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H520 Firmware questions

Joined
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Location
London, ON Canada
My H520 has been in hibernation since November, but now that the weather is getting better (location - SW Ontario Canada), I will be going out to fly soon. After hearing about the bad firmware update of mid Jan 2021, I was very reluctant to do an update. My current firmware levels are:

Flight controller: 1.6.18
Datapilot desktop: 1.5.0.1
Datapilot ST16S: 1.6.57
Camera E90 gimbal: 2.40.3
Camera E90: 1.2.61_A
Update pilot: 1.6.7

I see that USYuneec.com as well as YuneecSkins has all the latest updates available for the H520 system dated 2021-01-29.

Questions:
What features/changes do the latest updates offer from my current level?
Is it safer to do an SD card or OTA update? Will the latest (good) firmware level bypass the bad release of mid Jan 2021? Or does it load the bad update and correct the flaws of the bad upgrade?
I have copied the files from Yuneec to my laptop, but can't see the upgrade levels - does anyone have the latest level numbers? (Edit: found that info by search)
Can anyone verify the 2021-01-29 update is safe to load?

Thanks in advance, Dan
 
Last edited:
What features/changes do the latest updates offer from my current level?
Is it safer to do an SD card or OTA update? Will the latest (good) firmware level bypass the bad release of mid Jan 2021? Or does it load the bad update and correct the flaws of the bad upgrade?
I have copied the files from Yuneec to my laptop, but can't see the upgrade levels - does anyone have the latest level numbers? (Edit: found that info by search)
Can anyone verify the 2021-01-29 update is safe to load?

Thanks in advance, Dan
What features/changes do the latest updates offer from my current level?
Not sure what the update provides. I hope someone else can answer that. One unwanted change many have mentioned is a set of "GPS drift too high" error messages that occur when you are trying to start up. The errors seem to go away within a minute or so. I don't know if this was an intentional upgrade to ensure you have solid GPS before flight, or if it was a side effect of something else.

Is it safer to do an SD card or OTA update?
The method of update does not seem to affect the chances of success.

Will the latest (good) firmware level bypass the bad release of mid Jan 2021?
It did for many. But not for all. I would not recommend installing the bad update at all. The safest route here is to go directly to the latest update.

Can anyone verify the 2021-01-29 update is safe to load?
No. That's one observation created from years of watching updates arrive. There always seem to be some units that respond poorly to each update. The early January was a particularly bad event. A LOT of folks had problems as a result of that update. But some did not. I may have heard only one complaint after loading the latest update, suggesting it is more generally stable. But there just are no guarantees with any update.
 
What features/changes do the latest updates offer from my current level?
Not sure what the update provides. I hope someone else can answer that. One unwanted change many have mentioned is a set of "GPS drift too high" error messages that occur when you are trying to start up. The errors seem to go away within a minute or so. I don't know if this was an intentional upgrade to ensure you have solid GPS before flight, or if it was a side effect of something else.

Is it safer to do an SD card or OTA update?
The method of update does not seem to affect the chances of success.

Will the latest (good) firmware level bypass the bad release of mid Jan 2021?
It did for many. But not for all. I would not recommend installing the bad update at all. The safest route here is to go directly to the latest update.

Can anyone verify the 2021-01-29 update is safe to load?
No. That's one observation created from years of watching updates arrive. There always seem to be some units that respond poorly to each update. The early January was a particularly bad event. A LOT of folks had problems as a result of that update. But some did not. I may have heard only one complaint after loading the latest update, suggesting it is more generally stable. But there just are no guarantees with any update.
Thanks for answering my questions WTFDproject.
Some things I have uncovered about the new release of Jan 29 2021

Flight controller: 1.7.119
Datapilot ST16S: 1.6.97.0
Camera E90 gimbal: 2.66.1 (do not use)
Camera E90: 1.0.80 E
Update pilot: From 1.6.7 to 1.6.12 Confirm? (is the version # correct?)

