UDATE MAY 2021: I was able to get a replacement drone from GoPro. Please view my newest update on this issue here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-T6fpfPT9QdY.html
I have the same exact problem. I own a dead drone and 6 batteries $$$$. I'm willing to pay $150 to fix it rather than having a bunch of expensive electronics doing nothing :( Thanks for making this video. I have over $5000 of GoPro products and I won't buy any more until my karma drone is flying again.
Thanks for the video and taking this on! Just tried mine for the 1st time in 2020 and same result. So frustrating for the amount of money spent. Name has been added to the form!
Thank you for this video, you just saved me money from buying a mint condition Karma drone. What a shame that GoPro quit and revealed their shady side.
I've added my name. Thanks for taking this on. I am so disappointed that I can no longer use my drone, but it is not that old and was too expensive to simply ditch and buy another one.
I had a similar problem - but solved it. Proceed as GoPro suggests - i.e. update the software one by one, it is not written directly, but you should start with the camera, then KarmaGrip, controller and only at the end you can update KarmaDrone. Camera and gimbal updates are best done using a computer - not a controller and WiFi. An additional hint - to pair the drone, it must recognize and position the gimbal - without it, this operation cannot be performed. Therefore, an earlier update of the camera and gimbal is necessary. Everything works for me - although I spent a few hours on it.
Finally I paired mine! I borrowed my buddies controller and his controller paired to mine and mine to his ! So GoPro needs to send everyone out a new controller.
So glad I found this video. I'm in a similar situation as you. I last used my Drone December 2019, all worked fine. It's been packed in the case since, and last weekend I tried to use it. Everything was charged up, but no connection between the 2. I have tried everything I can think of to get it to work, but no success. And by seeing this video, looks like more and more people are having the exact same issue. This is appalling that a drone that cost as much money as this one did, is having these issues. I've had this drone for about 2 years, and maybe used it 10 times. So for it to be now a brick after so little use, I'm really ticked off.
Ryan Wolf same issue.. Great information we all need to make noise towards Gopro. They have to back us customers who dropped a grand on a Gopro product and now we are being ignored
Thanks for calling this out! I'm just frustrated and there is dead end "how to fix the problem", on their site and no direct contact to customer support.
Yes this RU-vid gentleman in this GoPro video is correct. I tried turning the GoPro Karma on but will not pair with the controller. This is ridiculous! I purchased this product in good faith and now the product is incapable of working. This is disgusting there should be a fix. Thanks GoPro , I’ll remember your Company name for a future purchases on any electronic equipment I buy. What a pile of garbage!!
Hi Gavin Gene. I am a HVAC guy and deal with boards all the time. I tore mine a part to see if there was a physical issue. This was not the case when aberrant behavior comes out of a device like this it becomes obvious. I actually found the issue intermittent. With it actually firing up correctly but not pairing. That was why I was hoping for a physical failure. This is a flat out dead board issue that won't be corrected by Go Pro due to being out of the warranty. It is also discontinued so unless you can get a working drone/board you have a paper weight. I am stuck with this dead duck and am simply going to sell off the parts to who ever needs them. It is a shame as it is actually a really neat system. The failure is the chip itself it is pink/red in color. and it has obviously been over heated in the center of the board. This can happen over time or all at once. I hope this helps you guys out. I knows its not good news but now you know what to look for.
@@bw.1159 yes. Boards like that only survive 5-8yrs. They are under a lot of stress. Go-pro figured they would have a new model out. I deal with this issues in HVAC equipment all the time. That's why I tore it apart looking for a wiring problem or some other failure. The chip showed solid signs of heating. And HVAC equipment will act in a similar way. Short cycling through a process which is what this does. I am 99% sure this is a hardware issue. That's why the dead silence from go-pro. If you really look at it I understand thier position. Why keep making a board that was never designed to go past a certain life limit? They pulled out as the problems outweighed solution. What could happen is someone could make a board aftermarket. I have seen that in the HVAC world. Since it's discontinued there will be no issues for someone to do that. I lack that kind of experience. Someone could make a good cent off of the aftermarket boards.
@@bw.1159 it was an expectation on thier behalf like all other electronic to have the new and improved version out. As these units age. If you look at the board there is very little if any gold in it. Mostly aluminum. Which with time and moisture exposure will fail. Most HVAC boards are made the same way. Thier excuse is so they can improve the board over time. Which actually they don't source 1 does the remakes and improvements which is a third party producer. Munchkin boilers is a solid example of board related nightmares. That board is flat out only available aftermarket now. It also will do similar problems. If they had a new karma drone out they would keep inventory of the boards for purchase for the hold outs. Should see how basic appliances like microwaves, fridges, etc If your appliances is 5yrs or older it's unlikely you can get parts for it.
like these guys mines been sitting in case, stored a low humidity house for about 8-9 months. i understand what you’re saying about use. flying it hard and in high humidity will generate a lot of thermal energy. thanks again!
