Am I getting too worried ?

[Storyline]

Hello all


Tomorrow my third drone arrives. The first was an early Phantom and although it was only 7 years ago (I just had to check) it feels like an age ago. The Phantom was sold and replaced by a Mavic as I was desperate for a gimbal - not just a 3 axis gimbal but any gimbal


There is some waffle now which can be ignored. The question which I would be so grateful to have answers for is at the end .....



Things have moved on a lot since the Phantom when concepts like geofencing had not yet got involved. I tried always to be sensible when flying though. I had flown a variety of r/c aircraft and helicopters and realised that these things can damage people & property if things were to spiral out of control. Saying that though, I will never forget the heart in mouth feeling when I decided to see how much altitude I could achieve using half of available battery power. It was not blind stupidity though or a feeling of lack of control as the Phantom had the useful ability (which should be on every drone imo - maybe my Mini 2 will have it) of being able to be put into ATTI mode at the flick of a switch. This basically disengages the GPS leaving the vehicle drifting in the airflow and makes it easy to work out what the wind was doing overhead and so I checked this every 1000ft of the ascent. It meant I knew approximately which way to descend should I lose GPS which happened occasionally.

Anyway, now it feels like maybe DJI, the App and the Mini 2 might be in control rather than me.

THE QUESTION (Finally)

Specifically, I have just read someone complaining on Amazon that the Mini 2 cannot even be activated unless I buy the after sales Care Refresh package. Is there any truth in this and am I likely to encounter any unexpected problems that will stop me flying ?

I am particularly concerned as we go on holiday on the day after the Mini 2 arrives and it might be a bit of a headache trying to address problems (mainly due to iffy Internet) while away. I am hoping it arrives fairly handy tomorrow so I can activate it when I have use of our FTTP connection if needed.

 

[Deleted member 103366]

Have you seen mention of this" need to buy care refresh in order to activate the drone" anywhere else other that Amazon? It seems to me people would be screaming about it.
Could they perhaps have misunderstand the fact that in general it is easier to buy the care refresh within 48hrs of activatio? Out side the 48hr window it is necessary to prove the drone is full functional and air worthy via a video etc. I forget all that is was necessary, see Buy DJI Care Refresh 1-Year Plan (DJI Mini 2) - DJI Store the links on that page can lead you to DJI . If the links do not work google "DJI verification video".

 

[brew99]

There is no truth in what you have heard. The mini2 can be activated without purchasing any care refresh.

It would be wise to activate and do the software updates before leaving on vacation, if you think your internet access might not be good.

 

[Storyline]

Forgot to say in my post above. One bit of good news I got today involving the new flying controls.

I have been without a drone since I sold the Mavic a few years ago. I was excited to read about the new generation of <250g aircraft but was put off by the newly announced no fly zones around airports - triggered in part no doubt by those idiots a few years ago.

Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against these new zones, in fact they sound eminently sensible and will hopefully stop the small %age of idiots who fail to engage brain before hitting the on switch. What got me down was when I measured the distance that the zone would extend from the airport using the 'Official' lat and long of our local airport the circle extended to the middle of the garden of the house behind us meaning we were in effect the first/last house falling inside the circle. I never did huge amounts of flying from the garden but frequently used to try out new apps like Lichi or sometimes I just felt like a hover and a check that our roof still looked sound. What affected me much more was that a large patch of land just a 2 minute drive from the house was also in the no-fly zone and it was from here that I spent a big percentage of my time airborne practicing photographic ideas.

It was yesterday when once more I was facing the prospect of a 2 week holiday in gorgeous locations without a drone. I decided to check again (against hope) whether the new 250g class were free of control. Of course I quickly saw that 400' and the no-fly zones applied because of the camera and as it is photography that always remains giving endless pleasure when the thrill of flight wanes a little I could not complain.

What I did notice that was new to me though was the no fly area extending out from the runways - again this seemed sensible covering aircraft on their approach when they are low for quite a time no matter which way the wind was. I then noticed a link to 'official' maps for each airport which again was new to me. Of course I just checked our airport just in case I had made a mistake and could hardly believe my eyes when I saw that not only our house and garden but also my practice field fell just yards outside the zone.

Then it was straight onto the web to see if anyone was discounting the Mini2 but alas everyone was sticking together. So with the holiday deadline so close I decided to use Amazon and it is frighteningly easy to spend several hundred pounds before you can change your mind. Amazon got the biz because of their near faultless delivery service and no-quibble returns policy.

