I updated to the latest firmware on Thursday June 16th night.... Friday I had a good nominal flight around the forest and then around the lake all was ok . Saturday I took it for another flight around 8pm (sunset here is at 9pm ) flew into the back forest at 200 feet altitude , then back over my house over my boat dock (as usual) and out only 400 feet , no warnings whatsoever when all of a sudden at minute 2 into the flight the copter at 250 feet went out of control completely and started spirling down , watching (terrified) I saw the last second or so my boatdock was upside down and the copter is now resting 80 feet under the water 400 feet out from shore . I believe the new firmware had alot to do with this , I even uploaded the log in the Ipad to healthydrones.com  and the only abnormality seems to be that cell number 4 was at 3.472 volts at it's lowest at the time of the crash , the other cells were 3.6 volts , the battery at the time of the crash was at 80% charged and not a warning . The sound from the P3 just at crash time was horrible as it went completely crazy . It's a year exactly and less than 70 flights .. Any one else experiencing potentially catastrophic issues with ver 1.9.06 ?   Is there any warranty for this type of an issue ? Any help will be appreciated ...Howard

sorry for your loss brother. all these accidents happening are just scaring me and making me not want to update at all. TBH its me making me fear flying altogether.

sergio.go Posted at 2016-6-19 12:05
sorry for your loss brother. all these accidents happening are just scaring me and making me not wan ...

When you refer to äll these accidents"" do you mean there are others having serious problems with 1.9.06??

ve2aed Posted at 2016-6-19 16:26
When you refer to äll these accidents"" do you mean there are others having serious problems with ...

yes sir. from what I have read

Unfortunately, this could also be a case of a bird attack.   It happens often.   I've even had large birds go after my Phantoms.
Fortunately for me, I almost always stay within line of sight so I was able to see the attacking birds and maneuver away from them.

Many people don't want to believe this is what happened, espceically since warranty won't cover that, but sometimes a frame even captures an image of the animal.

That said, hopefully you'll get a free warranty replacement.

sergio.go Posted at 2016-6-20 00:05
sorry for your loss brother. all these accidents happening are just scaring me and making me not wan ...

There is no reason to unless you are updating to correct a problem or can't do without a feature or function provided by updates.

I'm still on and will remain on 1.3.2

Flies fantastic.  There is absolutely no reason for me to update.

If I were to use it for commercial purposes, there may be a clause somewhere in the FAA regs that requires updating but I'm not sure.  I think I read something to that effect.

Cessna172 Posted at 2016-6-19 18:36
There is no reason to unless you are updating to correct a problem or can't do without a feature o ...

very interesting about the FAA and regulations. I may just wait out for the next update and see what users say about it cause I do plan on using my drone for commercial purposes as well. although I missed that so thanks for letting me know, I had no idea

Cessna172 Posted at 2016-6-20 08:36
There is no reason to unless you are updating to correct a problem or can't do without a feature o ...

'If I were to use it for commercial purposes, there may be a clause somewhere in the FAA regs that requires updating but I'm not sure.  I think I read something to that effect.'

No, there is nothing to that effect, the FAA has no control over what software/firmware you use.

I got the Phantom 3 Advanced yesterday and I updated the firmware to 1.9.06. This morning I charged the batteries and I went outside to fly it. I opened up the DJI GO App and connected it to the Phantom. I flew the drone up to around 40 feet when the screen read Aircraft disconnected. I repeated the take off after Returning it to Home but it still wouldn't work. I think there is a problem with the new firmware.

If you want to learn from the experience and be able to avoid similar occurrences:

Go to http://www.phantomhelp.com/LogViewer/Upload/
Follow the instructions to upload your flight record.

Come back and post a link to the report it provides and someone might be able to analyse it and give you an understanding of the cause of the incident.

Sorry to hear about losing the P3. I saw a hack of a guy putting pieces of pool noodles on each landing gear when he flies over water just in case.

labroides@yahoo Posted at 2016-6-19 21:12
If you want to learn from the experience and be able to avoid similar occurrences:

Go to http://www ...

