A2s wont fly further than half a mile

[dviera]

I notice that dviera says 1/2 mile, which is 2640 feet distance, and bonzo says 4500 ft. So these are NOT the same issue, just first cousins.
Have you gone to Self Unlocking - Fly Safe - DJI and looked at all the unlock zones? I am attaching a screen shot of the area around Overland Park. DJI has that area cut up pretty bad.
Go to approx (ie a safe public spot) where your drone usually stops, take off from there, and see if your drone stops right there or a short distance away, or if you are in the zone, it might not take off at all! Then do the unlocking process.

HOWEVER, 1/2 mile, and 4500 ft both sound like you are way past VLOS, anyway, just like tlswift58 says in his post above.

I was going to return the aircraft but, after considering that .05 mile is beyond VLOS , and asking myself, do I really need to fly beyond that? No, I do not. The camera and overall proformance of the A2s is amazing. So, I decided to be content with it.

 

[dviera]

My Air 2S has bad range too.

Even in completely open space with nothing for miles (literally) it isn’t as good as it should be (about 2Km max before orange bars).

Whether it’s a faulty unit, or just the way it is, I don’t know. You’ve tried all you can.

So the question is, do you need it to fly that distance? If you do, swap/sell/return.

Personally, I don’t fly over 1Km at most, so it’s ok for me.

I've come to the same conclusion. Ty!

 

[Mid-AtlanticDroneServices]

My Air 2S has bad range too.

Even in completely open space with nothing for miles (literally) it isn’t as good as it should be (about 2Km max before orange bars).

Whether it’s a faulty unit, or just the way it is, I don’t know. You’ve tried all you can.

So the question is, do you need it to fly that distance? If you do, swap/sell/return.

Personally, I don’t fly over 1Km at most, so it’s ok for me.

I would suspect a faulty unit. I had mine (with SC) out to around 7,000 feet (about 400ft ALT) last night with hilly terrain, low light. I probably could have gone further with more antennae adjustment. Elevation between you and the drone is a major factor. If you're in a valley, near a hill, around trees or buildings (etc), it can really affect it. LoS is critical. Before returning I would make sure your firmware is updated, batteries on transmitter are 100%, etc.

 

[pommy]

I would suspect a faulty unit. I had mine (with SC) out to around 7,000 feet (about 400ft ALT) last night with hilly terrain, low light. I probably could have gone further with more antennae adjustment. Elevation between you and the drone is a major factor. If you're in a valley, near a hill, around trees or buildings (etc), it can really affect it. LoS is critical. Before returning I would make sure your firmware is updated, batteries on transmitter are 100%, etc.

Thanks for the reply. I’ve done all the “steps” (been flying DJI for 4 years). Although I must admit, I’m not aware of how to adjust the antenna in any way?

 

[flexuz1980]

My Air 2S has bad range too.

Even in completely open space with nothing for miles (literally) it isn’t as good as it should be (about 2Km max before orange bars).

Whether it’s a faulty unit, or just the way it is, I don’t know. You’ve tried all you can.

So the question is, do you need it to fly that distance? If you do, swap/sell/return.

Personally, I don’t fly over 1Km at most, so it’s ok for me.

Same here

 

[EpicFlight]

With the phone attached right onto the RC antenna, I've always wondered if some phone designs might cause reception interference. It's the one part of the system DJI has no control over.

Try a test flight with a longer cable and the phone not mounted on the RC, but sitting in your lap or something, at least 12" from the RC antenna.

 

[CDSkeeles]

With the phone attached right onto the RC antenna, I've always wondered if some phone designs might cause reception interference. It's the one part of the system DJI has no control over.

Try a test flight with a longer cable and the phone not mounted on the RC, but sitting in your lap or something, at least 12" from the RC antenna.

I have often wondered the same. In the radio world we would be concerned of the placement acting as a parasitic element or perhaps producing a heterodyne effect if the any of the radios involved were lossy or out of spec.

Considering between the drone, controller and phone there are likely 6 or more radios between them... gps on both, wifi on phone, cellular on phone, bluetooth on phone etc. those receivers better be in tune!

I have only taken my A2s about 2800' out but it still had all the bars in the meter so I am not experiencing any issue personally.

In a couple non-drone examples the GPS on my dash cam will stop receiving if my old cell phone was also sitting on the dash, new phone no issue. And in a further distant situation the sonar (depth finder) in my boat will display noise when that same phone was charging on the same power circuit. I have not tried new phone. And lastly, as a kid years ago, I was able to mute my parents car radio by tuning a specific station on my off brand walkman while sitting in the back seat. Again the heterodyne effect at play there.

 

[EpicFlight]

Yes, the parasitic effect, also a sort of microwave cavity or waveguide effect from some of these aluminum shells could mess with the antenna behavior, make it weirdly directional, resonate, etc.

Your dashcam GPS old/new phone experience serves to show there can be an impact.