Hi!
I have a problem with my Phantom 2 Vision. First I couldnt se any photos in the gallery and the SD-symbol was greyed out. I can take photos videos and they are stored in the SD-card (which I remove to read at my PC). In the camera mode I could see the status for the drone (battery, gps, SD-card) all green, but the symbol for the extender was greyed out as well.


I looked for answers and found some threads to say I have to reset the range extender. When following the tutorial I notice that my home screen said "unknown ssid". Tried to reset the the extender, but nothing changes. Read that you have to bind it in the app under settings. But I can't open that meny at all. It just says "Wi-Fi Repeater Connection Failed". And now I can't get a connection to the drone at all. It says "broken connection.." in the camera mode.



I am quite new at drone flying and all the settings, so please decribe the steps in details if you have an answer!
Thanks in advance!
//Martin

In your first paragraph, you're describing the infamous "black screen" which means the wifi works fine, but the board that holds the NAND chip has failed.  Unfortunately there is no fix for it.  Nobody has figured out how to flash that board.

EDIT JULY 2020:  SEE POST #14

In your second paragraph when you tried to fix it by resetting the Range Extender, you unbinded the connection.  So now you must bind it again, but that won't solve your problem.  You'll just be back where you were before.  

Here are some of your options:

1)  Forget about the app.  Start the video camera manually by pressing the button on the bottom and holding it for a couple secs, then letting go.  The green lamp in back of the camera will turn red/orange and video will begin being recorded on your SD card.  Fly.  If you have the upgraded RC, and you make the appropriate adjustments in your P2V Assistant software, you can control the tilt of the camera with the dial on the RC - it works via your 5.8 ghz control signal.  After you land, press and let go of the button to stop the recording, the lamp will turn green, then power off the flight battery.  

2)  Bind the camera to your RE and mobile device.  This will put you back to where you were before.  You'll have telemetry, you can start/stop the camera and change camera settings with your app, but no FPV.  You're gonna need the camera's MAC address to bind.  If it's not on the side of the camera, you can get it with a wifi analyzer app for free.  The name of it is <HIDDEN> and it starts with 60 60 1F followed by three more pairs of number/letters.  Ignore the one that says PHANTOM 60 60 1F ... because that one is coming from the Range Extender.  

3)  Find a new used egg camera that does not have the black screen.  They are very hard to find.  Start it up and stop it regularly to try to keep it healthy even if it's on your kitchen table.  But know it will fail eventually anyway.

4)  Change it over to a P2V+.  You'll need to buy a wifi module, a different camera, an interference board, and several cables.  You'll likely need more/better copper tape for the top shell to better shield the GPS module and cable.  The P2V+ will have similar issues with the NAND, but it's repairable.  

5)  Buy a used P2V+ that works perfectly.  You can use much of the drone you have now for spare parts.  

6)  Upgrade to a more modern drone such as a P3 series, a P4 series, a Mavic, etc.  The P3 will have similar NAND problems, but repairable.  The P4 will not have NAND problems because the system is different.  I'm not sure about the Mavic.

Good luck

Hello and good day. I am sorry for the trouble and thank you for reaching out. For us to be able to help you further with your DJI Phantom 2 Vision and with regards to this matter. Kindly please send an email to support@dji.com for further assistance and for us to assist you further. Thank you for your support.

Mark The Droner Posted at 10-27 03:11
In your first paragraph, you're describing the infamous "black screen" which means the wifi works fine, but the board that holds the NAND chip has failed.  Unfortunately there is no fix for it.  Nobody has figured out how to flash that board.

In your second paragraph when you tried to fix it by resetting the Range Extender, you unbinded the connection.  So now you must bind it again, but that won't solve your problem.  You'll just be back where you were before.  

Hi Mark!
Thanks for a good answer and several options!

I forgot to mention that I had a "black screen" before this problem. I bought it from a colleauge in this state. Everthing worked except the live feed. But I got used to take photos and look in the preview in the app. But now that stopped...

So I want to try your option #2!
Like I said, I have tried to open the binding meny. But it won't open! I have a QR code on the camera, so that´s not a problem. How do I this, step by step?

//Martin

Hi Martin,

Have you read the manual?  The binding procedure is outlined in the manual, although not with a lot of detail.

You're gonna need the MAC address for the egg camera.  I don't believe the QR code on the top of the egg will help you.  If you have the original retail box, there will be a QR code on the side of it which should work.  If you're lucky enough to have a QR code on the SIDE of the camera (rare), that should also work.  But if you have that, you probably have the MAC address printed on the sticker too, so that's all you need.  Once you have the MAC address, you can proceed with binding.

