Can't change default altitude, distance limits

[Nooguy]

Hello folks!

I recently discovered that my Mini won't fly above 30 m or beyond 50 m. I've had it since December 2019 but thanks to the weather in my area haven't been able to fly it all that much. I don't know if those default limits always existed -- having lost 2 flyaway drones (not Minis!) in tall weeds I keep the Mini low and close -- or just appeared after a firmware upgrade. The manual says those exist "when not connected or logged into the app during flight". I use DJI Fly and a Galaxy S7 and as far as I know I am connected and logged in when flying.

I'd appreciate any suggestions.

 

[Deleted member 103366]

3 dot menu -> safety -> advanced safety settings -> down at the bottom of there, is payload mode on perhaps?
Do you have the prop guards on by any chance?

 

[old man mavic]

if its not because you have the prop guards on just make sure you are logged in by checking your flight logs in the app if your logged on they should be shown for each flight

 

[Nooguy]

3 dot menu -> safety -> advanced safety settings -> down at the bottom of there, is payload mode on perhaps?
Do you have the prop guards on by any chance?

Thanks for your reply.

Yes! I do have the prop guards on. As my name suggests I'm new to drones and having lost two $100 drones I'm extra-careful. And I've occasionally seen a payload warning.

I haven't checked for the payload mode but wll as soon as the weather pernits, and report back.

Thank you!

 

[Nooguy]

if its not because you have the prop guards on just make sure you are logged in by checking your flight logs in the app if your logged on they should be shown for each flight

I do have the prop guards on, and will check as you say.

Thanks!

 

[Deleted member 103366]

Prop guards outside are probably not wise for anything more than low level flights around a garden. The added weight tirggers the payload mode which I think is the reason for your limitations, secondly they probably increase its susceptability to wind.
If you get caught in wind just remember to try descending to get below it.
Be aware of the "find my drone" feature.
I am not trying to tempt fate but read through threads about the mini being blown away and how to prevent it, even if that means landing, hopefully under control, at distance.
Practice and trigger all the RTH behaviours in a safe wide-open space, including what happens if the drone is within 20m of the homepoint

 

[old man mavic]

@Nooguy just to let you know, that regardless of whether you have payload mode on or off, it is triggered automatically ,when the prop guards are fitted to the drone

 

[SW_Drone_Guy]

This happened to me and I found the answer here in the forum. The prop guards saved some propellers, I must admit.
You can turn on payload mode manually, in the app, but as OMM stated, it is triggered automatically when the drone detects [the weight of] the prop guards.
If you take the guards off you should be able to fly further. It worked for me.
Happy flying

 

[Nooguy]

if its not because you have the prop guards on just make sure you are logged in by checking your flight logs in the app if your logged on they should be shown for each flight

Thank You! You're absolutely right. Once I removed the prop guards the Mini was happy to fly beyond those default limits. If the Manual talks about this I missed it.

However, when I flew w/o the guards I lost visual conttact with the drone. It suddenly annouced that it must land and I spent half an hour crawling between barbed wire and in deep grass, metally screaming at the idea that I just lost another, much more expensive, $500 drone before I took seriously its "Where's My Drone" advice -- and found it sitting on my front yard maybe 50 feet from where I launched it.

There's much to learn, and much to enjoy, about these gadgets.

 

[Nooguy]

3 dot menu -> safety -> advanced safety settings -> down at the bottom of there, is payload mode on perhaps?
Do you have the prop guards on by any chance?

Yes, I did. And removing them solved my problem.
Thank you very much.

 

[old man mavic]

Thank You! You're absolutely right. Once I removed the prop guards the Mini was happy to fly beyond those default limits. If the Manual talks about this I missed it.

However, when I flew w/o the guards I lost visual conttact with the drone. It suddenly annouced that it must land and I spent half an hour crawling between barbed wire and in deep grass, metally screaming at the idea that I just lost another, much more expensive, $500 drone before I took seriously its "Where's My Drone" advice -- and found it sitting on my front yard maybe 50 feet from where I launched it.

There's much to learn, and much to enjoy, about these gadgets.

i am sure you will get more proficient at flying the more you do it,just read up on the manual and practice ,

 

[Deleted member 103366]

I would suggest going through the manual and looking at the various RTH behaviours then go out to a wide open and safe space on a windless or low wind day and trigger them one by one.
DO NOT set the RTH height high, 15m would be adequate if you choose the correct place. Loss of sginal can be duplicated by switching the controller off, apparently it takes the controller around 15sec to switch on and capture the drone so give yourself adequate distance to allow you to regain control, you can check the recapture time thing in the house with the drone sat on a table etc.
I'd bet nearly everyone had been caught out by some of the behaviours at some time. The what-happens-if-RTH-is-triggered-within-20m-of-the-home-point nearly cost me a phantom 3 and not knowing or forgetting that you can stop a climb to an excessively high RTH height by moving the throttle stick cost me several stressful minutes as my mini climbed to an accidentally set 875ft RTH height (over open sea) and was then brought done again as quickly as possible

 

[EyesWideShut]

@PhiliusFoggg - Testing RTH behaviors is a good idea. I haven't tried RTH LOS (Loss Of Signal) yet. Think I might set the LOS RTH to hover then fly it out a 100 ft or so making sure it's past the 60ft RTH auto-land point, and while cruising out turn off the controller. A point I'm not sure of... wonder if the mini will continue to fly for the "11 seconds" then hover, or immediately stop and hover? I'll be able to regain control from the hover after turning the controller back on. Might be a safer and less stressful way to test and see how long it takes to initiate the RTH hover and the time to regain control.

 

[Deleted member 103366]

My money would be on it coming to a stop at signal loss and then starting the appropriate behaviour.