Now, I am so excited - even though I have spent a big chunk of my share of our holiday spends and have to be careful about when/how I tell my better half. The last time I dipped my toe in the water was only a few weeks ago when we were discussing some much needed work to the lead on our roof and I said it would be great to have a drone again to take some close up shots. I said there maybe some software hacks I could use to get a drone to fly as long as I did not go above our roof line - the immediate response was "you're not getting another drone" - hey ho

 

[old man mavic]

@Storyline while it is true that the latest drones do have geofencing, and flight restrictions, that can prevent them from taking off in certain types of airspace ,it is not true that you have to obtain the care refresh to allow the drone to fly ,
what is essential is to have the drone registered to a DJI account using your E mail address ,in order for it to be able to fly ,this is done when the drone is activated for the first time ,and as stated there is a 48 hour window to obtain the care refresh if you decide to purchase it ,if you have already had DJI drones as you stated, then the new drone will be added to your account ,if you use the same E mail address as you used previously ,,you can of course set up a different E mail address if you want to, and this will not be linked to any other E mail addresses that went before

 

[Storyline]

Have you seen mention of this" need to buy care refresh in order to activate the drone" anywhere else other that Amazon? It seems to me people would be screaming about it.
Could they perhaps have misunderstand the fact that in general it is easier to buy the care refresh within 48hrs of activatio? Out side the 48hr window it is necessary to prove the drone is full functional and air worthy via a video etc. I forget all that is was necessary, see Buy DJI Care Refresh 1-Year Plan (DJI Mini 2) - DJI Store the links on that page can lead you to DJI . If the links do not work google "DJI verification video".

Thank you and brew99 for your replies which have set my mind at ease.

To answer the question, no I have not seen this mentioned anywhere else. I also had a similar thought to you that the buyer was pi$$Ed off when he realised he had to buy care before activation and this was despite choosing the 'Without Care' option from the 4 on offer by Amazon (Mini2, Mini2+care, Mini2FlyMore, Mini2FlyMore+Care). I don't have a lot of sympathy tbh as this thing costs several hundred pounds and if he thought he liked the sound of the Care option then the obvious thing was to buy it at the outset. His complaint was not so much the cost of the Care but that he considered it an unforseen extra cost - just to be clear, the title of his review was
Beware of unknown costs when activating the product

Maybe I am being a little uncharitable.

I will go on Amazon though and try to see if I can comment on his complaint as 143 people say they find what he says useful and I guess a few sales may have been lost.

 

[Deleted member 103366]

OMM's post brought to mind one other possible concern, is a connection to the internet needed to fly?
No it is not, people fly their drones in areas with no internet reception nor mobile phone network reception. BUT in order to exploit the full potential of the drone a screen device running the FLY App must be connected to the controller and you must be logged into the App.
Actually logging into the App requires an internet connection but once logged in to the App the connection to the internet can be severed.
See the attached.
I think it is possible to fly the drone without a screen device attached to the controller but that limitations are in place if you do so.

Umm it is not necessary to buy care refresh before activation. It can be bought after activation but there is a 48hr window within which care refresh can be readily bought and that window opens at activation.
Outside that window the verification video etc. process must be followed.

I suspect you have already tested the FLY app on your phone but if not please do so ASAP, it needs a 64bit phone and not all phones are compatible. That caught an awful lot of people out when they bought a Mavic Mini.

 

[Storyline]

Thanks old man mavic

It all sounds more or less the same as it has been in the past.

I cannot say with certainty that the Phantom needed to be formally activated but it might well have been. You certainly needed to download the latest (and I presume location specific) firmware for the drone itself and maybe the controller too. Then the app and at every stage this was done after you were logged in.

IIRC It was the same with the early Mavics but by then I think there was some software you could use to make the processes more user friendly although I think you were still able to do everything manually.

I will still have my DJI a/c details somewhere and have no problem with having to be logged in to download their software.

I obviously have a huge amount of reading to do on this forum so I can get the best out the machine. This is the first time I have bought into a mature product - with the first two I had I was an early adopter and used to spend hours on various forums with others in a similar position and learning as a team - happy days !

 

[Storyline]

OMM's post brought to mind one other possible concern, is a connection to the internet needed to fly?
No it is not, people fly their drones in areas with no internet reception nor mobile phone network reception. BUT in order to exploit the full potential of the drone a screen device running the FLY App must be connected to the controller and you must be logged into the App.
Actually logging into the App requires an internet connection but once logged in to the App the connection to the internet can be severed.
See the attached.
I think it is possible to fly the drone without a screen device attached to the controller but that limitations are in place if you do so.

Umm it is not necessary to buy care refresh before activation. It can be bought after activation but there is a 48hr window within which care refresh can be readily bought and that window opens at activation.
Outside that window the verification video etc. process must be followed.

I suspect you have already tested the FLY app on your phone but if not please do so ASAP, it needs a 64bit phone and not all phones are compatible. That caught an awful lot of people out when they bought a Mavic Mini.

