These days DJI Mavic Air pilots face situations where DJI Mavic Air won’t turn on. Especially Mavic users who live in cold weather. So I wondered and decided to go deep about the problem and find reasons and how to fix it.
So I contacted experienced Mavic Air pilots and did research on DJI Forums and other internet stuff. So I brought all the information that I got and wrote this post to Mavic Air pilots who also face this issue. Hope this would help you to solve your problem and get the Mavic Air back to the Sky and do your job!.
Why the DJI Mavic Air won’t turn on?
In most cases, DJI Mavic Air is won’t turn on because of battery management system shutdown, hibernated batteries, cold weather situations. Also If you are new to the DJI Drones It’s worth checking whether you are turning on the Mavic Air correctly. Maybe you are trying it wrong.
Reason 1: Maybe You’re not turning on the Mavic Air correctly.
If you are new to the DJI drones, you might have no idea about how to turn this on. Because usual drones starts just after pressing the power button once. But in order to power on a DJI drone, you have to press it twice.
Reason 2: Battery hibernation.
If you left or stored the Mavic Air aircraft or it’s battery for long term, the battery would go into hibernation to prevent a full power discharge. After that, the battery would stay in sleeps and won’t function as usual and the Mavic Air won’t turn on until it you wake it from the hibernation.
Reason 3: BMS (Battery Management System) shutdown.
If the battery detects a power failure, the battery management would raise PF flag (Power failure) and shut downs the battery. So after that, the Mavic Air won’t turn on because the battery is completely shutdown.
Reason 4: Charging the battery too Soon after a flight
As with every electronic item, after you use it, it becomes hot because of Joule heating. So if you are trying to charge the battery it would get even hotter. So probably the intelligent battery would stop working temporarily to keep the battery safe.
So if you just finished a flight and are trying to charge it, remove the battery and place it somewhere safe with good airflows, like a table or shelf. Wait approximately 30 minutes for the battery to reach 65F/20C, or it feels cool to the touch. At this point, it is safe to plug it in the charger.
Reason 5: It’s too cold for the battery to work
When I was researching I was able to find that many Mavic air pilots who live in frigid areas or in the winter season are unable to turn on their drones. So I wondered and searched for the reason. Actually, it happens when the temperature goes below 5° C, the battery will stop working entirely.
Reason 6: Battery Issues
If you have issues with the battery most of the time you’ll have to replace the battery cause those batteries can damage the drone. For example, if you have a swollen battery it can explode inside the drone.
Damaged pins
Connecting the battery to the drone and powering the drone relies on a series of metallic contacts between the battery and the drone. Those pins can easily become bent because of frequent use.
If DJI battery pins look particularly damaged the best thing you can do is buy a new battery. Make sure you buy a new battery from a reputable reseller or directly from the DJI.
Bad battery cell
If you notice some damage in DJI Intelligent batteries the better option is to stop using the battery rather than risking the whole DJI Mavic Air. DJI also has considered that in DJI drone battery tips. As I said before, having swollen batteries is a nightmare. Cause you don’t know when it’s gonna explode and harm the drone. If you have a swollen battery, dispose safely immediately.
How to fix DJI Mavic Air won’t turn on issue.
Step 1: Turn on the Mavic Air properly.
- To turn on the Mavic Air press once and then press again and hold down the power button. At the first press, it will show you the battery charge level, and the second press and hold will power on the drone.
Step 2: Make sure the battery is in the proper temperature range.
Intelligent batteries quite often operate well between a specific temperature range (this is typically between 5° C and 40° C).
- If the Mavic Pro battery is too hot, leave it somewhere safe with good airflow. Wait approximately 30 minutes to reach room temperature.
- If you are in a frigid area or winter season, use a heated lipo battery bag to store the battery. If the Mavic Pro battery is too cold, keep it inside your jacket for a few minutes to warm it to the proper temperature.
Step 3: Clean Battery pins and aircraft connectors.
- Take the battery out and look at the slots. Use a brush and gently clean the battery connector ports and wipe the battery with a clean cloth. Also, clean the Mavic Air aircraft’s battery connectors too.
- You can clean off the corrosion with a little bit of isopropyl alcohol to see if you can restore the metallic finish to the contacts.
Step 4: Wake the Mavic Air battery from hibernation.
- To wake the Mavic Air battery from hibernation, connect the battery to the charger and leave it for a few hours.
- Then it would wake from hibernation and get charged.
Step 5: Clear PF flags from Mavic Air’s BMS (Battery Management System).
For this step you need,
- CP2112 interface adapter.
- Dupont line cables connecting cables (Male-Female).
- DJI Battery Repair software.
- Windows PC.
- Download and install the DJI battery killer software to the PC.
- Take the CP2112 interface adapter and inspect its pins. You would see seven input pins named VCC, GND, SDA, SCL, WAK, INT, and RST. From them, we just need to use three pins which are GND, SDA, and SCL.
- Take three Dupont line cables and connect their female sides to GND, SDA, and SCL.
- Then connect their Male ports to the correct pins of the battery. DJI Mavic Air battery GND, SDA, and SCL pins are shown below.
- Then connect the CP2112 adapter to the PC using a USB cable.
- Open the DJI battery killer software on your PC.
- Then click on “Connect”.
- Then click on “Read Info”.
- Then click on “Unseal” and “Unseal 2”.
- After that click on “Clear PF” and “Clear PF2”. Now the PF flags would be clear and the battery would start blinking and the issue is fixed.
- Click “Exit” and close the application. Unplug the battery and charge it fully and enjoy it.
Step 4: Check your battery for damage and replace if necessary
As mentioned before, battery issues are the biggest and most terrible reason why Mavic Air is not turning on. If you have crashed the drone recently and you are noticing visual swelling, leaking, bent terminals, or damage you have to stop using the battery immediately. Also Usually, DJI advised pilots to replace the battery after reaching 200 charging cycles. Read More About It!
