This evening I took my Spark out for a bit.  Was having a beautiful flight, strong satellite signals, good distance with no issues.  All of a sudden it enterted ATTI mode, which is okay, I began to fly back to my direction, then it lost signal.  I used the "Find my Drone" part of the app and was led to a field.  Walked through some standing water and into a field and had no luck finding it.  I got the flight data and will be uplodading it to DJI.  Thought I would share here too, see if anyone else has some answers...  This issue seems way too common.  I'm tempted to sell on my new equipment and upgrade.

That seems strange your Spark dropped GPS signal time of RTH? I couldn't notice anything unusual except that it was flying 41 MPH last recorded before it vanished off the App?

davidmartingraf Posted at 2018-5-23 20:09
That seems strange your Spark dropped GPS signal time of RTH? I couldn't notice anything unusual except that it was flying 41 MPH last recorded before it vanished off the App?

I noticed that too. It went from almost a standstill to over 40mph?!  I found your videos you also went over 10,000 feet!  It must be the location. If I had the original footage it would be beautiful.

I’ve had the Spark only for a month or so and love it. Bought a lot of batteries and accessories. Now I don’t know what to do...  I sent an email and a message via the app to DJI. If I have to buy a new product I might upgrade. I’m sure I could sell my almost unused accessories online easily. But I love my Spark!!

Hmm, wierd, you did everything correct... But when in ATTI you have no gps, and the map heading is useless.. So unless you know the area. You could have flown in totally wrong direction..

Was a voyage. Went through a knee deep creek type area with a lot of frogs...and ticks. Ugh!  And cow poo. Luckily I didn’t get into trouble for being on that land. I may go back tomorrow and check in the other side of the road if I can. If it was going 40mph and was 200 feet in the air who knows where it could be....

I wasn’t anxious at all. I did research since it went into ATTI mode last time and knew what to do. I feel defeated. Haha

It’s all farmland out of town. Besides the river. It’s one of the only part of my state that gets hilly and has trees too.

StuckinNoDak Posted at 2018-5-23 20:41
It’s all farmland out of town. Besides the river. It’s one of the only part of my state that gets hilly and has trees too.

At just before 6:00 in your video your estimated remaining battery time display crossed over the "H" in the yellow circle - you probably would not have had enough battery power left to make it all the way back even if you retained GPS.

Also you did get one high wind warning - which way was the wind blowing?

It’s always windy here.

I was turning around to come home around that point. In sport mode I had enough battery to get back home. Or at least close and land someplace I knew where to find it. I’ve done that in the past.  This didn’t give me the option to do anything.

The wind was light. Maybe 5-10mph. So a bit more at that higher altitude. I believe the wind was going NW. I would have been flying towards the wind on the way back. But again, I could have chosen where to make a safe landing if the Spark was acting as it should.

I am sorry to hear this accident. Have you contacted our support and start the case? If no, please contact them to start the ticket, we will help to make data analysis if the drone is under warranty period (within 12 months old), if it's a warranty case, we will compensate the drone according to After-Sales Policy.
Here’s the link to contact us: http://www.dji.com/support

I'm sorry for your loss mate.

Another case of Spark with a Good GPS Signal then suddenly went to  ATTI.

Do you think this was the reason why it went to ATTI?

StuckinNoDak Posted at 2018-5-23 20:37
I noticed that too. It went from almost a standstill to over 40mph?!  I found your videos you also went over 10,000 feet!  It must be the location. If I had the original footage it would be beautiful.

I’ve had the Spark only for a month or so and love it. Bought a lot of batteries and accessories. Now I don’t know what to do...  I sent an email and a message via the app to DJI. If I have to buy a new product I might upgrade. I’m sure I could sell my almost unused accessories online easily. But I love my Spark!!

I know you were flying in kind of a remote area, but do you have your contact information located somewhere on the Spark? I have my name, address, phone, email, and FAA Registration Number on a label taped to both the battery and drone.

Luckily, I've not had any issues but hopefully if something ever happened then at least there's good chance of finding the drone again.

I think it's important to find out exactly what happened to your drone, upon RTH why did it immediately revert into Atti mode? Please keep us posted on what develops, hopefully you can receive some comforting news, link up again with the Spark.

