Let us learn. Let us diagnose. Let Us Drone. A loud beeping coming from your Phantom 4 Pro remote controller is one way to ruin the peace and quiet of the lake you hiked out to fly at. DJI remote controllers beep for a variety of reasons; some routine (low battery warning), and some not so routine that may require special attention.

DJI has designed their aircraft and controllers to communicate with their operators by way of lights and sounds. For this article, we will focus on the remote controller error beeping (D-D-D beeping).

Remote controller error (D-D-D) beeping is usually caused by a drop of the RC, a stick not at its midpoint or a software problem. The solution (depending on the problem) will be to calibrate the RC, upgrade or rollback the firmware, or disconnect/reconnect the RC from the AC.

If you have a Phantom 4 or Phantom 4 Advanced, the remote controller error causes and solutions discussed below will apply to you as well.

Difference between “chime” and “D” noises with DJI RC's

Before getting into the specifics of what may be causing your Phantom 4 Pro RC to beep, let's get the lingo down so we're all on the same page. DJI commonly uses the word “chime” and letter “D” when referring to sounds that remote controllers make.

Chime- this is the sound that the RC makes every time you turn it on or off. It is the three consecutive beeps that either rise or fall in pitch (depending on if you're turning on or off the RC).

D- DJI has designated the letter “D” as the beeping sound emitted from the RC. One “D” is equivalent to one beep.

The frequency and succession of “D's” (beeps) vary depending on what the RC is trying to tell you.

Look at the two samples below:

DD .. .. .. (beep beep beep beep beep beep) is telling you that a Return-to-Home procedure is in progress.
D-D-D…… (beep beep beep beep beep) is telling you that there is a remote controller error.

You will also hear an alarm when the battery is low and again when the battery is critically low.

Reasons for Phantom 4 Pro remote controller error

The problem: Remote controller drop

This is one of the more common reasons for the P4 Pro remote controller to start doing the D-D-D beeping. Let's face it, we can all be clumsy now and then and even just a drop from a low height may jar the RC enough to throw an error code.

There have been reports of peoples RC's emitting the remote controller error beeping right out of the box, and this is likely due to rough handling in transit.

The fix: calibrate the RC

I'll show you how to calibrate the RC below, but this will usually always resolve the remote controller error after the remote has been dropped. If you drop the RC hard enough or it lands just right there is always a possibility that irreversible damage was sustained.

The problem: Firmware

It seems like there is always a firmware update of some kind to perform either with the aircraft, remote controller or GO 4 app.

The idea of a firmware update is to improve your overall experience with the product, but this doesn't alway happen. There are occasional bugs that cause problems, like a remote controller error code.

The fix: Upgrade or rollback

If you are getting the D-D-D, check to see if there is a firmware update available. Check below to see how to update your firmware.

On the other hand, try rolling back your firmware if you recently updated it and you're now getting the D-D-D.

The problem: Stick alignment

If either the right or left stick is out of alignment or not at the midpoint, you will likely get the remote controller error D-D-D. An indication that this is what is causing the error is if the beeping stops when you bump the right or left stick and the beeping stops.

The fix: calibrate the RC

A simple calibration of the remote controller should realign the sicks and the remote controller will stop emitting that awful beeping.

The problem: button stuck

Tactile buttons are nice because of the feedback they provide when pressed. The downside to tactile buttons is that they are prone to wear with age and use. A button getting stuck is not all that uncommon, especially if your RC has a decent amount of dirt or something sticky on it.

A stuck button can throw a remote controller error and that incessant beeping will drive you crazy as you try to figure out what the cause is.

The fix: unstick the button

See if you can carefully unstick the button without jamming anything sharp around the adjacent areas. It would also be a fairly good idea to clean your remote controller while you're at it ;).

How to calibrate the Phantom 4 Pro remote controller

To calibrate the Phantom 4 Pro remote controller you will only need to turn the RC on and connect it to your phone or tablet. If you have the aircraft on you will receive a message saying “remote controller cannot be calibrated when connected to the aircraft”.

With the RC on, tap on the settings icon in the top righthand corner of the DJI GO 4 app.

Tap on the remote controller settings, then “remote controller calibration”.

This will bring up a diagram of the two sticks and the dial wheel. Everything should say 0% on a calibrated RC. Of course, you may still need to calibrate the RC if everything says 0% depending on what's causing the remote controller error, but any number greater than 0% would also warrant an RC calibration.

