Follow DJI Thor suggestion, I've just performed IMU calibration, followed by compass calibration and carefull test flight on a farm field nearby ... Correction: test flight was attempted ... No problem reported on power up, all systems check, up we go to hover 3 m above ground ... System check again, all OK, sensors reading excellent ... Slow forward ... 10 m away ... Whoa!!! ... Compass Error warning, GPS lost, the bird is speeding away in Atti Mode!!! ... No problem for an seasoned pilot, the escape is halted and the bird is back in hover ... Compass sensor reading is oscillating between green and yellow, at approximately 150-250 value!!! ... Not good, not good at all ... Landing, motors stopped ... Compass reading back to excellent value of 5-10 ...

Go figure ... But don't try to fly again without a fix ... My Matrice is a sleeping beauty until than ... or is she? ... these OA sensors staring at me ......

EDIT: I've been waiting patiently for new FW (01.01.0600) released Feb 09/18, which - accordingly to DJI tech sup - should fix this issue, but no luck. My Matrice 200 is loosing GPS lock persistently, compass readings seems to be erratic, probably due to a hardware malfunction. This bird goes back to factory ...

Hi all, sorry to know the issue persists after firmware upgrade and please forgive us for the late response because of the holiday, we care much about your feedback and we need the data for further analysis.
Please connect the drone to DJI Assistant 2 at your most convenience to export the corresponding data to us for analysis, you could upload the data to Dropbox or Google Driver and post the link to us, thanks for your cooperation very much.

Hi Matthew,

When the prob appeared you was using Ipad or CrystalSky?
GPS lost could be fatal near an obstacle..... that's so crazy to sell > 30k$ with this kind of issues ...

YOYOMAN Posted at 2018-1-30 20:56
Hi Matthew,

When the prob appeared you was using Ipad or CrystalSky?

iPad Air 2 on standard RC, but I don't think it's relevant ... Well, we must wait until they iron this wrinkle out ... Our names will be carved on Wall of Fame for future generations ...

no DJI support for this kind of critical issue????????????????????????
What is the point??? how long time before fixing the M200 Serie GPS/COMPAS????????

YOYOMAN Posted at 2018-1-31 07:09
no DJI support for this kind of critical issue????????????????????????
What is the point??? how long time before fixing the M200 Serie GPS/COMPAS????????

Patience and calmness is the only way to go when dealing with exotic issues, my friend. No matter how loud you'll scream, only shattered whisper may reach China mainland ...

We have the exact same problem with our 210 RTK. If two cameras are attached, after we get about 10m off the ground the compass, GPS and video feed all fail.

Any updates on these issues?

Ugashik Bob Posted at 2018-2-6 08:08
Any updates on these issues?

Nope ... My dealer will set-up and test another M200 to see if this issue is persistent, we're grounded with -20C for now. Will keep you posted here ...

Sent my drone to DJI warranty, who fixed this error. What was exact solution, dont know.

Eurokyngas Posted at 2018-2-7 02:33
Sent my drone to DJI warranty, who fixed this error. What was exact solution, dont know.

Thanks, good to know. It may be necessary to send my bird too ...

I know what is the issue. I got an email from DJI saying it is the current sent from the batteries to the motors being to high. They suggest reducing speed and not flying in wind (really?) and an hardware update is due on the 11.02.
The "hardware update" most likely means "software update" that will limit the max current to safe levels - reducing the wind resistance, speed and acceleration considerably.

I am trying to get a refund. After 5 repairs without success I've had enough of DJI.

Pawell Posted at 2018-2-8 02:31
I know what is the issue. I got an email from DJI saying it is the current sent from the batteries to the motors being to high. They suggest reducing speed and not flying in wind (really?) and an hardware update is due on the 11.02.
The "hardware update" most likely means "software update" that will limit the max current to safe levels - reducing the wind resistance, speed and acceleration considerably.