Great video!!! I had not used my Karma for several months and when tried to use it I thought that I was doing something wrong. Now I find thousands have this problem and GoPro goes mute. I do hope this list of names will prompt GoPro to do something otherwise it is just junk.
I’ve never flown my drone despite owning it for 3-4 years. I finally went to fly it yesterday (November 20, 2021), only to be unable to because of this pairing issue. I am super pissed at GoPro for either selling a faulty product, or sabotaging it with their software updates. I hope there’s a class action lawsuit and media coverage of it. GoPro needs to be held accountable! I’ll never buy another one of their products.
En México aún siguen vendiendo las baterías originales en 120 dólares aproximadamente en la tienda departamental Liverpool, y que creen, el dron ya no quiere despegar, no siquiera se enlaza al control
I agree! I don't even WANT to sue but they won't fix or attempt to dig deeper for us. They see the same issue from 10s and Hundreds of owners and are just running the same play for anyone who complains about the issue. The same trouble shooting "tips" that everyone has reported back as NOT WORKING.
UPDATE: Weve got over 100 signatures registered. Ill be posting an update video soon. Ill send an email to all who registered with an update as well. Thanks everyone! Lets see if we can get GoPro to do something about this.
How many signatures do you have now? Really hope we can get this figured out, I have a $1,200 paper weight sitting in the closet that I've used about 10 times.
11/1/2020 - same exact thing happened to me. GoPro knows about this, and they do not want to spend any more $$ into a discontinued product. Hopefully somebody at GoPro will understand that they will lose more money in future lost customers. Come on GoPro, help your loyal customers! Besides the Karma, we own tons of other GoPro products.
Ok, this is very interesting. I’ve got a Karma drone (bought as refurb complete on eBay this past May) and haven’t had any issues so far, but have you ever gotten the drone to pair before when the camera and gimbal aren’t on? If not, it may use the cameras internal WiFi or Bluetooth for the initial handshake then switch to whatever 2.4ghz connection it normally uses... you could also try cleaning the USB C connector on the gimbal piece as it’s easy to get dirt in there when switching between the drone and grip outdoors
Had the same issue Gavin. And the worst part after the drone crashed due to link connection Go Pro told me they had stoped giving service for their Drone. They also wanted to give me a %25 disccount on a new camera. This is a shame and go pro must give answers to their customers or face legal actiones from them for not facing the fact that they did this on purposse.
I was flying a GoPro Karma with a Hero 5 Black. The stabilizer began to vivrate like crazy. I downloaded the Gopro app on my computer. This is only possible with Windows 10. That didn't work actually. I bought a second and 3rd stabilizer that came defective with the same problem. I ended buying a 4th stabilizer for $75 on eBay. Then the updates, pairing connection and GPS problems showed up. After a very frustrating Controller/ Drone pairing, I was able to fly without GPS. I'd put the drone back on groynd and was able to caliber the compass. Once the drone was up in the air again, the GPS signal was found. What is wring with this Drone? I have a 3DR Solo and a Autel Evo. The Karma is still my favorite ( when it works). What I should do next if this problem shows up again? I'm planning to fly to Colombia for my next holiday and I need a reliable drone.
I bought my drone in 2017 and a year after it stopped pairing i spent hours and hours of talking to the customer service and they were as unhelpful as it gets. My drone has been sitting in the closet for three years now. I just took it out and trying to look around see if i can fix it.
The most disappointing thing to me was (apart from not able to pair Karma to controller but luckily my drone is still in warranty and they sent a new one, even if they weren't able to get the reason...) when I bought a brand new Karma Drone via GoPro website in January 2020 I wasn't been able to use it because of the worldwide Gps glitch signal problem, GoPro didn't mention that problem on the website and even one step before confirming the purchase. So I spent £550 and was not been able to use it.
I fly my Karma a lot in the Idaho wilderness. I have connectivity issues with pairing at almost every location. It's annoying! I also have a very short range before the remote screen wigs out. I will say that when my Karma is working, I love it!
As of Jan 23, 2021 we've received no Word from GoPro. If anyone knows an attorney that would like to discuss proceeding, please email me at gglatting@gmail.com. We now have over 850 customers prepared to fight. A new update video will be posted next week!
I have the same issue, contacted GoPro support on multiple occasions - they only give meaningless advices. No luck flying my Karma this year as well I guess
I love my Karma but have same problem. I've bought a new harness based on people's recommendations and still won't pair. If we all kick up some fuss they might sort it out as they won't want Gopro' sales to drop.
