Inspire 1- Latest firmwares good or bad

[Scotflieger]

I have just been out doing some training practice flights with my I1+X5 in GPS and ATTI modes with the current 1.8.1.0 firmware, 1.6.0 RC and 2.8.2 app. It may be me but I had absolutely not issues of concern.

The aircraft flew smoothly and responded precisely to inputs. I was getting 15m/s (33mph) max speed in GPS both upwind and downwind. In ATTI I hit 20m/s (44mph). Video was solid out to my max 500m range. It only had a couple of battery loading warnings with ambient temperature of 12C and starting battery temperatures of 18C. Flight times with year old TB48 batteries was 13mins with 20% remaining.

As an early adopter I have updated at each release over the past year. I have had no problems updating after reading the release notes and following the DJI procedures. I see no reason to stop doing so although I note (but add a very large pinch of salt to) any reports of bricking/performance problems.

I use my Inspire 1 for photography. I have no need to a racing machine as some appear to have. I need a stable solid platform for the camera and am getting great results with the X5.

 

[KyleMaxxUav]

I have just been out doing some training practice flights with my I1+X5 in GPS and ATTI modes with the current 1.8.1.0 firmware, 1.6.0 RC and 2.8.2 app. It may be me but I had absolutely not issues of concern.

The aircraft flew smoothly and responded precisely to inputs. I was getting 15m/s (33mph) max speed in GPS both upwind and downwind. In ATTI I hit 20m/s (44mph). Video was solid out to my max 500m range. It only had a couple of battery loading warnings with ambient temperature of 12C and starting battery temperatures of 18C. Flight times with year old TB48 batteries was 13mins with 20% remaining.

As an early adopter I have updated at each release over the past year. I have had no problems updating after reading the release notes and following the DJI procedures. I see no reason to stop doing so although I note (but add a very large pinch of salt to) any reports of bricking/performance problems.

I use my Inspire 1 for photography. I have no need to a racing machine as some appear to have. I need a stable solid platform for the camera and am getting great results with the X5.

Thanks man !!! I use mine as a hobby & mostly just for fun. The speed I find an issue because I like to have fun with my toy, and faster = more fun.

The most important issue I see is the issue mentioned above where the bird couldn't defeat a 12mph crosswind.

I had a 4mph crosswind and achieved 72mph with my baby !!

 

[Scotflieger]

@P3P Canada My max operating wind speed is 10m/s (22mph) although I have flown up to gusting 15-20m/s (33-44mph). This is the DJI defined limit and from experience is as windy as I feel safe to fly in. You do need to adjust the Braking value (to 120-130) for stable hover at these wind speeds. If you wish to fly at high speed then you should stick with you current firmware and without warranty cover.

 

[KyleMaxxUav]

@P3P Canada My max operating wind speed is 10m/s (22mph) although I have flown up to gusting 15-20m/s (33-44mph). This is the DJI defined limit and from experience is as windy as I feel safe to fly in. You do need to adjust the Braking value (to 120-130) for stable hover at these wind speeds. If you wish to fly at high speed then you should stick with you current firmware and without warranty cover.

I appreciate the insight!! Thanks again. I do have full warranty regardless of firmware on my bird. There is no where that states it must be upgraded, already had a warranty covered on 1.6. But anyhow. I may put the latest on one of my inspires and keep the other @ 1.6 to see what I find.

 

[Scotflieger]

Update. Checking my two 1.8.1.0 flights on HealthyDrones I got maximum speeds of 18 and 24m/s (40 and 53mph) flying cross wind. Admittedly not your 70+mph but so fast I missed it.

 

[KyleMaxxUav]

Update. Checking my two 1.8.1.0 flights on HealthyDrones I got maximum speeds of 18 and 24m/s (40 and 53mph) flying cross wind. Admitted not your 70+mph but so fast I missed it.

Hmm .. Maybe not so bad !! I do notice that I have to aim for top speeds right after takeoff .. As the voltage sags my speeds are closer to your 40-55mph range anyhow. I'm ok with this as it makes the bird safer to fly overall. If you get a chance & feel like it ... Take it up, keep the feet down (landing mode) and fly as fast as you can with the wind with a full battery. [emoji12][emoji12]

 

[bluethundr]

Alright...well necessity is the mother of invention. The recent app was terrible for me. I found a way to roll back the app, I did to 2.8.1 and BOOM its rock solid. The only thing I will not get is the FB livestream. I right now, could not care about it. I just wanted a good signal again with/out the black frames and green drop outs. Now i'm on to finding the app version that fits my inspire in 1.5 app and place it on a dedicated ipad as so not to get the FW red update triangle...

