Phantom 4 Controller Not Charging Fix

After several months in storage my Phantom 4 drone had an issue with charging. There was a single flashing light when the controller was plugged in. To fix this I removed the main control board from the controller and heated the IC next to the LED's. This is seems to be the charge control unit. Now I have 75% battery when fully charged. This is better than 0% like before.
Simple Heat Gun:
amzn.to/2Wn8Mcw
Check out the long video on how to fix the issue.
• FIXED! DJI Phantom 4 ...

[@mikeholley3971]

I have a DJI Phantom 4 Pro where the remote controller wasn't charging at all. I would get 1 out of 4 LEDs blinking rapidly on the controller when attached to the charger for about 5 minutes and then it would just shut off. I disassembled the remote and applied heat to the chip as your video shows. I now have 4 out of 4 LEDs lit and the remote control fully charges. Thanks for posting the video. I used a reflow tool that allowed me to set the temperature and blower speed. I had it set to 3 out of 7 for blower speed and approx. 700F for temperature. I used a piece of thick cardboard to protect other unrelated components from getting blasted with the heat. I applied the heat over the IC chip for approximately 10 seconds (moving it around overtop approx. 2-3 inches from the chip) then took a break and applied it a second time. After letting it cool down, I have all LEDs lighting up and full charge. Interesting, the issue wasn't just preventing the battery from charging. After I applied the fix, the battery was fully charged already. Before applying the fix, the remote controller complained the battery was almost dead. So this issue wasn't just affecting charging, but also powering the controller properly from a fully charged battery. Thanks again.

[@bigthingsonwheels]

I just did this with our Phantom 4 Controller. There are a few videos that are similar, some with more detail than others. After having done it, I think about 80% of the disassembly shown may be unnecessary. I went as far as the 6 small ribbon connectors on the main board before I realized that as long as the two screws are removed, most connectors can stay connected. I did not disconnect the wired plugs nor the antennae connectors. If I had to do it again I would try leaving the ribbon cables connected. If you feel you may pinch the cables, disconnect them. Now the board can be carefully lifted and tilted back to lay on the controller, iPad holder retracted underneath and flat on the table. This also makes a good stand for it to be on when doing the heating. If the board resists being lifted, it may be stuck on the two posts toward the front edge - apply a little more force under the board there and it should come up. I used an "embossing heat gun" that my wife had for crafts to heat the chip located next to the light array as shown. I used a piece of cardboard curved around the chip to isolate it and held the gun on for two minutes. I did not need to heat any other areas. When I was done, the cardboard looked slightly toasted at the edge near the chip, so it is a fair amount of heat. Afterwards, once it cooled, I reconnected the battery and then the charger to verify that the charging lights came on as expected. If all is well, they should begin lighting in sequence and as the charge completes all 4 will light in sequence, then finally go off. If all is good with the charging, turn the controller on to make sure all lights light up indicating a full charge; if you have disconnected the ribbons, only "No. 5" coming from the power switch needs to be reconnected to test this. This is a good test before reassembly in case you need to apply the heat again if it didn't take. If all is good, reassemble and take the drone out to test all controller functions in a limited safe flight. Take your time with this, work carefully and methodically, and it may save your controller and some $$$ on repair.

[@ripcurlprfection]

Cannot understate how great this comment is. It saved me a large amount of time. Just unscrewed the two screws and lifted up the board, angled the controller so it would sit at the correct angle, then refloated the chip as noted in the video. Thanks!

[@truckatone1]

Followed your instruction to the letter and my tx has gone from won't charge at all to 99% , awesome video bud saved me time and money Subscribed 👍👍👍👍

[@lazzzzan]

I'll have to try this on my controller!! seem to have the same issue!

[@mosztokanna3380]

After the first try it worked only for a day or two, than I repeted the process and it works fine since that. Thanks!

[@FleecefoxStudio]

Nice! Happy to hear your results.

[@hectormauricio171]

Over a year since I've used my p4... Ordered a new battery, and nothing. I did exactly what you suggested and its working perfectly fine! Dude you just saved me the money of a new controller! THANK YOU!!!!!

[@Remoth000]

Very good! Fixed it perfectly! I was just about to order a new battery when I found this. Havent used drone in 8 months because of battery issue, now I can use it again!