This really makes me reconsider getting an m200. I was willing to just return if i got faulty one but, what is the point of having a really expensive  waterproof kite?

Pawell Posted at 2018-2-8 02:31
I know what is the issue. I got an email from DJI saying it is the current sent from the batteries to the motors being to high. They suggest reducing speed and not flying in wind (really?) and an hardware update is due on the 11.02.
The "hardware update" most likely means "software update" that will limit the max current to safe levels - reducing the wind resistance, speed and acceleration considerably.

Honestly, I can't see any relation between power consumption (draw current caused by undersized motors) and lost GPS lock, but I may be totally wrong. In my case the error pops-up during slow routine maneuverings after lift off, no way to abuse batteries at all.  

BTW, did you get this e-mailed answer from DJI as a result of techsup request? Just curious ...

Powodzenia.

Lildoo Posted at 2018-2-8 03:04
This really makes me reconsider getting an m200. I was willing to just return if i got faulty one but, what is the point of having a really expensive  waterproof kite?

Good argument ... I hope the FW fix will not result in more conservative flying performance of this platform or annoying messages about power restrictions. Although by design concept M200 series is not expected to be as agile as Inspire or even Phantom, some agility should be available when needed.

Pawell Posted at 2018-2-8 02:31
I know what is the issue. I got an email from DJI saying it is the current sent from the batteries to the motors being to high. They suggest reducing speed and not flying in wind (really?) and an hardware update is due on the 11.02.
The "hardware update" most likely means "software update" that will limit the max current to safe levels - reducing the wind resistance, speed and acceleration considerably.

Hi,

Could you please share the entire message you get from DJI ?
Could you also let me know if you sucess to get refund?
thanks

I can t wait the 11.02 .... I hope it s not in 2019?!

Pawell Posted at 2018-2-8 02:31
I know what is the issue. I got an email from DJI saying it is the current sent from the batteries to the motors being to high. They suggest reducing speed and not flying in wind (really?) and an hardware update is due on the 11.02.
The "hardware update" most likely means "software update" that will limit the max current to safe levels - reducing the wind resistance, speed and acceleration considerably.

If what you said happens it would means that DJI Forum Moderator gives less official informations that some customers.
That s one more time totaly crazy:
End Customers have more information than dealers and than Moderators.
Let see what s happen tmrw

Are they working on a Sunday (11.02)?

YOYOMAN Posted at 2018-2-10 03:23
If what you said happens it would means that DJI Forum Moderator gives less official informations that some customers.
That s one more time totaly crazy:
End Customers have more information than dealers and than Moderators.

Yoyo, my friend ... I'm begging you don't get me wrong, but you expect too much from DJI Forum moderators and from some (most of) dealers. Moderators/dealers don't have direct/unrestricted access to DJI technical information. Moderators may - and often will - investigate specific issue, gain some information if allowed, help to solve some problems etc. But that's NOT given, nor written within their (moderators) job description. Dealership - for change - is not a job. It's a business of buying cheaper and selling with a profit. Some dealers are dedicated and involved, some don't care at all about your fortunate or not adventures with DJI product. None of them, however, do have drastically better/privileged access to a detailed tech information/service manuals etc. Such information exists for sure, but is written in Mandarin and is tightly guarded. That's the reality of running successful business in this lucrative, but increasingly competitive industry.   

Lildoo Posted at 2018-2-8 03:04
This really makes me reconsider getting an m200. I was willing to just return if i got faulty one but, what is the point of having a really expensive  waterproof kite?

They say the M200 has the same issues and also is upgraded.

Matthew Dobrski Posted at 2018-2-8 12:01
Honestly, I can't see any relation between power consumption (draw current caused by undersized motors) and lost GPS lock, but I may be totally wrong. In my case the error pops-up during slow routine maneuverings after lift off, no way to abuse batteries at all.  

BTW, did you get this e-mailed answer from DJI as a result of techsup request? Just curious ...

