This is my first Dji drone. After watching multiple videos on YouTube and reading reviews I chose the Phantom 4 based on that and my intent for commercial use. So I order a bundle from a site that also got a great review from one of the videos I watched . I received it last Tuesday 8/23/2016 and everything came packed in the nice travel case that was part of the bundle. I did not however get the original Dji packaging which I was disappointed at first but figured it didn't matter until now that I realize I may need it if it needs repairs because I'm not going to ship it with the travel case. That's another issue that I need to deal with the company I bought it from. I paid for it, I should have it.
As suggested, between work and personal stuff I read the manual from front to back and it takes me until Friday 8/26/2016. 3 days. So my plans for the weekend were to start practicing with the drone but first I will get used to the controls and operations as much as possible in simulator mode which was also suggested. Cool! I get home from work on Friday, take the dog out for his run and then set everything up leaving the props off and connecting my iPad to the controller. I have freshly charged everything. I turn everything on and the first thing I notice is that the screen keeps fluctuating with the message "No Image Transmission Signal". I didn't think anything of it because I figured it's just because I need to update the firmware. That's when it all began. I chose to use my PC because in one of the videos I watched the reviewer said it was a reliable way to do it as opposed to the in app method. So I download Dji Assistant 2 and the drivers and start the process. Cool, everything's going fine. Then at 67 percent I get a message saying that the update failed and to restart. I do. Now it won't go at all. I try 3 or 4 more times with the same result and then move to my wife's MacBook Pro. I get the same result so then I move to doing everything in the app. Still no success. I then call Dji support and I get a person that I can barely understand that clearly had no knowledge of the product because every single question I asked her she puts my on hold and has to go ask someone. The first thing she tells me is to try another Sd card. I tell her that I don't have another compatible card in my house and it doesn't make sense to me because this is brand new and it is the card it came with. I asked if the firmware is stored on the card because that just didn't make sense. She didn't know and had to ask but she did tell me yes. Even though I am not computer/hardware illiterate I do reformat the card on the computer to clear it and then pop it back in to format it with the drone. Well guess what.....I can't format the card because now I get a message "CANNOT FORMAT SD CARD AS CAMERA IS BUSY" even though it is just sitting there on the floor. WTF! Now the Dji person is telling me I need to ship it back. I tell her it is brand new and I will call the company but is there anything else I can try? I give up with her because the call is taking me 5 times longer because I cannot understand her and every single thing I ask she puts me on hold. Now my first impression of the company is not very good at all. With any specialized product such as this I expect to speak with a person that knows every minute detail and can step me through different things to try before coming to the conclusion that it is defective. I spent my whole Friday night and Saturday day and night working on everything I could possible find online with no success. I did go out and buy a new 64 gig Sandisk extreme pro card and that will not format as well as another PNY to prove it was not the card. I can't get to format it because apparently the camera is busy, remember?

Anyway, here are the remaining indications: AIR ERROR (0x800020) - and GIMBAL DISCONNECTED.n

Oh, I am also really irritated that I have to sit here all weekend and wait until Monday because DJI support is closed.

Is there a knowledgable Dji employee here on this forum that can help?

I am no expert, but I am wondering if u received a used P4 from this dealer, if u cant format the card in the drone somethings up I think, when in DJi assistant did u try to use the factory reset, or perhaps down grade the firmware, this is really a shot in the dark, just trying to help. As for u trouble with dji support I have heard lots of horros stories ( tho I feel no one posts good things/results to often, they just go fly) and I feel that they may be just a tele communicater reading results off a screen. This is not so much a poke at them as many com[anies do this, but I do tend to agree with u about wanting to talk to someone that knos the equipement. As I dont really think anything I said may have helped you ( like I said a shot in the dark). My suggestion is you might want to ship your unit back to seller, I hope its a authorized DJI dealer,  and either get a replacement from them or try another dealer. I have had my phantom 4 a few months now and I love it, works great for me, but I am worried the day I need support cuz it doesnt seem to helpful for most... good luck my friend

This:  " I received it last Tuesday 8/23/2016 and everything came packed in the nice travel case that was part of the bundle. I did not however get the original Dji packaging which I was disappointed" is concerning.  It makes me wonder if the aircraft is actually new.  From who did you buy it?

Heebus Posted at 2016-8-29 00:18
I am no expert, but I am wondering if u received a used P4 from this dealer, if u cant format the ca ...

Hey Heebus thanks for the reply. Yes I did try rolling back to a previous version but it will not complete as well. Let's hope that with a soon to be exploding demand of drones that this company gets its shit together.. Lousy support is not very comforting if you plan to make your bread and butter off these things.

MarcoX5 Posted at 2016-8-29 00:19
This:  " I received it last Tuesday 8/23/2016 and everything came packed in the nice travel case tha ...

Good point. I will be calling them tomorrow as they are not open weekends as well. I am refraining from naming the company to see how they handle this.. If it is not handled well then they will get my negative review in the online community as well as in person.

One more thing I failed to mention is that I am the production supervisor at a television station and have over 20 years experience in the field. I am only mentioning this to prove that I am not a hacker and deal with ordering equivalent supplies on a daily basis. If I ever get support like this even once from a company I move on to the next.

I would try powering all down, Re-seat the SD card if you've not done so already, just in case there's a bad contact.
Re-seat the battery in aircraft (Assuming it's well charged). Restart everything, RC first, then aircraft (give this a minute, it runs through a self test), and then the display device, which should be connected to wifi(what device are you using ?). OK if all is powered up and given a minute to settle, is the first LED on the RC Green ? If it is then the RC is talking to the aircraft. What is the 'DJI Go' App' telling you ? If the aircraft is new then it will have to be activated on its first use (One of the DJI Reps would be able to tell you if already activated, using the S/N).

