I look forward to applying the new updates, but I must say that over the weekend I was flying up at my property in the mountains.  My P3S and my spark performed great!  Not perfect, but great non-the-less.  RTH worked fantastic if/when signal was lost.  I was very pleased.

Just updated seems it took a long time musta been important looks like there was a problem did it on dji assistant

Martin Lines Posted at 2017-8-21 02:47
Sounds like they have found an important bug.

I hope that is enabling full OTG support and not disabling it ;-)
Just updating, will know in some minutes

There it is.. a forced Update.
No Update = no takeoff. Wow.

I just this moment connected up as if I were going to fly, and I didn't receive any update required notification.  I suppose that they are "rolling" the update out.

Updated!
OTG as "good" supported as before:
OP5 can switch between both, mostly.
LG G4 has its problems, could not connect since update.
But that may be the phone, anyway.
It has its days!

But:

It looks like, the wifi is chanable without use of a otg!
It only not survive a restart of the Spark!
But is/was done in 30 secs!

Oh:
Now even a J7 can connect via OTG
Couldn't last week, nice twist.
Will try to fly with that one, it has a special "outdoor" brightness function

fansa7dc5944 Posted at 2017-8-21 04:42
@Thor1. Rules and regulation, never fly over crowd, traffics neighborhood. Even no fw flaw, unmature pilot can cause damages

that depends on what country you are in.

jh8 Posted at 2017-8-21 03:28
How about connectivity improvements for us in Europe (CE) in this FW update?
Does it also include things like:
- Option to manually select 2.4 or 5.8Ghz wifi band (saved after poweroff)?

I'm in the Netherlands and normally my Spark always flies with a 2.4ghz connection but after the update it seems to be connected in 5.8ghz. I haven't tested it outside yet though.

Thor1 Posted at 2017-8-21 06:41
it probably wont be everything but it will be better i think.

At this poing I will take "better"

Update went very fine though WIFI.

Made a test flight indoor, everything was perfect! Need to test outdoor when possible.

One thing i notice: My spark is MUCH MORE COLDER AFTER FLIGHT THAN IT WAS BEFORE UPDATE, the top of spark are always warm (not hot to touch) before the update, and now its cold. (I am realy sure about this, i always put my hand to felt how warm it was after a flight or when are IDLE since i bought it.)

Anybody notice that too?

STech - Hathder Posted at 2017-8-21 10:44
Update went very fine though WIFI.

Made a test flight indoor, everything was perfect! Need to test outdoor when possible.

Tested outdoor. Yep, pretty colder than before!!!!

Updated, then flew two batteries. Last one sports mode only, high speed. I don't know what they did but I had less connection issues (I always fly OTG) than last time. Also, the Spark seems a bit less hot but it is also a colder day today.
Overall, I'm pretty happy

Yay new update! In regards to making it mandatory, I don't understand why some of you wouldn't want to update to a more stable release..

I updated everything, and for the most part the spark performed well.  I've opened up another thread for issues, as POST-UPDATE I had my first "palm launch flop".  I could not get it to repeat that failure in subsequent tries.  Dronie is now working.  I did not try helix.  I was flying wifi (not otg), and for the first time ever I experienced no wifi disconnects.

Really happy there was an update but after a quick 2 battery flight test I'm still sadly getting video latency, if not more frequently. Also found that camera buttons were less responsive and had to press the on screen buttons after pressing video or camera buttons multiple times with no joy. Finally the stability when hovering at 2m ish was wobbly and moved more than previously in little to no wind. I made a video to show. I really didn't want to be moaning and again I'm happy the updates are here but im sure im not the only one facing these same issues but will do some further testing tomorrow...

jmfc Posted at 2017-8-21 06:31
Mandatory updates are good. At this day and age, you shouldn't have to update, it should happen over the air (like Tesla). When you buy something today, you're buying hardware and software, and software can change over time and get improved while keeping the same hardware.

that is all good and dandy when your device is connected to the internet.  our Spark are never connected directly to the internet and only via the device/software.  just my 2 cents.

I go with the flow so long as its done right and for the right reason.

The update did not fix the disconnection issues!! if i go about 90metres from spark with my remote, it does say weak transmission signal, before that around 60metres.

Any ideas how to fix??? I bought my drone from my shop euronics, and it was on as display drone, is it fully functional drone??

ets26 Posted at 2017-8-21 11:46
The update did not fix the disconnection issues!! if i go about 90metres from spark with my remote, it does say weak transmission signal, before that around 60metres.