[@balazscsedo5363]

ordering a new doesnt helps

[@TheGixxer55]

I just started to have this same problem. Got my regular 15 dollar heat gun and wrapped some foil around tip to make concentrated flow. Aimed it right at the subject IC and wow I started to see some bubbles below the IC. Plugged in the board and wow all lights lit up. Then put the controller back together and Shazzam! Everything charging and lighting up as it did when it was new. the trick is you have to get the area hot enough to reflow but be careful not to move IC off the pad. Just in case I did go ahead and buy the exact replacement battery from Amazon. Lipos do degrade with age. Controller ones do last much longer as they are not depleted that often and depleted at a much lower speed. Nothing like the main batteries. I've already had 3 puff on me. Won't fit in the ship anymore.

[@FleecefoxStudio]

That is good advice! This issue sure was annoying to find when it first happened. Thank you for your info.

[@chadbendig1791]

This legit works, I thought I was out of luck after replacing the battery then did this and it legit works

[@bkrull1988]

Thanks so much for your help on this issue. It took me several attempts to get this to work. I don’t think I was getting enough heat on it the first several times I tried it. Have all 4 lights now and am very happy!

[@7961915]

Great video. Advice is spot on. After doing this, one of my controllers charged up the first time. The second controller charged after I performed this fix a second time. Thank you!

[@ThomasDuncanCEO]

This really works. Took about 20 minutes with all the right tools. Thanks!

[@user-ug9zk5cd7n]

Does the problem go back?

[@aidangracia]

I did it for 30 seconds at 700 degrees, worked perfectly! Thank you

[@FleecefoxStudio]

Nice ! That is about what I did as well.

[@jocko8136]

Thanks for the video (and link to the detailed video). I did it twice. The first time I was able to get 3 lights and the second time I was able to get 4 lights.

[@kristopherrowe9534]

Perfect! I could only fly for like 10 minutes. Showing full charge now! What what!!

[@pomanprod]

Here is what worked for me with no dissassembly. 1) Plug in the charging plug to the remote (1 light will flash) for 30 minutes which will heat up the board. 2) After 30 minutes Press power button twice as if you're turning on remote. The 4 lights will light up in sequence and the first will stay solidly lit. 3) Leave remote on for five minutes. 4) After five minutes, press twice to turn off. 5) Leave charging plug in place. Wait 5-15 minutes and it will start charging normally.

[@timmoores]

I wish I'd have seen this and others like it before I bought and installed a new battery!!! Worked perfectly and I have a spare battery.

[@lagoberto76]

All I can say is THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!! You are awesome! It took me a few tries, but it works. I was getting about 3 or 4 minutes of flight time before it started beeping. Now I have almost 100%.

[@munigo200o]

Thanks so much for the video. I had the same issue with mine. Had to repeat the process 3 times as well as reflow both the power and battery connectors on the 3rd attempted and it worked. Initially the control sticks where not working after I reassembled the remote so I brought the drone indoors and tried it again and they worked. I don't know why this happened but all good now. Great care should be taken when heating the board I guess.. Issue finally fixed, happy days!!!

[@BachataKnight]

Thank you for this video. It and the one you linked have my flying again after at least a year with this issue. Just turned it on, 100%

[@ITKing-mo6em]

Not sure if I am the only one. Mine worked for a week before I have to start pulling the battery to get it to work. As a person with experience in the "reflow" department. Chips fault out and can be temporarily fixed sometimes with heat. But the chip is still faulty. I did my to correct temperature as I have scope, wand and micro soldering pencil. I did the points, hit with wand and nudge checked. Week later same thing. I assume chip needs to be changed, that is what I am going to do now. Ty for isolating the faulty chip, makes life easier.

[@jstev67]

Not detailed enough for me. It does work though.i must give you credit, it is that exact spot. I found a video that had a little more details. Thanks for the lead.

[@theaspiringinvestor8988]

Worked for me thank you for sharing. Point to look out for... I melted the white plug on the opposite side a bit. I just trimmed it with my drimmel works 👍

[@LongtowerNyc]

I searched a ton of videos on KZbin and all said the same thing. I tried this and it didn’t work, but noticed my battery was “inflated”. Ordered a new battery and bam, remote worked perfectly. I did leave it on the charger for a bit while I wasn’t using it. I’m assuming it overcharged and killed the battery. Changed my battery and it worked. Maybe my case was different? Super thanks for the video btw.