New functions:
- The radius of an orbit can now be between 3' and 3200'
- Auto landing on/off gear switch added
- bumper cage selection
- payload release
- Added UI confirmation of gimbal cal “Gimbal calibration done”

Reported Issues: (please comment and/or confirm)
- exif altitude data anomolies for photos
- compass drift problems
- ROI function removed or moved? (can anyone confirm?)
- video signal range reduced? (confirm?)
- the gimbal update 2.66.1 may cause weird camera behaviour (not recommended)
 
Thanks for answering my questions WTFDproject.
Some things I have uncovered about the new release of Jan 29 2021

Flight controller: 1.7.119
Datapilot ST16S: 1.6.97.0
Camera E90 gimbal: 2.66.1 (do not use)
Camera E90: 1.0.80 E
Update pilot: From 1.6.7 to 1.6.12 Confirm? (is the version # correct?)

New functions:
- The radius of an orbit can now be between 3' and 3200'
- Auto landing on/off gear switch added
- bumper cage selection
- payload release
- Added UI confirmation of gimbal cal “Gimbal calibration done”

Reported Issues: (please comment and/or confirm)
- exif altitude data anomolies for photos
- compass drift problems
- ROI function removed or moved? (can anyone confirm?)
- video signal range reduced? (confirm?)
- the gimbal update 2.66.1 may cause weird camera behaviour (not recommended)
ROI was re-added quite quickly after the first update. So that one is back.
Video signal seems reduced indeed.
No compas drift problems here, but you need to fully recalibrate the drone after the update, out in the open field.
Gimbal seems OK
EXIF is indeed a problem...
 
Glad that ROI was not lost. For my purposes, there are not enough useful upgrades for me to risk doing the upgrade, so I will stand pat at my current levels. BTW can anyone confirm that the Update pilot version goes from 1.6.7 to 1.6.12 - do version numbers ever go backwards?
 
The biggest issue is that the 520 now stops at each way point so taking a video with ROI is a disaster
and yes the video range is about half it was before the update
 
I just checked my 520, and it is offering the following, looks to be the January update, which is interesting, since I though I had that already. I hope it doesn't shorten my camera range, it is pretty short already.

Camera E90 1.0.80 A
Flight Control 1.7.119
Gimbal 2.66.1
 
I just checked my 520, and it is offering the following, looks to be the January update, which is interesting, since I though I had that already. I hope it doesn't shorten my camera range, it is pretty short already.

Camera E90 1.0.80 A
Flight Control 1.7.119
Gimbal 2.66.1
Yuneec still haven't fixed the issues introduced in the January update so I would advise you don't install it
 
Any reports of problems resolved or still broken from Jan'21 update files for H520 and ST16s?
For instance.....

- H520 stops and hovers/reorients at each waypoint during a mission
- E90 (and other cameras?) show incorrect exif data in photo file
- video reception range is reduced from previous versio (pre Jan 21)
- Gimbal update 2.66.1 causes weird camera behaviour, possible Yuneec service required to fix

Does Datapilot 1.6.97.0 have any useful changes/improvements from 1.6.57?

I have not updated to ALL of the latest updates for the above reasons. Please comment on your experience with the most recent updates.
 
Any reports of problems resolved or still broken from Jan'21 update files for H520 and ST16s?
For instance.....

- H520 stops and hovers/reorients at each waypoint during a mission
- E90 (and other cameras?) show incorrect exif data in photo file
- video reception range is reduced from previous versio (pre Jan 21)
- Gimbal update 2.66.1 causes weird camera behaviour, possible Yuneec service required to fix

Does Datapilot 1.6.97.0 have any useful changes/improvements from 1.6.57?

I have not updated to ALL of the latest updates for the above reasons. Please comment on your experience with the most recent updates.
Unfortunately Yuneec have not fixed the problems with the January update and Yuneec Europe have stopped replying to emails, I think they have now abandoned the H520
 
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Reactions: aedronix
Unfortunately Yuneec have not fixed the problems with the January update and Yuneec Europe have stopped replying to emails, I think they have now abandoned the H520
I fear so too... really disappointed with Yuneec on my H520... Since the last update the transmission of the image is really poor and the range is decreased by much... Also no more reaction on their Facebook Messenger from Yuneec Europe... They see the messages, yet no answer... Not really thinking of their current clients...
 

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