My spark frequently hesitates and drops from 1 meter height during take off.  It won´t take off. Completely crazy!
I restart everything and it gets back to normal. It´s pretty unconfortable to never know how it´s going to act. Yesterday it almost dropped into a muddy puddle.
WHAT'S GOING ON?

Downward vision distance sensors dirty?  Not maintaining height over water is a known issue since water is sorta reflective then blindingly reflective.  Can't tell height over water.

Gunship9 Posted at 2018-3-12 07:02
Downward vision distance sensors dirty?  Not maintaining height over water is a known issue since water is sorta reflective then blindingly reflective.  Can't tell height over water.

It wasn't over water. It went by itself over it. I was able to take it off water using the stick. But it dropped pretty close to it.
I'm pretty sure the sensors were clean, but I will double check it next flight.
Thanks man!!!!

make sure to have good count of satellites before taking off - sometimes waiting a minute or so will get you from 6,7,8 to 12, which is the minimum # i go by. at  <12 a reliable homepoint may not be recorded.

Gunship9 Posted at 2018-3-12 07:02
Downward vision distance sensors dirty?  Not maintaining height over water is a known issue since water is sorta reflective then blindingly reflective.  Can't tell height over water.

Remebering that didnt occur just once. It frequently happening on different surfaces.

Solestacz Posted at 2018-3-12 07:18
make sure to have good count of satellites before taking off - sometimes waiting a minute or so will get you from 6,7,8 to 12, which is the minimum # i go by. at

Alright man. Will pay attention to that. Thanks a lot!

Solestacz Posted at 2018-3-12 07:18
make sure to have good count of satellites before taking off - sometimes waiting a minute or so will get you from 6,7,8 to 12, which is the minimum # i go by. at

Isn´t it supposed to fly stably even on att and vision mode? I know its not reccomended but it shouldn't act crazy as it is.

BrilhasMuito Posted at 2018-3-12 07:26
Isn´t it supposed to fly stably even on att and vision mode? I know its not reccomended but it shouldn't act crazy as it is.

Please fly in a recommended environment and avoid things that have a bad influence on VPS. Thanks for your support.

My Spark is doing the same, it happens randomly, I nearly lost it when trying to launch from a boat. It happens on any surface with great gps signal, ai have updated all firmware and also reset the firmware on drone, batteries are up to date. I launch manually now but it still does it, it also won’t land it just doesn’t respond to up and down stick movements.

SmithFox Posted at 2018-3-13 19:32
My Spark is doing the same, it happens randomly, I nearly lost it when trying to launch from a boat. It happens on any surface with great gps signal, ai have updated all firmware and also reset the firmware on drone, batteries are up to date. I launch manually now but it still does it, it also won’t land it just doesn’t respond to up and down stick movements.

I have not had any landing issues yet. Sticks respond well when landing.
I contacted dji online support about the taking off issue. I was told to update the firmware using the Assistant 2. If it persists I should send it to repair, which would be a shame because the bird is brand new and I have never crashed it. Everything was great, the issue literally appeared overnight.
I already updated it but didn't have the time to test it. I let you know the outcome as soon as I test it.
Thanks m8!

Thanks for the reply, my landing comment was during the take off dance, it won’t lift off and won’t land. I have to try and get my hand underneath it without cutting my hand and tip it over. Once it is flying correctly it had no issues with landing. There is a number of youtube videos showing the same issue, it’s getting really annoying!! The bad thing is I can’t trust it. i have also updated with assistant 2 and it still is happening.

https://youtu.be/OkW9jpvzPvc

This shows what it does, I have also tried what he said to do in the comments but it still happens

SmithFox Posted at 2018-3-14 20:15


This shows what it does, I have also tried what he said to do in the comments but it still happens

Exactly what is happening.  
You said everything man, we just can´t trust it and it seems pretty dangerous as we dont know how its gonna act. I would never palm launch knowing it could jump into my face. hahahahaha
Have you tried to downgrade and then upgrade the firmware through assistant 2?
I updated the firmware but couldn't test it yet. Today is the day.
Keep you posted.


