Air 2s FMC with RC Pro Combo Decision -Help!

[Rupi]

Greetings from Baltimore.
I am a beginner with drones although I am a long time photography enthusiast - been enjoying flying my first drone a Mini2 for some months now.
I think the bigger sensor of the Air 2s will help me take better low light shots. Mulling ordering a Air 2s Combo with the RC pro - I have seen many positive reports.
It will be good to not to fiddle with a cell phone! Also a nice bright display will be welcome indeed.
However I was wondering whether the RC pro has connectivity issues with the the Air 2s? Similar to Mavic 3 issues?
I am in no particular hurry, and will be happy to wait it out while DJI works out any remaining kinks with Firmware updates / hardware fixes.
Any advice from the knowledgeable brethren of this forum is much appreciated.
Regards
Rupi

 

[DanJ]

I picked up my first drone an Air 2S with the RC Pro controller and have been pleasantly surprised by the quality of stills.
Being a retired photographer I'm used to the quality of large DSLR files. The Air 2S does not disappoint.

As to connectivity, in the three months that I've flown the drone I've eperienced no problems at all.

 

[Rupi]

I picked up my first drone an Air 2S with the RC Pro controller and have been pleasantly surprised by the quality of stills.
Being a retired photographer I'm used to the quality of large DSLR files. The Air 2S does not disappoint.

As to connectivity, in the three months that I've flown the drone I've eperienced no problems at all.

Thank you that is reassuring to hear indeed.

 

[sduck]

I suspect that like most things on the internet you're going to hear a lot about the few cases of lost connectivity, but never hear anything from the majority of people who have had no problems. So it's pretty impossible to guess what the ratio of happy campers is - my guess is that it's pretty large. I haven't had any connectivity issues in the 3 months I've been using the RC Pro with my Air 2S.

 

[Rupi]

I suspect that like most things on the internet you're going to hear a lot about the few cases of lost connectivity, but never hear anything from the majority of people who have had no problems. So it's pretty impossible to guess what the ratio of happy campers is - my guess is that it's pretty large. I haven't had any connectivity issues in the 3 months I've been using the RC Pro with my Air 2S.

Thank you for taking the time to reply.
I agree that those who have normal functioning units tend to be far less vocal than the ones who are having problems.
I suppose I should just buy from a seller with an easy return / exchange policy and test the heck out of the RC and drone right away to ensure that I received a good unit!
Any issues should likely be revealed during the testing period.

 

[maggior]

The connectivity issues with the A2S and RC Pro controller seem more than a just a few cases. When you notice a trend, it's indicative of a larger issue. If I were to jump onto this combo (which I am ohhhh so tempted but my MA2/SC combo is still working well for me) I would make sure it was from a retailer that takes returns no questions asked. That means Amazon or Best Buy. I've read where B&H have given customers a hard time about returning the A2S/RC Pro combo when it had connectivity issues and DJI are really of no help in this situation.

 

[DanJ]

The connectivity issues with the A2S and RC Pro controller seem more than a just a few cases. When you notice a trend, it's indicative of a larger issue. If I were to jump onto this combo (which I am ohhhh so tempted but my MA2/SC combo is still working well for me) I would make sure it was from a retailer that takes returns no questions asked. That means Amazon or Best Buy. I've read where B&H have given customers a hard time about returning the A2S/RC Pro combo when it had connectivity issues and DJI are really of no help in this situation.

I purchased my Air 2S and RC Pro controller from B&H.
After two months one of the control sticks became really sloppy and it was sent in for warranty repair. Instead of fixing it they just sent a new replacement.
Otherwise its been fine with no connectivity issues.

 

[marshvet]

I bought the Air2S FMC with the RC Pro in December. Unfortunately, they weather here in NY has not been great and combine that with not enough free time has kept my flying to a minimum. But, I have yet to see a connectivity problem.

 

[Rupi]

The connectivity issues with the A2S and RC Pro controller seem more than a just a few cases. When you notice a trend, it's indicative of a larger issue. If I were to jump onto this combo (which I am ohhhh so tempted but my MA2/SC combo is still working well for me) I would make sure it was from a retailer that takes returns no questions asked. That means Amazon or Best Buy. I've read where B&H have given customers a hard time about returning the A2S/RC Pro combo when it had connectivity issues and DJI are really of no help in this situation.

I agree that upgrading from a Air 2 which is working well already is a harder decision - where as upgrading from a Mini 2 is a much clearer choice.
If I do go ahead with this purchase, I will be ordering from Amazon where I already have about $ 300 gift balance

 

[Rupi]

I bought the Air2S FMC with the RC Pro in December. Unfortunately, they weather here in NY has not been great and combine that with not enough free time has kept my flying to a minimum. But, I have yet to see a connectivity problem.

