DJI Air 2S Fly Away - 2,000 Ft, >90% Battery, No Obstructions

[kidvogel]

I launched my Air 2S in a very clear, open area with 100% battery. I set the return to home at the take off to 131 feet. Less than 3 minutes into the flight, with >90% battery, the drone gave me an “image transmission signal May be blocked” error and 1 second later the drone disconnected and never reconnected nor did it return to home. Max distance was 2,072 feet and max altitude was 298 feet which is WELL within reasonable range given a single 16 foot sailboat was the only thing taller then 8-10 feet. I am completely baffled. While I’ve noticed that the range is nowhere remotely near what DJI claims, the handful of times that I’ve lost connection it’s immediately initiated return to home and fairly quickly reconnected. I immediately ran towards the last known location trying to facilitate the reconnection. I was confident since I had 90% battery remaining. I even manually initiated RTH. Nothing. Black screen. Never saw it again. I went out to the exact final location reported on the app but no sign of the drone. I had my wife and a friend wait at the RTH location but it never returned. But since the final reported location was 298 feet above the ground, the final location was suspect. This has shattered my confidence in DJI in addition to presumably shattering my Air 2S. Any thoughts on what might have happened?? Thank you.

 

[Mid-AtlanticDroneServices]

I launched my Air 2S in a very clear, open area with 100% battery. I set the return to home at the take off to 131 feet. Less than 3 minutes into the flight, with >90% battery, the drone gave me an “image transmission signal May be blocked” error and 1 second later the drone disconnected and never reconnected nor did it return to home. Max distance was 2,072 feet and max altitude was 298 feet which is WELL within reasonable range given a single 16 foot sailboat was the only thing taller then 8-10 feet. I am completely baffled. While I’ve noticed that the range is nowhere remotely near what DJI claims, the handful of times that I’ve lost connection it’s immediately initiated return to home and fairly quickly reconnected. I immediately ran towards the last known location trying to facilitate the reconnection. I was confident since I had 90% battery remaining. I even manually initiated RTH. Nothing. Black screen. Never saw it again. I went out to the exact final location reported on the app but no sign of the drone. I had my wife and a friend wait at the RTH location but it never returned. But since the final reported location was 298 feet above the ground, the final location was suspect. This has shattered my confidence in DJI in addition to presumably shattering my Air 2S. Any thoughts on what might have happened?? Thank you.

Obviously some sort of interference, perhaps coupled with another failure. I’d bet it was the interference. That said, if you’re not getting much beyond 2,000 ft range, that’s a problem. You may be getting interference in one or both radio bands (2.4 and 5.8). There are areas where you need to switch from dual band to 5.8. There are a whole host of interference possibilities in 2.4ghz. I assume your display includes a spectral analyzer (part of DJI Fly) so you can see what’s going on.

I’m not sure why your confidence in DJI would be “shattered.” What you experienced is not typical. I’d recommend getting care refresh on your next drone though.

 

[Peio64270]

You'd publish it in the forum Crash & Flyaway Assistance with the log attached for further assistance.

 

[slup]

...Any thoughts on what might have happened??

Go here --> DJI Flight Log Viewer | Phantom Help & there scroll down a bit and read up how to retrieve your flightlog which is stored in the mobile device you flew with... once retrieved upload it on the site & come back and share the link they provide.

Without that you will only get a bunch of useless speculations...

 

[GFields]

Go here --> DJI Flight Log Viewer | Phantom Help & there scroll down a bit and read up how to retrieve your flightlog which is stored in the mobile device you flew with... once retrieved upload it on the site & come back and share the link they provide.

Without that you will only get a bunch of useless speculations...

Beat me to it. Thanks for always helping out!

 

[Meta4]

Obviously some sort of interference, perhaps coupled with another failure. I’d bet it was the interference.

There's nothing obvious about the described incident that would point to interference.
And at worst, interference will only swamp the signal and initiate RTH.
Without flight data, guessing isn't helpful.

 

[Meta4]

Any thoughts on what might have happened??

None from your description ... but if you post your flight data, that could provide enough information to explain the incident and possibly a likely search area.

Go to DJI Flight Log Viewer | Phantom Help
Follow the instructions there to upload your flight record from your phone or tablet.
That will give you a detailed report of the flight.
Come back and post a link to the report it gives you.
Or .. just post the txt file here.

 

[Mid-AtlanticDroneServices]

There's nothing obvious about the described incident that would point to interference.
And at worst, interference will only swamp the signal and initiate RTH.
Without flight data, guessing isn't helpful.

Yeah, I respectfully disagree. That kind of behavior points clearly to the possibility of some kind of significant interference with the radio and likely GPS. You’re right that we don’t know that for sure, but it is the most likely explanation. Other explanations include electronic/mechanical failure in the drone itself. I’m obviously speculating because we don’t have the data. As of now. Totally agree that getting the data would provide a lot more insight. I was just going based on what was posted.

