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Lost Spark flying Litchi. What Happened?

DJI support told me essentially that they could not help me with this issue because I was using a 3d party app. However, I received the following reply from Litchi:
"As you can see at DJI Flight Log Viewer - PhantomHelp.com the flight mode switched to ATTI towards the end. This means GPS signal was lost, generally this is because of strong interference."

It's clear that the flight mode changed from WP to P-GPS top ATTI just before it veered off course, even though the flight record shows 19 satellites right up to the end. Interference with the signal in fact seems the likely culprit. But in such a remote area what could interfere other than someone intentionally jamming the GPS signal? Can anyone suggest an android app or inexpensive device to detect such interference? ... or am I missing something here?
 
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A big erroneous observation I've seen repeated a few times "hover until the battery dies".
No - as soon as battery reaches low it will trigger the standard return to home activity. I've tested this many times before I entrusted my birds to go wandering off by themselves. It should have returned home regardless.
Litchi is built using the Dji SDK's. Dji bases their whole "not our problem" response based on the absence of Dji logs to establish cause - not the fact that it's 3rd party software.
 
I'm not particularly surprised that it didn't return to home since it apparently got lost during the mission and therefor was confused as to which direction was home. I'm trying to better understand this issue of GPS interference which I presume means that some radio frequency source is causing the drone to see satellite(s) being in a position other than where they actually are.
 
Has anyone had a software problem like this?About a week after I got my drone I set the drone so I have 25% of battery left to get home with, I was out flying and it got low the drone started home an the wind was blowing don't know why but my drone set down, I hit the find my drone it said it was a 1/2 mile away. I'm trying to understand how it got that far off? So I went over to were it said it was 1st it said it was on the edge of a home, then it said it was I think in a yard I'm in a panic because I'm Disabled an only get 1 check a month and the only thing I could afford is the spark. I did not want to lose it. Anyway' s I continued looking for the drone as I keep going where it said the drone was it moved a few feet! after about 2 hour's in the dark trying to find my drone I hit find my drone the 3rd time it then showed it was now down the dirt road from were I live around a 1/4 mile I drove over to it and there it was! setting in the middle of a dirt path where all the off road people go.. That pissed me off not because of what happened with the software did but how long it took me to find it an this is why? 4 years back I bought a drone and paid close to $600 for it I got everything hook up flying it and the battery ran out so it went down out in the field at the same time some kid came up on a Quad jump off hiding in the sagebrush grabbed my drone and took off and I never seen him again. So when this drone went down you think you would have gone in a panic? To spend money I don't have just so I can get out of my motorhome and to do something other then to let my health continue to go down hill this is why I got a drone my doctor don't like me going out to the place's that I go now but at least I'm trying to change some of the thing's in my life and trying to make a change. No thanks to that kid but it took me 4 years so I could pay my old drone off then to save a little money to buy the Spark drone. I hope to save up enough money to buy 1 of the bigger drones.. Take care Thanks for your time..
 
Has anyone had a software problem like this?About a week after I got my drone I set the drone so I have 25% of battery left to get home with, I was out flying and it got low the drone started home an the wind was blowing don't know why but my drone set down, I hit the find my drone it said it was a 1/2 mile away. I'm trying to understand how it got that far off? So I went over to were it said it was 1st it said it was on the edge of a home, then it said it was I think in a yard I'm in a panic because I'm Disabled an only get 1 check a month and the only thing I could afford is the spark. I did not want to lose it. Anyway' s I continued looking for the drone as I keep going where it said the drone was it moved a few feet! after about 2 hour's in the dark trying to find my drone I hit find my drone the 3rd time it then showed it was now down the dirt road from were I live around a 1/4 mile I drove over to it and there it was! setting in the middle of a dirt path where all the off road people go.. That pissed me off not because of what happened with the software did but how long it took me to find it an this is why? 4 years back I bought a drone and paid close to $600 for it I got everything hook up flying it and the battery ran out so it went down out in the field at the same time some kid came up on a Quad jump off hiding in the sagebrush grabbed my drone and took off and I never seen him again. So when this drone went down you think you would have gone in a panic? To spend money I don't have just so I can get out of my motorhome and to do something other then to let my health continue to go down hill this is why I got a drone my doctor don't like me going out to the place's that I go now but at least I'm trying to change some of the thing's in my life and trying to make a change. No thanks to that kid but it took me 4 years so I could pay my old drone off then to save a little money to buy the Spark drone. I hope to save up enough money to buy 1 of the bigger drones.. Take care Thanks for your time..
Some people are so inconsiderate and have no idea how much time and effort people put into owning something. I feel your pain
 