  

SmithFox Posted at 2018-3-14 20:15
https://youtu.be/OkW9jpvzPvc

This shows what it does, I have also tried what he said to do in the comments but it still happens

In the video description he says:

"This happened on 1st take off at new location or at the same location but after turned off for some time."  IT MAKES SENSE. INDEED IT HAPPENED AT NEW LOCATIONS BUT NOT ON 1ST TAKE OFF.

"Tried few workaround and seemed to be working fine at the moment after updating firmware, started the motor with combined stick command and left it for few seconds before took off, GPS homepoint lock before took off." I NEVER AUTOMATIC LAUCH. I ALWAYS USE THE COMBINED STICK COMMAND AND ALWAYS WAIT FOR THE GPS TO LOCK LOCATION.

Anyway, I will pay more attention to these workarounds.
Haven't tested the bird yet. I will keep you posted.
Thanks for replying m8!

SmithFox Posted at 2018-3-14 20:15
https://youtu.be/OkW9jpvzPvc

This shows what it does, I have also tried what he said to do in the comments but it still happens

Hello,
I´ve tested my spark.
After updating the firmware the bird was taking off flawlessly. Last Saturday I tested multiple times the 3 taking off methods (hand, auto, manual). Everything was great.
On Sunday I tested it again and it presented the same taking off issues. Sad stuff!
I don´t know what to do anymore.


   

SmithFox Posted at 2018-3-14 20:11
Thanks for the reply, my landing comment was during the take off dance, it won’t lift off and won’t land. I have to try and get my hand underneath it without cutting my hand and tip it over. Once it is flying correctly it had no issues with landing. There is a number of youtube videos showing the same issue, it’s getting really annoying!! The bad thing is I can’t trust it. i have also updated with assistant 2 and it still is happening.

Just had another online chat with DJI support regarding our problem.
I was told to follow the steps bellow.

You can try to reset the remote controller by doing the following:
1. Turn on the remote controller (leave the aircraft off)
2. Press and hold C1, C2, and the shutter button
3. Turn the remote controller off
4. Turn on the remote controller and release the buttons
5. Turn on the aircraft6. Re-Link the remote controller and the aircraft

Have you looked at the FlightRecord logs when this issue occurs?  Maybe (or maybe not) there is some useful information in there on what is going on....

Follow the directions on the following page to upload your log from one of the flights with this issue, then post the resulting URL here and several people I'm sure will help you take a look at them.

http://www.phantomhelp.com/LogViewer/Upload/

BrilhasMuito Posted at 2018-3-19 07:03
Hello,
I´ve tested my spark.
After updating the firmware the bird was taking off flawlessly. Last Saturday I tested multiple times the 3 taking off methods (hand, auto, manual). Everything was great.

Something between the good fly days and the bad fly days.  IMU not knowing it is dropping or thinks it is climbing so it is cutting the motors, maybe.  Are you storing the drone on its side or upsidedown?  I would think you just need an IMU calibration on a firm level table to give it an idea what one gravity is so it reacts when it starts falling during launch.

Gunship9 Posted at 2018-3-19 09:16
Something between the good fly days and the bad fly days.  IMU not knowing it is dropping or thinks it is climbing so it is cutting the motors, maybe.  Are you storing the drone on its side or upsidedown?  I would think you just need an IMU calibration on a firm level table to give it an idea what one gravity is so it reacts when it starts falling during launch.

Good advice man,
I didnt recalibrate the IMU because it didnt asked to do so.
I will try.
Thanks for replying,

Check the number of GPS before you take-off. Should be more than 12 satellites I suggest. Also, check your sensor state. Fly safe!

RjMllr Posted at 2018-3-20 16:48
Check the number of GPS before you take-off. Should be more than 12 satellites I suggest. Also, check your sensor state. Fly safe!

I'm paying much more attention to the number of satelites before taking off. Last time it took off like crazy it had 15 satelites on it. I confess I'm not used to check the sensors before taking off. I will pay more attention to it.
Thanks!