 

[Meta4]

Yeah, I respectfully disagree. That kind of behavior points clearly to the possibility of some kind of significant interference with the radio and likely GPS. You’re right that we don’t know that for sure, but it is the most likely explanation. Other explanations include electronic/mechanical failure in the drone itself. I’m obviously speculating because we don’t have the data. As of now. Totally agree that getting the data would provide a lot more insight. I was just going based on what was posted.

From analysing hundreds of flight incidents, my opinion is that without looking at the recorded flight data, almost all speculation is going to be wrong.
I can't see anything in the description that supports your suggestions.
There's no point guessing without hard evidence.

 

[Mid-AtlanticDroneServices]

From analysing hundreds of flight incidents, my opinion is that without looking at the recorded flight data, almost all speculation is going to be wrong.
I can't see anything in the description that supports your suggestions.
There's no point guessing without hard evidence.

You’ve already stated that. Again, I disagree. There’s plenty of value in speculating especially if hard data isn’t available. No need to go back-and-forth about it. I’m OK with disagreement.

 

[Meta4]

You’ve already stated that. Again, I disagree. There’s plenty of value in speculating especially if hard data isn’t available. No need to go back-and-forth about it. I’m OK with disagreement.

Interference doesn't cause drones to fly away, fall from the sky or become lost.
Random guesses are almost always wrong.

 

[Mid-AtlanticDroneServices]

Interference doesn't cause drones to fly away, fall from the sky or become lost.
Random guesses are almost always wrong.

You just cannot let it go. I however, can. Take care.

 

[zeusfl]

You can have flyaway for lost connection and Fail Safe set to hover or Land, the lost of satellite signal after disconnections, motor failure, lost a propeller, and many more. Is difficult to help without logs.

They just don't fly away in most cases. Is very weird if happens. I am sure @Meta4 is trying to help you like always does. But try to recover the flying records will be your best option. You can be surprise if they find a malfunction on the records and you prove that to DJI they can give you free drones back to you. It happened to me 3 times already with the Mavic 3.

 

[GFields]

@TheDroneCave and @Meta4, Let's please stay on track and not make this about personal opinions. If the OP doesn't post the flight data, this thread may very well be closed.

 

[Jamesz]

If you keep to VLOS, a lot of these events would not happen. It's not just for safety, but protecting your valuable investment.

 

[Meta4]

I'm always puzzled why someone posts a call for help like this and doesn't come back to even see what help has been offered.
This happens surprisingly commonly.
This was posted 48 hours ago and the OP hasn't been seen since posting it.

 

[gannp]

Go here --> DJI Flight Log Viewer | Phantom Help & there scroll down a bit and read up how to retrieve your flightlog which is stored in the mobile device you flew with... once retrieved upload it on the site & come back and share the link they provide.

Without that you will only get a bunch of useless speculations...

Sorry this is not relevant to the current question but it prompted me to ask. I have been wondering whether the flight log viewer is available on my mobile device if I am using a DJI Mini 2.

It would be great to look back on.
[I am 80 and I don't understand a lot of I.T. stuff so in laymans terms please]

 

[zeusfl]

Sorry this is not relevant to the current question but it prompted me to ask. I have been wondering whether the flight log viewer is available on my mobile device if I am using a DJI Mini 2.

It would be great to look back on.
[I am 80 and I don't understand a lot of I.T. stuff so in laymans terms please]

What mobile device do you use to fly your drone?
For Apple devices follow this instructions: HOW TO: Retrieve DJI Phantom Flight Logs from an Apple Device | Phantom Help

For Android devices follow this instructions:

• For Android mobile devices, connect your mobile device to a computer via a USB cable and go to:
  • DJI GO 3
    • DJI\dji.pilot\FlightRecord
  • DJI GO 4
    • DJI\dji.go.v4\FlightRecord
  • DJI Fly
    • DJI\dji.go.v5\FlightRecord (for older versions of DJI Fly)
    • DJI\dji.go.v5\files\FlightRecord (for iOS devices)
    • or Android\data\dji.go.v5\files\FlightRecord (for Android devices)

 

[gannp]

Flight data or figth ?

What mobile device do you use to fly your drone?
For Apple devices follow this instructions: HOW TO: Retrieve DJI Phantom Flight Logs from an Apple Device | Phantom Help

For Android devices follow this instructions:

• For Android mobile devices, connect your mobile device to a computer via a USB cable and go to:
  • DJI GO 3
    • DJI\dji.pilot\FlightRecord
  • DJI GO 4
    • DJI\dji.go.v4\FlightRecord
  • DJI Fly
    • DJI\dji.go.v5\FlightRecord (for older versions of DJI Fly)
    • DJI\dji.go.v5\files\FlightRecord (for iOS devices)
    • or Android\data\dji.go.v5\files\FlightRecord (for Android devices)

iphone 12
I keep seeing references to "Phantom". Are we talking Mini 2 in that or is Phantom something different?

[sorry for simple questions]

 

[GFields]

iphone 12
I keep seeing references to "Phantom". Are we talking Mini 2 in that or is Phantom something different?

[sorry for simple questions]

It can be viewed in any browser, including one on a mobile device. However, you need to upload flight logs for it to work and that is hard to do from a mobile device.