Charging Magic Air Controller

[Sverker]

The connection on the controller is not micro-USB. It is rectangular shaped, in contrast to micro-USB, which is asymmetrical. I try to connect the adapter into the controller, with some force, but it doesn´t go in. Obviously DJI has changed the controller (and the controller to smartphone), but not the adapter.

Here you see the "USB-connector" that connects the phone to the controller. Perfectly rectangular. Seems to be a micro-USM type A.


And below is the micro USB that is in the end of the USB-C to Micro-USB adapter. More familiar shape.



Shall I force the second USB into the controller, even if the shapes are different? Maybe I destroy the controller which looks like this ...



I forced it in and now it fits like it should.

 

[borislip]

Whats on the DJI controllers is micro USB A-B type, female. It does look rectangular, but its perfectly fine to plug a normal micro USB B male into that. You shouldn't have to force it.

 

[MavicFlyer]

No.

Sounds like DJI might be able to enable charging of the RC via the full size USB port in a future firmware update. That would be fantastic!

 

[borislip]

Sounds like DJI might be able to enable charging of the RC via the full size USB port in a future firmware update. That would be fantastic!

What makes you think its even possible on the HW level?

 

[MavicFlyer]

Optimistic guess?

 

[borislip]

Optimistic guess?

Overly-optimistic, IMO. I have yet to see a single device, physically capable of received power over USB-A female connector. Not saying its definitely impossible, but its definitely non-standard, and i haven't seen anything that does that.

 

[BearMan54]

The right way to insert the micro usb adapter to the RC is with the side that has the DJI logo on it facing up....

 

[AZZ]

The connector on the controller is Micro-USB type A. The adapter that dji is providing is USB-C to micro USB type B.
USB type B, indeed connects to to Micro USB type A but with poor mechanical match (A is rectangular).
I think that the best option is to purchase a simple USB-A (the type you have on most computers) to Micro USB type A. This should provide best match.

 

[FoxhallGH]

Seems like its not charged. You have to push the connector in pretty hard to get it in.

Whoa! ... Be really careful 'pushing' a micro-USB connector into the controller charging port. There's a very good post and stream here where all this subject was covered two weeks ago: Micro USB........ that gives all the details, BUT if you put the micro-USB in the wrong way round, you can break the 'tongue' in the middle of the connector, and effectively make your controller un-chargeable! A popular fix for this is to use magnetic 'NetDot' USB cables [ https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B076Q8Y...colid=X5BS0IJUTCGA&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it ] and just leave the micro-USB tip in the side port of the controller - then use a short USB2.0 cable from the port underneath the controller body to your mobile device to connect Go 4. That way, you don't need to continually plug/unplug the micro-USB on the side, and won't get hit with a repair bill and downtime when it breaks.

 

[FoxhallGH]

Whats on the DJI controllers is micro USB A-B type, female. It does look rectangular, but its perfectly fine to plug a normal micro USB B male into that. You shouldn't have to force it.

Not quite correct my friend ... you have micro-A and micro-B type as two separate standards. The RC controller has a Micro-A socket. You can fit a micro-B plug into a micro-A socket (which is exactly the scenario for charging the RC controller), but you have to be very careful to get the small slot oriented correctly with the tongue in the controller socket. If this is forced when it's the wrong way round, then the tongue will snap off! Due to the expense and downtime of the repair (you WILL NOT be able to charge the controller with the micro-A port broken!), it's worth while just marking your micro-B charging plug, and the controller socket with a dot of paint to show you which way round is correct.

 

[FoxhallGH]

This is my controller ... I'm using a short USB 2.0 to [right-angled] USB-C cable to connect my [Android] mobile, and have a micro-B 'NetDot' tip permanently left in the charging port of the controller. You can see that prior to this set up, I also did the paint-spot thing on the micro-USB cable and controller. Now I just wave the end of the USB NetDot cable near the controller port, and it clicks together and starts charging. When charging is complete, a slight twist of the connector breaks the magnetic & electrical connection ... Off we go flying ...

