So I updated my Phantom 3 Advanced from v1.8.80 to the latest Firmware  v1.9.60 around 15 days ago or so I updated both my batteries also.

  

I also updated the DJI_GO app on my IPad Mini 3 to version 2.8.4 also at this time.

  

  

On my first flight after updating I had lots of issues with “Weak Image Transmission Signal”, constantly happening. I have never had this problem on v1.8.80. The image transmission continuously cut in and out over a 20min period, thus stopping my video recording each time and deeming the flight useless.Twice I almost lost my drone but I was lucky enough that it flew back to me and I regained transmission signal and landed. The satellite signal count was always very high but watching the remote transmission symbol on the DJ_GO app you could see the signal constantly dropping and gaining.

  

  

I flew it 3 more times after this event as I thought the issue may have been caused by interference where I was flying but each time I had the same experience-  losing “Image Transmission signal” when the Phantom was no more than 100’ away from me. It was at this point that I realised that this was an issue caused by the firmware update.

  

I was not sure what the issue was I searched YouTube and this forum and discovered many other people experiencing the exact same issue with the v1.9.60 firmware update.Only after reading this Forum did I discover that if your drone works fine on current firmware – do not update. I was always under the impression that firmware updates improve your device and not cause it issues. Are these updates not truly tested on multiply devices before release?

  

I decided to downgrade to v1.8.80 last night and then took the phantom out for a flight but yet again I am having the exact same issue. Has v1.9.60 messed up my phantom? DJI do not seem to be acknowledging that this firmware has caused an issue.

  

  

I don’t even want to fly my phantom anymore if I constantly have the worry of losing it due to a firmware upgrade affecting it.

  

  

DJI you need to resolve this ASAP, I am not paying to ship my phantom to a repair centre when this is clearly an issue caused by your firmware upgrade. DJI should pay the bill, my drone is only a few months old and it’s my baby, I take such good care of it.

  

Judging on the copious amounts of people reporting the same issue on this forum and also on YouTube, it is clear to see your update has caused widespread issues with everyone’s Phantom. I would think DJI are reluctant to admit this mistake as it could be very costly for them, but at least make it known that the v1.9.60 firmware update has issues and it should be removed from the download page.

  

  

DJI what are you going to do about this?

  

  

I am trying to obtain my Flight logs at the moment to upload for you guys, but doing this for the first time on a mac is proving difficult.I should have the logs for flying before update/issues, after update/with issues, after downgrade/still with issues.

Can someone take a look at my last few flight log details and advise please.Link is in my dropbox below

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/9b85m ... HpBCBpo3vQOrMa?dl=0

Here is the flight record video which corresponds with FLY107.DAT

https://vid.me/6HrT

During this very short flight which i did around an hour ago, I lost Image Transmission Several times, Return to Home engaged and flew back and I manually landed it.

Hi, if your P3A loses signal at 100 meters, then there's some issue with the drone. I would suggest you contact support@dji.com and send your drone for repair. The shipping and repair cost would be covered by DJI under warranty.

Sorry for the inconvenience, shaneoc. Have you tried to link your drone with other RC? Actually the firmware has nothing to do with the range.

I'm having similar problems as discussed in another thread. Someone has suggested it could be a chip overheating in the gimbal as a result of missing/bad contact with heat sink

DJI-H.C Posted at 2016-7-27 10:11
Hi, if your P3A loses signal at 100 meters, then there's some issue with the drone. I would suggest  ...

Of course there's some "issue" with the drone!
Did you read his posts?
There wasn't an "issue" with his drone until the firmware update!

DrawsWithLight. Posted at 2016-7-27 07:09
I'm having similar problems as discussed in another thread. Someone has suggested it could be a chip ...

I think that post was talking about video lagging

pigolato Posted at 2016-7-27 07:16
Of course there's some "issue" with the drone!
Did you read his posts?
There wasn't an "issue" w ...

