Let us observe. Let us lookup. Let Us Drone. Most of you have likely wondered at some point what all of the lights mean on the Phantom 4 Pro. We should have a basic understanding of what those lights are there for and what they are trying to tell us to be able to identify problems or warnings while in-flight quickly.
The Phantom 4 Pro comes equipped with front LEDs, aircraft status indicator lights, and camera status indicator lights. Each of these indicators (lights) vary in color/flash sequence depending on what they are conveying to us. Let's look at each of those lights and flash patterns to better understand our highly technical Phantom 4 Pro.
This post will not dive into the lights you will find on the intelligent flight battery. To learn more about those lights and other helpful battery maintenance tips, I strongly recommend that you check out the posts below.
- DJI Drone Battery Maintenance and Tips
This post applies to each drone in the Phantom 4 series (Phantom 4, Phantom 4 Pro, Phantom 4 Advanced, and Phantom 4 V2.0).
Front LEDs
The two front LEDs on the Phantom 4 Pro will constantly glow red when the drone is on to let you know which way the nose is facing. Knowing that the two red LEDs indicate which way the drone is facing is a great help, especially if you happen to get disoriented while flying.
DJI does give us the option to turn off the front LEDs in the DJI GO 4 app. You may be wondering why anyone would ever want to turn off these lights as they are quite helpful.
I leave these front LEDs on 99% of the time, but there is a specific circumstance where I'll opt to turn them off temporarily.
I'll turn off the front red LEDs if I am capturing pictures or shooting video in a low light environment because the red glow of the lights will often sneak into the footage.
Turn off the front LEDs while capturing pics/vids in dimly lit environments to eliminate the red glow.
To turn off the front LEDs in the DJI GO 4 app, go to settings > main controller settings > advanced settings. Scroll to the bottom, and you'll see “Turn on Head LEDs”. Toggle that to turn off the front LEDs.
If you fly in low light environments often and want to be able to quickly turn on/off the head LEDs, you can assign either the C1 or C2 button to turn on/off the head LEDs. To learn how to assign the “C” buttons, check out this post I wrote here that walks you through the process.
Aircraft status indicators
The two aircraft status indicators on the back of the drone are there to convey a whole slew of information to us. Refer to the table below to see what each color and flash pattern means.
Normal indicators
| Alternate red, green, and yellow flashing. | Turning on and self-diagnostic testing. |
| Alternate green and yellow flashing. | Warming up. |
| Slow green flashing. | P-mode with GPS. |
| Two green flashes. | P-mode with vision system. |
| Slow yellow flashing. | A-mode but no GPS or vision system. |
| Fast green flashing. | Braking. |
Warning indicators
| Fast yellow flashing. | Remote controller signal lost. |
| Slow red flashing. | Low battery warning. |
| Fast red flashing. | Critical battery warning. |
| Red flashing. | IMU error. |
| Solid red. | Critical error. |
| Alternate red and yellow flashing. | Compass calibration required. |
It's incredibly important that you do not ignore the warning indicators, as they are there to let you know that your attention is needed. Along with the indicator lights, you will likely get on-screen prompts in the GO 4 app.
If you are getting one of the above warning indicators, I have written a few posts that you may want to check out.
- One of my most popular posts on Let Us Drone is 28 Causes of Video Lag on DJI GO 4 and How to Fix It. Video lag often results in a remote controller signal lost. There are many reasons why you may be experiencing video lag or a loss of signal, so I highly recommend that you browse that post if you're having trouble with this.
- Another very popular post on Let Us Drone is DJI Drone IMU Calibration: When and How You Should Do It. The IMU (inertial measurement unit) lets the drone know when it is stable. A common sign that the IMU that needs to be calibrated is if you notice the drone tilting while hovering where there is no wind. The post walks you through how to calibrate the IMU.
- Lastly, I'd advise you to read Phantom 4 Pro Compass Calibration: How, When, and Why if you are getting a compass calibration prompt with your Phantom 4 Pro.
Aircraft status indicators continued
I separated this section from above because of the difference in situations where the indicators would be triggered. The indicators below are drone location dependent.
| Rapid red flashing. | When the drone is close to the max radius limit. |
| Red flashing. | When you are in a No-Fly Zone, warning zone, or restricted altitude flight zone. |
This is what the Phantom 4 Pro manual says about the indicator lights flashing when you are in a safety zone:
“When flying in a safety zone, the aircrafts status indicator will blink red rapidly and continue for 3 seconds, then switch to indicate current flying status and continue for 5 seconds at which point will switch back to blinking red.”
This could indeed get confusing if your P4 Pro was already flashing red if the battery was low, and then you proceed to enter a safety warning area where more red flashing will commence.
Use the process of elimination to identify what the cause of the flashing is. Refer to the GO 4 app to check current battery levels, airspace, etc., and you should be able to identify what exactly is going on and what needs your attention.
Camera status LED descriptions
We have a whole new set of indicator lights for the camera operation on the Phantom 4 Pro. You will see a small light on the left-hand side of the drone, near where the SD card is inserted. This is the indicator light where we can get status updates about the camera operation.
