Crio Posted at 2017-3-30 02:22
This thread is so bad to read, I was about to pull the trigger 2 days ago for P4P  I will hold on with an upgrade for sure. Its sad and frustrating in the same time and I didn't even got one.
I can't even imagine what people who actually have those issues feel.

I am still waiting, since November for the same reason. We will probably go directly to the next P5.

Bullflyer Posted at 2017-3-30 05:54
I am still waiting, since November for the same reason. We will probably go directly to the next P5.

And it will probably come out in the autumn time ...

Bullflyer Posted at 2017-3-30 05:54
I am still waiting, since November for the same reason. We will probably go directly to the next P5.

Really, and what about the money we spent on the P4P? Just forget them and spend another lot for most probably similar issues?

Well, serious companies would just give 100 or more pieces to beta testers (experienced drone users) around the world, bound by a confidentiality agreement (in order not to publish anything etc.) This way, they would just find all issues involved and they could have a flawless release with satisfied customers.

betonven Posted at 2017-3-30 04:42
And according to posts 150-151 it's hardware related

Personally - I'd trust post #110 (R&D) over a 1st level call center support staff...

Glimmerman Posted at 2017-3-30 12:08
Actually I received an email a couple weeks back from R&D at HQ and they confirmed this was a hardware, NOT firmware issue that will be corrected in another production run of the drone. Firmware will not fix this problem. It has to do with a component in the camera itself.

One page back you're saying that this was about the horizon problem and not the frame jerk. Which is it after all?

It doesn't make sense to me as a hardware problem. It's one random skipped frame, if it was hardware related then it would be constant. The horizon thing, yes, it might be hardware, but not this.

In any case, I suppose DJI should formally state whether it's hardware or software related through its representatives here. After all, this forum itself is DJI's property, right?? If this is a hardware issue, we should be able to return our Phantoms for a full refund. Unless if they will replace them with the new version. Am I saying something unreasonable? We're talking about 1500$ dollars hardware.

Well, keeping silence about it doesn't look better for them. This is the second Phantom 4 Pro I'm going through, replacement after another with other problems, and before that, a Mavic which was Dead on Arrival. I mean, it looks bad for the company itself, personally, the only reason I'm not returning mine for a full refund and keep trying through replacements is that that along this I've bought several accessories (batteries etc.) and their return period is already expired.

A hardware defect is not a real problem for a company. It happens, especially when we're talking about state of the art new technologies. That's why responsible companies issue recalls and fix their problems for free, or even give you a replacement. Keeping your customers in the dark does not hide the problem, it just makes them never trust you again.

This is getting really very serious and if it is not rectified soon, then legal actions could take place.

Like I posted earlier, I already owned three P4Pro's. Two of them had the jerk issue. First and the second one. Third was fine. The second and third had the same firmware, so I'm not buying the explanation that this is a firmware related problem.

HellStream Posted at 2017-3-31 02:40
Like I posted earlier, I already owned three P4Pro's. Two of them had the jerk issue. First and the second one. Third was fine. The second and third had the same firmware, so I'm not buying the explanation that this is a firmware related problem.

What do you mean that your first and second P4Ps had the same firmware? Do you remember the firmware?

kykphantom Posted at 2017-3-31 03:06
What do you mean that your first and second P4Ps had the same firmware? Do you remember the firmware?

Second and third one had the same firmware version. Can't remember the number but it was the one that was released in January.  

Glimmerman Posted at 2017-3-31 03:58
Exactly. It is not firmware related. It is a hardware defect in all but the most recent manufacturing line of P4Ps in an encoding chip.
Again, this has been confirmed by DJI R&D and won't be commented on further here by DJI.
Realistically, they probably know no one will take legal action. Sad situation.

So how long will they warranty this issue if its a hardware problem? is this considered a camera/gimbal (6months) vs 12 months for the entire phantom? This should be a recall if it's a hardware issue not warranty.

Glimmerman Posted at 2017-3-31 10:54
I totally agree with you that this should be a recall issue. Knowing DJI and its past behaviors, they will probably ignore this issue.

In terms of warranty coverage- that's something you're going to need to ask them- I have no idea. I only know that R&D isolated this to a hardware defect that is unable to be fixed via a firmware update.

Could you share with us the exact message they sent to you?

Please do, any 4k footage off this drone is unusable without serious editing out of these frames.

Glimmerman Posted at 2017-3-31 11:54
I would prefer not to get the specific person in trouble by using his name or authentic email address, but here are the exact words with the blanked out addresses:

After this, I think the only solution is to send our drones back for either replacement with the new product line or refund.