DJI email:

Please kindly re-read the email we have sent in. The problem you suffered which occurred in a few chances. It does not mean the information from website is misinformation. Since not every drone is perfect, and it is possible that some of the drones could have this issue. In hence, the update of hardware could solve this issue. Please kindly await for the update patiently on 11 FEB. For the update, customer does not need to send in the drone, update can be done by customer him/herself.



As per email “At current stage (before the update release), we kindly suggest please avoid fly in Sport mode or high wind condition” does not mean all M210 cannot fly in high wind condition. For your specific case, it is because of in those conditions, drone itself would incurred strong electric current, interferences the compass. As you also suffered the problem in P mode, we kindly suggest please fly drones after the hardware update.



We understanding that you are suffering very unlucky issues since the first repair. And we really want to help you in case.

My question is: [answer to my previous email, i wanted a downgrade to M200 to get rid of the compass issues]

- Does the M200 experience the same issues? [my question]

M200 as M210, a few chances that have the same issues, also, M200 will have hardware update at the same as M210. [DJI answer]



- Is it possible to downgrade or do we have to refund the drone? [my question]

For downgrade, we will still need to confirm with FAE team. [DJI answer]

Refund seems not possible at this moment since customer has 4 RMAs but with different issues (the first 2 was the same GPS issue; the third was gimbal issue but gimbal was not sent in the first 2 case; and the final one is compass, hardware issue). If any missing cases, please provide case numbers, so that we could check for you.

Another explanation in another email:
For the 2nd issue of compass interference, the reason why the compass was effected was because electrics current was too large by the drone itself, which interferences the function of compass. The problem is currently occurred in some of Matrice 210. It was chances that customer would have this problem. For this, we are very sorry for your situation. To solve this issue, our R&D department will release a Hardware Update for Matrice 210 on 11 Feb 2018. After this update, the issue you have should be solved. Please kindly await for 3 days until the update released.



At this current stage, we kindly suggest, before each flight operation, please have to Calibrate the Compass, also, please avoid fly in Sport mode or high wind condition in order to avoid large electric current incurred in the drone caused interferences to compass.

How is a hardware update done via the internet? Can they upgrade my computer's RAM through an e-mail as well?

Pawell Posted at 2018-2-12 02:59
How is a hardware update done via the internet? Can they upgrade my computer's RAM through an e-mail as well?

Hi Pawel,
Thanks for your message I'm sure it helps many people to understand the situation.

Shame you guys have to go through this after spending so much, but I thank you for updating us. I will hold off purchasing until you guys have a working drone.

Can you send me a personal message on this? Did you come across any error messages on the app?

DJI-Mark Posted at 2018-2-12 10:06
Can you send me a personal message on this? Did you come across any error messages on the app?

Who do you mean?

Pawell Posted at 2018-2-12 02:57
DJI email:

Please kindly re-read the email we have sent in. The problem you suffered which occurred in a few chances. It does not mean the information from website is misinformation. Since not every drone is perfect, and it is possible that some of the drones could have this issue. In hence, the update of hardware could solve this issue. Please kindly await for the update patiently on 11 FEB. For the update, customer does not need to send in the drone, update can be done by customer him/herself.

Thank you, Paweł. I'm sure THEY do their best to solve this and other FW problems M200 platform may suffer before all wrinkles are ironed out. Beyond any doubt this is a machine of different class and purpose, hence the price tag. They may be a bit nonchalant at times when dealing with Spark/Mavic/Phantom issues, but not when M200 is purchased by government institutions to perform in critical missions.

BTW, I agree that sometimes it's difficult to understand the meaning of their response, in many cases lost in translation. But, please, be gentle on them ... Imagine yourself trying to respond in Swahili to an African customer of yours ...