I have had a similar issue. New SD card fixed mine. Try removing the SD card and see if it will let you update with it removed. If it does, try to format it after you get it updated. Basically the machine is trying to write a file (maybe a picture or video) to the SD card and it is not able to, yet it will keep trying.

Jkeller84 Posted at 2016-8-29 01:40
I have had a similar issue. New SD card fixed mine. Try removing the SD card and see if it will let  ...

Tried it all guys but thanks for the tips anyway. I couldn't take the suspense anymore and went out to a local retailer and bought a second Phantom 4 not too long after I made my original post above. After everything was fully charged it took me about a half hour to be updated and running with no issues proving that this one is bad and I am not a total idiot. I'm hoping the company I purchased this from swaps it out with absolutely no issues. I will except nothing less than a brand new Phantom 4 in an original unopened box.

Try and format it the long way and not the quick format. Mine did that until the wife formatted it the way that takes a few minutes. Then it worked fine. Also seems the way you're loading the files on there may also not be the correct way as I did it the same way and didn't work after several attempts and lead to it getting corrupted.

I'm sorry you are experiencing difficulties.Could you please provide a screenshot of the error message?

Is there a gimbal cable or camera cable that can be unplugged and plugged again?  My buddy mentioned that to me yesterday but I wasn't sure what specific model he was speaking about.

All the stories about returned products with some vendors kind of freaks me out so I walked into Best Buy and made sure what they has was sealed new in the box.  I didn't even care about paying the local taxes as long as it was NITB period.

Hope they get your card / camera issue sorted out.

Pangwin Posted at 2016-8-28 19:03
One more thing I failed to mention is that I am the production supervisor at a television station an ...

With all due respect I fear that, while ordering/buying drones in the hobby-range (which is where the Phantom is positioned) you might end up "moving up" many many times to the "next company", that way.

DJI has a new policy for just such circumstances....

Warranty is offered ONLY if purchased through an Authorized retailer.
This is another example of why it is a good business practice.
When you don't make sure who you are buying from, DJI is not and should not be liable.
There is nothing nefarious about this common business practice

If this seller WAS an authorized seller, then I'm certain DJI will help.

I am sorry for your experience.
Please contact DJI support and the aircraft may need to be sent in if the errors will not clear up.
Please do a factory reset from the Assistant2 and see what that does.

***UPDATE***  

Thank you for all of your posts guys. As mentioned in my original post above I have tried every single thing imaginable and refused to spend any more time on it as it was clear that there is an issue with the drone. To prove that I wasn't crazy and a complete idiot, the next day after this post i went and purchased another Phantom 4 from a local retailer and after everything was fully charged I was all updated and ready to go in about a half hour.

Now the good news is that the online authorized retailer that I purchased the bad one from emailed me first thing yesterday morning and told me to send it back and they will send me another brand new one in the original packaging and also offered to update the firmware on it to ensure there are no issues. That retailer is Coptersource.com and I am 110% happy with the way they handled this. I spoke with Laura Turbeville who is very knowledgeable. I would highly recommend them and definitely use them again.

Pangwin Posted at 2016-8-30 22:47
***UPDATE***  

Thank you for all of your posts guys. As mentioned in my original post above I have  ...

That's good to hear, did you ever try the factory reset?

Aardvark Posted at 2016-8-28 13:19
I would try powering all down, Re-seat the SD card if you've not done so already, just in case there ...

Aardvark, Is that a flat coated retriever in your photo?

Pangwin Posted at 2016-8-30 15:51
Aardvark, Is that a flat coated retriever in your photo?

Hi, no the breed is "English Working Cocker Spaniel", born in the far North of Scotland. Although he is a household pet, his mother worked on one of the estates stalking deer. The working Cocker Spaniel does need to be kept busy. Gets about 5 miles of walking a day on average.

I had the same problem, could not connect RC to P4. After an hour with a very knowledgable DJI tech, he pronounced it defective and I returned to Amazon for full refund. Amazon sent UPS labels and paid the return postage.
Next I ordered a P4 from DJI, at a lower priced bundle and it has worked like a champion.
Into second week of flying and enjoying it more as I become more proficient.
Having a bit of stutter on videos, but am working on correcting that.

As you found, some of these are defective out of the box, some are not. Sometimes you have to make a few exchanges to get a good functional unit regardless of the supplier.

st pauli Posted at 2016-8-31 14:55
As you found, some of these are defective out of the box, some are not. Sometimes you have to make a ...

See that's whats messed up. Every unit should be tested and be 100% running. If you are spending $1500 on a drone it should be in 100% working condition.

I know that sometimes things happen, but alot of things have been happening. Where is Quality control on these?

killerkustums Posted at 2016-9-2 09:14
See that's whats messed up. Every unit should be tested and be 100% running. If you are spending $ ...

Their sample set is definitely not every unit.

killerkustums Posted at 2016-9-2 21:14
See that's whats messed up. Every unit should be tested and be 100% running. If you are spending $ ...

I'm not exactly sure exactly what is tested but even aerospace companies that make parts for every aircraft flying in the sky from planes to missiles does not get 100% inspected. and Depending on the military spec dictates what percentage of parts are tested of that particular lot. I used to be a Aerospace inspector for many years and did all the destructive and non-destructive testing.