Hi folks,

first of all, I am still a beginner and therefore I try to fly very cautions.

Today I wanted to take some pictures of my house / garden and started the drone in the front of the house. Good sight and good conditions (i thought at least).

I navigated to the top of the area where I could see the whole garden + house. The drone was still in sight and suddenly the RC showed that there is no connection to the drone. I thought with the RTH option the drone should fly to the home spot and land (and as far as I can see this is configured).
But the drone hoovered over the area and I lost sight - crash sound .....

After searching the whole afternoon / evening I found similiar situation mentioned in this forum.
Now, I am not sure if my RC or my drone has a malfunction and if this is realted to the firmware update. There are reports mentioned that the frequency chips may burn during the update and the 5g chip isn't working anymore ....

What should I do next?
I bought the drone in germany at a electronic reseller (saturn). Can they replace the drone with a new one? Or can the DJI replace the drone?

Flight log from airdata:
[backcolor=rgba(249, 249, 249, 0.3)]https://app.airdata.com/share/vSZvEh

The log on Phantomhelp = https://www.phantomhelp.com/logviewer/0ZE8ZJDPX1ZTX8XGJYM7/

Thanks, Captain!
Wasn't aware that I've to post several logs or rather from different service providers. Now we've two log analysis tools with different outcomes.
Phantomhelp just is reading different areas in the original log, isn't it?
Do you know why there is no 80004 mentioned?

Start by reading the manual. Several times, especially the part about RTH. It is different from what you think.

Liptux Posted at 3-2 14:12
Thanks, Captain!
Wasn't aware that I've to post several logs or rather from different service providers. Now we've two log analysis tools with different outcomes.
Phantomhelp just is reading different areas in the original log, isn't it?

You do not NEED to post logs by different service providers, it is just that the Phantomhelp site generally provides a more useful csv of the log but in this case I am not sure if that is correct. I am not sure if airdata itself created the signal warning, I need to find the relevant columns in the PH csv ... if they exist.

Mobilehomer Posted at 3-2 14:12
Start by reading the manual. Several times, especially the part about RTH. It is different from what you think.

Thanks for pointing this out.
I just checked again the manual. It's working as I thought and I assume I've described it.



Please see:
https://dl.djicdn.com/downloads/DJI_Mini_3/UM/20230217/DJI_Mini_3_User_Manual_v1.0_EN.pdf

Hmmm, I am not sure where airdata gets the message.
"Weak signal. Adjust antennas Image transmission signal may be blocked. Position remote controller to face aircraft and adjust antennas for optimal signal strength or fly at higher altitude (Code: 80004)"
from.
The Phantomhelp log finishes  0.2 seconds before the Airdate log, 76.6 sec vs 76.8 sec. The phantomhelp log has columns for "R C.downlinkSignal" & "RC.uplinkSignal " which I assume are control signal strengths rather than video but someone, JJB or Labroides, would need to confirm or refute that. I do not see anything that relates to video strength.

Did you find the drone?
If so where was it?

. . . . . .

The drone was still in sight and suddenly the RC showed that there is no connection to the drone.
But the drone hoovered over the area and I lost sight - crash sound .....
Your flight data shows the drone hovering well above any obstacles with plenty of battery and the data just stops and as you reported, the drone fell from the sky.
This is a clear case of a sudden complete power loss.

I thought with the RTH option the drone should fly to the home spot and land (and as far as I can see this is configured).
RTH can't help you when the drone has lost power.
Forget about RTH as it had no part in this incident.

Now, I am not sure if my RC or my drone has a malfunction and if this is  realted to the firmware update. There are reports mentioned that the  frequency chips may burn during the update and the 5g chip isn't working  anymore ....
Neither of those are relevant to your incident.
Almost every suggestion that firmware updates have caused problems are completely wrong anyway.

If the battery was not inserted securely, it could have fallen off during your flight.  Just a theory.

Liptux Posted at 3-2 14:21
Thanks for pointing this out.
I just checked again the manual. It's working as I thought and I assume I've described it.

This doesn't account for the loss of power, but you need to read and understand the WHOLE RTH section.

"and as you reported the drone fell from the sky."
Where does the OP say it fell?

Sean-bumble-bee Posted at 3-2 15:49
"and as you reported the drone fell from the sky."
Where does the OP say it fell?

But the drone hoovered over the area and I lost sight - crash sound .....

RTH wouldnt work as you were too close to the home point, less than 20m, as it appears to have been a total loss of power, your next option would be to contact DJI Support, https://www.dji.com/support

Hi there, we are sorry to know about the accident. We recommend that you start a case through the link below and send the drone in for diagnosis and repair. If there is a doubt about the accident, data analysis can also be applied as long as the drone is within the warranty period. http://www.dji.com/support

Hi there. Thank you for reaching out. We are deeply sorry to know about the incident that happened to your unit. In this case, we highly recommend you send the unit in for proper diagnostics. You may contact our support team to start up a ticket at https://www.dji.com/support . Also, the warranty can be applied depending on the outcome of the damage assessment including the warranty period of your unit. Thank you for your kind and understanding.

Thanks to the DJI team to give me a direction. I'll open a case.