Thank you for this information , as you can see I flew for 2 minutes and 23 seconds total here is a link to the data analysis , doesn't look like a bird to me looks like a defective battery  ,however the radio always indicated battery above 80 % I believe its the firmware at least something failed to report a problem to me . Please let me know what you guys think of this crash into a lake data .  Thank you hope DJI is easy to get along with .

Howard

http://www.phantomhelp.com/LogViewer/6FSV380G1RML2YL7NN9Z/

Contact DJI support for help

hungdang Posted at 2016-6-19 23:10
Contact DJI support for help

Thank you , is there a fast track phone number to get this problem resolved ? I don''t want to get transfered to to many departments ..Howard

You need to contact DJI support in your case.

From my point of view, it is relatively rare for a drone to just fail and drop, except when a rotor fails or a propeller flies away, which you can tell from the flying record.  I doubt a firmware update can cause this.

Hope it's a failed battery or rotor, so the DJI will cover the replacement.

huntcool001@gma Posted at 2016-6-20 11:43
You need to contact DJI support in your case.

From my point of view, it is relatively rare for a dr ...

Sorry for the loss. The post say P3 Pro but the firmware update # is wrong. I wonder if the wrong firmware was loaded or is the Pro an advanced.

I have the Pro and have updated to 1.9.60 and there is no problem.

huntcool001@gma Posted at 2016-6-19 23:43
You need to contact DJI support in your case.

From my point of view, it is relatively rare for a dr ...

I don't know if you had a look at the link with my data of that flight but seems to me that a battery showing all 4 cells dropping to below 13 volts from 15.2 means that this battery can't handle the load and has gone "high impedance " under load , have a look at the 4 cells during the 2min flight , especially at the end . If a propeller did come off this would not be the case .

skipilot1 Posted at 2016-6-20 00:10
Sorry for the loss. The post say P3 Pro but the firmware update # is wrong. I wonder if the wrong  ...

yes it's 1.9.60

I'm curious as to why you seem so convinced it was the update that caused the crash. I can easily think of at least a dozen other things that could have more been a factor than an update. How would an update cause a perfectly calibrated and signal locked in drone, to suddenly lose contact and power and just crash? I'm not making the connection. I agree with the poster above that said if all pre flight requirements are met, calibration, battery, mobile device, remote controller all fully charged, firmware updated, unit clean and undamaged, Home point recorded, Safe to Fly green zone indicated on mobile device, it is extremely rare for the drone to just simply drop from the air and crash. Not saying it cannot happen, but these machines have undergone RIGOROUS research and testing. If contact is lost, the unit can self initiate Return To Home, or hover awaiting further instructions.

If the drone was flying and suddenly lost power and dropped, I would think the main culprit would be what supplies the power: your battery. What connection that would have to an update is what mystifies me. If the propellors stop due to loss of power from the battery, there is no lift and lift is what keeps the unit up.

I would venture that the vast majority of crashes and flyaways are due to a lot of other factors besides updates or the machine simply malfunctioning. I know when I crashed, it was primarily because I was sooo anxious to get up in the air that I completely forgot to check my mobile device flight info before I took off. Not saying at all this was your fault, but I can attest from personal experience if all those pre flight requirments were met and you can prove so in your flight logs, DJI should repair the unit free of charge or make you an offer if it was lost.

Cessna172 Posted at 2016-6-19 23:36
There is no reason to unless you are updating to correct a problem or can't do without a feature o ...

Hi cessna...
Me too i stick with "if a FW works well,never update unless there is a function introduced in a new release you want".
But in my case a few weeks ago i had a problem with RC not working and the app told ,there were an update needed.
i HAD TO UP DATE to 1.8 fw,mine tablet never connect to internet because i do not want app self up date(i unflagged the self updating on app manager over dji)i use it only for fly purpose ,but copter seems to know there were a new fw and asked me to up-grade...
So how can you avoid the system know when up grade????
I can imagine this question make you laugh...but mine seems to have a proper intelligence..

There is no evidence here to blame the firmware. You had a perfectly normal flight on Friday after the update.  Looking at the facts, you appear to have a normal flight on Saturday as well until the catastrophic failure.  What that is is yet to be determined.  Analyzing the data at the end of the flight shows it spinning and spiraling into the water as described.  Telemetry was still being received during the fall so the battery was still operating and the aircraft was still transmitting data.  Loss of GPS connection during a tumble is typical.  The battery and aircraft did not shut down.  I can see very little positional or attitude input from your controller during the fall which was an erratic spiral.