[@anthonyespinoza230]

Where did you get the battery? I cant seem to find them

[@LongtowerNyc]

Anthony Espinoza got it off eBay.

[@cneedelman1]

I've reflowed 3 times, the last time seems to be holding at 86%. After flying 3 batteries on my Phantom 4P, I was down to 26%, not great but usable. I've found a cable that will charge the remote from the Phantom 4 batts. So in a pinch I can use a Phantom battery that I flew to 30% and charge the remote

[@ttkn1]

I want to buy a heat gun to do it, Do you know the needed specs?

[@cneedelman1]

@@ttkn1 Mine is 1000W heat gun, with max temperature at the nozzle of 400 F

[@FleecefoxStudio]

I got about the same results. Its enough that the drone is not trash but I still stay close to home.

[@IsmailAkano]

Waow! Pls how do you charge the remote battery ? I would love to know. Thanks

[@Taremaine1]

Thank you this video really save me time and money I thought I needed a new battery.

[@montiou3749]

Works perfectly! Thanks

[@aceboogie1775]

All i can say is Thanks for the help

[@MrStormas]

Thank you very much. Work for me.

[@AWashProduction]

I hope this works! I was in San Diego shooting at a beautiful location when it started beeping. I’m fine with 75% will update after I get everything apart!

[@clyd1261]

I plugged my Phantom 4 transmitter to charge my battery and no charge, no lights, nothing. I took my transmitter apart and found a green flashing light on the motherboard. I disconnected the battery, reconnected after 10 seconds, and the green light stopped flashing! I turned my transmitter on with no problem and a full battery! Try this and it may help you also!

[@SRQGuitarGuy]

This technique worked for me. I was reluctant to purchase a Reflow machine for a one time use, so I decided to try a Heat Gun that was variable between 112℉~1202℉ and I had it at the highest for about 30 seconds on the main IC Chip as shown in the video next to the blinking LED's I just kept making sure to move the tip around and not leave it in one place for too long. After I did this, I plugged in the batter and the charger and had the 4 lights flashing like it was charging. I held off on assembling it and I reflowed it again, this time doing both the front and back on the Main Board. Tried the battery again, and 4 lights were blinking. So I assembled it and tested it and TA DA! It was changed and then took my P4 out for a test flight and it works just like new. Thanks!

[@aedeau]

my p3 pro controller has had this issue since i put it in storage and didn't fly it for about 6 months. Mine would refuse to charge at all. I reflowed this IC and i'm now getting 3 lights (75%). I messed around with it a bit more and it dropped back down to 2 lights (50%). After reflowing 1 more time I got it back up to 75% which I'm happy with. I didn't use cardboard but instead just used the smallest tip I have (5mm) and set it to 350 degrees C and air flow about 4 for 30 seconds. These controllers are really shitty as this seems to be a widespread issue online.

[@nor_cal_trailrides9990]

Funny thing is if you check the battery voltage with a meter I find it's full. The chip responsible for measuring the voltage is faulty. Done this routine many times. It's not a permanent fix

[@aceboogie1775]

just done mine now worked perfect thanks again

[@OKBUDDY21]

I hope you answer this but after reflowing and all that will I eventually have to do that again or will this be a one time thing and my controller won’t have this problem again?

[@michaelpeterson647]

So what is the science here? Does this chip have some kind of timer that says "After a certain period of time, reject battery?" Like Apple or something?

[@michaelflores22]

Firmware update fixed it for me no need to take me controller apart and mess it up. Lol. And i have a 100% charge try the firmware back up first.

[@walkingmanvideo9455]

Michael, So you are syaing that you had this issue and you conducted a firmware upgrade and the problem was gone? I have this issue and its most annoying as the drone is now grounded for fear of failure due to the abttery issue.

[@FleecefoxStudio]

That would be good. I tried the update some time ago and it did not fix my issue.

[@michaelflores22]

@@walkingmanvideo9455 yes i wasn't able to fully charge my controller. Then i did the update and its been good

[@warrenturnbull3436]

How did you do a firmware update? I was just talking to a rep online via online chat and said I gotta send my controller back to them for a diagnosis.. I even tried downloading the DJI assistant 2 and my controller wouldn’t even connect.. mind you my controller sat for over 6 months and it won’t charge.. I have the red light blinking and the first light blinking and obviously it beeps constantly because the battery level is low

[@danezugsm]

Funktioniert wirklich. Danke 😊

[@jonyoder2356]

I have a Mavic Pro and the controller says its charging but it doesn’t go above 1%. Has always worked fine. Any ideas on what to do ? I’d appreciate any suggestions..