Matthew Dobrski Posted at 2018-2-12 19:22
Thank you, Paweł. I'm sure THEY do their best to solve this and other FW problems M200 platform may suffer before all wrinkles are ironed out. Beyond any doubt this is a machine of different class and purpose, hence the price tag. They may be a bit nonchalant at times when dealing with Spark/Mavic/Phantom issues, but not when M200 is purchased by government institutions to perform in critical missions.

BTW, I agree that sometimes it's difficult to understand the meaning of their response, in many cases lost in translation. But, please, be gentle on them ... Imagine yourself trying to respond in Swahili to an African customer of yours ...

If I was selling $30k paperweights in Swahili I would invest in a translator
They are a huge company that sells worldwide and look at the bell icon on the forum - it says remind instead of reminder/notifications. It is not translation issues, it is not caring.
Don't tell me they can't afford it, we both know the drones they sell have a huge profit margin (especially on the pro side of things)
They do it with the translation, updates, communication, R&D, repairs - are these all issues or just lack of standards?

[edit] And we talk to them in english, they do not respond to my emails written in polish, despite being legally required to (this not responding will be quite costly for them as our lawyer says).

Pawell Posted at 2018-2-14 00:30
If I was selling $30k paperweights in Swahili I would invest in a translator
They are a huge company that sells worldwide and look at the bell icon on the forum - it says remind instead of reminder/notifications. It is not translation issues, it is not caring.
Don't tell me they can't afford it, we both know the drones they sell have a huge profit margin (especially on the pro side of things)

Beside, what's the status of your bird? Mine - as you probably know by now - is NFG. Did the FW update last night, tested today ... No change. Is there any good, caring DJI dealership in Old Country? After all it's their responsibility to keep you happy, isn't?

Matthew Dobrski Posted at 2018-2-14 00:49
Beside, what's the status of your bird? Mine - as you probably know by now - is NFG. Did the FW update last night, tested today ... No change. Is there any good, caring DJI dealership in Old Country? After all it's their responsibility to keep you happy, isn't?

Our has been working 0 days and not working/in repairs total 120 days. They do not want to refund our drone:
"Refund seems not possible at this moment since customer has 4 RMAs but with different issues (the first 2 was the same GPS issue; the third was gimbal issue but gimbal was not sent in the first 2 case; and the final one is compass, hardware issue"
Because the logical thing is more issues=no refund. Maybe if we had less issues we would already have switched companies.

We calculated how much we lost over the period of 120 days (and since Polish law requires them to give a printed warranty card; which they have on a website; - Polish civil code applies - which is good for us since it has many consumer protection measures) and sent them the sum that we lost and a bank account number. (by the way the losses are 2x - 3x the cost of the system)
-------------
I just noticed these messages make me look like an old grumpy guy that sits at home all day. I am 20 and I love drones - so to get me this angry on a company they need to be deserving it.
My boss is angry at the whole situation, I loose money; my boss looses money; DJI looses costumers=money. It is a loosing situation for all parties involved.

By the way what is NFG?

Hi Matthew,

I'm very sad for your bird ! =/
Please let us know what DJI engineers will say to you, and what is going to happen to your bird and to you ! how long time will you get to get back your bird?
Need a beautifull end please DJI !

Pawell Posted at 2018-2-14 01:06
Our has been working 0 days and not working/in repairs total 120 days. They do not want to refund our drone:
"Refund seems not possible at this moment since customer has 4 RMAs but with different issues (the first 2 was the same GPS issue; the third was gimbal issue but gimbal was not sent in the first 2 case; and the final one is compass, hardware issue"
Because the logical thing is more issues=no refund. Maybe if we had less issues we would already have switched companies.

NFG stands for NO F....G GOOD ...

Yes, you have all good reasons to be frustrated, period. Pardon my curiosity: what is the position of your dealer in this case? Accordingly to what I know by far, M200 class drones are sold exclusively by authorized DJI dealers. Therefore they're directly responsible for selling you an fully functional drone and taking care of any related warranty issues. At least that's what I've been told:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Good afternoon Matthew,

Thanks for reaching out. That is very unfortunate to hear regarding your experience with the M200. I hope your dealer and DJI are well involved on this incident so that they can get the aircraft in the hands of their engineers for review. If that is not the case we’d be happy to send a few emails to ensure the necessary support tier at DJI is involved with their case.

