Evo Battery removal

[claudius62]

Yes, she walks back and there is more than just to shoot. This avoids too much traction and a big shake of the device. Which may be harmful to the camera.

 

[REC]

thank you

 

[Catweazle]

AR are providing sticks with the EVO2

 

[msauerlpc]

I was having the same problem with my batteries until I figured out that I was squeezing the body while I was trying to extract the battery. Squeezing the body seems to put pressure on the battery making it hard to pull out.

It's a lot easier when I first open all the propeller arms, put my left hand under the body with the front facing the same direction as my thumb. Then I brace the aircraft by placing my thumb and middle finger at the curves of the front propeller arms closest to the body allowing me to pull the battery out backward without squeezing the body.

 

[swings16]

Fine ideas ALL....I have been FRUSTRATED since day 1 dealing with this problem

Thank You !!!

It looks like the answer and the fix...simple and it WORKS !

 

[Droneflyer]

Fine ideas ALL....I have been FRUSTRATED since day 1 dealing with this problem

Thank You !!!

It looks like the answer and the fix...simple and it WORKS !

Silicone spray on a Q-tip, rub it on the plastic side clips. Works fine done!!

 

[TFJ]

Hey Guys,

New Autel owner here, although that might change shortly. I found this thread after having an incident with my new drone.

I received my new Evo on Friday. I unpacked the drone, looked through the manual, removed the plastic and tried taking the battery out to charge it. The battery wouldn’t budge. I made sure I pushed the release button in fully. I even tried pushing it forward and wiggling it back and forth. Nothing worked. I pulled on it with more force and it suddenly released which caught me by surprise and I tried to stop the movement of my hands which caused the rear edge of the battery to tilt down and hit the back of the drone cracking the the rear obstacle avoidance sensor lens cover. I was heart broken. I hadn't even flown this thing yet and I’ve been wanting a drone for years. Due to the sale I bought this on I felt I could justify the purchase.

I get that the damage was caused by me. It was not intentional and was not due to negligence. I was simply trying to remove a battery following the manufacturer's procedures.

I contacted the retailer(authorized dealer) and they'll refund me but they won't do an exchange since it was a cyber week special through their marketplace account. I'd have to buy a replacement at full price.

Autel said they can repair the lens cover but the responsible tech will have to determine if it's covered by warranty or not. They seem like pretty decent people so I'm going to send it in and have them look at it. Hopefully it's just the lens cover that's damaged and not the IR emitter itself.

If they repair the drone I'll probably grip it so my thumb is on the back between the IR lenses to keep that from happening again. I have since removed and installed the battery a couple times and it does seem to release a bit easier than the first time.

They said they've never seen that happen before and I do believe them. But finding this thread makes me think the design could be improved, hopefully the new drone that is rumored is better in that area.

Be careful with your drones!

Thanks!

TFJ

 

[swings16]

Hey Guys,

New Autel owner here, although that might change shortly. I found this thread after having an incident with my new drone.

I received my new Evo on Friday. I unpacked the drone, looked through the manual, removed the plastic and tried taking the battery out to charge it. The battery wouldn’t budge. I made sure I pushed the release button in fully. I even tried pushing it forward and wiggling it back and forth. Nothing worked. I pulled on it with more force and it suddenly released which caught me by surprise and I tried to stop the movement of my hands which caused the rear edge of the battery to tilt down and hit the back of the drone cracking the the rear obstacle avoidance sensor lens cover. I was heart broken. I hadn't even flown this thing yet and I’ve been wanting a drone for years. Due to the sale I bought this on I felt I could justify the purchase.

I get that the damage was caused by me. It was not intentional and was not due to negligence. I was simply trying to remove a battery following the manufacturer's procedures.

I contacted the retailer(authorized dealer) and they'll refund me but they won't do an exchange since it was a cyber week special through their marketplace account. I'd have to buy a replacement at full price.

