Disappointed with distance

Robbo1 · Dec 2, 2017

I had the same problem thank you for the thread

stanslaton · Dec 2, 2017

Not sure why u r having issues but I have easily gone 3 miles which is mostly rural. As I go out further in distance I monitor my signal strength and as the signal gets reduced I increase my altitude and can watch the increase in signal strength as I gain altitude. In areas where there is more interference I have easily gotten 2 miles. DJI hit a home run with the Mavic. I just recently sold my Inspire 1 due to the weight and size and a recent disability with my back. The mobility and technology of the Mavic make it the best drone on the market for those of us wanting great video and pictures without having to lug around a larger drone such as the Inspire, which is also a great product.

Lon Denard · Dec 2, 2017

DCAgan008 said:
I find it fascinating that the aircraft is still visible at these distances. I have trouble keeping an eye on my Mavic much further than about 1800'. safe flying!

Yea I was wondering about that as well... I post a video at 476 feet directly above my head and I'm the most dangerous man alive but it's okay for you guys to fly out of visual sight. Oh okay.

Jim Flannery K0UNX · Dec 2, 2017

Has anyone been able to get their Mavic Pro out very far? I saw a YouTube video where a guy actually gauges the distance and got it out to about 4 miles at which point he turned it around. He didn't seem to have much video loss at all in his situation. Is there a way that I can extend the range such as something that can be purchased for the Mavic Pro or even my phone?[/QUOTE]

The DJI video posted by LazyBoot is EXACTLY RIGHT. I routinely fly at up to 3 miles here in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, where we have very little interfering signals. As long as I have no obstructions (even foliage) I have no trouble with distance.

Mavic one · Dec 2, 2017

looopson said:
If there was one reason for me to sell my Mavic, it would be because of the distance factor. I had read that the Mavic has a frequency range of roughly 4.5 miles. I've only been able to fly the Mavic out about 2700-2800ft (half mile) before the video reception starts to cut out. I have tried this in various parts of the country and many areas where there are no obstacles aside from short trees and houses (Phoenix).

Has anyone been able to get their Mavic Pro out very far? I saw a YouTube video where a guy actually gauges the distance and got it out to about 4 miles at which point he turned it around. He didn't seem to have much video loss at all in his situation. Is there a way that I can extend the range such as something that can be purchased for the Mavic Pro or even my phone?

You can go on drone world.com and purchase the max mod kit for the remote

fiberdude · Dec 2, 2017

Jim Flannery K0UNX said:
Has anyone been able to get their Mavic Pro out very far? I saw a YouTube video where a guy actually gauges the distance and got it out to about 4 miles at which point he turned it around. He didn't seem to have much video loss at all in his situation. Is there a way that I can extend the range such as something that can be purchased for the Mavic Pro or even my phone?

I did 6.2 km with stock RC. On the way back, there was a bit of headwind, it was 600m short when the battery dipped below 10%. I had to manually pull it back to HP while fighting auto-landing.

code_ultra_zyl · Dec 2, 2017

The frequency the Mavic communicates at is very susceptible to obstruction (line of sight). I get out 2.5 miles with some degradation of the video signal... but usually sufficient to fly. At that distance, I usually have to be at 300-400ft altitude. Ascending will always improve your signal if you see a sudden dropout.

Watch your battery level carefully, and check wind speed at altitude. I wish Mavic had a built in wind speed indicator (you would have to hover for a few seconds for it to get a reading)... but it doesn't, so I check by flying in four directions at full throttle. Top speed in still air is around 21mph, so you can tell approx which way the wind is blowing and how fast.

If you can't get that far, you may have really high ambient RF (crowded by other things that are transmitting) or a problem with your antenna, either on the Mavic or on the controller.

mike ferry · Dec 2, 2017

I had the same problem, range was limited to about 1600 ft. 1) make sure you have enabled extended range (default is 1600 ft), 2) if you are getting intermittent LOS, you may have a problem with the gimbal arm module. Sent mine back and returned new drone, now I can fly as far as I dare with solid RF signal.

baddog · Dec 2, 2017

looopson said:
If there was one reason for me to sell my Mavic, it would be because of the distance factor. I had read that the Mavic has a frequency range of roughly 4.5 miles. I've only been able to fly the Mavic out about 2700-2800ft (half mile) before the video reception starts to cut out. I have tried this in various parts of the country and many areas where there are no obstacles aside from short trees and houses (Phoenix).