To this point our company has well over a hundred successful Matrice 200 series system integrations across North America and we can 100% truthfully report that we have yet to have a client experience any catastrophic failure similar to what you have reported. Yes, we have seen a few pretty nasty M210s into our service center following crashes but all have been reported as pilot fault/error incidences or careless observation of surroundings (trees bite!).

We are currently working with a new client on the east coast who had his previous M210 fall out of the air. DJI swiftly and promptly got their hands on the case about a month or two ago and pinpointed the fault to be that of the batteries and according to HQ they have taken the necessary action to prevent similar failure. We have also seen a handful of reports across owners forums and groups but nothing that we can say is alarming given the number of M200 series out in the wild.

While DJI can frustrate most, they most definitely see the level of importance in a high quality product offering to serve enterprise users who expect quality and reliability. We must add from our end that on the back side of things, DJI has done a nice job of separating their CE lines (consumer) from enterprise with key players in their enterprise division sitting right down the road in Burbank, CA who are American and understand North American service standards a little differently than their counterparts in Asia.

I hope this information is beneficial to you and please let us know if you have any follow-up questions. Our team would be happy to work with you on your Matrice 200 system. Don’t hesitate to reach out any time.

Regards,
Taylor

Taylor Waibel
Director of Enterprise Sales

Enterprise Solutions
DJI Authorized Enterprise Dealer & Distributor
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I understand that - as a hobbyist/amateur photographer and not a commercial M200 user - I'm under far lesser pressure than you. The whole idea of mine was to get this drone way, way ahead meticulously planned summer filming expedition around Western Canada wilderness. I have a plenty of time to deal with all eventual firmware/hardware issues. As for now my bird must be shipped back to a dealer for further evaluation and fix at DJI facility, eventually replaced with another one. I will try to keep all of us informed with outcome of this crusade of mine...

YOYOMAN Posted at 2018-2-14 10:35
Hi Matthew,

I'm very sad for your bird ! =/

Yoyoman, apparently only some of Matrice 200 series drones are suffering compass error issue. Why is that is beyond my comprehension or expertise ... If the entire flock of M200 out there will became suddenly "infected" with this virus, than they'll all start behaving erratically like mine. Which is not the case, I believe.

Needless to say, the issue must be addressed by DJI one way or another. I can't see it differently, unless the company is on suicidal patch ...  

Matthew Dobrski Posted at 2018-2-14 13:36
NFG stands for NO F....G GOOD ...

Yes, you have all good reasons to be frustrated, period. Pardon my curiosity: what is the position of your dealer in this case? Accordingly to what I know by far, M200 class drones are sold exclusively by authorized DJI dealers. Therefore they're directly responsible for selling you an fully functional drone and taking care of any related warranty issues. At least that's what I've been told:

Hi Matthew,
our drone was serviced once by our dealer, but it goes from us to the dealer; from the dealer to the distributor; from the distributor to the DJI service center. So why not ship it to them directly.
It took them 2-3 weeks just to send the drone around back and forth so it is a huge waste of time.
What is more the DJI distributor (RcPro) that covers every DJI product in Poland is kind of a jerk. They would not share the case number with us, not share the ETA or anything. So we waited for 1 month not knowing what was happening.
And if that was not enough they damaged the drone, then hired a lawyer to dispute us (even though we had the flight logs) and it was a huge mess.
And in the end it turned out they did not tell DJI what was wrong and DJI just sent the drone back without doing anything.

