Today was the first day I was able to fly my drone since the upgrades. Within 5 minutes of flying my app screen went completely white. I was still able to control the drone so I brought it back to be safe. When I landed it I noticed a crack on the back of the battery. Has anyone seen this before? I didn't run into anything and was flying pretty slowly so I could capture some pictures and video.

I did contact support. I recommend chat since it's a lot quicker than the phone by the way. I am a little dissapointed I have to wait to ship it back and then get a new one since I'm practicing as much as I can before a long road trip through Iceland. If you have seen this before do you think it's okay to still fly or would you recommend waiting for a new battery?

Personally I wouldn't use that battery, unless you know it's only cosmetic. LiPo batteries are dangerous when damaged. If it were my I wouldn't even attempt to charge it.

I don't think your app screen going white is related to the battery crack.

jstjohnz Posted at 2016-4-20 15:28
I don't think your app screen going white is related to the battery crack.

Might be the case, but just explaining my entire experience. When the screen came back it said disconnected. So, not sure what caused either issue. Could be related, might not be. Just trying to find out if anyone else has experienced the same thing.

If it's a faulty battery Dji will replace it!, that to me looks like it's impacted something or dropped maybe. They would be able to tell you for sure.

Bennyboy1983 Posted at 2016-4-20 16:47
If it's a faulty battery Dji will replace it!, that to me looks like it's impacted something or drop ...

100% sure it wasn't dropped and if something impacted it that hard in the sky I assume I would have seen the drone move. Either that or Ant Man got a hold of it.

anthonytori Posted at 2016-4-20 18:20
100% sure it wasn't dropped and if something impacted it that hard in the sky I assume I would hav ...

Its impossible for a firmware update to physically damage the battery.  If you can. Upload your flight logs of your last flight so we can check to see what errors came up in flight

I have the same crack on my battery.  Looks almost identical right over the lights.

CapeCodPhantom Posted at 2016-4-20 19:01
I have the same crack on my battery.  Looks almost identical right over the lights.

well I just check one of my three batteries, and sure enough, one of them has that exact small crack, not as large as yours, but I do have it.

Without having opened one of these batteries, that looks like a stress crack from an interior screw in a boss maybe that holds the LED board in place.  They may have over tightened it and over time and with insertions and removals it starts to crack.  The clips may add to that stress.  I know mine are quite difficult to get out.  I have to pinch them very hard.  Kind of like it like that.  Better than the alternative.

Think the likely cause is pushing the battery in via the back hard rather than squeezing the little clips top and bottom causing the spring to snap, or maybe squeezing it too hard can case it. Just behind the area there the crack is, there is a spring for the catch.. The plastic is quite thin there, maybe DJI should revise it and add some more plastic where the springs sits against the plastic..
I guarantee one thing though, the firmware didnt cause it

First thought is that it isn't the battery itself because the electronics for the battery are below the cover. It may have been that way from the beginning? The update had nothing to do with it. I'll check mine to see and if any have the same crack I will get back to you.

sploodge Posted at 2016-4-21 18:11
Think the likely cause is pushing the battery in via the back hard rather than squeezing the little  ...

It looks to me like it might be those springs.  The crack is in the same spot in all the photos, right where that spring presses against the plastic.  Maybe the force from the tension on the spring is too much for the plastic in that spot.

I just checked the three that I have and there are no cracks or blemishes. Discovered another issue though that I have to sort out. Also, all of my batteries came direct from DJI.

sploodge Posted at 2016-4-21 18:11
Think the likely cause is pushing the battery in via the back hard rather than squeezing the little  ...

The First Maxim of a hardware engineer:  It's Software's Fault.  

By the looks of it you guys seem to be right and it makes sense regarding the clip. You just can't be too safe when it comes to the battery though. I'd rather be overly safe than take a chance that the battery fails in flight, drifts into a school playground and chops up Jonny and Suzy while enjoying a Capri Sun by the tire swing. I don't want to be that guy.

I am legit bummed about taking the time to drain the battery to 50% then charge to full ten times before using it for a full charge. Such a tease only flying it for 10 minutes.

sploodge Posted at 2016-4-21 18:11
Think the likely cause is pushing the battery in via the back hard rather than squeezing the little  ...

It's possible, open the battery without breaking anything inside ?.
Because I see in the photo, some broken plastic tabs inside.
I ask this, because if it is easy to do, without breaking anything, we ourselves can put a small reinforcement to distribute pressure on that point. I would stick an elongate strip (plastic or metal), thus reducing the pressure at a single point.  What do you think ?  

Bullflyer Posted at 2016-4-21 19:42
It's possible, open the battery without breaking anything inside ?.
Because I see in the photo, so ...

Dooable but very very hard not to damage the surrounding plastic. No risk of damaging the function of the battery IMO.

