Got a new Spark, 3+ hours of set up, 10 secs of flight

[Sherlock]

I just got a new Spark for Christmas. I have to say i'm disappointed.
I was very excited to get it. I've watched a bunch of videos including DJIs promos. I have a Syma drone that I've had for a year and was hoping to have something more robust, with an active camera.

I unbox it, and it try and set it up for a quick flight. Obviously that was a foolish thought. The QR scanner wouldn't work to link up the drone, then the controller turned on, but wouldn't turn off or have its wifi recognized. I figured out how to turn it off through forum research and got it reset. Then the updates to firmware for both the controller and drone which kept dropping wifi connection and this took forever. All told, this took hours.

I finally get everything linked up and go to take off in my living room. It takes off, I get it to go left and right briefly, then it just goes up somewhat on its own, hits the ceiling and falls to the ground. Flight lasted less than 30 seconds and seemed to climb on its own.

I go outside to try again and it says there is a motor obstruction. After spending 20 minutes on hold with DJI support, the guy basically said
1) you have to send it in, there is no troubleshooting they do over the phone
2) DJI does not make any drones that are expected to operate indoors.
3) they don't take the information over the phone or anything I need to open a case online.

I point out that they have multiple promo videos showing their Spark operating indoors. After he goes and checks for 5 minutes he comes back and says tthat those people had a clear GPS signal.

Overall I'm pretty unimpressed. Both in DJI's response and that with 1 fall the drone is inoperable.

 

[msinger]

DJI drones are designed to fly (not crash into obstacles). Flying indoors or around any obstacles is risky. If you're only interested in flying indoors, then a DJI drone is not really a good choice.

 

[lannes]

Take off the propellers and check to see if one of the mounting tabs from them have come off and got stuck in the motor.

Also with the AC off spin the body of each motor to check if there is any resistance, there might be one that is stuck and that is causing the motor obstruction

I routinely fly indoors but I use prop guards, I turn on all the lights and open the blinds to make it as bright as possible for the vps to work. Indoors you don't get a GPS fix , so that is why the VPS and obstacle avoidance need to work well by being in a super bright environment.

 

[aviscomi]

Yes it can be a lengthy initiation process with the Spark. Also, trying your 1st initial flight indoors wouldn't be recommended.

 

[Sherlock]

DJI drones are designed to fly (not crash into obstacles). Flying indoors or around any obstacles is risky. If you're only interested in flying indoors, then a DJI drone is not really a good choice.

For the record, I don't plan to fly indoors a lot, I did think that it wasn't going to be a big deal since DJI showed the spark taking pictures indoors.

I do intend to fly it outdoors. It was done just to test the thing out. I spent so much time trying to get this thing up and running over a 2 day period, I wanted to turn it on and see that it actually worked before I took it outside in 20 degree weather. I spent my bit of time outside trying to get it going without realizing what it took to set it up freezing, until I took it inside.

 

[msinger]

I did think that it wasn't going to be a big deal since DJI showed the spark taking pictures indoors

It's never a big deal until you crash it into something

 

[Chrislaf]

I got a new Spark on Xmas to complement my Phantom 3 Standard and I had lots of trouble activating it on Christmas day likely due to everyone else who got a Spark or new DJI drone trying to do the same. Tried the next day and everything went fine.

 

[Sherlock]

It's never a big deal until you crash it into something

I get it, I'm a newbie here and I did something (starting it up indoors), that everything thinks is stupid.

FWIW if DJI is going to be successful in the "normal" consumer market, people without much of a background with drones, I think they are going to need to up their documentation game. I found the set up difficult, the booklets, they try and be "cool" with their packaging, but they're small and hard to follow. I can't have been the first person to start their spark indoors because hey, we've seen plenty of drones indoors, even in their promos. A nice start up guide and some step by step instructions with a few real warnings and tips would be helpful to prevent some of the stupid stuff.

I honestly don't know what happened. It was hovering then it rose unexpectedly and hit the ceiling, then the floor. I guess I'll find out what the damage is from DJI.

 

[Chrislaf]

Did you purchase the refresh insurance? If you did any damage should be covered if it is not a warranty issue.

I puchased refresh for my Spark. I usually don’t purchase extra warrantees and didn’t for my phantom 3 standard I bought a year ago, but for the Spark I did since I will likely be flying it in more demanding conditions.

