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Controller problem (SC3)

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Sep 21, 2018
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Hi guys,

Got a bit of a problem here.

Last night we had clear skies (for the first time in ages) so I thought I'd take my ANAFI out for a little flight.

After plugging in my SC3 to my telephone (SAMSUNG J5) and launching FREEFLIGHT, I notices that there were 2 updates available, one for the drone, one for the controller.

I decided to do the update on the controller first.

The update started as normal (sending to controller) but at around the 30% mark, FREEFLIGHT suddenly showed "Controller not connected". I had touched nothing.

So, I unplugged the controller from the phone and re-connected - still nothing.
Then I re-started FREEFLIGHT - still nothing. It shows "controller not connected" - and invites me to connect the controller or use my smartphone to control the drone...

At this point I turned off the drone, turned off FREEFLIGHT, unplugged the controller and closed it AND :

THE CONTROLLER WONT TURN OFF

The blue/white connecting LED flashes slowly (like its trying to connect to the drone) but the controller will not turn off!
I opened / closed the controller several times - nothing, the LED flashes, the controller wont turn off.

So :
- I try a new USB cable phone to controller - nothing.
- I try connecting the controller directly to the drone (USB-A to USB-C) using 2 different cables - nothing.
- I hold down the "return to home" button on the controller, the LED flashes green for about 2 seconds, then goes back to flashing blue/white.
- I re-shut the controller - still wont turn off.
- I un-install FREEFLIGHT, then restart my phone and re-install everything, plug everything back in, connect the drone to my phone by WIFI - do the update on the drone, I even manage to fly the drone with my smartphone - no problem, but the Controller will not connect to my SMARTPHONE and still wont turn off!

So :
- I unscrew the base of the controller (my ANAFI is out of warranty) - un plug the battery. Wait 5 minutes, re-connect. Open the controller (LED comes on) - close the controller (LED still stays on).
- I un plus the battery again, wait 30 minutes this time - same deal. The controller turns on, tries to connect to the drone, does not. Cannot be picked up by my phone AND wont turn off unles I remove the battery !

HELP !

I'm on holiday next week and really wanted to take some arial shots with my drone, but without the controller this will be complicated.

Kind regards
 
If you have the controller open you can check the operation of the switch that is triggered by the arm ln the controller. If I remember correctly the switch should be open circuit to turn the controller on and closed circuit to turn it off. You could bridge the switch to see whether the controller turns off.

Whilst the controller is open check that the USB-A connector is firmly attached to the PCB as this is a known weak point and would cause a lack of comms between the phone and the SC3. The controller can rest on the connector if put down whilst a phone is connected to it. I 3D printed a support to prevent that happening on mine.

Otherwise it could be a software fault caused by the failed update.
 
Yeah the switch works fine (turns "ON" when I unplug the battery / open it up) . I have tried using a toothpick / screwdriver to force "DOWN" the button, but it still stays ON.

No visible damage on the USB-A connector, used a circuit tester to be sure, all pins are connected as they should be.

If (for some unknown reason) the update failed - can I roll-back or do a re-set?

Thanks for your help
 
If you cannot connect to the SC3 then your options are limited. There does not appear to be a way to rollback failed updates but if you are able to connect to the controller then you may get the option to reload the updated firmware. I would suggest that you try all of the USB leads that you have to see if any work. Can you also check whether the phone USB port is working correctly by connecting a USB memory stick to it?
 
No joy I'm afraid...

I even bought a flashy new USB cable (with a transfer rate of 480 MBPS) and no luck.

I connected a USB memory stick to my phone and that works fine.

I even installed FREEFLIGHT 6 on my wifes phone, and used the new cable, to be SURE that its not my phone - and the controller STILL cant be seen by the phone (and still wont turn off once its "ON").

Looks like I'm gonna have to invest in a new controller. I just hope I dont have the same problem with the next...

Have you had any issues since installing le latest update on your controller? (1.7.0 I think)
 
PS - yes I have connected the controller directly to the Drone (cable in controller + into battery on the drone - with both on)

Nothing happens. Cant control the gimbal (which is the test). Lights on the controller remain flashing blue/white - lights on the drone remain flashing blue...

