EVO II Cracking Cause

[Cicero24]

My EVO II began developing cracks within the first few weeks of having it. Short story is that I had my EVO II sent back to Autel at the end of summer for some warranty issues. During that time, they replaced my shell due to the forming cracks on both sides of the body in the same places on both sides. Everyone has had an philosophical answer as the the reason for the cracks. A few days ago I noticed more developed cracks in the same spots as before. I found the culprit! Both sides of the body have mounting screws for the top shell mounting the sides to the battery cage. These screws are not countersunk and protrude outward pressure against the plastic bottom shell on both sides. I could feel the bulge under the shell on both sides where the cracks were formed. I decided to remove the bottom shell to have a look and see if there was a solution to this ongoing issue. The fix is to remove each side screw and then there is no longer any outward pressure putting constant strain on your bottom shell. The top shell is still mounted to the top by several other screws and is still plenty sturdy. Now that the screws are removed, I an no longer see the cracks since the bulging pressure is gone. See the photos for reference. The first pictures are the cracks prior to removing the problematic screws, and the others are of the screws themselves and the location to be found. Notice the picture of the screw alone, you can barely see the cracks anymore without the pressure pushing the shell. The shell is easy to remove for access. You only need to remove the bottom shell to have access. YouTube is your best friend if you wish to do this too. Hope this helps anyone who has a cracking shell and wishes to mitigate the issue to prevent any further spread without having to send your drone back to Autel for weeks at a time. Adios!

 

[verticalflyer]

Thanks for the heads up. Have you gotten with Autel, probably a fruitless endeavor, to find out why they are still sending out defective parts?

Seems like some small, flat-top, torx screws would solve the problem and allow to keep the mounting points. Maybe just going without would be better.

 

[Cicero24]

No. I have not contacted them. Their answer is always to send it to them anyways. The SD card cover rubber backing was also separated from the SD card cover on the newly replaced shell as well. They wouldn’t send me the tiny door and their answer was “send it in” once again. Nope! I fixed that while the bottom shell was off as well. Taking the screws out works for me. The top lid is still more than secure minus the two side screws causing the cracks. I’m more than confident it will be ok now.

 

[herein2021]

My EVO II began developing cracks within the first few weeks of having it. Short story is that I had my EVO II sent back to Autel at the end of summer for some warranty issues. During that time, they replaced my shell due to the forming cracks on both sides of the body in the same places on both sides. Everyone has had an philosophical answer as the the reason for the cracks. A few days ago I noticed more developed cracks in the same spots as before. I found the culprit! Both sides of the body have mounting screws for the top shell mounting the sides to the battery cage. These screws are not countersunk and protrude outward pressure against the plastic bottom shell on both sides. I could feel the bulge under the shell on both sides where the cracks were formed. I decided to remove the bottom shell to have a look and see if there was a solution to this ongoing issue. The fix is to remove each side screw and then there is no longer any outward pressure putting constant strain on your bottom shell. The top shell is still mounted to the top by several other screws and is still plenty sturdy. Now that the screws are removed, I an no longer see the cracks since the bulging pressure is gone. See the photos for reference. The first pictures are the cracks prior to removing the problematic screws, and the others are of the screws themselves and the location to be found. Notice the picture of the screw alone, you can barely see the cracks anymore without the pressure pushing the shell. The shell is easy to remove for access. You only need to remove the bottom shell to have access. YouTube is your best friend if you wish to do this too. Hope this helps anyone who has a cracking shell and wishes to mitigate the issue to prevent any further spread without having to send your drone back to Autel for weeks at a time. Adios!

That is good information to know, thanks. They definitely should have countersunk those screws. At least the actual arms are not cracking. I had that problem with my DJI drones. The arms would crack on the DJI Phantom 3 so badly that the only thing holding it together was the ESC inside. I had to use super glue to keep them from breaking off.

 

[Quad808]

This is great info to know. At least we know what is causing this on some drones. I don't see any cracking on mine...(yet), but will check again very closely.

 

[Cicero24]

This is great info to know. At least we know what is causing this on some drones. I don't see any cracking on mine...(yet), but will check again very closely.

I’d be curious to see if they changed to different screws in newer produced models. Maybe that’s why some have had cracks and others have not, but then again, this just came back from Autel a matter of weeks ago and it once again began to crack. Maybe they changed the shell and reused the same screws? Now that the screws are removed, you cannot even tell the shell had stress cracks in it.