I had the same issue i sent it in to DJI and they are refusing to fix it under warranty even though i sent in video of other users with the same issue saying that it was user error which it wasn't and because i didn't contact DJI as soon as i had the issue and flew it after it started doing that it voided the warranty i received an invoice for $280 to repair it and to top it all off they even stated that i had crashed it into a tree in a totally different country on a day that i didn't fly it nor have i left the country they provided GPS of the crash. I hope that they fix yours under warranty but they probably won't because they seem to just want to collect money instead of honoring their warranty

It happened to me when I had no GPS...broke one propeller!

djiuser_QcGAdFEg70KN Posted at 2018-3-21 07:00
I had the same issue i sent it in to DJI and they are refusing to fix it under warranty even though i sent in video of other users with the same issue saying that it was user error which it wasn't and because i didn't contact DJI as soon as i had the issue and flew it after it started doing that it voided the warranty i received an invoice for $280 to repair it and to top it all off they even stated that i had crashed it into a tree in a totally different country on a day that i didn't fly it nor have i left the country they provided GPS of the crash. I hope that they fix yours under warranty but they probably won't because they seem to just want to collect money instead of honoring their warranty

Did u crash yours? Was it unable to fly?
I'm from Brazil I have no warranty from DJI. I have to rely on my dealer.
But I don't think it's an unfixable issue.
I had quite a few tips regarding this issue and it seems to be working. It still acts crazy sometimes but much less frequently than before. I have not had the time to test a few of these tips yet, but I'm hopeful.

Below you find the last advice from DJI Online Support.

You can try to reset the remote controller by doing the following:
1. Turn on the remote controller (leave the aircraft off)
2. Press and hold C1, C2, and the shutter button
3. Turn the remote controller off
4. Turn on the remote controller and release the buttons
5. Turn on the aircraft6. Re-Link the remote controller and the aircraft

NormSpark Posted at 2018-3-21 07:35
It happened to me when I had no GPS...broke one propeller!

Did it happen just once?

Kloo Gee Posted at 2018-3-19 08:44
Have you looked at the FlightRecord logs when this issue occurs?  Maybe (or maybe not) there is some useful information in there on what is going on....

Follow the directions on the following page to upload your log from one of the flights with this issue, then post the resulting URL here and several people I'm sure will help you take a look at them.

Right now I have no way to retrieve the DJI log from iTunes as my laptop broke down. I'm kinda curious to see if it will show something unusual.
Thanks man,
ps: I watched a lot of your videos on Youtube. Keep it up!

BrilhasMuito Posted at 2018-3-21 06:51
I'm paying much more attention to the number of satelites before taking off. Last time it took off like crazy it had 15 satelites on it. I confess I'm not used to check the sensors before taking off. I will pay more attention to it.
Thanks!

I'm pretty sure it shouldn't do this even in ATTI mode, at least mine worked fine the few times I let it hover in my apartment, where it had 0 (zero) satellites. In my opinion, it's the downward sensors and the IMU calibration that should be checked, for this particular problem.

I had the same issue a couple month ago. Although it is very unlikely here but I wanna mention it anyway. Turned out I had an issue with one of the motors not functioning correctly. It always got super hot after trying to take off and my spark “bounced” up and down. Sent it in to DJI and got it replaced under warranty.

KurtVD Posted at 2018-3-21 09:02
I'm pretty sure it shouldn't do this even in ATTI mode, at least mine worked fine the few times I let it hover in my apartment, where it had 0 (zero) satellites. In my opinion, it's the downward sensors and the IMU calibration that should be checked, for this particular problem.

Agree 100% with you. It should not happen in anyways. I just can't trust it as I don't know how it's going to act. I will check these 2 parameters.
Thanks for replying!

JDK92 Posted at 2018-3-21 09:20
I had the same issue a couple month ago. Although it is very unlikely here but I wanna mention it anyway. Turned out I had an issue with one of the motors not functioning correctly. It always got super hot after trying to take off and my spark “bounced” up and down. Sent it in to DJI and got it replaced under warranty.

