Mid Air "Compass Error, Exit P-GPS Mode"

I got an error that I've never seen before while flying the Phantom 3 Pro today. I updated the firmware and App a few days ago when it was released and I've flown about 6-7 times prior (after upgrading the firmware and DJI Go App) without any problems.

Today while flying the gimbal got floppy for a second and then I got an error in the DJI Go app saying "Compass Error, Exit P-GPS mode" and had to fly back in Atti mode. I toggled the modes on the controller from P to Atti mode to see if I could get it to reset and it did not reset until it was almost all the way back home.

No crash or damage but it was strange because I have never seen that error before. I had calibrated the compass in the same place just a couple flights prrior and it worked perfectly prior to that flight. I flew again from the same location and had no other issues.

Any ideas?

Thanks,
Scott

My Youtube Channel
The exact same thing happened to me today. Im now officially really scared to send it far...
 
Got the compas error as soon as I took off on my first flight with the latest firmware. I was able to grab the P3 before it drifted or crashed.

I did a compass cal before takeoff. No electrical or magnetic things to throw off the calibration.

Is this an issue with this firmware?
 
I've just had compass error on P3 P, then entered Atti-mode, then followed by massive hard acceleration banking hard(18ms!), losing altitude from already low altitude, unfortunately straight into nearby trees resulting in damaged shell and vibration housing. All fixed now by self using spare parts, but not a pleasant experience. No time to try and fight whatever the P3 was trying to do, and very nervous it might happen again. miles from any source of electromag or even metal. pretty crap!
 
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So I had this happen again but instead of getting this error message it just went into ATTI mode and my Phantom rolled hard right at full speed and went down at 40mph into the street. Luckily nobody was hurt. I noticed that right before this it did this a couple times for only a second - tried to roll (went into ATTI mode) and then I regained control (went back to GPS Mode) so I was bringing it down to land it when it went crazy. It would not accept any input/control. It acted like there was a gyro or compass problem. The camera even changed direction when it went crazy. I've read more and more people have been experiencing this and I wish I knew what it was (firmware or hardware) so I could do something to avoid it when flying my backup Phantom 3 Pro.
 
Im at over 200 flights on my P3, i`ve add compass error dropout in average every 30 flights it happen mostly if i dont wait 20 sec after take-off and or randomly mid flight, i've no problem flying in atti mode, BUT 2 flight ago, i was filming a house close to a lake and after my usual POI flight over and arround the house, a Sea-Doo passed by on the lake and it looked to me like a great ending for the video i was producing, so i started chassing the said seadoo, it was a sunset, the sun add huge reflection on the lake, space weather was calm, no wire or antenna in the next 1 mile at least, 10-15KM wind over the lake, last time i callibrated compass was weeks ago and it always fly flawlessly, when suddenly i add compass error dropout, BUT this time it looks like i also add partial lost of control of my craft, Gyroscope went nuts, Barometer also, the craft and gimbal were banking abnormally, i was sudenlly gaining speed in random direction and loosing altitude because banking angle was to high, I was able to put the throttle to the max and guide the craft back over land, once over land i gained back proper control, and landed, resseted craft checked all sensors, reviewed footage, rebooted and did the rest of the shot over land only...But i wonder what could of caused me to get such abnormal lost of Compass and Gyro, at same time.. ???
Now im in bed but later maybe i can get flight log and upload it here+video recording...
Would you know what could of caused this ?
I had the exact same issue yesterday but was not able to recover my bird and it went down at 40MPH into the street. I wish I knew what caused it...
 
I had the exact same issue yesterday but was not able to recover my bird and it went down at 40MPH into the street. I wish I knew what caused it...
Did it happen at the same approximate location?
 
Can u post all the versions of app, bird and rc? Soryy if u already did this b
 
I can make this happen on command. All I have to do is take off from concrete with rebar reinforcement. As soon as the phantom powers up its legs are "touching" the giant receiver that is the metal under the concrete. When you take off, you disconnect from this giant receiver and have to start all over again with acquiring satellites and if your compass is having issues too, that's a very bumpy ride. RTH is usually the only way to land in one piece because it seems to reinitialize gps position hold regardless of flight mode and other errors. I am basing my words on nihilism but first hand experience
Interesting - I did take off from a sidewalk which I don't normally do. Sounds like a compass error based on what you've experienced Basald. How many times have you had this happen?

Thanks for your reply.

Scott
 
Had my first compass error scare two days ago, bird over 1km away and 120m alt. It switched to att mode briefly then back to gps mode. Fortunately no strong wind. I have flown over 100km without this error. Location was well away from possible causes in the middle of a rural property doing aerial photos.
Guess I will need more practice atti flying.
 
