I think it is wise to ground my Mavic Mini temporarily. Not hating on DJI whatsoever but clearly there are some firmware issues that need to be addressed.

I am seeing more and more people talk about how their drone lost altitude or just fell out of the sky after getting a "Max Power Overload" error. Using my limited knowledge of electronics and the release notes of the last update I can only assume that DJI has yet to hit the happy medium on the firmware for the ESC controller. First, we were having the "Not Enough Force/ESC" error and they fixed that but now we are seeing instances of this new error followed by the drones falling out of the air.

Being that I primarily fly inside a small town I think it would be much safer for me to ground my drone and see what happens with the next update.

I cannot afford to throw away $500 nor did I get in on the DJI Care Refresh although I wish I had just in case.

This really bites because the temps are going to be just above 60F tomorrow and I was wanting to take it for a Christmas flight.

Has anyone else grounded their drone pending the next update? I would just rather be extra cautious.

Between this (falling out of the sky) issue and the randomly activated "fly away" issue plaguing these things,  I am totally paranoid to take this thing outside.  I flew it once indoors for 1 minute (to make sure it worked).   DJI seems to be taking the Microsoft approach on their hardware now (get it to 50% and ship it).

I just had mine come out of the sky once during a climb, went down instead of up.. luckily the lake I was over was frozen, then I hit return to home, climbed to 40m, then fell again into the same frozen lake. Very nervous to continue flying.

uh, i think you are taking this whole "pilot" and aircraft thing a little bit too far, no?

j/k

totally with you on this one.  if i didn't have refresh, i might consider it as well.  however, with the protection i feel just good enough to keep going until the weather puts me down for the season.  then i can wait it out for the fixes.

Hello and good day. I am sorry for the trouble this has caused. This is not the experience we want you to have with DJI. Rest assured that I will cascade these information to the designated DJI department for further attention and evaluation. Thank you for understanding and support.

The Saint Posted at 12-24 10:11
uh, i think you are taking this whole "pilot" and aircraft thing a little bit too far, no?

j/k

Lol, temporarily grounding my Mavic Mini...

Well, that is what it is called. I used to fly FAR 103 ultralights which as you may or may not know does not require any kind of a pilot's license. Years ago I voluntarily grounded myself because of some medical issues I was having. When you will not or can not take up an aircraft of any kind it's referred to as grounding the aircraft. Pardon my knowledge. LoL

This was me in the fixed-wing ultralight years ago. Curious how many here have at least that much flight experience. *giggle*

You can still get care refresh for your drone, but you must prove through video you drone is in good condition.
I also agree with others perhaps your slightly overdoing this .

I don’t think issues are as bad as it seems. For a start a lot of the “it crashed” threads have had their logs looked at and most seem to be “you took off with 3 satellites” “wind took it” etc.

Crummett Posted at 12-24 11:30
I don’t think issues are as bad as it seems. For a start a lot of the “it crashed” threads have had their logs looked at and most seem to be “you took off with 3 satellites” “wind took it” etc.

I agree with that totally. I have looked into as many of those as possible however this Max Power Overload error is an issue not just pilot error. I hadn't heard of a single person having that issue before they "fixed" the "Max Force/ESC" error issue. One thing we have to understand as first-line owners of these products is that in reality, we are beta testers. It's all good for those who have the extra money laying around but I simply don't. I am sure they will fix it. Nothing wrong in waiting until they do. This is my first DJI but I'm not a fanboy of anything to stupidity levels. I get where I am posting at. LoL

"Has anyone else grounded their drone pending the next update? I would just rather be extra cautious."  

Not yet.  Fortunately the weather was great to get the MM up today.  I went through all 3 batteries for a total of 67 minutes flying time.  Winds at 400' were 8-10 with gusts to 17.  Not one issue so I guess I'm just one of the lucky ones.  Going to keep on doing all the pre-flight checks and keep her flying, depending on the wind and weather of course.

I only wish that others were NOT having issues as this is a great little drone.

The Watchman News Posted at 12-24 13:45
I agree with that totally. I have looked into as many of those as possible however this Max Power Overload error is an issue not just pilot error. I hadn't heard of a single person having that issue before they "fixed" the "Max Force/ESC" error issue. One thing we have to understand as first-line owners of these products is that in reality, we are beta testers. It's all good for those who have the extra money laying around but I simply don't. I am sure they will fix it. Nothing wrong in waiting until they do. This is my first DJI but I'm not a fanboy of anything to stupidity levels. I get where I am posting at. LoL

What version of the firmware is your MM on ?

lannes Posted at 12-24 13:50
What version of the firmware is your MM on ?

I have the latest v01.00.0300. That seems to be the version the Max Power Overload issue is showing up. Not to be confused with the Max Force/ESC error that was present in v01.00.0100 and v01.00.0200.

Yep, mine is grounded. Too many disconnects to feel safe. Sigh.