Has anyone been able to get their Mavic Pro out very far? I saw a YouTube video where a guy actually gauges the distance and got it out to about 4 miles at which point he turned it around. He didn't seem to have much video loss at all in his situation. Is there a way that I can extend the range such as something that can be purchased for the Mavic Pro or even my phone?

Not to be a stick in the mud, but if you are a licensed pilot (part 107), there is no way to fly your drone over a mile a way and still keep it in eyesight view. It does not matter if you have 20/15 eyesight, you cannot resolve this low profile drone, at that distance, let alone 3 miles. So you are not flying within regulations, plus it is very unsafe at that distance. You cannot see powerlines, guide wires, or oncoming air traffic and any other unforeseen obstacles, i.e. people below you. Sorry for sounding like an adult. But I like still enjoy being able to fly my drone for fun and for work and I don't want these privileges taken away by someone else is flying reckless.

bjohnson · Dec 2, 2017

looopson said:
If there was one reason for me to sell my Mavic, it would be because of the distance factor. I had read that the Mavic has a frequency range of roughly 4.5 miles. I've only been able to fly the Mavic out about 2700-2800ft (half mile) before the video reception starts to cut out. I have tried this in various parts of the country and many areas where there are no obstacles aside from short trees and houses (Phoenix).

Has anyone been able to get their Mavic Pro out very far? I saw a YouTube video where a guy actually gauges the distance and got it out to about 4 miles at which point he turned it around. He didn't seem to have much video loss at all in his situation. Is there a way that I can extend the range such as something that can be purchased for the Mavic Pro or even my phone?

it's all to do with location. I flew my mavic from the beach on Thursday. Near the beach there are many hotels so a lot of wifi interference. I went straight out over the sea and at 2.4 miles I still had 3 bars of signal on the remote and full streaming video. I have an old samsung J1 phone dedicated to the mavic and fly with no sim card in it. I could have gone further but 2.4 miles over the ocean was scary enough. Hit return to home waited and it precision landed on my landing pad on the beach.

Peter WEINBERGER · Dec 2, 2017

looopson said:
I have the antennas pointed out, flat. See below. This is how I usually fly it.

Do you recommend I turn them a different way ? Pointed straight up?

I have never flown it indoors before. Aside from the antenna issue, maybe I need a new craft? I have the DJI Refresh if I wanted a refurbished one, I suppose...

They should be pointed straight up! Only if the bird is directly overhead would you position them flat. Make sure you are always facing the drone, no matter how far out.

Peter WEINBERGER · Dec 2, 2017

baddog said:
Not to be a stick in the mud, but if you are a licensed pilot (part 107), there is no way to fly your drone over a mile a way and still keep it in eyesight view. It does not matter if you have 20/15 eyesight, you cannot resolve this low profile drone, at that distance, let alone 3 miles. So you are not flying within regulations, plus it is very unsafe at that distance. You cannot see powerlines, guide wires, or oncoming air traffic and any other unforeseen obstacles, i.e. people below you. Sorry for sounding like an adult. But I like still enjoy being able to fly my drone for fun and for work and I don't want these privileges taken away by someone else is flying reckless.

Flying past the line of sight was so easy, I finally got a waiver. But to be honest, I only look at the drone when taking off and landing. Otherwise my eyes are on the screen. With experience you can fly this way safely. But I’m talking after hundreds of flights. The key is to also study your environment before taking off. Even if in sight it can be very difficult to gauge depth sometimes. The thing I’ll never do is fly over 400 feet. Just asking for trouble. Good luck.