I actually do not believe it's because of the firmware, because flashing back the previous firmware should solve the issue, which is not the case.

It can be a coincidence in time, some hardware error caused the short distance just after he flashed new firmware.

As DJI Paladin suggested...try re-linking the RC with the quadcopter to ensure a good wireless connection.

DJI-Paladin Posted at 2016-7-27 17:16
Sorry for the inconvenience, shaneoc. Have you tried to link your drone with other RC? Actually the  ...

I have relinked my drone after each update or downgrade, I dont have another RC to link to the drone.
If it has nothing to do with the firmware, why are so many people experiencing the same thing after updating?Its the only explanation.

Can you review my .dat files please.

pigolato Posted at 2016-7-27 19:16
Of course there's some "issue" with the drone!
Did you read his posts?
There wasn't an "issue" w ...

Thank you at least someone else believes it was the upgrade, why is dji still ignoring the issue.There is so many people on here with the exact same problem.

DJI-H.C Posted at 2016-7-27 19:26
I actually do not believe it's because of the firmware, because flashing back the previous firmwar ...

Hardware error caused by the new firmware? So basically you are telling me that the hardware issue was caused by the firmware update.Because it was all sweet before i updating and then the issues started to happen.

Contact support and send the aircraft in. You can call 818-235-0789 or email support.us@dji.com
If anything suggested is not helping then the aircraft will need to be repaired.
And yes for warranty work, your shipping from Canada will be covered both ways.

Update: DJI Support advised that Firmware may have caused Hardware issue. Sending it to California tomorrow for repair under warranty. Nice that DJI are taking responsibility.

Interesting to hear.

I thought, in general, for any device (not just DJI)

Firmware usually do not cause hardware failures, unless it causes some bad software loop which may exceed the mechanical limitations of some hardware module.  For example, let's say a firmware module instructs the gimbal to rotate 360 degress in 1 second and it does this for a few minutes, it may result in a mechanical hardware failure.  But I have never experienced firmware (or any software update in general) which caused a hardware failure for video modules.  These are all digital devices now (they accept 1,0).  

The only possible reason I can think of is if they have drivers installed in CMOS (non volatile memory), these can be messed up if the firmware did not complete correctly. But re-doing the firmware should correct it.  

I am very curious to hear the results.  Please keep us posted.

Send it back so that DJI can apply the heat paste to one of the components....

DJI-Ken Posted at 2016-7-29 04:06
if you lost video after a update then somehow your video transmission module got corrupted. Even i ...

Ken,

There is a theme here that keeps coming up between firmware upgrades and the same Video Transmission Module going back several iterations of new firmware.  I've followed Donnie's advice from very early on and always have the RC off when updating the aircraft, but I think it's a fair statement that with each of the more recent FW updates we're seeing these Video Transmission Module failures crop up.  I don't think it's coincidence or always a user error.  The incident rate just seems too frequent (perhaps not in comparison to the successful upgrades but still there).  I shouldn't have to hold my breath with each upgrade but I'll bet there are a lot of users out there who don't upgrade or do "hold their breath".  Just sayin' ..  :-(

UCLABruins Posted at 2016-7-29 07:04
Send it back so that DJI can apply the heat paste to one of the components....

When the hidden files from the SD card shows module 8 and 15 device not detected (no video) the aircraft gets sent back to DJI and it's repaired with new parts. Nothing to do with thermal paste.Someone on another thread said they cured no video signal by removing and reinserting the SD card. Two users have posted that but I don't think that is the issue.

imagesbyjas Posted at 2016-7-29 09:39
Ken,

There is a theme here that keeps coming up between firmware upgrades and the same Video Tran ...

If you update and then have no video (module 8 & 15 Device Not Detected) that is not a user error. That is why it will be covered under warranty even if there is no warranty left on the aircraft.

DJI-Ken Posted at 2016-7-28 22:40
When the hidden files from the SD card shows module 8 and 15 device not detected (no video) the air ...

