Autel Evo controller not connecting to drone.

[Soteres Joannou]

I was flying my Autel Evo today from my rooftop.
I flew for about 2km (6500 feet), then I lost video feed and no icons were showing on the top bar of the Autel Explorer app.
I tried to reconnect to the drone without success then I just waited for the drone to return home.
After a while, I saw the drone coming into land, but it was descending 6 feet from the home point.
Then it stopped about 6 feet from the ground.
I tried to reconnect my controller to the drone but I could not get a connection.
I switched my controller off and on again but I still could not connect. Then I tried closing the Explorer app and starting the app again, but I could not connect to the drone.

I then started to panic because I knew the battery was getting very low so I then got a broom to try to nudge it closer to me on the roof, but I hit one of the propellers and to fell straight to the ground.

Do you think it the controller or the drone had a malfunction?
I don't know what went wrong.

Thanks.

 

[Ansia]

My advice to you is call Autel. Send your unit in and get it fixed under warranty.

 

[Soteres Joannou]

I live in South Africa.
I ordered my Evo through Amazon.
Will Autel pay for shipping for me to send it back to the US?

Thanks.

 

[Ansia]

I live in South Africa.
I ordered my Evo through Amazon.
Will Autel pay for shipping for me to send it back to the US?

Thanks.

I don't know.

 

[Nightbat2]

I was flying my Autel Evo today from my rooftop.
I flew for about 2km (6500 feet), then I lost video feed and no icons were showing on the top bar of the Autel Explorer app.
I tried to reconnect to the drone without success then I just waited for the drone to return home.
After a while, I saw the drone coming into land, but it was descending 6 feet from the home point.
Then it stopped about 6 feet from the ground.
I tried to reconnect my controller to the drone but I could not get a connection.
I switched my controller off and on again but I still could not connect. Then I tried closing the Explorer app and starting the app again, but I could not connect to the drone.

I then started to panic because I knew the battery was getting very low so I then got a broom to try to nudge it closer to me on the roof, but I hit one of the propellers and to fell straight to the ground.

Do you think it the controller or the drone had a malfunction?
I don't know what went wrong.

Thanks.

Is your roof flat and level and did you give it enough hover time on takeoff to ‘remember’ the exact home point? If the Evo thinks the landing zone is unsuitable (sloping or too rough) it might just refuse to land. Trying to nudge it with a broom might not have been the best solution.

 

[Soteres Joannou]

The roof was level and I did give enough hover time at takeoff.
I was afraid that the battery was going to die and the drone was close to the window security bars below the roof.
I thought when the battery dies the drone's propellers was going to hit the security bars and destroy the drone.

 

[Jagerbomb52]

I think you are in a very tough spot with the way this happened. There does seem to be two things going on.
First the EVO was way off from where it took off from on the RTH. A couple of feet maybe but six feet means maybe a bad GPS signal. The other is not being able to reconnect. This one could mean a communication problem. You say you took off from your rooftop. Was that a apartment building rooftop? If so there is a lot of metal up there and not a great place to even consider flying from. That alone could have caused all your problems.
If you talk to Autel I would leave out the part you hit it with a broom. Brooms are not covered under warranty that I know of.

 

[Soteres Joannou]

I've flown my Evo many times from the rooftop with no problems whatsoever.

 

[Soteres Joannou]

Images showing the area.

 

[Jagerbomb52]

Looks like a lot of metal to me. This could cause a compass problem. Just because you have done it before does not mean its a recommended thing to do. To me your crash was pilot error and hopefully a lesson learned.

 

[Soteres Joannou]

Then why wasn't the controller communicating with the drone?

 

[Jagerbomb52]

Then why wasn't the controller communicating with the drone?

Good question. Like Ansia said your best bet would be for Autel to try and figure that out. I just gave you my thoughts as a possible cause of the crash. Like I said when talking to them leave out the hitting it with a broom. I'm sure that part will raise a few eyebrows with them.

 

[Soteres Joannou]

I won't tell them about the broom.
Agustine, Thanks for the advice.

 

[Soteres Joannou]

I spoke to my brother and he told me when they were building the cottage the builders did not use metal.
It's only concrete, waterproofing, and gravel.

 

[Jagerbomb52]

What is this on the roof?

 

[Soteres Joannou]

I

What is this on the roof?

View attachment 4447

It's the geezer.

 

[Jagerbomb52]

No I am right here LOL
Geezer - Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geezer
Geezer is a slang term for a old man. In the US, the term typically refers to a cranky old man

 

[Soteres Joannou]

No I am right here LOL
Geezer - Wikipedia
Geezer - Wikipedia
Geezer is a slang term for a old man. In the US, the term typically refers to a cranky old man

No I am right here LOL
Geezer - Wikipedia
Geezer - Wikipedia
Geezer is a slang term for a old man. In the US, the term typically refers to a cranky old man

Sorry, I meant geyser.

 

[Ansia]

@Soteres Joannou Do you mean a cistern? Autel will know that the props hit something, making the drone crash. What may save him is the fact that communication was lost between RC and AC prior to the crash.

My question is. Does the Evo connect with the controller now, or do you still have problems?

The roof needs to have rebar in order to sustain itself in the air. Concrete cannot sustain itself over an empty space, therefore your roof does have rebar. Perhaps the concrete block walls may not contain rebar. That being said, that would cause a compass error, not losing signal between the AC and RC. I've made that mistake myself a couple of times.

@Agustine Can I call you geezer from now on, out of love and respect? ?

 

[Jagerbomb52]

Agustine Can I call you geezer from now on, out of love and respect? ?

No