On February 20th, I received my brand new P4P. Did 2 test flights to discover the quad and compare to my previous P4 and everything seemed to be working fine.
Then I updated to the last firmware and the nightmare began. After 10 other test flights, I discovered the problem was the VPS detecting ground even when the drone was 50m high.
Leading to RTH problems (quad stopping on its way home and climbing way above RTH height), and unresponsive stick inputs (the quad beeing fooled by the VPS).
Disabling the VPS was a solution but no more precision landing, security, ...

So, mid March I sent it back to the supplier (StudioSport in France) where it stays in its box during almost 3 weeks.
They finally send me a new one which I received this morning.

First thing : unconsistent firmware (for the battery I presume) ! Seriously ? On a brand new quad ?
Then, the quad was on a table and the IMU values were changing from green to yellow then to "moving" !
And finally the gimbal which emits a very special sound and moves almost constantly !



I updated everything and made all the calibrations : IMU, compass (which was in yellow condition), gimbal and RC sticks.
IMU and compass values seem to be fixed, all green (will make a test flight after 6pm due to military airspace active now from SFC to 250ft)
But the gimbal is still making the strange noise and moves.
And the battery has already been charged 6 times (the P4P box seal was not in place) : this probably explains the inconsistent firmware message, the original battery has probably been given to someone else.
Have to say I'm desperate

Can't you take it back and complain? I would.. That gimbal is not right and needs to be fixed!

Aloha Ulysse,

     Did you remove the packing support?  It looks like it is being held in place.  Does the camera do the gimbal dance upon start-up or does it just stay straight?

Aloha and Drone On!

Cetacean Posted at 2017-4-7 05:59
Aloha Ulysse,

     Did you remove the packing support?  It looks like it is being held in place.  Does the camera do the gimbal dance upon start-up or does it just stay straight?

Aloha,

It is not my first DJI quad and I'm very procedural (piloting aircrafts 20 years ago helps to respect some procedures and checklist) so yes, the gimbal clamp was the first thing I removed when taking the bird out of the box ;)
Appart from this noise and little lateral movements, the gimbal and camera are working well. And it seems to disapear after 20 minute powered on.

Mobilcams Posted at 2017-4-7 05:41
Can't you take it back and complain? I would.. That gimbal is not right and needs to be fixed!

Of course I can but once again I'll have to pay for the return (108€ in March to return the first one by UPS express from Belgium to France).
And I will have to pay again 131€ for a new registration which is mandatory in my country (and a 4 weeks process by the administration) : I received today the registration for the previous P4P which I returned to the french supplier, so there is now an incorrect serial number attached to my official 00- registration

Ulysse Posted at 2017-4-7 06:16
Aloha,

It is not my first DJI quad and I'm very procedural (piloting aircrafts 20 years ago helps to respect some procedures and checklist) so yes, the gimbal clamp was the first thing I removed when taking the bird out of the box ;)

I don't think cetacean was talking about gimbal clamp, but rather sponge piece at the back of the camera, but I'm sure you done that,
Looks like if calibration and firmware upgrade are not helping, can you plug it into Dji assistant and do a factory reset.

My P4P replacement from Amazon came as a used one. I didn't even bother opening it, I returned it to them telling them I paid full price for a new, not a used item. So they sent me a second replacement which was brand new (sealed). I think you should insist on that, as a used item in a retailer means 99% that is defective, otherwise it wouldn't be there. Good luck trying to find a good piece!!

If this occurred after performing a firmware update, please try to reapply it via the Assistant 2 software and then perform a reset to factory defaults. Please let us know if there are any changes.

hallmark007 Posted at 2017-4-7 07:05
I don't think cetacean was talking about gimbal clamp, but rather sponge piece at the back of the camera, but I'm sure you done that,
Looks like if calibration and firmware upgrade are not helping, can you plug it into Dji assistant and do a factory reset.

English not being my natural language the clamp I mentionned erroneously was the foam  piece.
So yes I confirm it was removed before powering on the quad.

I made a test flight and I notice 2 things :
Yawing left and right several times before taking off helps the gimbal to "stay quiet"
Checking the video after the flight and I didn't see the problem in the video

betonven Posted at 2017-4-7 07:53
My P4P replacement from Amazon came as a used one. I didn't even bother opening it, I returned it to them telling them I paid full price for a new, not a used item. So they sent me a second replacement which was brand new (sealed). I think you should insist on that, as a used item in a retailer means 99% that is defective, otherwise it wouldn't be there. Good luck trying to find a good piece!!

I understand now why mine was not sealed (and why I had a firmware warning at the first power on) : they removed the battery and put the one which was with the first P4P I returned to them (found this on my Healthydrone lots)

DJI-Jamie Posted at 2017-4-7 08:09
If this occurred after performing a firmware update, please try to reapply it via the Assistant 2 software and then perform a reset to factory defaults. Please let us know if there are any changes.

This occured right out of the box, before any fw upgrade...

Sorry to hear your experience. I suggest you take it back to the seller for another exchange. If they decline, find www.dji.com/support and follow instructions to send it in to DJI.

Thanks DJI-Thor.
For now, I think I'll wait a little bit and make other test flights this week-end before deciding anything.
The test flight I made yesterday didn't show anything wrong in the video and the quad was itself flying nicely (tested several flight modes and RTH and all went well).
If the gimbal noise/moves occurs only when the quad is on my desk and not while in flight I can deal with it ;)