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I lost my spark a couple weeks ago while flying a litchi mission. It was a 9 minute mission and should have made it back, no sweat. There were 11-15 mph wind gusts that day and I was debating flying to begin with. I should have listened to my instincts. The spark will turn around and try to return home regardless of litchi settings. When the power is low, it will try to return home. So, I have several theories about what happened to mine. 1. a hawk got it.. or; 2. it tried to come home and didn't calculate the side wind it was diagonally flying against and either landed in a tree, creek, or pond.. or 3. it landed in a safe spot on the golf course I was flying on and someone picked it up before it could find it. or.. 4. an engine failed and it's in a tree, creek or pond.

I've since bought a used spark and have looked everywhere for it, even though it's rained like hell since then and I know it's probably ruined. It's nowhere to be found. In any case, I've flown a TON of litchi missions and it always came back when the battery got lot regardless of the litchi smart return setting. That behavior is baked into the drone regardless of the software it's running.

I seriously doubt that DJI would give me another one as I was flying an autonomous misison with 3rd party software. Since the flight log stopped midway through my way-points and it was 330 feet up at the disconnect, there is no data to substantiate the case for a new drone and conversely no data to indicate that it was litchi's fault. So, I'm screwed and just happy I found a $200 solo spark on ebay to replace mine with. Attached are my flight logs for any curious parties (hint hint DJI).
 

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DONT USE LITCHI ITS PLAUGED WITH PROBLEMS IF YOU WANT WAY P OINTS USE THIS APP FOR ANDROID.. NOT SURE ABOUT APPLE PRODUCTS.. BUT ITS CALLED..DJI MISSION..

YOU HAVE TO USE IT WITH THE DJI GO 4 MOD VERSION YOU CANT USE IT WITH THE STOCK APP..

SO WHAT YOU DO IS FIND DJI GO 4 MOD INSTALL IT THERES A WHOLE FORUM ON IT.... THEN INSTALL THE DJI MISSION APP... MAKE SURE TO HAVE WIFI CONNECTED BEFORE YOU FLY SO AT HOME IF YOU KNOW WHERE YOUR GUNNA FLY.. JUST ZOOM IN AND AROUND THE MAP AREA AND FARTHER OUT JUST IN CASE.. ON BOTH THE MOD APP AND THE MISSION APP...

THEN WHILE IN THE MISSION APP YOU CAN AT HOME.. SAY A FEILD ETC TAP WHERE YOU WANT IT TO FLY THE ORIENTATION IT FLIES HIGHT AND WHAT IT DOES AT END OF MISSION IE RETURN TO HOME.. MY SUGGESTION DONT USE THAT JUST USE THE STOP AT LAST MISSION OR WHAT EVER ITS CALLED...
THEN DISCONNECT YOUR WIFI.. ON YOUR DEVICE.. GO TO THAT FEILD ETC...
OPEN THE MOD APP ITS RED IN COLOR...

AND CLICK THE SYMBOL TO FLY MISSIONS IN THE MODDED APP THERE SHOULD BE ON THE RIGHT SIDE THE NAME OF THE MISSIONS FROM DJI MISSION THAT YOU MADE.. JUST PUT YOUR DRONE ON THE GROUND CALIBRATE THE COMPASS... TAKE OFF LET IT HOVER THEN CLICK ON THE MISSION YOU MADE AND IT WILL FLY TO THE FIRST POINT AND DO ITS MISSION THEN JUST HOVER WHERE IT STOPS... MAKE SURE TO USE A OTG CABLE AND TURN OFF YOUR WIFI AND.. IF YOUR HAVEING CONNECTION ISSUES FORMAT YOUR SD CARD ON THE DRONE WITH THE STOCK APP... TURN OFF CACHE OR AUDIO RECORDING.... AND HAVE FUN ITS SIMPLE IT REALLY IS..

DJI Mission planner does not support the DJI Spark model. You can plan and execute autonomous missions on models equal to or greater than mav pro.
 
