DJI Spark Battery Not Charging [SOLVED]

The DJI Spark is a great little drone that has been around for a long time now. I can still see people flying it around.

Lately, people have been experiencing issues with the DJI Spark battery not charging. There are several reasons for that, and we will troubleshoot the issue in this article.

The most common reason for the DJI Spark battery not charging is that it was stored for a long time without intermittent charging, and now it is completely depleted. Other reasons might be hibernation mode, faulty chargers, and damaged pins.

Let’s look at the possible causes of the unresponsive DJI spark battery and see how we can fix it.

DJI Spark battery not charging – Reasons

Below are 8 reasons your DJI Spark battery is not charging and is unresponsive. I have arranged the list from most likely to least likely so that you can start with the most common fix first.

1. Battery is fully depleted

Most of the users I have talked to about this issue during my research for this article have stored their batteries for a prolonged time without intermittent charging & maintenance.

LiPo batteries are very sensitive to low and high charges. They will degrade permanently if you store them for a long time in either state. That’s just the physics of it.

The DJI smart batteries (like the ones in your Spark) have internal smart circuitry to protect the cells from high and low charge status. But that feature, too, has limitations.

If you store your battery with a 100% charge level, the smart feature in your battery will automatically discharge it to a safe 65% charge level meant for long storage.

However, most people keep their spare batteries on the shelf and forget about them for years.

During such a prolonged time, the battery will discharge to a critical level, and its cell chemistry is destroyed.

When that happens, it’s almost impossible to revive your battery.

If you are picking up such a battery that has been on the shelf for more than a year, chances are it will not wake up.

Symptoms

1. When you push the battery power button, nothing will happen. You won’t see any LED flashing or any kind of life. That’s because no charge is left even to light up the LEDs.
2. When you plug in the charger, LEDs 1 and 2 will flash a few times, turn off, and then repeat the same. That’s the charging circuit trying to give your dead battery cells CPR albeit unsuccessfully.

Solution

I talked to the DJI support team, and they just told me that my batteries are dead due to incorrect storing for a prolonged time and that I should buy new batteries.

I also searched the forums to see if anyone has any unofficial “hack” that can be used to revive dead batteries. I did find a few ways people have been able to revive such batteries.

Although these methods worked for some and not for others, you can still try and see if you can revive your batteries.

1. Use a high ampere charger to revive the dead battery. You can go up to the 3A 5V charger and see if that can power it up.
2. Connect the battery to your laptop and leave it for charging. This might sound weird, but a few users were able to revive their batteries this way.
3. Leave your battery for charging overnight even if it doesn’t show any signs of charging. If the battery is not completely dead, but in hibernation mode, it will spring back to life.

If none of the above method work, you can assume that your battery is dead beyond repair.

But if you are a DIY person, you can carefully take the battery apart and check the 3 cells inside.

One user who did this found out that 1 out of 3 cells was swollen, and the rest of the 2 cells were fine. He just disconnected the swollen cell terminals, and the battery started charging.

2. Battery in hibernation mode

Hibernation mode is a protective feature inside DJI Intelligent Flight Battery that puts the battery in ‘sleep’ when it is not used for some time.

To prevent over-discharge, the battery circuit will not draw any current in hibernation mode.

Especially during shipment, all DJI batteries are put in hibernation mode. This helps prevent over-discharge during long shipments.

When a battery is in hibernation mode, you won’t see any LED flashing when you press the power button. It might seem pretty much dead to you.

But it isn’t. It’s just sleeping.

Solution

To get the battery out of hibernation mode, you have to connect it with the charger and leave it for a good 6-8 hours to wake up.

You might not even see any charging activity on the battery during this time. But do not remove it and let it be for at least 8 hours.

Once out of hibernation mode, it will wake up and behave normally.

3. Outdated battery firmware

Another reason for an unresponsive battery is outdated firmware. If your battery has some power left but is not charging, this might be the reason.

The solution is pretty simple. Put your battery inside the drone, connect your drone with your phone and see if it has a firmware update available. If it prompts you for the update, update it.

But of course, if the battery is completely dead, you can’t use this method.

4. Charger is not providing enough current

Using the DJI official charger for DJI Spark and other drones are always recommended. But if you use a third-party charger to try waking up your battery, this could be the problem.

It is possible that the charger you are using is either damaged or not rated for the high current high voltage required for DJI Spark.

If you have the official DJI Spark charger, use that else, try using a compatible charger that can provide a 3A current at 5V to your drone.

5. USB cable is damaged

If the charger is compatible, you should check your USB cable next. If you are using a cheap USB cable, that can also hamper your DJI Spark charging.

Since USB cables are common in any household, you can try a few cables and check if they work. Else, just order a new one from Amazon and try with that.

Since the Spark uses micro USB, which has been replaced largely by USB-C connectors, some people tend to use a USB-C to micro USB converter, which can also cause problems.

DJI Spark will draw a larger current (5A), so make sure the USB cable you are using is high quality and avoid connectors if possible as they tend to heat up and damage your drone.

6. Physical damage to drone or battery

If you have crashed your drone and have physically damaged the drone or the battery, that can also be why your DJI Spark battery is not charging.

Inspect your drone carefully and try to assess the extent of the damage. If you see clear signs of deformation on the battery pack, I would assume disposing it of safely as it is not safe to use anymore.

Even if you don’t see clear signs of damage on the body of the drone or the battery, there might be damage to the internal circuitry.

If your drone is under warranty, you can contact DJI else seek out a local repair shop that can have a look at your drone.

7. Temperature too high or too low

Charging a battery that is too hot or too cold is a bad idea. The cell chemistry is unpredictable at extreme temperatures and can lead to permanent damage.

To avoid this, there are temperature sensors built into your battery pack.

Your DJI Spark battery will only charge when the cell temperature is above 5°C (41°F) and below 40°C (104°F).

If you try to charge outside of this range, your battery will refuse to charge.

If you check the DJI Spark LED status table, you will see that the last LED blinking indicates an extreme temperature range.

If it blinks twice per second, your battery is too cold. If it blinks 3 times per second, your battery is too hot.

Some people try to charge their battery right after a flying session when the battery is all heated up. That’s a bad practice and should be avoided.

Always charge your battery when it is rested for a good few hours after flying.

8. Dirty charging port

Last but not least, check your charging port terminals if your battery is not responding to the charger. Sometimes, it’s just dirt that prevents good surface contact between the terminals.

You can use a connector cleaner like DeoxIT Gold to clean the connector surfaces and try charging again.

DJI Spark battery not charging – Final thoughts

If you try all the above solutions but still can’t revive your dead battery, it’s perhaps time to order a new one from DJI or from their Amazon store.

DJI Official

DJI Original Spark Drone Intelligent Flight Battery

• 16 min flight time.*
• 12 intelligent protection functions.
• Check flight time left in real-time.

Buy on Amazon

Batteries are critical components and need great care. It is always best to follow the manufacturer’s recommendation, especially when it comes to storing your batteries properly.

Taking great care of your Spark batteries will ensure maximum life time and provide your spark its maximum flight range.

I hope this guide was helpful. If any of the above methods helped you revive your battery, do mention it in the comments and let other people know as well.