 

[Hobbo]

This is my controller ... I'm using a short USB 2.0 to [right-angled] USB-C cable to connect my [Android] mobile, and have a micro-B 'NetDot' tip permanently left in the charging port of the controller. You can see that prior to this set up, I also did the paint-spot thing on the micro-USB cable and controller. Now I just wave the end of the USB NetDot cable near the controller port, and it clicks together and starts charging. When charging is complete, a slight twist of the connector breaks the magnetic & electrical connection ... Off we go flying ...View attachment 54192

This is my controller ... I'm using a short USB 2.0 to [right-angled] USB-C cable to connect my [Android] mobile, and have a micro-B 'NetDot' tip permanently left in the charging port of the controller. You can see that prior to this set up, I also did the paint-spot thing on the micro-USB cable and controller. Now I just wave the end of the USB NetDot cable near the controller port, and it clicks together and starts charging. When charging is complete, a slight twist of the connector breaks the magnetic & electrical connection ... Off we go flying ...View attachment 54192

Picking up on an earlier query. When flying how can I check the charge level of the controller?

 

[FoxhallGH]

Your RC controller display shows the aircraft battery status at the top centre of the LCD, and the controller battery status 3/4 of the way down on the left.

 

[Colc new drone]

I lost my adapter first day what I found is if you use a usb cord from a samsung phone charger it plugs into dji battery charger and into the controller no problems it charges and it is cheaper than buying a new adapter I have used it repeatedly and it is the same as using the original cord and adapter

 

[Colc new drone]

This little plug is probably the weakest part of the design from what I've seen so far. Absolutely no chance of this little plug ever going missing...!

Just use a sub cord from samsung phone charger it does away with the adapter altogether works great

 

[msinger]

I lost my adapter first day what I found is if you use a usb cord from a samsung phone charger it plugs into dji battery charger and into the controller no problems

The port on the remote controller is a Micro USB port. It can be charged with any Micro USB cable.

 

[Kreigor-Celtic Warrier]

The USB cable provided with MA is a USB to USB-C cable. The adapter will turn the USB-C connector into micro-USB that is needed to connect to the controller. Even then, you need to look at how the cable connects into the RC because DJI uses a rounded micro-usb port instead of the shaped one. It is the strangest design decision, and this isn't limited to just the Mavic Air, the Mavic Pro and the Spark have the same issue.

The best thing to do is use a regular micro-usb cable, one you might have for charging your phone or other device. Then you don't have to worry about the little USB-C to micro-usb adapter that DJI supplies.

The USB connector 'C' is double sided. In other words, It can be installed either one way or the other. Where as the micro USB connector can only be installed one
particular direction. One side is straight, and the other side is sort of curved at the corners. Similar to the shape of the letter 'D' ...
That said, take a good close look at the RC micro USB connector and you will notice that the indentation on the RC is basically dull black, accept for the perimeter of the hole for the micro cable. You should be able to take a look and see the shape of the letter 'D' in a glossy or diff coloration than the rest of the plastic frame. This was how I finally figured out which direction to try and push in the connector... No more problem...
Hope this helps somebody.................K

 

[FoxhallGH]

The USB connector 'C' is double sided. In other words, It can be installed either one way or the other. Where as the micro USB connector can only be installed one
particular direction. One side is straight, and the other side is sort of curved at the corners. Similar to the shape of the letter 'D' ...
That said, take a good close look at the RC micro USB connector and you will notice that the indentation on the RC is basically dull black, accept for the perimeter of the hole for the micro cable. You should be able to take a look and see the shape of the letter 'D' in a glossy or diff coloration than the rest of the plastic frame. This was how I finally figured out which direction to try and push in the connector... No more problem...
Hope this helps somebody.................K

DJI use 'USB'; standards - to a fault! The RC controller is a 'primary' device that connects to a USB 'client' device. For that reason, the connector on the side of the RC controller, is a 'USB micro-A' type (exactly what it should be according to standards). You can plug a USB micro-B type plug into that controller socket, but due to the rectangular nature of the Type A socket, the Type B plug 'APPEARS' to be able to be inserted either way round (as there are no cut off corners on the micro-A socket) - BUT - that's not the case. The small 'tongue' in the micro-A socket is offset. You have to get the micro-B plug the same way round so that the tongue in the A socket is aligned with the receiving slot in the B plug. When you get this reversed, is when the connection tongue in the micro-A socket on the controller gets forced sideways and broken ...