Hey guys and gals, So after some of the new updateds my phantom is having a really hard time holding its position. If it hovers it will drift about 2 feet in any direction and will not hold true like it used to.  Any advice? Thank you.

Which model do you have?
I have noticed the same drift with the Phantom 3 Standard after the latest firmware update when the wind speed is above 5 mph (4.3 knots).
Flying has been great, but yeah the hover drift has been a foot or two like you said.
I just insure I am in an open area and use great caution landing.

I know this doesnt help but my P3P is more stable since the update.

IMU & Compass needing calibrated after update ?

I calibrate my P3A before every take off.  I also have drift.  Didn't really think about it till the OP mentioned it.  As such, I also have altitude lost.  Roughly 1-2 ft when hovering about 4-5 ft off the ground.  Never really paid attention to it during prior updates.  Now that I'm aware it may possibly be a software issue, I will keep my eye on it and log it when it happens.

charles1142000 Posted at 2016-4-26 22:50
I calibrate my P3A before every take off.  I also have drift.  Didn't really think about it till the ...

same for me... P3P.. i think its a software problem. I have tried everything many times..

I've noticed vertical drift (about a foot or two) on my P3P after the 1.8 update also with a fresh calibration before every flight.

Hello rileymc, try to calibrate the IMU at first.Then calibrate the compass in a place free of iron or magnetic things. Make sure that the drone is hovering in P-GPS mode.

Same problems here. AMONG A TON OF OTHER ERRORS. The P3A has gotten worse with each update, errors on every flight, weak transmission signal, completely lost GPS yesterday and almost drifted into a tree, drifts like crazy, horizon is always tilted now even though I have leveled the gimbal. Disappointing, going to wait for one more update then sell if it's not fixed. My buddy has the same issues.

charles1142000 Posted at 2016-4-26 12:50
I calibrate my P3A before every take off.  I also have drift.  Didn't really think about it till the ...

Exactly the same thing here... if I hover  may e 3 feet up and try to do any panning shots it looses alltitude and drops.

I have the altitude loss when flying after update. (P3P) It's not a major issue, but it is yet another issue

Indoors or outdoors? P or A mode? VPS on or off?

Indoors is iffy with GPS signals even if you could get a few satellites. Just look at the map view. Your bird can be drifting all over the place even when resting on the ground. Hence it will do the same when in the air under P mode. When indoors, I use A mode.

If drifting in A mode, it might show IMU calibration issue and or imbalanced rotors.

Oh and in my experience VPS sucks indoors where I fly with repeatable ground patterns. I turn VPS off too.

I'm personally only talking about outdoor, open field (large front yard), no metallic or RF interference, and only in P mode.  I've not graduated myself out of P mode yet and don't have quite the skill to fly indoors (not to mention, my wife would kill me if i hit a wall).  I'll get some video edited and post it to YouTube with a link.  You'll be able to see the drift vertical and horizontal and see if what I'm talking about is what everyone is experiencing.  Might help the devs who read the forums understand what most of us are dealing with.

I am having the exact same problem. My craft was running perfect on FW 1.4 but immediately after updating to 1.6 my craft will now drift / roam a few feet when hovering. Before it was stationary in one spot. Because of this it is extremely hard to land. Mine will also lose altitude when rotating around.

If the craft acted this way out of the box, I would have returned it.

Has anyone found a fix yet to this problem?

scarper Posted at 2016-4-26 10:55
I know this doesnt help but my P3P is more stable since the update.

Which firmware version of the P3P are you referring that is more stable?

DJI-Paladin Posted at 2016-4-26 22:09
Hello rileymc, try to calibrate the IMU at first.Then calibrate the compass in a place free of iron or magnetic things. Make sure that the drone is hovering in P-GPS mode.

I am having this same issue currently in December 2016. I have the phantom 3 standard, the first couple of days were fantastic, super steady but now it's very floaty and shaky after 3-4 days of flying it. It doesn't seem steady in the air it looks slightly tilted and loses altitude by around a foot while hovering. I love the drone but I want it to be as steady as the day I bought it this floaty stuff is really keeping me from getting creative shots.

Thanks, Jordan

Has anyone found a fix for this?

I also have drifting and floating issues on my P3P. Any solution yet?

fansa15118c0 Posted at 2017-4-15 02:22
I also have drifting and floating issues on my P3P. Any solution yet?