I was one of the users that had Perfect success by removing the SDCard  and then start the Phantom up with no card and Video came back perfectly, then I powered off again reinserted the SDCard and video was back.
I'm also thinking that the issue could be related to doing the battery update and not allowing sufficient time.
All I know is I had no video after update, then video came back after doing what I did..

DJI-Ken Posted at 2016-7-29 10:40
When the hidden files from the SD card shows module 8 and 15 device not detected (no video) the air ...

Ken,

Totally agree..  My point was that I think I recall these types of comments and lines 0800 and 1500 back with 1.7!  There just seems to be this connection (at times) of something about firmware upgrades and the module.  I don't proclaim to have any notion of a reason (other than the firmware having to use that module - at least I think the micro SD card is there - to actually talk to the rest of the aircraft) ...  If that is the case, perhaps there is some reason/connection/set of circumstances with the process..

Can anyone tell me, do i return just the drone to DJI or do I need to send batteries and remote also? I assume just the drone and remote yes?

Planning to ship this tomorrow would appreciate a quick answer.

Shaneoc, a week ago, I sent the body and controller in. No battery. They unpacked it inspected it and invoiced me all the day after it arrived. It's covered under warranty and has a repair ETA of 2 days.

Kudos to the op and dji reps on this thread. After hours of reading elsewhere, this thread finally told me all I needed to know to diagnose it and be confident that dji would understand the problem and fix it for free.

shaneoc Posted at 2016-7-27 05:26
I have relinked my drone after each update or downgrade, I dont have another RC to link to the drone.
If it has nothing to do with the firmware, why are so many people experiencing the same thing after updating?Its the only explanation.

It's definitely the firmware causing hardware failures.

DJI-Ken Posted at 2016-7-28 12:06
if you lost video after a update then somehow your video transmission module got corrupted. Even if the aircraft is out of warranty, DJI will still repair it at no charge as long as there's no physical damage.

This is what happened to me, after the latest update. Is there no way to fix a "corrupted" video transmission module? Why does this keep happening to so many people? I would like to repair mine if possible, but I need to leave for France in about a week. Is it possible for DJI to repair it in that time? Also, I have no warranty anymore, but DJI will still repair this at no cost? How do I get this rolling, so I can get back in the air.

Pgregory Posted at 2017-4-9 11:27
This is what happened to me, after the latest update. Is there no way to fix a "corrupted" video transmission module? Why does this keep happening to so many people? I would like to repair mine if possible, but I need to leave for France in about a week. Is it possible for DJI to repair it in that time? Also, I have no warranty anymore, but DJI will still repair this at no cost? How do I get this rolling, so I can get back in the air.

With shipping and repair time, it will take longer than a week until it's arrived back at your house.
Here is the link to start the RMA process.
http://www.dji.com/support

DJI-Ken Posted at 2017-4-10 07:54
With shipping and repair time, it will take longer than a week until it's arrived back at your house.
Here is the link to start the RMA process.
http://www.dji.com/support

Hello, I need a clear answer on this. DJI Mindi just said that if my drone is not under warranty, that I would be charged for the repair. Obviously, as you have noted, I should not be charged for the repair. Can I get a clear answer on this? I am NOT paying to fix a DJI problem...

shaneoc Posted at 2016-7-27 05:26
I have relinked my drone after each update or downgrade, I dont have another RC to link to the drone.
If it has nothing to do with the firmware, why are so many people experiencing the same thing after updating?Its the only explanation.

It absolutely 100% is a result of the firmware.

Pgregory Posted at 2017-4-10 11:04
Hello, I need a clear answer on this. DJI Mindi just said that if my drone is not under warranty, that I would be charged for the repair. Obviously, as you have noted, I should not be charged for the repair. Can I get a clear answer on this? I am NOT paying to fix a DJI problem...

