I am in Jacksonville Beach in Florida.  I calibrate the compass, visually check the  device and back check that firmware is up to date. We are good to go!

I launch.  I usually let my drone hover for a few seconds and watch how it is acting.   This time it didnt feel right.  It fluctuated up and down a little. I thought maybe there is interference underground so i went up to maybe 20 feet and let it hover for a few seconds.  It held tight.  Then i moved forward, back and side to side.  Up and down a couple times and i felt good.  So i take off.  

There is a lighthouse for the lifeguards so i fly there.  Maybe 100 yards or so away.  My grandma loves lighthouses so i lowered the drone to capture the perfect image.  It kept going down.  I start pushing up on my rc to go up in altitude.   No luck.  It completely landed.   I started to head that way while trying to get it to launch.  It finally launched but then landed.  After about 60 seconds it finall lauched.   I brought it back to me.

I ahut it down, put in a new battery and checked the DJI Go App and firmware on the drone and rc to make sire everything is up to date.   It is.  Now im nervous.  Let's try this again!

I launch.  It acts all funky.  Fluctuating up and down about a foot/foot and a half.  I go to raise the altitide a little by pressing up on the rc and it actually goes down.  I chose to land on my phone by sliding that bar and called it a day.

Could it have been the area? What would cause that? Im kind of scared to try again.  Anyone else experience this? Thoughts?

So i just launched it about 5 miles from where I had the issue and it worked as normal.  I didnt fly far or for long.  

Why did you calibrate the compass? Did the app tell you to? because that is only when you are supposed to calibrate you should not calibrate every flight that's not what you're supposed to do

$gambino$ Posted at 2017-8-5 18:13
Why did you calibrate the compass? Did the app tell you to? because that is only when you are supposed to calibrate you should not calibrate every flight that's not what you're supposed to do

I callibrated the compass because you are to do it when you go over 50 miles from your last flight.  Which i had gone 1100.

iAmChrisStone Posted at 2017-8-5 20:12
I callibrated the compass because you are to do it when you go over 50 miles from your last flight.  Which i had gone 1100.

first thing first.  if you spark is hovering up and down and jerking around in place, most likely suspect is the IMU sensors, not the compass, IMU = Inertial measurement unit and its detecting every motion made and dictates how to compensate. typical signs IMU may need calibration are if its hovering up and down a lot without wind or you asking it to, jerky and inconsistent movements, wobbliness, or any combination of them...

finally:  only calibrate compass if it ask it, all current generation DJi products actually are like this and if you read the manual, it even mentions this.  look at the meter on the app see what it shows if ts red or yellow or green, if its yellow or green you dont have to calibrate, if its red  then move the spark to another location by hand try again see if its red still if it is, calibrate.    not saying it will cause problems, just relaying information.   but i suggest not calibrating unless it asks you to and even if it asks you to, land it right away, dont let your spark  have a chance to try to get away from you and get confused, so far biggest cause of flyaways and lost sparks tend to be combination of compass errors mixed with sudden atti mode, if compass is messed up atti mode will be equally messed up..

No u are not supposed to calibrate compass because u moved so many miles people calibrating the compass all the time is bound to get a bad calibration. It does not say to do that in the manual at all you are only supposed to do it at the app asks you to or if you notice on the radar that your arrow is in a totally different direction then yes you should calibrate your compass look at the sensor state if it's green you are fine so why calibrate. Who knows what you could have been over when you calibrated this last time could have been anything in the ground metal you never know. PS I've traveled hundreds of miles and never calibrated my compass still flys great! Ive had my p4p and p4 for a long time and dont calibrate the compass. They fly fine.  

ImHereToCrash Posted at 2017-8-5 22:51
first thing first.  if you spark is hovering up and down and jerking around in place, most likely suspect is the IMU sensors, not the compass, IMU = Inertial measurement unit and its detecting every motion made and dictates how to compensate. typical signs IMU may need calibration are if its hovering up and down a lot without wind or you asking it to, jerky and inconsistent movements, wobbliness, or any combination of them...

finally:  only calibrate compass if it ask it, all current generation DJi products actually are like this and if you read the manual, it even mentions this.  look at the meter on the app see what it shows if ts red or yellow or green, if its yellow or green you dont have to calibrate, if its red  then move the spark to another location by hand try again see if its red still if it is, calibrate.    not saying it will cause problems, just relaying information.   but i suggest not calibrating unless it asks you to and even if it asks you to, land it right away, dont let your spark  have a chance to try to get away from you and get confused, so far biggest cause of flyaways and lost sparks tend to be combination of compass errors mixed with sudden atti mode, if compass is messed up atti mode will be equally messed up..