Sorry about your loss? I keep trying to post to everyone that no matter what keep a close eye on your Spark Drone. They are full of software issue's an DJI will not fix it! Here's the sad part for us? We buy the spark an depending on when you bought your spark was I think around $700 but now down to $300 so if DJI fix the software issue then they can not keep maken money off of us that can't afford to buy the higher priced drones. So this is what I have found out? They keep that software issue going and every time a drone fly's a way they make money off of it or if it crash's or even run's into something DJI make an average of $100 or more! You see where I'm going with this? It's not that hard to figure this out. When my Drone flew off there was no reason for it to fly off it said return home and it never got to me. With in 5 min I was where it said it landed but it was not there. I don't care how high you fly or where you fly the drone has a failsafe mode that if it disconnects it kicks into return home mode but is it don't come back DJI should have to either send us a new drone or return our money. If they don't then that goes to a lawsuit for the damages. Trust me I have around 18 lawsuits that have been filed an won. But I'm not an attorney I have just learned certain thing's about the law in the USA and it is just a matter of time before this goes before the court systems.. Me I'm looking for Damages because the way DJI treated me when my drone flew off I felt like I did something wrong after what they did.. Now I'm keeping the light burning in hope's that DJI don't repeat there self when other's have there drone fly's off, They put me through so much I went into deep depression.. Now for the other side when you are out flying and your haven fun don't for get if there are telephone line always remember to look to see what the height is on the line's I was flying yesterday an found out one of the line's are at 25ft and the one just below it is around 23ft... lol It was my fault on this but watch out on the drone's that DJI send's to you... If anyone want's to read on about the new thing DJI is doing let me know? It is about a new drone an refurbished on how to tell if you get a new drone or a used ones... Any way let my no if you need help with any thing oh Click the thumbs up please or if you don't like hit thumbs down.. Spelling don't count
 
Here is one for you DUFFER I maybe as you say inconsiderate...... You have a great day you ABORTED FETUS.. Sorry to you others peep's for this please leave it at least tell Moofer reads it...

Whoa woah. Slowdown. He was referring to the people in your story, like the kid that ran off with your drone. He was sympathizing with you, not against you.
 
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Whoa woah. Slowdown. He was referring to the people in your story, like the kid that ran off with your drone. He was sympathizing with you, not against you.

If that's the case (MY BAD) and SORRY to him. But the way it was posted it look like a (dig at my throat) <---street slang But I'll remove that post an take your word.. THX
 
<rant>
While I am not a moderator, I would still like to point out that regardless of your mis-understanding, you need to check yourself and your temper before posting insults like that. According to the Community Rules (that you agreed to when signing up), that kind of nonsense won't be tolerated. You are probably lucky no one reported you. As a reminder for future posts:

"2. Personal attacks on others will not be tolerated. Challenge others' points of view and opinions, but do so respectfully and thoughtfully. Excessive sarcasm, belligerence, insults, profanity, anger, offensive comments about race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, and national origin, are not acceptable."
"8. Be mindful of yourself and others. This forum is not a democracy; it is privately owned and we determine the rules. If rules are violated we retain the right at our discretion to remove, edit or delete posts and if necessary ban or remove members..."

We are here to share our experiences and love of drone flying. I would hate to see this forum degrade into nothing better than Facebook/Reddit rantings.
</rant>

------
And now for something completely different:

To add to Filipok's comment when he responded to the ALL CAPS guy: don't the DJI GO 4 MOD and DJI Mission apps also fall under the 3rd party app category, if I am not mistaken? So that doesn't really solve anything if the drone suddenly is instructed to go elsewhere. You are still probably screwed in getting DJI support, unless you can prove that the error was from the drone/controller side.
 
DJI support told me essentially that they could not help me with this issue because I was using a 3d party app. However, I received the following reply from Litchi:
"As you can see at DJI Flight Log Viewer - PhantomHelp.com the flight mode switched to ATTI towards the end. This means GPS signal was lost, generally this is because of strong interference."

It's clear that the flight mode changed from WP to P-GPS top ATTI just before it veered off course, even though the flight record shows 19 satellites right up to the end. Interference with the signal in fact seems the likely culprit. But in such a remote area what could interfere other than someone intentionally jamming the GPS signal? Can anyone suggest an android app or inexpensive device to detect such interference? ... or am I missing something here?
Am not a fan of 3rd party apps and I'm still under warranty so don't want to use Litchi. Have tried DJI Pilot for that reason. Recognized my drone as a Spark and it's camera, disabled features I couldn't use, and flew a couple short missions without issue on my Android system. I also asked DJI through their forum if I was still covered using Pilot. They responded that even though the software was not designed for the Spark, I was covered as Pilot is a DJI product. Whether they honor that if I ever have a warranty/Care issue is another question.
 