In the end I think it might be a good opportunity for the company I work for. We wanted to do inspections, but it turned out photogrammetry is far more profitable/useful in the field we work in (construction management). So changing to a fixed wing UAV will be good for us. (provided they actually takie it like grown up people and refund the drone and refund our time)

I will update you when the case moves forward (expect a post next year )

Pawell Posted at 2018-2-15 00:53
Hi Matthew,
our drone was serviced once by our dealer, but it goes from us to the dealer; from the dealer to the distributor; from the distributor to the DJI service center. So why not ship it to them directly.
It took them 2-3 weeks just to send the drone around back and forth so it is a huge waste of time.

Oh, I see ... That really sucks. Here DJI dealers are getting merchandise directly from China, no distributors of any kind involved in between. I hope your fight will end up well. Anyway, to my understanding you guys are actually over with Matrice for now, seeking some different platforms. Good luck to you than ...

Matthew Dobrski Posted at 2018-2-15 01:22
Oh, I see ... That really sucks. Here DJI dealers are getting merchandise directly from China, no distributors of any kind involved in between. I hope your fight will end up well. Anyway, to my understanding you guys are actually over with Matrice for now, seeking some different platforms. Good luck to you than ...

We bought the drone to do work, it doesn't do work - we don't  want it. As simple as that.
We found a different platform because the Matrice did not work.
That's what we get for getting Chinese enterprise equipment. (don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong in something being from China, but Chinese service/repairs is known to be one of the worst)

By the way what do You use your Matrice for? Filming and photography for non-commercial purposes? Do you have an instagram account or anything of that sort?
Best regards

I have a similair fault with my drone, the readings of the pictures suggests that the altitude is 10-40 meters wrong. How will I then know that the drone is really flying at 80 meters?

I also have the problem of the drone going in to ATTI-mode when doing missions. This is easily handled with experience, but it´s anoying to be afraid of this happening. But I think I understand their issue know, it must be the wiring that isn't properly isolated so it won't interfere with the GPS and compass. In that case it sounds like an issue to be solved in repairs by DJI. To say that they can't fix it and to tell someone to fly under restriced flightconditions sound just stupid!

I really hope DJI takes responsebility for this!

We have the same issues with our Matrice 200 in Sweden.
But as the message from DJI is talking about the electric it must be the wiring that isn't properly isolated and are therefore causing the loss of satelliteconection. But this should be an easyfix for DJI?!

We are also seeing that the coordinates on the pictures are off with 10-40 meters which is also weird. How can we be sure it flies at 80 meters if it´s using the GPS to determine altitude?!

Pawell Posted at 2018-2-15 01:44
We bought the drone to do work, it doesn't do work - we don't  want it. As simple as that.
We found a different platform because the Matrice did not work.
That's what we get for getting Chinese enterprise equipment. (don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong in something being from China, but Chinese service/repairs is known to be one of the worst)

Pawell, I'm far from being enthusiastic about quality of DJI customer service, or Chinese products/customer satisfaction policies in general, but I also have no bad experience on that field. I may be just lucky, having 3 drones for over 2 years working just fine and only recently purchased M200 is troubled from day one. Once I had hard landing with my Inspire, broken X5 camera was fixed swiftly in 5 (five) days including shipment, no issues since.

The cutting-edge technology involved with DJI products is what is fascinating me the most, and here they have absolutely no comparable competition. For that - and that only - reason I'm willing to go across inevitable troubles with constant FW fixes and occasional failures.

As for myself ... I'm a hobbyist first, involved in RC models and robotics. Landscape photography is my life-long passion as well, and there's where I found M200 to sit on the top of my goals. I'm also a shy guy, social media fame and glory aren't my things. Some of my work, however, is shared here ...

PK1 Posted at 2018-2-15 12:30
We have the same issues with our Matrice 200 in Sweden.
But as the message from DJI is talking about the electric it must be the wiring that isn't properly isolated and are therefore causing the loss of satelliteconection. But this should be an easyfix for DJI?!

Did you perform FW update (01.01.0600)? Any improvement in flight stability?