Unlocking GEO zones puzzle.

[MavicKhan]

I need your help making sense of this piece of information in the manual, under the "Unlocking GEO zones", page 24:

"To ensure flight safety, the aircraft will not be able to fly out of the unlocked zone after entering it. If the Home Point is outside the unlocked zone, the aircraft will not be able to return home."

So, I get an authorization from the supervising authorities of a geofenced area, send that written authorization to DJI, they unlock the area but, if I start the flight from outside the borders of that area, I won't be able to recover the drone? Is that it...? I don't understand why, if that's the case.

Can you throw some light on this restriction?

Thank you.

MK

 

[Phantomrain.org]

Most time when entering a Geo Zone you will get a warning, flashing , and your drone may even stop , if you push it to far than you may find that your drone is stuck. and its going to force land. worst case .

If your inside a Geo Zone say 1mile from an Airport your drone wont be able to take off at all , without an unlock attempt. Nothing written just SN and such though your Controller requesting unlock .

Geo Zone Warning are Scary as they will do everything than can to stop your drone from entry.

Many others wil give you more Details but just keep it simple : Red Zones most likely will not get unlocked.

Good Reference from Drone Deploy:
https://help.dronedeploy.com/hc/en-us/articles/1500004964342-No-Fly-Zones-Restricted-Areas


Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly in the Rain. Land on the Water.

 

[MavicKhan]

I probably was not clear with my question. Sorry.

I was referring to when we are already authorized to enter the zone.

The note I made reference to explicitly states "unlocked zone" and it comes after the "Unlocking GEO zones" paragraph, in the manual.

MK

 

[GadgetGuy]

I probably was not clear with my question. Sorry.

I was referring to when we are already authorized to enter the zone.

The note I made reference to explicitly states "unlocked zone" and it comes after the "Unlocking GEO zones" paragraph, in the manual.

MK

Whenever DJI creates an "unlocked zone" for you, everything outside of that zone becomes an NFZ. So, if you manage to fly into your "unlocked zone" from outside of it (such as before the Home Point has been established), you will not be able to exit the "unlocked zone" to return to your Home Point in the created NFZ, and will be forced to land within the "unlocked zone." You also cannot turn off any "unlocked zone" while in flight to get outside of it.

Been there. Done that. Drone was literally 15 feet away from me, hovering over the ocean, and I could not fly it any closer to me for the hand catch! Battery was at 10%! I had to fly it back into the "unlocked zone" over the ocean, and then laterally fly it back over dry land within the "unlocked zone," which was a full 2 blocks away, and find a safe landing spot in the unlocked area, which was in the middle of the street, while frantically running to that spot before a car ran over it!

Backstory: I had changed locations, and inadvertently forgotten to turn the now unneeded unlock off before launching at the new location, and I did not wait for the Home Point to be fully established when I launched, which allowed me to unwittingly fly into the "unlock" which I would not be able to fly out of!

When I got home, upon closer examination, I found out that the border of the unlock was 15 feet away from where I was trying to hand catch it from a lookout on a cliff over the ocean!

BE CAREFUL!
Heed the warning.
It means what it says!

 

[n3ntj]

Whenever DJI creates an "unlocked zone" for you, everything outside of that zone becomes an NFZ. So, if you manage to fly into your "unlocked zone" from outside of it (such as before the Home Point has been established), you will not be able to exit the "unlocked zone" to return to your Home Point in the created NFZ, and will be forced to land within the "unlocked zone." You also cannot turn off any "unlocked zone" while in flight to get outside of it.

Been there. Done that. Drone was literally 15 feet away from me, hovering over the ocean, and I could not fly it any closer to me for the hand catch! Battery was at 10%! I had to fly it back into the "unlocked zone" over the ocean, and then laterally fly it back over dry land within the "unlocked zone," which was a full 2 blocks away, and find a safe landing spot in the unlocked area, which was in the middle of the street, while frantically running to that spot before a car ran over it!

Backstory: I had changed locations, and inadvertently forgotten to turn the now unneeded unlock off before launching at the new location, and I did not wait for the Home Point to be fully established when I launched, which allowed me to unwittingly fly into the "unlock" which I would not be able to fly out of!

When I got home, upon closer examination, I found out that the border of the unlock was 15 feet away from where I was trying to hand catch it from a lookout on a cliff over the ocean!

BE CAREFUL!
Heed the warning.
It means what it says!

Yep, he's correct!!!

 

[Droning on and on...]

That is a brain dead design. There has got to be some very good reason it's designed this way. Even something as annoying as the Frankenstein Monster the code is right now makes impossible would be (barely) acceptable.

"We haven't gotten to it yet" isn't.

 

[Thmoore]

This is incredibly valuable information. Thank you!