Good to hear that you have not had connectivity issues with the RC Pro & Air 2s !

 

[Serenity Valley]

I bought my Air 2S FMC w/ RC Pro last month and have logged 28 flights so far. Of those flights, I've had one issue with lost connectivity. Not sure if it was a hardware issue, or user error since I had the antennae oriented up at 90 deg to the controller while the drone was directly overhead at ~250 feet. The drone initiated a RTH and when I extended the antennae so the flat surfaces were horizontal and pointed at the drone, connection was reestablished and I was able to override the RTH and continue flying.

Overall, I'm very happy with the combo so far!

 

[ThatBeardedDroneGuy]

I'm likely to pull the trigger this weekend. I also have some Amazon gift cards standing by ready to reduce the cost.

Hope to get a solid platform. Still a little unnerving that Amazon is still saying "smart controller" but all indications are that it's coming with the RC Pro.

 

[EsaT]

I bought my Air 2S FMC w/ RC Pro last month and have logged 28 flights so far. Of those flights, I've had one issue with lost connectivity. Not sure if it was a hardware issue, or user error since I had the antennae oriented up at 90 deg to the controller while the drone was directly overhead at ~250 feet. The drone initiated a RTH and when I extended the antennae so the flat surfaces were horizontal and pointed at the drone, connection was reestablished and I was able to override the RTH and continue flying.

Radiation pattern of such "stick" antenna is doughnut shaped.

https://engibex.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Radiation-pattern-of-a-dipole-antenna.-Antenna-is-oriented-vertically-along-Z-axis.png

Hence you have to keep side of the antenna more or less toward other end of radio link to have signal.

 

[Rupi]

I bought my Air 2S FMC w/ RC Pro last month and have logged 28 flights so far. Of those flights, I've had one issue with lost connectivity. Not sure if it was a hardware issue, or user error since I had the antennae oriented up at 90 deg to the controller while the drone was directly overhead at ~250 feet. The drone initiated a RTH and when I extended the antennae so the flat surfaces were horizontal and pointed at the drone, connection was reestablished and I was able to override the RTH and continue flying.

Overall, I'm very happy with the combo so far!

Positive reports like yours have reinforced my confidence in the reliability of the RC Pro Air 2s combo.

I'm likely to pull the trigger this weekend. I also have some Amazon gift cards standing by ready to reduce the cost.

Hope to get a solid platform. Still a little unnerving that Amazon is still saying "smart controller" but all indications are that it's coming with the RC Pro.

I asked this specific question in the Amazon buyers page- and it was confirmed that the “Air 2s FMC with smart controller “ offered for $ 1749 is in fact shipping with the RC pro despite the reference to the ‘smart’ controller.

 

[nowtleft]

Greetings from Baltimore.
I am a beginner with drones although I am a long time photography enthusiast - been enjoying flying my first drone a Mini2 for some months now.
I think the bigger sensor of the Air 2s will help me take better low light shots. Mulling ordering a Air 2s Combo with the RC pro - I have seen many positive reports.
It will be good to not to fiddle with a cell phone! Also a nice bright display will be welcome indeed.
However I was wondering whether the RC pro has connectivity issues with the the Air 2s? Similar to Mavic 3 issues?
I am in no particular hurry, and will be happy to wait it out while DJI works out any remaining kinks with Firmware updates / hardware fixes.
Any advice from the knowledgeable brethren of this forum is much appreciated.
Regards
Rupi

In 3 months with my Air 2 s I’ve had 3 occasions when the smart controller lost contact, 2 with red screens which is terrifying at first. I now just accept it and wait for RTH to bring my baby back. It does it for no apparent reason even when controller and drone are within .5 km. I was going to send it back under warranty which DJI agreed to but then wanted £120 before sending postage labels.
getting data off the drone or controller is an absolute nightmare but that’s another story.

 

[mobilehomer]

Amazon now has the Air 2s fly more combo with “Smart Controller” for $1499. Does anyone know if this will actually be packaged with an RC Pro instead since the Smart Controller is out of production?

That bird flew the coup a couple months ago. It was a VERY temporary situation when they ran out of Smart Controllers late last year.

 

[JimCunn]

How do you assure you are getting an Air2S FMC with the RC Pro ?

 

[mobilehomer]

How do you assure you are getting an Air2S FMC with the RC Pro ?

You can't get one. It was a very short term supply situation.