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Battery data communication error
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9522 45 2020-3-15
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sbonev
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hello, today after having zero issues so far in the last month of flying my mini i had the first major one, expectedly. long story short some 5 min in the flight unexpectedly the drone went from some 14 or 11 to 0 satelites, which got accompanied with a battery data communication error....This resulted of course in an ATTI mode switch. Some seconds later it acquired briefly 15 satelites, after that entered permanent ATTI mode! I had to return it to home and land as fast as i could. The lost of gps is not strange, but it is not explicable as i was above a lake some 80 m above launch altitude, no clouds or anything. it should not be solely a gps issue! the battery data communication error most definitely is a big issue and my suspicion is that it was the main culprit, as i had it for the whole resulting flight and the craft never recovered any gps afterwards until landing and even after that. This points to some possible hardware/software issue that is quite serious and needs to be addressed.
Luckily i never screen capture my flights, but today for some strange reason decided to do so, and i got all of it on video, here is the link:



I am attaching the logfile - I am using mode 3 for controls



https://www.phantomhelp.com/LogViewer/XR8BUKGWS220S91NEZPF

and dat file

https://drive.google.com/open?id ... HYXLpIlSfiGFgVL-rQL

There is nothing much on first glance in the log apart from the battery error and unidentified battery error.

After i landed i switched to a different battery and got another flight without issues, no gps issue at all, stable 14 satelites and 5 bars. Which makes me think issue is a combination of factors, most definitely software and possible hardware, and appear in certain scenarios. This should definitely be addressed by DJI as it is clearly a big and serious issue, drone would have never acquired gps with that error, most definitely gps was not the issue but something with internal flight controller. If there was wind it would have been an issue to recover it, even like that it was tricky to land as there were a lot of people passing, so i was relying on visual system and on having enough light, otherwise i would have had harder time for sure...
had i lost RC or video connection this drone was lost definitely and this is really frightening...not sure i can fly it confidently anymore.
I hope somebody can shed some other insight or idea as to what might have been the issue.

2020-3-15
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panthere
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t'aurais pu blesser des gens ...pas fort man..!!
2020-3-15
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djiuser_BVhIYEYXOyMq
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I cannot help you directly except sending you support greetings from Mollis (GL) to Zurich. Hope you can solve the issue.
Try the excellent support from the log experts from the MAVIC MM Forum.
2020-3-15
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BudWalker
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The .DAT isn't as large as it should be. Is there another FLY029.dat that comes after 20-03-15-03-40-50_FLY029.DAT. If so, please provide that as well.
2020-3-15
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Geebax
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A battery data communication error means that the aircraft's main processor cannot communicate with the smart battery. If not a battery fault, it is most likely a poor connection to the battery itself .Try cleaning the electical contacts on the battery and also on the aircraft.
2020-3-15
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m80116
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So battery and satellite reception must be correlated to some degree, at least for the Mini electronics and control firmware.

Very scary to come back relying on video feed only.
2020-3-15
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sbonev
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BudWalker Posted at 3-15 17:20
The .DAT isn't as large as it should be. Is there another FLY029.dat that comes after 20-03-15-03-40-50_FLY029.DAT. If so, please provide that as well.

yes,true, due to the DJI Fly app not working properly i have to restart it every time and end up with 2 files for everything
here is the other one

https://drive.google.com/open?id ... PYUSaTwAAxPU9cDA7Ev
2020-3-15
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sbonev
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Geebax Posted at 3-15 17:39
A battery data communication error means that the aircraft's main processor cannot communicate with the smart battery. If not a battery fault, it is most likely a poor connection to the battery itself .Try cleaning the electical contacts on the battery and also on the aircraft.

that is what i thought also, until now i had no issues with this battery, last used it last week, it was securely plugged in, otherwise it won't close the battery compartment. I checked for anything in the contacts, hair or particles, but didn't see anything suspicious.the strange thing is it could not communicate and switched off gps directly...this is quite scary. I don't know if it might have something to do with the app - if you see the video issue happens shortly after i restart the app - 1 min or so i think, and when battery reaches 79%, it stays there, up until the end battery is at 79%  And the actual charge is less  - 2 and a half lights. i guess i will have to test the same battery again.
2020-3-15
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sbonev
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m80116 Posted at 3-15 22:20
So battery and gps must be correlated to some degree, at least for the Mini electronics and control firmware.

