upgrade on Inspire 1 Pro X5 camera no longer works

[Brian Fist]

Hey guys, I did a firmware upgrade to the latest 1.11.1.50. Turns out I got the flashing green lights off the camera... Went and had lunch, come back, flashing red on the camera.

So, per the update instructions, I power down and power back up, expecting it to do the update... X5 camera is acting dead, as in no gimbal movement. I get some initial flashing green on LED on the camera, but it stop pretty quick. The tail-light is flashing yellow.

Obviously that is not working (left it for 45 minutes), so I power off and grab the MicroSD card, delete the Inspire 1 firmware file, install the Osmo Pro firmware file and install the X5 on the Osmo Pro handle I have. I again get the same flashing green of the LED on the camera and then nothing.

Am I stuck sending it in to DJI?

It was working perfectly this morning. Was working perfect for an hour before I decided to do the firmware update. I HIGHLY doubt the camera is bad, I have no doubt it got a bad firmware flash.

Any fix I haven't read about???

BTW, I also have an Osmo+, so I took the camera off that, installed it on the Inspire 1 and ran the firmware update, but for the Z3. It didn't make the camera work on the Inspire 1 (video, zoom all work, just no gimbal control), but the firmware update did finish, as I got a "success" in the .txt file. Alas, plugging in the X5 and it is still acting the same... HELP!!!!

 

[Marketal]

Check the txt file that is created on the SD card after the update. It will say failure or success. I think the DJI instructions are that you try and try until you get success.

There is another file worth looking at that is created on the SD card. It's path is SDcard then misc/log/then the only readable file which ends.txt. Have a look at that and it shows the process. The worrisome 2 lines are near the bottom 0800 and 1500, thus:


[00007757]Version checking[1]...
[00007822][04 00][00] v1.31.1.67 -> v1.31.1.67
[00020378][08 00][00] device not detected.
[00020431][01 00][00] v1.29.5379 -> v1.29.5379
[00020491][01 01][00] v1.29.5379 -> v1.29.5379
[00020551][01 04][00] v0.5.5085 -> v0.5.5085
[00020648][03 05][00] v34.1.0.5 -> v34.1.0.5
[00020739][03 06][00] v2.4.20.50 -> v2.4.20.50
[00020839][05 00][00] v3.0.6.2 -> v3.0.6.2
[00020905][09 00][00] v5.0.0.0 -> v5.0.0.0
[00020999][11 00][00] v3.9.0.0 -> v3.9.0.0
[00021119][12 00][00] v1.11.0.0 -> v1.11.0.0
[00021220][12 01][00] v1.11.0.0 -> v1.11.0.0
[00021340][12 02][00] v1.11.0.0 -> v1.11.0.0
[00021440][12 03][00] v1.11.0.0 -> v1.11.0.0
[00033995][15 00][00] device not detected.
[00034099][17 00][00] v1.1.0.8 -> v1.1.0.8
[00034219][17 01][00] v2.0.1.6 -> v2.0.1.6
[00034294][19 00][00] v1.0.8.96 -> v1.0.8.96
[00036351]Packet upgrade failed at version checking.

If they say "device not detected" you have issues.

There's other help on the forum, I think you need to do a search.

I'm currently experiencing camera problems not identical to yours, but related, I think. I've had to send my camera to Heliguy and they've sent it on to DJI in Netherlands for repair.

You can read my post "No Image Transmission Signal gimbal OK". I upgraded the firmware with no issues.

Hope that helps

Cheers

Mark

 

[Brian Fist]

That is the weird part, looking at that log files, the 0800 and 1500 updated fine, but then it logged a completely second set of enteries with the last final set being:

[01392664]Version checking[3]...
[01405197][04 00][05] device not detected.
[01405236][08 00][05] v2.14.9.42 -> v2.14.9.42 need upgrade.
[01405272][01 00][05] v1.29.5379 -> v1.29.5379 need upgrade
[01405308][01 01][05] v1.29.5379 -> v1.29.5379 need upgrade
[01405397][01 04][05] v0.5.5085 -> v0.5.5085 need upgrade
[01417930][03 05][05] device not detected.
[01430469][03 06][05] device not detected.
[01443001][05 00][05] device not detected.
[01455533][09 00][05] device not detected.
[01468079][11 00][05] device not detected.
[01480624][12 00][05] device not detected.
[01493165][12 01][05] device not detected.
[01505697][12 02][05] device not detected.
[01518229][12 03][05] device not detected.
[01518346][15 00][05] v1.1.2.0 -> v1.1.2.0 need upgrade.
[01530881][17 00][05] device not detected.
[01543420][17 01][05] device not detected.
[01555956][19 00][05] device not detected.
[01555991]Packet upgrade failed at version checking.

If you see it shows both 0800 and 1500.

I may also add, that after all of this, without the camera the aircraft connects to the controller and there are no errors.