 

[verticalflyer]

I’d be curious to see if they changed to different screws in newer produced models. Maybe that’s why some have had cracks and others have not, but then again, this just came back from Autel a matter of weeks ago and it once again began to crack. Maybe they changed the shell and reused the same screws? Now that the screws are removed, you cannot even tell the shell had stress cracks in it.

I bought mine in August. My tiny ant tools are at another location but I'll crack mine open and see once I can get access to them.

 

[verticalflyer]

Sorry for the delay but here you go man. Looks like the only real noticeable change is the type of screws used. Which leads to the question again, why in the heck wouldn't they resolve that on any drone brought in for repairs for a cracked case? It just takes 2 screws for it to be resolved and not have to pony up for warranty repairs again for that drone.

Feel free to share my photos or this post with Autel if you get in touch with them.

 

[Cicero24]

Wow! So that definitely explains why some are having issues with cracking shells and others are not. It’s beyond me why they didn’t change them out when Autel had my drone in for issues and warrantied the shell while in their custody? I’m also partially convinced that maybe the reason why some have had absolutely no issues with their EVO II and others have had issues is from different chip boards or hardware in different production times or runs. I say that because some have experienced absolutely no issues and praise this drone, while others have been faced with true issues and frustrations. Just tracking the evolution of the EVO II over the past year, it’s easy to find people who have had compass/gps issues, obstacle avoidance issues, gimbals freaking out and shaking uncontrollably, abnormal flight patterns, separated plastic of the motor arms, loss of focus, shell cracks and so on. That’s all outside of the firmware issues that have plagued some firmware versions. Just a theory. Thanks for cracking open your shell and giving proof of the difference between the two drones! Have a good one! Adios!

 

[verticalflyer]

You are very welcome. There's no doubt that there are many different variations of hardware configs running around. From just screws to new board revisions. One of the big changes that we know for sure is out there is the RTK version. Outside of that, it's a crap shoot to know but with more drones falling out of warranty then maybe we'll see more info coming out. I'd be willing to dig a bit deeper into my drone if you'd like to get something going to start comparing hardware.

One of the things that gets me about the Autel community is the lack of basic knowledge being thrown out about. No hardware tare-downs, no software info (except for the small bits I've posted here and there from looking at code), no SDK knowledge sharing... It's actually rather sad.

 

[Cicero24]

Yes. All of your points are valid and I agree with every one of them. I’ve torn down multiple Mavics and Mavic 2s. From the boards to the gimbals and so on. Modded each and every Mavic I have ever owned through research and trial/error. They are fine tuned to my liking and flight characteristics outside of the control DJI gives you. Yeah, sounds good. My warranty is through in the beginning of April, so I will be more inclined to open her back up to really get a better look of the boards and intricacies of the EVO II. I’m surprised there has been very little software info out there even with the EVO I, let alone the EVO II. Lets not forget that the original rollout was delayed for an undisclosed “software issue” just before this whole COVID fiasco. When I open her back up, I will post some pictures of my boards and internals so maybe as time goes by we can see if there is any deviation with the EVO II lineup as suspected. Good stuff! ??

 

[Cicero24]

I noticed the MODEL_C_CORE2ESC ribbon cable in your shell off picture is labeled C1951. Mine ribbon is labeled MODEL_C_CORR2ESC C1928 coming off of the same boards just from a quick overlook of both pictures from what I can see comparing the two photos. Huh.

 

[verticalflyer]

I noticed the MODEL_C_CORE2ESC ribbon cable in your shell off picture is labeled C1951. Mine ribbon is labeled MODEL_C_CORR2ESC C1928 coming off of the same boards just from a quick overlook of both pictures from what I can see comparing the two photos. Huh.

I'm also going to reply to your last post as well this one. I have no doubt that there is some very similar hardware used between the Evo I and II in certain aspects. You brought up a great question. Why hasn't anyone dissected and shared the Evo I hardware in depth to a point of where it is stickied, with all of it's various hardware versions as well? Once I get some time I'll pull apart my drone and document.