Very scary to come back relying on video feed only.
That is what I'm afraid of... Not very smart to switch off gps and go to atti mode of you cannot read battery.... Basically they shouldn't care about how much power is left in case of such issue, just directly rth ... But switching to atti and risking losing connection to RC and hence drone is not very smart for a drone relying poorly on WiFi
2020-3-16
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kiminx
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scaryyyy...
2020-3-16
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m80116
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sbonev Posted at 3-16 00:30
That is what I'm afraid of... Not very smart to switch off gps and go to atti mode of you cannot read battery.... Basically they shouldn't care about how much power is left in case of such issue, just directly rth ... But switching to atti and risking losing connection to RC and hence drone is not very smart for a drone relying poorly on WiFi

I don't think it is normal but rather an unfortunate linking, wondering if it is board to board interconnection (ribbon cables) or some component affecting both circuits.
2020-3-16
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sbonev
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m80116 Posted at 3-16 05:39
I don't think it is normal but rather an unfortunate linking, wondering if it is board to board interconnection (ribbon cables) or some component affecting both circuits.

that or it could be firmware specific software decision...in which case it should be addressed promptly
2020-3-16
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BudWalker
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sbonev Posted at 3-15 23:37
yes,true, due to the DJI Fly app not working properly i have to restart it every time and end up with 2 files for everything
here is the other one


20-03-15-03-36-53_FLY029.DAT is the first part of the flight.

20-03-15-03-40-50_FLY029.DAT is the second part of the flight. But, it terminates at 287 secs and you've described the incident occurring at 300 secs.

Is there another FLY029?
2020-3-16
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sbonev
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BudWalker Posted at 3-16 06:34
20-03-15-03-36-53_FLY029.DAT is the first part of the flight.

20-03-15-03-40-50_FLY029.DAT is the second part of the flight. But, it terminates at 287 secs and you've described the incident occurring at 300 secs.

there is only one more dat file for that flight 29... here it is, though judging by the time of it, it is from the very beginning... i guess after the error processor stopped logging for some reason, which is strange and points to serious problem. Next dat file is from flight 30...i checked what is logged on most of them, but cannot find anything suspicious.


https://drive.google.com/open?id ... 3h4Yi3_dKADqfNzBTN_
2020-3-16
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virtual
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Very scary comming home! But crashing app is serious problem, I wouldn't feel safe. That restart could confuse electronics IMPOV... I don't think that it is a simple mechanical issue (like sudden disconnection of battery pin), no fast or shaky movent at the time.
2020-3-16
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sbonev
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virtual Posted at 3-16 08:34
Very scary comming home! But crashing app is serious problem, I wouldn't feel safe. That restart could confuse electronics IMPOV... I don't think that it is a simple mechanical issue (like sudden disconnection of battery pin), no fast or shaky movent at the time.

well, we can only guess, i also wouldn't discard the app as a possible issue, and true it is not reliable...unfortunately i cannot use it in airplane mode, so i am trying to figure a way for it to work without restart, switching all off after i start it, unsuccessful in the past 2 tries obviously....
2020-3-16
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virtual
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What is the problem with airplaine mode? Anyway sudden loss of GPS in open space is very very bad...
2020-3-17
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sbonev
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virtual Posted at 3-17 02:51
What is the problem with airplaine mode? Anyway sudden loss of GPS in open space is very very bad...

whenever i switch it on buttons for photo and video on RC stop working and cannot change flight mode, so only resolution is to restart app, which i have done in the video exactly because of that...now i will try to do it without airplane mode just switching bluetooth and wifi.
2020-3-17
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m80116
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sbonev Posted at 3-17 03:04
whenever i switch it on buttons for photo and video on RC stop working and cannot change flight mode, so only resolution is to restart app, which i have done in the video exactly because of that...now i will try to do it without airplane mode just switching bluetooth and wifi.

I have the same problem and I can report it's Android 10 related, with the same app on Android 9 this problem was never exhibited.
2020-3-17
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virtual
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sbonev Posted at 3-17 03:04
whenever i switch it on buttons for photo and video on RC stop working and cannot change flight mode, so only resolution is to restart app, which i have done in the video exactly because of that...now i will try to do it without airplane mode just switching bluetooth and wifi.

Maybe other running app is affecting the Fly app? BT and Wifi off is good idea too. I hope You'll be able to sort it out soon!
2020-3-17
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sbonev
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virtual Posted at 3-17 03:45
Maybe other running app is affecting the Fly app? BT and Wifi off is good idea too. I hope You'll be able to sort it out soon!

it is something related to exynos processors, i guess dji fly app is poorly coded and not very well tested on the range of supported android devices
2020-3-17
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virtual
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sbonev Posted at 3-17 04:03
it is something related to exynos processors, i guess dji fly app is poorly coded and not very well tested on the range of supported android devices

Yes, they didn't work with fly app at all for a while (being on supported deviced list!). Very sad...
2020-3-17
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panthere
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At the end of your video we see that you fly above and near people, do you think it's safe?
2020-3-19
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sbonev
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panthere Posted at 3-19 15:27
At the end of your video we see that you fly above and near people, do you think it's safe?

safer than if i had left the drone fly away....
2020-3-19
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panthere
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ok but This is where you took off.                                                I advise you to better choose your take-off locations
2020-3-19
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panthere
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not very careful
2020-3-19
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sbonev
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panthere Posted at 3-19 15:43
ok but This is where you took off.                                                I advise you to better choose your take-off locations

not sure on what authority you claim i am not choosing well my take off locations - you don't know in this particular case where i took off so better not comment something you have zero knowledge of

as for the landing in case you didn't notice it was an emergency...didn't know how much battery i had left, couldn't move away from where i was because i was risking the drone flying off and crashing or falling down on somebody. so i landed in half a minute as fast as possible and making sure i am away from people. If you could have done it better, please share a video showing it and then feel free to comment! until then your "advices" are as good as anything free you never needed nor asked for - useless!
2020-3-20
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JJB*
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Interesting video, surprised by the flight in ATTI mode. Looks like the craft is still flying in a stabilized mode.....so did the batt error mislead the rest of showing ATTI ??

cheers
JJB
2020-3-20
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sbonev
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JJB* Posted at 3-20 03:07
Interesting video, surprised by the flight in ATTI mode. Looks like the craft is still flying in a stabilized mode.....so did the batt error mislead the rest of showing ATTI ??

cheers

it was not very stable, actually it was flying off, fortunately not much of a wind - if you look closely at the end before landing i was trying to bring it closer and it was flying towards the city, i had to carefully input on the sticks in order to stop it flying away...actually for a moment i was planning to go to the parking lot to land it safely. But i realized it was not an option when i saw how it was getting away, as i had to go around some bushes and obstacles.
the battery error basically switched off the gps, and entered the craft in permanent ATTI mode, also you can see for the whole part after the battery error it stayed at 79%, and actually it was a lot less. I have never had this issue and is a very strange one, as i tested the same battery 2 days ago and it was fine, no issues at all. So definitely not a battery failure, probably something else. I am suspecting app restart caused some failure, not sure if it can cause an issue to the internal processor of the craft, so that it stops communication with battery. And even more strangely disabling the gps. Also it could be something in connector pins or hardware, though i had several flights without any issue and i am leaning towards the software root cause of the issue. DJI Fly is very buggy and not reliable at all, so it won't be a surprise if it is firmware that is causing all that.
I only hope they will not delay much more the next update, as march is nearing its end and still no sign of it
2020-3-20
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JJB*
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sbonev Posted at 3-20 03:25
it was not very stable, actually it was flying off, fortunately not much of a wind - if you look closely at the end before landing i was trying to bring it closer and it was flying towards the city, i had to carefully input on the sticks in order to stop it flying away...actually for a moment i was planning to go to the parking lot to land it safely. But i realized it was not an option when i saw how it was getting away, as i had to go around some bushes and obstacles.
the battery error basically switched off the gps, and entered the craft in permanent ATTI mode, also you can see for the whole part after the battery error it stayed at 79%, and actually it was a lot less. I have never had this issue and is a very strange one, as i tested the same battery 2 days ago and it was fine, no issues at all. So definitely not a battery failure, probably something else. I am suspecting app restart caused some failure, not sure if it can cause an issue to the internal processor of the craft, so that it stops communication with battery. And even more strangely disabling the gps. Also it could be something in connector pins or hardware, though i had several flights without any issue and i am leaning towards the software root cause of the issue. DJI Fly is very buggy and not reliable at all, so it won't be a surprise if it is firmware that is causing all that.
I only hope they will not delay much more the next update, as march is nearing its end and still no sign of it

oke, just looks so stable in air, at the final end again a gps error and switching to ATTI.
But important is that you still has your MM !!

cheers
JJB
2020-3-20
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sbonev
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JJB* Posted at 3-20 03:46
oke, just looks so stable in air, at the final end again a gps error and switching to ATTI.
But important is that you still has your MM !!

true, though not very relaxed when flying anymore

and gps error  seems caused by battery error, it never acquired gps until i switched the drone off, the minute i changed battery and switched it on it got steady gps connection and never lost it for the full next flight. i guess it will never be clarified, i doubt DJI will even comment on this...
2020-3-20
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virtual
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sbonev Posted at 3-20 04:01
true, though not very relaxed when flying anymore

and gps error  seems caused by battery error, it never acquired gps until i switched the drone off, the minute i changed battery and switched it on it got steady gps connection and never lost it for the full next flight. i guess it will never be clarified, i doubt DJI will even comment on this...

Pure speculation from me but could the regaining connection after app restart generate some error? Even reading these stories makes OP shaky...
2020-3-20
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sbonev
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virtual Posted at 3-20 04:21
Pure speculation from me but could the regaining connection after app restart generate some error? Even reading these stories makes OP shaky...

well it is totally strange and definitely could be app related, i just came back from 3 flights, no issues regarding battery at all.. app was crazy as always, stopped working, crashed phone...
it seems to me everything with the DJI Fly app was too rushed and poorly tested by DJI. actually now we are doing the testing
2020-3-20
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Dr0ne_n00b
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Try mavicpilots.com forums - they have people who are very good at reading logs and giving you a better idea of your situation. @sar104 is one to look out for, there are others that can help.

Here you'll just get speculation
2020-3-21
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Ducatinus
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Had same issue today. In my case battery latch was not closed completely.
Do you have encounter any issues after this error and was the MM stable?

https://forum.dji.com/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=212247&page=1#pid2120868
2020-4-7
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sbonev
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Ducatinus Posted at 4-7 09:03
Had same issue today. In my case battery latch was not closed completely.
Do you have encounter any issues after this error and was the MM stable?

well after that one time i never had it anymore... i am pretty sure the battery latch was closed on mine though. Nevertheless i am double checking each time i place the battery it is snug tightly. i noticed if battery is not all the way plugged in the latch is not closing properly.
Anyway the relation between the battery communication error and gps is really puzzling...it should not switch off gps like that i think, or at least makes things even worse.
2020-4-7
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Ducatinus
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sbonev Posted at 4-7 09:13
well after that one time i never had it anymore... i am pretty sure the battery latch was closed on mine though. Nevertheless i am double checking each time i place the battery it is snug tightly. i noticed if battery is not all the way plugged in the latch is not closing properly.
Anyway the relation between the battery communication error and gps is really puzzling...it should not switch off gps like that i think, or at least makes things even worse.

Had this same error now 2 times. Save the bird by manual fly it home.
Don’t trust this battery anymore. DJI should investigate because loosing GPS due battery error is not acceptable.
2020-4-12
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sbonev
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Ducatinus Posted at 4-12 14:41
Had this same error now 2 times. Save the bird by manual fly it home.
Don’t trust this battery anymore. DJI should investigate because loosing GPS due battery error is not acceptable.

are you sure it was well plugged in and the same battery? though it is true it is not acceptable to lose GPS due to battery communication error, if you happen to lose signal too, your drone is gone...
2020-4-12
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Ducatinus
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Had this exact error twice now. Several weeks between but same battery. Battery error and gps loss. Flew it in by hand in windy conditions. Both times landed with no damage.  Had to use camera feed to decent from serval 100 meters up and away. 100% sure the second time that battery was locked and installed correct

Reported both incidents to DJI. Looks like a serious sof ware bug where a battery error shuts down GPS. In my opinion a tier 1 safety issue, This could never be possible. Mini has latest FW. Is 1 month old and that battery only charged 22x

2020-4-13
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m80116
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Agreed... they should really break the tie with GPS if possible, it makes no sense. Safety issue: utmost priority.
2020-4-13
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