The DJI Phantom 4 is the latest member of DJI’s Phantom series. When talking about problems with Phantom 4 there are many of them and most of them are familiar with almost every DJI drone. Many people are searching for solutions in DJI forums but some are unsolved yet.
So I collected unsolved and common problems with DJI Phantom 4 and researched solutions. You will see almost every problem with DJI Phantom 4 and how to fix it in this simple article.
Common Problems With DJI Phantom 4 /Pro /Advanced.
- Problem 1: DJI Phantom 4 not connecting to controller.
- Problem 2: DJI Phantom 4 not connecting to app.
- Problem 3: DJI Phantom 4 not turning on.
- Problem 4: DJI Phantom 4 not reading the SD card.
- Problem 5: DJI Phantom 4 battery not charging.
- Problem 6: DJI Phantom 4 controller not charging.
- Problem 7: DJI Phantom 4 camera not working.
- Problem 8: DJI Phantom 4 cannot take off.
- Problem 9: DJI Phantom 4 not recording.
- Problem 10: DJI Phantom 4 GPS Data error.
- Problem 11: DJI Phantom 4 controller keeps beeping.
- Problem 12: DJI Phantom 4 not connecting to DJI Assistant 2.
Problem 1: Phantom 4 not connecting to the controller.
In many cases, DJI Phantom 4 refuses to connect to the controller because of outdated firmware, insufficient battery power, and unlinked aircraft. Most importantly make sure to check whether you have installed equal firmware versions in both aircraft and controller. Unless they wouldn’t connect or link together.
Solutions.
- If the Phantom 4 aircraft indicator LEDs blink yellow once it is turned on, the aircraft requires linking. Open the DJI GO 4 app and go to the menu and “RC Settings”. Then scroll to the bottom and click the “Linking RC” button. Once the controller starts to beep get a pin or screwdriver and press the button near the LED of the drone. Wait until the pairing process is done successfully. Once the linking process is done the controller would stop beeping and aircraft indicators would flash green.
- If you replaced the Phantom 4 controller or aircraft you need to pair them first.
- Keep Phantom 4 aircraft and controller firmware in an equal version. This fact is so important to fix this issue. Every DJI drone needs to keep the same firmware version on the aircraft and controller. Read this article to know how to update DJI drone firmware.
- Update DJI Phantom 4 Aircraft and controller Firmware. Read how to update DJI Phantom 4 firmware.
- Reset the controller. First, turn off the remote controller. Then press and hold C1, C2, and the record button all at the same time for about 2 seconds. After that, power on the remote controller. The indicator will turn blue which means it has been reset successfully. Then try connecting to the drone.
- Charge DJI Phantom 4 aircraft battery and remote controller battery to a sufficient level.
Read Detailed Article: Why Drone not connecting to the controller and how to fix it.
Problem 2: Phantom 4 not connecting to the app.
In most cases, DJI Phantom 4 won’t connect to DJI GO 4 app because of wifi connection issues, DJI GO mobile application issues, mobile device issues, and outdated firmware on the aircraft. Usually, mobile device issues and DJI GO 4 app glitches become the reason for the issue.
Solutions.
- Clear DJI GO 4 cache data and app data. If the app was working fine recently, go to Settings> Apps>DJI GO 4 and clear all the cache data and app data.
- Update DJI GO 4 app. Visit the DJI Downloads center and download and install the latest DJI GO 4 app if your current DJI GO 4 app is outdated.
- Update DJI Phantom firmware.
- Reset DJI Phantom Aircraft. Press and hold the power button for 9 seconds until you hear a beep three times. Then the drone will start its resetting process. Once your drone starts flashing green, that means that the drone’s Wifi setting has appropriately reset.
Read the Detailed Article: Why drone not connecting to Wifi.
Problem 3: Phantom 4 not turning on.
Usually, DJI Phantom 4 refuses to turn on when the DJI intelligent battery or system detects harmful temperature, faulty battery, damaged battery cells, low battery power, and outdated battery firmware.
Solutions.
- If the Phantom 4 Battery is too hot take it out from the aircraft and let it in an open place to cool.
- If the Phantom 4 is too cold give it some minutes to warm up the battery.
- Kick the battery out from hibernation mode. If your Phantom 4’s battery LEDs flash red once it is turned on, it might have gone into hibernation mode. Power on the battery and wait until the LEDs shut down. Then connect the battery to the charger and leave it for a few hours to come out from hibernation mode and get charged.
- Update DJI Phantom 4 Battery firmware. Updating the firmware while keeping the battery inside the drone would update the battery’s firmware. Read how to update DJI Phantom 4 firmware.
Read Detailed Article: Why drone won’t turn on and how to fix it.
Problem 4: Phantom 4 not reading SD card.
Most of the time, DJI Phantom 4 refuses to read the SD card when the SD card is formatted in an invalid format (Other formats from FAT32/) and it’s incompatible with the DJI Phantom 4. Besides that firmware issues, malware, and corrupted SD cards that cause the same issue.
Solutions.
- Check whether the SD card is compatible with the Phantom 4. Go to DJI Phantom 4 product page and check whether your SD card is listed under the supported SD cards.
- Repair the SD card using the Windows command prompt. Connect the SD card to the PC and open the command prompt. Then type “chkdsk” and leave a space and specify the SD card driver letter (Ex: chkdsk D). and hit enter. Once the process is done the sd card is repaired.
- Format the SD card.
- Update DJI Phantom 4 Firmware.
- Scan the SD card using Antivirus Program. Scan and clear viruses and malware from the SD card.
Read Detailed Article: Why drone not recognizing SD card and how to fix it.