1)  Power up the RE and wait for it to boot up completely.  It will take about 45 secs.

2)  Use a paper clip or similar tool to reset the RE.  There's a tiny hole on the side near the switch.  Push the tool into the hole until you feel the button inside.  Gently press in to depress the button inside and hold it for 5-6 secs until you see the SYSTEM lamp turn off or on.  Then remove the tool from the hole.  The RE will boot up again and then be prepared for binding.

3)  While the RE is booting up, check to be sure the power cord leading to the egg camera is fully inserted into the camera.  Be sure your camera's switch is moved all the way to the right - all the way to the Wifi-on position.  Then, power up your P2V by inserting the flight battery into the drone and turning it on.  Look at the lamp on the back of the camera.  It'll turn orange for a second, then it should turn green.  

4)  Wait.  The camera will take about 30-40 secs to boot up.  

5)  After 30-40 secs, open the DJI Vision app on your mobile device.  At the top of the screen it will tell you whether you have a Wifi connection with the Phantom or not.  If it is connected, you'll see a green lamp on the screen.  If it isn't connected, tap on it, and the app should take you straight to the wifi settings section of your mobile device.   In the list of wifi signals, you should see one that says Phantom... Choose that one and connect.  Once you are connected, exit from the wifi section and you should be taken straight back to the Vision app.  You should see the green lamp at the top of the screen.

6)  Tap settings in the lower right quadrant.  Scroll down to Binding.  Tap on it.  Under "New Camera", tap on the MAC bar.  A keyboard should appear where you will enter the last six number/letters of your camera's MAC address.  When you're done, double check to make sure it's correct, then tap the blue check mark at the upper right of your screen.  Wait a bit while you see a circle twirl around.  It will disappear in a few seconds.  Now tap on the blue check mark a second time.  Wait.  The circle will twirl around again.  Eventually you will get a pop up indicating "Success" or "Failed."  If it failed, don't worry, it'll work the second time.  Repeat the procedure and it will be successful after the second attempt.

7)  Back out to the app's main screen by tapping the back button in the upper left corner.  Now you must wait.  The RE will reboot itself which will take about 45 secs.  Watch the wifi connection's green lamp on the top of the screen.  It will go out eventually during the boot of the RE.  When the RE is done booting, the green lamp may return or it may not return.  If not, tap it and go back to your device's settings and connect to the Phantom signal.  Back out and it will take you straight to the Vision app.  

8)  At this point, you should have the green lamp at the top of the screen and your camera will be binded to your RE and your mobile device.  See the camera icon in the upper right quadrant.  Tap on it, and it will take you to the main flight screen.  Give it a few seconds.  When it comes up, it will show you telemetry and other info such as flight battery percentage.  If your NAND chip hadn't failed, you'd see the FPV.  But the screen will be black because you have the black screen problem which isn't repairable.  Nonetheless, you can fly and it will give you some basic info during the flight and you can control the camera's various functions.  Don't forget you need a formatted SD card inserted into the camera to take photos or record video.  You can format it from your app.  

Let me know if you have problems.  

Good luck!

Mark The Droner Posted at 11-1 04:07
Hi Martin,

Have you read the manual?  The binding procedure is outlined in the manual, although not with a lot of detail.

Hi again Mark!
I followed your steps and got stuck on #5. I see Phantom in my wifi-settings and according to to mobile it is connected to it. But there is no green light in the app. It´s blue and says "unknown ssid". And the binding meny still won't open and says "Wi-Fi Repeater Connection Failed", like before. So what can I do now?
//Martin

Hi,

Re Step 5.   When you go back to the app and you don't have a green lamp, it's telling you that you're no longer connected to the Range extender / repeater - even if you were 30 secs ago.  So go back to your wifi settings.  Can you see the Phantom wifi in the list?  If it has mysteriously disappeared, it is likely your camera's transmitter is not working or is intermittent - and the RE is programmed to turn off its own transmitter in that case.  You would then need to find a new used egg camera or just give up and get another drone.  

You can confirm that your camera's transmitter is not working correctly by downloading a free wifi analyzer at your app store, install it, then use it to check for a Phantom signal coming from the camera.  When you do this, keep the range extender / repeater turned OFF.  Look for a hidden wifi name with a MAC starting with 60 60 1F.  If you see nothing or the signal doesn't stay on, you need a new egg or sell what you have for parts.  Or be happy flying around with no FPV.  The camera itself probably still works fine as far as recording HD video.  

