This morning, I attempted to update the firmware of my Phantom 3 Standard to the 1.9.20 as recommended by the app.  During the update, the camera began to shake violently to the point my gimbals cushions tore.  When the update finally failed, the gibmal was extremely hot.  I tried to restart and the drone as directed by the app and now the drone alarms loudly and will not function.

I allowed the drone to cool down and still get the alarm and no functions.

How do I fix this?


Please tell me my drone is not toast.

Have never heard of that kind of firmware reaction.   Could you post some video of the behavior of the P3 when you turn it on?

I took this video during a third attempt at the update. Since it connected this time, I figured it couldn't hurt to try.
Luckily, it took on the third time, but it still tells me firmware update required.

https://youtu.be/U2VLzy_K4JsTry again with the video

Same thing happened to my p3s a few months back. Let dji customer service listen and they said send it back. Cost $200 to fix, as they wouldn't pay for damage caused by a firmware update.
I still get mad when I think about it.  Stop reminding me with that wicked beep lol

I had that when I upgraded to ver 3.1.4 a while back now. I just set a fan blowing on the gimbal, left it in the spare room for a few hours to sort itself out. Upgrade took 3 attempts and about 2 hours, but it did eventually work.

having the same issue w/ my PS3 have you had any luck?

ALABAMA Posted at 2017-7-29 13:54
Same thing happened to my p3s a few months back. Let dji customer service listen and they said send it back. Cost $200 to fix, as they wouldn't pay for damage caused by a firmware update.
I still get mad when I think about it.  Stop reminding me with that wicked beep lol

did they ever tell you what they fixed?

Biggest thing was a circuit board. Labor was $130 for 2 hrs.

Well, it took 3 attempts to take the update, but it finally took.  No more beeping.

KE6IRJ Posted at 2017-7-31 05:08
Well, it took 3 attempts to take the update, but it finally took.  No more beeping.

Sweet. Sometimes they just need some TLC and patience from us.

I just bought the P3 standard, should I download the Dji go app or wait until things are fixed, or is it operator error causing all these glitches ?

Jhunter2140 Posted at 2017-7-31 08:44
I just bought the P3 standard, should I download the Dji go app or wait until things are fixed, or is it operator error causing all these glitches ?

You can't fly until you do.

I understand, but all these problems with the new FW update....or is just operator errors

Jhunter2140 Posted at 2017-7-31 13:22
I understand, but all these problems with the new FW update....or is just operator errors

A little from column A, a little from column B...
Crippled range/video feed seems to be the most common FW issue, which isn't a fly breaker, but more of an annoyance.
I would still give it a go, who knows how long until a patch gets it all sorted out.

KE6IRJ Posted at 2017-7-31 05:08
Well, it took 3 attempts to take the update, but it finally took.  No more beeping.

Remember it's always a good idea to have air moving across the bird any time you're doing an update or you have it on and stationary. Use a fan etc because the number one enemy of these Phantoms is heat. Followed closely by trees and the ground of course ;). Glad you got it going!

This beeping is exactly what I'm experiencing except when I try to update via app it fails immediately at 0% and tells me to restart. Has anyone experienced that? I've attempted uninstalling the app and formatting the SD card on the computer but I've had no luck getting the update to take. My camera also gets pretty warm if I leave this running for an hour so I'm afraid of leaving it and burning out a motor.

I updated, the update was successful but now my gimbal has completely lost its mind. Shakes the camera around violently. Will not calibrate. I've only flown the bird 2 or 3 times. Only rough handling was a bit of a bump when I landed from 6" once. I'm convinced it is the firmware.

graves_clay Posted at 2017-8-8 14:49
I updated, the update was successful but now my gimbal has completely lost its mind. Shakes the camera around violently. Will not calibrate. I've only flown the bird 2 or 3 times. Only rough handling was a bit of a bump when I landed from 6" once. I'm convinced it is the firmware.

After pulling the footage, I now think my issue was a part-swapper on my refurbished unit. The original footage shows the same action, which was just made worse by the FW update.

Juanfpina68 Posted at 2017-8-8 02:49
This beeping is exactly what I'm experiencing except when I try to update via app it fails immediately at 0% and tells me to restart. Has anyone experienced that? I've attempted uninstalling the app and formatting the SD card on the computer but I've had no luck getting the update to take. My camera also gets pretty warm if I leave this running for an hour so I'm afraid of leaving it and burning out a motor.

The camera WILL get hot if you leave it on and not flying.  A lot of us use a small fan or set it on an AC register while updating.

IF a fan is needed during the update, why the crap is there not a warning about it when you begin? If the thing is so fragile that a software update can destroy the hardware, and they are billing for its repair, then one can assume it is intentional. If that is the case I wouldn't be surprised to see a lawsuit come of it. I've built satellites that were more robust... and they are pretty fragile things, clean room and all.

I wasn't able to update my firmware either and I did get the gimbal shimmy but, I think that's because I forgot to remove the gimbal brace when using the simulator mode (it still does the gimbal check on startup).  It wasn't shimmying before that.

Hi.  I've just received my new Phantom 3 Standard. Unpacked, followed all instructions.  Had some difficulty uploading the Firmware update but that seems OK now. Problem is, each time I try to connect the Aircraft all I get is a very loud buzzing / alarm sound from it.  Have no idea what to do now!  Can anyone advise?  Thank-you.

iangiles Posted at 2017-8-14 01:27
Hi.  I've just received my new Phantom 3 Standard. Unpacked, followed all instructions.  Had some difficulty uploading the Firmware update but that seems OK now. Problem is, each time I try to connect the Aircraft all I get is a very loud buzzing / alarm sound from it.  Have no idea what to do now!  Can anyone advise?  Thank-you.

Format the SD card, reinstall the APP, then see if you are able to re-upgrade the drone again.

Thank-you.  I have not been able to go outside to test this yet but the Aircraft now seems to have accepted the Firmware update.  I'll let you know what happens!  Thanks again, ian Giles.