I am a brand new Phantom 3 Standard owner   YAY!

I recevied my new toy along with a spare battery this week and carefully unboxed everything and got ready to set it up following all the instructions I had carefully read and watched in video form during the wait for delivery.  I charged up both batteries, the remote and performed the firmware update before making my way to the local football field for my first flight.


At this point I hadn't seen or notived anything untoward.


In any case, I fired it all up ready for my first flight when I noticed a red warning in the DJI Go app on my iPhone saying "Battery Cell Broken", tapping that gave me this screen:




Switching to the other battery saw the problem go away and I had a successful flight.  Swapping back to the other battery saw the message come back... so it's definately not an error.

It's been suggest that I "try re-charging the battery", since it's currently fully charged that means running it down which has been suggested I do using the P3S with the propellers not installed.  I'm a little worries about overheating in this instance so maybe a low hover in the backyard is the safer option.  In any case, I will be running it down and charging it back up to see if that solved the problem or not.


Does anyone have any suggestions or alternatives I can try before trying to organise a replacement?

The battery is broken. It tells you to stop using the battery.  What makes you think continuing to fly on that battery is going to fix it?  Contact DJI and get a replacement ASAP.

Hello The_Hawk, this is a hardware issue. If you buy it from DJI online store directly, please get in touch with our tech support via support@dji.com and send it in.

I'm in Australia and bought it from an online retailer (and not DJI direct) and am waiting on contact from their service.  In the meantime I had contacted DJI support who suggested attempting to drain and re-charge the battery to see if it would recalibrate itself and/or reset the error??

Next time around I think maybe buying direct would be the way to go but this time I figured buying from a .com.au supplier would give me some local support, sadly I didn't read the fine print that said they are actually overseas based.  To be fair I can't say anything bad about them at this point, pricing was good and delivery was quick!  Now it's a matter of seeing how they handle support.

I'm new to the Phantom and I only asked the community the question in the hope that someone had some experience with this particular error and that it might be something simple I could fix/reset myself.

The_Hawk Posted at 2016-7-11 15:16
I'm in Australia and bought it from an online retailer (and not DJI direct) and am waiting on contac ...

It doesn't hurt to give it a try. If you buy it from a dealer, you can get in touch with them for the replacement.

As DJI support suggested I ran the battery down then charged it back up again, but still have the same error.  I also discovered the part of the settings menu that shows the individual cell voltages.  Total capacity seems low, the total voltage high and one of the cells is showing a lower voltage than the others.

Yeah, that flight battery sounds like burnt toast, too bad it had to be from a distant retailer and not someone much closer to home.
Anyway, I only wanted to reply to your thought about running the drone without props and it possibly overheating.
When I want to charge my RC & intelligent flight batteries or run the onboard flight SIM, I aways set the items like charger and batteries and/or RC & my two 100w chargers or my drone atop my tilted upward-facing double fan, and it keeps everything cool and safe from any warming effect. It just made complete and instant sense to me, that if the rotor blades can help cool the drone, then a good sttrong fan blowing directly up from below could do the same job. Perhaps even better. ;-)  This is also handy when ever you want to deep cycle your batteries, set the drone on the fan to run them down, cool...Get yourself a decent fan, and blow your troubles away. Hahaha


RedHotPoker

Hello!
I am getting same message. I just got my phantom 3 standard 4K from BB. Did fly 2 time seems to be ok. But this evening fully charged battery and got this message. What will be resolution.
Thank you

I'm currently in the middle of dealing with DJI support on the same "Battery Cell Broken" issue. (see http://forum.dji.com/thread-62885-1-1.html  if you want to follow the entire ordeal)

MY SUGGESTIONS:

1) Since these are new batteries take it easy on the first few flights.  Them may simply need to be conditioned.  Fully charge and then only fly until they are down to about 50% and then land.  Don't recharge until they have had a chance to cool.

2) If you battery is still having the "Battery Cell Broken" issue AND your battery is still within the warranty period (6 Months and Charge Cycle less than 200 Times) AND there is no physical damage then contact support to get an RMA.