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Everyone breathe deeply and exhale... Lets play nicely. :) Its a drone forum not a bar fight.

I too have not gone the Litchi route because of my warranty. Once that's done, I will roll the dice one way or the other. Even with DJI Go with or without the warranties, we take a large risk with that wad of money flying around our heads. My next drone, if I get one, is going to be at least the old Mavic Pro... much better redundancy. If only DJI would simply give us the waypoints...
 
<rant>
While I am not a moderator, I would still like to point out that regardless of your mis-understanding, you need to check yourself and your temper before posting insults like that. According to the Community Rules (that you agreed to when signing up), that kind of nonsense won't be tolerated. You are probably lucky no one reported you. As a reminder for future posts:

"2. Personal attacks on others will not be tolerated. Challenge others' points of view and opinions, but do so respectfully and thoughtfully. Excessive sarcasm, belligerence, insults, profanity, anger, offensive comments about race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, and national origin, are not acceptable."
"8. Be mindful of yourself and others. This forum is not a democracy; it is privately owned and we determine the rules. If rules are violated we retain the right at our discretion to remove, edit or delete posts and if necessary ban or remove members..."

We are here to share our experiences and love of drone flying. I would hate to see this forum degrade into nothing better than Facebook/Reddit rantings.
</rant>

------
And now for something completely different:

To add to Filipok's comment when he responded to the ALL CAPS guy: don't the DJI GO 4 MOD and DJI Mission apps also fall under the 3rd party app category, if I am not mistaken? So that doesn't really solve anything if the drone suddenly is instructed to go elsewhere. You are still probably screwed in getting DJI support, unless you can prove that the error was from the drone/controller side.
I don't need to say anything more except that's not my temper that's a I hate bullie's in person or on line that's it!
 
My 2 cents, because it takes up to 10% battery to take off and 10% battery to land, I try to fly my Litchi missions so I land with > 40% battery just to have plenty of margin of error. That's generally about 10 minutes max and 2.5 miles total distance at ~15MPH and low wind. Litchi missions are generally very battery efficient unless they have a lot of waypoints/direction/height changes.

The way I have my settings, at 30% Litchi does nothing, 20% warns about low battery, 10% tries to land and you have to fight to keep it in the air. I tested that by flying a ~1 mile circuit mission a few times around a field at low altitude.
 
DJI support told me essentially that they could not help me with this issue because I was using a 3d party app. However, I received the following reply from Litchi:
"As you can see at DJI Flight Log Viewer - PhantomHelp.com the flight mode switched to ATTI towards the end. This means GPS signal was lost, generally this is because of strong interference."

It's clear that the flight mode changed from WP to P-GPS top ATTI just before it veered off course, even though the flight record shows 19 satellites right up to the end. Interference with the signal in fact seems the likely culprit. But in such a remote area what could interfere other than someone intentionally jamming the GPS signal? Can anyone suggest an android app or inexpensive device to detect such interference? ... or am I missing something here?

I added some other stuff in this reply so I could save 2 seconds...I'm setting here thinking of what could have happened with your drone? I wonder if you took a high watt linear key it down then see if that could do anything as interference? For some of the people that don't know what a linear is it hook's up to C.B radio's to bump up the watt's so truck driver's can get out farther on there CB... Or ham operators us them.. Is there a truck stop around where you were flying? They can interfere using there radio's... Just don't rule out one thing look up all the things that could interfere with either drone or remote start out with a list of could or could not then--------------> Look around where you had it flying and see what could have interfered with the drone or remote? If you don't find anything that could have interfered then you need to look at you made a very expensive mistake by using other software that is not for the spark or is it? DJI's software for the spark is bad enough when your out flying.. Some people may get lucky an never have an issue with there spark but in the real world at one point everyone will have some kind of brake down an will have to put money out to have there spark drone fixed . So when you use a 3rd party software your asking for ten time's more trouble.. I'd like to know why is it when I don't fly my spark for about two weeks the battery's drain 10 to 20% it's not just one battery or even my older battery's all 5 of them did it.. Could it be the smart battery's are a lot smarter then we think? Is the maker's of the battery's collecting Information on us? I'm no conspiracy theorist nor do I know electronics but someone need's to look at what is inside of these smart battery's... I hope this will help you out? Spelling don't count..
 

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