So, this is what happened. I bought the Inspire and received last Saturday. As it was natural, I wanted to quickly test it out to see everything was going well before hitting my trip to Peru.

So, I updated the firmware on the controller and on the Inspire to the latest one available, I also installed the latest available DJI Pilot app on my iPad Mini, I charged both the Inspire and the controller independately as I was reviewing the manual and some videos. I had already flown a couple of quads in the past but stopped there because I really hated the fish-eye lens, even in the Phantom 2 Vision+. Long story short, I wanted to try out "Auto Take-Off" because, you know, it's there and I just wanted to try it out. First time, no problems. Second time, it went to the right, crashed into my rented car and broke. I didn't have much time to react and, cretainly, I didn't even want to, because I didn't know what else may have have happened if I moved the sticks... I could probably have saved both my Inspire and the car, or maybe it'd change its direction dramatically and hurt somebody. I definetly didn't want to risk on that one, and all I did was trying stop it from spinning on the ground once it had already hit the car. (BTW, yes, it went to the right very fast without any input)
GPS was on, I had enough antenna receptions, it was in P mode as instructed and DJI Pilot app was telling me it was safe to take off.


Naturally, and feeling really mad about this, I contacted DJI 24/7 support and after sending a couple of emails back a forth with their chinese personal (which took a while), they sent me a Windows application to get the internal log files out of the Inspire and sent them back. I did that this last Sunday but haven't heard from them ever since.


Now, it seem like a DJI rep has confirmed this problem due to a IMU calibration bug, but I'd say this a more serious problem and deserves more than just saying "sorry for that" on an external forum.
I've seen a lot of videos about this, I coudn't record mine, but they all look the same to what happened to me.


So, I basically want answers from DJI! Are they going to pay for all the money I'm loosing for not having the Inspire all these days? ...for the car damage? ...for the time I'm spending writing emails and discussing?
And most, importantly why haven't they released an official statement to avoid even worse accidents? This could have easily ended up in a worse tragedy like people been injured or even death!


If you have an Inspire and don't know much about IMU calibration, try to keep yours on the ground or if you need to fly, beware that something like this may happen to you, and you'd rather be prepared.


And to DJI, I'm still waiting your e-mail response since I sent you the log files last Sunday. I don't want to take legal actions against one of my favorite companies, but I will if I have to.

In the video the camera came bouncing off! did you reattach for the picture?

I sure hope things work out for you on this sad to see this...Man DJI better get this firmware issue fixed and replace that inspire for you asap it was not your fault and that's great to see.

Mine arrives Friday and gonna take it slow wait for new firmware this is disheartening buddy

svencool Posted at 2015-1-14 09:38
In the video the camera came bouncing off! did you reattach for the picture?

OP is not the guy in the video of the Inspire crashing into the garage. He states that there was no recorded video of his crash.

Ty bud for clarification on this Joola
So that makes two that used the auto take off and had bad results.Fireware update cant get here fast enough and still stinks to hear this news.

Just for the record... the EXACT same thing happened to me - although fortunately(?) my Inspire hit a wall and not a car or a person. Same auto-takeoff  - same circumstances - I too transferred my flight logs and am awaiting a response.

Thanks for the update on what happened ebarronh.  I think DJI just released some news publicly about the problem.  It sounds like the IMU need recalibration before takeoff in the field each time until the bug is fixed.  

scott7161@gmail Posted at 2015-1-14 10:09
Thanks for the update on what happened ebarronh.  I think DJI just released some news publicly about ...

Recalibration of the IMU is only needed if the MOD value is greather than 1.01 or less than 0.99. Target MOD for accelerometer is 1.00. Check the values before each flight and calibrate if you're outside of this range. I've heard reports that the cooler the IMU is, the more accurate the calibration, so turn off your Inspire for a few minutes prior to calibrating.

For the compass, you want the value to be between 1400 - 1600.

Edit: Compass range should be between 1400-1600. I had previously typed 1400-1500.

Great clarification! So it's worth checking before each flight...

Joola Posted at 2015-1-14 10:14
Recalibration of the IMU is only needed if the MOD value is greather than 1.01 or less than 0.99. T ...

