I have had Spark now about an month and now something went wrong. Spark flew into Sauna and hit to the wall. Yes, into Saunas dressingroom.

My phone is iPhone 8 Plus (iOS 11.4.1, DJI GO 4 v4.2.22) I fly with RC and have newest firmware on AC, RC and batteries. Compass and IMU status was fine (both calibrated after firmware update ~5 flights ago). I was trying to take few pictures while my friend go to the lake with his SUP board. I start flying and I had 18 satellites and everything was fine and there was only mild wind. While my friend prepered his SUP board I went over the lake close the shore.

Then everything went wrong. Suddenly I got GPS loss and I started to get multiple errors on screen like "compass error", " In flight working IMU encounters heading exception..", "Weak GPS signal" and AC went to ATTI mode.

Then Spark started to fly back to the land with nice speed. I was trying to get it control but that was pretty hard. I don´t know was Spark going with the wind so I tried to slow it down. It was going to hit to the trees but somehow I managed to dodge them. After the trees Spark was over the land but it was going straigh to the Sauna. I tried to get it down and slow it down pulling the right stick down. Nope, that doesn´t work and Spark flew into Saunas dressingroom and hit to the wall with four red leds flashing. That was absurd situation.

There it was on the floor. Luckily the only damage was minor crack in the propeller. I tested and Spark flies nicely and gimbal is fine. I don´t want to fly it before I know what and why this happened or do I have to replace my Spark.

So what went wrong? I don´t think I did something wrong. Here´s my flightlog https://www.phantomhelp.com/logviewer/QNFYNHOJLZ9NM68A7WW2/ . There are several yaw errors, speed error etc.

When updating the latest firmware spark did not fly anymore straight. But I refreshed firmware again and it was better but not perfect.

Just about 2 weeks ago I have had another GPS loss with my Spark but I was able to get it down nicely.

I am sorry to know what happened to your previous flight with your DJI Spark. Since this issue happened the best thing you need to do is to contact DJI Support at www.dji.com/support for further assessment and to create a ticket for your DJI Spark. Please sync the flight records as well using your DJI Go 4 application. Thank you.

DJI Stephen Posted at 2018-8-5 09:59
I am sorry to know what happened to your previous flight with your DJI Spark. Since this issue happened the best thing you need to do is to contact DJI Support at www.dji.com/support for further assessment and to create a ticket for your DJI Spark. Please sync the flight records as well using your DJI Go 4 application. Thank you.

Thanks for the answer! I sent a message to your support. However, I didn´t receive a confirmation message. Should I get?

Similar happened to me recently too https://forum.dji.com/forum.php? ... p;page=1#pid1490076

What do you think is my Spark safe to fly anymore after those errors? I'm afraid of that my Spark have hw issue. The situation is a bit annoying because I promised to my friend to take some dronefootage of them on their wedding day in two weeks.

tume Posted at 2018-8-5 22:23
Thanks for the answer! I sent a message to your support. However, I didn´t receive a confirmation message. Should I get?

Hi. You should, sir. The approximate response time is 24-48 business hours.

DJI Wanda Posted at 2018-8-6 01:39
Hi. You should, sir. The approximate response time is 24-48 business hours.

Thanks Wanda! I´ll send it again.

tume Posted at 2018-8-6 01:45
Thanks Wanda! I´ll send it again.

No problem. Let us know if you still need any help.

Sorry for my dumb question but should I get the case number right away after sending the message?

tume Posted at 2018-8-6 23:58
Sorry for my dumb question but should I get the case number right away after sending the message?

No. It will be provided together with the response.

While I´m waiting DJI support´s answer what do you think is it safe to test Spark again after IMU + Compass calibration? It didn´t crash hard.

Another dumb guestion. I contacted DJI Support via https://www.dji.com/support -> product support -> Spark -> Contact us -> email and filled out the form and included proof of purchase. Should I have got a confirmation message to my mail like "Thank you for contacting DJI..."?

Now it´s been 7 days without answer. Just wondering did my message arrive.

I'd hoped we'd see the end of these errors when the firmware was updated, but obviously not. People seemed to start getting this error after .900 was released but there's no definitive proof that it is a firmware problem. I really hope this now common error is being researched by DJI!

Seems to be a common problem with Sparks losing GPS and going into ATTI mode.  Mine did the same, had compass and IMU Errors and YAW Errors.  I had no control.  When GPS did come back I was able to get it back..  Scary..  Do an IMU and Compass Calibration.

MKPSG12 Posted at 2018-8-12 23:51
I'd hoped we'd see the end of these errors when the firmware was updated, but obviously not. People seemed to start getting this error after .900 was released but there's no definitive proof that it is a firmware problem. I really hope this now common error is being researched by DJI!

I got this with the latest firmware update.   Thankfully I didn't lose the drone.  

I used .900 firmware when I was flying Spark on Lapland (Finland). There I got one GPS loss and Spark was out of control few seconds. I took Spark down.  I tried again and everything was fine but then Spark stopped and "landing" (no low battery) appeared on screen and I couldn´t stop it (tried use sticks, pause button etc.). I switched normal -> sport -> normal and then I regained the control and I landed. Probably normal bugs.

I also noticed that Spark didn´t fly straigh when using "Dronie" but I didn´t care about it.

Then new .1000 firmware (+ new RC firmware) was released and I updated my Spark. Then Spark didn´t fly straight anymore. It was turning to left. I did IMU + compass + RC calibrations but it didn´t help. After refreshing firmware + re-calibrations Spark flew better. Not perfect though.

Well after few flights this crash happened

Did you guys receive a confirmation message to your email when you contacted DJI support? I didn´t. It´s been seven days now ("The approximate response time is 24-48 business hours").

Oh boy, I resent (4th time) my message and now I got the ticket. So I was waiting 8 days for nothing

DJI, you could check the functionality of the support form. I used your contact form 2 x with Firefox Quantum 60.1.0esr 64-bit and 2 x Chrome 68.0.3440.106.

I sent my drone to DJI for data analysis. I'll tell you when I hear something about  what caused that. It seems that some other users have also faced this problem.

Hey Tume I had the exact same problem i posted on the forums and they told me to stay away from concrete... let me know what they tell you.

I accidentally sent you a friend request when I tried to search your thread, fail In my case there was no concrete nearby.

tume Posted at 2018-8-21 12:25
I accidentally sent you a friend request when I tried to search your thread, fail  In my case there was no concrete nearby.

Hey Tume no worries will link my thread here. I did what was suggested and was far away from concrete and re calibrated compass and IMU. After that i took off and i had 0 issues the whole time, went through 2 batteries.  I flew in the same place i had the fly away initially and it didnt happen this time around. I went to the sensor status section of the app and noticed Compass was all the way red but IMU was green. after calibration compass went green, i had calibrated both before i left home and both were green so just goes to show should calibrate before initial take off every time.


https://forum.dji.com/forum.php? ... p;page=1#pid1522768

read your log, you didn't do something wrong. DJI should give you a full repair for free.

tume,

As Jos A mentioned - your log is clean - no sign of pilot error.
You experienced spontaneous IMU (or compass) issue which caused Spark to drop to ATTI. Nice recovery given reasonable NW winds - could have been much worse.

Such things do happen with Spark (rarely) and DJI provides warranty replacement. If you have DJI Refresh program, you will get replacement with no questions asked. If you don't, open warranty case with DJI. It is DJI h/w / firmware issue.

Mirek

Datree Posted at 2018-8-21 20:36
Hey Tume no worries will link my thread here. I did what was suggested and was far away from concrete and re calibrated compass and IMU. After that i took off and i had 0 issues the whole time, went through 2 batteries.  I flew in the same place i had the fly away initially and it didnt happen this time around. I went to the sensor status section of the app and noticed Compass was all the way red but IMU was green. after calibration compass went green, i had calibrated both before i left home and both were green so just goes to show should calibrate before initial take off every time.

Datree,

This case is, most likely, different than yours. Persistent yaw errors without accompanying compass errors usually indicate IMU issue. They also presented themselves too late in the flight and over water. If it was bad calibration on the ground, problem would have / should have presented itself earlier.

Re-calibrating IMU and compass and trying again would not hurt, but I am afraid we are seeing real h/w issue here.

Mirek

Mirek6 Posted at 2018-8-24 11:54
Datree,

This case is, most likely, different than yours. Persistent yaw errors without accompanying compass errors usually indicate IMU issue. They also presented themselves too late in the flight and over water. If it was bad calibration on the ground, problem would have / should have presented itself earlier.

Thanks for the update Mirek hope he get this resolved quickly!

Thank you Jos A and Mirek6! My Spark and rc are currently at DJI Service in the Netherlands waiting for the data-analysis. Hope I get a brand new Spark but never know.

Good news!

"Warranty. The craft can not fly straight. Mainboard has to be replaced. Can't find any crash damage. Warranty according to data analysis xxxx. 1. The aircraft worked under GPS mode after took off; 2. T=149 s, H=4.7 m, the aircraft drifted and crashed with obstacles; 3. According to the data, the compass bias was too large, thus the aircraft cannot hover in place. Conclusion: No pilot fault. Warranty is suggested. "

Thank you DJI!

Glad to hear you get a new bird! And DJI decided in customer's favor!

Cheers,
Wolferl