hallmark007 Posted at 2017-7-20 08:30
There are approximately 21 people on this forum who have had crash or power cut off , with their spark, at least 7 of those have nothing to do with power cut off, 9 have had power cut off at very low altitude and 5 at higher Altitude.
1 has been given warranty , 1 has been refused warranty.
So all in all 14 have power cut off, of that 14 , 3 have produced logs for others here on the forum to look at, and yes they do show similar end to log when power cut.

Of course the percentage can seems small... 0.5% faulty (i'm not sure to agree with your figures and assessment method but that's not the point of this message)  for a 300g flying object that is supposed to be produced to much more than 2000 units (I guess) and the associated risks is way too high in my opinion.

Hard drive manufacturers provide a MTBF figure, so do a lot of appliances manufacturers. That would be nice to have the specs figure from DJI, especially for critical sub-components.

In general aviation, I believe the figures of accidents wrt flight hours are published.
I'm pretty sure DJI have those figures thanks to DJI GO4 app and flight logs and claims of customers. That would be nice if they get published. Of course pilot error will probably be 95+ % of the root cause like in most flying activities but that would still allow to approximate the platform reliability....

Matioupi Posted at 2017-7-20 08:55
Of course the percentage can seems small... 0.5% faulty (i'm not sure to agree with your figures and assessment method but that's not the point of this message)  for a 300g flying object that is supposed to be produced to much more than 2000 units (I guess) and the associated risks is way too high in my opinion.

Hard drive manufacturers provide a MTBF figure, so do a lot of appliances manufacturers. That would be nice to have the specs figure from DJI, especially for critical sub-components.

Only from experience, I can say there is no difference in this release than with Mavic, I would say it's more than I have seen for P4Pro or P4, so maybe new flyers may be keeping problems a bit higher.

Of course this was a rough 10 minute look around to give myself an idea, because sometimes when people come to the forum and see many threads about problems, they can get overwhelmed and think everyone is having a problem, when reality it's very few.

I agree if there is a problem and .5% of drones are at risk of falling out of the sky and causing injury or damage to property, then all must be done to stop this from happening.

With regards to information, if it was a public company we would already have the information good or bad,  but dji being a private company, I'm sure we will see very little information being released.

hallmark007 Posted at 2017-7-20 09:13
Only from experience, I can say there is no difference in this release than with Mavic, I would say it's more than I have seen for P4Pro or P4, so maybe new flyers may be keeping problems a bit higher.

Of course this was a rough 10 minute look around to give myself an idea, because sometimes when people come to the forum and see many threads about problems, they can get overwhelmed and think everyone is having a problem, when reality it's very few.

I have to trust you here. The Spark is my first personnal drone and I've not spent so much time on the forums for pro hardware which is used in totally different conditions.

I also understand that upset people will make a lot of noise and there is probably a perception biais toward "negative side" of reality while reading the forums.

Now I have to say that i'm negativly influenced by some more objective facts :

- the instability of DJI GO4 app
- the issues like 2.4/5.8 GHz in europe
- the immaturity of gesture / intelligent modes
- the quality of the support so far (I've been contacting them for corrupted videos and they have been really bad...)
- the lack of official communication by DJI (e.g. "service bulletin" if you want to compare to general aviation)

Matioupi Posted at 2017-7-20 09:17
I have to trust you here. The Spark is my first personnal drone and I've not spent so much time on the forums for pro hardware which is used in totally different conditions.

I also understand that upset people will make a lot of noise and there is probably a perception biais toward "negative side" of reality while reading the forums.

100% agree with all 5 points, I am hoping just like Mavic these will improve, I'm quietly confident we will see some improvement.

Not sure about CS , I haven't had to use it much and when I have , I haven't set my expectations to high.

so I had this happen once so far. I have bought one extra battery directly from DJI, so now I have 3 batteries, not sure if it was the "new" one when this happened. My flight log just stops abruptly but there are no errors about power or anything.

