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Spark falling out of sky
47121 576 2017-7-3
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rickysuperdog
First Officer
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Hong Kong
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fansb3a79777 Posted at 2017-7-22 03:23
Yea that's crazy Ricky, we all know this is a known issue.  Dji knows it's a ongoing issue I don't know why they try to sound defensive instead of providing good customer service I am a owner of a phantom and a spark had this park for 3 weeks haven't flown it once due to these forms I've written DJI several emails and they haven't responded to none of my questions

Funny was that some got warranty covered but some were not, including me. I ask about the basis of this judgement but no one answer my question.

Spark was my first drone from DJI but seems was the last one.
2017-7-22
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iParallax
Flight distance : 938507 ft
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United Kingdom
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My Spark fell out of the sky from 58m while recording a video, it landed on a hard surface, needless to say the Spark came off worst. Later it did power up & was able to fly, but the gimbal is toast.
2017-7-22
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fans6d66a4c8
lvl.1
Flight distance : 1991 ft
United States
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For what it's worth I tried an experiment yesterday and ran each of my batteries through the Spark. It was about 94 degrees and humid. I let the Spark hover about  2 feet off the ground for the entire battery. No connection losses or power cutouts. The heat didn't appear to impact the operation of the craft. I bought a fly less package and two of the batteries were purchased separately.
2017-7-22
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nwhit
lvl.4
Flight distance : 374 ft
United States
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GIdoc Posted at 2017-7-21 20:39
I've read that many people had drone in tripod mode or coming out of it.... maybe that is one of the causes?
What is tripod mode?  I don't get what it's used for.

No, the Tripod Mode does not seem related since I and several others did not have that in use when the Spark failed with the power-off in mid-air.
2017-7-22
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GIdoc
lvl.1
United States
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Anyone who has Spark drop from sky... Was the battery connected or not connected from those who were able to recover it? Just curious.

Also, how do you update firmware of battery? Does app tell you? I don't think I ever updated firmware of battery, just RC and spark.
2017-7-22
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nwhit
lvl.4
Flight distance : 374 ft
United States
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GIdoc Posted at 2017-7-22 12:59
Anyone who has Spark drop from sky... Was the battery connected or not connected from those who were able to recover it? Just curious.

Also, how do you update firmware of battery? Does app tell you? I don't think I ever updated firmware of battery, just RC and spark.

A majority of those reporting the mid-air power off crashes (including mine) did not have a loose battery. Batteries were fully seated after the crash and the spark flew fine after the crash without any adjustments other than cleaning off the dirt.

Firmware can be updated through the GO app.
2017-7-22
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GIdoc
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United States
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nwhit Posted at 2017-7-22 13:41
A majority of those reporting the mid-air power off crashes (including mine) did not have a loose battery. Batteries were fully seated after the crash and the spark flew fine after the crash without any adjustments other than cleaning off the dirt.

Firmware can be updated through the GO app.

There has not been a battery firmware update right?
2017-7-22
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nwhit
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United States
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GIdoc Posted at 2017-7-22 15:01
There has not been a battery firmware update right?

None that I am aware of or that has been posted on here.
2017-7-22
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starter-pilgrim
Flight distance : 61962 ft
Ukraine
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Hi everybody
I had a same issue with my drone. Flight just two time. On thee second one spark dropped down from 3 m after the flight about 3 min. As in most cases spark just stopped engines and fell down. I flight with dpi go 4 (iPhone). I gave my drone to service (in Ukraine), provided all logs and wait for their comments (they will communicate my case with dji). Let's look. I will keep you informed about progress.
2017-7-23
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djiuser_T7Qw4pZ
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United States
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Hello,
Also had a sudden shut off. I was hovering over my driveway at about 3 meters, after having flown for about 5 minutes. Battery was not low. It just shut off and fell. I ended up breaking one of the little caps off the bottom of one of the motors. It was my 15th flight. I have three batteries all purchased at the same time from the dpi store. I was using the remote. I'm not sure what to do, as my flight log only shows the last 9 flights, which includes turning on my spark to reinstall firmware, so I can't see the log from yesterday when it happened.
2017-7-23
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Onomarn
lvl.1
Flight distance : 4728 ft
United States
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Just offered the 30% coupon. That was a joke, good thing I used Chase sapphire. They refunded me the entire amount. I hope everyone here purchased using a credit card that has an extended warranty or a replacement program.
2017-7-23
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BriRi
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United States
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Onomarn Posted at 2017-7-23 07:29
Just offered the 30% coupon. That was a joke, good thing I used Chase sapphire. They refunded me the entire amount. I hope everyone here purchased using a credit card that has an extended warranty or a replacement program.