I wouldn't fly my mini if the weather isn't conducive for flying even though I have DJI refresh. I have not had any technical glitches with my mini. As a pre-flight check I always calibrate my MM's compass and IMU and wait for the home location to be updated with solid GPS lock. I do a horizontal hover test before lifting it to the desired altitude and then do the hover test again at the desired altitude to check if the wind is drifting the MM or not. As a new pilot I prefer to fly in an open area where even if my drone crashes, its retrievable. I do however plan to continue flying my MM.

Hi there, we have optimized the pop-message from 'Not Enough Force/ESC' to 'Aircraft max power load reached' since DJI Fly iOS V1.0.3 and Android V1.0.2.
In the firmware V01.00.0300, the flight control system will monitor the working condition of the power system all the time. This prompt will display when the aircraft encounters a strong air resistance (such as a strong wind) during the hovering or when the battery is low. When the prompt appears, it means that the current environment and power are not suitable for a continued flight. Please land as soon as possible, replace the battery or change the environment.
In addition, in a low temperature (below 0°C) environment, the battery's activity will decrease, so does the power system. We don't recommend flying in a cold environment, it is recommended to fly the drone in 0 ℃ ~ 40 ℃ temperature.

It should be analyzed case by case to see whether fell-out-of-the-sky is related to 'Aircraft max power load reached', but please note the environment is very important to the flight, please avoid flying in the strong windy day or the environment with the low temperature.

Crummett Posted at 12-24 11:30
I don’t think issues are as bad as it seems. For a start a lot of the “it crashed” threads have had their logs looked at and most seem to be “you took off with 3 satellites” “wind took it” etc.

Mine just flew away on its own yesterday.... 11 satellite take off - you can look at my flight log...  https://www.phantomhelp.com/LogViewer/XDMIT6U4SOF8SVEVDL3M between 1.00 m to 1.20.6 sec you can very see that the Mini flew on its own without any remote control movement... after that I tried to get control of the Mini, but the remote control was  non responsive... wind was around 5 miles, data from Airdata : https://app.airdata.com/share/ylgMqa
So no, it is not "3 satellites take off", " high wind took the mini"....

fans17de0bd1 Posted at 12-24 20:34
Mine just flew away on its own yesterday.... 11 satellite take off - you can look at my flight log...  https://www.phantomhelp.com/LogViewer/XDMIT6U4SOF8SVEVDL3M between 1.00 m to 1.20.6 sec you can very see that the Mini flew on its own without any remote control movement... after that I tried to get control of the Mini, but the remote control was  non responsive... wind was around 5 miles, data from Airdata : https://app.airdata.com/share/ylgMqa
So no, it is not "3 satellites take off", " high wind took the mini"....

Edit : I manage to recover the Mini with no damage during mid flight by hitting "return to home button" and I have a clear line of sight of the mini. FYI after hitting the return button, i have full control of the mini again.

DowntownRDB Posted at 12-24 13:48
"Has anyone else grounded their drone pending the next update? I would just rather be extra cautious."  

Not yet.  Fortunately the weather was great to get the MM up today.  I went through all 3 batteries for a total of 67 minutes flying time.  Winds at 400' were 8-10 with gusts to 17.  Not one issue so I guess I'm just one of the lucky ones.  Going to keep on doing all the pre-flight checks and keep her flying, depending on the wind and weather of course.

I’m with you. Went through 3 batteries today 64 minutes of flight time. No errors whatsoever. And I was 1000ft AGL (though initially only 150 above home point until I flew over the cliff and the mini performed flawlessly. Winds were 7-10mph on the ground and mini did a fantastic job keeping steady. We hear about the bad cases on the forums but think of how many good cases that are simply not reported as they have nothing to complain about.

My MM is having this same issue. I was flying today with wind at 2 to 5mph, 80% battery and my drone decided to land itself. Luckily i was not over water or i would be out $400. I had no control over the drone and this happened right after i received the Max power limit reached message. There is a video on youtube around this. Not my video but shows the same. So far it looks like everyone responding from DJI automatically blames the pilot. I am currently returning my Mavic Mini. If i cant trust it in the sky, whats the point of keeping it.

swiftwindwalker Posted at 12-24 15:28
I wouldn't fly my mini if the weather isn't conducive for flying even though I have DJI refresh. I have not had any technical glitches with my mini. As a pre-flight check I always calibrate my MM's compass and IMU and wait for the home location to be updated with solid GPS lock. I do a horizontal hover test before lifting it to the desired altitude and then do the hover test again at the desired altitude to check if the wind is drifting the MM or not. As a new pilot I prefer to fly in an open area where even if my drone crashes, its retrievable. I do however plan to continue flying my MM.

I also wanted to find a place at least 2 kilometers to fly in the field...

But such fields are only 150 kilometers away from me...

Although I deceive there are a couple in the area of takeoff and landing airfields. I live, and within 50 kilometers there are more than 60 airfields of various sizes...