Any ideas how to fix??? I bought my drone from my shop euronics, and it was on as display drone, is it fully functional drone??

Are you using RC antenna correctly?

Buzzyone Posted at 2017-8-21 06:02
Ok here is the thing, in the aviation world there are directives issued called AD's (Airworthy Directives) these are issued to operators of aircraft when a potential problem has been identified that, if un checked, would cause a failure or otherwise of an aircraft, which could or would result in damage to property or injuries to people etc.

These AD's are mandatory, we in the aviation world be it General or Commercial are bound by it, the compliance of is controlled by our governing body, such as the FAA or CAA, engineers that look after our aircraft will ensure they are complied with.

So that's a great illustration you provided regarding the AD stuff, except for the key difference in that the AD also contains information about WHAT the problem was. And it's not gonna say 'left aileron was messed up brah!"

It's gonna have detailed info on the issue. DJI is thus far refusing to give any info, and when pressed to be transparent, they point to their incredibly vague battery statement as 'details'. Those, simply put, are not details. And not acceptable.

How should i point antennas? away from eachother or perfectly in paralel? i have tried, no luck.

Manual page 38 explains it well.

what does the CE and FCC mean at range information, does the 2km thing only apply to US? And 500m max range for europe??

Yep, correct.

I thought it was 500m in the EU, not Europe. Not sure what the Russian regs are. Have Switzerland adopted EU regs Kilrah?
ETS26 - is not just that the law says you must remain within 500m but the transmission power also reduced to about a quarter of what it is in the US, I guess to make sure we behave ourselves.

ets26 Posted at 2017-8-21 12:07
How should i point antennas? away from eachother or perfectly in paralel? i have tried, no luck.

As Convert said.... page 38 of the manual.
If you also look closely, one antenna is pointing toward you and the other is pointing away.... ( the little tabs that lock in together when you close your antenna are what I'm talking about. )

mightyarrow Posted at 2017-8-21 12:04
So that's a great illustration you provided regarding the AD stuff, except for the key difference in that the AD also contains information about WHAT the problem was. And it's not gonna say 'left aileron was messed up brah!"

It's gonna have detailed info on the issue. DJI is thus far refusing to give any info, and when pressed to be transparent, they point to their incredibly vague battery statement as 'details'. Those, simply put, are not details. And not acceptable.

I agree the AD usually gives detail of the effected component, as you say. DJI has issued two statements with regards to the mandatory update, the first as a release note in the firmware:

Optimized battery management to improve stability.

The second more detailed in this post:

The new firmware update enhances Spark’s battery management system to optimize power supply during flight - and

The aircraft and battery firmware updates can also be done via the DJI Assistant 2 desktop software. If the firmware of either the aircraft or the battery is not updated by September 1, Spark will not be able to take off. DJI decided on the option of a mandatory firmware update in order to maximize flight safety and product reliability which we consider as top priorities.

I consider that to be enough detail to make the update worthwhile. As to how much detail you will get it will never be enough to satisfy everyone, personally I don't need to know down to componant level the full details of what and why, I am just pleased that they have seen fit to push out this update.

Buzzyone Posted at 2017-8-21 13:29
I agree the AD usually gives detail of the effected component, as you say. DJI has issued two statements with regards to the mandatory update, the first as a release note in the firmware:

Optimized battery management to improve stability.

I agree, but I would like to know if DJI beleives it has addressed some specific cases (drops and fly-aways).  They are not required to tell me, of course.  In my perfect world, they would give some extra details.

Non-the-less, thank you DJI for working to improve the product.

DJI will NEVER tell exactly what are the problems being fixed on software updates, especialy the high danger problems ( like what cause Fall of sky).

Why? If DJI publicly admit the cause of fall of sky sparks, EVERY SPARK OWNERS , even the ones that spark fall on water and get lost WILL START A LAWSUIT and WIN ( because will have proof thats DJI fault).

Do you think DJI will make proofs against herself? never.

All I see is a lot of whining from a mandatory update.... these updates are there for a reason, this one mainly for YOUR safety and others around you.

The way i see it is there are plenty of brands out there, half of which their products don't even get a single update all you get is funny youtube videos under "fpv fails"

Be happy at what your getting if not switch brand i'd like to see you get something this small crammed with so much tech for this price

Did the update today and all is well. I tired the dronie, helix, circle and works like a charm.