So I have about 55 flights on my Spark, Have yet to have any issues with dropping from the sky. But I did just have a rare thing happen that makes me wonder. I flew a full pack in sport mode on my lunch break. I drove back to the office, put a fresh battery on it and powered the AC and RC on. I began the file download over wifi to my iPad mini 4. It was about half way through the transfer when I noticed the AC had just shut off. I turned it back on to find that the battery was still in the 90% range but the AC was pretty warm to the touch. Im wondering if the sudden power off (dropping from the sky) isnt heat related. Unit or battery overheats and just fails. By the time you turn it back on its cooled enough to not be an issue until its hot again? Just an observation. When I started the file transfer for the second time, I put a desk fan blowing across the AC and it has not failed yet, almost done transferring the 2 files.

hallmark007 Posted at 2017-7-20 09:27
100% agree with all 5 points, I am hoping just like Mavic these will improve, I'm quietly confident we will see some improvement.

Not sure about CS , I haven't had to use it much and when I have , I haven't set my expectations to high.

Based on Mavic, how long took it to solve the most critical issues?

roberteb Posted at 2017-7-20 10:16
Based on Mavic, how long took it to solve the most critical issues?

I suppose 3 months, there are still some problems there always will, but most would say it's a great aircraft. I think spark will be also but hopefully soon, many are enjoying it now with some smaller issues.

Guys,i believe the number of falling could be more.If you join facebook the dji Spark owner,I spot 2 cases today.
I think there are cases not reported here because some people are not aware of the forum or too busy to join,and they got theirs repaired.one of the case attached below told me she was flying with combo battery and only 1:30 min.Doesn't sound like the overheat issue nor extra issue...

Just what if some have unintentionally issued a CSC?

eylneb Posted at 2017-7-20 17:16
Just what if some have unintentionally issued a CSC?

I think that could, but then it is pilot error, then DJI will be able to see that in the flight log (or black box), but you can see there are cases that DJI confirmed they do not know the reason either.

true.. again.. i don't mean that all cases...

from what i've read in the forum.. lots of new drone owners especially to DJI products (not all & some have genuine issues) didn't read manual or think that DJI is a toy grade brand.. which they aren't.. lots of tech is built into the system. hence at least reading the manual from front to back, back to front and all over again... & try to refer the manual if something don't react the way you want it.

Also understanding regulations in the country helps.. like in European country the transmission power or the remote is limited hence the range is shorter than those in the US.... due to the regulations

eylneb Posted at 2017-7-20 17:44
true.. again.. i don't mean that all cases...

from what i've read in the forum.. lots of new drone owners especially to DJI products (not all & some have genuine issues) didn't read manual or think that DJI is a toy grade brand.. which they aren't.. lots of tech is built into the system. hence at least reading the manual from front to back, back to front and all over again... & try to refer the manual if something don't react the way you want it.

could some swolloing battery result in pushing the off button "from the inside" of the battery ?

Matioupi Posted at 2017-7-20 21:53
could some swolloing battery result in pushing the off button "from the inside" of the battery ?

that could be a problem as well.. i've seen some issues with phantom's battery swelling to the point it broke the casing...   also eaving it under hot sun, storing it in the car which is under the sun most time.. could cause it as well.

Why have the admins got absolutely nothing to add??

LRAB Posted at 2017-7-20 22:18
Why have the admins got absolutely nothing to add??

Hi guys, I am the one who opened this thread, and I have decided to drop it off from here since there is nothing more we could do for now. Unless more and more cases of falling (at least need to be around 2,500 units like Gopro Karma), DJI will comment nothing I believe. So, please see my conclusion here and why I should drop off this topic: http://forum.dji.com/thread-105517-1-1.html

LRAB Posted at 2017-7-20 22:18
Why have the admins got absolutely nothing to add??

they can't speculate without evidence or enough data...

so the more poeple provide data the faster they can find out what the problem is..

LeChuck71 Posted at 2017-7-18 23:42
Hm that's really interesting and would def. explain why some people got problems with the battery and some don't - probably a "battery batch" problem.
But as far as I know the DJI Go app should inform you on "battery firmware" updates. But if its just a "refresh" it's easy to do and hopefully gets rid of the problem.

Thats the first time I found out the advantage of Karma other than Spark and even Mavic.  LeChuck71 do have a point and truly DJI drones won’t record the footage as the last minute before it fall out of sky if there is battery failure.  And the sad true is DJI won’t be responsible if it does not show in their log file, but in the same time video log also not available....

hallmark007 Posted at 2017-7-20 10:57
I suppose 3 months, there are still some problems there always will, but most would say it's a great aircraft. I think spark will be also but hopefully soon, many are enjoying it now with some smaller issues.