It took me, on a rooted android device, a few minutes to find the mission database as well as some other good info. That doesn't include the time spent decompiling the Android apk to mindlessly look at code. Just a few minutes on a rooted device yet why isn't there anything out there about? I fly with an ios device but need to do some test flights with android to be able to get a good idea of data.

 

[BradM75]

I'm also going to reply to your last post as well this one. I have no doubt that there is some very similar hardware used between the Evo I and II in certain aspects. You brought up a great question. Why hasn't anyone dissected and shared the Evo I hardware in depth to a point of where it is stickied, with all of it's various hardware versions as well? Once I get some time I'll pull apart my drone and document.

It took me, on a rooted android device, a few minutes to find the mission database as well as some other good info. That doesn't include the time spent decompiling the Android apk to mindlessly look at code. Just a few minutes on a rooted device yet why isn't there anything out there about? I fly with an ios device but need to do some test flights with android to be able to get a good idea of data.

I've gotta think that one reason for the limited info share is that the user community is much smaller. With products that have been out less time, many are still under warranty. Taking chances of undermining the warranty support could be costly. FWIW, I have had my drone for less than a week. My aircraft serial number is HV5920241561. I purchased it from Adorama and have no idea what their stocking levels are like. It was the Rugged Pro kit at substantial savings, so my guess would be they're trying to clear some old stock. It has the original rotor blades and not the new "low noise" props.

Brad

 

[Cicero24]

Yes. Mine will be out of warranty in a month or so. Yes. Autel is a smaller base and maybe over time we will see some more info become available once time goes by. Enjoy your EVO II. Thanks for the input.

 

[Bigdz]

Just got mine back a month ago and just noticed a crack on the body again

 

[Cicero24]

I only had mine back for a short time until it began to crack again. Your crack is near the arm on the upper shell housing and I cannot remember if I seen anything there that would be exerting outward pressure there. I’ll have to look.

 

[Bigdz]

I only had mine back for a short time until it began to crack again. Your crack is near the arm on the upper shell housing and I cannot remember if I seen anything there that would be exerting outward pressure there. I’ll have to look.

This crack doesn't seem deep, but a cack nonetheless. I doubt I will return this time to Autel, as it took forever to get back the first time. Not to mention, Im sure they'll stick me with the bill.

The Evo 2 is built sturdy after much research the first time it happened. The shell isn't the main structure like a Phantom 4... the upper and lower body seems to be a skin that wraps around the actual metal frame of the aircraft.

 

[Squerly]

I'm going to add to this thread instead of starting a new one. But my Evo Pro has a few hairline cracks around where the battery snaps into the drone. That part of the shell doesn't seem to hold the battery, that part seems to be on the inside of the shell. So I'm a little confused as to why I'm getting these cracks and if they're worthy of asking Autel to repair.

 

[Deleted member 8818]

My EVO II began developing cracks within the first few weeks of having it. Short story is that I had my EVO II sent back to Autel at the end of summer for some warranty issues. During that time, they replaced my shell due to the forming cracks on both sides of the body in the same places on both sides. Everyone has had an philosophical answer as the the reason for the cracks. A few days ago I noticed more developed cracks in the same spots as before. I found the culprit! Both sides of the body have mounting screws for the top shell mounting the sides to the battery cage. These screws are not countersunk and protrude outward pressure against the plastic bottom shell on both sides. I could feel the bulge under the shell on both sides where the cracks were formed. I decided to remove the bottom shell to have a look and see if there was a solution to this ongoing issue. The fix is to remove each side screw and then there is no longer any outward pressure putting constant strain on your bottom shell. The top shell is still mounted to the top by several other screws and is still plenty sturdy. Now that the screws are removed, I an no longer see the cracks since the bulging pressure is gone. See the photos for reference. The first pictures are the cracks prior to removing the problematic screws, and the others are of the screws themselves and the location to be found. Notice the picture of the screw alone, you can barely see the cracks anymore without the pressure pushing the shell. The shell is easy to remove for access. You only need to remove the bottom shell to have access. YouTube is your best friend if you wish to do this too. Hope this helps anyone who has a cracking shell and wishes to mitigate the issue to prevent any further spread without having to send your drone back to Autel for weeks at a time. Adios!

So you wouldn't follow warranty guidelines, you removed a structural screw to fix a cosmetic problem, and you didn't consider replacing the structural screw with one with a flatter head. Huh.