The exact same thing happened to me. I had used the drone a few months earlier. I’ve never crashed my drone and it was working great the last time I used it. Pulled it out, walked into my back yard and the controller said it was updating. It showed the icons of the things it needed to update including the camera, the stabilizer grip, the controller and the drone. When it finished, the controller said it couldn’t see the drone.. that was it. If GoPro doesn’t support these devices, they shouldn’t be pushing out patches that break them. Now my $1500 drone is junk and GoPro is refusing to own up to the problem they caused.
I had my drone for a few years, the first two years worked great. I have had it sit for over 1 year. I decided to take it out and use it again and I have this same problem. I paid over $1000 for the bundle back when it came out. This is so frustrating.
I too experiencing this problem. After several times of turning on and off the drone I was able to pair the drone to the controller when I turned on the drone and the stabilizer and camera turned on at the same time. When it paired up, it did have another problem saying that it cannot detect the stabilizer, and shut the drone down. I updated the stabilizer using the grip but upto this moment I power up the drone, its not powering the stabilizer and camera anymore. I'll give you guys update once I'll be able to power on the drone and stabilizer & camera again.
Hey buddy Ramen here and I noticed my drone started this last year me and my wife been doing thinking I don’t know if it has anything to do with maybe the camera you can replace every time a hero whatever comes out hero 6789 and so maybe they made such a good product that they are now just realizing he we’re not making any money like this we could be selling a whole new drone instead all they have to do is replace the camera so now instead of making $1500 there making $500.. what do you think?
Last used my Karma in January, 2021. Traveled far out to use it today (September, 2022) and the drone wouldn't connect... in hindsight, I should have checked it before wasting a trip, but I never had a problem with it before. Came back home, just couldn't get it to pair, even after a reset, all the same issues in this video. What's everyone doing? Are we trying to have them fix it, or do I switch to one of them newer drones?
@@1percentG Indeed; for sure software update killed the connectivity. We need an open source code so we can figure out the problem ourselves if they have decided to kill the project entirely.
After submitting the required documentation - GoPro Supports reply is :"I just want you to know that based on the information provided and the results of the troubleshooting steps, it looks like there could be a fault with the Karma Core already. Unfortunately, we can no longer replace your drone as it was already out of its warranty. I hope you understand. Have a good one. Cheers! " A fault already - what does that imply No repair option - Am I just supposed to throw this away now? And then they send me a customer satisfaction survey.
I had bought one from amazon and it had the pairing issue. The second drone I got as amazon replaced it worked. Every time I turn it on it asks for an update but I am too scared to run the update and I just fly it as is. Thanks
I lost my gps or my connection on my karma drone today while it was like 180 ft up in the air . It took off at a high rate of speed thru my neighborhood and luckily I found it a hour later in a vacant field thanks to the distance monitor after it reconnected Broke a arm on the drone and all the blades but I was lucky to have found it. I’ve only have had it for 5 days. First time it has done this and I have only used it a few times. I tried to return it to the launch location. But it wouldn’t allow that option. Only option it gave me was to land it in a safe location. Well it didn’t land so safe in the filed must of overturned when it hit the irregular ground
After spending hours with customer support I got them to agree to take mine back and replace our fix it. That was last week. Need to contact them and follow up.
G'Day Gavin, I have two Karma Drones. Because of the lockdowns for the last few years I have not flown either of these. A few days ago I discovered neither will pair up to either controller. Also the Controllers doesnt want to stay connected with the WiFi. I have news for GOPro. In Australia we have what is called the Consumer Law Protection. They are in breach of this law. As soon as the hollidays are finished I will be launching legal action. Total flight time for the first drone is les than 1 Hour. Its not Good enough! Bastards.
Hi, have been looking around and its clear the GoPro support infrastructure will not help us out. They know what the pairing problem is but will not make their diagnostics public. We need to go straight to Nick Woodman. Obvious recourse is his public social media channels but who can advise us how to do this?
Just watched your video! I am experiencing the same issue. Wonder if the government came in gangbusters on GoPro and the fcc with the frequencies that they were using on the drones?? I also signed the form!
Havent thought of that one yet! I hear others commenting saying gopro did actually replace their drone core...very few, but if they are replacing some then the FCC interference may not be the case. Im not sure, but thsts what this is about - demanding a response
I was able to use mine on Dec 11, 2021. I just tried to use it and karma won't initialize the stabilizer and won't connect with controller. I tried resetting the controller and updating the controller firmware. I tried unpairing and repairing. Nothing works. The drone also won't turn off without removing the battery.
Hello friend Gavin I have tried your formula to match it and my drone does not turn off after 3 minutes, nor at 4, 5, 30, it does not turn off. Any solution friend? Has anyone had the same problem and know why or how to fix it? Best regards and I hope we can help each other, I haven't been able to fly my drone for a year.
