Everything works, except camera screen shows a spinner

[MikeOConnor]

Hi all,

I've chugged through the forum (and the rest of the 'net) looking for this one -- I'm hoping I've just missed it and that somebody can quickly point me in the right direction.

I haven't flown the 'copter since last fall and fired it up for the first time yesterday. All is good, except the screen that shows the live view from the camera just shows a spinner (indicating that it's trying to connect). Things I've tried:

- All sequences of starting the various devices
- Upgraded the firmware in all the devices
- Relinking the copter to the range-extender
- Incantations and offerings to various gods

I feel like I'm missing something really basic. I suppose it's possible that a component has failed, but it was working last fall when I put it away and now it doesn't.

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[hunch]

one of two things.
either there is a tiny nick in the cable which is preventing video to be transmitted or
wifi module is fried.

if you snap a picture or start a video it actually does that right?

 

[MikeOConnor]

Hi Hunch,

Yep, I tried taking both pictures and video and they both worked a treat. Does that narrow things down to a bad wifi module? The module is quite perky -- I've reset/relinked it to the camera several times and that process seems to work fine (well, when I do it correctly anyway). I am assuming that camera commands (like roll up/down and trigger pictures) is also running across wifi, since that's all the iPhone app can see. That being the case, I'd say that the wifi module is working.

One further symptom I've noticed is that there's a lot of activity on the wifi link while that spinner is going.

Thanks for the help.

 

[hunch]

the easiest would be if you had another gimbal you could try then you would know right away.
try unplugging those three grey cables going into the gimbal and plug them back in.
maybe just a bad connection there.

 

[MikeOConnor]

Hi again. Sorry this reply was soo slow. It took a while to find a block of time to disassemble the copter. I reseated the cables on both ends and... No luck. So what would you recommend as the next diagnostic step? Thanks again for the help. Really appreciated.

 

[pavel]

hi all! i faced with same issue, i red a lot of post and its seems like a common issue after firmware update......

 

[Mako79]

What Phantom 2 vision plus have you got? Upgraded or non-upgraded.
The upgraded "should" have the perforated "holy" module.

Reseat all the cables and make sure the 4 pin clip in is not damaged.
Drop your FPV resolution to 480x240@15fps.
Remove wifi module inside phantom and put it in the fridge. If you get some fpv for a short time and dies, then its most likely a overheated wifi module. You need to replace and do the artic silver mod.

 

[MikeOConnor]

Hi all,

Meant to reply and, um... forgot. Sorry.

Long story short, I went through DJI's email customer support cycle and when they heard all the things I'd tried, they gave me an RMA to send it back for repair. Great folks, great process. I'm not sure what's wrong but whatever it is it's beyond my ability to fix it. So I'm looking forward to seeing it come back in 4-6 weeks.

 

[burlbark]

Awesome Mike, there is one other thing to try. The batteries smart circuit can sometimes interfere with the wifi connectivity. If you have not flown it and now it no longer works the only component to go bad by sitting is the battery.

Jeremy

 

[grongu]

How can the batteries be checked?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[burlbark]

How can the batteries be checked?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

You will need to have an additional battery to test with.

Jeremy

 

[Farside]

Long story short, I went through DJI's email customer support cycle and when they heard all the things I'd tried, they gave me an RMA to send it back for repair. .

Did they/you ever find out exactly what went wrong?
I am having the exact same issue.
Took the bird out today for the first time since October was unhappy to see a black screen on the app. (both my Android tablet and Apple iPod)

All my research the last 3 hours now leads me to my WiFi module having gone bad somehow. Worked wonderfully when I put it away in October, no video when I took it out today 8 months later.
I tried everything from re-seating cables, to upgrading firmware and the app itself.

And I'm sure, being that I got my Phantom in April '14, DJI will be A-holes about fixing it for me even though it seems to be a common issue.

 

[RoyVa]

Just out of the blue.... Upgrade the app. Delete it from your phone or tablet and the re-download it from the google play or DJI web site. Never know, sometimes simple things work. Be sure under settings the app has all the permissions it needs to access wifi and cellular data/GPS.

 

[KickerM]

Anyone having any luck I'm having the same exact issue; worked fine in march now no FPV, Black Screen of Death, I have Telem and everything else, can take pics and video just no FPV?

 

[RoyVa]

Give this a try several members have fix video with this

"One of the flat cables from the camera gimble ends up in a pcb connector at the wifi box (the metal box on the motherboard), I guess this connector was oxidized or something, because right after I wiggled this cable a little at the connector (I actually tried to disconnect it) the preview started working again. It did not stop workingwhen i wiggled it again, so I assembled the drone and took it for a test flight, works without any problems."

 

[Tripnman]

Chiming in here rather than starting a new thread... I'm in a similar situation.

My PV2+ has been idle for just over four months. It lives in my office in a Tradecraft case that I purchased with my original PV. The last flight in April went smoothly - the client was happy with the results and that was that. After the shoot I drained the batteries and put it away for the next project. Which didn't come around until this week. A day before the shoot I pulled the machine out of it's case, charged the batteries and did my standard visual inspection of the airframe and props. All good. I did not open the shell.

Realizing that there had been app and firmware updates since I last flew, I decided to install. That went smoothly, but now I am wishing I had tested prior to the update. When I got to the flying field, I quickly discovered that I have no video coming from the bird - or at least into the app. My phone does nothing but display the little spinning circle on a black screen in the video preview area. All telemetry was live and I can control the gimbal with the RC. Photo/video does record to the SD card. Aircraft flies as it should, including return to home. I am running iOS 8 with current updates on a iPhone6. I tried rebinding the booster, deleted and reinstalled the app, ran through all calibrations and no joy.

Needless to say I lost the shoot to another operator and my client is less than thrilled. Since I did not test prior to updating the firmware and apps I have no way of knowing if that is the culprit. I see plenty of other messages from folks on here saying that it's the wi-fi module and I understand that is also what DJI is telling people. What I don't understand is how an electronic device, without power, can burn out while sitting dark in an airtight case.

This weekend I will crack open the case and look for the loose cables and oxidation that others have mentioned in this thread (and the several other related threads on this board and others). Hopefully I find something, as it appears that DJI is requiring module replacement and not considering that one of the recent updates to the app or the FW could have broken something.

 

[joebreed74]

Your wifi unit is bad.

 

[joebreed74]

If you drained the batteries with the unit sitting idle you may have fried the wifi unit before storing. At least in flight you're getting air movement through the shell to cool the unit.

 

[Tripnman]

Your wifi unit is bad.

Can you help me understand how this unit can burn out while not powered? The logic behind that escapes me, but I can be slow at times. EDIT: I'm also confused as to why commands to the aircraft from the app work, along with the telemetry, if the wi-fi module is bad. Wouldn't that preclude me from getting a connection at all to the bird's network?

And I drain the batteries to safe minimums in flight before storage. Learned the lesson on doing a props-off / power-on workbench draining with my first PV.

 

[joebreed74]

Well for me to say your wifi unit is bad without even seeing inside is crazy. You may have a cable loose or anything. Al I know is I had the same symptoms, switched out my WiFi unit and problem solved.