DJI Mavic Air losing signal at 800 meters (0.49 miles)

Mr.Muchaxo · Oct 9, 2020

I have a Mavic Air and as the title says every time I fly the drone I lose signal at 600 meters or 800 meters. I never got as far as 1km for sure, when DJI advertises a range of 4km.
My antennas are facing the drone, I have my phone in airplane mode and I have the latest software/ firmware. I'm also flying around 50 meters above a river and the area that I'm in, altough it has some, it isn't crowded with other phones and networks.

Are others experiencing this or is this "normal"?

Olav van Gerven · Oct 9, 2020

Never had the problem, but only due to the fact that my eyes are not so good anymore and I am not able to fly at that distance on VLOS as requiered.

lannes · Oct 10, 2020

Are you using the 2.4ghz frequency ?

Mr.Muchaxo · Oct 11, 2020

lannes said:
Are you using the 2.4ghz frequency ?

Im using 5.8 but I think it switches automatically or not?

lannes · Oct 11, 2020

Mr.Muchaxo said:
Im using 5.8 but I think it switches automatically or not?

try selecting 2.4ghz manually
I believe it only automatically selects the best channel within the frequency set, not the best frequency itself.

Mr.Muchaxo · Oct 12, 2020

lannes said:
try selecting 2.4ghz manually
I believe it only automatically selects the best channel within the frequency set, not the best frequency itself.

Ok then, I will try next time I fly!! Can I ask what is the difference between the two? what is 5.8gh used for and 2.4ghz?

lannes · Oct 12, 2020

Mr.Muchaxo said:
Ok then, I will try next time I fly!! Can I ask what is the difference between the two? what is 5.8gh used for and 2.4ghz?

Range is the difference if you have the CE version of the MA, I think in the EU it would be the CE version, but I'm not sure.

jimlips · Oct 12, 2020

There are lots of threads on this forum regarding the differences between 2.4 and 5.8. Do a search.

Bottom line: the lower the frequency, the farther the signal propagates. However, 2.4 was used first, and is crowded (every wifi router uses 2.4). So they started using 5.8 because it was less crowded. As time has gone by, 5.8 is getting crowded as well. Most home routers have 2.4 & 5.8 now too, and actually spread the transmissions across BOTH bands. But 2.4 travels farther, but the band is likely more crowded, so you have to take that into consideration. Look at this screen on your RC to see how crowded your area is.

Mr.Muchaxo · Oct 12, 2020

lannes said:
Range is the difference if you have the CE version of the MA, I think in the EU it would be the CE version, but I'm not sure.

View attachment 114948

ok ok!! That seems to be it! Thank you so much!

Mr.Muchaxo · Oct 12, 2020

jimlips said:
There are lots of threads on this forum regarding the differences between 2.4 and 5.8. Do a search.

Bottom line: the lower the frequency, the farther the signal propagates. However, 2.4 was used first, and is crowded (every wifi router uses 2.4). So they started using 5.8 because it was less crowded. As time has gone by, 5.8 is getting crowded as well. Most home routers have 2.4 & 5.8 now too, and actually spread the transmissions across BOTH bands. But 2.4 travels farther, but the band is likely more crowded, so you have to take that into consideration. Look at this screen on your RC to see how crowded your area is.

View attachment 114950

Yes, afterwards I went look it up! Thank you so much for the explanation tho! Next time I will try to switch it manually to 2.4 ghz and see what range I can get