 

[KyleMaxxUav]

Alright...well necessity is the mother of invention. The recent app was terrible for me. I found a way to roll back the app, I did to 2.8.1 and BOOM its rock solid. The only thing I will not get is the FB livestream. I right now, could not care about it. I just wanted a good signal again with/out the black frames and green drop outs. Now i'm on to finding the app version that fits my inspire in 1.5 app and place it on a dedicated ipad as so not to get the FW red update triangle...

How do you avoid the update notification within the app ?!

 

[bluethundr]

you cant...unless you match the FW update of teh bird and the remote with the APP. I fund the are date of the 1.5 APP and will get it tonight. I will then test it with my inspire on 1.5 so no update notification would be present.

 

[Mr Phantom]

you cant...unless you match the FW update of teh bird and the remote with the APP. I fund the are date of the 1.5 APP and will get it tonight. I will then test it with my inspire on 1.5 so no update notification would be present.

I don't think that it matters if you have the GO app that was current when the firmware 1.5 came.
I think you will still get the red warning about that you need to update.
The app that was used with firmware 1.5 was GO app 2.4.2.

But the warning message is just an annoyance, or does it limit anything?

 

[Mr Phantom]

So these battery messages that seems to pop up frequently, is it because the "improved battery reliability when using the battery in cold environments" function that was introduced in firmware 1.6?

And the "Improved encryption to enhance security during transmission" function in firmware 1.8, does it do anything for the distance and stability of the signal, or is it only a better security in the communication between the craft and the RC?

 

[Steve@AerialImagesPro]

Here's something VERY important all you guys are missing. If your bird crashes and you are NOT on the latest firmware, DJI will not fix under warranty. Search forums, there ate plenty of examples.

To me, that's enough to stay on latest firmware until I'm no longer under warranty.

 

[IrishSights]

I'm on 1.8 with no problems at all. No propulsion messages even in stiffish winds.

It seems to me that because not everyone is suffering the problem that there is something else in the equation.

Those with the problem who sent them off to DJI please keep us informed of the verdicts.

 

[The Editor]

Here's something VERY important all you guys are missing. If your bird crashes and you are NOT on the latest firmware, DJI will not fix under warranty. Search forums, there ate plenty of examples.

To me, that's enough to stay on latest firmware until I'm no longer under warranty.

This isn't true.
DJI cannot rely on a defence of someone not being on the latest firmware to absolve them of their legal obligation to honour a warranty.
Additionally, there have been instances on this forum where members have had repairs and replacements undertaken by DJI where users were NOT on the most up to date firmware.

 

[bluethundr]

I don't think that it matters if you have the GO app that was current when the firmware 1.5 came.
I think you will still get the red warning about that you need to update.
The app that was used with firmware 1.5 was GO app 2.4.2.

But the warning message is just an annoyance, or does it limit anything?

I was under the understanding that the GO APP is the 1st notification of a aircraft and remote update. Since the aircraft and remote have no way to "talk" to the internet. The GO APP is the direct notifier.
I am pretty sure of this..since if you updated to like 1.6 and have the equal of the remote and the go app. If you turn off your automatic updates on an IOS device the app you use would never know of any update until you tell it to update. Since it would not know, the remote and aircraft would not know as well.
The message is much more that an annoyance. IT SEVERELY LIMITS the power to the motors. I was dumbfounded when I saw my inspire in 12 MPH headwind and it would NOT move forward in full stick when this message appeared. Since it had not power to move it drifted into a man mad object. I could not control the aircraft to avoid the crash. It had no power and 37% battery left. The aircraft was only about 500 feet from me at a height of 89 or so feet AGL.

 

[Scotflieger]

I was under the understanding that the GO APP is the 1st notification of a aircraft and remote update. Since the aircraft and remote have no way to "talk" to the internet. The GO APP is the direct notifier.
I am pretty sure of this..since if you updated to like 1.6 and have the equal of the remote and the go app. If you turn off your automatic updates on an IOS device the app you use would never know of any update until you tell it to update. Since it would not know, the remote and aircraft would not know as well.
The message is much more that an annoyance. IT SEVERELY LIMITS the power to the motors. I was dumbfounded when I saw my inspire in 12 MPH headwind and it would NOT move forward in full stick when this message appeared. Since it had not power to move it drifted into a man mad object. I could not control the aircraft to avoid the crash. It had no power and 37% battery left. The aircraft was only about 500 feet from me at a height of 89 or so feet AGL.