Mr. Hallmark,
I just had another idea on how they acually solved the cases with Mavic, in my new post:http://forum.dji.com/thread-105517-1-1.html

I do think that maybe by solving the cases, DJI only simply replacing all the faulty Mavic, noting to do with firmware fix. After they have already replaced all the bad units (3 months like you said), that made you think they actually fixed it by firmware. Do a simple logic, if it is firmware relating, all Mavic should have critical problems, not just a few. Right?

Phuong Do Posted at 2017-7-20 22:45
Mr. Hallmark,
I just had another idea on how they acually solved the cases with Mavic, in my new post:http://forum.dji.com/thread-105517-1-1.html

Many of the faults were individual and so sorted out by repair or replacement or by care refresh, quite a few had problems with blurry camera hardware so these were also repaired, but Mavic has had some 8 firmware updates, both to fix bugs and to add extras.

Mine fell out of the sky aand wasn't far from me. i seen the battery and spark come apart in the sky

hallmark007 Posted at 2017-7-20 08:30
There are approximately 21 people on this forum who have had crash or power cut off , with their spark, at least 7 of those have nothing to do with power cut off, 9 have had power cut off at very low altitude and 5 at higher Altitude.
1 has been given warranty , 1 has been refused warranty.
So all in all 14 have power cut off, of that 14 , 3 have produced logs for others here on the forum to look at, and yes they do show similar end to log when power cut.

Those numbers are wrong and you know it.... there were over 30 cases on my list that I personally collected. They only fit the strict criteria of what most of us believe to be a mid air shut off...

DJI removed my list when it got over 30. There have easily been 15 to 20 more cases since then.

You can deny it all you want. We know it is happening. Not bitter, just truthful.

BriRi Posted at 2017-7-21 17:19
Those numbers are wrong and you know it.... there were over 30 cases on my list that I personally collected. They only fit the strict criteria of what most of us believe to be a mid air shut off...

DJI removed my list when it got over 30. There have easily been 15 to 20 more cases since then.

I'm not in denial, I have counted the ones who have had power cut off, and that's the numbers on here, a lot of those on your list had completely different problems. I don't think you realise what happens here, it's much easier if you have a crash or problem to throw in with the gang , that way it's perceived, like case yesterday guy landing on the roof first time I've seen power cut off in RTH , you actually told this guy that dji would not be able to extract anything from his log , wrong, they should be able to extract the reason for his "power cut " . But this is done to try to build a bigger picture,
I never agreed that dji shouldn't have given you a warranty, I think they should have, and those who have had power cut off, I hope they get warranty.
But if you look around you will clearly see many problems are different, but I don't think it's the right thing for you to be trying to put all in the one box.
You would have been better off trying to find out off those who had the problem what was the cause of the problem.
We are now left with power cut off problem, it's battery fault bad battery batch, firmware problem, software problem, and now your throwing in flyaway problem, so rather than find out what the cause is you've just ended up with a mish mash of everything.

As some have pointed out, the battery will cut power if a short circuit is detected.

Others have pointed out that the contacts on the bottom of the battery are live.

Any chance that moisture from the ground or similar may cause a short circuit on those contacts?

fans1b3890df Posted at 2017-7-21 13:55
Mine fell out of the sky aand wasn't far from me. i seen the battery and spark come apart in the sky

I noticed the missing tab on one of my batteries, but this was after it crashed. My second battery appears fine. This could be a weak point, however.

And another one http://forum.dji.com/thread-105996-1-1.html

Thor1 Posted at 2017-7-24 09:05
And another one http://forum.dji.com/thread-105996-1-1.html

I...don't know what to comment anymore. Obviously, DJI chose to not respect customers and keep hiding their error...Which, at this point, we all know it is DJI's error.

Did anyone face this issue with default battery that comes with spark(not fly more combo)? I have done 48 flights and I don't see  any such issues, Im bit scared after reading these post regarding cut offs. that too i'm in India where drones are prohibited . cops might even arrest me if such things happen

moh_rafiudeen Posted at 2017-7-25 03:23
Did anyone face this issue with default battery that comes with spark(not fly more combo)? I have done 48 flights and I don't see  any such issues, Im bit scared after reading these post regarding cut offs. that too i'm in India where drones are prohibited . cops might even arrest me if such things happen

i have also had 48 flights between the two batteries that came with the fly more package. i'm waiting before i get a third battery.

good poll, def should be done by dji

hallmark007 Posted at 2017-7-20 08:30
There are approximately 21 people on this forum who have had crash or power cut off , with their spark, at least 7 of those have nothing to do with power cut off, 9 have had power cut off at very low altitude and 5 at higher Altitude.
1 has been given warranty , 1 has been refused warranty.
So all in all 14 have power cut off, of that 14 , 3 have produced logs for others here on the forum to look at, and yes they do show similar end to log when power cut.

