Renew discussion--Cannot connect controller and Evo.

[PcolaBird]

I have seen several posts concerning the problem of not being able to connect/pair the Evo I and the controller. I have seen some say they connected successfully after many attempts. My question is, has anyone found an actual solution to the problem? My Evo flew perfectly well without issues but when I took it out several weeks ago to fly, I could not get it to connect. Freshly downloaded firmware and used clean SD cards, to no avail. I am not even sure at this point which firmware I should be using for the controller and/or Evo. Any solutions out there? Any input? Thanks much.

 

[aznh24]

Same thing happen to me today…

Controller won’t connect/pair to EVO 1

 

[jaja6009]

The other thread on this had me worried.

I tested my Evo and all is well. It works just as before.

Here is my firmware screen.

 

[aznh24]

You def have the correct firmware according to the site.
Firmware package V1.5.8

Can I ask, where are you from? Canada/USA/EU

I ask bc I live in Ontario, Canada and after doing some research, Transport Canada has an approved list of drones and they have every drone listed made by Autel but the Evo 1. Go figure! Transport Canada (Find Your Drone)

I appreciate you taking the time to test it out. Glad to see some users still have functioning drones they can fly. After messing with mine for a week now, I've pretty much given up on getting this bird up in the air.

 

[jaja6009]

I live in New Jersey, USA.

Am I missing something with everyone else?
How can a drone that previously was paired and worked and did not have any changes such as firmware, stop working all of a sudden?

 

[claudius62]

No, if you stop updating and stick to firmware 1.5.8 and not anything higher.
Also (importantly) play with Autel Explorer V 1.0.1.45 / V 1.1.3.0 or V 1.1.3.9
Currently, I'm flying with Autel Explorer V 1.1.3.0 on one smartphone and Autel Explorer V 1.1.3.9 on another, and firmware 1.5.8 on the Evo 1, and I haven't had any problems since 2020, everything is working.

 

[aznh24]

1.5.8 is the highest since 2020.

The issue most are having is the remote cannot pair with the drone. It’s impossible to use the app as the controller never connects to the drone. The app tells you your not connected.

Yesterday I tried using a new battery and installing the FW manually with a SD card. You can see it goes through its process to update the battery but because the drone is up-to-date, it only updates the battery and formats the SD card.

The no connection/video feed from drone to controller seems to be another issue.

I suspect it may be a Canada FAA thing and they have disabled/removed gps access to the evo 1 drones in Canada since there not on the approved list to fly. Seems to me they’ve grounded them indefinitely.

 

[cq842000]

1.5.8 is the highest since 2020.

The issue most are having is the remote cannot pair with the drone. It’s impossible to use the app as the controller never connects to the drone. The app tells you your not connected.

Yesterday I tried using a new battery and installing the FW manually with a SD card. You can see it goes through its process to update the battery but because the drone is up-to-date, it only updates the battery and formats the SD card.

The no connection/video feed from drone to controller seems to be another issue.

I suspect it may be a Canada FAA thing and they have disabled/removed gps access to the evo 1 drones in Canada since there not on the approved list to fly. Seems to me they’ve grounded them indefinitely.

I'm in Texas and am having the exact same issue as so many here.

I also had a horrendous experience with Autel after dropping thousands on their engineered obsolescence and suggesting them to many people. I won't ever make that mistake again. I've only flown my Evo 1 a grand total 4 times, never crashed, well maintained, even bought a waterproof hard case for it. It appears either they sourced defective NAND chips on the mainboard and thought, it's an acceptable failure period because they'll be EOL before it happens, or they've intentionally bricked these drones. I don't know which one it is, but after losing thousands on an Autel branded paperweight, and seeing so many have the same mysterious issue with no word from Autel nor attempts to make it right, I'm not inclined to give them the benefit of the doubt.

I feel better having lost so much money but vented on the official forums to maybe stop others from making my mistake and investing any money in this company.

 

[jaja6009]

1.5.8 is the highest since 2020.

The issue most are having is the remote cannot pair with the drone. It’s impossible to use the app as the controller never connects to the drone. The app tells you your not connected.

Yesterday I tried using a new battery and installing the FW manually with a SD card. You can see it goes through its process to update the battery but because the drone is up-to-date, it only updates the battery and formats the SD card.

The no connection/video feed from drone to controller seems to be another issue.

I suspect it may be a Canada FAA thing and they have disabled/removed gps access to the evo 1 drones in Canada since there not on the approved list to fly. Seems to me they’ve grounded them indefinitely.

This is what I am not getting.

You are happily using the drone. You then do not fly it for months or in my case years. Why would it still not be paired when you go to fly it again?

Our Evo did not fly from November of 2023 until I powered it on this week.

It was paired and ready to go as if I flew it the day before.

I forgot to see what Explorer app I am using and if the app was ever updated. The app is installed on a work phone that is locked down. To install the app the IT department had to unlock it. I am not even sure if the app is allowed to auto update.

We moved on to DJI drones for our program and our poor Evo has been mostly forgotten about. But most of our drone team do prefer the video from both the Evo and Evo 2 Dual and when collecting video for non-public safety uses, the Autels are preferred.