Hopefully its not the same issue. As I mentioned I live in Brazil, out of DJI's cover area. These kinda of problems can be pretty expensive over here.

BrilhasMuito Posted at 2018-3-21 09:47
Hopefully its not the same issue. As I mentioned I live in Brazil, out of DJI's cover area. These kinda of problems can be pretty expensive over here.

Don't you have laws about warranty for products sold in Brazil? I would be quite surprised if the shop/webshop who sold you the Spark doesn't have to provide the least amount of warranty mandated by law. DJI's international warranty is fine, but for example I don't need it all, because in Switzerland we have a law, that any product over 50$ sold in this country, has to have a warranty of at least 12 months, and in my case the shop who sold me Spark even provides 24 months. I would check again if there's no way you can make a claim, I mean it's quite an expensive product.

KurtVD Posted at 2018-3-23 23:11
Don't you have laws about warranty for products sold in Brazil? I would be quite surprised if the shop/webshop who sold you the Spark doesn't have to provide the least amount of warranty mandated by law. DJI's international warranty is fine, but for example I don't need it all, because in Switzerland we have a law, that any product over 50$ sold in this country, has to have a warranty of at least 12 months, and in my case the shop who sold me Spark even provides 24 months. I would check again if there's no way you can make a claim, I mean it's quite an expensive product.

Sorry if I wasn’t clear.
Yes, we do have the same law in Brazil.
I bought it from a licensed DJI dealer which will provide me 9 months warranty from the factory + 3 months from the dealer. What I meant is that I have to rely only on my dealer because if I need any kind of support from DJI besides Online support, I will not have it.
But thanks to you guys from the forum and DJI online support my spark is taking off pretty well most of the time, like 95% of the time. I don’t think I’m gonna need to claim the warranty. I love my spark so I will fight for it. Hahahahahahaha
Thanks for replying man.

Mine does the same thing on occasion it’ll take off and hover only to violently drop a good foot almost pausing a second before another dipping down another few inches before I can full throttle it to keep it from slamming into the ground

OG007SPARK Posted at 2018-3-29 06:03
Mine does the same thing on occasion it’ll take off and hover only to violently drop a good foot almost pausing a second before another dipping down another few inches before I can full throttle it to keep it from slamming into the ground

Before taking off I follow 2 steps and it seems to be reducing this issue.

1 - Wait for at least 10 satalites.
2 - Leave motors running for few seconds.
3 - Check sensors.

If it keeps doing it unfortunatelly I'm gonna have to claim warranty.

Is it something like in this topic and video?

https://forum.dji.com/thread-124719-1-1.html

SmithFox Posted at 2018-3-13 19:32
My Spark is doing the same, it happens randomly, I nearly lost it when trying to launch from a boat. It happens on any surface with great gps signal, ai have updated all firmware and also reset the firmware on drone, batteries are up to date. I launch manually now but it still does it, it also won’t land it just doesn’t respond to up and down stick movements.

Also for you:
https://forum.dji.com/thread-124719-1-1.html

Start with sticks instead of app-slide and test if it still happens!

S-e-ven Posted at 2018-3-29 06:23
Is it something like in this topic and video?

https://forum.dji.com/thread-124719-1-1.html

Exactly the same issue!

BrilhasMuito Posted at 2018-3-29 06:26
Exactly the same issue!

So watch the video and start as often as possible with the sticks.
Like the videoposter is suggesting.

S-e-ven Posted at 2018-3-29 06:27
So watch the video and start as often as possible with the sticks.
Like the videoposter is suggesting.

I mostly start it with the sticks. Rarely use the automatic or hand take off. But I've experieced this issue in all 3 methods.
I will definitely watch it.
Thanks man!

When you on it, look if it happens ONLY WITH ONE of the batteries.
I had 4 of these with one Spark. And all with only one of 6 batteries.
Coincidence? Maybe!