I;ve had this drifting issue about 6 months ago, turned out to be a bad calibration, get a good one, & as long as you don't move over 100 miles don't calibrate again!!
I calibrated 5 months ago, & haven't had any issues with drifting, moving around since.
Mind you, i haven;t updated firmware either, from what i read i;m glad i haven;t!

fans987d278a Posted at 2017-4-15 07:09
I;ve had this drifting issue about 6 months ago, turned out to be a bad calibration, get a good one, & as long as you don't move over 100 miles don't calibrate again!!
I calibrated 5 months ago, & haven't had any issues with drifting, moving around since.
Mind you, i haven;t updated firmware either, from what i read i;m glad i haven;t!

What firmware version are you running?

Hey, recently I have updated my DJI Phantom 3 professional with the latest firmware and it started to drift around 2 feet horizontally , before that it used to be dead still while hovering. So after lots of studying I found out a way i.e to calibrate the Imu functions. I did it now its stable again while hovering. Follow this link it will be helpful .

Wondering when Dji will fix problem for fps. Not holding position?

charles1142000 Posted at 2016-4-29 10:37
I'm personally only talking about outdoor, open field (large front yard), no metallic or RF interference, and only in P mode.  I've not graduated myself out of P mode yet and don't have quite the skill to fly indoors (not to mention, my wife would kill me if i hit a wall).  I'll get some video edited and post it to YouTube with a link.  You'll be able to see the drift vertical and horizontal and see if what I'm talking about is what everyone is experiencing.  Might help the devs who read the forums understand what most of us are dealing with.

Dji should fix this issue we all paid good money to buy the phantom

Aardvark Posted at 2016-4-26 07:00
IMU & Compass needing calibrated after update ?

Tried all this still the same dji  should fix the issue ASAP.
Won't fly until don't want to loose my phantom standard  to much $$$$$

I just got a used P3 Standard, I've calibrated the IMU and the compass and when I look at the map with the phantom on the ground not moving anywhere is moving all over the map and showing distance of 20+ feet.  This seems to have been hardly used, only 3 cycles on the battery and not a mark on it anywhere, very pristine condition.  When I took off to hover about 10 feet, zero wind it's moving all over the place.

It's in P mode, GPS with over 10 satelites, latest firmware.

Any ideas what I'm doing wrong?

Thanks,
Chuck

I had the same problem not long ago (https://forum.dji.com/thread-161929-1-1.html) and it was recommended that i turn off the VPS and it works great.  I had re-calibrated everything, but now it is stable again.  I understand i would have trouble indoors - no big deal since i don't fly indoors.  I do fly at low altitudes and have no trouble with the VPS off.  Apparently it was confusing my bird.  

I know this post is kinda old now (12/5/2019) , but has anyone solved there drifting problem? I have a Phantom 3 4k, and it drifts a foot or 2. Sometimes drops a foot or so. I Just bought it used, a couple weeks ago. Still learning about it. I've tried the IMU calibration, and always calibrate the compass. Will a   firmware update help? It's actually still stock, never updated. I'm kinda worried about updating it, cause of the horror stories I've read.

Aardvark Posted at 2016-4-26 07:00
IMU & Compass needing calibrated after update ?

Recalibrate the imu is the first thing I do after any updates totally agree with you

I calibrated the compass during activation only. The IMU was calibrated after each FW-upgrade,not more. The bird is hovering inbound a square of 30x30cm by 10 Sats.
If your bird drops the altitude then have a look on the baro.

First look at the specs and be sure it's drifting outside of those specs.  

If it is, but it's not doing circles which would indicate a compass problem, an IMU calibration will usually fix it.

Study how level it is hovering by hovering it at eye level.  All four motors should be perfectly level on the same plane.  If the AC is not perfectly level, that's likely why it's not staying in place within specs.

If an IMU calibration doesn't fix it, you probably need a new/used FC/MC.  

If you're going to do that, I've read posts where guys will remove the MC and smack it on the table a few times to loosen up whatever is stuck within the gyros.  I haven't tried that myself yet.  Wish I had because I've tossed several FCs in the can over the years.  I will try it next time.  

Good luck.

I received my P3P back from DJI repair and noticed the same problem. It's like your flying in non GPS mode but I have it set to fly with GPS. what is the latest firmware?