Actuators / Motors (PX4)

The Actuators page provides a unified interface for configuring motor and servo outputs on PX4 vehicles (PX4 v1.13+).

Geometry / Mixer

The top section displays the vehicle's actuator geometry, dynamically generated from the mixer configuration. For multirotor vehicles, an SVG diagram shows motor positions — you can click individual motors to select them. Each actuator channel has configurable parameters such as position offsets and tilt angles.

Actuator Outputs

The right panel shows all output channels with:

• Function — assign each output to a motor, servo, or other function
• Min / Max — PWM or DShot output range limits
• Failsafe — output value when failsafe is triggered
• Disarmed — output value when the vehicle is disarmed

Actuator Testing

WARNING

Remove all propellers before testing actuators.

With the safety switch toggled, individual actuator sliders appear for testing each channel. An optional All Motors slider allows spinning all motors simultaneously at low throttle for verification.

Actuator Actions

Dynamic action buttons (e.g., beep, identify, 3D mode) are shown based on the vehicle's actuator configuration. The motor identification feature spins motors one at a time to verify correct wiring and rotation direction.

Troubleshooting a Missing Actuators Page

The Actuators page is shown when QGroundControl receives and initializes the vehicle's COMP_METADATA_TYPE_ACTUATORS component metadata. The firmware version alone does not determine whether the page is available. If the metadata is unavailable, cannot be initialized, or its top-level show-ui-if condition evaluates to false, QGroundControl uses the legacy Motors page instead.

Capture Diagnostic Logs

1. Open Application Settings > App Log Viewer.
2. Click Categories and enable these categories:
   • Vehicle.Actuators.PX4AutoPilotPlugin
   • Vehicle.Actuators.Common
   • ComponentInformation.RequestMetaDataTypeStateMachine
   • Vehicle.FTPManager
3. Connect the vehicle. If it is already connected, disconnect and reconnect it so that QGroundControl requests the component metadata again.
4. Open Vehicle Setup and check whether Actuators or Motors is available.
5. Return to App Log Viewer and click Save. Keep the saved app log unchanged when attaching it to a support request.

The metadata URI can use MAVLink FTP (mavlinkftp://) or HTTP. QGroundControl tries the primary URI first and then the fallback URI advertised by the vehicle.

Read the Diagnostic Messages

Log category	Message or pattern	Meaning
Vehicle.Actuators.PX4AutoPilotPlugin	Vehicle did not provide actuators metadata via component information	No actuator metadata was received from the vehicle.
Vehicle.Actuators.PX4AutoPilotPlugin	Actuators initialization failed	Metadata was received but could not be parsed or initialized.
Vehicle.Actuators.PX4AutoPilotPlugin	Condition 'show-ui-if' evaluated to false	The vehicle's metadata indicated the page should not be shown. This can be intentional for your configuration, or a firmware/metadata mismatch. Attach the saved log to a support request.
ComponentInformation.RequestMetaDataTypeStateMachine	primary failed, requesting metadata (fallback) from ...	The primary metadata URI failed and QGroundControl is trying the fallback URI.
ComponentInformation.RequestMetaDataTypeStateMachine	FTP download failed or HTTP download failed	The selected transport could not download the metadata. An HTTP status such as 404 identifies a missing or incorrect URL.
ComponentInformation.RequestMetaDataTypeStateMachine	failed to load metadata (primary and fallback)	Both metadata URIs failed, so the Actuators page cannot be initialized.
Vehicle.FTPManager	Download fromCompId, Nak - ..., or timeout messages	Details of the MAVLink FTP request and any vehicle-side error.

Include This Information in a Support Request

Include the QGroundControl version and build, PX4 firmware version, vehicle type, connection type, whether the legacy Motors page appears, and the saved app log. If the log contains a fallback or download error, include the full line with the URI and error text. Also mention whether reconnecting the vehicle changes the result.