Chris

 

[lannes]

I get it, I'm a newbie here and I did something (starting it up indoors), that everything thinks is stupid.

FWIW if DJI is going to be successful in the "normal" consumer market, people without much of a background with drones, I think they are going to need to up their documentation game. I found the set up difficult, the booklets, they try and be "cool" with their packaging, but they're small and hard to follow. I can't have been the first person to start their spark indoors because hey, we've seen plenty of drones indoors, even in their promos. A nice start up guide and some step by step instructions with a few real warnings and tips would be helpful to prevent some of the stupid stuff.

I honestly don't know what happened. It was hovering then it rose unexpectedly and hit the ceiling, then the floor. I guess I'll find out what the damage is from DJI.

It was probably IMU or compass interference, did you get any on screen warning messages, if the DJI Go4 app there is a warning message log that you can look back into.

When you first started up the AC and connected to the app, did you get an "all clear" on the flight checklist page or was there a red warning triangle

 

[Droggy]

Take off the propellers and check to see if one of the mounting tabs from them have come off and got stuck in the motor.

Also with the AC off spin the body of each motor to check if there is any resistance, there might be one that is stuck and that is causing the motor obstruction

I routinely fly indoors but I use prop guards, I turn on all the lights and open the blinds to make it as bright as possible for the vps to work. Indoors you don't get a GPS fix , so that is why the VPS and obstacle avoidance need to work well by being in a super bright environment.

Ya, I had one stuck in mine, got out with a pin and tweezers

 

[Droggy]

Ya, I had one stuck in mine, got out with a pin and tweezers

Then replaced with new propeller and all was good.

 

[Bubbles!!!]

FYI for everyone, 90% of videos showing drones in a "controlled state" from DJI and other companies are animations or augmented reality videos. No drone at DJI has probably ever flown indoors outside the netted testing areas. It's just come so far now that it's near impossible to tell the difference other than fluidity in objects.

 

[Bubbles!!!]

I get it, I'm a newbie here and I did something (starting it up indoors), that everything thinks is stupid.

FWIW if DJI is going to be successful in the "normal" consumer market, people without much of a background with drones, I think they are going to need to up their documentation game. I found the set up difficult, the booklets, they try and be "cool" with their packaging, but they're small and hard to follow. I can't have been the first person to start their spark indoors because hey, we've seen plenty of drones indoors, even in their promos. A nice start up guide and some step by step instructions with a few real warnings and tips would be helpful to prevent some of the stupid stuff.

I honestly don't know what happened. It was hovering then it rose unexpectedly and hit the ceiling, then the floor. I guess I'll find out what the damage is from DJI.

My drone crashed the same way, hit the bottom of my old house (it was on stilts) it seems to not do well with vertical accuracy under surfaces of any kind.
They do have a manual and quick start guides as well that explain everything, from set up and preflight, to updating and basic functions. Entire pages full of warnings, warnings in specific pages, etc... Don't know the exact words, but it's basically "don't fly under objects, don't fly around people, cars, buildings, and anything potentially harmful to the drone, stay away from large metal objects..." I read the entire manual several times before I got the Spark in the mail, bit overboard, but worth it at least once.

 

[Ophidia Snaketongue]

Ya, I had one stuck in mine, got out with a pin and tweezers

After my own 'Pilot is a *******' crash, I held Sparky upside down and shook it until the propeller bits came out . The propellers are designed to be the part that fails, rather than the motors. It's a good bit of design.

Either way, OP: don't give up. The spark is amazing and great fun, and there are lots of tips on this forum to get the best out of it. Unfortunately, DJI's marketing is in charge of making the manuals and they make it seem far more easy and foolproof than it really is. Their biggest publicity photo of the Spark on their webpage shows it being flown indoors. Crazy.

Your best approach is to find a nice big field and have a really good play and experiment with Sparky's controls. Get a feel for them, and an idea of how to stop the Spark if it does something silly. You can fly the Spark indoors, but it's best to try it outdoors first.

I hope you get your motors fixed.

Edit: Huh, turns out this UK person didn't realise how bad a word I used. I thought it was fairly acceptable slang. In the censored bit above, put 'silly person'.

 

[sincere]

Turn off return to home for indoor flight no problem for me

 

[Rbstansbury]

I get it, I'm a newbie here and I did something (starting it up indoors), that everything thinks is stupid.

