Yesterday I filmed a roughly 30 minute scuba dive in one shot.

When I went to check out the camera for the first time since filming, I entered playback mode and saw a "Invalid File" error on the screen.


Once I imported the footage onto my computer, I could see what should have been one long 30 minute video was cut into two pieces, and there was missing footage (maybe a minute or two?) inbetween them.

I was shooting 4K 24 FPS, HEVC and using a SanDisk Extreme PRO 512 GB card.

So what's the deal with the "Invalid File" message, and missing footage? I've gotten the same error message a couple times before as well.


For what it's worth, I didn't have the most recent firmware updated until after shooting this video.

Probably the memorycard is faulty, try with another one.

johansenfoto Posted at 11-6 14:28
Probably the memorycard is faulty, try with another one.

I've gotten this error on a couple different video cards, but thanks for the tip.

Hi there. After recording, Osmo Action 4 will generate a .LRF file. This functions the same way as DJI Pocket 2, which is prepared for the Trimmed Download function.

Notes
1. If the .LRF file is deleted, the Playback function is not supported when using Osmo Action 3/DJI Action 2 alone. When DJI Mimo is used, it is required to download the original footage for viewing.

2. In reality, the .LRF file is a compressed video file. Apart from the Trimmed Download function, it can be used for playback and previewing.

3. If the .MP4 file is deleted, an “invalid file” warning will appear when attempting to preview it on the camera unit; if the .LRF file is not deleted, the file will be a low-resolution video file after changing the file suffix “.LRF” to “.MP4”.

DJI Paladin Posted at 11-6 20:06
Hi there. After recording, Osmo Action 4 will generate a .LRF file. This functions the same way as DJI Pocket 2, which is prepared for the Trimmed Download function.

Notes

Thanks for the information.

I didn't actually delete any files at all from the camera. I stopped recording, which turned off the camera. The next time I turned the camera on, I went to view the video on the camera and got the invalid file error. And as mentioned I'm also missing a few moments of footage from what should have been one long, 30 minute shot.

Is is possible there's an issue with the camera?

MasterDiver Posted at 11-7 06:52
Thanks for the information.

I didn't actually delete any files at all from the camera. I stopped recording, which turned off the camera. The next time I turned the camera on, I went to view the video on the camera and got the invalid file error. And as mentioned I'm also missing a few moments of footage from what should have been one long, 30 minute shot.

Thank you for your response. Could you please try to back up all the files on your SD card and reformat it then have a test to see if the issue persists? In addition, please confirm what is the size of the file that you mentioned with a 30-minute long video. Please keep us posted. Thank you.

DJI Paladin Posted at 11-9 22:27
Thank you for your response. Could you please try to back up all the files on your SD card and reformat it then have a test to see if the issue persists? In addition, please confirm what is the size of the file that you mentioned with a 30-minute long video. Please keep us posted. Thank you.

Hello, I've performed a reformatting on the card, and I just got the issue again yesterday.

I'd filmed a series of very short videos (less than one minute) throughout the day.

When I came back to the camera to view playback for the first time, I was greeted with an error screen that had the "Invalid File" message.

SD card being used is SanDisk Extreme PRO 512GB, although I've gotten this issue on another model of SD as well.

Honestly I'm not even sure if I lost footage or not in this case - it's possible all the clips I recorded are present (hard for me to recall off hand since they were all pretty similar in nature), but the error message still worries me.

MasterDiver Posted at 11-25 10:09
Hello, I've performed a reformatting on the card, and I just got the issue again yesterday.

I'd filmed a series of very short videos (less than one minute) throughout the day.

Thank you for your response. Could you please upload the operational video showing the error when playing back the footage on your camera via Google Drive or YouTube then send the link here so we can check it further? In addition, please check the files that you are having issues with if it was saved to SD_card/DCIM/DJI_001? If not, please create a DJI_001 folder manually and import the materials to the DJI_001 folder. Please note that there is no DJI_001 folder after the SD card is reformatted also if the video is saved into the DCIM folder or another folder in the DCIM folder, the material cannot be viewed on the DJI Osmo Action 4 playback page.

I'm having the exact same issue.  However after recording all 62 file were able to be played back in the camera.  Once I transfered 30 files to my computer the the and went back to transfer the remaining 32nfiles to my computer I get invalid file for all 62 files.  I can't even access the 30 that I never transfered and I never deleted any of the ones I did get to transfer now I have nothing .

Tanyeus Posted at 1-16 01:19
I'm having the exact same issue.  However after recording all 62 file were able to be played back in the camera.  Once I transfered 30 files to my computer the the and went back to transfer the remaining 32nfiles to my computer I get invalid file for all 62 files.  I can't even access the 30 that I never transfered and I never deleted any of the ones I did get to transfer now I have nothing .

I encountered the same issue. After recording, I received errors for all the files on my SD card. Now, every file is marked as invalid. This is incredibly frustrating since the video was important.
I use Lexar Pro 512GB SDXC UHS-I V30 R160/W120 (1066x) DJI recommended SDcard
DJI, what has happened to your quality control?  

alexshnup Posted at 8-24 11:30
I encountered the same issue. After recording, I received errors for all the files on my SD card. Now, every file is marked as invalid. This is incredibly frustrating since the video was important.
I use Lexar Pro 512GB SDXC UHS-I V30 R160/W120 (1066x) DJI recommended SDcard
DJI, what has happened to your quality control?

Hi there,
thank you for reaching out.

We apologize for the inconvenience. Could you please confirm if you have encountered an error stating "Invalid File System"?

Please keep us posted. Thank you.

I am having the same problem! Put a SanDisk card in a card reader and it showed files intially - played back about ten then came up with the Invalid file and gave it for all thee files that had played. Now back to the usual 'You have to format your card' lunacy. No apparent workable  DJI Support options - this drone was a complete waste of money!

Andrew Coole Posted at 11-2 09:47
I am having the same problem! Put a SanDisk card in a card reader and it showed files intially - played back about ten then came up with the Invalid file and gave it for all thee files that had played. Now back to the usual 'You have to format your card' lunacy. No apparent workable  DJI Support options - this drone was a complete waste of money!

Hi there. We apologize for the inconvenience. Could you please confirm if the issue has been resolved after formatting the SD card? If not, please provide the model of your drone and SD card for further assistance.