So since you lost it in the ocean they refused to replace? Mine was lost in a lake and I got the same lame offer.

I used AMEX to pay PayPal so I have it double covered. I really was hoping to work it out with DJI rather than involving other parties. Chase was ok with refund even though you didn't have an aircraft to return? Did you buy direct from DJI?

Thanks for the feedback
2017-7-23
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Onomarn
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BriRi Posted at 2017-7-23 08:05
So since you lost it in the ocean they refused to replace? Mine was lost in a lake and I got the same lame offer.

I used AMEX to pay PayPal so I have it double covered. I really was hoping to work it out with DJI rather than involving other parties. Chase was ok with refund even though you didn't have an aircraft to return? Did you buy direct from DJI?

Yeah DJI refused to replace. I was within 7 days of purchase and they still only gave me that offer.

"1.The aircraft worked at GPS mode, and responded to RC command perfectly;
2.T=02:20, H=58 m, D=39.1 m, battery power 85%, the pilot pulled down the throttle stick fully, and the drone had the falling speed of 1.5m/s, then the flight records was interrupted;
3. Take off point:36.6100290,-121.8965219; last point:36.6102157, -121.8961493. The subsequent flight situation was unknown, which could not determine the cause of the accident.
With the record ended without any sign of abnormality, we could not verify what happened afterwards."

They couldn't spot the abnormality, thats stupid because the power went out mid flight at over 50 feet over the ocean. DUH! I wrote them back waiting for a reply that probably won't happen. I tried working with them, but not happening. Chase Sapphire is really good with customer service (a lesson dji should learn from them). I did buy from DJI directly and also had the dji care. I guess both are loss to me. This isn't my first drone, I had a 3DS that had no issues for the year+ I owned it.
2017-7-23
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fansb31f1926
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United States
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Here was the email I received today regarding my case. I'm not very happy with DJI at the moment.  Of course you could not verify what happened after..... there was no POWER.

Hi Jim,


Thanks for your patience.

For your claimed case CAS-803499-G7Y5B1, we have already finished the analysis, and the result is as follows:

1.The aircraft worked in GPS mode, and responded to pilot command perfectly;
2.T=01:05, H=0 m, D=44.9 m, battery power 88%, the aircraft flew forward with a horizontal speed of 2.6m/s after the pilot pushed forward the pitch stick fully, then the flight record ended;
3. The subsequent flight situation was unknown, which could not determine the cause of the accident.

With the record ended without any sign of abnormality, we could not verify what happened afterwards.

We truly appreciate your support for DJI, and especially applied for a 30% off coupon for aircraft without charger and remote:
http://store.dji.com/product/spark

If you would like to accept the offer, please reply to my email for example “I accept the offer”. Should you have more questions, please feel free to let me know
2017-7-23
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BriRi
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United States
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They seem to be using the same response to all of these cases.

I asked them to have the engineers contact me or at least post what a flight record would look like if there was a complete loss of power to the craft while in flight. And then show me how that differs from my flight record. And lastly, how do these compare to the mid air shut off cases that have been returned to them to analyze and compare flt to dat files.

They have not answered me privately or issued any public response. I think they know what is happening but don't want to admit any responsibility.