You can add mine.

The other day I was flying full speed forward sport mode and press the emergency stop button of the remote... the motors stopped and the drone falls down. It broke the gimbal....

DJI support said that they understand but send them the drone.

The firmware was Aircraft database is 01.00.01.04.

Today the update the firmware and the behavior is completely different, now when you go full forward or backwards and press stop button the drone don’t tilt up to a level that the motors stops.

Most of the situations of this accidents could be a connection lost ( lot of problems with this in Europe) and a emergency stops in sport mode....

A 1% of drones fall is a disaster, very dangerous, in aviation is unacceptable. In my case is easy to fix, with a firmware already done... but who is going to pay my gimbal?.

I sent the video of the accident and is clear what happend. I will send the drone to fix in a week, now I am on holidays...

SuperCurro Posted at 2017-7-26 12:39
You can add mine.

The other day I was flying full speed forward sport mode and press the emergency stop button of the remote... the motors stopped and the drone falls down. It broke the gimbal....

Your theory with full forward in sport mode + deconnection fit my accident perfectly (but i did not press stop button..). I was going full speed at about 120m  over a lake when the Spark disconnected and then no more sound... Looked up and saw it falling like a brick in the lake...
Log:
http://www.phantomhelp.com/LogViewer/8NA24GIN3Y4R352EOVR6/

OneMatt Posted at 2017-7-24 07:15
As some have pointed out, the battery will cut power if a short circuit is detected.

Others have pointed out that the contacts on the bottom of the battery are live.

short circuit detection measures resistance and current flow...and more of a over current protection than a short circuit protection.  since they are sort of in in the same.      so it is possible, but very unlikely

Mine too fell from the sky on the 1st flight
battery: 70%
height :52m
no Warnning
just....fall out !!!!!

I sent a log file to DJI

Supercurro what is the stop button? U mean the pause button? U dont need to hit any buttons to stop in sport mode just slowly let go of right stick...i just had a theory tho...so u know how u can flip the quad over to shut it off manually....well i wonder if being windy out and people flying in sport mode tilt level might be to aggressive in wind and might actually tilt to much enough to shut it off if really windy....hence the "falling out of sky sparks"

$gambino$ Posted at 2017-7-30 16:57
Supercurro what is the stop button? U mean the pause button? U dont need to hit any buttons to stop in sport mode just slowly let go of right stick...i just had a theory tho...so u know how u can flip the quad over to shut it off manually....well i wonder if being windy out and people flying in sport mode tilt level might be to aggressive in wind and might actually tilt to much enough to shut it off if really windy....hence the "falling out of sky sparks"

its a good theory...   i do remember a lot of times my  ex-spark would tilt itself forward heavily as it took off in a flyaway situation..  it is likely maybe IMU system in the spark being only a single unit maybe on certain units too sensitive..

i did remember trying to get my spark to fall before packing it up.. the angle i could achieve was nuts.. very likely was on the edge of cutout..  if IMUs were too sensitive or reading invalid numbers RIP.

I just finished flying with 3 batteries two from combo and one purchased separately with no problems.

And maybe someone that has a fallen of the sky Spark do a CSC midflight that causes drone fall like a brick from sky and dont even know what CSC is.

If someone do this with controller sticks when are on flight, drone will fall like a brick:




Its not easy to happen, but.. i dont doubt.

Stech i dont think there is a csc with spark atleast i couldnt find nothing on it in the manual or anywhere....jeez imagine that tho there is a hidden csc on remote we dont know about....makes ya think just like how we found we could use otg!

$gambino$ Posted at 2017-7-30 18:06
Stech i dont think there is a csc with spark atleast i couldnt find nothing on it in the manual or anywhere....jeez imagine that tho there is a hidden csc on remote we dont know about....makes ya think just like how we found we could use otg!

Gambino, i catch this CSC image from Spark Manual -

CSC are on page 48 and 49.
I am prety sure theres a CSC on Spark - its on manual - and maybe a lot of owners dont even know.