How the heck can a normal owner be expected to know stuff like this?  DJI has our email addresses as part of the registration process.  It cannot be difficult to send out a broadcast email and educate the owners on these kinds of things so bad things don't have to happen. I haven't flown mine yet and the more I read these forum posts the more I am concerned.  If things need to be re-calibrated, then just tell us - don't expect us to roam around the Internet looking for potential problems and solutions. Geez1

i was told 4-5 days until new app and firmware that will solve this issue...

shannon.goodwin Posted at 2015-1-14 09:59
Just for the record... the EXACT same thing happened to me - although fortunately(?) my Inspire hit  ...

I'm so sorry to learn the same thing happen to you.
Please, keep us posted as you learn something new about your case. If you have some video footage, please also share that with us.
~They told me today on the chat they will take an additional 2 days to respond.

zinkracer Posted at 2015-1-14 11:00
How the heck can a normal owner be expected to know stuff like this?  DJI has our email addresses  ...

Completely agree with you. Try to fly safe until we get official news from DJI on how to avoid this problem.
I'm still not sure if DJI is aware of how serious this manner is.

kinda happy mine isnt here yet after reading this

Guys didn't know bout calibrating imu , compass , sticks gimble etc ... Normal things you should already know , check the parameters every so often ..especially on a new machine ..  Heck I'll even do a complete check and recal even when it says it's good every once in awhile ..and maybe the inspire has a bug or three eh , it will be corrected if something's not right , if you got in when the first phantoms showed up followed instructions and had a clue bout RC flight then you most likely may agree that dji does produce some pretty good equipment so far and does its best to satisfy its customers with a product that does work well near ready to fly with patience ..
There's a learning curve here for the inspire .. It's New it's really Not a first time toy and it's one of the more sophisticated Tools for film and photo ops so be advised ...and feel free to jump right in , just make sure you can swim !

How the heck is a normal owner supposed to know all this stuff ? Hmm normal owners ?
There are no normal owners !!

I'm glad I found this forum because I would never know about all the necessary procedures that's not in the manual.  I'm sorry that others had to learn the hard way.  I hope you guys get compensated for your losses.  I just can't believe that when I get my Inspire, the best source of info is through YouTube and internet forums.

DJI sets itself apart by appealing not only to knowledgeable hobbyists, but also newcomers from the general public.  DJI wants this to be ready to fly out of the box, similar to the Phantom line.  It's not far fetch to simply educate the users, no matter how mundane it would be, to ensure proper operation of the craft and everyones safety.  It seems DJI is lacking this important fact.  I hope this gets fixed soon before people gets hurt with lawsuit(s) in their hands.

FrostyThe2nd Posted at 2015-1-14 13:29
I'm glad I found this forum because I would never know about all the necessary procedures that's not ...

Exactly my feelings as well also the phantom is a great trainer cant figure how someone would think this is RTF and easy to do so.

Sad, but thank for the Info!

Looking forward
Crazy Zebra

Thank you for sharing this info, guess we will not people testin their Inspire 1 in their living rooms soon, at least until this bug is fixed. I was kind of jelous on the people from the first round of preorders, but right now I'm kind of happy my Inspire 1 didn't arrive yet. Hope you will be treated with respect and consideration by DJI, as you deserve as a customer, and you'll be able to fly again soon, please keep us informed, it is very important to know how DJI responds to this kind of incidents.

daverm16a4 Posted at 2015-1-14 12:43
Guys didn't know bout calibrating imu , compass , sticks gimble etc ... Normal things you should alr ...

i guess you are wrong here, i think they said even when u calibrate the IMU it can happen because its a bug. To ebarronh : Yes it could have hurt somebody but lets be honest, when a DJI Phantom motor fails in 100 feet it can also kill somebody or damage a car. When the smart battery fails it can also kill somebody but u are right it wasnt your fault in this case

This all seems to be centered around auto take off. Has there been reports of this happening with manual take off?

Joola Posted at 2015-1-14 10:14
Recalibration of the IMU is only needed if the MOD value is greather than 1.01 or less than 0.99. T ...

Great information, I see compass value well above your suggested level, typical around 1800? Should i do something here?

shannon.goodwin Posted at 2015-1-14 09:59
Just for the record... the EXACT same thing happened to me - although fortunately(?) my Inspire hit  ...

Please update us if you get any response from DJI support.