Also, thanks to everyone else help me to understand what went wrong. A sudden power loss would explain the situation.

Theoretically:
Can the RC reconnect to the drone? Should this work automatically, or do I have to do something (power on / off of the RC for example)?

Liptux Posted at 3-2 21:47
Thanks to the DJI team to give me a direction. I'll open a case.

Also, thanks to everyone else help me to understand what went wrong. A sudden power loss would explain the situation.

Can the RC reconnect to the drone? Should this work automatically, or do I have to do something (power on / off of the RC for example)?
Yes ... but only if the drone is powered on and within range.

Did the drone fall from the sky, as Labroides suggested, or did it descend in a controlled way?
Did you find the drone?
If so where was it and what state is it in?
I would think reconnection should be automatic, it is with my drones which are DJI but not a Mini 3 Pro.
From the 1.4 version of the manual

"The action the aircraft performs once it loses the remote controller signal can be set as Return to Home,
Land, or Hover in DJI Fly. If the action was set as Return to Home in advance, and where the Homel
Point has been recorded, the GNSS signal is good, and the compass is functioning normally, Failsafe
RTH will automatically activate once the remote controller signal is lost for more than three seconds.
If the aircraft is 50 m or less than 50 m from the Home Point when the remote controller signal is lost,
it will fly to the Home Point at its current altitude. If the aircraft is more than 50 m from the Home Point
when the remote controller signal is lost, it will fly backwards for 50 m on its original flight route, and
then enter Straight Line RTH. The aircraft will enter or remain in Straight Line RTH if the
remote controller signal is restored during RTH." The txt in red suggests reconnection would be automatic.

Hi,

Read your text and had a look at your log.

At loosing contact with your drone, drone was flying 8.6 meters away from HomePoint at 42 meter baro height.

Your wrote "..but the drone hoovered over the area..."
If it was a total power failure drone would noy hover but fall down like a brick.

Not many drones suffers from a total power failure, plus battery is so firmly in the housing, not likely to move backwards in the housing and breaking the contacts.
Plus last message in Airdata is recorded, with a power fail this too much coincidence to record this message (normal msg before disconnect) and direct followed by a fail....nah

AFAIK * : a disconnected Mini3Pro at 8.6 meters away from homepoint will not fly to HP but will land at position.
You heard a crash sounnd, guess about approx 15 sesc later....Hovering above a roof of the house, so the 'crash' sound was a landing on a non flat roof wich obvious wan`t a good landing.

* will test this out what is the distance close yo HP where mini3pro will not fly to HP but land at position. let you know.

Did you recover your drone ?

BTW  Phantomhelp (PH) CSV does skip the very last record sometines....AirData does not.
Airdata last 6 records : Tripod mode
PH last 6 records : 1 P-GPS (Bypass), 5 Tripod.

In the last Airdata record message :  "Weak signal. Adjust antennas Image transmission signal may be blocked. Position remote controller to face aircraft and adjust antennas for optimal signal strength or fly at higher altitude (Code: 80004)"


cheers
JJB

Labroides Posted at 3-2 23:20
Can the RC reconnect to the drone? Should this work automatically, or do I have to do something (power on / off of the RC for example)?
Yes ... but only if the drone is powered on and within range.

Thanks for this confirmation. Should have been powered on and in range ... Strange behaviour.
I'll answers Sean-bumble-bees questions in a separate post.
I am very interested in identifying the rout cause.

Sean-bumble-bee Posted at 3-2 23:35
Did the drone fall from the sky, as Labroides suggested, or did it descend in a controlled way?
Did you find the drone?
If so where was it and what state is it in?

Did the drone fall from the sky, as Labroides suggested, or did it descend in a controlled way?

That's hard to answer for me. If it has flown in a controlled way, then it was very fast. Therefore, I would assume that the drone has been fallen off. After the drone moved without my interaction.

Did you find the drone?

Yes, I found it in the garden of my neighbour on the roof of a small hut. Interesting place indeed. It is covered with trees and the space between the treetops is very small.

If so where was it and what state is it in?

The drone has some bruises, and the gimbal is hang loose. The blades are broken of course.

I would think reconnection should be automatic, it is with my drones which are DJI but not a Mini 3 Pro.
From the 1.4 version of the manualI also was wondering why I've found a version 1.4 in german (mother tongue) but just version 1.0 in english (looked in the canada section because it was the first I've seen )

JJB* Posted at 3-3 00:15
Hi,

Read your text and had a look at your log.

If it was a total power failure drone would not hover but fall down like a brick.
We haven't been told whether the hovering was after signal was lost or before.
Data ends at 1:16.6
The drone had made no horizontal movement since 1:09.0 and no vertical movement after 1:11.0.
It was hovering for 5 seconds or more before the data ends.

The drone was high up (42 metres) and not moving, so it hasn't lost signal from being flown to a position where signal was blocked.
We don't have direct evidence of what happened after signal was lost.
I suggest that loss of signal and autolanding would be a less likely outcome than sudden power loss.

