DJI Phantom 1 Motor Upgrade [ A Step by Step Guide]

Using the same old drone can be really boring. But getting a new drone can break your bank these days. It’s way better if you just upgrade the motors and get a performance boost. 

So, is it possible to do a dji phantom 1 motor upgrade?

Yes, you can upgrade the motors on your DJI Phantom 1. To do so, unplug the battery and take the propellers off. Remove the screws on the bottom of the drone. Unplug the magnetometer and the GPS. Remove the old motors and attach the new motors back in. This should upgrade the DJI Phantom 1 motor. 

Now, it might sound really simple but you need multiple tools to do the job. So, for your help, we have created this full guide. That way it’ll be easier for you to understand the process. 

How to Upgrade the Motors on DJI Phantom 1?

The DJI Phantom 1 has come a long way. It has been a while since this drone was first released. And since then drone mechanics has improved a lot. But the DJI phantom has stayed the same.

Although, there are ways you can use to improve the performance of this drone. There are many attachments you can plug on and enhance the ability. But to get the best performance you need to work on the inside. 

Changing the motor is a significant upgrade for the DJI Phantom 1. Since these drones were released long ago, the motors are ancient. But there are new motors in the market which you can swap with the old ones. 

You can also use dji phantom 1 upgrade kit. 

To do dji phantom 1 upgrades. It has all the things you’ll be needing. 

So, before we get down to the steps, let’s talk about what are the things you’ll be needing. You need a 12mm wrench and a 2mm hex screw to open the drone. A Phillips head screwdriver. A soldering machine. And obviously the new motors. 

So, let’s get started with the process. 

Step 1: Unplug the Battery And the Propellers

Before you get into your work you need to make sure the battery is off. That way there will be no power running on the motors and the circuit board.

It is a good time to upgrade the lithium polymer battery of your drone as well. Now you may be wondering what type of battery is the dji phantom 1 battery?

Any P4 batteries are used for dji phantom 1. These batteries usually last around 2 years. 

From my experience, I’ve found the Synergy Digital Quadcopter Drone Battery to work exceptionally well. 

Afterwards, you need to take the propellers off. To do so, you’ll be needing the 12mm wrench. 

You will see there are black and silver collets. Turn the wrench counter-clockwise on the silver once. And turn the wrench clockwise on the black once. 

This way you can remove the screws and the propellers from the drone. 

Step 2: Remove the Screws

Now that the propellers are removed, you must take the drone apart. To do so, you’ll be removing in total 16 screws. And 4 of them are Phillips #0 screws. And the rest of the screws need to be removed by the 2.0 mm hex screwdriver. 

Also, don’t worry if the screw holes are stripped. There are ways to fix stripped screw holes in the plastic. 

Now, not all hex screwdrivers are ideal for RCs. For your convenience, I’ve listed some hex screwdriver kits below:

Both of these kits have all the sizes of hex screwdrivers and wrenches. 

Now, all of the screws are located at the bottom of the drone. Hence flip the drone so that the bottom side rests on the top. 

All of the hex screws are located in the middle. And the 4 Phillips head screws are located on the edge of each 4 wings. 

Step 3: Unplug the Magnetometer

Keep the drone flipped and on the feet of the drone, you can see the magnetometer. The magnetometers are connected to the main board with really thin cables. Also, the cables are really fragile, so you need to be careful around them.

Re disconnect the cable and gently hold on to the connected area. The connecting cable is a Molex connection. So you can just gently pull on them in order to unplug it. 

Step 4: Remove the Old Motor

Now you need to flip the drone back again. So that the drone will stand on its feet. 

Then pull on the top shell to remove it. But be careful cause there are connections on the top shell which are still connected. 

So gently lay the top on the side of the drone. Leave the connections on. 

Afterwards, remove the GPS connection which is attached to the top shell of the mainboard. And pull on the magnetometer from the inside to remove them. 

You can just leave them on loose. You can use tools from the dji phantom 2 upgrade kit to do the job. 

Now, you can see there are 3 connections of the motor which is soldered. Use the soldering machine to unplug the three black, red, and yellow wires. 

Then flip the drone back again. You’ll see that each motor is mounted with four 2mm hex screws. Use the 2mm hex screwdriver to remove the screws. After that, you can just pull on the motors to remove them. 

Step 5: Attach the New Motor And Everything Back

Now that the old motors are removed, you can place the new motor in. Next what you’re going to do now is follow all the steps backwards and put the drone back. 

So solder the new motor wires back in place. Connect the GPS cable back. Attach the magnetometer cable. 

Then put all the screws back on. Attach the propellers with the 12mm wrench and connect the battery back.  Don’t worry if the shell of the drone cracks. You can fix it with epoxy glue or gorilla glue. 

This way you can upgrade your DJI Phantom 1 motors. The process is similar to dji phantom 3 motor upgrade. 

For a more in-depth guide, you can check out this video from DJI explaining the upgrade kit setup-

That’s all on this topic!

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

How to Upgrade the Battery on the Phantom 1?

To upgrade the battery you need better batteries than the existing one. Ensure that the battery fits in the battery cabinet. Also, the lighter the battery the better the drone will fly. Now ditch the old batteries and attach the new one with the existing cable. 

How to Attach a GoPro on the Phantom 1?

To attach GoPro to your phantom 1, you’ll be needing a lightweight mount. Screw the mount in on the bottom of the drone. The mounting screw hole is located in between the feet of the drone. Afterwards, attach the GoPro to the mount. 

Can I Use Propeller Guards on the Phantom 1?

You can use propeller guards on phantom 1. The propeller guard can protect the propellers if your drone ever gets hit by something. To attach the guards, remove the bolts on the propeller and attach the guards to them.