When you have lost the signal the first time and entered into RTH mode, I have been told that you have canceled your RTH process to manually control your flight back. It is true? Did you press the button to cancel RTH?

Sorry to hear your loss of Spark.
From the information I gathered from your video, I could see that you were taking too much risk
1) High wind warning
2) Flying well beyond you VLOS
3) Flying well beyond Sparks spec distance (FCC 2000m) .

Also we got to remember any equipment could fail at any time without warning. It could be a drone, a car or a plane.

Hope this helps you in future to be safe than sorry.

marlowe Posted at 2018-5-23 21:16
At just before 6:00 in your video your estimated remaining battery time display crossed over the "H" in the yellow circle - you probably would not have had enough battery power left to make it all the way back even if you retained GPS.

Also you did get one high wind warning - which way was the wind blowing?

That is meant for auto RTH (batterylife for max 36-38kph, landed with 10% battery left, at least) with a descent just over HP.
In Sportmode you have 1/3 higher speed to get home, also you can descent during flying it towards the homepoint.
Also you still have 10% more batterylife to get home and on the ground
As long you have a RC-AC connection, of course

I am sorry to hear that you lost it, But when you fly that far ( greater than 10,000 feet) away, what do you expect?
That is way too far for reliable performance with the transmission system of the Spark and it's RC ( WIFI)  What mods/antennas were you using?
I would guess some sort of interference since it flashed up an airspace warning as it was struggling with signal...If that indicated speed is correct ( +40mph) possible something hit it?

Ram-UK Posted at 2018-5-23 23:09
Sorry to hear your loss of Spark.
From the information I gathered from your video, I could see that you were taking too much risk
1) High wind warning

Totally agree with you!

In any case, in almost all cases of drone losses, it is always the pilot's fault and not the device's error.

Ram-UK Posted at 2018-5-23 23:09
Sorry to hear your loss of Spark.
From the information I gathered from your video, I could see that you were taking too much risk
1) High wind warning

10,314ft in Distance Away from him.

Very risky indeed. Pilot should have kept it in VLOS.

Agree with all you said Ram.

what phone and what version app are you using? the latest????

My dji spark Also flew away and just had it few months what a complete waste RTH did not work

Using an iPhone 7 Plus. Latest updates. No mods to app. No mods to remote.

We all know it’s impossible to keep Line of Sight. It turns into a Alex before you know it. Was I far?   Absolutely?  Still not an excuse for it to drop signal completely.   

Most of this area is a class D airspace. Safe to fly under 400 feet.

Yes. I canceled RTH to get the Spark home faster.

DJI Thor. I have contacted support. I’ve only had the Spark for a month or so.

Thank you.

From what I’ve read the fly always are rarely the pilots error. If you watch the video I did everything I could to get it home.  I have a strict “before I fly” routine that I always follow.

When pushing the devices limits with distance it comes down to having to possibly land someplace that isn’t where you’re currently at, but that you can easily find.

No, I don’t have my information on the Spark. I was going to add my number to it sometime soon. Didn’t plan on it leaving me last night.

I see you using sport mode, you get yaws errors due to aggressive flying/turning , with yaw error spark goes into atti mode, then when you lost connection, rth will be failed and stay in atti mode. Also you are in 5.8 gig mode and far away cause signal lost.

Jos A Posted at 2018-5-24 06:18
I see you using sport mode, you get yaws errors due to aggressive flying/turning , with yaw error spark goes into atti mode, then when you lost connection, rth will be failed and stay in atti mode. Also you are in 5.8 gig mode and far away cause signal lost.

I was in sport mode. But not turning aggressively. Flight straight out. When I got the errors I stopped flying.  I’ve found it common for it to drop signal and then reconnect quickly. The screen greys out, then you get it back as soon as manly possible. The complete and sudden drop doesn’t make sense since the connection wasn’t weak before then.  I was actually shocked by how strong of a connection I had and contributed it to where I chose to fly yesterday. Away from interference and wide open.

Any idea why we can’t change the frequency used using an OTG cable and iPhone?  I’ve seen videos where Android users can manually choose. And they get an HD icon as well.

fansbf2667cf Posted at 2018-5-24 04:23
My dji spark Also flew away and just had it few months what a complete waste RTH did not work

I am sorry to hear the loss. Have you contacted the support to start a case? If you haven't, please kindly contact our support and we will do the best to help. You can contact us at http://www.dji.com/support.