If I plug my Osmo+ camera into the aircraft, it even has video and zoom control (the Osmo+ camera is the same as the Z3 but different firmware, thus they hobbled the gimbals so you can't fly with a Osmo+ camera), but it the rest all works, so it would seem as if the drone is fully updated, just the camera update failed somehow.

 

[Marketal]

Sorry, I'm out of my depth now. I'd suggest you keep trying to update a few more times and then if the issue persists I think you'll need to investigate it further.

Cheers

Mark

 

[Brian Fist]

Well, turns out that I have been in correspondence with DJI support. Their latest, after sending in pics and the logfile is that they are conferring with engineering since they have never seen this happen before... Just my luck I get all the unique cases.

I will update on how things turn out.

 

[Marketal]

Just my luck I get all the unique cases.

No, It's usually me!

Sympathies anyway.

 

[Warriordroneservices]

Hey guys, I did a firmware upgrade to the latest 1.11.1.50. Turns out I got the flashing green lights off the camera... Went and had lunch, come back, flashing red on the camera.

So, per the update instructions, I power down and power back up, expecting it to do the update... X5 camera is acting dead, as in no gimbal movement. I get some initial flashing green on LED on the camera, but it stop pretty quick. The tail-light is flashing yellow.

Obviously that is not working (left it for 45 minutes), so I power off and grab the MicroSD card, delete the Inspire 1 firmware file, install the Osmo Pro firmware file and install the X5 on the Osmo Pro handle I have. I again get the same flashing green of the LED on the camera and then nothing.

Am I stuck sending it in to DJI?

It was working perfectly this morning. Was working perfect for an hour before I decided to do the firmware update. I HIGHLY doubt the camera is bad, I have no doubt it got a bad firmware flash.

Any fix I haven't read about???

BTW, I also have an Osmo+, so I took the camera off that, installed it on the Inspire 1 and ran the firmware update, but for the Z3. It didn't make the camera work on the Inspire 1 (video, zoom all work, just no gimbal control), but the firmware update did finish, as I got a "success" in the .txt file. Alas, plugging in the X5 and it is still acting the same... HELP!!!!

Hey did you ever find out anything about your Inspire 1 pro & ×5 camera problem? I have basically the same exact problem & I don't want to send it on to DJI to have them fix it.

 

[Warriordroneservices]

I have tried installing it over & over again. Do you know anybody that might have a link for an upgrade that would work??

 

[Brian Fist]

Hey did you ever find out anything about your Inspire 1 pro & ×5 camera problem? I have basically the same exact problem & I don't want to send it on to DJI to have them fix it.

Actually, No.

I ended up sending it into DJI. The quote was $294 for the repair, but since I had all the documentation (including video taken just before the failed update) along with proper logs, they covered it for me.

 

[Brian Fist]

I have tried installing it over & over again. Do you know anybody that might have a link for an upgrade that would work??

Have you done the _DEBUG firmware "forced" option?

If not, then watch this and do it:

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Now, if you HAVE done the _DEBUG option, then look at the logfile that is generated on the MicroSD card. If anything post that logfile here.

If it will not do the upgrade forced, and it does not generate the logfile, then that means it cannot talk to the camera for the MicroSD card. In that case the only option is either replacing ribbon cables yourself as an attempt, or sending it in.

Trust me, it sucks to not have a working camera. In an instant it is dead. As I stated in my post above, all I did was a firmware update and it was all over.

I ended up getting back a brand new camera.

 

[Brian Fist]

In talking this over with other Inspire 1 professionals, it would seem as if it is either a bad batch of cameras (probably a faulty ribbon cable that is too brittle inside of it), or end-user error. I know the "end-user error" is a tough pill to swallow, but everyone makes mistakes.

The issue is, how do you figure out what mistake caused it. It could be static by touching the circuit board on the gimbal before plugging it in, it could be plugging it in with power still applied to the aircraft (or not waiting long enough after powering down to install the camera), unplugging it with power still being applied (either by disconnecting it too soon after power down or not waiting for it to power down fully first), or not connecting it properly to begin with (the back tang not being wedged into the back part of the gimbal arm, thus not allowing the circuit board being able to make full contact).

Fact of the matter is this seems to be a wide-spread issue with the X5 camera.

Ultimately, I wait a good minute after power down to connect or disconnect the camera, and usually I will disconnect it after I remove the battery first. I know that seems like an eternity when you are trying to get stuff done (especially when taking it out of landing mode to go for a flight), but that is where getting a routine down and in place really helps to establish a good "practice" in doing things. Such as taking it out of landing mode using a "maintenance" battery (ie, one that is only used for stuff like that, never flying), powering down and pulling the "maintenance" battery, putting on the props, putting on the camera, inserting the battery used for flight, going to launch location, powering up the aircraft, walking back to control location, doing system checks (including verifying GPS lock), and then launching.

Being methodical goes a long way to not making "mistakes" that are hard to track and harder to diagnose as the problems that end up causing equipment malfunction.