Hey all,

Got my Mavic yesterday (woo!).  When taking it on its first two flights today, I noticed something weird.  When reviewing my footage from the 1st flight, I thought I just had a bad case of rolling shutter (720p30 shooting towards the sun).

However, when taking it out on its second flight today (sunset), the Mavic was VERY shaky / unstable.  I'm getting a ton of drift both close to the ground and up in the air.  The drone doesn't seem to be flat and locked in like I've seen in most of the videos.  In fact, different arms are randomly bobbing up and down.

Now, this is my first DJI product, but I've built ~15 racing drones.  My first thoughts are IMU calibration or prop balance, but the props are brand new and the app isn't prompting me for a calibration.

Any thoughts?



EDIT:  
Did an IMU calibration and now everything works as expected.

I actually just came in from a VERY short flight for a similar reason.  I wasn't shooting any video so I can't review that, but mine was kind of bobbing as well and sounded like the props were varying speeds greatly.  I was losing daylight so I couldn't see it very well, but following this thread to see what others say.

CanadianDrone Posted at 2016-11-18 06:17
I actually just came in from a VERY short flight for a similar reason.  I wasn't shooting any video  ...

That's exactly what I was experiencing.

Do a compass and gimbal calibration. Also post a clip of it hovering and it shaking around.
And the IMU calibration did noting?Are you on the latest firmware?

DJI-Ken Posted at 2016-11-18 06:24
Do a compass and gimbal calibration. Also post a clip of it hovering and it shaking around.
And the  ...

Hey Ken - thanks for the swift response.
Firmware is current as of last night.

I haven't calibrated anything.  It was my understanding from reading the manual (maybe, incorrectly) that I was only supposed to calibrate if prompted.

I'll do that and report back.

BarefootFPV Posted at 2016-11-18 06:27
Hey Ken - thanks for the swift response.
Firmware is current as of last night.

Correct, you should calibrate if prompted, BUT if the aircraft is unstable then I IMU/ compass calibration should be done.
make sure to do the IMU on a perfectly flat surface (kitchen table/counter) and make sure there is no vibration during the process. If you kid or  large dog runs across the floor that's tiny vibrations and start over.

And the compass, make sure to do it outside in your yard with no metal round.

DJI-Ken Posted at 2016-11-17 17:41
Correct, you should calibrate if prompted, BUT if the aircraft is unstable then I IMU/ compass cal ...

Ken, are you saying we don't need to calibrate the compass or the IMU when you first get it and take it out of the box?  I thought it was a given to do the compass & IMU calibration because of shipping which might knock them out of kilter. Only if prompted.

Jake Phantom 3  Posted at 2016-11-18 00:36
Ken, are you saying we don't need to calibrate the compass or the IMU when you first get it and ta ...

IMO you should always calibrate the compass when moving further than a few hundred miles (or when prompted) ... since its been shipped from china, i'd class that as a reason to calibrate the compass.

The IMU .. I would only calibrate this when requested by the app.

With any wind, I've found that it does bob around a bit with individual arms up and down when in a hover. I haven't noticed a great deal of drift however in fact, quite the opposite.

Jake Phantom 3  Posted at 2016-11-18 08:36
Ken, are you saying we don't need to calibrate the compass or the IMU when you first get it and ta ...

The IMU is calibrated from the factory in a controlled environment so there's no need to calibrate unless it asks  you to or there is unusual flight behavior.
The compass I would think on first start and being 1/2 around the world (some places) it would ask you to.
If it does not than it is not required unless there's unusual flight behavior.

@DJI-Ken, IMU calibration did the trick.  Rock solid now.  Thanks!

Updating the main post for anyone else who has this issue.

BarefootFPV Posted at 2016-11-19 05:31
@DJI-Ken, IMU calibration did the trick.  Rock solid now.  Thanks!

Updating the main post for anyone else who has this issue.

it happened to me this morning. scared the hell out of me as  I was trying this indoor. it drifted backward and I thought it was going to crash on the chandelier right above my dining table
can you believe it happened when I was going to give the wifi mode a try?

it was all good  when i tried again in the RC mode.
Then it re-appeared again while trying the RC mode. The freakiest thing I noticed is, when it is drifting, the sticks were not as responsive as it normally is. I was fighting with it to make it stable and land ( I am very good with quads or helis in general)

I didn't do any calibrations. it isn't asking for a calibration in the status menu that comes up when you bring up the app. What's going on guys? I am losing my confidence

I had the same problem.  Very frustrating.  Although i am happy to report that re-calibrating the IMU solved the issue.  Perfect now.  Come to think of it, i really started having this issue since my lastest firmware update

cold IMU calibration usually fixes most DJI drone issues. I had a virtually uncontrollable P4 out of the box on the first flight. Stuck it in a cold but dry garage (not the fridge as some may advise) for a few hours, put it on a level surface (check with a spirit level) inserted a full charged battery and did the IMU calibration. Rock steady hover and flights ever since. Never been prompted to do the IMU calibration.

Just calibrated my IMU this morning at a CNC machine shop.  They've got a granite block that is leveled by a machine to crazy high tolerances.  I used that to calibrate the IMU and my Mavic is steadier than ever.  The horizon tilt whilst flying sideways is now very minimal and doesn't do the slow, rocking over correction afterwards.  Same with panning - it stays level the whole time no matter the rate of yaw.

Afterwards saw that the IMU numbers still aren't all 0.000, but the PERFECT IMU calibration made a difference over using levels & surfaces at home 3 times.

My #2 IMU always takes 10x longer to warm-up fully.  So I have to wait about 20 seconds even after it acquires GPS lock & "ready for T/O" prompt.  We'll see how long that lasts...

Hello everyone. I have been experiencing the same issues with my Mavic. After the update it would drift, yaw and lose GPS as mentioned above and in other threads. My solution that worked for me was as follows.  I went to a park that was very open, no metal or powerlines  anywhere nearby. I took my launch platform and a level. got the platform level in three planes and calibrated the IMU, the controller, the Compass uninstalled the Go 4 app and reinstalled (at home on wifi) it before pairing it to the Mavic. I turned everything on, shut down and re-calibrated everything again making sure the platform was still level. After doing the IMU, compass (with the controller 20 feet away and nothing in my pockets), gimble (just because I had a perfectly level area) I installed a new battery and launched it in a pretty stiff breeze...and it is once again ROCK SOLID and flying as it did the first time I got it. I flew it for three batteries and never had a GPS signal drop or anything...flew perfectly. I did all this after the update in my yard but I have a power drop to the house and didnt have everything perfectly level and such so I think that was the issue. I may try to install the latest update and repeat the sequence at the park tomorrow and see if its the update that isnt working (doubt it) or if I was trying to do the calibrations in an area that wasnt a good area to calibrate in. I will post tomorrow or Sunday with the results knowing I can go back to the .300 update that is working as it should. I hope others have as much success as I did.  I was truely ready to sell the dang thing and was so frustrated with all of it.  Best of luck!

Please check if one of the rear arms are loose and wobble. If so, there is your reason.