Problem 5: Phantom 4 pro battery not charging.
Usually, the DJI Phantom 4 battery won’t charge because of improper amperage and voltage, faulty battery, outdated battery firmware, improper battery temperature ,and faulty or broken chargers. Also if you are trying to charge the battery after a long period of time, the battery might have gone into hibernation mode.
Solutions.
- Plug the charger into a power outlet with the required voltage and amperage. Usually, the DJI battery charger voltage is around 100 – 240 V and the amperage is 1.4 A.
- Update Phantom 4 Battery Firmware.
- Check whether the charger is Faulty or broken. Inspect whether DJI charger output amperage and voltage satisfy the requirements.
- Check whether the battery has gone into hibernation mode. As I mentioned before, if the Phantom 4 battery has gone into hibernation mode, the indication LEDs of the battery would flash solid red. Turn on the battery and wait until the solid red light goes out. Then connect the battery to the charger and plug it and leave for a few hours.
- If your battery is warm, leave it an airflow to cool.
- If the Phantom 4 Battery is swollen or damaged replace it. It’s advisable to replace the battery if it’s swollen, damaged, or reached 300 – 500 full charging cycles.
- Read Detailed Article: Why drone not charging and how to fix it.
Problem 6: Phantom 4 controller not charging.
Usually, the DJI Phantom 4 controller not charging because of hardware issues. So it’s better to get DJI Support to if you don’t know about hardware stuff. If you know check out the below video.
Problem 7: Phantom 4 camera not working.
Usually, DJI Phantom 4 camera not working and shows a black screen because of improper camera settings. Adjust your camera settings to fix the issue. Watch below video to recommend camera settings.
Problem 8: Phantom 4 cannot take off.
In most cases, DJI Phantom 4 refuses to take off because of unpaired Phantom 4 aircraft, DJI battery malfunction, IMU & compass miscalibration, or no-fly zones. Besides them, if your Phantom 4 is not taking off even though its propellers are spinning, you have installed propellers in an improper pattern definitely.
Solutions.
- If the Phantom 4 Aircraft indicators blink yellow, Link the Phantom 4 aircraft to the controller.
- Update DJI Phantom Firmware.
- Calibrate DJI Phantom IMU and Compass. The system would reject taking off if it detects IMU or compass miscalibration. Read How to Calibrate IMU and compass.
- Check whether Phantom 4 propellers are installed in the proper pattern.
- Check whether you are in a Geofenced area. If the Phantom 4 is in a geofenced area in a geofenced area, the DJI GO 4 app would inform you and you can take off the Phantom 4 after giving the required information to DJI GO 4 app and unlock them.
Read Detailed Article: Why drone not taking off and how to fix it.
Problem 9: Phantom 4 pro not recording.
The DJI Phantom 4 refuses to record video because of SD card issues such as an invalid format, incompatible SD card, space partition issues, and Viruses & Malware. Also, Phantom 4 outdated firmware and firmware glitches could become the reason for the issue.
Solutions.
- Format the SD card.
- Perform disk partition and file system change using MiniTool Partition Wizard. Read the Detailed article to find out how to perform disk partition and file system change using MiniTool Partition Wizard.
- Update DJI Phantom 4 Firmware.
- Repair the SD card using Windows Command Prompt. Connect the SD card to the PC using an adaptor and open the command prompt. Then type “chkdsk” and leave a space and specify the SD card driver letter (Ex: chkdsk D). and hit enter. After that, you’ll have to wait patiently until the process is done. Once the process is finished, your SD card should be fixed and ready to go.
- Scan the SD card using an antivirus program
Read Detailed Article: Why drone not recording to the SD card and how to fix it.
Problem 10: DJI Phantom 4 GPS Data error.
Before trying hardware fixes start with easy and effective software fixes in order to check whether anything is wrong with the software.
- Update DJI Go app to the latest version.
- Update firmware or refresh firmware of the Phantom and the controller.
- Calibrate IMU and Compass according to DJI’s instructions.
- Reset the Phantom and the controller.
Next to hardware fixes. I found a guy from DJI forums who also had a GPS data error and was able to fix it. He has tried replacing many things and reported that the problem is with the power module. So he advised others to try replacing the GPS module and the power board which is going for about $20. He sounds like someone knows something about hardware.
To do these kinds of repairs you have to know something about hardware and it’s time-consuming. If you are something like me who is terrified of doing that, It’s ok. Because DJI is also not happy about doing hardware stuff. So you can contact DJI and send them to do the repair.
Problem 11: DJI Phantom 4 controller beeping.
Usually, DJI Phantom 4 controller keeps beeping when a faulty or low battery is detected, return to home activated, when it is disconnected from the aircraft. But As I found most Phantom 4 users find beeping as an issue when the controller keeps beeping because of miscalibrated joysticks and are unable to figure out why it’s beeping.
Solutions.
- Calibrate controller joysticks. Open the DJI GO 4 app and connect the aircraft. Then turn off the aircraft. Go to the controller settings of the app and tap remote calibration. Once you tap it the controller would stop beeping, but we are not done yet. you will notice virtual joysticks on the screen are not centered. Tap calibration and move virtual joysticks 100% to every direction. Then click finish and turn off the controller.
- Update Firmware of the remote controller.
- Reset the remote controller.
Read the Detailed Article: Why Drone & Controller keep beeping and how to fix it.
Problem 12: Phantom 4 pro not connecting to DJI Assistant 2.
Most of the time, DJI Phantom 4 won’t be recognized by the PC because of using improper USB cables to connect and USB cable issues. If you can find an original USB-C to USB-A cable that came with the Phantom 4 it would solve the issue.
