The new year appears to be off to a bumpy start for some owners of GoPro Karma drones amid user reports that they’re unable to fly their devices due to an issue with compass calibration.
GoPro users have turned to Twitter and a community forum to report issues with the device’s GPS and compass functionality, the Verge first reported. Dozens of users in a thread on GoPro’s forum reported that they weren’t able to fly the drones as a result of the issue that began after the start of the new year.
In response to a user thread on Twitter about the ongoing issue, GoPro responded by saying that it was “aware of the issue” and that it was “working towards a resolution.” In a separate response to yet another user on Sunday, the company tweeted that it would “definitely post an update once we hear back from our product team. Thank you for your patience and understanding.” But no such follow-up has since been shared, and the company did not return multiple requests for comment on Monday.
Day 2 of the #GoPro Karma not working. The thread on their website is blowing up, seems like the drone itself is at a standstill for everyone. I chatted with customer service yesterday, and once I sent them a video of the issue I never heard back from them. @GoPro please fix!
— Views on Viewz (@views_on_viewz) January 4, 2020
A spokesperson told the Verge that GoPro’s engineering team was “actively troubleshooting the issue” but reportedly declined to comment on the issue further. The issue may be related to GLONASS satellite systems and a clock “rollover” that could interfere with the device’s functionality, though the company has not publicly identified the source of the issue. GLONASS, or Global Navigation Satellite System, is a satellite navigation system that is used in addition to GPS by the device. A rollover can interfere with a device’s navigation data and affect the device.
As GoPro appears to be working on the issue, it’s likely the company will issue a patch relatively soon. We’ll update this post with more information when we hear back.