 

[HoozierDroneDaddy]

Keep in mind I use LAANC when required and follow FAA rules. However, DJI's GEO Zones are BS, we have our rules here in the U.S. and responsible pilots follow them. I contacted Drone-Hacks and used their hack on my M2P for geo zones. I now request authorizations where required through LAANC and then fly my missions, I don't get warnings or restrictions from DJI. And I don't have to deal with barriers either direction.

 

[GadgetGuy]

Keep in mind I use LAANC when required and follow FAA rules. However, DJI's GEO Zones are BS, we have our rules here in the U.S. and responsible pilots follow them. I contacted Drone-Hacks and used their hack on my M2P for geo zones. I now request authorizations where required through LAANC and then fly my missions, I don't get warnings or restrictions from DJI. And I don't have to deal with barriers either direction.

Unfortunately, DJI has become much more adept at locking down their drones to prevent such hacking on any more recent drones in the last 4 years. Anti-rollback FW seems to be the primary method of patching holes in earlier FW versions, should any be discovered.

 

[MavicKhan]

Whenever DJI creates an "unlocked zone" for you, everything outside of that zone becomes an NFZ. So, if you manage to fly into your "unlocked zone" from outside of it (such as before the Home Point has been established), you will not be able to exit the "unlocked zone" to return to your Home Point in the created NFZ, and will be forced to land within the "unlocked zone." You also cannot turn off any "unlocked zone" while in flight to get outside of it.

Been there. Done that. Drone was literally 15 feet away from me, hovering over the ocean, and I could not fly it any closer to me for the hand catch! Battery was at 10%! I had to fly it back into the "unlocked zone" over the ocean, and then laterally fly it back over dry land within the "unlocked zone," which was a full 2 blocks away, and find a safe landing spot in the unlocked area, which was in the middle of the street, while frantically running to that spot before a car ran over it!

Backstory: I had changed locations, and inadvertently forgotten to turn the now unneeded unlock off before launching at the new location, and I did not wait for the Home Point to be fully established when I launched, which allowed me to unwittingly fly into the "unlock" which I would not be able to fly out of!

When I got home, upon closer examination, I found out that the border of the unlock was 15 feet away from where I was trying to hand catch it from a lookout on a cliff over the ocean!

BE CAREFUL!
Heed the warning.
It means what it says!

Thank you so much for your in/depth, to/the/point reply. Much appreciated.

What you described is the way I thought I understood it would work, when I read the manual. I just couldn't believe it.

Why would DJI set this up in a way you can fly into a unlocked GEO area but not out of it?

...Is it not enough that regulators keep making our hobby harder and harder to enjoy ? Why would a manufacturer, themselves, be adding pain to injury?

MK

 

[GadgetGuy]

Thank you so much for your in/depth, to/the/point reply. Much appreciated.

What you described is the way I thought I understood it would work, when I read the manual. I just couldn't believe it.

Why would DJI set this up in a way you can fly into a unlocked GEO area but not out of it?

...Is it not enough that regulators keep making our hobby harder and harder to enjoy ? Why would a manufacturer, themselves, be adding pain to injury?

MK

I learned it the hard way, and it almost cost me a Mavic 2 Pro, along with a 25 minute video recording!

Hence, why I prefer unlocking problematic blue Authorization Zones for 1 year intervals, rather than creating any defined Unlock area that creates an NFZ everywhere outside of it!

However, there is no easy solution for the relatively new Altitude Zones that often defy logic, as they prohibit mountain climbing from the base without an unlock, when an altitude zone exists over the top of it! You can legally fly from the mountain top to say 120 feet above it, but you cannot fly to just the top of the mountain top from the base without an unlock, which prevents you from flying outside the unlock during the same flight!

 

[MavicKhan]

Drone-Hacks

Hence, why I prefer unlocking problematic blue Authorization Zones for 1 year intervals, rather than creating any defined Unlock area that creates an NFZ everywhere outside of it!

But, doesn't the drone behave in the same way, in what relates to exiting/entering the unlocked zone, vis-a-vis the Home Point, if we get 1 year-long releases?

If not, why is it operationally different for these?

Thanks.

MK

 

[GadgetGuy]

But, doesn't the drone behave in the same way, in what relates to exiting/entering the unlocked zone, vis-a-vis the Home Point, if we get 1 year-long releases?

If not, why is it operationally different for these?

Thanks.

MK

Unlike manual unlock zones, unlocking the Blue Authorization zones around the perimeters of airports does not turn everywhere outside of them into simulated NFZ's. Only the true NFZ's that the Blue Authorization zones surround remain as NFZ's. So, you can safely leave your Blue Authorization unlocks on all the time, and never have to worry about the deadly scenario I described above!

Unfortunately, you cannot similarly unlock entire Altitude Zones without also unlocking the actual airport NFZ that they are connected to. Dumb DJI! You have to manually describe the altitude area you need unlocked and stay within it throughout your flight, creating an NFZ everywhere outside the unlock!

