Return to home

Ali Saleh · Jan 13, 2017

Does the mavic automatically return to home when it loses signal with the remote?

msinger · Jan 13, 2017

Yes. Check out the Mavic manual for more details on how the RTH feature works.

IcySparks · Jan 13, 2017

Agree with msinger and here is my TLDR version:
Depending on what you have chosen/set in the DJI app.
Yes, Mavic Pro can return home (ascend to your pre-set altitude, and fly to the set home location), or you can choose two other options: hover (good for flying under canopies, parking garages, etc), or you can choose to the land the drone upon disconnect.

I try to think what I want my drone to do. One time flying line of site 5' above the ground under lots of trees, I set it to only hover. My plan was, if it disconnected, I'd reboot the controller, run over to the hovering drone, and grab it. When I'm out in open territory, I visually inspect the area, and set my ascend height to 50 to 100' above the highest obstacle (power lines, trees, etc), and set the Home Location to an open area free from interference, tall grass, or objects. I've never used the "power down, try to land" option, seems scary.

F6Rider · Jan 13, 2017

I am sorry but I just don't get it, why do people NOT read the manual, 5 minutes with it and the OP would have a in-depth explanation of how RTH works.

IcySparks · Jan 13, 2017

F6Rider said:
I am sorry but I just don't get it, why do people NOT read the manual, 5 minutes with it and the OP would have a in-depth explanation of how RTH works.

ADHD

SkyRider · Jan 13, 2017

Note: RTH works as long as you let the Mavic record the home position at takeoff. Take off straight up and let it hover for a few seconds. You should get both an audible and visual confirmation the home has been recorded. If you don't allow this, it won't know where home is and RTH will not work.

rajun50 · Jan 13, 2017

SkyRider said:
Note: RTH works as long as you let the Mavic record the home position at takeoff. Take off straight up and let it hover for a few seconds. You should get both an audible and visual confirmation the home has been recorded. If you don't allow this, it won't know where home is and RTH will not work.

Yep, and be sure to verify the home point position on the map. If the home point is in the wrong place, RTH could end up sending your Mavic somewhere you don't want it to go.

randblair · Jan 14, 2017

I just had my first "saved by the return-to-home function" experience. I was using TapFly for the first time ever and it was 1000 feet from me flying away from me at about 22mph. Then my phone died. 60% battery, but it was about 34 degrees F and it died unexpectedly. I no longer had the screen to see it on the map or what it was seeing, so I had no idea where it was other than the controller screen which was showing the distance from me was climbing fast because it was in TapFly mode and I had just maxed out the speed. I panicked a little and forgot there is a pause button on the remote, that would have just stopped it and held in place. Instead, I held down the RTH button on the controller and almost cried with joy when I saw the LCD screen status change from TapFly to Going Home. Then I watched the distance from me start to drop. 20 seconds later my Mavic came cruising into view (at a safe altitude of 165 feet) and parked itself exactly where it took off.

LESSON LEARNED: Always set your home point!

Andrew F · Jan 14, 2017

F6Rider said:
I am sorry but I just don't get it, why do people NOT read the manual, 5 minutes with it and the OP would have a in-depth explanation of how RTH works.

I know. Right? I think it shows that drones are going much more "main stream" as we "first movers" are generally not the type to jump and then look. I must have watched 100 videos on the Mavic prior to receiving and I'm a past Phantom operator who already knew a lot.

Motley · Jan 14, 2017

Andrew F said:
I know. Right? I think it shows that drones are going much more "main stream" as we "first movers" are generally not the type to jump and then look. I must have watched 100 videos on the Mavic prior to receiving and I'm a past Phantom operator who already knew a lot.

Easy to learn as much as possible when you have to wait for 2 months for delivery like I did (and guessing you did as well).

Now that they are available right away we are sure to hear many more "interesting" stories. As well as possibly more regulation on our hobby.

Andrew F · Jan 14, 2017

randblair said:
I just had my first "saved by the return-to-home function" experience. I was using TapFly for the first time ever and it was 1000 feet from me flying away from me at about 22mph. Then my phone died. 60% battery, but it was about 34 degrees F and it died unexpectedly. I no longer had the screen to see it on the map or what it was seeing, so I had no idea where it was other than the controller screen which was showing the distance from me was climbing fast because it was in TapFly mode and I had just maxed out the speed. I panicked a little and forgot there is a pause button on the remote, that would have just stopped it and held in place. Instead, I held down the RTH button on the controller and almost cried with joy when I saw the LCD screen status change from TapFly to Going Home. Then I watched the distance from me start to drop. 20 seconds later my Mavic came cruising into view (at a safe altitude of 165 feet) and parked itself exactly where it took off.

LESSON LEARNED: Always set your home point!

Isn't it great to see that baby do it's job so well? Congrats - and get a better phone! Haha. 60% to dead is not a good thing. I won't say anything about the merits of VLOS. Haha

Andrew F · Jan 14, 2017

Motley said:
Easy to learn as much as possible when you have to wait for 2 months for delivery like I did (and guessing you did as well).

Now that they are available right away we are sure to hear many more "interesting" stories. As well as possibly more regulation on our hobby.

Yeah. That's the downside of "mainstream."

Dragonfly · Jan 14, 2017

Theres one more thats been missed and thats return to Controller. You can set MP to return to the RC, so if you move away from your take of point and hit or send a RTH comnand Mavic will Return to where ever the controller is/you are.

Sent from my SM-G900I using MavicPilots mobile app

Dcb18c5 · Jan 14, 2017

Dragonfly said:
Theres one more thats been missed and thats return to Controller. You can set MP to return to the RC, so if you move away from your take of point and hit or send a RTH comnand Mavic will Return to where ever the controller is/you are.

Sent from my SM-G900I using MavicPilots mobile app

Can you shed some light as to where or how this is done? Been looking through the menu and can't find anything on it.

TIA

Sent from my iPhone using MavicPilots

Motley · Jan 14, 2017

Dcb18c5 said:
Can you shed some light as to where or how this is done? Been looking through the menu and can't find anything on it.

TIA

Sent from my iPhone using MavicPilots

It is in the main settings (three dots in upper right corner). Same screen as RTH height and actually right above it. There are 2 icons, one is RTH to home spot and other is RTH to controller. At least this is the case in the original Go app, I have not tried Go 4 yet so not sure if it is there or where it is.

msinger · Jan 15, 2017

Dcb18c5 said:
Can you shed some light as to where or how this is done? Been looking through the menu and can't find anything on it.

bsshog40 · Jan 15, 2017

Dragonfly said:
Theres one more thats been missed and thats return to Controller. You can set MP to return to the RC, so if you move away from your take of point and hit or send a RTH comnand Mavic will Return to where ever the controller is/you are.

Sent from my SM-G900I using MavicPilots mobile app

Excuse my question as my internet is very limited and I cant download the manuel right now. But does the return to controller mean your mobile device would have to have gps, or does the mavic know where the controller is at all times?

msinger · Jan 15, 2017

bsshog40 said:
does the return to controller mean your mobile device would have to have gps

Yes.

That feature only resets the home point to your remote controller's current location. You'll need to keep manually resetting the home point each time you move.

JLane · Jan 15, 2017

Dragonfly said:
Theres one more thats been missed and thats return to Controller. You can set MP to return to the RC, so if you move away from your take of point and hit or send a RTH comnand Mavic will Return to where ever the controller is/you are.

But doesn't that just set a new static home point? I don't believe it sets a dynamic home point, allowing the Mavic to always find its way to the controller. Have you tested this yourself? My understanding was that Litchi has a dynamic home point feature, but not Go 4.