Autel said they can repair the lens cover but the responsible tech will have to determine if it's covered by warranty or not. They seem like pretty decent people so I'm going to send it in and have them look at it. Hopefully it's just the lens cover that's damaged and not the IR emitter itself.

If they repair the drone I'll probably grip it so my thumb is on the back between the IR lenses to keep that from happening again. I have since removed and installed the battery a couple times and it does seem to release a bit easier than the first time.

They said they've never seen that happen before and I do believe them. But finding this thread makes me think the design could be improved, hopefully the new drone that is rumored is better in that area.

Be careful with your drones!

Thanks!

TFJ

 

[msauerlpc]

Ever since I adopted the procedure I pictured above I've had absolutely no problems. It's not a design flaw. We've been squeezing the body around the battery. Eliminate that and the battery just pops out. Be sure to pull backward not up.

 

[TFJ]

Ever since I adopted the procedure I pictured above I've had absolutely no problems. It's not a design flaw. We've been squeezing the body around the battery. Eliminate that and the battery just pops out. Be sure to pull backward not up.

That's exactly how I had mine gripped when I removed my battery. I was sliding backward as well, not up.

 

[swings16]

The EVO is such a wonderful machine and i am sorry to say that who ever designed the battery placement + removal should be FIRED !
The designer of that part of this Fantastic beauty(the BATTERY) should be put on another part of manufacturing +design on this OTHERWISE Beautiful machine)...i am not the only one who has a beef with this battery placement design...WHAT was He or SHE thinking ?...The frustration and time spent on LOCKING AND UNLOCKING such an integral part of the EVO has me severely frustrated and ANGRY, OFTEN...it Should not have to be such a chore

I am not alone...it is a topic REGULARLY on the forum(s)

Once engaged, the battery sits snug + tight and i never have fear of it becoming undone ending in a crash with possible severe injury

PLEASE....make a new design for this otherwise Very Fine Machine (the BATTERY LOCKING MECHANISM)...you Nailed it on the Body design...PLEASE...PLEASE....work out new hardware for the Lock on the Battery....people will LOVE it ! and i am First in line to applaud !

 

[Droneflyer]

All I can say is Q-tip and silicone spray

 

[swings16]

That is all you can say Huh ?

How about just a few details...apply the silicone WHERE exactly ?

How MUCH Silicone ?

all and any suggestions that you can add to so many here that have this problem

It is a seriously frustrating issue that many of us encounter

PLEASE...IF Possible..(.the best way to easily to SNAP/CLICK in place)...the EVO Battery before going to FLY...

TOO much info is Appreciated

I have had periods of total security of the battery while in flight and when on the ground

I would appreciate ANY information or personal experience that would help me with my problem

I HAVE Heard of a few of our fellow fliers refer to using WD 40...any info on That product's use is greatly appreciated

Thanks to ALL that respond with thoughts or practical uses of this WD40 Pr0duct


Thanks to A L L that take the time to help and enjoy Happy EXCITING and SAFE flying with any or ALL Manufacturers Models to fly HIGH and safely back HOME

Thank you ALL !
Martin...NYC

 

[Droneflyer]

That is all you can say Huh ?

How about just a few details...apply the silicone WHERE exactly ?

How MUCH Silicone ?

all and any suggestions that you can add to so many here that have this problem

It is a seriously frustrating issue that many of us encounter

PLEASE...IF Possible..(.the best way to easily to SNAP/CLICK in place)...the EVO Battery before going to FLY...

TOO much info is Appreciated

I have had periods of total security of the battery while in flight and when on the ground

I would appreciate ANY information or personal experience that would help me with my problem

I HAVE Heard of a few of our fellow fliers refer to using WD 40...any info on That product's use is greatly appreciated

Thanks to ALL that respond with thoughts or practical uses of this WD40 Pr0duct


Thanks to A L L that take the time to help and enjoy Happy EXCITING and SAFE flying with any or ALL Manufacturers Models to fly HIGH and safely back HOME

Thank you ALL !
Martin...NYC

I already explained it on a different thread but don’t know where that is exactly I will re-explain spray silicone or WD-40 both work . spray little puddle of either one on a piece of paper dab Q-tip in the liquid rub a tiny amount on all plastic contacts of the battery and drone. I would not Rob Any on the metal contacts however. I would not put any oil or silicone on the actual button catch either. After doing this repeatedly install and uninstall the battery several times and you will notice a pretty big difference Still snug but comes off without jerking.