I keep coming back to the forums every day to see if there is anything new. I still haven't flown my Mini since I decided to hold off until some issues were addressed. Now the issue with the Mini suddenly losing altitude is becoming more widespread and happening to veteran drone pilots. I hope they find the issue and fix it in the next updates. Hell, I hope it can be fixed by firmware and that it isn't an issue with hardware or the placement of hardware/sensors. Still waiting and still watching and still chuckling at the knuckleheads that thought I was just being stupid. Paying attention pays off. I've never learned a damn thing with my mouth open. LoL

The Watchman News Posted at 1-14 07:19
I keep coming back to the forums every day to see if there is anything new. I still haven't flown my Mini since I decided to hold off until some issues were addressed. Now the issue with the Mini suddenly losing altitude is becoming more widespread and happening to veteran drone pilots. I hope they find the issue and fix it in the next updates. Hell, I hope it can be fixed by firmware and that it isn't an issue with hardware or the placement of hardware/sensors. Still waiting and still watching and still chuckling at the knuckleheads that thought I was just being stupid. Paying attention pays off. I've never learned a damn thing with my mouth open.  LoL

With the release of Fly App V.1.0.6 maybe you'll be able to fly again.

This is all the release notes on Apple web site says:

What’s New

-Fixes crashing issues and improves app stability.

New version has not been posted to Google Play yet but it can be downloaded from DJI website.  It still reads V1.0.4 but the download is V1.0.6

https://www.dji.com/mavic-mini/downloads

DowntownRDB Posted at 1-14 07:43
With the release of Fly App V.1.0.6 maybe you'll be able to fly again.

This is all the release notes on Apple web site says:

Thank you I will download that right away. I saw people talking about it yesterday. However, the crashes it is referring to are app crashes I do believe. Not drone crashes. I could be mistaken but they also said they improved app stability which is the same thing.

Yep only APP update no drone or controller firmware.

You have FW V01.00.0300, update to V01.00.0400

Update de app to 1.06 (Android)
Update the FW from batteries (all)
Update the FW from controller

Install the app UAV Forecast

alex_alb Posted at 1-14 10:35
You have FW V01.00.0300, update to V01.00.0400

Update de app to 1.06 (Android)

I don't have .0300 I have the latest firmware on my AC, RC, batteries but I do need to update my phone app.

Has DJI fixed these issues in the past few months? I just got my MM a few days ago. So far it works wonderfully, but I'll definitely keep an eye out for these issues. Overall it seems like a pretty reliable drone, though, right?

9to5Voyager Posted at 6-13 22:18
Has DJI fixed these issues in the past few months? I just got my MM a few days ago. So far it works wonderfully, but I'll definitely keep an eye out for these issues. Overall it seems like a pretty reliable drone, though, right?

I don't have a lot of flight time on mine but I watch the forums and groups pretty closely. Here is what I have deducted. There are folks out there trying to do more with the Mavic Mini than what it was designed to do. The sudden altitude drops seem to be temperature related and experienced mostly when flying below the suggested parameters set by DJI. This whole firmware update that is causing people to replace props is a good thing. Be careful how your props are stored when you are not flying. Make sure there is nothing putting pressure on them. The fly more case is becoming notorious for bending props because folks don't pay attention when they put their drone away. I truly believe 99% of the issues I have seen are pilot error.

The Watchman News Posted at 2019-12-24 10:43
This was me in the fixed-wing ultralight years ago. Curious how many here have at least that much flight experience. *giggle*

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1vALPWTDII

Who has the remote control?

The Watchman News Posted at 1-14 07:19
I keep coming back to the forums every day to see if there is anything new. I still haven't flown my Mini since I decided to hold off until some issues were addressed. Now the issue with the Mini suddenly losing altitude is becoming more widespread and happening to veteran drone pilots. I hope they find the issue and fix it in the next updates. Hell, I hope it can be fixed by firmware and that it isn't an issue with hardware or the placement of hardware/sensors. Still waiting and still watching and still chuckling at the knuckleheads that thought I was just being stupid. Paying attention pays off. I've never learned a damn thing with my mouth open.  LoL

If we all took the same approach to all things in life 99% of would not have kids

Droneflier Posted at 6-14 03:55
Who has the remote control?

There were no drones in that video. Only fixed wing ultralight aircraft and powered parachutes. I had a camera mounted on my wing and he had a couple cameras on his PPG setup. I also had a handheld camera I used. No remotes and no drones. Although the guy that owns the airfield I was flying out of is heavily into RC aircraft. Mostly heli's though.

The Watchman News Posted at 6-14 02:33
I don't have a lot of flight time on mine but I watch the forums and groups pretty closely. Here is what I have deducted. There are folks out there trying to do more with the Mavic Mini than what it was designed to do. The sudden altitude drops seem to be temperature related and experienced mostly when flying below the suggested parameters set by DJI. This whole firmware update that is causing people to replace props is a good thing. Be careful how your props are stored when you are not flying. Make sure there is nothing putting pressure on them. The fly more case is becoming notorious for bending props because folks don't pay attention when they put their drone away. I truly believe 99% of the issues I have seen are pilot error.

Okay, that sounds good to me. Thank you!