DJI Phantom 4 Pro GPS Failure, Fell out of sky.
6199 28 2017-12-31
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JoshKetcham
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I was using my Phantom 4 Pro which is the best drone I’ve used. For some Reason sattelites cut out or some GPS error happened but all of a sudden it poppped up saying Aircraft disconnected and it fell from about 50m up. I never had any connection issues prior to this so I’m baffled.  Has anyone else experienced this issue?? Waiting for a response from DJI email support.
2017-12-31
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PaulSouthport
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You need to sync you flight log and upload here http://www.phantomhelp.com/logviewer/upload/ if you want to know what happened.
From your description it sounds like the battery fell out or failed.
2017-12-31
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AlanHd
Second Officer
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United Kingdom
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Ouch, sorry to hear that, if you want people on here to have a look to the possible cause you can upload you flight log for examination. Here’s how http://www.phantomhelp.com/LogViewer/Upload/
2017-12-31
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gyrex
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Did you upgrade to the latest firmware? Someone else posted an issue of their P4P dropping out of the sky after upgrading.
2017-12-31
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JoshKetcham
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PaulSouthport Posted at 2017-12-31 16:30
You need to sync you flight log and upload here http://www.phantomhelp.com/logviewer/upload/ if you want to know what happened.
From your description it sounds like the battery fell out or failed.

Battery was at full charge and secured before flight
2017-12-31
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JoshKetcham
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gyrex Posted at 2017-12-31 16:33
Did you upgrade to the latest firmware? Someone else posted an issue of their P4P dropping out of the sky after upgrading.

I did do the update yesterday to the latest firmware
2017-12-31
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gyrex
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JoshKetcham Posted at 2017-12-31 16:40
I did do the update yesterday to the latest firmware

Yeh, so you're at least the second person to have their P4P lose signal, convert into a rock and fall out of the sky after the firmware update.
2017-12-31
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Labroides
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For some Reason sattelites cut out or some GPS error happened but all of a sudden it poppped up saying Aircraft disconnected and it fell from about 50m up
You can lose GPS and lose connection  but your Phantom doesn't fall from the sky.
Without data, all anyone can do is guess the cause of your incident and most guesses will be wrong.
2017-12-31
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Labroides
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gyrex Posted at 2017-12-31 16:43
Yeh, so you're at least the second person to have their P4P lose signal, convert into a rock and fall out of the sky after the firmware update.

Firmware is the least likely cause.
There's no point guessing without seeing data.
2017-12-31
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JoshKetcham
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Labroides Posted at 2017-12-31 16:48
Firmware is the least likely cause.
There's no point guessing without seeing data.

I’m not near a computer at the moment but I will upload data as soon as I am by one
2017-12-31
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Drones Point of
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I took my brand new P4P out for the first time yesterday the 30th December. The go 4 app was asking for an update when I connected the new battery for sync. I did the update and then went out for a fly with my brand new P4P.

When the drone was about 50mts away and about 15mts high and with nothing between myself and the drone, the signal went and the screen started to flicker but only for a second. I brought the drone straight back just incase anything happened, Like it falling out of the sky.

Other than that all went well and I was very pleased with my Brand new DJI Phantom 4 Pro.

I hope you find out what went wrong and let us all know.
2017-12-31
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JoshKetcham
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Drones Point of Posted at 2017-12-31 17:13
I took my brand new P4P out for the first time yesterday the 30th December. The go 4 app was asking for an update when I connected the new battery for sync. I did the update and then went out for a fly with my brand new P4P.

When the drone was about 50mts away and about 15mts high and with nothing between myself and the drone, the signal went and the screen started to flicker but only for a second. I brought the drone straight back just incase anything happened, Like it falling out of the sky.

I’ve had it in the air about 10 times since purchase and I’ve been blown away with how it performs and the captures. Very baffled as to why or how this happened. It was close to that 50m point high and not sure the distance away. Hope they figured out what was wrong with yours
2017-12-31
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Drones Point of
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JoshKetcham Posted at 2017-12-31 17:21
I’ve had it in the air about 10 times since purchase and I’ve been blown away with how it performs and the captures. Very baffled as to why or how this happened. It was close to that 50m point high and not sure the distance away. Hope they figured out what was wrong with yours

I'm not sending it in just yet but I will if it happens again. Please let me know when you find out.
2017-12-31
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DJI Susan
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Hey Josh, this must have been frustrating for you and I'm sincerely sorry about this. Just to verify, has the drone been retrieved or not? If yes, I'd suggest to start a case and send it in for fully diagnosis and repair:  https://www.dji.com/support
2017-12-31
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JoshKetcham
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DJI Susan Posted at 2017-12-31 20:27
Hey Josh, this must have been frustrating for you and I'm sincerely sorry about this. Just to verify, has the drone been retrieved or not? If yes, I'd suggest to start a case and send it in for fully diagnosis and repair:  https://www.dji.com/support

Hello Susan, yes the drone has been recovered and I did send an email regarding the case but nobody has responded as of now!
2017-12-31
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DJI Susan
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JoshKetcham Posted at 2017-12-31 21:28
Hello Susan, yes the drone has been recovered and I did send an email regarding the case but nobody has responded as of now!