You are partially correct but you are confusing 2 things. The App is the only means of connecting the aircraft and RC to the Internet to check whether there are firmware updates available to either device. However, turning off you iOS automatic updates only affect the App (and other apps) preventing Apple downloading and installing app updates without your explicit consent. This is recommend if you don't want to update your GO app without your knowledge. You will get notification from the Apple Store that a update is available. The App will also advise of available updates to your firmware (if connected to wifi).

On your other point, living in Scotland I often fly in windy conditions and I won't fly with wind speeds above 10m/s (22mph). The Inspire will hit problems above this limit (as specified) but I have never hit an issue at 5m/s (12mph).

 

[The Editor]

I was under the understanding that the GO APP is the 1st notification of a aircraft and remote update. Since the aircraft and remote have no way to "talk" to the internet. The GO APP is the direct notifier.
I am pretty sure of this..since if you updated to like 1.6 and have the equal of the remote and the go app. If you turn off your automatic updates on an IOS device the app you use would never know of any update until you tell it to update. Since it would not know, the remote and aircraft would not know as well.
The message is much more that an annoyance. IT SEVERELY LIMITS the power to the motors. I was dumbfounded when I saw my inspire in 12 MPH headwind and it would NOT move forward in full stick when this message appeared. Since it had not power to move it drifted into a man mad object. I could not control the aircraft to avoid the crash. It had no power and 37% battery left. The aircraft was only about 500 feet from me at a height of 89 or so feet AGL.

As @Scotflieger mentions above, you can turn off auto update on your iOS device to prevent the Go App updating if you do not want it to but there is a plethora of other communications still going on between your app, RC and aircraft to DJI servers when all connected.
Here is a list of what is going on 'behind the scenes'
•mydjiflight.dji.com
•newrelic.com - app analytics
•djistatic.com
•flurry.com
•conf.international.baidu.com
•baidu.com
•qbox.me (via qbox.wscdns.com)
•upgrade.dj2006.net
•pingma.qq.com
•u.dji.com
•acbe.aasky.net -type this one in a browser for a nice scare.
•tpns.qq.com
•dds.dji.com
•pilotv2.djivideos.com
•active.dji.com
•m.dji.com
•djicdn.com
•www.skypixel.com
•djiexplore.com
•flysafe

Additionally, having a 'Firmware Update Required' message on your app will not affect the performance of your machine in any way.
If you are seeing a problem in 12mph winds then there is another issue with your aircraft I'm afraid.

 

[Mr Phantom]

So will the firmware update warning disappear if you turn off automatic app updates? I didn't take that into the equation.

And does it make any difference if you are using the latest GO app with an older firmware or should you use the GO app version which was used when the firmware in question was released? I´m thinking function and stability wise ?

 

[Scotflieger]

So will the firmware update warning disappear if you turn off automatic app updates? I didn't take that into the equation.

And does it make any difference if you are using the latest GO app with an older firmware or should you use the GO app version which was used when the firmware in question was released? I´m thinking function and stability wise ?

The firmware update warning will appear whenever you GO App is connected to the internet (wifi or via iPhone) and you are not to the latest firmware standard. If you don't wish to upgrade, simply ignore the messages. If your aircraft/RC has a much older firmware, I can't tell what warnings you will get. Mine are always up-to-date as I believe they should be. I can also give you no confidence that using the latest GO app with an older firmware version will not give you issues.

 

[bluethundr]

You are partially correct but you are confusing 2 things. The App is the only means of connecting the aircraft and RC to the Internet to check whether there are firmware updates available to either device. However, turning off you iOS automatic updates only affect the App (and other apps) preventing Apple downloading and installing app updates without your explicit consent. This is recommend if you don't want to update your GO app without your knowledge. You will get notification from the Apple Store that a update is available. The App will also advise of available updates to your firmware (if connected to wifi).

On your other point, living in Scotland I often fly in windy conditions and I won't fly with wind speeds above 10m/s (22mph). The Inspire will hit problems above this limit (as specified) but I have never hit an issue at 5m/s (12mph).

"You will get notification from the Apple Store that a update is available. The App will also advise of available updates to your firmware (if connected to wifi)."

It will show in the updates that one is available. but when you open the app it will not know the update exists...IF you have the OIS update notifications off. I did this right away. I would not get any notification on the app when i opened it..even connected to cell or wifi service. I did this all the time and the app never knew of the pending update, but I was able to get maps.