DJI Mavic, Air and Mini Drones
Friendly, Helpful & Knowledgeable Community
Join Us Now

A little disappointed...

Solsearcher

Well-Known Member
Premium Pilot
Joined
Jun 21, 2021
Messages
150
Reactions
268
Location
Winnipeg, Canada
I have an Air 2s...no complaints at all. Today I took my new M3P for a couple flights. It handles well, no issues with flight performance, and no real issues with quality of video. However, I DO have an issue with the range and RC controller. A couple times in mid-flight the screen froze, and then resumed a few seconds later. This while i was recording video and could see the drone (so not far away, maybe a couple hundred yards). Not sure why it was dropping off / out of range, but in a word that was poor in my estimate. I haven't downloaded the video yet to see whether the "freeze" happened during the recording, but I have a sneaky suspicion it will. I'll post more when I know definitively, but so far, not impressed.
Oh, I have updated firmware to most recent.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • Like
Reactions: millbah
Your post says "MP3" and your signature says "M3P". Just checking - are you talking about the Mavic 3 here? No "P"? Or is it a Mini 3 Pro? (There is a separate forum for issues specific to the Mini 3 Pro).

Which controller are you using with the Air 2S and which with the Mavic 3?

Do check in the transmission tab in DJI Fly and verify that the drone has negotiated dual band (assuming you are in a location where it should be in dual band). I've had issues with this not working correctly, which leads to significantly reduced range and the intermittent freezing you describe.

In my testing the on-board video recorded to the SD card did not freeze, it was just the transmission link glitching.
 
Your post says "MP3" and your signature says "M3P". Just checking - are you talking about the Mavic 3 here? No "P"? Or is it a Mini 3 Pro? (There is a separate forum for issues specific to the Mini 3 Pro).

Which controller are you using with the Air 2S and which with the Mavic 3?

Do check in the transmission tab in DJI Fly and verify that the drone has negotiated dual band (assuming you are in a location where it should be in dual band). I've had issues with this not working correctly, which leads to significantly reduced range and the intermittent freezing you describe.

In my testing the on-board video recorded to the SD card did not freeze, it was just the transmission link glitching.
Good eye...dyslexic! Mini 3 Pro - M3P
Using my phone with the RC-N1 for the Air 2s, and the DJI RC for the mini. I believe I had dual checked off for the mini flights, but don't know if it was actually doing that?

Not sure how I ended up posting this in the Mavic 3 discussions...I don't recall choosing that. Thinkin' maybe it was moved here inadvertently.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Torque
Good eye...dyslexic! Mini 3 Pro - M3P
Using my phone with the RC-N1 for the Air 2s, and the DJI RC for the mini. I believe I had dual checked off for the mini flights, but don't know if it was actually doing that?

Not sure how I ended up posting this in the Mavic 3 discussions...I don't recall choosing that. Thinkin' maybe it was moved here inadvertently.

if you’re in Canada make sure the system is set to FCC. The output at that setting is much greater than when in CE mode. Some people in Canada have reported that the M3P was locking into CE mode.
 
Moved to correct section
 
if you’re in Canada make sure the system is set to FCC. The output at that setting is much greater than when in CE mode. Some people in Canada have reported that the M3P was locking into CE mode.
I've been looking online how to ensure it's in FCC, but not clear on whether it is or isn't. I'm guessing it's CE, cuz the range seems to suck! My Mini3 has a CE sticker in it....does this matter?
 
Not criticizing or rendering judgement, just don't know Canadian justice system or law, so question: Isn't activating FCC transmission power breaking the law?

How serious is it? Does it compare to, say, hovering over a large crowd of people, or flying a drone over 250g while the pilot isn't qualified.

A lot of people outside the US do this, and I'm curious what they are risking.
 
Not criticizing or rendering judgement, just don't know Canadian justice system or law, so question: Isn't activating FCC transmission power breaking the law?

How serious is it? Does it compare to, say, hovering over a large crowd of people, or flying a drone over 250g while the pilot isn't qualified.

A lot of people outside the US do this, and I'm curious what they are risking.
This has more to do with Wi-Fi legalities and transmission power than it does "drones". FCC IS legal in Canada, so no issues either way. Not anywhere near the same ramifications doing it vs. flying over crowds or even flying without certification. Both of those examples are FAR more likely to get you a fine, whereas I would guess that NO ONE is ever going to check what transmission wattage you're using for a drone! Let alone know how to check and then also prove it.
 
Not criticizing or rendering judgement, just don't know Canadian justice system or law, so question: Isn't activating FCC transmission power breaking the law?

How serious is it? Does it compare to, say, hovering over a large crowd of people, or flying a drone over 250g while the pilot isn't qualified.

A lot of people outside the US do this, and I'm curious what they are risking.

FCC mode is the default/legal transmission type in Canada for DJI drones, so there are no problems there. In Europe, it's CE.

The M3P seems to have an issue where some drones revert back into CE mode, which appears to be the source of most people's range complaints.

You can check if it's in FCC mode by going to the "transmission" tab in the menu, and if the -90 dBm/MHz line on the left hand Y axis is below the "~1KM" mark on the right hand Y axis, you're in FCC mode. In CE mode that -90dBm/MHz line is parallel with the "~1KM" mark.

I get the sense that pretty much everyone in Europe is flying their drones in FCC mode as well. It doesn't seem to be much of an issue, or even enforced. It would also be easy to plead ignorance for something like that provided you were still following the other more important rules like maintaining VLOS. Flying beyond CE range probably means you're out of VLOS anyway, but the FCC signal is so much stronger it's better for areas with interference or flying behind obstacles within VLOS as well.
 
Last edited:
Lycus Tech Mavic Air 3 Case

DJI Drone Deals

New Threads

Forum statistics

Threads
130,597
Messages
1,554,230
Members
159,603
Latest member
refrigasketscanada