[@jimmynieto2365]

my heat gun was too hot and melted the plastic. Now I can't replacement piece where you plug in charger. Anyone know the name or part number or where to buy?

[@bansniffr]

Worked for me. Thanks.

[@dragonflyuavs1616]

Video was great help man! Thank you!

[@rajendraprasadprasad5235]

Information helpful Thankyou

[@wesmartin5665]

this worked like a charm! Thank you!!!!

[@FleecefoxStudio]

Happy to help!

[@nickneuhardt2037]

This worked wonderfully - thank you!

[@MDMcDavid]

What if I just leave it in my car.. in Texas when it’s 105 out lol

[@quichez670105]

Thanks a lot.I tried many time finally succeed.

[@cyrilco]

I had this done with my controller and it worked perfectly only for about a day or 2, any ideas on what I can try to make it permanent?

[@FleecefoxStudio]

My guess is that it was not heated enough. I dont have the answer to the best heat setting or the time to hold on the chip.

[@valentinghimis2897]

hi. can you tell me please what is the name or code for that component?

[@MarkDeanMD]

re-flow (not re-float) :-)

[@NgaardaMedia]

awesome, thank you

[@balazscsedo5363]

SOMEONE TELL ME what is the name of this chip?

[@taair6270]

I thought I had this problem. the controller was charging for about an hour and it still was showing just 2 lights!. but the charger was really hot so I unplugged everything and let it cool down for a ‘couple hours’ then started charging again then this time all 4 lights came on!! almost charged! Then I realised I had been charging the P4s batteries before the remote. which was why the charger was hot it’s obviously a fail safe to stop it overheating heating so before dismantling the remote wait till the charger is cooled down! then try again 😌

[@HKSmr2rbo]

I feel like I'm the only one that this fix hasn't worked for 😞. I've done it multiple times and each time the lights do something new but still shuts off

[@frantech6935]

FYI reflow the solder, not refloat. Thank you

[@aceboogie1775]

what the fuck is wrong with the 11 haters that disliked this video the guy trying to help people the best he can its not rocket science!

[@paulsalter4949]

I've had to do this so many times. Dji will not recognise this problem/fault. If they did they would be inundated with handset returns

[@walkingmanvideo9455]

My controller is doing the same where it only charges to 2 LED and no more......it so annoying that we have now grounded the unit for work for fears of it losing coms with controller if it goes bad midflight.

[@FleecefoxStudio]

Yes it is so sad. This seems to have fixed my issue but then I only fly close so I dont lose it.

[@truckatone1]

Hi mate , the drone will return to home if the tx looses connection , you can turn the tx off mid flight and as long as home point has been recorded it will come back , tested my p4pro 4 or 5 times by turning tx off and its always come home to land exactly where it took off from 👍👍

[@walkingmanvideo9455]

tony perks I ended up getting it repaired. The circuit board was faulty.

[@filipesimoes2847]

It solve my problem thanks

[@MrSKB69]

I refloated it, it lit up the 4 lights and was working perfectly, put it away, took it out a few months later, and its back to only two lights again, think I'll send it back to DJI >:(

[@pomonabill220]

It's reFLOW not refloat.

[@druidshots4372]

Wondering how you can use your phone to see the RC battery level. I can't find it in the go4 app

[@janvanelteren2906]

Easy...connect your transmitter with your phone . Then open dji go 4 go right top to the 3 points...now select battery and you see how much power left in the battery.

[@scarfeel9582]

Thank you

[@FleecefoxStudio]

Happy it worked.

[@igordcernovs7886]

Thans!Its reali helps!👍👍👍👍

[@FleecefoxStudio]

Nice! I am happy to hear that!

[@JordanCDove-qj9ml]

I need a heat gun now lol

[@cobbfutbol62]

Lol it worked thanks

[@user-vd1uj9qc2y]

Красавчик ))

[@Taremaine1]

👍👍👍👍👍

[@InternetGoldMiner]

Good way to trash your whole controller.