So when will the working hardware be implemented into the production line? No point in sending this in to service only for them to send me another defective P4P to buy them some time till they get the working ones going. How about a serial number that I can check to see the production run and date of these so I don't end up getting another dud.

epicjib Posted at 2017-3-31 12:39
So when will the working hardware be implemented into the production line? No point in sending this in to service only for them to send me another defective P4P to buy them some time till they get the working ones going. How about a serial number that I can check to see the production run and date of these so I don't end up getting another dud.

Hahaha, do you realize that, although they have representatives in the forum, they don't bother even officially stating whether it is software or hardware related???

What you're asking makes the assumption that they are actually a decent company which shows respect to its customers. What we can see in this thread is quite the opposite.

Really people, I just want an official confirmation to see whether I'll return my Phantom or not, is that such a complex thing to ask??

I guess we should share a link of this thread in the reviews sections  in major retailers. Maybe then DJI will decide that we actually deserve an answer. Just saying

Glimmerman Posted at 2017-3-31 12:55
Sorry guys. I wish I knew more and could answer more specifics. But now that we know it is a hardware issue that can't be solved by firmware, it explains why no DJI rep will comment any further on this.

Another thing that is certain is that it is pretty sheisty for DJI to keep taking thousands of dollars from people while advertising a capability that is flawed. Misleading, at best. But given DJI's history, not too surprising.

How about people actually understand a minute, if this is legit then DJI will need to put a plan in place to resolve this both on production and service, that means sourcing parts and making sure the repair centres across the world have stock.

Their is no point advertising a problem with something your not ready to fix, I work in service and deal specifically with warranty and product recalls,  sometimes it's months before a known issue is announced because the logistics take time and planning take time. .

Everyone would be up in arms if DJI told you about what it was but then said you have to wait a month for the parts to be come available.

This sounds like it's an issue with the H1 SOC so that's a 3rd party part, sometimes these things happen and DJI are as much a victim as the user but it's on their head to sort it so they will but sometimes that takes time.

Glimmerman Posted at 2017-3-31 12:55
Sorry guys. I wish I knew more and could answer more specifics. But now that we know it is a hardware issue that can't be solved by firmware, it explains why no DJI rep will comment any further on this.

Another thing that is certain is that it is pretty sheisty for DJI to keep taking thousands of dollars from people while advertising a capability that is flawed. Misleading, at best. But given DJI's history, not too surprising.

Maybe DJI will put together a self repair kit so people can fix it themselves. Sort of like the upgrade circuit board for the Phantom 1 that needed to be soldered in place.

The Mavic Pro had the same issue and it was fixed with firmware. I think patience is the key. The Mavic had a very rough launch and I'm sure the DJI Team has been busy working out the kinks with that. I'm going to wait to for an official statement from DJI before I jump to conflicting conclusions from this thread.

The lack of denial from Dji staff indicates to me that the encoding chips may well be the problem.

Viridis Posted at 2017-4-1 01:04
The lack of denial from Dji staff indicates to me that the encoding chips may well be the problem.

Let's hope a firmware release will correct the issue.

jonathanp Posted at 2017-4-1 04:19
Let's hope a firmware release will correct the issue.

If it truly is a hardware issue they should stop selling these faulty units.

Just bought a phantom 4 pro a few days ago from best buy. Really sucks to run into this thread. Had my first flight yesterday for about 20 minutes. I'll be checking the video today to see if I spot anything and flying some more to to see if it happens. Hopefully my unit is free from this issue

Let's just be clear a minute

Their is no actual evidence of this is true other than what GM has posted and it's not sitting right, this is also country to what DJI support reps on RCG believe is the case.

They are looking into it and we should have some more details over the next few days.

Here and now this is not nessesarly correct and I would not put any weight into it until Tahoe Ed or Blade come back with more info.

Went to best buy today and picked up a SECOND P4P. Got home, charged it, and flew one flight on 4k60. Had a frame jerk twice in 5 minutes of flying. About the same if not worse than my current P4P. I will be returning this one for sure...

DJI GET YOUR SHEET TOGETHER. WHAT IS THIS MANESS????

I did some more tests today.  I couldn't get the frame jerk to happen at 1080p 60 fps.  However in 4k 60fps it was still happening.  Does the frame jerk happen at 1080p 60fps for anyone else?  The 4k footage is impressive minus the frame jerk.

Habakuh Posted at 2017-4-1 05:09
Just bought a phantom 4 pro a few days ago from best buy. Really sucks to run into this thread. Had my first flight yesterday for about 20 minutes. I'll be checking the video today to see if I spot anything and flying some more to to see if it happens. Hopefully my unit is free from this issue

Same thing happened to me.  I'm gonna wait it out.

jonathanp Posted at 2017-4-1 14:29
I did some more tests today.  I couldn't get the frame jerk to happen at 1080p 60 fps.  However in 4k 60fps it was still happening.  Does the frame jerk happen at 1080p 60fps for anyone else?  The 4k footage is impressive minus the frame jerk.

