Hello.
I have multiple instances of "Drone encoder error" while trying to execute mission on P4P v2 with Map Pilot Pro.
Tried it on different iOS devices, with different microSD card in drone - all with the same "Drone encoder error".
This error emerges while I upload mission to drone via airplane button. I had to run the mission so I ignored it. This error showed up several times during mission execution. One time when I ignored this ""Drone encoder error" during mission upload it said "Battery 1 changed" (or something like that) flew up and showed many additional errors. Then I almost totally lost control over P4P v2 and barely managed to catch it and turn off.
I attach photos of iOS device screen (iPhone 7Plus and iPad mini 2019).
All this happened in MPP 5.0.4. DJI GO 4 had all firmware updates and I was able to operate drone in DJI GO 4 without any probles unlike MPP.
I also run missions on same hardware (same P4P v2 and iPhone 7) without any error notifications or problems in Map Pilot Business.
I plan for lengthy expedition to areas without internet. And finding this issues with MPP is very discouraging.
In Mavic 2 Pro I run on same problem couple of times using MPP but they were very rare (1 of 50 cases).
Please, help me with this issues. Or should I use MPB instead of MPP with Phantom 4 Pro v2 for now?
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The errors listed in that window are directly from the hardware and indicate aircraft-side hardware errors.
There isn't much that is different between MPB and MPP with regards to how the flights are loaded.
We will look into it to see if there is anything specific we can find and fix. In the meantime, if you see errors like this I would recommend closing MPP and going into the DJI app to see what can be done about clearing out the errors.
Zane, thanks for quick reply.
"There isn't much that is different between MPB and MPP with regards to how the flights are loaded." - Well, I run similar missions without any problems in MPB using similar hardware (P4P v2 and iPad Mini 2019/iPhone 7Plus).
" I would recommend closing MPP and going into the DJI app to see what can be done about clearing out the errors. " - Again, DJI Go 4 runs fine on the same hardware setup, no ANY error messages. All hardware is updated.
The workaround for now is when you see these issues in the Aircraft Errors screen. Close Map Pilot Pro and check things out with the DJI app. It has the ability to clear things Map Pilot cannot.
Another thing to try would be to fully close Map Pilot before reopening it to force a new connection to the aircraft.
We are looking into differences and will try to address it quickly.
Zane, thank you. Please, post updated info on this issue when available.
The biggest problem here is that we are unable to reproduce the issue. It seems to be certain aircraft having the issue.
Please try the reconnect workaround and let us know if that helps. It will give us somewhere to start.
Zane,
I did additional testing following all your advices (reconnect workaround, look for errors in DJI Go 4). Nothing changed, problem persists, DJI app reports no errors and flies fine unlike MPP.
Then I used ANOTHER P4Pv2 drone and another version of iPad (A1954). Same problems remained:
Aircraft Encoder Error notification, if I ignore it and start mission drone starts and then stops above me in several seconds after mission beginning. Only switching between modes (from P to A/S and back) regains control and allows me to fly p4p v2 back manually.
In the post
other user reported similar problems for MPB.
I did some testing in MPB on my both P4P v2 and different iOS devices and have the same problem as he does - no error messages, but drone freezes in several seconds after mission starts. However, I did managed to fly couple of polygon missions in MPB. However MPB allowed to fly only Active connect missions. For Connectionless missions it rejected mission upload saying "Corner radius invalid" (see attached photo).
All linear missions in MPB failed.
This is very disappointing as I have to leave in 2 days to internet-free remote area for 1 month and I expected to do extensive drone mapping there. So I have to work with current releases of MPB and MPP which turned out to be not working well with my p4pv2.
Again, my experience with two m2p devices running MPB and MPP with very postive. May be such drastic difference has to do with recent firmware updates for p4pv2 form DJI?
I attached photos of some additional errors I observed in MPP and MPB.
Aspect Ratio error means that the app was unable to set the camera's aspect ratio. If this happens there are usually other connection issues going on.
The simulator button and red triangle aren't going to show up until there is a GPS fix of at least 8 satellites. That is not usually going to happen inside.
If you are flying super low and high overlap the are certain cases where the radius error will pop up. Try flying higher or with lower overlap. There are just some tight corners that the aircraft cannot fly with the curved path. If you absolutely must fly this path you can change the "Turn Mode" to Straight in the Advanced Settings (at the bottom of the Settings).
There is no documentation available for what the various DJI errors mean. We don't actually know what the "Drone Encoder Error" is or what causes it. It is usually accompanied by the message to restart the aircraft. Whatever it means, it is a clear sign that something is not right with the aircraft.
Based on that picture I would try to stop launching from the case like that. If the aircraft is not on a very flat and stable surface that it can start up without any motion the IMU is bound to be unhappy.
Hello, Zane.
I have tested another drone mapping software that produces same error - Drone encoder error. I will not name this app since it is MPP competitor. This app refers to this error as to "Radio connection" error. This may explain why me form Russia and other user from Australia are observing this error while you can not reproduce it. It may because you use FCC while in Australia and Russian DJI runs under EC. Any ideas?
Interesting. Map Pilot Pro reports the raw error text as reported by the DJI SDK. It sounds like others may be covering that up a bit and translating for the user.
