I fly in rural locations. No power lines, no concrete with rebar, no towers, no buildings, no wifi signals. Launching in open fields.
My M210/Cendence/Crystal Sky monitor was initially and remains completely unreliable, either running X4S and DJI Go 4, or running X4S/XT with DJI Pilot. I receive a "compass error- exiting GPS mode" a few minutes into flight. The M210 corrects itself if I can manage the bad drift (even in calm conditions) within 30-90 seconds,  but continues to throw the error intermittently until  I land.

It seems 5-15 seconds before the Crystal Sky displays the compass error, my X4S screen flickers/freezes green and XT screen freezes, then the error appears and very significant drift of the airframe begins. It is dangerous.


My P4P does NOT get the errors, nor exhibit this behavior, flying in the same locations.


Per DJI support direction the last eight weeks, all components are updated, XT is confirmed Version 2, etc. I have now recalibrated the compass and make sure I hover 10+meters above takeoff to enable precision landing location. There are no other errors displayed during the flight.  

I can't believe I'm the only one experiencing this, but if I am, I consider that good news because I'll get a quicker fix by either a replacement M210 or a full refund of my investment.

DJI:  What percent of your M210 customers have reported this issue?  I need to know if I will request an exchange or full refund.

Thank you.

I have had exactly the same issue from Day 1.  DJI recommended a compass calibration (plus IMU just to be sure).  This seems to have worked, I'm flying today post the latest firmware update, fingers crossed!

Exactly the same setup, exactly the same issues. Sent my drone to DJI and they are not able to fix it :/

fans055ecaa4 Posted at 2017-11-29 01:08
Exactly the same setup, exactly the same issues. Sent my drone to DJI and they are not able to fix it :/

What does that even mean, they sent you back your UA still broken?

Exactly the same issues presented with my z30+xt+m210 setup.

Compass error still after latest update (05.12.17 what was given out couple days ago...still no FIX)
Z30 zoom live view drifts so badly, so its almost hard to get focused with zoomed mode.

Does cendence controller has it own compass built-in?
I have tried everything, imu, compass calibration with and without gimbals, updates, restarts etc...

DJI CALLS IT PROFESSIONAL DRONE....For me only professional tool is Mavic..
Or you have solution fix already?

Yep, I have the same issues. I'm flying with XT and X5S. However, when I fly with just one camera and use DJI GO App everything seems fine. It might be an issue with the DJI Pilot App that is still in "beta". I've noticed all kinds of errors in the app along with the major compass issue that also affects the video feed from the cameras as well.

ROBERM19 Posted at 2017-11-29 06:32
What does that even mean, they sent you back your UA still broken?

Yes, they sent it back the way it was, we sent it back for repair again and that is their response:
Warranty. Flight log fly91】 1)The aircraft worked in GPS mode. 2)In flight, from t=533s-560s, the aircraft was affected by compass interference, it drifted. 3)After t=560s, the aircraft state was recovered, at the end the pilot controlled it landing at ground. Conclusion & suggestion: Check the compass if the interference come out often. And should calibrate the compass when taking off.

So they did not fix it again.
We got our lawyer on this case, will update as soon as I get more info.

I have an Phantom 4 pro as a backup drone and it became the main drone... That's the enterprise treatment we get.

fans055ecaa4 Posted at 2017-12-8 01:34
Yes, they sent it back the way it was, we sent it back for repair again and that is their response:
Warranty. Flight log fly91】 1)The aircraft worked in GPS mode. 2)In flight, from t=533s-560s, the aircraft was affected by compass interference, it drifted. 3)After t=560s, the aircraft state was recovered, at the end the pilot controlled it landing at ground. Conclusion & suggestion: Check the compass if the interference come out often. And should calibrate the compass when taking off.

Wow, that's really unfortunate. I hope it works out for you, the loss of income from things like this are probably one of the biggest issues

How´s the situation? No results?

I had the same issue during my initial flights with the M210. DJI recommended both and IMU and compass calibration. I also refreshed the firmware using DJIAssistant2. I have not had these same issues since.

I am having the same issue.  The drone is flying on its own and I am having to struggle to keep control and land it.  I’m getting compass error message on screen.

I sent it back to DJI and they said they replace the antenna on the ex controller but I looks like they sent a whole new controller.

When it was returned we had to do all firmware updates.  It’s like dji did nothing.

Can you let me know if you have a lawyer to fight this?

Have the problem if use my external GPS ariel

Have very similar issue if I use my gps on the top

I have had my M210 for about a year now, but since the start of the year I have noticed that we have been having regular gps errors.  I use a top mounted payload and so have always had my external gps attached.  However once i noticed the gps errors happening I did some specific testing to see what difference the external gps makes.  The answer is sometimes is doesn't make any difference, other times is actually makes the level of gps signal worse!  Therefore it appears that at best the external gps does nothing, and at worst it reduces the strength of the gps/satellite signals.  I'm sure others must be having the same issue and would be very keen to hear from DJI.  I have included some images of the gps flight data which clearly shows this issue:

No external GPS (excellent GPS signal, even with top mounted payload)


With external GPS in same location (poorer GPS signal)


With external GPS in a very remote location with no interference - dangerous to fly - despite doing everything DJI recommends when using external GPS