Go ahead and tap on calibrate. You will be prompted to “move sticks to center position and press start”. A pop-up box will appear with instructions. Tap “ok” to begin the calibration. You will be prompted to “move sticks up to the max limit in all directions repeatedly”.

The actual calibration of the RC is pretty easy as all you need to is move the dial wheel and sticks in every direction to their end points.

The “finish” will become bright when you have sufficiently moved the wheel and sticks in every direction. Tap on the finish button and you will hear three consecutive beeps to indicate that the calibration is complete.

Go ahead and power off and on the RC after the calibration is complete. If that didn't eradicate the D-D-D beeping then read on!

Related post: The Fix For Phantom 4 Pro Gimbal Motor Overload – If your Phantom 4 or Phantom 4 Pro gimbal is twitching, whirring, buzzing, cockeyed, growling, vibrating, bouncing, or limp, this post is for you! Those symptoms will likely be accompanied by a gimbal motor overload error.

How to update firmware on the Phantom 4 Pro RC

If the calibration of the remote controller didn't do the trick, let's go ahead and see if a firmware update is available.

To check to see if a firmware update is available on your Phantom 4 Pro remote controller, go ahead and power up your RC and AC. With the RC connected to your mobile device or tablet, open up the DJI GO 4 app and tap on the aircraft status bar at the top of the screen.

To the right of “overall status” you will see “RC requires update” if there is a firmware update available.

Go ahead and follow the prompts to complete the firmware if an update is available. If the remote controller is still beeping, jump to “how to reset the Phantom 4 Pro RC” in the section below.

Refresh or downgrade the firmware on the Phantom 4 Pro RC

How to refresh the firmware

If you were already on the latest firmware version, I would try refreshing, then downgrading your firmware to a previous version to see if that stops the beeping.

To downgrade the firmware on your Phantom 4 Pro, connect your phone or tablet to the RC and power it on. It's important to not have the AC on when downgrading the RC firmware version.

Open up the DJI GO 4 app, tap and hold on the three horizontal lines in the upper righthand corner on the main menu for five seconds.

Release after five seconds and the current firmware version will be displayed.

Tap on “firmware refresh” and the RC will automatically begin installing the firmware. You will hear a D-D-D-D sound during the install process. It can take up to 15 minutes for this to compete, but it generally takes less than 5 minutes for me.

You will hear one long beep when the firmware refresh is complete. Restart the RC and see if that takes away the beeping.

How to downgrade the firmware

If the firmware refresh didn't work, you can try downgrading the firmware to a previous version.

Tap once again on the three lines to bring up the current firmware version. Tap on the current firmware number and a box will be displayed with available versions you can choose from.

You may notice in the image above that there are no other versions available for me at this time. If there are for you, scroll to a previous one, select it, and tap on firmware refresh.

Try disconnecting and reconnecting the RC to stop the beeping

If the remote controller error beeping persists, try unlinking and relinking the RC from the AC. This is a simple process within the DJI GO 4 app.

The first thing you need to do is power up the drone and remote controller. Since the RC will automatically be connected to the AC, we need to disconnect them.

To do this, press and hold the small button by the SD card slot on the side of the drone. Use a pen or another object with a fine point to press the button. After about two seconds of pressing the button, the light will begin flashing yellow, which indicates that the RC has been successfully disconnected from the AC.

To reconnect the RC with the AC, go to the remote controller settings in the DJI Go 4 app. Tap on “Linking Remote Controller” towards the bottom. The drone will automatically connect with the RC if it had been previously connected. If it doesn't automatically connect, press and hold the button for two seconds again and the drone will connect with the RC.

Here is a YouTube video made by DJI that walks you through this process.

Check warranty status

Every DJI drone, RC, and gimbal comes with a factory limited warranty. Check here to find out how to see if your RC is under warranty.

If you are still under warranty, it's important to mention that taking apart your controller will void the warranty.

If you wondering if Care Refresh covers your Phantom 4 Pro RC, it unfortunately does not.

Trevor's Take

I hope that this guide helped you resolve the remote controller error beeping you may be experiencing. If you resolved it with a different method not listed above or it was caused by something I didn't mention, leave a comment below with the details!