StuckinNoDak Posted at 2018-5-24 05:37
DJI Thor. I have contacted support. I’ve only had the Spark for a month or so.

Thank you.

Thank you for getting back. If there is a need, you can provide me with your case/ticket number, I will help to keep an eye on it.

StuckinNoDak Posted at 2018-5-24 07:08
I was in sport mode. But not turning aggressively. Flight straight out. When I got the errors I stopped flying.  I’ve found it common for it to drop signal and then reconnect quickly. The screen greys out, then you get it back as soon as manly possible. The complete and sudden drop doesn’t make sense since the connection wasn’t weak before then.  I was actually shocked by how strong of a connection I had and contributed it to where I chose to fly yesterday. Away from interference and wide open.

Any idea why we can’t change the frequency used using an OTG cable and iPhone?  I’ve seen videos where Android users can manually choose. And they get an HD icon as well.

Because latest verify app for the spark recording their site is 4.1.22. (add dji goggles)
4.1.15 is the most stable version with an otg cable.
4.1.14 their you can change to 2.4 ghz, then upgrade to 4.1.15 (you stay on 2.4)
all version after that had many problems for android on several devices. The latest version isn't always the best and there add more stuff in it for the mavic air. I think it's for IOS the same thing

StuckinNoDak Posted at 2018-5-24 05:36
Yes. I canceled RTH to get the Spark home faster.

In this case was your fault.

You were almost double the max range listed in the manual, and in very windy conditions. Risky flight at best, dangerous at worst.

jmb63 Posted at 2018-5-23 23:39
I am sorry to hear that you lost it, But when you fly that far ( greater than 10,000 feet) away, what do you expect?
That is way too far for reliable performance with the transmission system of the Spark and it's RC ( WIFI)  What mods/antennas were you using?
I would guess some sort of interference since it flashed up an airspace warning as it was struggling with signal...If that indicated speed is correct ( +40mph) possible something hit it?

Too distant flight would not be risky if things worked the way DJI advertised: It will automatically return home after 10 seconds. ONLY! more and more cases like this! GPS error and compass error set interference error. Then he is unable to return home and therefore DO NOT! the user is faulty.
Read about the last 8-10 cases of the Spark flew. All in the same way:

- Disconnected GPS signal
- Switch to "Atti" mode
- No signal transmission
- compass error
- interference
- you can not control it
- goodbye to Spark ...

I really do not understand that if you do not have a GPS signal and switch to "Atti" mode, why activate RTH? Does RTH only make sense if there is a GPS signal because it is home based on that or is it wrong?
And that many and terrifying pop up bug reports ...

There's something wrong with here.

I'm struggling to understand how you can feel justified in complaining that it wasn't your fault that you lost your Spark when flying it far outside of it's clearly stated specifications, and illegally. It's like complaining that your car's engine overheated when you kept your accelerator floored. Just because you can keep flying straight away from yourself, just as a car won't stop you keeping the accelerator down, doesn't mean you should do it.

It's your fault you lost your Spark, and I think you should own it like an adult rather than complaining.

check out 6.10 -6.12 ! it changes the homepoint? just before attimode, battery life enters the home threshold.  then it sends the H waaay back and gives the impression that you have a long flight before its RTH time.  Im no expert, but to me it looks like it updated its hompoint to where it was at the time of the signal loss..when you pressed RTH again, I guess it simply landed?

Jakab Gipsz Posted at 2018-5-25 16:27
Too distant flight would not be risky if things worked the way DJI advertised: It will automatically return home after 10 seconds. ONLY! more and more cases like this! GPS error and compass error set interference error. Then he is unable to return home and therefore DO NOT! the user is faulty.
Read about the last 8-10 cases of the Spark flew. All in the same way:

Although you make a few good points about what actually causes the complete loss of control, I still believe that if the distances are kept reasonable and not looking for distance records with this toy, you have a better chance of keeping the thing safe, not to mention a better chance of finding it if it drops for any reason.
Any troubles at that kind of extreme range are NOT part of normal operation and should not even be considered for any warranty/compensation. It is the operator's risk to push it like that.
The tiny GPS and compass chips in these things are a wonder and amazing that they work as well as they do but still, what do people expect?