Lon Denard · Dec 2, 2017

baddog said:
Not to be a stick in the mud, but if you are a licensed pilot (part 107), there is no way to fly your drone over a mile a way and still keep it in eyesight view. It does not matter if you have 20/15 eyesight, you cannot resolve this low profile drone, at that distance, let alone 3 miles. So you are not flying within regulations, plus it is very unsafe at that distance. You cannot see powerlines, guide wires, or oncoming air traffic and any other unforeseen obstacles, i.e. people below you. Sorry for sounding like an adult. But I like still enjoy being able to fly my drone for fun and for work and I don't want these privileges taken away by someone else is flying reckless.

I've been waiting for this... I do appreciate that you specified that it only applies to licensed pilots. Most don't and try to pretend that the regulations apply to hobby pilots. Thank you for your integrity!

Lon Denard · Dec 2, 2017

Peter WEINBERGER said:
Flying past the line of sight was so easy, I finally got a waiver. But to be honest, I only look at the drone when taking off and landing. Otherwise my eyes are on the screen. With experience you can fly this way safely. But I’m talking after hundreds of flights. The key is to also study your environment before taking off. Even if in sight it can be very difficult to gauge depth sometimes. The thing I’ll never do is fly over 400 feet. Just asking for trouble. Good luck.

Oh good the other typical remark... "Yes I break one of the rules but it's okay because I'M qualified and have an extra piece of paper to boot. However, the rule YOU break, and I never do is the important and really dangerous one." Hahaha!

Honest question, what's more "dangerous", flying within a dome of approximately 700' or never going above 400' but routinely flying out 3 miles+? I'm seriously curious what everyone thinks. Both scenarios break the guidelines, so I'm not interested in what the "rules" are, just opinions.

Donnie Frank · Dec 3, 2017

looopson said:
If there was one reason for me to sell my Mavic, it would be because of the distance factor. I had read that the Mavic has a frequency range of roughly 4.5 miles. I've only been able to fly the Mavic out about 2700-2800ft (half mile) before the video reception starts to cut out. I have tried this in various parts of the country and many areas where there are no obstacles aside from short trees and houses (Phoenix).

Has anyone been able to get their Mavic Pro out very far? I saw a YouTube video where a guy actually gauges the distance and got it out to about 4 miles at which point he turned it around. He didn't seem to have much video loss at all in his situation. Is there a way that I can extend the range such as something that can be purchased for the Mavic Pro or even my phone?

I haven't really pushed mine out very far, but I concur that reception starts to deteriorate a mere half mile out. This, with line of sight @ 400' AGL. I purchased a passive range extender which doesn't seem to be doing much. More testing needed. Same passive range extender extended my Inspire 1 out an additional 1500' or so, for a total of about 6000 usable feet.

Wipster · Dec 3, 2017

looopson said:
If there was one reason for me to sell my Mavic, it would be because of the distance factor. I had read that the Mavic has a frequency range of roughly 4.5 miles. I've only been able to fly the Mavic out about 2700-2800ft (half mile) before the video reception starts to cut out. I have tried this in various parts of the country and many areas where there are no obstacles aside from short trees and houses (Phoenix).

Has anyone been able to get their Mavic Pro out very far? I saw a YouTube video where a guy actually gauges the distance and got it out to about 4 miles at which point he turned it around. He didn't seem to have much video loss at all in his situation. Is there a way that I can extend the range such as something that can be purchased for the Mavic Pro or even my phone?

They have a lot of antenna extenders.

allnamestaken · Dec 4, 2017

Are you trolling us?

Dougcjohn · Dec 4, 2017

If you go out to far or ignore battery warning too long and it lands, what methods are applied to locate it. I’ve read where some use the flight logs, but curious if other methods. If battery is low, then lands... you loose connection with MP correct? My greatest concern as new flyer is loosing MP and not knowing how to locate quickly.

Dougcjohn · Dec 4, 2017

Realized this was a separate issue so posted within Help Section as a New Post. Techniques to locate lost Mavic - how to find?

ablack · Dec 4, 2017

looopson said:
Yes, so I've always flown in the city and NEVER tested in an open space like the desert to see if it still loses signal after 0.5 miles... maybe I will try driving out to the plains and test it out.

I live in Los Angeles and in the city I get about 3/4 of a mile. I then flew from an elevated position over a very flat area and got 3 miles with no issue.