I hope they can fix the issue for all of the current and future SPARK owners.
2017-7-23
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Onomarn
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Maybe if we gather enough of these emails, we can submit it to them as a evidence.
2017-7-23
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fans8e84a610
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United States
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BriRi Posted at 2017-7-17 21:40
CAS-764980-S5Q2M9

DJI Natalie

After reading this it made me very upset.  My case is almost exactly the same except I was able to recover my spark. If there is a sudden loss of power or if the flight record ended suddenly, should that make sense to dji that the drone just shut off in mid air. If there isn't a clear CSC command then that should be an instant warranty replacement.  That slark should never Erik out of the sky unless there is csc command which is a failsafe. Any other reason it drops after several minutes of flying mid air should be some type of malfunction. Whether it be a battery failure or software malfunction or the battery slipped out. Something!! Otherwise the spark should auto land or there should be some clear sign of landing the drone.  If that spark falls for any other reason. It should be instant warranty replacement. I can't believe  dji is not replacing after that flight record ended suddenly. Myne ended suddenly mid flight. I'm waiting on a response from dji and now I'm pretty sure I'll be getting the same response. Which means I'll have to end up using refresh. I hope you had refresh on ur spark buddy. I'm sorry to hear this.  
2017-7-23
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fans8e84a610
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United States
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I'm curious why there is so many questions relating to whether or not the battery was connected after the mid flight power off crashes? I'm thinking maybe if it was not connected after the flight that this would imply that it may have just been a loose battery. In my case the battery was disconnected and found about 6 inches from the spark after a 60 foot fall. But I was flying for several minutes before the mid flight power off crash with plenty of battery life left. First thing is I think that the spark should never just  drop out of the sky, even with a very low battery (myne was at 60%)  minus the csc command emergency motor stop. And second if I was flying for several minutes without issue I would think a loose battery would come out very quickly after take off if it was inserted into the spark loosely. Also when I push a battery into the spark it would give a very reassuring click noise for confirmation of a sturdy connection. The battery connectors really wouldn't connect without that noise.  This is such a terrible thing that's happening.
2017-7-23
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hallmark007
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fans8e84a610 Posted at 2017-7-23 13:58
After reading this it made me very upset.  My case is almost exactly the same except I was able to recover my spark. If there is a sudden loss of power or if the flight record ended suddenly, should that make sense to dji that the drone just shut off in mid air. If there isn't a clear CSC command then that should be an instant warranty replacement.  That slark should never Erik out of the sky unless there is csc command which is a failsafe. Any other reason it drops after several minutes of flying mid air should be some type of malfunction. Whether it be a battery failure or software malfunction or the battery slipped out. Something!! Otherwise the spark should auto land or there should be some clear sign of landing the drone.  If that spark falls for any other reason. It should be instant warranty replacement. I can't believe  dji is not replacing after that flight record ended suddenly. Myne ended suddenly mid flight. I'm waiting on a response from dji and now I'm pretty sure I'll be getting the same response. Which means I'll have to end up using refresh. I hope you had refresh on ur spark buddy. I'm sorry to hear this.

I really hope when dji have a look at your dat file they can see what caused this power drop. Nobody here who's drone was returned for analysis has had a decision or explanation on what might have caused the cut off, only those who lost their drones to water seem to be given the dji mantra . It was no ones fault take 30%, and obviously dji know there will be no more proof coming forward on these cases.

But they should be able to tell from your dat why your drone lost power all of a sudden, and if they can't find the reason, then this is an indictment on the software they are using to analyse these crashes, it's there job to use their software to get the answers , if they can't do this then there is something wrong with their software, and that's their problem.

If they don't honour your warranty I would insist on getting a full dat report right up to and including the end of your flight.

Good luck..
2017-7-23
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Onomarn
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hallmark007 Posted at 2017-7-23 15:37
I really hope when dji have a look at your dat file they can see what caused this power drop. Nobody here who's drone was returned for analysis has had a decision or explanation on what might have caused the cut off, only those who lost their drones to water seem to be given the dji mantra . It was no ones fault take 30%, and obviously dji know there will be no more proof coming forward on these cases.

But they should be able to tell from your dat why your drone lost power all of a sudden, and if they can't find the reason, then this is an indictment on the software they are using to analyse these crashes, it's there job to use their software to get the answers , if they can't do this then there is something wrong with their software, and that's their problem.