 

[MavicKhan]

Checked the GEO page, at the DJI site again.

I am a simple, to-the-point guy and need a simple mnemonic to sort this out, otherwise my hobby will become as complicated as my work.

If I am presented with a warning to unlock a Warning Zone (light orange) or Enhanced Warring Zone (dark orange)at the
very beginning of a flight, I will be OK, since the HP is being set inside the area in question.

If I get it mid-flight, I have to be very careful about authorizing the drone to keep flying into that area, as it might not be able to fly out of the boundaries, into the HP it took off from.

If I request a long-standing, written authorization for a Authorization Zone (Blue) and get it, it won't be a problem, either way.

Would you agree with this simple formulation?

MK

 

[GadgetGuy]

Checked the GEO page, at the DJI site again.

I am a simple, to-the-point guy and need a simple mnemonic to sort this out, otherwise my hobby will become as complicated as my work.

If I am presented with a warning to unlock a Warning Zone (light orange) or Enhanced Warring Zone (dark orange)at the
very beginning of a flight, I will be OK, since the HP is being set inside the area in question.

If I get it mid-flight, I have to be very careful about authorizing the drone to keep flying into that area, as it might not be able to fly out of the boundaries, into the HP it took off from.

If I request a long-standing, written authorization for a Authorization Zone (Blue) and get it, it won't be a problem, either way.

Would you agree with this simple formulation?

MK

Warning Zones and Enhanced Warning Zones are self-authorizing in midflight. They are not locked zones, and do not require unlocks. They are merely Warnings. Just acknowledge them and fly on. They will never be a problem. However, any time you lose the RC connection and regain it, you will still have to to re-acknowledge the Warnings. They will always still exist, in spite off any Blue Authorization Zones that you have an unlock for, within which they exist.

The only need for DJI unlocks is to exceed Altitude Zones, enter Blue Authorization Zones, or NFZ's.

 

[MavicKhan]

Thanks!

 

[jephoto]

Unlike manual unlock zones, unlocking the Blue Authorization zones around the perimeters of airports does not turn everywhere outside of them into simulated NFZ's. Only the true NFZ's that the Blue Authorization zones surround remain as NFZ's. So, you can safely leave your Blue Authorization unlocks on all the time, and never have to worry about the deadly scenario I described above!

Unfortunately, you cannot similarly unlock entire Altitude Zones without also unlocking the actual airport NFZ that they are connected to. Dumb DJI! You have to manually describe the altitude area you need unlocked and stay within it throughout your flight, creating an NFZ everywhere outside the unlock!

GG- can you show an example of unlocking a Blue Authorization zone for a year?
Screen capture of the map would be helpful.

I’ve done many LAANC authorizations when close to airports in Chicago area, but always have done them for the limited area I wanted and 2-4 hours on day of the job.
Never thought to unlock a WHOLE Blue zone in the vicinity…

ASI it’s been a long time since I actually needed to do a DJI GeoZone unlock. Usually for me a LAANC authorization is all I need.

 

[GadgetGuy]

GG- can you show an example of unlocking a Blue Authorization zone for a year?
Screen capture of the map would be helpful.

I’ve done many LAANC authorizations when close to airports in Chicago area, but always have done them for the limited area I wanted and 2-4 hours on day of the job.
Never thought to unlock a WHOLE Blue zone in the vicinity…

ASI it’s been a long time since I actually needed to do a DJI GeoZone unlock. Usually for me a LAANC authorization is all I need.

You'll need to contact DJI directly to gets such an authorization, with appropriate justification. When the unlock is turned on and left on permanently (no reason to ever turn it off, as it does not create an artificial NFZ outside of it, unlike all other unlocks), all it does is convert the solid Blue Authorization Zone into a blue line only, around perimeter the Blue Authorization Zone, so you still know where it is, while the interior is now clear.

 

[jephoto]

Thanks. I understand the mechanics of it. I was hoping you could show me an example of one that you had done with some screenshots of the area that is unlocked permanently or for a year.
Appreciated

 

[jephoto]

Thanks. I understand the mechanics of it. I was hoping you could show me an example of one that you had done with some screenshots of the area that is unlocked permanently or for a year.
Appreciated

You'll need to contact DJI directly to gets such an authorization, with appropriate justification. When the unlock is turned on and left on permanently (no reason to ever turn it off, as it does not create an artificial NFZ outside of it, unlike all other unlocks), all it does is convert the solid Blue Authorization Zone into a blue line only, around perimeter the Blue Authorization Zone, so you still know where it is, while the interior is now clear.

I just tried to unlock the Blue Authorization zone around Midway Airports -class C- through the Fly safe site. It only would do it for 2 days.
How do you apply for a year?