Had my first compass error scare two days ago, bird over 1km away and 120m alt. It switched to att mode briefly then back to gps mode. Fortunately no strong wind. I have flown over 100km without this error. Location was well away from possible causes in the middle of a rural property doing aerial photos.
Guess I will need more practice atti flying.
That is scary imagine heavy wind flying in Atti mode.
(This is why I only do long distance range test in low wind)
I would like to know how to avoid this issue.
 
That is scary imagine heavy wind flying in Atti mode.
(This is why I only do long distance range test in low wind)
I would like to know how to avoid this issue.
After the initial shock you'd be fine, you'd just put the hammer down to get her home!
 
It's not hard to fly atti mode in wind so it's no worry. Just practise in low wind and you will see its not that much difference, you just need to stop the craft drifting your self instead of gps doing it for you. Practise it because everyone should know how to fly atti in case gps is lost for safety reasons. Once you master it you can actually have good fun flying atti with tail winds. I must stress tho we do this at our club miles away from anything when we are messing about speed running and that.
 
That is scary imagine heavy wind flying in Atti mode.
(This is why I only do long distance range test in low wind)
I would like to know how to avoid this issue.
For the kind of aerial video/photography I do I need to be able to see and fly reasonable distances ie, 2-3km away from myself, at altitudes between 50 to 250m. I used to fly in ultra lights and helicopters but they are expensive, vibrate badly and harder to position exactly where you want them.
Since using the Phantom2 and Phantom 3 I have had much greater success in getting the shots I want. Since the recent updates and switching from Android Nexus 7/Samsung Tab S to IOS Apple Airpad 2 I have had few "incidents", over 50 flights and only one temporary loss of vision and one compass calibration issue.
I would like DJI to implement a "smooth flying" mode that could be accessed by a button/switch similar to the Yunneeq 500+. Had considered that unit but its limited range is a problem for the work I do.
I know you can tweek the gain and other settings but a quick button push would be very useful.
 
I can make this happen on command. All I have to do is take off from concrete with rebar reinforcement. As soon as the phantom powers up its legs are "touching" the giant receiver that is the metal under the concrete. When you take off, you disconnect from this giant receiver and have to start all over again with acquiring satellites and if your compass is having issues too, that's a very bumpy ride. RTH is usually the only way to land in one piece because it seems to reinitialize gps position hold regardless of flight mode and other errors. I am basing my words on nihilism but first hand experience

I updated to the latest firmware and did the batteries etc.
Did the IMU cal.

Went out to the local Aero Club and did a Compass Cal on the Concrete landing pad they have for the UAV area.

Had nothing but drama with intermittent Compass Errors.

So I'm definitely thinking the Concrete had Reo bars in it and that is what caused the issue.

So next time I'm going to go out in the field and do a Compass Cal.
The only thing is how do I know if the field is a bad place to do the Cal?

I know you can look at the values etc so I'll start having a look at them.

I'm going to see how this EMF app on the IPhone goes.

I'll check the reading on the concrete Pad then check areas in the field to find a good spot.

Here's the App. Cheers

dTector - EMF and Metal Detector Free by Andrea Piani
dTector - EMF and Metal Detector Free on the App Store
 
So I'm definitely thinking the Concrete had Reo bars in it and that is what caused the issue.

So next time I'm going to go out in the field and do a Compass Cal.
The only thing is how do I know if the field is a bad place to do the Cal?
If you were laying a concrete pad, wouldn't you use steel mesh for reinforcing?
Concrete structures are always a big no-go for compass calibration.
 
Definitely mesh. The areas in a flood zone so I'm expecting the pad to have extra. Anyway I'll do the tests, because it wouldn't surprise me if there's extra metal under the ground like a land fill. Cheers
 
I got an error that I've never seen before while flying the Phantom 3 Pro today. I updated the firmware and App a few days ago when it was released and I've flown about 6-7 times prior (after upgrading the firmware and DJI Go App) without any problems.

Today while flying the gimbal got floppy for a second and then I got an error in the DJI Go app saying "Compass Error, Exit P-GPS mode" and had to fly back in Atti mode. I toggled the modes on the controller from P to Atti mode to see if I could get it to reset and it did not reset until it was almost all the way back home.

No crash or damage but it was strange because I have never seen that error before. I had calibrated the compass in the same place just a couple flights prrior and it worked perfectly prior to that flight. I flew again from the same location and had no other issues.

Any ideas?

Thanks,
Scott

My Youtube Channel


Hey I have the same problem with u.
Before the error, everything looks good.
After takeoff 20 secs, the error pop up and my drone just dropped out from sky about 15 meters and I immediately switched to A mode for bringing back my quadcopter stable, meanwhile app said" compass error leave p mode" .

Successfully landing at the end, but I just totally scared because the drone was normal and the app didn't said anything about any error before the drop.

The most strange is that I updated the firmware to 1.08.0080 and I have already cal the IMU and gimbal IMU except compass, also I fly two batteries with normal behavior before this error happened.
 

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