So I recently bought a P3 Advanced. The day I got it I turned on the controller and the aircraft and plugged in my iPhone 6s Plus into the controller and launched the DJI Go app. For some reason it auto selects the Professional rather than the Advanced. It's says in highlighted green letters "Aircraft Connected" and I tap the camera button and I go into flight screen. It has a grey background and can't see anything out of the camera. I took the Aircraft outside to for a flight and it prompts me with a Warning saying that the aircraft needs to be activated. I have no idea why it doesn't let me activate plus I can't the firmware to upgrade either it always fails.
Any body have any of these issues before or did I just get a defected drone?

What happens when you select the Advanced on the initial screen?

I have the option to select Advanced before I connect the phone to the controller but right after I connect the phone to the controller it auto selects Professional

aopisa Posted at 2016-2-20 10:51
What happens when you select the Advanced on the initial screen?

I have the option to select Advanced before I connect the phone to the controller but right after I connect the phone to the controller it auto selects Professional

aasandoval28@gm Posted at 2016-2-21 07:30
I have the option to select Advanced before I connect the phone to the controller but right after  ...

Place your finger on the image and slide it sideways to select the correct Phantom.

Geebax Posted at 2016-2-20 14:23
Place your finger on the image and slide it sideways to select the correct Phantom.

It doesn't let me swipe after I connect the phone

aasandoval28@gm Posted at 2016-2-21 09:44
It doesn't let me swipe after I connect the phone

That's odd. However the correct sequence for connecting is to power up the aircraft, then connect the phone to the RC unit, power up the RC unit and finally run the GO App.

In order to activate the aircraft, you have to have a WiFi or cellular connection to the internet on your phone, as the acivation is done on-line.

My Advanced has the same issue.  Initially it says 'Aircraft connected', but registers it as a Professional.  I just wait for about 30 seconds then it realizes that it has ideas above it's station and demotes itself to an Advanced.  I can then connect and fly no problem.

Geebax Posted at 2016-2-20 14:23
Place your finger on the image and slide it sideways to select the correct Phantom.

I gave it a try when I connected everything but it didn't work. It only allowed me to select before I connected the phone to the controller

Geebax Posted at 2016-2-20 14:54
That's odd. However the correct sequence for connecting is to power up the aircraft, then connect t ...

I gave it a try in that order and it didn't seem to work :/

nick4098 Posted at 2016-2-20 15:07
My Advanced has the same issue.  Initially it says 'Aircraft connected', but registers it as a Profe ...

I waited for a couple of minutes and it just remained as Professional. I would have thought that the firmware update might help but I always fails and can't update

Geebax Posted at 2016-2-21 09:54
That's odd. However the correct sequence for connecting is to power up the aircraft, then connect the phone to the RC unit, power up the RC unit and finally run the GO App.
...

I believe the user manual says to power up the controller first, then the drone and then the DJI Go app.

As far as the OP's concern goes, I think that my app may also have started out on the Pro page but I simply changed it to Advanced.

aasandoval28@gm Posted at 2016-2-21 10:50
I gave it a try when I connected everything but it didn't work. It only allowed me to select befor ...

That seems to suggest you have the DJI Go App running before you connect the phone to the controller. The phone should always be connected and the RC switched on before running the Go App.

JockC Posted at 2016-2-20 16:24
I believe the user manual says to power up the controller first, then the drone and then the DJI G ...

I am able to chose between which phantom but as I connect the phone it auto selects professional and can't Change it

aasandoval28@gm Posted at 2016-2-21 11:45
I am able to chose between which phantom but as I connect the phone it auto selects professional a ...

Yes, but read what I said above. Do Not have the Go App running before you connect it to the RC unit.

Geebax Posted at 2016-2-20 18:02
Yes, but read what I said above. Do Not have the Go App running before you connect it to the RC un ...

DJI Go was not running and it would still do the samething...

aasandoval28@gm Posted at 2016-2-21 14:35
DJI Go was not running and it would still do the samething...

OK, then perhaps you should tackle the activation issue before trying any further. Start by uninstalling the DJI Go App and re-install it.

There really should be a sticky on this site telling new owners NOT to try and update firmware/software until you have the aircraft going and have made a couple of flights. It only makes it harder to dianose these situations.

My P3A did the exact same thing as the OP's  the other day after dozens of flights with no issues.  It gets connected the same way every time, and the App doesn't start till I plug the tablet into the R/C. (starts automatically)  You are totally unable to take the App out of thinking that you have a P3P.  I did all sorts of reboots, even tried it with a different phone and still had the same issue.  The last thing I tried was with everything still turned on, I shut down the battery, let the P3A shut all the way down, and then turned the battery back on.  The App changed and showed me correctly as a P3A, and it flew fine.  I have absolutly no idea what happened, or why turning the battery off corrected it but it did.  

When I flew it today, it worked as it should, started up and showed the P3A.    hopefully it was a one off glitch.

Only difference that I see, is that the Op has an Apple device and I have android K1 tablet and Note 3.  Note 3 has latest version of Go app, K1 has prior version.

Geebax Posted at 2016-2-20 22:54
That's odd. However the correct sequence for connecting is to power up the aircraft, then connect t ...

If you power up the aircraft first, do you not run the risk of a RTH to the last recorded home point initiating as it hasn't got a signal to the RC?  I've heard of this happening, but maybe that was with P2's and it doesn't happen with the P3...

Either way, I always power up the RC first, just in case...

Geebax Posted at 2016-2-20 20:07
OK, then perhaps you should tackle the activation issue before trying any further. Start by uninsta ...

