DJI posted new firmware for the Matrice 4E and Matrice 4T on November 5, and one owner says the update grounded the drone as soon as it finished installing. Reddit user HexgenTV reports that aircraft firmware v19.01.00.07 showed a warning to replace the third-party battery with a DJI one, and that the drone would not take off.

The same pilot then rolled the aircraft back to v17.00.00.01, the March build it had been flying on, and says the same battery worked again with no warning. DJI’s release notes for the update never mention batteries. They list two changes, and one of them is a set of unnamed features added to meet regulatory requirements in some regions.

DJI’s Release Notes List A Regulatory Change And No Battery Rule

DJI’s release notes dated November 5 pair aircraft firmware v19.01.00.07 with RC Plus 2 Enterprise firmware v19.01.00.08 and DJI Pilot 2 v19.1.0.45. The What’s New section has two lines: features added to meet regulatory requirements in some regions, and fixes for known issues.

DJI doesn’t say which regions or which requirements, and the wording is not new. The June 10, 2025 entry in the same document, for v14.01.00.10, says DJI added features to meet local regulatory requirements. So the line alone doesn’t tie this update to batteries. The document does show how large a step this release is. The previous one, on July 10, carried aircraft firmware v17.02.05.01, so the numbering jumped past 18 altogether, and the update also moves the DJI O4 Ground Station to v19.01.00.58. Both aircraft files are on DJI’s Matrice 4 Series download page, which still offers the v17.00.00.01 offline firmware as well.

American operators can still install updates like this one. The FCC extended its firmware waiver for previously authorized foreign drones to at least January 1, 2029.

One Rollback Test Clears The March Firmware And Skips Two Builds

HexgenTV posted the report in the r/dji subreddit this week. The rollback clears the March 31 build, v17.00.00.01, and nothing after it. The pilot went straight from that build to v19.01.00.07, so DJI’s May release, v17.01.05.16, and its June release, v17.02.05.01, were never installed on that drone.

The post doesn’t name the battery’s maker, the exact wording of the warning, or the country the drone flies in, and the country matters if the change is tied to a regional rule. As of Thursday afternoon, none of the replies we could read had confirmed the lockout. Most replies argued about whether anyone should fly a Matrice 4 on a non-DJI battery at all. One user asked whether the firmware had killed the pack, and HexgenTV answered: “Just wouldn’t fly, rolling back firmware resolved and battery is good.”

This is one pilot’s account, and DroneXL has not reproduced it. DroneXL has asked DJI whether the update adds a battery check and will update this article with its answer. If you fly a Matrice 4E or 4T on third-party batteries and have installed v19.01.00.07, tell us in the comments below what happened, with the battery brand, your country and the message DJI Pilot 2 showed. If you only run DJI batteries, we’d like to hear whether the update changed anything else.

DroneXL’s Take

I wouldn’t put a third-party battery in a Matrice 4, and most of that Reddit thread agrees with me. It is still the owner’s decision, and a firmware update that takes the decision away should say so in the release notes. If HexgenTV’s account holds up, DJI changed what a paid-for aircraft will accept and filed it under regulatory features for regions it didn’t name. DJI has enforced accessory rules in firmware before. In a January hands-on with the Mini 5 Pro prop guards, Shawn from Air Photography found the drone stopped at 1,640 feet (500 meters) with the guards fitted, whatever the sliders said. On a Mini that is an annoyance, but a police or search and rescue team that finds out at a callout that its spare packs no longer work has a real problem. If your fleet carries any non-DJI batteries, update one aircraft and test it on the ground before you update the rest.

Sources: DJI Matrice 4 Series Release Notes, DJI Matrice 4 Series downloads, u/HexgenTV on Reddit

DroneXL uses automated tools to support research and source retrieval. All reporting and editorial perspectives are by Haye Kesteloo. Read our editorial standards.