Ugh good to know. I'm asking for all this, but they are probably sleeping at the moment and will have to await a response... Hopefully with in the month.
2017-7-23
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BriRi
lvl.3
Flight distance : 1538845 ft
United States
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DJI have gotten several of these craft back for analysis ( from forum members ) and should've already compared flt files to dat files. I kinda think that is why they have started replying " we really regret this happening to you " approach that started a couple of days ago.

I'm 100% confident that they will fix/replace any drone that can be returned to them with this issue.  I've got 0.0001% confidence that they will make whole those of us unfortunate enough to lose our crafts to this problem.

Hopefully the problem has been or will soon be identified and corrected. The SPARK is a blast to fly for its intended purpose. When it is trustworthy it will be awesome.
2017-7-23
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rickysuperdog
First Officer
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Hong Kong
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hallmark007 Posted at 2017-7-23 15:37
I really hope when dji have a look at your dat file they can see what caused this power drop. Nobody here who's drone was returned for analysis has had a decision or explanation on what might have caused the cut off, only those who lost their drones to water seem to be given the dji mantra . It was no ones fault take 30%, and obviously dji know there will be no more proof coming forward on these cases.

But they should be able to tell from your dat why your drone lost power all of a sudden, and if they can't find the reason, then this is an indictment on the software they are using to analyse these crashes, it's there job to use their software to get the answers , if they can't do this then there is something wrong with their software, and that's their problem.

For my case, they can't find the crash log as the log was suddenly stopped in the middle of the flight (of course it was powered off). They can't find the reason so I have to pay for the repair cost (discounted).

BTW I had uploaded my log to your server last week  although it was very short and incomplete
2017-7-23
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hallmark007
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rickysuperdog Posted at 2017-7-23 20:06
For my case, they can't find the crash log as the log was suddenly stopped in the middle of the flight (of course it was powered off). They can't find the reason so I have to pay for the repair cost (discounted).

BTW I had uploaded my log to your server last week  although it was very short and incomplete

Hi Ricky I couldn't open that link.
2017-7-24
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rickysuperdog
First Officer
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Hong Kong
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hallmark007 Posted at 2017-7-24 03:00
Hi Ricky I couldn't open that link.

I uploaded 3 flight log. One was normal flight, one was power off at middle and last one was suddenly drifted away.

I can still login to my page

2017-7-24
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hallmark007
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rickysuperdog Posted at 2017-7-24 03:17
I uploaded 3 flight log. One was normal flight, one was power off at middle and last one was suddenly drifted away.

I can still login to my page

Ok I will try again later.
2017-7-24
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Cretu571
lvl.1
Flight distance : 108632 ft
Italy
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My Spark just arrived at the Dji service center. Hope it goes well
2017-7-24
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Patrick C
lvl.1
United States
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For those of you who have received an analysis on your case, at what point did you receive it? I was informed my spark would be covered under warranty but still have no explanation for power loss and subsequent crash. I am very hesitant to fly again until I know what went wrong and if it is fixed
2017-7-24
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hallmark007
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Patrick C Posted at 2017-7-24 07:30
For those of you who have received an analysis on your case, at what point did you receive it? I was informed my spark would be covered under warranty but still have no explanation for power loss and subsequent crash. I am very hesitant to fly again until I know what went wrong and if it is fixed

I expected this, I think you should ask for a report, I don't see why they wouldn't give it to you, except that seems to be the way dji do things.

It's good they were able to do analysis and offer you warranty, but it kind of looks like they know what the problem is , nothing to do with pilot error, I'm also sure they will probably sort it out, but it does seem a bit unfair to those guys who lost their craft over water, but with same symptoms as those who managed to recover their craft.
2017-7-24
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Palomino
Flight distance : 47346 ft
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Onomarn Posted at 2017-7-23 07:29
Just offered the 30% coupon. That was a joke, good thing I used Chase sapphire. They refunded me the entire amount. I hope everyone here purchased using a credit card that has an extended warranty or a replacement program.

Oooh, good idea! I have a Chase Sapphire too! What was the process you used to get the refund? I haven't had to use that before.
2017-7-24
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schmots1
lvl.1
Flight distance : 3773 ft

United States
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I have my shipping label, just need to package my drone up to ship.  I think I am just going to put it in the case it came with and have the ups store package it and then have it sent off.
2017-7-24
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Onomarn
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Palomino Posted at 2017-7-24 08:42
Oooh, good idea! I have a Chase Sapphire too! What was the process you used to get the refund? I haven't had to use that before.

