After updating to the latest firmware yesterday, I noticed some things one may need to be cautious about. Firstly, before updating the Autel Sky app I uninstalled the older version first, as I like to start with a clean slate. Starting with a fresh install of the new app, I then proceeded to update the firmware, which seemed to go well. After the app and aircraft were updated, I went through the settings in the app, while the drone was powered up. This is the first flag. After a couple or three minutes, while the drone was sitting in my living room, powered up, but not running the props, the drone would power down. It did this several times, and once in a while the app would say it was disconnected from the drone, before powering down.
This situation made me wary of flying the drone, so I took it outside and flew it for a while over the lawn for at least 7 minutes, at the lowest altitude possible. It did not lose connection and the drone remained active in flight. It makes me wonder if there is some sort of battery saving mode, where while the drone is not in flight, it will power down after some time.
Reassured by the test flight, I then took the drone out for a real flight, and it did well, I took it out to a distance of approximately one mile. This is the second flag. As the battery lost charge down to 25%, while I was then close enough to home, the Autel Sky app warned me that the drone was returning home. Except, it was not. The drones camera was showing me that it was hovering in the same spot where I had it. I pivoted the gimbal up and down to make sure I was still getting a live feed, and I was.
So, finally I began to pilot the drone back to my home point, and as I got back to the landing pad, the app notified me that a firmware update for the battery was needed. Previously, I had installed all three batteries after the app and drone were updated, to attempt to ensure any needed battery updates were performed. Only one of the three were flagged for an update at that time. So, having a battery flagged for an update after a flight was done, became a concern.
To summarize, one may need to be cautious after updating to the new firmware. Take low altitude flights close to the ground and close to home until all batteries are updated. When my drone had warned me it was returning home at 25%, but actually wasn't, I noticed that the battery percent left was counting down at a fast rate, as I brought the drone home manually. By the time I landed, it was at 17%, and it was counting down from 25% at a rate of about one percent every 15 to 20 seconds.
This may be just my experience, but I wanted to post a message to warn other flyers about these inconsistencies, from my experience.
This situation made me wary of flying the drone, so I took it outside and flew it for a while over the lawn for at least 7 minutes, at the lowest altitude possible. It did not lose connection and the drone remained active in flight. It makes me wonder if there is some sort of battery saving mode, where while the drone is not in flight, it will power down after some time.
Reassured by the test flight, I then took the drone out for a real flight, and it did well, I took it out to a distance of approximately one mile. This is the second flag. As the battery lost charge down to 25%, while I was then close enough to home, the Autel Sky app warned me that the drone was returning home. Except, it was not. The drones camera was showing me that it was hovering in the same spot where I had it. I pivoted the gimbal up and down to make sure I was still getting a live feed, and I was.
So, finally I began to pilot the drone back to my home point, and as I got back to the landing pad, the app notified me that a firmware update for the battery was needed. Previously, I had installed all three batteries after the app and drone were updated, to attempt to ensure any needed battery updates were performed. Only one of the three were flagged for an update at that time. So, having a battery flagged for an update after a flight was done, became a concern.
To summarize, one may need to be cautious after updating to the new firmware. Take low altitude flights close to the ground and close to home until all batteries are updated. When my drone had warned me it was returning home at 25%, but actually wasn't, I noticed that the battery percent left was counting down at a fast rate, as I brought the drone home manually. By the time I landed, it was at 17%, and it was counting down from 25% at a rate of about one percent every 15 to 20 seconds.
This may be just my experience, but I wanted to post a message to warn other flyers about these inconsistencies, from my experience.