Why did it fall?  As suggested earlier, it may have been a birdstrike.  You were flying FPV from your description and could have missed such an event or even seen the threat.  A propeller could have failed or flown off.  It could have been struck by something falling from space or shot down from the ground.  Without retrieving the aircraft and examining it, you can't know.

What I saw from the logs was a typical death spiral at the end.  Typically the aircraft in these conditions will spin up all motors very hard and try to right itself and regain stability.  This explains any horrible sounds you will have heard and severe battery depletion at that time.  Unfortunately 200-odd feet is not a lot of height to try and regain control, especially if you have lost a propeller.   The battery actually started the flight at around 4.25V per cell or 17V, higher than the nominal 15.2V rating of the battery (did this just come off the charger?).  It quickly stabilizes at 3.8V per cell (the correct nominal voltage) during flight.  The only noticeable change is in the last few seconds of its flight, going from 3.75v to 3.25v rapidly over 10 seconds before the data stops.  Big discharges like this probably aren't good for the battery, but they can handle discharges like this in short bursts and infrequently without ill effect. Again, there is no evidence of the battery shutting down to protect itself as the fall and tumble are recorded perfectly as the data was transmitted to the controller and logged.

Unless you recover the aircraft and interrogate its black box recorder, or find some other physical evidence, you will be speculating forever as to what has happened.  As this is likely to be "natural causes" I doubt it would be a warranty issue unless there is something to indicate a failure or proof that materials failed in flight or that it is a software issue.

Were you recording video during the flight?  If so can you upload the preview footage from your mobile device?  Often there are visual clues that can be examined to offer an explanation.  Having the aircraft tumble end over end and be inverted is clearly abnormal and something that can't be achieved unless it was struck and/or lost a prop.

Sorry for your loss, Howard.But the firmware has nothing to do with crash or fly-away issue. I'd suggest you to get in touch with our US tech support and sync your flight record via DJI Go app. Here is the contact information.

pgrover516 Posted at 2016-6-20 09:33
the 1.9 firmware wiped out my video feed on my P3A, after much work I finally got the 1.8 firmware b ...

What're your camera settings? Could you upload your original files (DNG or JPG) to dropbox and post the link here?

The Phantom DJ Posted at 2016-6-20 13:47
I'm curious as to why you seem so convinced it was the update that caused the crash. I can easily th ...

Always use a pre-flight check list. If you checked the battery info and info on the cells it may have alerted you to something.

Sorry to hear of your loss, Was this the same battery as your previous flight and do you have the flight log for the first fight to compare?
I have done some scuba diving, if I was in the USA I be glad to help you retrieve it..
Regards From the UK

pgrover516 Posted at 2016-6-22 13:14
the jpgs are fine it's video that is full of noise no matter the settings, it happens on the live  ...

The latest firmware doesn't change anything on the camera. Could you post an original file dropbox link here?

ve2aed Posted at 2016-6-20 10:28
Thank you for this information , as you can see I flew for 2 minutes and 23 seconds total here is a ...

Did you get on to DJI about this one?
I don't see problems with the battery but I see a bunch of the ominous speed error warnings as your Phantom goes out of control.
I think this case is a good one to refer to DJI.
Upload your flight record from the app (click on the cloud icon)
Then go to: http://www.dji.com/support/product/phantom-3-pro
Click on the online support link and see how you go.

Sorry to hear you lost your bird. I feel your pain big time. I lost mine 10 days ago, lost signal did not return home, haven't seen it since. Check my battery details and one of my cells was low same as yours!! Four minutes into flight and gone. DJI will not replace under warranty because I cant prove it was a malfunction without having the aircraft. Im still looking for the fu%$king thing!!!. Good luck.

pgrover516 Posted at 2016-6-23 09:06
I managed to get my full video back ( though still full of noise) by going back to 1.8 firmware af ...

I think there is something wrong with the camera board or FPC cable and I'd suggest you to get in touch with our US tech support and send your aircraft to our service center for diagnosis.  Here is the contact information:

i think you lost a prop