There is a lot to think about in your post and it is now too late to find out more.
There may be problems ahead - firstly where I mainly want to fly is on islands on the West Coast of Scotland - some of these are very remote. There is a lot more Internet than there was even a couple of years ago but there are still vast areas with nothing. I've also bought a really good antenna for our mobile hot-spot and I hoist this thing up to the top of the mast on our boat and this will turn a flaky single bar that a phone will show into a full 5 bar signal. It's not a miracle worker though as everything is more or less line of sight.

Far more serous is the phone issue which is new to me. I can't try the app as I left my phone on our boat by mistake a couple of months ago when we we last up sailing on her. I know the model name though and it is not that new - if I need a new phone then the drone is off to storage for a month or two as I would be a dead man if I revealed not only a new drone but also a new phone in the early days of our holiday lol

 

[Storyline]

It is now 4.55am and I just woke for a moment and could not resist having a quick look at what architecture my phone uses and I was very pleased to discover it is 64bit having convinced myself a few hours ago that my chances looked bleak.

So it's game on again

 

[Deleted member 103366]

Ahh I am somewhat concerned that I have given you the wrong impression. So, for clarity, the log in to the App remains effective until you log out manually. I had to manually log out to get that screen capture.
It does not matter if the App is shut down and or if the phone is switched off, you would still be logged in when the app is next used.
If you should happen to use multiple screen devices, not simultaneously, each app will need to be logged in to. I bought a couple of Samsung S6's and a 5S iPhone (all second hand) and logging into or out of the App on one has no affect on the App on the other.

What is your phone? Others may be using it or have tried it.

One final point and it is a personal one but I do not allow the App or my Mavic Mini to automatically update. There are several reasons for this but I would suggest that when a new update is released you WAIT AND SEE what its reception is, some have teething troubles for some people.

 

[umanbean]

To make it simple - you only need to have internet the first time you connect to the drone and log in to your DJI account. After that, you can fly anywhere without internet.

To your question "Am I getting too worried" the answer is "Yes, a little... but don't"

 

[Storyline]

Thanks all - I think I've got a handle on it all now.

The phone I plan to use is a Motorola G6 Plus which has got near stock Android so runs most apps without issue.

I take your point PhiliusFogg about letting others uncover unexpected glitches with new software and it was a policy that I used to adopt myself too

 

[Storyline]

.....

To your question "Am I getting too worried" the answer is "Yes, a little... but don't"

Thanks for the above - I think that is an appropriate point on which to close this thread and I sincerely thank all for their answers. I hope others might also benefit from finding these posts in the future as they cover some fairly basic points that may well mystify others who, like me did not get a chance to research the machine properly - all I knew is that I had read/seen various reviews that all pointed in the same direction which was that the Mavic 2 is a low cost, no frills, low weight platform to which quite a nice gimballed camera is attached which is exactly what I want .....

 

[umanbean]

which was that the Mavic 2 is a low cost, no frills, low weight platform

Mavic Mini 2? (often referred to as MM2) There are several 2nd gen Mavic variations.

Suggest downloading the MM2 owners manual and the FLY app manual @ dji.com... read them at least twice, preferably before you fly... and maybe once or twice more afterwards. Find the UK sUAS rules and regulations online, study and read that also.

Good Luck... study, but don't over-think it.

 

[Dave Maine]

Internet connection is required for the real time map display while flying. You can avoid this if you cache the map of the area you plan to fly before shutting down internet connection.

 

[Bill Dunnuck]

I have owned close to 20 drones and find the Mini 2 is my go to bird. I do use a Smart Controller with the Mini and Air 2 which makes flying is more fun especially in the bright sun. The Mini handles as well or better than any drone I have owned. You will love it. If I had to keep just one, it would be the Mini 2. Go slowly, follow the instructions and have fun.

 

[archoptical]

I've got a Moto G6 as my main phone and couldn't download the Fly app. It worked with the GO 4 app, so was able to use it for my Mavic Air, but not with the Mini 2. I run my Mini 2 with an old iphone 7 I picked up from a relative, which I just use for the drone.

 

[umanbean]

I've got a Moto G6 as my main phone and couldn't download the Fly app.

Did you try installing it after downloading it directly from DJI?

DJI Fly - Download Center - DJI

The DJI Fly app interface was designed to be simplified and ultra-intuitive. Compatible for DJI NEO, DJI Avata 2, DJI Mini 4 Pro, DJI Air 3, DJI Mavic 3 Pro, DJI Mini 2 SE, DJI Mini 3, DJI Mavic 3 Classic, DJI Avata, DJI Mini 3 Pro, DJI Mavic 3, DJI Mini SE, DJI Air 2S, DJI FPV, DJI Mini 2...

www.dji.com

It works on my good old Galaxy S7, couldn't get it from the Play Store.

 

[archoptical]

I don't think I tried that, as it wasn't listed on the compatibility list, but the Galaxy S7 does seem to be listed.