There is only one "connect" command. There are not options for how the radio connects. You likely have a slightly different part number than we get here in the US because it operates on different frequencies. It is possible that there are differences in how they operate or connect and are supported by the DJI SDK which all 3rd party software developers are using.
I can say that there are flights being done every day in Russia using the latest version of Map Pilot Pro. A quick scan through some of them tells me that most are using the Mavic 2 Pro. I can't actually find any that are using the V2 other than yours. This means we don't have other failures at using the V2 in Russia yet. There are plenty of examples of the non-V2 working fine.
The fact that yours is working sometimes also seems problematic. That points to it not being a software or firmware compatibility issue. I don't doubt that there could be an issue but we need to be able to reproduce it first before we can fix it.
I run m2p without any problems. May be for reproducing the p4p problem you need EC version testing.
My problems with p4p v2 persist - flights fail or incorrecy execute in many cases in MPP. DJI Pilot runs fine...
I am not a fan of conspiracy theories but bugs in DJI SDK will stimulate some third party drone mapping software users to switch to "original" DJI drone mapping software they offer - DJI GS Pro or DJI Pilot, which may function more stably. Like in my occasion. Please, check things out with DJI folks.
We are trying to find a solution here. I strongly doubt that DJI is breaking things in the SDK apps. It is more likely a really model specific bug. Feel free to report it to them as we continue to find data to try to figure out what the root of the issue is.
Just checking back in here... It looks like things have been working OK for you since updating to 5.0.5. We now have evidence of other users in Russia and Australia using the v2 without issue.
Hi Zane. Unfortunately for all v2 drones I have "drone encoder error" remains after upgrade. Moreover I lost all cached 3rd party maps which was a major problem as I am now out in the area with very poor Internet availability. It is MapBox cached tiles that disappered after upgrade.
Any basemaps that are already cached in Map Pilot Pro should still be there when updating Map Pilot Pro. Zoom out a bit. It is likely still there.
Despite maybe getting this error, it seems you were able to complete flights.
Zane, thank you for response. I am still in the area with very poor Internet coverage. So I respond with delay.
I spent coupke of hours trying to restore cached MapBox tiles. A lot of zooming, restarting and other standard actions on both ipad mini 2019 2056gb and iPhone 7plus 128 gb I use. Interesting that SRTM heights remained cached which partially solves my problems.
As for drone encoder error reported by MPP Ihave to say that it remains big problem for me when operatin p4p v2. Both of my drone regularly loose connection to MPP whic keads to aircraft disconnection. Drone just freezes in the air, MPP says that drone is disconnected, video feed ceases. Onle switching from P to S or T regaing control and allows me to land drone safely. It happened several times before and after upgrade to 5.0.5. One time it happened above sea when drone was flying out of sight due to cliffs blockg direct view. I had to run long distance to regain radio connection and bring drone back after it froze above sea due to drone encoder error.
I fly mostly line and "sampling" mission when I have these issues.
When I return to decent Internet coverage I willtry to roll back previous DJI SDK dating 2019. May be it Will help.
The other mission types work fine?!? That is new info...
Do you not have these issues when doing those?
What do you mean about changing the DJI SDK?
Worry for my English. I wrote "mostly" to illustrate that most often I fly linear and sampling mission. Polygon (norm) mission I fly do have drone encoder error.
Rolling back to 2019 dji sdk is posdible with DJI Assistant for Phantom avsilable through DJI site.
Worry for my English. I wrote "mostly" to illustrate that most often I fly linear and sampling mission. Polygon (norm) mission I fly do have drone encoder error.
Rolling back to 2019 dji sdk is posdible with DJI Assistant for Phantom avsilable through DJI site.
As of August 5, 2021I and my coworkers keep on having "Drone encoder error" on P4PproV2 while using Map Pilot Pro. Running latest version of MPP. About 10-20% percent of our missions fail due to this error fail and we have to restart aircraft. None of the workarounds helped. I did not used rolling back to 2019 dji sdk through DJI Assistant Windows software, however, as I considered it not safe to roll back to outdated SDK.
I used DH Mobile on my two P4PproV2 to fly polygonal and line missions and had no any problems unlike with MPP. So, I guess it is MPP program code issue.
Again, Mavic2Pro I have run MPP missions fine.
Have you reached out to DJI to see what this actually means or what can be done about it? Any error that gets reported in that panel is something that Map Pilot Pro has no control over. It is something that comes straight from the aircraft and is reported by the SDK.
There are 100s of flights per day that are done successfully using the P4Pv2 and Map Pilot Pro. It is the most commonly used aircraft.
Have you tried another P4Pv2 to rule out that particular aircraft being the issue?
We have a beta for version 5.0.9 that is the first new release to have a new version of the DJI SDK in it in over a year. Give it a try to see if that helps. Check the Dashboard for the link and make sure you use 5.0.9 not 5.1.0.
Hi Zane. Thank you for prompt reply.
I have not contacted DJI on drone encoder error issue due to busy schedule unfortunately. May be later, if problem persists in 5.0.9 with new SDK you mentioned.
I have encoder error and resulting mission failures on two P4Pv2 I own. I have 4 more P4Pv2 coming soon and test MPP with them as well. I run iPad Mini 2019, iPhone 7 Plus and some other iPads.
Regards.