I can tell you the repair is going to take more than a week from when you send it in until you receive it back so there's no way you're going to send it out and have it back in a week.
And you said as I noted, you should not be charged for the repair. I did not say that and if the aircraft is out of warranty then you would be charged for the repair.

DJI-Ken Posted at 2017-4-10 11:25
I can tell you the repair is going to take more than a week from when you send it in until you receive it back so there's no way you're going to send it out and have it back in a week.
And you said as I noted, you should not be charged for the repair. I did not say that and if the aircraft is out of warranty then you would be charged for the repair.

Yes, you did. Can you not read your post above? If not, here it is:

"If you update and then have no video (module 8 & 15 Device Not Detected) that is not a user error. That is why it will be covered under warranty even if there is no warranty left on the aircraft."

DJI-Ken Posted at 2017-4-10 11:25
I can tell you the repair is going to take more than a week from when you send it in until you receive it back so there's no way you're going to send it out and have it back in a week.
And you said as I noted, you should not be charged for the repair. I did not say that and if the aircraft is out of warranty then you would be charged for the repair.

Okay, I just spent hours waiting on the phone and was disconnected, waited through 100 + people on chat, and was disconnected.

Here is all the info I could gather:

1.) Repair services determines whether or not the repair is free.
2.) The fault is definitely not my own, and is caused by faulty firmware screwing up the image transmission module.
3.) Sending it to DJI without confirmation that the repair will be free is essentially a waste of time, as DJI will charge per hour (65) for assessment if you refuse to repair after a quote.

So, Ken, if you can, could you please contact the repair department and get a clear, 100%, concise answer on this? There are multiple reports of customers having this done for free, and contrary to your last post, you yourself said that it would be repaired as it is not a user error and is clearly DJI's fault.

What next?

Phil

Pgregory Posted at 2017-4-10 12:45
Okay, I just spent hours waiting on the phone and was disconnected, waited through 100 + people on chat, and was disconnected.

Here is all the info I could gather:

OK, I apologize for that. That post was almost a year ago.
I am sorry about that.And if you send it in for repair and do not want to pay, then will just send it back to you unrepaired. You will pay labor if you have it repaired.

DJI-Ken Posted at 2017-4-10 12:46
OK, I apologize for that. That post was almost a year ago.
I am sorry about that.And if you send it in for repair and do not want to pay, then will just send it back to you unrepaired. You will pay labor if you have it repaired.

So... it was over a year ago. So what? Why do I have to pay for repairs that were caused by a defect that was known about a year ago - and LONGER than that? Are you telling me that, 1 year ago DJI admitted that this was their fault and would repair it, but now, for no reason, they decided they will NOT repair something that they have already admitted is 100% their fault? Does that make ANY sense to you?

DJI-Ken Posted at 2017-4-10 12:46
OK, I apologize for that. That post was almost a year ago.
I am sorry about that.And if you send it in for repair and do not want to pay, then will just send it back to you unrepaired. You will pay labor if you have it repaired.

So, it seems obvious how this is caused, and I could probably fix it here if:

1.) You give me someway to downgrade firmware successfully past 1 or 2 FW versions OR
2.) Give me a way to completely wipe all firmware and start fresh.

It could be that the image transmission module is actually corrupted and damaged by the FW, but more than likely it is just poor coding. When not updating incrementally, there is a much higher chance of this corruption. What happens is that the firmware is written to all but some modules, and in most cases it is the image transmission module. Essentially, my drone IS updating each time I try, but it is not updating the image transmission module. This leaves my module at where it started (I think 1.1.5) but the rest of my drone somewhere else, and thus they cannot communicate. This is caused by poor programming. The fix would be to roll back the firmware incrementally all the way back to the very first update (where the module is stuck) and to then update from there, once all modules are on the same firmware. This is impossible for me to do currently, because (another poor design) the FW disallows downgrading past 1 or 2 downgrades. I've even tried forcing it manually and with the file on the SD card, but to no avail. I can downgrade to 1.3.2, but no further. Since the problem occurred at 1.1.5, I can't roll back far enough to sync everything and get it working.