The blue arrows point to areas you could slip on a very thin metal spatula to lift the clips, red arrows are two clips you cannot directly get to so would need to do the same method on the plastic above it.
In an ideal world you would loosen all clips and pull the front off straight, in practice thats is not easy.
You are very likely going to stretch/crack the plastic trying.

sploodge Posted at 2016-4-22 03:44
Dooable but very very hard not to damage the surrounding plastic. No risk of damaging the function  ...

Bad news

Looks like these have to be addressed by DJI.

edbighi@gmail.c Posted at 2016-4-22 02:09
Looks like these have to be addressed by DJI.

It will. Info has been passed to R&D to look into it.. I am sure it will be an easy fix and the next revision of battery will not have a possibility of this issue..

Also worth noting, I have tried hard to recreate the crack and failed.. Not sure exactly what it takes to cause it to crack but I gave it a good go ( real world handling ) and didn't manage to do it.

My question is, over time, will it increase the chances of the battery coming out during flight?  If it cracks and the spring pushes out, I would think the tension on the top tab would be reduced and it could come undone.

sploodge Posted at 2016-4-21 12:11
Think the likely cause is pushing the battery in via the back hard rather than squeezing the little  ...

Allthough I do not have this problem I'd like to make you a compliment for the way you always ty to help people and most of the times you succeed in doing this!
I "only" have this strange sound when the Phantom 4/gimbal is initialising... and the problem we also once had with the Phantom 3 Pro, which is not keeping the altitude when you stop after flying sideways...
Take care!
Max

CapeCodPhantom Posted at 2016-4-22 19:09
My question is, over time, will it increase the chances of the battery coming out during flight?  If ...

I agree. It could be possible. Especially when taking into account the stresses of flight.

Wow!  I ordered a spare battery from DJI about 3 weeks ago and I have about 15 charge cycles on it so far.  Just two days ago, I noticed the EXACT same crack in that battery.  Same spot.  Looking at a video I found on line of the Phantom 4 battery disassembly, I noticed that there is an internal spring that presses against that precise spot internally.  I have had no crashes or even hard landings and the battery has not been dropped.  I have flown it twice since noticing the crack without problems, but I hope this crack isn't going to get bigger and eventually cause a mechanical failure where the battery could fall out.  I am hoping that this is only cosmetic and will not compromise the battery being held securely in the quad.  Personally, I don't think the anomolies you described on your screen had anything to do with the crack.  I believe that is coincidental.   This is a design flaw.  This could be a big problem.
--Jim

CapeCodPhantom Posted at 2016-4-23 01:09
My question is, over time, will it increase the chances of the battery coming out during flight?  If ...

That's what I want to know.

Jim Watkins Posted at 2016-4-26 18:27
Wow!  I ordered a spare battery from DJI about 3 weeks ago and I have about 15 charge cycles on it s ...

That's what I'm really most upset about. The time it took draining it down to 50% and back up to properly train the battery. Now I have to do it again

A replacement battery isn't a solution.  It's going to happen again.  Like I said.  It's a design flaw and potentially a BIG problem.  

Jim Watkins Posted at 2016-4-28 04:39
A replacement battery isn't a solution.  It's going to happen again.  Like I said.  It's a design fl ...

The crack will not cause the battery to fall out..

sploodge Posted at 2016-4-28 14:53
The crack will not cause the battery to fall out..

If the spring eventually comes through the crack it could.  There would be no tension on the clip holding it in the aircraft.

CapeCodPhantom Posted at 2016-4-28 15:38
If the spring eventually comes through the crack it could.  There would be no tension on the clip  ...

It looks like only the top spring is an issue, even with it broken, the battery would not fall out.. But, its an issue DJI need to resolve regardless.

maybe rubbing some thick CA glue into the crack would keep it from getting worse?  worth a shot...not any uglier than a crack.

sploodge Posted at 2016-4-28 07:40
It looks like only the top spring is an issue, even with it broken, the battery would not fall out ...

The battery is secure now, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if the crack gets bigger over time.  If that happens and the battery becomes unsecured in its compartment, we have a big problem that will necessitate a recall of those batteries.  There ain't no software fix for this!

While we're talking about cracks, here's something else to worry about.  http://forum.dji.com/forum.php?m ... D368%26typeid%3D368

looks like we're talking about the P4 so P3P ok???

I

Both my batteries have developed the cracks in the same spot.  I never push the batteries into the Phantom without holding the buttons down.

The problem appears to be the force of the clips against the clear plastic.

wjmears Posted at 2016-5-24 05:07
I

Both my batteries have developed the cracks in the same spot.  I never push the batteries into th ...

I'm sorry you are experiencing this. Please call 818-235-0789 and they will take care of it for you.

checked my 3 batteries all ok so far.
Only have 2 hours flight time and about 3 cycles on the 3 batteries.  With the springs constant pressure over time it could be a fairly widespread issue over time.  I'm sure as stated above DJI are on it and may have already revised the battery case.
After flying model airplanes with control wires as a kid, I still think this phantom 4 is amazing!

Has anyone with a Phantom 3 had this issue?

A little concerned as my battery ID labels cover the area around the lights and button, so I wouldn't notice any cracks forming on the end cap.