Tried that already and even used the another phone and it did the exact samething, I can't activate the drone and have not been able to fly it at all!

nick4098 Posted at 2016-2-21 17:17
If you power up the aircraft first, do you not run the risk of a RTH to the last recorded home poi ...

"If you power up the aircraft first, do you not run the risk of a RTH to the last recorded home point initiating as it hasn't got a signal to the RC?  I've heard of this happening, but maybe that was with P2's and it doesn't happen with the P3..."

No, that won't happen. As soon as you start the motors it wil;l record the current position of the aircraft as the home point.

aasandoval28@gm Posted at 2016-2-21 17:28
Tried that already and even used the another phone and it did the exact samething, I can't activat ...

OK, I've run out of ideas. Good luck.

Just change the stickers and make it a Professional.....LOL

This is weird for sure.

mcphipps900 Posted at 2016-2-21 06:08
Just change the stickers and make it a Professional.....LOL

This is weird for sure.

Wish I could but it didn't come with the gold color stickers haha

Unless I read something wrong, the P3A and the P3P are the same. The only difference is the camera on it. The controls and functionality are almost exact. Does it really matter? If it lets you select 4K video and actually has that quality... then you have an issue. Other than that.... shouldn't matter.

MSGNitro Posted at 2016-2-22 03:55
Unless I read something wrong, the P3A and the P3P are the same. The only difference is the camera o ...

Heck, I'd be happy if it'd let me select 4K on my advanced. LOL!

MSGNitro Posted at 2016-2-21 11:55
Unless I read something wrong, the P3A and the P3P are the same. The only difference is the camera o ...

Apparently it does matter because I'm not able to activate the aircraft. When I go into camera view I can't see what the camera is looking at, it's just a grey background and when I pull both joy sticks together to fly it I get a warning that says Activate Required. I really am starting to think I seriously got a defected Phantom

aasandoval28@gm Posted at 2016-2-21 17:28
Apparently it does matter because I'm not able to activate the aircraft. When I go into camera vie ...

I missed this before.  Are you saying that you can not get the aircraft to start the motors?  

As I posted above, mine did everything yours did, BUT it let me start motors.  

aasandoval28@gm Posted at 2016-2-21 17:28
Apparently it does matter because I'm not able to activate the aircraft. When I go into camera vie ...

do you have wifi when it asked to activate. ?

Always power RC first then quad. You always want the live quad to see an RC signal for safety.
when shutting down turn off quad then RC go don't matter .
EXCEPT stop video  recording  before you shut down quad

that's p2 or p3 both

the tab and go don't matter much,  mine works however on/off plugged in or not . just turn on or plug and it works for me anyhow on my shield k1

z5.zonefive Posted at 2016-2-21 22:16
I missed this before.  Are you saying that you can not get the aircraft to start the motors?  

As ...

I can't start the motors.. When I try to turn them on the Activation is Required and can't activate for some odd reason

kirk2579@aol.co Posted at 2016-2-21 22:43
do you have wifi when it asked to activate. ?

Always power RC first then quad. You always want th ...

Yeah I do have wifi when I set everything up.. I have never been asked to activate the aircraft

aasandoval28@gm Posted at 2016-2-21 17:28
Apparently it does matter because I'm not able to activate the aircraft. When I go into camera vie ...

If this is on Android, I would go into the Settings... Applications... and find DJI Go App. Stop the app. Clear Cache / Clear data. At least this will clear anything that is forcing it to think another drone is connected. I had the P3A connected before I "traded" up for the P3P. When I connected, it wouldn't work. I had the same symptoms you have. Uninstalling the app may not actually clear the data. So, I manually cleared the cache/data and went through the setup once again. Now I'm good to go.

Maybe rebinding the RC to the p3 will help?  It is supposed to come ready bound but maybe something went wrong in transit? There are instructions in the manual how to re-bind in case this is needed.

aasandoval28@gm Posted at 2016-2-22 05:01
Yeah I do have wifi when I set everything up.. I have never been asked to activate the aircraft

when you first turned everything on the software should have made you register and name the aircraft.  If it didn't do that then, thats where the problem is.

I just bought an advance today, and I have exactly the same problems with you.

Did you find what happened?

I have always been taught... RC is first on and last off.  Is that different with the Phantom 3?  Radio on, go app opened... power on craft...

after flight power off the Craft then the RC.

I've tried some of the fixes posted here.  I have found that if I turn on the RC first, then the P3A and ONLY THEN plug the tablet into the RC, it identifies the Advanced straight away with no pretentions of grandeur...

Hi, both phantoms advanced and professional are the same aircraft, I had an advanced one, and switched the camera for the professional, then I just changed the firmware from the advanced to the proffesional, maybe you should download the latest advanced firmware for your aircraft, put it into your sd card, and update your phantom 3A, then I think it will be fixed, maybe it has the professional firmware installed.

I am having a problem with my phantom 3 advanced. my P3A was flying just fine for a couple days and now it wont even connect to the aircraft. Ive tried different combinations of turning all the stuff on but nothing happens. My RC always thinks that my aircraft is a pro. I updated the firmware for my aircraft and remote a day ago. I also downloaded the app twice. I select the P3A in the app but when i connect my iphone to the remote, it immediately switches to the P3P. And when i click 'camera' it shows me the flight screen with all the settings, but its just a grey background without any camera view, and there is no connection whatsoever to the aircraft. i know this because i tried to move the props and camera, as well as turning the aircraft on and off again but nothing works. please help.

After I updated the firmware and app I had the same "thinks it's a Pro" problem. I removed the SD card and it went back to knowing it was an Adv. I formatted the SD card, inserted it again and everything was fine.