Its as if the controller isnt connected....(and it still wont turn off even when connected to the drone!) I think this controller is f*cked.

No controllers available on the PARROT website (apparently they are our of stock)

I have luckily found 2 controllers for sale (2nd hand) here in France for 40 Euros a piece (around 47 Dollars US or 35 Pounds Sterling) - I have bought them both. Hopefully they should arrive soon. I'll keep you informed.
 
I'm sorry about what happened. Can you tell me why you thought it would update?
Answer a few of my questions:
1. Did your drone malfunction?
2. Did your remote control malfunction?
3. Did the freshness include a feature you needed?
If the answer to these questions was “no,” you began to reprogram your devices completely unnecessarily. This action always carries risk and is only worth it if you can win with it.
(It's no coincidence that I haven't updated the 1.6.3 firmware since. Bugs have been reported in all of them ever since.)
 
Hi Gipsz Jakab,

Well at first I wasn't going to do any update, but when I clicked on "FLY NOW" - a message appeared telling me that "In order to maximize your experience, Parrot will update your drone" (not the exact wording, but something to that effect.

So I could'nt fly without doing the update!

I was always under the impression that it was best to have the latest updates installed (thats what Parrot seem to say)
 
After all the tests that you have done it sounds like the firmware in the controller is corrupt especially as it will not turn off. Unfortunately I do not know of a way to flash or reset the controller without it being connected to a phone or tablet. As your phone is on Android I do not know whether an Apple phone would be able to connect but I am doubtful and I have no other suggestions for you to try.

As people do crash their Anafis or lose them there are mostly SC3 controllers available second hand.
 
Absolutely exactly the same happens to me and I also tried all the same things to make it work again. Even waited for the controller to discharge and a few extra days to see if that will restart its software. Nothing worked. The scenery of how this had happened is identical to CaptainBirdsEye description. That means its a factory update glitch, but who is going to replace my controller? And the cost for it? I tried to submit a support ticket at parrots webpage and filled it all out - but it did not let me send it in the end - another glitch? I am pretty upset right now, I am on a longer RV Trip in US.
 
Hi RV,

Parrots submission support page was not working in the US recently - was giving "Undefined Errors" on submission
Try this link Parrot - ignore improve your navigation and Visit parrot.com of your country at top of page
I did use this to submit a ticket to let them know that the US support submission page was broken - they did respond and generated support ticket

Others have been having SC3 issues too so you may want to look at this thread
Best of luck
 
I'm sorry about what happened. Can you tell me why you thought it would update?
Answer a few of my questions:
1. Did your drone malfunction?
2. Did your remote control malfunction?
3. Did the freshness include a feature you needed?
If the answer to these questions was “no,” you began to reprogram your devices completely unnecessarily. This action always carries risk and is only worth it if you can win with it.
(It's no coincidence that I haven't updated the 1.6.3 firmware since. Bugs have been reported in all of them ever since.)
Have very similar issues with the Controller, but even stranger is the drone is a work drone with multiple users, I had been using for 12 months or more, but the last time I took it to a site, my phone would not connect to the controller and the wifi was not connecting, I reset the drone wifi and am able to connect to the drone without the controller, but no connection with the controller is possible. I was wondering if it was a USB cable issue, but a colleague using a newer iphone plugged in and flew with no problem, he didn't even have an issue with the wi-fi password being changed after the reset, how is that possible?
 
Have very similar issues with the Controller, but even stranger is the drone is a work drone with multiple users, I had been using for 12 months or more, but the last time I took it to a site, my phone would not connect to the controller and the wifi was not connecting, I reset the drone wifi and am able to connect to the drone without the controller, but no connection with the controller is possible. I was wondering if it was a USB cable issue, but a colleague using a newer iphone plugged in and flew with no problem, he didn't even have an issue with the wi-fi password being changed after the reset, how is that possible?
Hi MartinH -
Curious as to what iPhone model and IOS version you were trying to use that failed and what model your colleague used that worked?
And did you find a solution for your phone
 
Last edited:
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MartinH: I was facing SC3 update issues too. My final solution? Updating the OS on my device (iPhone 6s now running 12.5 up from 11.7). Check yours & update if available, but only after you've deleted FF6 (re-install it after the OS update).
Hope this helps.
 

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