The reason I am frustrated is because I had to find this out myself, by checking OTHER forums. The information here is useless. DJI's response seems to be to send it in for repairs. Sure, that's good for DJI, because you will milk me for cash, but are they really "repairing" any hardware, or is there a software fix for this? If there is a software fix, it is RIDICULOUS and borderline criminal that DJI is charging repair fees rather than release a simple FW or file to roll back, and if there is NOT a software fix, it is ridiculous because it means that DJI is incompetent / and or lazy, and would rather rip out hardware and replace it, rather than diagnose the problem and fix it.

In any case, Ken, unless you have more information on how to successfully downgrade COMPLETELY (wipe all firmware and start fresh) from here, I'll have to send it in, but what I would like now from DJi is an estimate of cost for repairing the image transmission module, before I send it. If it is anywhere near 100 USD, I'll simply be throwing this in the trash, or flying without image. If it is cheap and affordable, I'll repair it.

Please give me a quote for what I can expect to spend on this problem that was caused by DJI.

DJI-Ken Posted at 2017-4-10 12:46
OK, I apologize for that. That post was almost a year ago.
I am sorry about that.And if you send it in for repair and do not want to pay, then will just send it back to you unrepaired. You will pay labor if you have it repaired.

Okay Ken, please also explain this to me:

"No service fee will be charged for damage cuased by manufacturing-related product defects or replacement under warranty." ("Caused" is misspelled by the way).

This is 100% "manufacturing-related product defects", as you yourself and many others have pointed out, and you repaired it in the past for this very reason. Why the change? This seems like deplorable business practice, and really not fair to people like me who are still experiencing this exact problem years after it was discovered. The repair should be FREE, and I'm sure DJI knows it.

In any case, if DJI refuses to do the right thing and I am forced to pay, it looks like, according to the site, I can expect to pay 130 (Phantom repair fee) and 65 / hour for any additional parts (if they decide to repair the RC) and pay for parts (90+ dollars for the module). Is this a fair estimate? So, contrary to what other people said on these forums when I quoted around 350, it looks like it would be around that, with shipping and handling. Does that sound right? If not, please correct me. If it IS correct, this drone will be going in the trash. If I can get it repaired much cheaper, I'll send it in.

Please advise.

Pgregory Posted at 2017-4-10 21:01
Okay Ken, please also explain this to me:

"No service fee will be charged for damage cuased by manufacturing-related product defects or replacement under warranty." ("Caused" is misspelled by the way).

Usually a camera change resolves it. If not then it's the OFDM module.
You can get your own camera and change it out and it should work. Then if not change the OFDM and it will work.
I am sorry that this has happened.
Here is the link to DJI's repair prices. https://repair.dji.com/en/SelfRepair/PriceQuery
And software will not fix it as when this happens and the aircraft come in for repair a camera change most always resolves it, and if not then changing the ODFM work.

DJI-Ken Posted at 2016-7-28 18:41
If you update and then have no video (module 8 & 15 Device Not Detected) that is not a user error. That is why it will be covered under warranty even if there is no warranty left on the aircraft.

Hello Ken
I know these thread is a little old but I'm having the same problem and DJI wants  $384 to replace the 2 boards that is not being detached. I've been messaging  Jake & Lilian, an now Myra.

Phxbird57 Posted at 2017-5-17 11:03
Hello Ken
I know these thread is a little old but I'm having the same problem and DJI wants  $384 to replace the 2 boards that is not being detached. I've been messaging  Jake & Lilian, an now Myra.

If the aircraft is out of warranty, then I believe it's a customer paid repair.

DJI-Ken Posted at 2017-5-17 11:08
If the aircraft is out of warranty, then I believe it's a customer paid repair.

thanks Ken was able to get someone to help also.