Let me know how it goes.  

Good luck

Mark The Droner Posted at 11-24 13:36
Hi,

Re Step 5.   When you go back to the app and you don't have a green lamp, it's telling you that you're no longer connected to the Range extender / repeater - even if you were 30 secs ago.  So go back to your wifi settings.  Can you see the Phantom wifi in the list?  If it has mysteriously disappeared, it is likely your camera's transmitter is not working or is intermittent - and the RE is programmed to turn off its own transmitter in that case.  You would then need to find a new used egg camera or just give up and get another drone.  

Hi,
This is really wierd. I have a stable connection to the wifi ''phantom_...'' but it never says anything else then the blue light in the app. I have also downloaded an app and check the wifi. The cameras signal is as strong as my home router. When I power up the drone, the camera flashes orange and then turn green. But after a while it start to blink green instead. Does that mean something?


When I bought the drone I got an extra remote controller with RE. I tried to connect via that one, but it was the same result...

I installed the app on another mobile, but still the same...


This is so frustrating, because the first problem was only that I couldn´t see the photos in the app. But I had connection! After I rebooted the RE all this happend
''Help me Obi-Drone Kenobi! You´re my only hope!''

The blinking green of the camera lamp is okay - it's supposed to do that.  

You are pressing the reset button on the RE, right?  Step 2.  

If your mobile device is connected to the Phantom Wifi, and yet you see a blue light on the app screen - I don't know what that is.  I've never seen those two things happen at the same time.  Could it be you're too close to your home's wifi router and it's interfering?  Maybe it means your mobile device is not compatible.  I use the Nvidia Shield K1.  Before that, I used a cheap Korean tablet which worked most of the time except when it would crash.   

Here are two excellent videos describing how to bind and what it looks like.  The first one is successful, the second one is unsuccessful.  The drone is a P2V+ but the process is exactly the same.  Note that in both cases, the lamp on the app is green, just as it should be.  





Keep me posted.

Mark The Droner Posted at 11-25 14:32
The blinking green of the camera lamp is okay - it's supposed to do that.  

You are pressing the reset button on the RE, right?  Step 2.  

I have now tried everything, according to both your instructions and the videos.. Have tried with two diffrent phones, two diffrent RE and even shut my home wifi off during the procedure. If the light is blue, does that mean that the problem is in the RE or in the camera egg? Because now it looks like it must be the egg? If so; will a new one fix the problem?


And also: will a new egg also fix my black screen? The seller said it was a fried circuit that took out the live view, but I dont know if the circuit is in the camera or the drone itselft.
If it will fix both problems, I will certainly look for a new one

The lack of a green lamp has nothing to do with the egg.  A green lamp simply indicates a wifi connection with the RE.  But the RE will not transmit without a drone that's also transmitting, UNLESS you have pressed the reset button.  If the reset button has been pressed and the RE has rebooted, it will transmit regardless of the egg.  If your mobile device is connected to the RE's wifi, you should have the green lamp.  I've never heard of that connection and no green lamp.  It doesn't make any sense.  

The black screen is a whole other problem.  The black screen is caused by a NAND chip in the camera that has failed and it is not repairable.  A new egg may or may not have the black screen too.  Just because it is new doesn't mean it will work.  If NAND chips are allowed to sit for long periods without being booted up, they fail during the eventual boot up.  But right now you should concentrate on why you have a blue lamp on the app and not a green lamp on the app.  

I would try it with an old tablet from 2015 and see what happens.   

From the site:  

DJI VISION App
System Requirement Of Mobile Device
iOS version 6.1 or above/ Android system version 4.0 or above
Mobile Device Support
iOS recommended: iPhone 4s, iPhone 5, iPhone 5s, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPod touch 5 (available but not recommended: iPad 3, iPad 4, iPad mini)
Android recommended: Samsung Galaxy S3, S4, Note 2, Note 3 or phones of similar configuration

Hello!

I have some more info.  I was doing my bi-weekly boot ups of my camera systems and I paid close attention to my P2V.  Earlier we talked about the blinking green lamp on the back of the egg.  I experimented with it a little and learned that the blinking green lamp on the back of the egg indicates a successful connection between all three devices!  When one first boots up the egg, it glows steady green.  After it finishes booting up, it is still a steady green.  When the RE boots up, the lamp in the back of the egg is STILL a steady green.  Boot up your mobile device, the egg is still a steady green.  Connect to the Phantom wifi, the egg is still a steady green.  But then load the DJI Phantom 2 Vision flight app, THAT is when the egg begins to blink!  And it continues to blink while I view the FPV screen and the telemetry.  When I exit out of the flight app, but leave the AC and RE on, the lamp in back of the egg goes to steady green.  