So is it OK To callibrate the IMU even when I'm not ask?

Hmm .... Everything goes normal after launched 5 miles away. It went down even if the stick was pushed up. It went up and down a bit.
Ok... Spark goes up and down a bit is normal. The light wind can cause this. So cut this out.
Now pushed stick up but spark went down until it landed. This is not right. I do not have knowledge about the way the rc send stick command but if it uses old style rc then radio interference may cause this behavior and that explain why moving 5 miles away the problem was gone.

iAmChrisStone Posted at 2017-8-6 03:26
So is it OK To callibrate the IMU even when I'm not ask?

This might help you understand what IMU is. And yes no need to calibrate compass until prompted (Period)

IMU "Inertial measurement unit" .

As far as I see it, IMU calibration on a level surface updates a table of values the flight controller software uses as a reference for a level stationary hover. From there the craft responds predictably to flight commands.  It also likely measures any sensor noise and thermal drift so that these technical imperfections are accounted for when using IMU sensor data in flight. - this is likely why there must be no vibrations during the calibration process.


Bad IMU calibration could cause drift and attitude issues as the flight controller fights to hold the craft in what it thinks is the correct attitude as opposed to the correct physical attitude.


The IMU usually has 2 types of sensors – angle and acceleration and in turn 3 sensors of each type measuring in the X,Y and Z axis. These sensors can, through vibration, aging, impact etc, drift in their response over time and thus an IMU calibration will establish a new reference for the IMU’s level/stationary state that the flight controller can work with to restore stable flight.


Think of calibration as the bringing back into line the measured craft attitude with the true physical craft attitude.


As to how often an IMU calibration is needed, Refer to your manual

Try another flight somewhere else then go back to the lighthouse see if the same problem still happen.

fansa7dc5944 Posted at 2017-8-6 04:04
Hmm .... Everything goes normal after launched 5 miles away. It went down even if the stick was pushed up. It went up and down a bit.
Ok... Spark goes up and down a bit is normal. The light wind can cause this. So cut this out.
Now pushed stick up but spark went down until it landed. This is not right. I do not have knowledge about the way the rc send stick command but if it uses old style rc then radio interference may cause this behavior and that explain why moving 5 miles away the problem was gone.

The Spark uses a wifi signal between the RC and the Drone, and operates in either the 2.4gz or 5.8ghz frequencies, it does not use RF like a remote control aeroplane or helicopter.

However I do not know if RF will interfere with Wifi, however general performance is dependant on the area you are flying.

One thing to keep in mind, because the spark uses wifi, you MUST keep line of sight to ensure a strong connection, any obstructions between you and the drone will impact performance.

Other things that will affect performance are concrete and steel structures, flying near these may interfere with your controller as well.

You are right. Spark use wifi to communicate between it and rc. Since wifi is media for tcp/ip, let's say that the command sending is reliable. Then the possible cause of Spark going down while pushing stick up can be Spark ignored the stick command, possibly because something block the downward obstacle sensor, vapor or a drop of water may be. There were incident that flying Spark through fog then it landed by itself. If this was true there should be "Landing" message on Dji Go.

fansa7dc5944 Posted at 2017-8-6 05:41
You are right. Spark use wifi to communicate between it and rc. Since wifi is media for tcp/ip, let's say that the command sending is reliable. Then the possible cause of Spark going down while pushing stick up can be Spark ignored the stick command, possibly because something block the downward obstacle sensor, vapor or a drop of water may be. There were incident that flying Spark through fog then it landed by itself. If this was true there should be "Landing" message on Dji Go.

This is one of those moment I regret not having access to a wireless traffic capture & analysis tool. Pretty expensive ...

Please try to calibrate the IMU and the RC and compass, test again to see if the drone back to normal. If the issue still exists, could you please export the flight data, sync the flight records and contact our support to start a data analysis.
Here are some cases about when you should calibrate a compass for reference:
When compass data is abnormal, and the Aircraft Status Indicator is blinking red and yellow.
When flying at a new location or a location different from your last flight.
When severe drifting occurs in flight.
You are right with calibrating the compass before a flight.

DJI Thor Posted at 2017-8-6 19:05
Please try to calibrate the IMU and the RC and compass, test again to see if the drone back to normal. If the issue still exists, could you please export the flight data, sync the flight records and contact our support to start a data analysis.
Here are some cases about when you should calibrate a compass for reference:
When compass data is abnormal, and the Aircraft Status Indicator is blinking red and yellow.