3) Be prepared to answer the same questions multiple times! OR download and fill out this Repair Application Form and include it with your initial request to save some aggravation:  https://s3.amazonaws.com/dji-www/uploads/files/DJI+Global+Technical+Support+Form+For+End+Users+Edited.docx

You WILL need to fill out this form!

4) Finally, if your battery is NOT within the warranty period OR there is any swelling, punctures or visible damage -- don't waste your time or patience.  Just buy a new battery and toss the bad one by following safe disposal guidelines for lithium batteries, local hazerdous waste disposal, etc.

Thank you.
Some people say you can actually fully recharge and then charge again. Whats fully recharge means to 0 volts?
I did long press on battery and all lights are green and when its fully charged all light are off. Not sure what happened after 2 flights.
I might need to get spare battery.

a_savvin Posted at 2016-9-28 22:06
Thank you.
Some people say you can actually fully recharge and then charge again. Whats fully recha ...

You never want to discharge a LiPo cell past 3v - so for a P3/P4 battery the overall battery voltage should never be ambiently less than 12v total for any extended period of time. In-flight is fine as current draw will cause a voltage drop when the battery is under load but once the battery has come to rest it should always be over 3v per cell.

Also, a LiPo outputting 3.7v per cell at rest is effectively considered "empty".

For the OP: Be prepared to jump through hoops with DJI support getting a replacement. I sent screenshots and explanations to them on an TB47 (Inspire 1) with 3 dead cells that was less than 2 months old. Seems like a pretty cut and dry replacement situation...

Except now, per their request, I'm having to "provide a video demonstrating the problem" first. Unreal.

a_savvin Posted at 2016-9-28 10:06
Thank you.
Some people say you can actually fully recharge and then charge again. Whats fully recha ...

Never discharge to ZERO (0) volts.   You should drain the battery until you see about 8% in the Go App for a deep discharge.

DJI Support send me instruction to try steps firmware update again and recharge and discharge battery 2 times.
But they did not provide instructions how I can repeat update firmware ( initiate) since it was done few days ago during un boxing and initial setup.
Does anybody know how to initiate firmware update on DJI 3 Standard 4K again?
Thank you!

Now I can't restore or repeat update firmware on my DJI 3 Standard 4K. Since its now over wifi. I did go to app and clicked on right graduation icon. I see only current version of firmware, but there is no future or prior version is available. So DJI recommendations are not doable in my case. Guess what still back and force with support pictures emails and so on.

a_savvin Posted at 2016-9-29 02:56
DJI Support send me instruction to try steps firmware update again and recharge and discharge batter ...

Hi,could you please post a screenshot of your current firmware version?
And what's the issue with the battery?

Here we go!

I had a batter with 85 mV deviation cell-to-cell (Max is 70 mV) and i returned it to the vender (through Amazon) for replacement. Got the return authorization in one day.  The battery is the only thing keeping your bird in the sky, don't take a chance with it.  

After 2 discharging to 0% and charging back to 100% still message cell broken show up in app. Send back to support. Not sure whats taking so long replace brand new battery. I  understand if I got this issue after xx of flights. But I did only 2 and did not recharge battery right after my flights. I recently got hubsan and charger was broken, so I already got new charger for free.   

Finally got case## and UPS hope to send this week by broken battery.

Dear Customer,

Your product sent back qualifies for repair under warranty. Repair will be finished within three to five business days.

a_savvin Posted at 2016-10-18 10:11
Dear Customer,

Your product sent back qualifies for repair under warranty. Repair will be finishe ...

Many thanks for your update.
If you have any further query,please feel free to let me know.
By the way, you can click the "Reply" button, so I can see you're responding to me.

Received UPS package yesterday. Charged battery will do test fly once weather permitted!

HI all, I recently upgrade my firmware and found this issue in one of my battery. Did a deep drain down to 15% and charged it back up. The error is gone. Wondering if anyone experience this one off issue  ?

erk Posted at 2017-10-28 08:43
HI all, I recently upgrade my firmware and found this issue in one of my battery. Did a deep drain down to 15% and charged it back up. The error is gone. Wondering if anyone experience this one off issue  ?