FWIW if DJI is going to be successful in the "normal" consumer market, people without much of a background with drones, I think they are going to need to up their documentation game. I found the set up difficult, the booklets, they try and be "cool" with their packaging, but they're small and hard to follow. I can't have been the first person to start their spark indoors because hey, we've seen plenty of drones indoors, even in their promos. A nice start up guide and some step by step instructions with a few real warnings and tips would be helpful to prevent some of the stupid stuff.

I honestly don't know what happened. It was hovering then it rose unexpectedly and hit the ceiling, then the floor. I guess I'll find out what the damage is from DJI.

Don’t feel bad as indoor flight is certainly possible, I have over 3 hrs of flight time in my house practicing and have yet to even take it outside! I cruise down hallways in and out of bedrooms up and down the stairs basically fly around my entire house with no issues, be sure to turn obstacle avoidance off as spark tends to get confused when around many objects walls etc. when it’s on it can do some strange things and as mentioned above turn of rth as well

 

[Eljay]

There's definitely more of a learning curve than you would think, even if you already know how to fly cheap drones, starting with the registration stickers not scanning, no printed manual, marketing materials that emphasize the aspects of the drone that are less than awesome (gestures). Once you get everything going they're a ton of fun and you can take some great pictures/video, but it definitely seems like it's more of a slog than it really needs to be.

 

[s2 Web Parrot]

I just got a new Spark for Christmas. I have to say i'm disappointed.
I was very excited to get it. I've watched a bunch of videos including DJIs promos. I have a Syma drone that I've had for a year and was hoping to have something more robust, with an active camera.

I unbox it, and it try and set it up for a quick flight. Obviously that was a foolish thought. The QR scanner wouldn't work to link up the drone, then the controller turned on, but wouldn't turn off or have its wifi recognized. I figured out how to turn it off through forum research and got it reset. Then the updates to firmware for both the controller and drone which kept dropping wifi connection and this took forever. All told, this took hours.

I finally get everything linked up and go to take off in my living room. It takes off, I get it to go left and right briefly, then it just goes up somewhat on its own, hits the ceiling and falls to the ground. Flight lasted less than 30 seconds and seemed to climb on its own.

I go outside to try again and it says there is a motor obstruction. After spending 20 minutes on hold with DJI support, the guy basically said
1) you have to send it in, there is no troubleshooting they do over the phone
2) DJI does not make any drones that are expected to operate indoors.
3) they don't take the information over the phone or anything I need to open a case online.

I point out that they have multiple promo videos showing their Spark operating indoors. After he goes and checks for 5 minutes he comes back and says tthat those people had a clear GPS signal.

Overall I'm pretty unimpressed. Both in DJI's response and that with 1 fall the drone is inoperable.

This won't ease your pain, but something I've learned on the MavicPilots website might help in the future. The visual positioning needs a varied surface to orient itself. An indoor surface that lacks a pattern might cause the aircraft to lose it's position and start "searching" for a familiar pattern. I read that launching/flying over water before the craft establishes "home" can cause some erratic flight similar to that which you described.

 

[s2 Web Parrot]

FYI for everyone, 90% of videos showing drones in a "controlled state" from DJI and other companies are animations or augmented reality videos. No drone at DJI has probably ever flown indoors outside the netted testing areas. It's just come so far now that it's near impossible to tell the difference other than fluidity in objects.

This won't be terribly helpful, only a similar anecdote. Parrot also has some slick indoor videos of it's Mini Drone the Mambo. Young kids flying indoors and out and using some cute attachments to fire small balls from a canon (mounted on top of the drone). It also uses a bottom mounted remote controlled grabber that shows picking up a sugar cube, flying over a cup of coffee, and dropping the sugar in to a spashing coffee. Slow motion reveals about 20 video cuts. You never see the grabber pick up the cube while in flight. When the claws close, the props aren't even moving. There is no prop wash making the surface of the coffee move (even though the aircraft is hovering about a foot over the coffee). Both my grandson and I have a Mambo and, as experienced as we have become, can't do any of the displayed tricks. However, it is a terrific indoors drone, and durable as heck. It, to, has difficulty with it's VFS detection if you launch from a surface that lacks a pattern. I prefer to fly it indoors and the Spark outside. Like I said, not terribly helpful, but another example of how marketing gets in the way of reality.