Thanks for getting back to us. There might be some delay due to the holiday. The support will reply you soon, please check later.
2018-1-1
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Labroides
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JoshKetcham Posted at 2017-12-31 16:53
I’m not near a computer at the moment but I will upload data as soon as I am by one

Any progress on the flight data?
2018-1-1
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Showrat
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Labroides Posted at 2017-12-31 16:48
Firmware is the least likely cause.
There's no point guessing without seeing data.

Whilst I agree that there is no point in speculating, This also happened to my P4P+ today from 100m up, directly onto a concrete platform.
I updated the firmware 4 days ago and this was the first serious flight since then. I flew it 20m round the garden when I had done the update.
It wasn't a battery disconnect as I could hear the rotors spinning intermittently as it came down and the battery was in when I collected the mess.
I have raised a service and returns ticket so I will update when I hear more.
2018-1-4
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Showrat
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Showrat Posted at 2018-1-4 09:51
Whilst I agree that there is no point in speculating, This also happened to my P4P+ today from 100m up, directly onto a concrete platform.
I updated the firmware 4 days ago and this was the first serious flight since then. I flew it 20m round the garden when I had done the update.
It wasn't a battery disconnect as I could hear the rotors spinning intermittently as it came down and the battery was in when I collected the mess.

UPDATE

Well, DJI picked up the drone, shipped it to the Netherlands, did a thorough data examination as I had asked for because I knew it was nothing I had done that caused the crash.
They did all of this within a week which is great service. I then got an email saying they had looked into it and were sending me a new drone. This arrived 4 days later.
This is excellent service, it couldn't have been quicker or better.
My only concern is that they are not prepared to tell me what the problem was with the drone, I have to take it on trust that it wont happen again !
2018-1-21
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fans16b6c084
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Showrat Posted at 2018-1-21 09:12
UPDATE

Well, DJI picked up the drone, shipped it to the Netherlands, did a thorough data examination as I had asked for because I knew it was nothing I had done that caused the crash.

So this exact thing happened with my Ph4 today ... I had updated to the new firmware last week and this was it's first real flight since update.  Dropped 70 feet to grass... significant damage. I found a place online to get a repair ticket, but am wondering about who you shipped it to for diagnostics and the replacement?
2018-3-21
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Uen
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My Phantom 4 Advanced also fell out of sky. Twice. The first time it was a bit away from it so it was difficult to see properly what happend, The repair bill was about $600. Not knowing for sure (120%) made me not use the warranty. The second time I saw it properly, it just went out of control tumbling down, It's on it's way to the Netherlands now and I hope for as good service you got. I heard there there were some GPS issues with the P4 Pro and Advanced.
2018-9-20
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Labroides
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Uen Posted at 2018-9-20 14:33
My Phantom 4 Advanced also fell out of sky. Twice. The first time it was a bit away from it so it was difficult to see properly what happend, The repair bill was about $600. Not knowing for sure (120%) made me not use the warranty. The second time I saw it properly, it just went out of control tumbling down, It's on it's way to the Netherlands now and I hope for as good service you got. I heard there there were some GPS issues with the P4 Pro and Advanced.

I heard there there were some GPS issues with the P4 Pro and Advanced.
GPS issues don't make a Phantom fall from the sky.
2018-9-20
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Christine96
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Did the OP ever post the flight data or find out what caused the problem?
2018-9-20
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Geebax
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Christine96 Posted at 2018-9-20 17:16
Did the OP ever post the flight data or find out what caused the problem?

Nope. Never did.
2018-9-20
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Christine96
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Hmm! Maybe pilot error but too embarrassing to reveal?  
2018-9-21
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Geebax
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Christine96 Posted at 2018-9-21 05:32
Hmm! Maybe pilot error but too embarrassing to reveal?

Some never manage to understand the upload task, just give up and go away.
2018-9-21
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richardcaravan-sites.co.uk
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Mine did exactly the same on the 19th April . I had been flying for about 5 minutes with a full battery then it just dropped like a stone. I have uploaded the log files and it was 3 days out of warranty but I am hoping DJI will help me out. It is so upsetting to see such a great piece of technology act like a brick!
2020-5-14
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Bull751
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My phantom 4 pro did same thing today. Hovering at about 40 feet when it became unstable and dropped out of the sky. Hard. Lots of damage. I would be grateful for any info you have on this.
2020-12-14
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Labroides
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Bull751 Posted at 12-14 14:02
My phantom 4 pro did same thing today. Hovering at about 40 feet when it became unstable and dropped out of the sky. Hard. Lots of damage. I would be grateful for any info you have on this.

I would be grateful for any info you have on this.
"this" is not a thing so there's no information that anyone can give.
But you could post your flight data which might give some clues or at least eliminate some possible causes.

To get to your flight data, go to: https://www.phantomhelp.com/LogViewer/Upload/
... where you'll find instructions to upload the data to that site and it will give a report
For help interpreting the data you can post a link for the report here.
Or just post the .txt file.
2020-12-14
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