Preparing to Upgrade Inspire 1

[JamesSpringPilot]

I avoided all upgrades over the winter. Now I am am flying regularly again and I'm contemplating doing all the camera, remote, aircraft, and battery updates.
Is there anything to worry about? I don't like updates and usually wait a while.

 

[Kevin Cabral]

No worries. I got the x3 and updated everything. No problems. Only issue I have is the DJI Go app. If you have android, don't update to the latest OS. DJI Go will constantly crash.

 

[JamesSpringPilot]

No worries. I got the x3 and updated everything. No problems. Only issue I have is the DJI Go app. If you have android, don't update to the latest OS. DJI Go will constantly crash.

Great, I use the iPad Air 2, also I use Autopilot app, which I hope will work with no drama. Thanks for your feedback!

 

[CSpenceFLY]

If everything is working DO NOT UPDATE.
I don't have time to type all of the problems people are having. App crashing,video feed,geofencing and incorrect no fly zones.

Search the forums and Facebook.

 

[Donnie Frank]

I avoided all upgrades over the winter. Now I am am flying regularly again and I'm contemplating doing all the camera, remote, aircraft, and battery updates.
Is there anything to worry about? I don't like updates and usually wait a while.

I have been advising everyone to stop at FW v1.08.30 (controller v1.6). It seems about half of those who update to the latest FW v1.10.xx get reception issues. I have tested this on a v1.10 that I took back to v1.08. Within the span of a couple hours we went from horrid video reception to great video reception. I took video, which is on my plate for editing.

D

 

[Donnie Frank]

Great, I use the iPad Air 2, also I use Autopilot app, which I hope will work with no drama. Thanks for your feedback!

Depends on how complex the routine. I started shooting a construction progress project in February using my Air 1 with no problems. As soon as it warmed up, Autopilot would crash. The explanation seems to be that Apple throttles back the CPU when the iPad gets hot. If Autopilot can't utilize enough CPU, it just closes. No errors. No warnings. It just closes, and the bird stops it's routine. I always operate in the shade out of direct sunlight. But 90+ degrees outside, the iPad gets too hot...or so it seems.

So I sprung for an Air Pro (A9x CPU with twice as much power as the A7 in the Air 1), which helped a lot, but did not stop the crashing completely. I find that turning down the back-light helps keep the iPad cool, but not always cool enough. So now I park the iPad in the refrigerator (not the freezer) a couple hours before I fly, and then bring it to the gig in a cooler with ice. THIS seems to have solved the problem <knock on wood>. Because I use goggles when I fly these missions, my next plan of action may be to leave the iPad in the cooler while Autopilot pilots the mission. I just purchased a 10' USB cable for this purpose. I may test this on the iPad Air 1 just to confirm that the Autopilot crashing is, indeed, a thermal problem.

Worth noting: The Air 1 worked perfectly in cool-cold weather. It wasn't until it started getting over 90° that I started having problems with Autopilot.

I know there are other active cooling solutions. But honestly, keeping some ice in a cooler with the iPad seems like a pretty elegant solution to me.

D

 

[Donnie Frank]

If everything is working DO NOT UPDATE.
I don't have time to type all of the problems people are having. App crashing,video feed,geofencing and incorrect no fly zones.

Search the forums and Facebook.

v1.08.30 is the "sweet spot." There is geofencing, but it's very conservative compared to the v1.09 update. Only class C and B airspace is geofenced in v1.08.xx. v1.09 expanded to class D and some closed airports. v1.10 got rid of the closed airports, but still issues warnings in Class D airspace. I live in class D airspace, so the constant warning was a PITA.

 

[Wolfiesden]

v1.08.30 is the "sweet spot." There is geofencing, but it's very conservative compared to the v1.09 update. Only class C and B airspace is geofenced in v1.08.xx. v1.09 expanded to class D and some closed airports. v1.10 got rid of the closed airports, but still issues warnings in Class D airspace. I live in class D airspace, so the constant warning was a PITA.

Good to know right there. I got my I1 recently. The Go screen says 1.9.1.30+, Cam 1.9.1.10 and RC 1.6.0.

Is there a DL for 1.8.xx? I haven't ever done FW on the I1, just on P3's and I stopped prior to them locking the system (see sig), whats the rollback process?

 

[Donnie Frank]

Good to know right there. I got my I1 recently. The Go screen says 1.9.1.30+, Cam 1.9.1.10 and RC 1.6.0.

You'll want to stick with 1.6 on the controller.

Is there a DL for 1.8.xx?

Yes. In an exhaustive search, I stumbled upon this little gem.

http://www.panorobot.com/dji/inspire_firmwares.htm

I recommend downloading and archiving everything, as lord knows when this page is going to go away.

I haven't ever done FW on the I1, just on P3's and I stopped prior to them locking the system (see sig), whats the rollback process?

Install the .bin file on your SD card, install the card in the camera, turn on the Inspire, and watch it go. The camera should make a noise kind of like a quiet version of the old floppy drives when they accessed files. If not, then something is going wrong.

You're SUPPOSED to get feedback from the bird via the LED lights, but I have found that to be unreliable. So here's what you do:

1) Set a timer for 20 minutes.
2) After 20 minutes, shut the bird down and pull the MicroSD card.
3) Insert the MicroSD card into your computer and read the log file. The log file is pretty self explanatory. If it says, "Success," you're done.

Assuming you succeed, REMOVE THE BIN FILE FROM THE CARD, or the update will start all over again. Remove the log file, too. You should be done.

If the update fails, you *might* have to update to an earlier version of 1.09.xx first, and THEN update to v1.08.xx. It's in the release notes that you can only downgrade one FW at a time.

Lemme know how it works out.