No experience myself with this but if i were you i would give it shot more but go al way down to 7-8% before recharging.
Also check the info page in app with individual cell informaion and make sure all cells are almost identical charged.

DJI Mindy Posted at 2016-10-17 20:15
Many thanks for your update.
If you have any further query,please feel free to let me know.
By the way,you can click the "Reply" button, so I can see you're responding to me.

dear mindy:  With Ins2 I experienced same problem with one of my paired batteries. Cell Broken etc. I followed DJI instructions to discharge to 5% then recharge. Problem persists.  Then with DJI tek, i went thru the dance. Deleting GoAp4 and re-install. Upgraded Firmware on bird. etc etc.  No change.

This battery has less than 10 flights.Bought  February 2017.  More than 6 months but certainly not over used. Yet DJI will not replace as its unnecessarily strict with  6 months warranty for bats.  That's nuts when the number of flights is very low.  The support folks said, yes I could send it back but there would be "some charges." That's vague. Then they said, charge would likely be same as buying a new one. That too is nuts. Any help here?

shipshooter Posted at 2017-10-31 02:13
dear mindy:  With Ins2 I experienced same problem with one of my paired batteries. Cell Broken etc. I followed DJI instructions to discharge to 5% then recharge. Problem persists.  Then with DJI tek, i went thru the dance. Deleting GoAp4 and re-install. Upgraded Firmware on bird. etc etc.  No change.

This battery has less than 10 flights.Bought  February 2017.  More than 6 months but certainly not over used. Yet DJI will not replace as its unnecessarily strict with  6 months warranty for bats.  That's nuts when the number of flights is very low.  The support folks said, yes I could send it back but there would be "some charges." That's vague. Then they said, charge would likely be same as buying a new one. That too is nuts. Any help here?

I'm so sorry to hear the the battery cell broken.
The warranty period of Inspire 2 battery is 6 Months and Charge Cycle less than 200 Times. If the warranty has been expired, I would suggest to purchase a new one.
Battery should be taken good care of especially should be well storaged, please read more details about how to maintenance the battery.

I know you have a lot of replies on your misfortune, so I won't make this a long one. I have been down your path too, and have had a bad experience with the "Bad-Cell". You can try the several methods to revive it, but if all else fails, DON'T fly with it. It may be hard to discard it since you just bought your phantom, but if nothing else keep it around to use it for simulation time, making adjustments or whatever while your phantom is sitting on your kitchen table and not in the air. Bad things will happen if you try to fly with it and it decides to give up. It is not worth it. I don't think this happens a lot, but it does on occasion. Just one of those things.

RicardoGray Posted at 2017-10-31 04:54
I know you have a lot of replies on your misfortune, so I won't make this a long one. I have been down your path too, and have had a bad experience with the "Bad-Cell". You can try the several methods to revive it, but if all else fails, DON'T fly with it. It may be hard to discard it since you just bought your phantom, but if nothing else keep it around to use it for simulation time, making adjustments or whatever while your phantom is sitting on your kitchen table and not in the air. Bad things will happen if you try to fly with it and it decides to give up. It is not worth it. I don't think this happens a lot, but it does on occasion. Just one of those things.

101% I agree.

Battery is unreliable - so relegate to a use that does not risk loss or damage.

With all my models / LiPo's - I keep the LiPo's that are unsuited to flight use for bench test / powering up for settings / updates / other non-flight stuff that does not demand high power.
No need to use a good flight battery ...

Nigel

Hi all,
I having the same issue with a battery that unfortunately had a crash... The battery survived more or less (2 tiny damage points are vsible, but the grey cover protected the cells, and they haven't got damage), and got damage only the body and the micro-switch, but that i replaced.
So you guys say hat should i not use the battery? It has only 37 charges, but it wasn't charged like a year and half... that could also be a problem?
I wanted to buy a new battery shell from ebay (sory, i'm not allowed to insert link...), but if you say that is not safe to use this battery, then i rather buy another one...

Iv'e had a dodgy battery for a while, here's my post on it.. https://forum.dji.com/thread-168009-1-1.html