 

[TFJ]

So, I just sent my information to Autel for the RMA I went to pull the battery off the drone. Again. The battery would not budge. I thought it was getting better, but it's just as bad as when I first got it. I also gripped in different locations and with different pressures. Again it took a ton of force to get the thing apart and I just about dropped the main body this time when it let loose.

I took a close look at the design. It's not the drones body flexing as msauerlpc said. The battery mounting area is close to being in plane with the the grip points. The drone body there looks to be glass fiber reinforced nylon which is pretty stiff and durable stuff. It also has a decent amount of geometry With the battery out I squeezed on different parts of the case and I didn't feel or see it flex at all.

I would not spray or used WD-40 in the battery area!!!! The female receptors for the two male interlocking tabs for the battery are open to the circuit board and could damage your electronics if it gets inside the drone. Also with an oil based lube you'll attract dust and grit creating a lapping action which will eventually loosen everything up and could cause more issues. A silicone based lube would be a better option, but honestly it shouldn't require anything. I see what they tried to do, they tried designing a positive latching mechanism with minimal moving parts to save on production costs. The sad thing is they probably only save 10 cents a drone on production and whatever the tooling costs would be for two latches. The evo only has one moving latch where the mavic has two. The evo added the two interlocking male tabs to hold the battery in place via the female receptors with the one mechanical latch. The design in theory is not bad, but I'm not positive where the issue is coming in. I have the feeling that the release latch doesn't have enough travel so it's still hanging up when you try to remove the battery. Or their injection molding tolerances are off and not providing the proper clearance for the battery release. If somebody has a dead battery that's hard to remove you could try filing off a bit of the point on the latch on the dead battery I have the feeling it would be much easier to release without sacrificing the integrity of the connection. I wouldn't try that with a drone under warranty. The Mavic family battery setup is much better.

I'm a mechanical engineer who's held both design and manufacturing engineering positions in my career.

Well, before I could finish writing this up, I received word back from Autel that they most likely will not warranty the repair. Who would like me to do some non-destructive testing to the drone before I return it to illustrate exactly how much force it takes for me to remove the battery. I have plenty of test fixtures at work to hook up a scale to it. I could do an even pull and measure the release force. I also have access to a Leica laser scanner and could do a 3d model of all the parts down to .0005" which would point out the specific area where they went wrong.

 

[Droneflyer]

I would definitely not file anything off the latch or any part of the latch as that is the only thing holding the battery in place or I should say lockEd in

 

[TFJ]

I'm not recommending to file the latch on a good battery in working order. I just suggested that if somebody had an old dead battery lying around they could try it to see if it made a difference.

But this leads to another issue. Autel said I can't send the battery in with the drone even if I do have them take a look at it due to shipping restrictions on lipo batteries. That would make their inspection of the problem subjective instead of objective as they wouldn't have the actual battery and drone combination that I'm calling into question.

I have the feeling the issue lies in that latch on the battery. Mine is still grabbing even thought the button is depressed as far as it will allow me to push it. Only when enough force is applied does it cause the latch to deflect enough to release. I'm guessing it's in excess of 30lbs of force. It should be minimal to zero pounds to remove it. The latch itself along with the two male hooks on the bottom of the battery are what keep it in place. As long as the spring pressure of the latch isn't overcome in flight it shouldn't go anywhere. I should take it to work tomorrow and make a video of people trying to remove the battery, but I'm worried they'll damage the drone to the point I can't return it.