So the blinking green lamp in the back of the egg seems to indicate that there is a successful connection between the three devices and the app too!  Why you see a blue lamp on your app screen is still a mystery.  You said you saw a warning about "Unknown SSID", so it must have something to do with that.  

Good luck

Zratman Posted at 2019-11-24 08:19
Hi again Mark!
I followed your steps and got stuck on #5. I see Phantom in my wifi-settings and according to to mobile it is connected to it. But there is no green light in the app. It´s blue and says "unknown ssid". And the binding meny still won't open and says "Wi-Fi Repeater Connection Failed", like before. So what can I do now?
//Martin

A very late response to this post, but who knows you might still have some use for this info...

I had the same but I think I fixed it.
On newer android versions the location (GPS) needs to be turned on for apps to retrieve the SSID. Turn on your location settins (and make sure the  Vision app has al permissions) and try again!
Pairing the camera however only worked on an older android device. After pairing on an old android version, you can use the vision app on a newer device as long as you keep the GPS on your phone enabled.

I have an update on post #2.  After almost seven years, hobbyists have finally figured out a way to flash the board on the egg camera!  This means if you have an egg with the black screen, in theory it can be flashed and repaired.  See this thread for details:  https://phantompilots.com/thread ... age-11#post-1490923

Good luck

Zratman Posted at 2019-10-31 11:49
Hi Mark!
Thanks for a good answer and several options!

Hello! I have the same problem...black screen...so i tried everything i found online to solve the problem at home...turns out it s the wi fi module witch overheatead while the drone was on without the prepelars on it(note: if u do tests indors leave the prepelars running to cool down the drone), anyway, i use the drone without fpv now...after trying a lot of methods i ran into your "unknown ssid" problem amd my phone was unable to bind!
SOLUTION THAT WORKED FOR ME TO BIND CAMERA AFER RANGE EXTENDER RESET:
1. DELETE ALL WI FI SAVED NETWORKS ON THE MOBILE PHONE YOU WANT TO BIND ON,
2. AND MOST IMPORTANT, AFTER YOU START THE WHOLE SITEM(Drone, remote, wi fi ext) ACTIVATE ON THE MOBILE DEVICE THE LOCATION AND THEN THE WI FI TO SEARCH FOR THE EXTENDER and then it will see the ssid and bind! The gps must be activated all the time for the dji app to work, if u disable it u will get "unknown ssid" error instantly!
Hope this helps you

Mark The Droner Posted at 2019-11-28 07:45
Hello!

I have some more info.  I was doing my bi-weekly boot ups of my camera systems and I paid close attention to my P2V.  Earlier we talked about the blinking green lamp on the back of the egg.  I experimented with it a little and learned that the blinking green lamp on the back of the egg indicates a successful connection between all three devices!  When one first boots up the egg, it glows steady green.  After it finishes booting up, it is still a steady green.  When the RE boots up, the lamp in the back of the egg is STILL a steady green.  Boot up your mobile device, the egg is still a steady green.  Connect to the Phantom wifi, the egg is still a steady green.  But then load the DJI Phantom 2 Vision flight app, THAT is when the egg begins to blink!  And it continues to blink while I view the FPV screen and the telemetry.  When I exit out of the flight app, but leave the AC and RE on, the lamp in back of the egg goes to steady green.  

Hi again!
I took up my old malfunctioning drone and gave it a new try (one year later haha!)
But the new tips about having GPS activated solved the "blue light/unknown ssid"-problem!
In main meny the light is now green and says "hantom_616b42" (the wifi). And now I can get in to the binding meny. I found the MAC for the camera and inputted it like you said. Clicked blue check-button, waited for the circle, and it works fine. Some gray numbers are now under "New camera" in the binding meny. Clicked next check-button and the screen flashes once or twice and then I see the main meny. No "success" or "failed"... And can't see any  telemetry in flight-mode. And the green light on the camera is always steady green
Tried all the steps several time and same result.
Can it be my mobile that is to "new" as "furyan28" was talking about in the post above?
//Martin

Zratman Posted at 10-28 13:10
Hi again!
I took up my old malfunctioning drone and gave it a new try (one year later haha!)
But the new tips about having GPS activated solved the "blue light/unknown ssid"-problem!

Yes, that could be the problem.  I use an old Nvidia Shield K1 which works nicely.  You can still find them used on eBay.  Good luck