keep us posted in this thread. I'm curious to see if DJI Support will have the same resolution for all users with this issue.

Just an update. I'm completely frustrated now by the poor technical support that the tech lady from DJI provided me. I submitted the logs almost a week ago and she said they were analyzing the issue. After a week of waiting, I just got a reply that the logs for September 16 incident were missing. What? Five days before they noticed the logs were missing? I retrieved again the data and provided screenshot of the logs I chose and put them on my google drive for her to validate again. I just got the same reply, providing instructions on how to retrieve data using the DJI Assistant 2 app and it seemed like she did not read my replies attentively. Worse, she's advising me to send back my drone even if she does not have the logs to support her resolution for a repair. My drone is still intact. I don't need a repair! She said my drone had minor crashes before. Assuming they're really true, she did not even explain what caused those crashes and yet she's asking me to send back the drone for repair with 30 percent off of the repair cost? Totally not acceptable! Our conversation has been going on for two weeks now and we're running in circles. I guess I need to escalate this to someone else.  What a frustrating experience this is!

I'm very frustrated with DJI Support. Absolutely one of the worst supports I have encountered. After more than a month of email exchanges and their proposal to replace my unit, they took the offer back because they claim the offer was only for a flyaway case and since I have the aircraft with me, they will offer repair service instead as it is their Service Policy. During the analysis, they asked me a photo of my aircraft, which I sent them. So how could they even think or relate me to a flyaway case? I know they handle lots of cases but c'mon! This is BS already!

Here's my latest email to them:

Subject: [PLEASE READ/ECSALATE] Re: CAS-923303-H6W8N2 [CAS-923303-H6W8N2] [CAS-923303-H6W8N2] CRM:0773000000573 [CAS-923303-H6W8N2] [CAS-923303-H6W8N2]



"Dear DJI SUPPORT,
Don’t you see what’s happening here? Once again your throwing things back and forth!

Let me enumerate the problems:

1. It took you guys one month to arrive to a conclusion that my aircraft is DEFECTIVE. I was asking your help on how to retrieve the missing data you needed but all you did was resent the procedure that the previous tech support gave me. It kept on going back and forth because none of you didn’t seem to understand. So I requested for a screen sharing session (i.e. Webex) so I can show you the problem I was facing with when retrieving the files. But you disregarded it and when Sophia took over and handled the case, it was stated by her that she has went through all the email history and understood the problem as she consulted all departments involved. The conclusion was that my aircraft was defective and immediately stated that you were going to replace it.

2. If Sophia did understand and read through all the email history from the beginning, then she would have known that my case was not a flyaway case as because I even sent you guys a photo of the underside of my aircraft. While I understand that you have a Service Policy, isn’t it a policy/protocol for a tech support to understand first the issue before proposing a solution? You claimed that you understood the problem and yet here you are apologizing again because you “thought” it was a flyaway case when clearly it was not. Now you are taking back the first resolution of replacing it and changing it to repair service.

3. Like I have stated many times, I have purchased together with my aircraft a DJI Care Refresh Pack. It indicated in your website that I can replace my aircraft, regardless of what accident or problem, with a max of 2 replacements. So why are you telling me that I cannot replace my aircraft? If warranty policy will not offer a replacement, then what’s the purpose of having a DJI Care Refresh Pack anyway?

3. My name is **** ******. If you've read all email history, then you would know that I, **** ****** - the owner of the aircraft is the one talking to you from the start. **** is my friend who purchased the aircraft for me at the DJI Online Store. **** has never been part of this conversation.

If you can’t even address me properly by my name, then how on earth can I believe or trust in DJI Support to even resolve the real issue, which is in my aircraft?

PLEASE ESCALATE this to whoever is in charge because none of the tech support who have handled this case understands what’s going on!

I look forward to the person in charge’s response with Final Solutions and what my Options are so we can resolve this once and for all!


Sincerely,"

JB Droner Posted at 2017-9-27 03:54
Just an update. I'm completely frustrated now by the poor technical support that the tech lady from DJI provided me. I submitted the logs almost a week ago and she said they were analyzing the issue. After a week of waiting, I just got a reply that the logs for September 16 incident were missing. What? Five days before they noticed the logs were missing? I retrieved again the data and provided screenshot of the logs I chose and put them on my google drive for her to validate again. I just got the same reply, providing instructions on how to retrieve data using the DJI Assistant 2 app and it seemed like she did not read my replies attentively. Worse, she's advising me to send back my drone even if she does not have the logs to support her resolution for a repair. My drone is still intact. I don't need a repair! She said my drone had minor crashes before. Assuming they're really true, she did not even explain what caused those crashes and yet she's asking me to send back the drone for repair with 30 percent off of the repair cost? Totally not acceptable! Our conversation has been going on for two weeks now and we're running in circles. I guess I need to escalate this to someone else.  What a frustrating experience this is!

Read my previous post I just posted. Horrible, horrible experience with DJI Support really, for a brand that I had high hopes with. Their Tech Supports are all a big joke.

Luckily, I talked to a chat support representative who's attentive enough to analyze our email exchanges with that tech lady. He updated my case from AC repair to battery replacement. I wonder if DJI tech supports are really tech supports or just employees of DJI who just read emails and then forward them to R&D team.  My issue could not have last for two weeks if she just read carefully my second reply. Looks like they don't bother to verify the validity of the log records before they forward them to the right department. I'm still waiting a reply for that latest update on my case. Let's see how it will go.