I've never had any goods with a battery this difficult to remove, well other than a cheap trail cam but that's AA's in a poorly designed holder on a $20 cam from walmart, so I'm not really expecting much there. Not a $1,000 delicate electronic device.

I'm at the point where I wonder if it's even worth fighting on the issue. Even if they fixed the lens, I don't know if the drone is worth keeping if the battery fitment stays the same. It's absolutely ridiculous. They also couldn't answer if the lens played a functional role. If it's for protection only I could pick it out and cover it with a piece of packing tape or epoxy in the IR cover from and old trail cam to keep junk from flying in there. I do know some lenses over IR ports are tuned to concentrate/disperse or filter the IR signal. That's my only concern with a home repair. The home lens repair also doesn't help the battery situation.

Please comment if you've had issues with your batteries! I know I'm alone on the resulting damage, but I'm not along on the issue that caused the damage in the first place.

 

[Droneflyer]

Gotcha, yeah it’s a bad product I bought mine about two weeks ago just so I could fly on weekends when there are so many TFR‘s but now I’m wondering if I should’ve even bought it. They don’t seem to even care about quality control and that’s not good. There’s no question the Mavic two is a better drone but the evo could be good if they would take care of business

 

[TFJ]

I wouldn't say it's a bad product. For the money you can't touch the features. It's just rough around the edges, especially in this area. I didn't even know of Autel until I ran across the sale. Once I did some research I decided to give it a shot. I was going to buy a Mavic Mini, but I didn't want to pay full price on that drone since DJI basically cripples it so it doesn't rob sales from the Mavic.

I'm honestly hoping Autel can take on DJI. Competition is always good, I was also hoping they'd stand behind their products a little more as I read good things about their customer service. But how can they inspect my battery to drone connection without using the battery that came with my drone? And in the case they do use my battery, what's considered passible criteria? 2lbs, 5lbs, 10lbs, 25lbs?

I could have been dishonest and told them it came like this. But I was transparent and truthful hoping they'd stand behind their product, make it right, and use that information to improve future manufacturing and products.

Maybe I should cut my losses, return this thing and all the accessories I bought and look at Skydio. They actually seem to be innovating, not just following the leader. Time will tell if the Skydio 2 lives up to the hype they've created. I know Autel is releasing a new drone soon, but other than 120fps at 4k, who really needs 6k or 8k capabilities? Broadcast companies and content streaming services have already said they don't plan on going past 4k anytime soon due to the data throughput required. Most people are watching content on their phones and tablets now and you can't tell the difference between 1080p and 4k in most cases on those devices.

 

[Nightbat2]

I wouldn't say it's a bad product. For the money you can't touch the features. It's just rough around the edges, especially in this area. I didn't even know of Autel until I ran across the sale. Once I did some research I decided to give it a shot. I was going to buy a Mavic Mini, but I didn't want to pay full price on that drone since DJI basically cripples it so it doesn't rob sales from the Mavic.

I'm honestly hoping Autel can take on DJI. Competition is always good, I was also hoping they'd stand behind their products a little more as I read good things about their customer service. But how can they inspect my battery to drone connection without using the battery that came with my drone? And in the case they do use my battery, what's considered passible criteria? 2lbs, 5lbs, 10lbs, 25lbs?

I could have been dishonest and told them it came like this. But I was transparent and truthful hoping they'd stand behind their product, make it right, and use that information to improve future manufacturing and products.

Maybe I should cut my losses, return this thing and all the accessories I bought and look at Skydio. They actually seem to be innovating, not just following the leader. Time will tell if the Skydio 2 lives up to the hype they've created. I know Autel is releasing a new drone soon, but other than 120fps at 4k, who really needs 6k or 8k capabilities? Broadcast companies and content streaming services have already said they don't plan on going past 4k anytime soon due to the data throughput required. Most people are watching content on their phones and tablets now and you can't tell the difference between 1080p and 4k in most cases on those devices.

Judging by the delivery delays and backlog of Skydio orders you’d be a long time between flights.