Did update today. My spark connects to the Dji goggles just fine but the auto launch did not work from the goggles menu. Everything else seams to be fine.

Convert Posted at 2017-8-21 12:09
Manual page 38 explains it well.

Thanks!  I must have missed that!

WilfredFireStee Posted at 2017-8-21 11:20
Really happy there was an update but after a quick 2 battery flight test I'm still sadly getting video latency, if not more frequently. Also found that camera buttons were less responsive and had to press the on screen buttons after pressing video or camera buttons multiple times with no joy. Finally the stability when hovering at 2m ish was wobbly and moved more than previously in little to no wind. I made a video to show. I really didn't want to be moaning and again I'm happy the updates are here but im sure im not the only one facing these same issues but will do some further testing tomorrow...

It can be only my impression, but I've also found that it was less stable while hovering at 2m. I just tested it indoors and will wait until Saturday to let the bird fly again.

Anyway, I'm happy that this firmware update is being taken so seriously by DJI and will force all users to fix the issues we've been reading here in the past weeks. Hopefully all owners realize it before getting the road to fly it!

Just installed, so far so good, but reading out loud the change lot and this part of drone not being able to fly past 1st Sep if not updated, and the fw not being downgradable really means someone messed up big on the past FWs

forced updates tend to mean something important is found and patched.  like with game consoles, not every single update is mandatory and not every update you will even see popup as availble unless you manually check..  its only important updates that patch a vulnerability/exploit or add a new feature set and upset frameworks that are typically seen by most people.  

its actually irresponsible from developer stand point to want to push all updates as mandatory.  why you may ask, well what if there is a ticking time bomb in the code, everything is fixed up, etc etc but some minor issue in the code that triggers bigger issues later on, it may work for a couple of weeks, but something unseen could cause issues.  then have issues with mandatory updates being enforced makes rolling back extremely difficult without first revealing to modders exact how they plan on dealing with that. if it is enforced via server verification only, then DJi has already lost the battle acount FW mods since intercepting and changing expected response is too easy or using saved blobs/signatures/activation scripts again too easy.  and if DJi ever has to issue rollback of FW, well RIP secuirty, just basically gave modders the keys to the backdoor.

long story short, i half agree with enforced updates.  they are good when well implemented, not all updates are enforced, and they use a branch method of signing updates can make them exceptionally strong but incredibly complicated to manage, specially if they have hands tied behind their backs with a bad update.  but they are bad as well since the force everyone to update to unproven firmware, some people have found safe grounds on older updates where newer updates cause problems or they risk issues..
bigger issue is the fact that now to enforce updates and deadline, the app and aircraft are now forced to sync with server every so often.. this basically goes against the DJi offline update

Excellent. I am a million percent agree with you.

For now I will fly without internet connection and stop updating Dji Go 4 app.

ImHereToCrash Posted at 2017-8-21 18:39
forced updates tend to mean something important is found and patched.  like with game consoles, not every single update is mandatory and not every update you will even see popup as availble unless you manually check..  its only important updates that patch a vulnerability/exploit or add a new feature set and upset frameworks that are typically seen by most people.  

its actually irresponsible from developer stand point to want to push all updates as mandatory.  why you may ask, well what if there is a ticking time bomb in the code, everything is fixed up, etc etc but some minor issue in the code that triggers bigger issues later on, it may work for a couple of weeks, but something unseen could cause issues.  then have issues with mandatory updates being enforced makes rolling back extremely difficult without first revealing to modders exact how they plan on dealing with that. if it is enforced via server verification only, then DJi has already lost the battle acount FW mods since intercepting and changing expected response is too easy or using saved blobs/signatures/activation scripts again too easy.  and if DJi ever has to issue rollback of FW, well RIP secuirty, just basically gave modders the keys to the backdoor.

"its actually irresponsible from developer stand point to want to push all updates as mandatory.  "
totally...
tks for ur sharing

Convert Posted at 2017-8-21 12:49
I thought it was 500m in the EU, not Europe. Not sure what the Russian regs are. Have Switzerland adopted EU regs Kilrah?
ETS26 - is not just that the law says you must remain within 500m but the transmission power also reduced to about a quarter of what it is in the US, I guess to make sure we behave ourselves.

Switzerland hasn't "adopted EU regs", but... made some before then that are actually identical ;)

It's an RF transmission thing, nothing to do with aviation regs. That is nothing specific to drones, just anything using the hyper-crowded RF spectrum that DJI machines also happen to use.