Ahhhh thank you!!!

DJI Thor Posted at 2017-8-6 19:05
Please try to calibrate the IMU and the RC and compass, test again to see if the drone back to normal. If the issue still exists, could you please export the flight data, sync the flight records and contact our support to start a data analysis.
Here are some cases about when you should calibrate a compass for reference:
When compass data is abnormal, and the Aircraft Status Indicator is blinking red and yellow.

So if I read this well you as a DJI Admin recommend to calibrate the compass before EACH flight while in the manual is stated to do this only when the app tells you to do so. Or am I missing here something?

DJI Thor Posted at 2017-8-6 19:05
Please try to calibrate the IMU and the RC and compass, test again to see if the drone back to normal. If the issue still exists, could you please export the flight data, sync the flight records and contact our support to start a data analysis.
Here are some cases about when you should calibrate a compass for reference:
When compass data is abnormal, and the Aircraft Status Indicator is blinking red and yellow.

By advising: "You are right with calibrating the compass before a flight."
I really don't get it, I believe you all moderators and supporters should sit down, have a talk with your engineers and come to 1 final answer.... Some advised us to only calibrate the compass when the DJI Go app prompt us to, now you advise us to calibrate before a flight...
Seriously, are you guys even in the same company? Sorry that I sound a bit harsh but the conflict in the answers of you guys show the irresponsibility and no respect to the customers. You guys make me feel that you don't care the consequence and just give a random advise to shut the customer up from their questions...
Again, please, fix your attitude, and answer once again, you can pin a thread on top about this as well: Should or should not, the customers need to calibrate compass sensor before each flight? Thank you.

ernieken Posted at 2017-8-6 21:41
So if I read this well you as a DJI Admin recommend to calibrate the compass before EACH flight while in the manual is stated to do this only when the app tells you to do so. Or am I missing here something?

Actually, we recommend calibrating it when flying at a new location or a location different from your last flight.

Phuong Do Posted at 2017-8-7 01:54
By advising: "You are right with calibrating the compass before a flight."
I really don't get it, I believe you all moderators and supporters should sit down, have a talk with your engineers and come to 1 final answer.... Some advised us to only calibrate the compass when the DJI Go app prompt us to, now you advise us to calibrate before a flight...
Seriously, are you guys even in the same company? Sorry that I sound a bit harsh but the conflict in the answers of you guys show the irresponsibility and no respect to the customers. You guys make me feel that you don't care the consequence and just give a random advise to shut the customer up from their questions...

Thanks for bringing us the attention. And it would be better that user can calibrate the compass of the drone as far as possible if he changes to a different place to fly and we recommend user doing so.

I am having the same problem with my spark. I’ve used the drone in several occasions and it flew perfectly, but this past 5 days it has been acting just like the descriptions. It kept on jerking up and down to the point it hits the ground and bounces back then hits the ground again then bounce back. I even cut my finger when it bounced and went straight at me. Is this a motor problem? I’ve done everything except I don’t yet have a RC but I flew the Spark almost daily & I had no problem prior to this. Used several different tablets and mobile phones and the same problem pops up.

I am having the same problem with my spark. I’ve used the drone in several occasions and it flew perfectly, but this past 5 days it has been acting just like the descriptions. It kept on jerking up and down to the point it hits the ground and bounces back then hits the ground again then bounce back. I even cut my finger when it bounced and went straight at me. Is this a motor problem? I’ve done everything except I don’t yet have a RC but I flew the Spark almost daily & I had no problem prior to this. Used several different tablets and mobile phones and the same problem pops up.

Recoil Posted at 2017-11-19 17:04
I am having the same problem with my spark. I’ve used the drone in several occasions and it flew perfectly, but this past 5 days it has been acting just like the descriptions. It kept on jerking up and down to the point it hits the ground and bounces back then hits the ground again then bounce back. I even cut my finger when it bounced and went straight at me. Is this a motor problem? I’ve done everything except I don’t yet have a RC but I flew the Spark almost daily & I had no problem prior to this. Used several different tablets and mobile phones and the same problem pops up.

I am sorry to hear about your case. Firstly, please take good care of your hurt finger. For the drone, is there an impact damage on it before the problem happened? And you had tried to calibrate the IMU and compass already but the issue persists, right? How about the app, is there an error message on it? Now I recommend sending the flight data from the drone and report it to our support support@dji.com, we will help to make a data analysis.