Refer to the table below as a guide for what the lights mean.
| Green fast blink. | System is warming up. |
| Solid green. | The system is warmed up and the Micro SD card is inserted and working properly. |
| Green blink once. | Taking a single picture. |
| Green blink three times. | Taking 3 or 5 photos per shot. |
| Slow red blink. | Recording. |
| Fast red blink. | Micro SD card error. |
| Double red blink. | Camera overheated. |
| Solid red. | System error. |
| Green and red blink. | Firmware upgrading. |
Just recently, I noticed a fast red blinking coming from the camera LED. I hadn't even noticed that there was a problem with the SD card, and I must have missed the warning in the GO 4 app.
Sure enough, there was an SD card error. I proceeded to pop the card into my computer, but it wouldn't read. I have no idea what's wrong with that SD card, but I'm very grateful that I noticed the red flashing on the drone while I was still at home. If I had noticed the flashing a little while later while out flying, I would have been a sad man.
Trevor's Take
I have to be honest when I say that I don't have a whole lot of the indicator lights memorized. I find them useful when I know what they mean, but I'm often left scratching my head when I see this flashing and that flashing. What I do know is where to quickly find out what the indicator lights mean (this post), and I hope this post helps you the next time you notice the aircraft or camera indicator lights start flashing.
I would say that the takeaway message here is that we need to always be watching, listening, and being just overall observant when we are out flying our drones. There are so many factors that play into a successful flight, and DJI has given us lights, sounds, and notifications as indicators to ensure we have the best flying experience possible.
If you read the manual, perform routine maintenance, and take action when something seems off, your chances of a mishap are greatly diminished.
Stay safe and keep the spinny-side up!
FAQs
Why is my Phantom 4 battery flashing 3 times? ›
LED4 blinks twice per second when the internal battery temperature is too low, and LED4 blinks three times per second when the internal battery temperature is too high. Either warm the battery or charger, or cool the battery or charger, as needed to enable charging.
Why is my DJI Phantom 4 blinking red lights? ›The Camera Status LED is blinking red, which indicates Micro SD card errors or Micro SD card not inserted. If it isn't for the circumstances, you can try to check whether there is an available firmware update using the DJI Assistant 2 and update the aircraft to its latest version to see if it rectify the issue.
How do you reset the DJI Phantom 4 controller? ›Reset the Controller
1. Power on the controller, and hold down the following buttons: C1, C2, A, and Video Record (red dot button, top-left corner). 2. While continuing to hold the four buttons down, power off the controller and then power it back on.
The principle of BMS reset is to restore the battery management system to the default settings. A BMS is designed to monitor and control the charging and discharging of a battery to keep it operating within safe parameters and extend its lifetime.
Why does my battery blink 3 times when I try to hit it? ›Battery LED flashes 3 times
Certain batteries will flash 3 times to indicate a short circuit. Most standard e-cig batteries will have what's called short circuit protection, so when there is a short and you press the fire button it will just blink 3 times and then won't do anything.
The alternator charges your car battery in synchronisation with a built-in voltage regulator. When this charging system starts to malfunction, the red battery light on your dash will start blinking to warn you in advance. This is a key component in any car, so you may need to replace your alternator if it's faulty.
Why is my charging indicator continuously blinking? ›Fast flashing indicates a poor connection between the battery and charger or a problem with the battery pack. Refer to the rechargeable battery does not charge properly using the supplied battery charger article for details. Afterwards, try charging the battery again.
What does a red flashing light on a drone mean? ›Top LED: Green means you're in beginner mode and red means you're in advanced mode. Flashing lights means your battery is low and no light means off or battery is dead.
Why is my drone light flashing? ›This kind of LED indicator may mean a Battery Communication error. Kindly ensure that the battery is properly inserted into the drone. To cross-test, please try to insert the battery into another aircraft if available, or use another battery on the same aircraft.
Why are my drone lights flashing green and red? ›Flying drones at night is under additional regulations. These red and green lights are mandatory and also recommended for the safety of the pilot, the participants of the airspace, and the properties in the zone.
How do I reset my phantom pro? ›
Wings Lifestyle - Customer Support
Step 2: Take out both the earbuds outside the charging case and once you hear the voice prompt, touch the sensors on either of the earbuds for 5 times quickly to clear the pairing data, the LED on both the earbuds will turn ON and OFF after 3 seconds.
You will find the reset option under the headings settings/systems/firmware update. These drones, first of all, turn on the drone from the power button and wait for all the lights to go green. Then, after 30 seconds, press the power button a second time but hold it for approximately 30 seconds.
How do I get my phantom 4 battery out of hibernation? ›Leave the battery unattended for 5 minutes, and then the light will turn off. Recharge the battery to bring it out of hibernation.
How do I reset my battery when it wont charge? ›Take out your laptop battery—if it's detachable—then put it back in. Try turning the laptop on, and if it doesn't start, remove the battery again and hold the power button for 10 seconds to drain the remaining juice from your laptop. Then, plug in your charging cord and see if your device charges and turns on.
How do I reset my Razer battery? ›- Plug the Razer Blade to its charger.
- Press and hold the power button for 10 seconds.
- While still holding the power button, unplug the charger.
- Release the power button.
- Leave the system sitting for a few seconds.
- Plug the charger again.
- Press the power button to power it back on.
The most common reason that a DJI Phantom battery isn't charging is actually a faulty charger. Check if your charger is working and replace it if it isn't. Another common solution to battery charging problems is to bring your battery out of hibernation mode if it hasn't been used in a while.