I called the Chase Sapphire's customer service department and they helped me file.
2017-7-24
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R&L Aerial
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That sucks, as soon as these reports started rolling in I grounded my sparks. I hope this doesn't have to do with the battery shutting down to preserve itself in the proccess sacrificing the drone. Something similar happened a few years ago with the inspire. I miss the days when lipo batteries weren't so "smart"
2017-7-24
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PaTaRnAk
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Same here... Was flying my spark over a lake when it's suddenly shut off.  Image froze - Spark shutoff (no more motor sound) and fell like a brick in the lake (saw it about 150-200m away from the shore). I was not able to recover it. Battery level was a 73% at that moment. And now I'm reading that DJI won't replace it?? Very frustrating...
Flight log:
http://www.phantomhelp.com/LogViewer/8NA24GIN3Y4R352EOVR6/
2017-7-24
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hallmark007
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PaTaRnAk Posted at 2017-7-24 11:14
Same here... Was flying my spark over a lake when it's suddenly shut off.  Image froze - Spark shutoff (no more motor sound) and fell like a brick in the lake (saw it about 150-200m away from the shore). I was not able to recover it. Battery level was a 73% at that moment. And now I'm reading that DJI won't replace it?? Very frustrating...
Flight log:
http://www.phantomhelp.com/LogViewer/8NA24GIN3Y4R352EOVR6/

You know the strange thing about your log is there is nothing strange about it. It's almost identical to others who have lost aircraft to power out, we don't know if it's intelligent battery or something else only way of finding out is if others with surviving craft manage to get dat file results from dji, you need to get all those to acquire full reports on what happened and how their craft crashed.

Yes a few who have lost craft have received 30% discount, so might not be looking good for you.

Good luck..
2017-7-24
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Advan031
Flight distance : 161663 ft
United States
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Even though I haven't had any major problem(s) with mine, this shutting off while in flight is definitely worrisome.  

DJI needs to cut the crap and cover all expenses if the drone is found to be faulty w/o pilot error.
2017-7-24
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Onomarn
lvl.1
Flight distance : 4728 ft
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It seems as though they reopened my case... "upon checking your case is under investigation as of the moment". I wonder what that means.
2017-7-24
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BriRi
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Onomarn Posted at 2017-7-24 12:30
It seems as though they reopened my case... "upon checking your case is under investigation as of the moment". I wonder what that means.

I haven't heard anything new on my case yet. Please let us know what you hear. I may have to have them re-open my case.
2017-7-25
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Onomarn
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Don't know if anyone saw this reply on the third post down from DJI Thor (https://forum.dji.com/thread-106065-1-1.html). It says "our engineers were aware of the issue about that a few people had experienced the Spark's fallen from the sky, and we had asked them for data analysis, our engineers are also working on it." Does that mean they may admit fault and possibly issue replacements to those who have lost their drones over the water or elsewhere? Maybe thats why the drones that have been sent in are being repaired at zero cost?

Also a heads up some online articles are appearing regarding this issue now! https://www.theverge.com/2017/7/ ... aints-flight-issues
Reply regarding Falling from the sky.png
2017-7-25
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rickysuperdog
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BriRi Posted at 2017-7-23 08:32
They seem to be using the same response to all of these cases.

I asked them to have the engineers contact me or at least post what a flight record would look like if there was a complete loss of power to the craft while in flight. And then show me how that differs from my flight record. And lastly, how do these compare to the mid air shut off cases that have been returned to them to analyze and compare flt to dat files.

I had asked them before and they just said my Spark record was ended unexpectedly and cannot be analysis. No proof of power cut or crash log found, that why I have to share the repairing cost with them.

It was so ridiculous !
2017-7-25
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Byrd's Loft
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Has anyone looked at your own DAT files with the CSVView program? It provides very detailed graph reporting of the various AC parameters. It's a windows application.
2017-7-25
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