Hello Everyone,

I had a scary moment where my Mavic Mini dropped out of the air and skipped off the ground with a "max power load reached" error. Luckily, it recovered. A little research showed other users complaining of a similar issue. I did some testing and found a solution that worked for me. Hopefully this will be helpful to some others too. Cheers!
As a side note this error also shows up as code 30168 or in the flight logs as Not Enough Force / ESC Error.

Hello and good day Steve. Thank you for creating this video for the DJI Mavic Mini and for sharing these information with us. Thank you for your valued support and have a great New Year ahead. .

Hi DJI Stephen, what do you think of the video and comments - are they on the right track? I want to buy one but simply can't afford to lose the money or live with the possible danger to someone if it decides to ditch.

notbuyinguntilfixed Posted at 12-29 17:14
Hi DJI Stephen, what do you think of the video and comments - are they on the right track? I want to buy one but simply can't afford to lose the money or live with the possible danger to someone if it decides to ditch.

We met same troubles in Vietnam too. It is crazy product

fans4e1b24db Posted at 12-29 20:06
We met same troubles in Vietnam too. It is crazy product

I would definitely try changing the props if you have a new, spare pair. It worked for me and many others have commented on the video that it worked for them. Good luck!

DJI Stephen Posted at 12-29 10:11
Hello and good day Steve. Thank you for creating this video for the DJI Mavic Mini and for sharing these information with us. Thank you for your valued support and have a great New Year ahead.  .

Thank you. Always appreciate you guys!

SCoutts Posted at 12-30 14:55
Thank you. Always appreciate you guys!

You are very much welcome Steve. We appreciate you to. Please stay safe always and keep on flying. .

SCoutts Posted at 12-30 14:55
Thank you. Always appreciate you guys!

Thanks for posting your video here Steve!

The Watchman News Posted at 12-30 15:32
Thanks for posting your video here Steve!

You bet! Hope it's helpful.

Thank you for the video. I had a crash yesterday after the error message appeared. I could recover the Mini undamaged. I changed the props now and hope this is a fix.

Hans Goossens Posted at 2-15 01:04
Thank you for the video. I had a crash yesterday after the error message appeared. I could recover the Mini undamaged. I changed the props now and hope this is a fix.

Thanks for watching! I hope the propeller change fixes the issue. I have had plenty of folks comment on the video that it has worked for them. Good luck!

Thanks for this post. This happened to me today and it's why how I found this forum. I'll check and see if I have extras or run to drone nerds and grab some more. I appreciate this. Luckily I was able to catch mine.

Very cool! Thanks for sharing.

I've not had this issue but then again, I swapped props on like my 3rd flight. (because I gently kissed a wall on my second flight)

Cheers!
=C=

Cal Evans Posted at 2-19 11:36
Very cool! Thanks for sharing.

I've not had this issue but then again, I swapped props on like my 3rd flight. (because I gently kissed a wall on my second flight)

Haha! I like that - "gently kissed a wall". Cheers!

Same problem here! Logging 3.14 miles/ 2.68h / 60 flights all outdoors w/o prop guard. Will try swapping the propels.

replaced the props on mine seemed to fix the issue.

chileanbyone Posted at 3-10 09:41
replaced the props on mine seemed to fix the issue.

Cool. Replacing the props seems to fix the issue for many folks. Happy flying!

Any thoughts as to why the changing the props provides a fix ??  Obviously, there is no visual damage to the removed props so are they deformed/distorted compared to the new ones ??
I don't have a MM yet so I don't know if the props are already installed when the drone is new. If they are installed from new - could they be deforming within the packaging ??

All good interesting stuff - many thanks forsaking the time in  sharing your results

Dji should send every Mini owner at least a full set of new props if this is the solution.

JeyTea Posted at 3-11 01:07
Dji should send every Mini owner at least a full set of new props if this is the solution.

I agree but I am not going to hold my breath on that one. Cheers! :-)

Gelert Posted at 3-10 23:40
Any thoughts as to why the changing the props provides a fix ??  Obviously, there is no visual damage to the removed props so are they deformed/distorted compared to the new ones ??
I don't have a MM yet so I don't know if the props are already installed when the drone is new. If they are installed from new - could they be deforming within the packaging ??

The props were defective right out of the box. Nothing visually that I could detect but even a slight variation in pitch could make all the difference. My guess that it was something that impacted a handful of early Mini owners (manufacturing defect?) but it was sorted out reasonably quick. I don't know for sure though, just speculating.

The Mini's props come factory installed.

When I went back through my flight logs, I had ESC error/not enough force errors from the very beginning. It got worse over time culminating in the skip off the ground. This could have been due to wear and tear over the weeks I used them.

Since changing my props I have not had a single issue. I experimented briefly with third party props but now I only use DJI OEM. All subsequent props have been flawless.