If it loses GPS for any reason RTH will not work.
If it loses its connection it will initiate a RTH by itself but that, of course, is dependent on GPS!
In this case, he lost GPS and compass...nothing to guide itself by. The point of what made it drop GPS/Compass is valid but who knows what interference was encountered?
Was the info transferred between the Spark and the remote corrupted by the flakey connection at that distance and the Spark got some bad data?
GPS is not perfect. Why risk those stupid distances?
How can you trust anything the craft was sending back to the remote about its situation when it is WAY past the limits of the transmission range. Just before it lost all feed it said it was doing 40+ MPH in an instant.
That comes back to distance and the design of the craft. Unless you can get the actual data from the Spark and not what you see on the screen or stored/cached in the device/phone, any info/data is unreliable and any conclusions on why are absolutely  just speculation

JimFandango Posted at 2018-5-26 00:03
I'm struggling to understand how you can feel justified in complaining that it wasn't your fault that you lost your Spark when flying it far outside of it's clearly stated specifications, and illegally. It's like complaining that your car's engine overheated when you kept your accelerator floored. Just because you can keep flying straight away from yourself, just as a car won't stop you keeping the accelerator down, doesn't mean you should do it.

It's your fault you lost your Spark, and I think you should own it like an adult rather than complaining.

This example is very bad.
When you buy a drone, you will read that there is nothing wrong with an error (interruption of the connection) because there is an automation that will bring it back. That's why you're flying quietly, trusting what the specification speaks. Compared to this, he flew away. What do you mean by the pilot's fault?
- How do you know how long your range is, if you do not try it out?
- Show where is the description that you should not do this because you can fly away?
- The manufacturer of the spark is so advanced that he did not switch the remote control to manual mode (Phantom family)
- This is a popular drone (women and children treat ads) so it's easy to handle and foolproof (in principle)
The interruption of the connection is indeed the fault of the operator if it is too far away, but that is not a reason to escape. That's when GPS really needs to be home.

That's why strange that such mistakes are repeatedly happening, and you always blame the operators, but only while your drone is flying to the sunset ...

I do not understand you why you do not realize that RTH and GPS are basic functions and it is also essential that they need to work.

You would buy it if you would say that the GPS might work but it may not. Or come home, but it may also fly away ...

JimFandango Posted at 2018-5-26 00:03
I'm struggling to understand how you can feel justified in complaining that it wasn't your fault that you lost your Spark when flying it far outside of it's clearly stated specifications, and illegally. It's like complaining that your car's engine overheated when you kept your accelerator floored. Just because you can keep flying straight away from yourself, just as a car won't stop you keeping the accelerator down, doesn't mean you should do it.

It's your fault you lost your Spark, and I think you should own it like an adult rather than complaining.

I feel justified because the product malfunctioned. And that comparison barely makes sense.

This is a forum where people come to ask for help and talk about drones.  I’m disappointed to see so many posts that are just rude.  Simply blaming me for what happened.  Pilot error, your fault, don’t do this, don’t do that...., clearly you were in the wrong, etc.

Thanks for those who had positive things to say.

I heard from DJI.  This was NOT pilot error.  The Spark malfunctioned and they are sending me a replacement.  It feels great to show that so many of you were wrong and out of place.  I’m used to forums being a helpful place.  Bravo to DJI customer service!  

I think I’ll be selling my replacement.  Someone is going to get a great bundle!  I don’t trust WiFi drones anymore.  This fly away issue is far too common.

The day after losing the lil guy I bought a Maveric Pro Fly More Combo and an super impressed.  Glad I chose this over the Air.  OccuSync is wonderful!  The footage is insane.  It’s also far quieter than I expected, and that is without the the platinum blades.

The Spark served its purpose.  It showed me how much I enjoy this hobby.  I’ve been interested in drones for years but could never afford one and didn’t know how much I’d use it.  Now I know I like flying, and really am getting into post video editing.  The Spark is a glorified toy, and is great for what it was originally advertised for....selfies.  And squeezing between small spaces.

Here the new (llucky outcome) event:
https://forum.dji.com/forum.php? ... 6orderby%3Dlastpost