It does happen only at 4K 60fps (NTSC, PAL, MOV, and MP4).

Glimmerman Posted at 2017-3-31 19:22
You'll be waiting a long time then. DJI never even adequately addressed their lies about Mavic availability, let alone made a real statement until they were actually in real full production (5 months after it was supposed to be released). You don't know DJI if you think they will even acknowledge this issue.

All I'm saying is that there were many people claiming it was hardware issues in the Mavic Pro forums too. And then out of the blue, DJI released a firmware to fix the issue. I understand you all are expecting things to happen very quickly, it was just a few weeks since the R&D staff member said a FW fix is coming. If he acknowledged a fix is coming, then I will wait it out. In the meantime, I will not be flying in 4K 60fps. If you're not satisfied, return the drone or sell it and purchase a different brand (main reasons I sold the Mavic Pro)

Guys I started a poll about how often this issue happens. I think this will help us understand more whether we're facing the same problem or not, and also help DJI notice that.

http://forum.dji.com/forum.php?m ... D386%26typeid%3D386

HellStream Posted at 2017-3-31 02:40
Like I posted earlier, I already owned three P4Pro's. Two of them had the jerk issue. First and the second one. Third was fine. The second and third had the same firmware, so I'm not buying the explanation that this is a firmware related problem.

You just hadn't experienced it yet on the third. Doesn't mean it didn't have the same issue. Now that you sent it in, you can't test it further. I have now had six P4P's and every one of them exhibits it to some degree. My first flight on my 5th P4P had no glitches, and I thought I had finally found a good one. However, the glitches started showing up therafter, and I have never yet had a glitch free flight since on any P4P. YMMV.

My P4P video glitches start with a single earlier frame being repeated, likely the 7th frame before, followed by pixelation in the lower half of the frame for anywhere from 5 to 30 frames after. I have tried all the recommended 90MBs write speed cards. No change. Oddly, a card formatted in the P4P used in the P4 generated a similar glitch in a P4 4K 24fps video. I format all my cards in the P4P. Could formatting the microSD card in the P4P be causing the issues???  Grasping at straws here, but thought I would throw out the question.

GadgetGuy Posted at 2017-4-2 02:21
My P4P video glitches start with a single earlier frame being repeated, likely the 7th frame before, followed by pixelation in the lower half of the frame for anywhere from 5 to 30 frames after. I have tried all the recommended 90MBs write speed cards. No change. Oddly, a card formatted in the P4P used in the P4 generated a similar glitch in a P4 4K 24fps video. I format all my cards in the P4P. Could formatting the microSD card in the P4P be causing the issues???  Grasping at straws here, but thought I would throw out the question.

Yes I noticed similar things (see post #176).

Well my gut feeling is that this is a hardware problem and they are trying to implement a firmware fix to circumvent the hardware issue but with little to no success at this time. The cost to replace all the P4P's with the defective SOC or xxx chip will be immense and a huge PITA. So we have lots of P4P's that have the defective SOC and then some users that have a working SOC (lucky ducks) and do not have issues. How many people don't even notice the glitch and just assume that's the way it works. But DJI needs to step up to the plate and take care of this sooner that later. We will be at 6 months soon which is totally unacceptable. Fire up that assembly line with the new non defective SOC's and get these into the hands of your good paying customers.

epicjib Posted at 2017-4-2 08:39
Well my gut feeling is that this is a hardware problem and they are trying to implement a firmware fix to circumvent the hardware issue but with little to no success at this time. The cost to replace all the P4P's with the defective SOC or xxx chip will be immense and a huge PITA. So we have lots of P4P's that have the defective SOC and then some users that have a working SOC (lucky ducks) and do not have issues. How many people don't even notice the glitch and just assume that's the way it works. But DJI needs to step up to the plate and take care of this sooner that later. We will be at 6 months soon which is totally unacceptable. Fire up that assembly line with the new non defective SOC's and get these into the hands of your good paying customers.

Any news from DJI about frame jerk? Are they going to give a solution?

The posted Email is fake and the fix will be in the April release. Until then you can simply remove the extra frame and the footage will look normal, this takes about a min to do.

Glimmerman Posted at 2017-4-3 06:25
Over 5400 views here and as I said- no solution. They have been instructed not to comment on this hardware defect. This thread has 50x the views as most threads, and it should tell you something that they aren't going to comment at all.

Glimmerman

First and Last warning. If you post another fake email you will be removed and banned from this site!