Same thing with mine. Moved and had it sitting in its case for a while. Can’t do anything beyond updating the controller. Controller won’t pair to drone.
Thank you for your help!!! I got exact same problem!! Its stop working last month, just stop working. In June I was so happy it start fly sins GPRS signal was sorted and I manage upgrade it all, but now its again stop works!😭I believe gopro spread virus to our drones and they all stop working. I got friend working on BBC maybe we can do documentary film about GoPro/Karma and upset customers!😤 Please, put me on your list!
I can pair my drone and my controller but the connection with the camera is not working... I mean, just after pairing is done my drone start making a red light on the alimentation button. When I try to swipe up on the menu it says camera is not connected. What does that mean?
I experiencing the same problem. It worked as expected on tuesday afternoon this week but I did a camera update on tuesday evening and suddenly it stopped working. I'll try to downgrade my camera to the previous version and see if it will work or not.
Yeah that solved the issue. You can use this video: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-2GXEddr-X78.html to downgrade your camera to version 1.6. Afterwards the drone will work again. Strange behaviour and GoPro has to do something because I don't really want to stay at verson 1.6 forever. But finally I can use my drone again.
@@Nussingo hmm weird. Iv never had problema with updating drone. I did update the drone/controller separately without gimbal. And updated the gimbal and camera separate from drone.
So, Gavin, Mine's dead too. Do we know if anyone still has a working Karma? I would not be surprised at all if it emerged that GoPro had deliberately pushed an update to kill off the product once and for all. The short term pain this would cause them would be much less than the long drawn out cost of providing support and parts for this product for years to come.
Thats a fastinating idea. I dont know but am willing to explore it. Im no lawyer but a mass remote destruction of a product line must be grounds for some sort of illegal behavior. Im willing, for now, to believe they will come through and explain whats happening in a way that justifies this amount of frustration
@@1percentG That thought has come through my head also, when I see that there have been many that had a working Karma several months ago, but just stopped working without reason. Electronics do not just "Go Bad" with inactivity.
Mine is sporadic.. it will work 70% of the time. But the times I really need it work. It fails to connect. So it’s unreliable enough, if I would have known there were going to be these connectivity issues I would have just bought a mavic 2 pro for nearly the same price point. Go pro did send me a new 17 dollar gimbal mount that helped with camera connectivity issues for about 3 flights.
I’ve experienced the same exact issue. Worked fine before and then I went a few months without using it, took it on a trip and was unable to pair it with the controller.
Did you have the battery on the karma drone and the camera with it connected to gimbal and into the drone? You might have fried the motherboard. Its common on these drones. So never leave the drone with the battery and camera for more than 2 weeks. You must turn the drone on from time to time within weeks even just couple minutes even in the house and not flying.
It wouldn't surprise me that they added something in to an update to break these things at a random date/time. look what happened with the GoPro session, people would get random overheating issues and the image would freeze. they didn't car about that and just discontinued them
I just got mine out after months and i noticed mine did the same thing yours did out in middle of no where. It started up loaded an "update" and then i tried to connect and it wouldnt . Then i noticed my controller had another actual update on the update screen so i did it. After that still no connection. I did all the things the Gopro site said removed the device and then tried to repair it and now it wont see it and i have a limp gimble too. (no pun intended)
Yup mine is doing the same thing. I contacted GoPro and was at first basically told to get bent. I contacted again and they “escalated” it but I never heard anything again.
My current plan is to source 500 signatures and then contact gopro directly and tell them what weve got. If they do nothing, well try a different method. Ill post an update video this week
same issue here, i haven't used my karmo drone since my charger had gone broke and not charging the drone for a year, after i bought a new charger then start powering my drone and cotroller, theres a update version on the software which stated on the controller, then after the update the controller is not pairing on the drone anymore..i hope they fix this problem, so many complaints about this issue yet there's no answer from GoPro, by the way im from Philippines.
Julius Arnette. I have the same issue. I paid to have someone update the Controller and Camera (to 2.50.1 and the Camera latest version), and have the exact experience.
Tenia 6 meses sin usar mi dron, hace una semana lo quise usar y tiene ese mismo problema. Las baterias las siguen vendiendo en una tienda departamental llamada liverpool en aproximadamente 120 dlls, asi qué, no deberia estar fallando.
Hi ihave problem to connect hero 7 to karma sometimes it says to get the update and sometimes it worikng fine as well then i put the gable into drone it just not working only when i press for couple of seconds checked the gopro hero 7 version number i got 01.90 it the newest on karma is 2.50.1 dose anybody knows how to fix it many Thanks for any suggestion 🧡