Audiodan Posted at 2015-1-14 18:49
This all seems to be centered around auto take off. Has there been reports of this happening with ma ...

Yes, I saw one or two incidents on Facebook, in one of the Inspire groups,  where the same thing happened while manually taking off.

Audiodan Posted at 2015-1-14 18:49
This all seems to be centered around auto take off. Has there been reports of this happening with ma ...

I also thought it was related to Auto Take-Off, as well.
And I even thought that after IMU calibration, the problem was solved.

But no, this guy proved me wrong:
http://youtu.be/-ZrmpSTkOMQ

He was one of the very first that found out about IMU calibration before, and he was not using auto take-off when his crash happened.

Hi all i took a flight this which was all successful and took a screen shot of my setting in advanced.

For all the techys how is this looking regards compass settings etc

Audiodan Posted at 2015-1-14 18:49
This all seems to be centered around auto take off. Has there been reports of this happening with ma ...

My question as well... IS THIS ONLY HAPPENING if you use AUTO-TAKE OFF ???

Peyton Posted at 2015-1-14 20:49
My question as well... IS THIS ONLY HAPPENING if you use AUTO-TAKE OFF ???

Again, no, it's not related to Auto Take-Off. It seems to be related to IMU calibration but even so, it may still happen.

Just heard from my dealer in the UK that all Inspires due for delivery this week have been returned to the factory (because of a issue that needs sorting) maybe its the IMU problem ?

ebarronh@aol.co Posted at 2015-1-14 20:57
Again, no, it's not related to Auto Take-Off. It seems to be related to IMU calibration but even s ...

In Mark Parrott's you tube video he states he did a re-cal and it still FAILED and your right in manual take off mode.

jamess3430 Posted at 2015-1-14 21:03
Just heard from my dealer in the UK that all Inspires due for delivery this week have been returned  ...

Which dealer was it that mentioned this? Mine hasn't said anything about this to me so far.

I was hoping the IMU issues could be fixed via a Firmware update?

jamess3430 Posted at 2015-1-14 21:03
Just heard from my dealer in the UK that all Inspires due for delivery this week have been returned  ...

Oh no, I was really hopping this could be fixed with a firmware update.
Let's see what DJI has to say. I'm expecting an official response by the end of this week.

lindkold@gmail. Posted at 2015-1-14 19:33
Please update us if you get any response from DJI support.

I received an email from 'DJI after sales' overnight that includes a return form and a HK address. It appears to be up to me what I send back, however I will likely send everything in its original box.

I'm also going to call the tech support line for assistance as the Inspire won't return to travel mode for packing (I'm assuming there is a manual way to do it, but I don't want to cause further damage).

pauldean85@goog Posted at 2015-1-14 22:19
Which dealer was it that mentioned this? Mine hasn't said anything about this to me so far.

I was ...

Buzzflyer UK

shannon.goodwin Posted at 2015-1-14 22:32
I received an email from 'DJI after sales' overnight that includes a return form and a HK address. ...

There is no way I'm paying for shipping this thing to China.
They should just send a new unit and let us keep the baterry, controller and wreckage as a courtesy for all the trouble they gave us.

jamess3430 Posted at 2015-1-14 22:39
Buzzflyer UK

Thanks, just queried this with my dealer (Heliguy)

jleblond1@gmail Posted at 2015-1-14 11:14
kinda happy mine isnt here yet after reading this

I agree I don't think I'm ready to fly without getting more information.

So glad I cancled my order weeks ago, just so I can relax and and listen. YOU know, The preorder in my opinion was a bunch crap. DJI this is far from being ready as you so proudly announced.  Buyers  were saying, oh....well, we are the pioneers with this new drone, yata, yata, yata! So having a broke drone, preordered at that rate, with BS support, on going emails that 10 year olds are writing is not support is sad for all those who await in line once again to look at junk. So I ask, how's it feel to be a pioneer?  They should be paying the way to us to show them there disappointements.

jan@exploringim Posted at 2015-1-14 19:29
Great information, I see compass value well above your suggested level, typical around 1800? Shoul ...

Redo your compass calibration and following the steps in the manual to ensure accurate calibration. You should see better numbers. Compass calibration should be done where you will be flying, and anytime you fly in a new location. IMU calibration can be done elsewhere.