If anything it reinforces the need to inspect your props often and replace as required. Thanks for watching.

SCoutts Posted at 3-11 06:25
The props were defective right out of the box. Nothing visually that I could detect but even a slight variation in pitch could make all the difference. My guess that it was something that impacted a handful of early Mini owners (manufacturing defect?) but it was sorted out reasonably quick. I don't know for sure though, just speculating.

The Mini's props come factory installed.

Many thanks for the info.
I've now watched a number of MM unboxing videos and have noticed 2 points that may be relevant.

1. The props are already installed as you say but they are taped together. Could this taping together be the cause of a change of pitch on the props ??

2. The packing of the "drone only" package doesn't appear to be that sturdy and looks as if a number of boxes were stacked on top of each other it could result in deformation of the props. Was your MM a drone only pack or the combo pack ??? (The combo pack appears to be better packed and offers better protection to the props)

Just interested to know

Gelert Posted at 3-11 09:12
Many thanks for the info.
I've now watched a number of MM unboxing videos and have noticed 2 points that may be relevant.

I'm glad you mention the taped propellers.  I was surprised mine didn't get damaged when unboxing my mini.  That tape was STUCK on, and removing it definitely bent the plastic.  Luckily once the tape was off, the props appeared normal and I haven't yet had any issues while flying.  But DJI definitely could have used a better method for keeping new props in place.

Gelert Posted at 3-11 09:12
Many thanks for the info.
I've now watched a number of MM unboxing videos and have noticed 2 points that may be relevant.

If there was a packaging issue or manufacturing defect, it was very likely quietly fixed and DJI moved on. So there is little chance that we will ever know the root cause.

My Mini was a Fly More Combo. Cheers!

SCoutts Posted at 3-12 07:08
If there was a packaging issue or manufacturing defect, it was very likely quietly fixed and DJI moved on. So there is little chance that we will ever know the root cause.

My Mini was a Fly More Combo. Cheers!

I was having the exact same issue with mine and replacing the blades worked wonders. No more errors and it even seems to fly more stable and take off straighter. I don't know if it's a manufacturing defect or not but I bought my Mini used so there were some dings in the blades. After replacing them it's like I have a whole new drone! :-)

Very good information. Thanks for the video.

BigBird-2 Posted at 3-17 15:51
Very good information. Thanks for the video.

Glad it was useful. Thanks for watching!

DroneWiz Posted at 3-17 14:26
I was having the exact same issue with mine and replacing the blades worked wonders. No more errors and it even seems to fly more stable and take off straighter. I don't know if it's a manufacturing defect or not but I bought my Mini used so there were some dings in the blades. After replacing them it's like I have a whole new drone! :-)

Same thing over here. Had the drone for 2 weeks now and it was great, no crashes, not even a small scrape then, all of a sudden, yesterday I started getting a lot of Max power load reached errors.

When descending, sometimes the drone would fall a good couple of meters even if I let go of the controls, then it would recover and climb back up. This happened a couple of times. Also it was noisier and slower. One time, mid-flight, it banked abruptly to one side (you can even see it on the video, I thought something had hit it - scared me for a moment) even if there was no noticeable wind.

Today I decided to replace all 8 props after seeing others having this problem and the issue is 100% gone - now the drone flies smoother, quieter, takes off straight up (before it was slightly pulling to the sides), no more max power reached errors.

The only question remains: WHAT HAPPENED to the original set of props? Again, no crash, no scrape, no nothing. Only thing I could think of is that they got somehow crushed in the carrying case (?), but visually they looked intact. During replacement one set of front props seemed to be less tightly screwed than the rest of 3, but nothing major.

@DJI - any info on this? Why has this happened? Is the drone so sensible or was it a manufacturing defect? I'm starting to lose my confidence flying it ...

Update: the problem re-appeared after exactly the same time (roughly 3h of flight) as the initial set of props.

@DJI - What am I to do with this drone? I can't be replacing props every 2 weeks!

On a short flight yesterday, I, for the first time noticed "Max power reached" message appear twice, both times just for a short moment. Immediatley landed and went checking flight log (uploaded on PhantomHelp) but error isn't noticed in it. Is that normal?

Today I tried to do short flight again, almost no wind at all, didn't notice any warnings nor any strange behavior of Mini. Is it possible that warning appeared due to, some gusts of wind, despite they didn't seem to be strong yesterday?

Have flown my Mini for 4,5 hours in total, being cautious with props while storing and manipulating with drone. Just in case will be replacing the props, as this seems to be the easiest solution to try right now.

djiuser_X4rXCZXsvxzg Posted at 4-12 01:12
On a short flight yesterday, I, for the first time noticed "Max power reached" message appear twice, both times just for a short moment. Immediatley landed and went checking flight log (uploaded on PhantomHelp) but error isn't noticed in it. Is that normal?

Today I tried to do short flight again, almost no wind at all, didn't notice any warnings nor any strange behavior of Mini. Is it possible that warning appeared due to, some gusts of wind, despite they didn't seem to be strong yesterday?

I think it's great you're being cautious. Better that than losing or destroying your Mini.

After I had the skip off the ground, I looked back at the every single flight log from the beginning and noticed that I had experienced the error many times since the very first flight. I believe almost all of my flights, until I changed the props, had at least one or more instances of the "Not Enough Force/ESC Error" message.

I believe it is possible to get the error under stressful conditions, like high wind or high load and it not be propeller related.

Propeller issues can also be noticeable with simple things like your Mini not taking off straight up. If on launch you find it goes forwards, backwards or to one side or the other, it is likely indicating faulty props.

Good luck!

djiuser_X4rXCZXsvxzg Posted at 4-12 01:12
On a short flight yesterday, I, for the first time noticed "Max power reached" message appear twice, both times just for a short moment. Immediatley landed and went checking flight log (uploaded on PhantomHelp) but error isn't noticed in it. Is that normal?

Today I tried to do short flight again, almost no wind at all, didn't notice any warnings nor any strange behavior of Mini. Is it possible that warning appeared due to, some gusts of wind, despite they didn't seem to be strong yesterday?

I think it's great you're being cautious. Better that than losing or destroying your Mini.

After I had the skip off the ground, I looked back at the every single flight log from the beginning and noticed that I had experienced the error many times since the very first flight. I believe almost all of my flights, until I changed the props, had at least one or more instances of the "Not Enough Force/ESC Error" message.

I believe it is possible to get the error under stressful conditions, like high wind or high load and it not be propeller related.

Propeller issues can also be noticeable with simple things like your Mini not taking off straight up. If on launch you find it goes forwards, backwards or to one side or the other, it is likely indicating faulty props.

Good luck!

Hello people, I just got my Mini down from a chestnut (I had mounted the propellers protections).
I already got the "Max power reached" error many times but always in windy conditions, this was the first time I got that message and no way to control the descent. Maybe knowing the problem I would have tried to skip the tree, but there was no wind and I was really shocked. And it's my first drone.
Now I'm going to change all the propellers and modify the box to avoid to stress them when I store the drone in. And buy another propeller set, as in the combo there are just 6 pairs.

There is another thread that talks about the case....... When you place the AC in the case the rear props are on the step that's in the bottom.....this is flattening the rear props.

Over time this seems to be the cause/part of the cause.

These are NOT composite or glass filled nylon props.....they are plastic....just plain plastic.....any pressure at all over time....and warpage is what will happen.

Randy

Wow, this is an excellent thread. I haven't had this issue but I have read about it and the OP's analysis seems very plausible. Is there a certain frequency of times that the error message has to occur during flight before the firmware goes bonkers? Anyways, this thread would explain why some users experience this, while others not.

I have Mavic Mini since two days and I have experienced Max Power Load Reached issue. No crash but I barely managed to take control over Mavic Mini and landed to home point.

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Were you by chance using the infamous propeller guards !?

I think DJI made more harm than good to include them in the Fly More without a big box notice or even to include them at all.

That cage should be used only indoors and outdoors only at (almost) an arm's reach and with absolutely ZERO wind.

rwynant V1 Posted at 4-21 16:11
There is another thread that talks about the case....... When you place the AC in the case the rear props are on the step that's in the bottom.....this is flattening the rear props.

Over time this seems to be the cause/part of the cause.

Wondering if pressure on blades during flight further deform blades?  

Initially blades are slightly deformed, but still good enough to fly.
After blades have been flying for a while, the stress on blades is enough to further deform blades to cause flight problems.  

djiuser_X4rXCZXsvxzg Posted at 4-12 01:12
On a short flight yesterday, I, for the first time noticed "Max power reached" message appear twice, both times just for a short moment. Immediatley landed and went checking flight log (uploaded on PhantomHelp) but error isn't noticed in it. Is that normal?

Today I tried to do short flight again, almost no wind at all, didn't notice any warnings nor any strange behavior of Mini. Is it possible that warning appeared due to, some gusts of wind, despite they didn't seem to be strong yesterday?

Phantomhelp was not originally flagging Mavic Mini's ESC messages, whereas AirData was.

You could look for error manually by checking Column Labeled "OSD.isNotEnoughForce" or 46th Field entry of verbose CSV file for flag of "True".
You can automate search using a Formula in Excel by adding column A starting 2nd line =IF(AU2,"ESC ERROR",""), then copy / filling rest of lines.  3rd line would have =IF(AU3,"ESC ERROR",""), 4th line =IF(AU4,"ESC ERROR",""), etc.
Easily done if you have experience with "awk".