Labroides Posted at 3-3 02:58
If it was a total power failure drone would not hover but fall down like a brick.
We haven't been told whether the hovering was after signal was lost or before.
Data ends at 1:16.6

Hi Labroides,

• When flying close to HP at height you need to point the RC more towards the drone than flying in an open free area.
• Loss of signal happens many many more times than a sudden power loss.
• Drone found and damage to blades etc, no word of dislodged battery.
  

My guess is that the drone can be powered on with no errors....
I suggest that loss of signal (actually that is written in the log)  and autolanding would be a more likely outcome than sudden power loss.  
But no probs to disagree with each other.


he drone was still in sight and suddenly the RC showed that there is no connection to the drone. I thought with the RTH option the drone should fly to the home spot and land (and as far as I can see this is configured).
But the drone hoovered over the area and I lost sight - crash sound .....

We haven't been told whether the hovering was after signal was lost or before.

It hovered after loosing connection, well   this is how i read OP text.


cheers

JJB

JJB* Posted at 3-3 03:07
Hi Labroides,

What type of RC did you use?

(When flying close to HP at height you need to point the RC more towards the drone than flying in an open free area.)

JJB* Posted at 3-3 03:07
Hi Labroides,

My guess is that the drone can be powered on with no errors....

You're right!
After I found the drone I tried to power it on. Worked perfectly and the battery indicator showed 2 bars.

cmarines Posted at 3-3 05:59
What type of RC did you use?

(When flying close to HP at height you need to point the RC more towards the drone than flying in an open free area.)

Do you mean mine RC or the one from JJB*?

I used the RC from DJI with the big screen.

Liptux Posted at 3-4 22:59
My guess is that the drone can be powered on with no errors....

You're right!

Hi,

Next to do....fly in a safe area (free of obstacles) same distance away from HP, same height.
Switched off the RC.

Wait few seconds and see what happens...  i think i know  ;-)

[ a sudden total power failure = hardware fail =  for 99% not self repairing ]

cheers
JJB

Hej folks,

wanna give u an update. After several direct messages (thanks a lot!) I decided to change the drone at the local reseller. Took quite long and had a lot of discussions. Finally, I got a new drone.
DJI also offered a return/ exchange after check. Haven't tried this way so I can't tell anything about it though.

Thanks for all the help so far!

JJB* Posted at 3-5 02:09
Hi,

Next to do....fly in a safe area (free of obstacles) same distance away from HP, same height.

Hi JJB*, I have never tried a close-to-home (within meters) disconnect before to see what happens, have you?

Is that what really happens, it will just auto' land? If so then that will happen within about 3 seconds of lost  signal.

Does the log show any decent at all?  to me, it looks like it hovered for nearly 6 seconds and then nothing.
Also, wouldnt the log show RTH initialised?

Bashy Posted at 3-23 15:32
Hi JJB*, I have never tried a close-to-home (within meters) disconnect before to see what happens, have you?

Is that what really happens, it will just auto' land? If so then that will happen within about 3 seconds of lost  signal.

Hi Bashy,

yes, i have....

Close to home disconnect, drrone will after x seconds autoland.
x = 3,6 , 10 or 11  depending of type drone.
A sudden disconnect means log stops, so waiting time and autolanding not in the log ofcourse.

But try yourself, what can go wrong closing down the RC while your drone is hovering near the HP.Do it few times, each time bit further away from HP.
(what you can do ; hover high, so you have time to reconnect if you do not want the drone to actually land...)

cheers
JJB

JJB* Posted at 3-23 23:37
Hi Bashy,

yes, i have....

Thanks, so as there was no RTH/Auto land then it has to be a malfunction as the drone wasn't descending when the log ended?

Bashy Posted at 3-24 04:30
Thanks, so as there was no RTH/Auto land then it has to be a malfunction as the drone wasn't descending when the log ended?

uh,

Logs ends suddenly   why ?  nobody knows....

But if drone got disconnected from the RC close to HP it will,  after few secs,  autoland.
So as said, this waiting in hover and autoland is not recorded in the log.....

Is a disconnect a malfunction ?  very often not, mayby few times yes...

cheers
JJB

JJB* Posted at 3-24 06:52
uh,

Logs ends suddenly   why ?  nobody knows....

OK, i got ya, i forget the logs are on the RC/device, so obviously it cannot record what comes next, only DJI techs can do that if its under warranty...

Liptux Posted at 3-4 22:59
My guess is that the drone can be powered on with no errors....

You're right!

Was the battery loose, did you have to push it back in?

The way the log just finishes points to a loss of power as there was absolutely no warnings at all about signal issues. Although i cant say that for sure.

From reply #23, it does sound like it may have tried to auto land and hit branches and crashed on to the roof.

Whilst the battery was ok, they did take off with only 30% and it quickly dropped to 26%, not sure if that is relevant, just thought I would mention it as I have read folks mention that the percentage may not be accurate due to it not being 100%.

Another thing I've noticed is that it was put into T-Mode POI, I do not see any relevance as there was no movement in the log but thought I would mention it.

It's all by the by now as you now have a replacement so all is good and we will probably never get to the bottom of it as you didn't go through DJI to get the flight data analyzed. Glad you got it resolved to your liking