Hi,

I have the DJI Phantom 2, with the GoPro Hero 4 Black edition attached. The other day when I was flying in a field, it sort of took off on it's own, it sort of gained some altitude and then came down on it's own without any aid. Luckily it came down just a few feet in front of me, althogh my heart was in my mouth (even though there was no hazardous terrain, just acres of open land). I was just thinking it could of been dagerous if I was somewhere else. To be honest I've only had a handful of flights since, as I'm a bit nervous of flying in case it flys away ha. I'm thinking it was some type of failsafe.

I'm using stock equipment, but I was wondering if someone could take screenshots of their phantom software that they could post, so I could at least know its setup correct

Have you done the compass setup properly?  Are you waiting for GPS satellite locks?  what mode are you trying to fly in?  Are you flying near power lines?

Here is the link to the manual.  http://www.dji.com/product/phantom/download

Hi John,

This sound like a classical RTH (Return to home) routine. This happens if the transmitter signal ist lost or the transmitter is switched off, If you set the S1 Switch to fail safe (In NAZA Mode) and switched to that mode during flight or if the low battery level warning triggered the RTH.

Just check those settings (Low battery warning and Phantom/NAZA Mode --> S1 Switch), Screenshots of the entire software won't help much.

Enjoy flying

I done the Compass setup and waited till my green lights show as per the manual. However, I was thinking it was the failsafe maybe and thats why I wanted to see someone else setup in the Phantom software

Hi Markus, I was thinking it could be loss of signal like you said as it flashed yellow lights when it come in to vision and I could see it descending.

the failsafe problem (and many folks have reported this type of issue) will likely not be able to be researched or resolved via screenshots of the application software.  that software certainly has distance limits (like RTH altitude and such) but this problem sounds like an erroneous loss of signal between the craft and the controller.  as markus mentioned, that can happen from a variety of situations (you turn the RC off, you lose LOS between the RC and the craft, interference, antenna position, even possibly a hardware issue with the receiver or transmitter).  You may not be able to determine for certain which of these is your problem but it is unlikely that the software values are causing your problem.

if you lost LOS then it went into RTH mode.  the antenna is LOS so the problem sounds like it was a break in connection between the RC and the craft.

What do you suggest I do? is it a one off? I know nothing has happened, but it's just a bit scary

can you confirm that you did NOT have line of sight to the craft when 'took off on its own'.  from reading above it seems like what happened was that you lost LOS and it went into RTH mode.  if so, the resolution to that is never lose LOS.  however, you also said you were in a totally open field so I'm not sure how you lost LOS without some form of obstacles around.  

Hi, I was only a few metres away from the Phantom (maybe 10 metres), and then I just went vertically up - then it shot up on its own, gaining some altitude (I'm not sure how much). I could still see it, but not the lights very well because the sky was so white it messed up my vision. It then moved a bit and started to descend and landed a few metre or so from where it took off from.

I was wondering if it was a failsafe for the distance and altitude was exceeded - I don't want to mess around with it without asking some other flyers.

the phantom will took off if it just stays there on the ground with spinning motors, then the motors start to spin faster and faster after a while and it will probably take off. This only happens when you already flown the quad and landed it without switching off the motors

yes, this definitely sounds like an unanticipated (and unnecessary) RTH scenario.  While I have not encountered this yet, I have seen multiple posts on it.  there is no reason your craft and RC should lose communications within a few meters of one another so it was either interference of some kind or an actual hardware or software malfunction (where the craft thought it did not have connection to the RC when it really did).  

As daninho mentioned,  you always want to land and switch off rotors when done as the craft can (understandibly given the nature of the data and metrics it uses) want to erroneously RTH after landing.  however, if your craft was in flight when this happened (sounds like it was), then the 'rotors on while landed' issue is not related to yours.

Yup, it was in flight - it never unexpectedly flew off from ground.

Do I just carry on flying or do I seek customer support?

My advice to you would be:
1) Read the manual, once, twice and then read it again. It's clear you don't understand how the craft is designed to operate under certain circumstances.

2) Find someone local to you who owns one and can teach you how to fly it safely and properly. These craft are wonderful instruments when operated properly however they have the potential to inflict serious damage when operated unsafely and w/o good understanding of the flight controls and systems.

I strongly encourage you to spend more time getting familiar with the craft before flying once again. Look for a local club and find someone who can assist you.

Good luck and safe flying!

Thanks for all the advice guys. I think, or hope I have found the problem.

If you use your own equipment(for example: GoPro3), please make sure the WiFi function is disabled, to avoid
the interference on the transmitter, which may cause the PHANTOM to FailSafe, crack and or even to fly away.

I'm using a GoPro 4, but I'm guessing the same principle applies, I can't be sure if I did have the WiFi on the GoPro at the time of flight - but it seems as this could be the case, just looking through some videos and other people seem to have similar issues:

At least knowing were I am going wrong gives me some confidence.

Again, thanks for taking the time to give me some advice

B&H photo has some instructional videos (hint, hint, DJI!) that you may find helpful.  
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/howToVideo/DJI_Phantom_2_Vision+/3715721099001.html

They cover the following:
  1) Unboxing And Assembly 6:42
  2) Assistant Software 5:31
  3) Flight Modes 7:49
  4) DJI Vision App 6:07
  5) First Flight 9:15

And here's a handy dandy Pre/Post checklist suitable for printing (and attaching to the Remote Control)

gil that is a good one, thanks for sharing...
here is another great 'soup to nuts' first time setup video: