Hi all,

Today after my brief flight I wanted to transfer the files to my computer. P4 suddenly disconnected in the middle of file transfer.

I have restarted everything (even left the room for a brief second as a ritual) to no avail.

LED next to the USB connecter blinks red and green alternatively and then stops blinking entirely.



Any help would be greatly appreciated and will avoid me getting grumpy with Besybuy customer service.

Do you still have a .bin file from an update on the SD card ? If so delete it.

Aardvark Posted at 2016-12-26 18:18
Do you still have a .bin file from an update on the SD card ? If so delete it.

No I made the updates through DJI GO app. Haven't altered the SD Card

berkay Posted at 2016-12-26 23:20
No I made the updates through DJI GO app. Haven't altered the SD Card

Silly me, I've got my P3 head on, but I only have a P4 now, oh well.....

Try taking your micro SD out and plugging directly into computer (or micro SD-SD adaptor), that should work. Other than that the USB cable should work as you've described. How long was the file transfer in question, maybe something 'timed out' ?

Aardvark Posted at 2016-12-26 18:28
Silly me, I've got my P3 head on, but I only have a P4 now, oh well.....

Try taking your micro SD out and plugging directly into computer (or micro SD-SD adaptor), that should work. Other than that the USB cable should work as you've described. How long was the file transfer in question, maybe something 'timed out' ?

Longest I was able to have it connected was less than a minute

Id wipe the SD card like mentioned above. Try another cable or USB port if you can and see if anything happens. Big fan of the blacked out phantom and remote though

Berkay, may I know have you got it sorted out by taking out the SD card firstly, copy the files to your PC, then format it and try to change another USB cable?
Please power aircraft off, connect it to PC then power it on.

DJI Natalia Posted at 2016-12-26 23:07
Berkay, may I know have you got it sorted out by taking out the SD card firstly, copy the files to your PC, then format it and try to change another USB cable?
Please power aircraft off, connect it to PC then power it on.

Thank you for your response.

I have tried many USB cables nothing changed I wasn't able to mount the SD card but I was able to communicate, update FW and calibrate the unit using DJI assistant on both mac and windows computers, therefore I assumed something else should have been wrong. Unit was not recognizing the SD but at the same time there was no indication saying "NO SD CARD"

Following steps fixed the problem once but after using the USB port again to transfer files now I can't reproduce these steps.

1 - Turn the unit off
2 - Take the SD Card out
3 - Turn the unit on, it'll recognize that it has no SD card
4 - Turn the unit off again
5 - Plug the SD Card in
6 - Turn the unit on
7 - SD Card was there, ready to be formatted. I am still connected without any issues for at least 15 minutes.

Could it be the temperature? I left the unit for about an hour in my and cooled down. Not sure even if it's related.

Thank you for your time in such a busy time period! I appreciate it!

MrPinaColada Posted at 2016-12-26 20:46
Id wipe the SD card like mentioned above. Try another cable or USB port if you can and see if anything happens. Big fan of the blacked out phantom and remote though

Black is amazing!

berkay Posted at 2016-12-27 13:03
Thank you for your response.

I have tried many USB cables nothing changed I wasn't able to mount the SD card but I was able to communicate, update FW and calibrate the unit using DJI assistant on both mac and windows computers, therefore I assumed something else should have been wrong. Unit was not recognizing the SD but at the same time there was no indication saying "NO SD CARD"

Please check it again and keep us posted, thanks.

berkay Posted at 2016-12-27 05:03
Thank you for your response.

I have tried many USB cables nothing changed I wasn't able to mount the SD card but I was able to communicate, update FW and calibrate the unit using DJI assistant on both mac and windows computers, therefore I assumed something else should have been wrong. Unit was not recognizing the SD but at the same time there was no indication saying "NO SD CARD"

Quite possible it was just the SD card needing re-seated as you did, perhaps a high resistance contact causing problems.

Aardvark Posted at 2016-12-27 06:42
Quite possible it was just the SD card needing re-seated as you did, perhaps a high resistance contact causing problems.

2nd day, I spent 7 hours yesterday trying to troubleshoot. After the 3rd battery drain I decided to go to sleep.

Today I started with a fresh charged battery, I wanted to upgrade the firmware using DJI Assistant.

At %92 Aircraft got disconnected. Everything is on a flat surface, I'm not moving around no air movement, USB doesn't move a millimeter.

I'd like to try further troubleshooting steps to be sure that I'm not doing something wrong.

My device takes longer than usual to shut down. I have no video, no recording options, no "NO SD Card" warning.

puredata Posted at 2016-12-27 20:36
2nd day, I spent 7 hours yesterday trying to troubleshoot. After the 3rd battery drain I decided to go to sleep.

Today I started with a fresh charged battery, I wanted to upgrade the firmware using DJI Assistant.

Check the firmware versions in 'General Settings' menu, click on 'About' (near bottom of menu ).

I have seen with an earlier version of DJI Assistant 2 where it froze at about 90% but had actually completed the update. There should also be a text file on the sd card now which will confirm the result (or failure) of the update.

Aardvark Posted at 2016-12-27 15:48
Check the firmware versions in 'General Settings' menu, click on 'About' (near bottom of menu ).

I have seen with an earlier version of DJI Assistant 2 where it froze at about 90% but had actually completed the update. There should also be a text file on the sd card now which will confirm the result (or failure) of the update.

It showed as update completed after getting disconnected at %92 and showed %100 Upload Complete page.

I wanted to refresh the same firmware to be sure but it failed entirely.

DJI GO app shows that I need firmware update but does not offer to update through the app itself.

Also DJI GO used to show the device as P3P and switch to P4 quickly. Now all I get is P3P.

DJI GO 4 doesn't connect at all no matter what I tried.

OK try powering up RC, then aircraft, then run DJI Go 4 (bear with me). wait for a minute, if DJI Go 4 shows 'disconnected' at the top of the screen then power down RC, then power RC up again and see if any change.

Which display device are you using, one of the Androids ?

Edit:- there is an upgrade to Android DJI Go 4.0.1 , noticed it today.

Aardvark Posted at 2016-12-27 16:13
OK try powering up RC, then aircraft, then run DJI Go 4 (bear with me). wait for a minute, if DJI Go 4 shows 'disconnected' at the top of the screen then power down RC, then power RC up again and see if any change.

Which display device are you using, one of the Androids ?

The order of starting the RC or the aircraft only affects the behavior of DJI GO app. If I start the RC first then the aircraft it shows up as P3P on the DJI GO. Otherwise it doesn't connecta t all

I have tried the steps you have mentioned. No luck.

I'll check the update, I'm using an NVIDIA Shield Tablet

Thank you for your time Aardvark, I appreciate it.

I have contacted DJI support and I have been told to send the device to DJI.

Instead I'll solve it with Bestbuy, but I wanted to have a couple of more troubleshooting steps before bringing the device back.

Can any of the moderators help me to fly my aircraft or should I directly bring it back with the screenshots of the support chat indicating I should bring the device back?

Thanks in advance.

1 week later. same thing goes on.

puredata Posted at 2017-1-4 07:26
1 week later. same thing goes on.

So when you open up DJI Assistant 2 on your PC, plug in and power up aircraft, you seen the 'P4' icon appear after a few seconds ?
You can open this up and see list of installed and older versions of aircraft firmware ?

Have you tried using a different PC (I'm thinking there may be driver problem) ?

You've already tried different USB leads. SD card formatted , etc.

At the end of the day it could well be a dodgy USB connection or electronics, on aircraft. If all else has failed then get it swapped out. If it's a no quibble return (30 days ?) then you shouldn't have any problems.

Aardvark Posted at 2017-1-4 07:39
So when you open up DJI Assistant 2 on your PC, plug in and power up aircraft, you seen the 'P4' icon appear after a few seconds ?
You can open this up and see list of installed and older versions of aircraft firmware ?

Thank you,

I have mainly tried on my Macbook but just for the sake of the art of troubleshooting I installed DJI Assistant 2 and refreshed FW on my PC Laptop with windows 10.

It's pretty odd that on both computer unit shows up in Assistant without any issues. But there is no way that it mounts to the computer/s. Something is off, I used to be able to start recording almost immediately with my P3S, it takes at least 4-5 seconds for P4 to even start recording and half of the time, I lose all control on the recording, can't stop it, can't change it to photo mode etc. But I'm able to see what aircraft sees perfectly fine while it doesn't response to my commands. I have made many google searches but unfortunately seems like I'm having a unique issue.

I have already returned a P3P (change of mind) and P4 (DOA Battery) so I wanted to take every troubleshooting step o not to rack up returns on my history. I have heard too many returns might cause you to get banned from returning items.

I'll wait a couple more days to see if Bestbuy will have the Mavic in stock again. If they do I'll exchange it with a Mavic otherwise I'll try my luck with another P4 black.

puredata Posted at 2017-1-4 23:44
Thank you,

I have mainly tried on my Macbook but just for the sake of the art of troubleshooting I installed DJI Assistant 2 and refreshed FW on my PC Laptop with windows 10.

"It's pretty odd that on both computer unit shows up in Assistant without any issues. But there is no way that it mounts to the computer/s."

Can I ask you to clarify that. You have Assistant 2 on Mac & PC, and on both machines you can see the P4 icon in Assistant 2, and you can see firmware detail ?

By saying it does not mount to the computers,do you mean that you cannot access the files on the SD card using the USB cable ?
When you plug aircraft into USB on PC (and power up aircraft, and wait till it initialises) you should get an option (at least initially) to chose what the PC does. In most cases it would be to open up file explorer and view the contents of the SD card (the aircraft is a glorified USB hub). After you have made this choice (what to do when device plugged in) then it should do that each time. Assistant 2 is not required to view files on SD card.
There is also a large delay if you try and open a file on the SD card, as there is a large amount of data to shift across the USB connection, especially if they are 4k video files. Copy any video files off of SD and onto computer before trying to view. Any files you have view previously on your P3S would likely have been much smaller files.

EDIT:- Windows might also show a pop up when aircraft is plugged in and has initialised, saying that there is a problem on that disk and asking if you want it fixed. This can safely be ignored.

Aardvark Posted at 2017-1-5 05:06
"It's pretty odd that on both computer unit shows up in Assistant without any issues. But there is no way that it mounts to the computer/s."

Can I ask you to clarify that. You have Assistant 2 on Mac & PC, and on both machines you can see the P4 icon in Assistant 2, and you can see firmware detail ?

Thank you for your time again Aardvark.

Yes, to be more precise what I meant by saying that it doesn't mount to the computers is that I am able to connect the unit to the computer/s and almost immediately shows up as a P4 in the DJI Assistant. I am able to refresh or downgrade/upgrade the unit only once at this point. But it refreshes. So I assume they are connected properly.

Let's say I finished refreshing the firmware, checked the RC to confirm it has no waiting upgrades as well, I only have one batter so I assume it's updated with the aircraft, so I format my SD Card and start recording again.

At this point weird stuff starts; punching in and out of recording takes at least 4-5 seconds most of the time. Although I have had times that it started recording rapidly. Just like how my P3S acted when I press the button. Then after a while recording freezes. Can't stop it, can't open camera settings etc. I still have video stream (very buggy but visible) to land the craft. In one instance the gimbal locked it self mid-air while I lost the control of recording in and out ability. Landed immediately, restarted DJI GO, started recording while I was carrying the unit handheld on my way home (to check if I'd be able to recreate the issue in a safe setting).

Arriving home, connecting P4 to the computer. No interaction. I check my disk utility to see if (as you have described) my glorified USB reader is mounted, nothing. I list all the attached drives to the system through os x terminal, nothing shows up regarding to P4. I try the same on Windows 10, still no mounting device to copy files. Right before giving up, I start up DJI Assistant to see if it recognizes the unit; yes it is there. Let's try refreshing the firmware again? Failed.

Then I take the SD Card out, put it into a SD Card reader (I both tried a standalone Micro SD Reader as well as Micro SD slot on my NVIDIA Shield Tablet) I can see the footage after the gimbal lock and I can copy them to my computer. I am missing the footage before the gimbal lock but it's expected.

I hope I was able to write clearly in English. Not my daily driver.

puredata Posted at 2017-1-6 10:30
Thank you for your time again Aardvark.

Yes, to be more precise what I meant by saying that it doesn't mount to the computers is that I am able to connect the unit to the computer/s and almost immediately shows up as a P4 in the DJI Assistant. I am able to refresh or downgrade/upgrade the unit only once at this point. But it refreshes. So I assume they are connected properly.

Thanks for the detail. Looks like you'll be having another trip to Best Buy, sounds like somethings failing there.

Which display device are you using ?

Aardvark Posted at 2017-1-6 13:16
Thanks for the detail. Looks like you'll be having another trip to Best Buy, sounds like somethings failing there.

Which display device are you using ?

Unfortunately I only have an NVIDIA Shield Tablet and a Motorola MAXX 2. I was an iOS user but both my iphone 5 and ipad 4 weren't supported so I found these devices for free through the company I intern currently. I have used both of them with the P3S without issues like that though. I'm looking to purchase a used ipad mini 2 as soon as I can to switch to a supported device.

I hope Bestbuy won't ban me returning my purchases due to too many returns. I'll report it as defective. Thank you guys for all the help and confirming that I'm not missing any steps.

puredata Posted at 2017-1-6 14:05
Unfortunately I only have an NVIDIA Shield Tablet and a Motorola MAXX 2. I was an iOS user but both my iphone 5 and ipad 4 weren't supported so I found these devices for free through the company I intern currently. I have used both of them with the P3S without issues like that though. I'm looking to purchase a used ipad mini 2 as soon as I can to switch to a supported device.

I hope Bestbuy won't ban me returning my purchases due to too many returns. I'll report it as defective. Thank you guys for all the help and confirming that I'm not missing any steps.

One last thing I can think of is to maybe try a firmware refresh & factory reset in DJI Assistant 2 if not too late to try. But you maybe already have it all packed up ready to return.

Aardvark Posted at 2017-1-6 15:40
One last thing I can think of is to maybe try a firmware refresh & factory reset in DJI Assistant 2 if not too late to try. But you maybe already have it all packed up ready to return.

Firmware refresh and factory reset done multiple times. No luck, unfortunately.

Sorry for your aggravation I can relate with Best Buy, I have returned 2 P4's myself. I beginning to wonder about Best Buy's handling of these units, I had dead battery issues with my first one and checked 3 others when I returned that one and all 3 had completely dead batteries so I didn't want to chance it and went to a different store to purchase the 2nd one. Had issues so I returned that one for another so I'm on #3. I will say Best Buy exchanged these units no questions asked. If this unit has problems then I will get my money back and order from Drone World...I will have a Phantom 4 sooner or later.   

I usually take the  card out an plug it in a USB adapter in order to view the mov files on tv directly. Works always. I did format the card via the dji 4 app. I also did have lost USB connectivity while in flight, but I changed the USB cable and that fixed it.
My recommendation to you is format the sd card from within dji app, while connected to drone, just before takeoff. Obviously, after format start recording. As for transferring, I never tried to connect to the drone USB input, but even if it works, I still think is easier to just pop the card out, insert it into a USB or regular sd card adapter, then move files to computer. Hope this helps.

WindSoul Posted at 2017-1-7 18:28
I usually take the  card out an plug it in a USB adapter in order to view the mov files on tv directly. Works always. I did format the card via the dji 4 app. I also did have lost USB connectivity while in flight, but I changed the USB cable and that fixed it.
My recommendation to you is format the sd card from within dji app, while connected to drone, just before takeoff. Obviously, after format start recording. As for transferring, I never tried to connect to the drone USB input, but even if it works, I still think is easier to just pop the card out, insert it into a USB or regular sd card adapter, then move files to computer. Hope this helps.

This seems like a problem more than a convenience issue. I would be fine with a card reader but I don't feel that the device I just paid $1K  should need workarounds while same exact models work fine with others' computers.

puredata Posted at 2017-1-8 15:41
This seems like a problem more than a convenience issue. I would be fine with a card reader but I don't feel that the device I just paid $1K  should need workarounds while same exact models work fine with others' computers.

I dont see it like that. Of course you can power up the P4, then connect the usb cable, then wait for PC to detect, then do the transfer. DJI offers you this basic option to get you going.
Or,
you can pop the sd card. push it in sd-usb stick. push the stick into computer, wait for detection. transfer.
as you see, there's no need to handle the drone or power it up. now the usb adapter ive got when i bought the sd card, so if you asked me, theres not much of a workaround. is actually simpler.

Thanks for the answers. Unit went back and I'm using a different P4 now.

Thank God I brought that one back, probably it would have crashed until now. Something was off with that unit.

I have tried Macintosh and Windows so I understand those Windows finding a driver and installing it by itself kind of stuff but Mac doesn't do that.

The P4 I'm using now is working exactly as expected and yeah I obviously do not connect the unit every time I want to transfer pictures.

puredata Posted at 2017-1-28 16:54
Thanks for the answers. Unit went back and I'm using a different P4 now.

Thank God I brought that one back, probably it would have crashed until now. Something was off with that unit.

Good to hear it's all sorted now and you can enjoy the P4