Flyaway on Waypoints - DJI support and offer is terrible

[7thstring]

Guys I suggest to keep clear from Waypoints for multiple reasons.

The first being that on the current app version it prevents the use of the feature without the drone connected - you might think "okay what's the news?". Well, the app goes "blank" as soon as you experience a RC disconnection, so you lose track of the route in case you need to recover it afterwards.

Second, if you lose connection and you are on "continue mission", you'll lose vital battery minutes while waiting for the drone to return trusting it should (if you are sure you haven't done anything wrong in your programming), instead of immediately start moving in the drone's direction to at least keep track of it.

OT: Now, I know that there are lots of GPS trackers out there, but definitely if you were wondering what could be a "Mavic 3" feature, that would be it: mobile connection, keeping always the drone reachable or even remotely controllable (on 5g even with video feed?) via the Internet.

Now, what's the problem with DJI assistance? They asked me to upload tons of stuff and ALL videos on the smartphone (not only the incident one), to run an analysis, only to report back that the drone lost connection while flying straight on waypoints. Which was exactly what I wrote to them, but also pointing them to threads of their own forum where Waypoints is reported to malfunction on RC disconnection and "continue mission".

What did they offer at the end? A 30% "discount" on a new drone without accessories. That's not a discount, 30% is approximately the value of the remote itself.

I would at least expect them to apply the same logic of DJI Care: that's not an "insurance", you have basically paid the production cost if you sum up the insurance cover cost + the price you have to pay for a (refurbished moreover, most of the times) replacement, while they keep the broken one and restore it to working conditions for another "unlucky" customer.

I understand 30% "discounts" are offered when there is no proof that neither it's pilot error nor drone malfunction, but what you think of them?

EDIT: This thread is NOT meant to comment on the incident itself (otherwise I would have given all sorts of information about it), but rather the service received, so please avoid distracting from the original the intention or you'll be reported.

 

[Deleted member 94047]

Sorry to hear about your mishap. Which app were you using, GO4 or Litchi? Either way, I think waypoints missions require careful planning and evaluation if they involve the likelihood of a signal loss between the RC and the AC. Like you said, you are blind once signal is lost and that is not a good place to be.

A question for fellow members, is it possible to configure the AC to return home on signal loss during a waypoints mission in either GO4 or Litchi?

 

[7thstring]

GO4, that's the problem. If it were a 3rd party app, I would understand.
What I don't understand is why DJI insist in not making some features available (WP one of them) without the drone connected.
Hoping they just don't want to prevent usage of the app by non-customers, I can understand they first need to know which model has been connected (as the app is intended for multiple devices), but they could at least cache the last connection.
Furthermore, having the app going "blank" after a disconnection is really cr*p.

Yes, default behavior on RC loss is RTH, alternative behaviors are to continue mission or to land on the spot (maybe also hover, now I don't remember).

In my case I needed to continue the mission as it was supposed to be a safe test before running a mission on the sea beyond RC coverage. Although connection has been lost at a mere 1088m and never recovered.

 

[zinnware]

It is my understanding that the Mavic 2 has a default action to return home when signal is lost with the controller. This is important if the mission caused the drone to fly beyond the signal with the controller. This action when signal is lost can be changed to hover, or land. With Litchi missions (which I recommend over the GO4) the action occurs when the mission is finished. This may be the same for a mission recorded with GO4. If a waypoint is "way out there" by mistake with GO4, then the drone may attempt to finish the mission before taking the action on controller signal loss.


As others have said. You have to be meticulous about your mission planning. I like Litchi since I can plan all missions with ease on my desktop and take my time doing it by revivifying checking speed at each waypoint, direction of drone/camera, pitch of camera, altitude vs. my take of altitude and comparing that to topo maps and possible obstacles above ground like trees, etc.


Additionally, others on this forum have helped others recover their drones by processing the mission information provided from your phone in Google Earth and seeing where something has gone wrong (like the drone running into a tree because it did not have enough altitude.

 

[Moose1967]

I have a mp1 and my limitation is 500 meters in waypoint missing - is the mp2 able to go beyond 500m on a waypoint mission ?

 

[7thstring]

I have a mp1 and my limitation is 500 meters in waypoint missing - is the mp2 able to go beyond 500m on a waypoint mission ?

Thanks for letting me know, I haven't seen this nowhere but it's not relevant to the case, because flight altitude and RTH altitude would have always provided for a safe return - unless the limit you mention meant "I'm stopping here and land".

 

[7thstring]

It is my understanding that the Mavic 2 has a default action to return home when signal is lost with the controller. This is important if the mission caused the drone to fly beyond the signal with the controller. This action when signal is lost can be changed to hover, or land.

You're right saying that RTH is the default action but the alternatives are hover, land and continue mission (and I chose the last because the test was all around it).

This thread is anyway not to comment on the flight itself (otherwise I would have provided a full description of the preparation, etc. which obviously included altitude checks, google earth inspection, etc.) but on DJI assistance. And the fact that once you lose connection, the app goes blank.

 

[Moose1967]

So what was the quad doing between 500m and 1088m - how did it get beyond 500m - must’ve been a 3rd party app as go4 limits you to 500 meters - maybe why DJI is not too forthcoming with you as they maybe figure you used some other app - maybe I a must missing something here.

 

[7thstring]

So what was the quad doing between 500m and 1088m - how did it get beyond 500m - must’ve been a 3rd party app as go4 limits you to 500 meters - maybe why DJI is not too forthcoming with you as they maybe figure you used some other app - maybe I a must missing something here.

Thanks for your comment, Indeed you are. I don't know about your limitations with the GO4 app but the Mavic 2 is advertised for 8km distance and with mine I can go as far as 4.5km only stopped by a battery warning... and again this post is not to comment on the incident itself.

 

[Moose1967]

The waypoint intelligent flight mode is limited to 500 meters - the farthest waypoint you can save cannot be further than 500 meters - therefore you must have been using some other version to fly the waypoint mission.

 

[7thstring]

The waypoint intelligent flight mode is limited to 500 meters - the farthest waypoint you can save cannot be further than 500 meters - therefore you must have been using some other version to fly the waypoint mission.

Have you tried yourself? I suggest doing it before posting again ;-) Not necessarily executing amission, at least setting waypoints beyond 500m.

The only sensible explanation is that you are talking about a limitation that was subsequently removed, but anyway again I didn't write the post to analyse the incident.

 

[Moose1967]

Yes I have tested it on my own quad and I cannot set a waypoint beyond 500 meters on waypoint 1.0 - I have the MP1 and I tried flying beyond 500m to set one and it will not let me - maybe waypoint 2.0 is different and you can prep program them using the map on the Go4 app.

Sorry for the confusion just trying to help.

 

[AnzacJack]

So I’m not sure what exactly happened here, maybe I’m just tired.
Are you saying that after flying beyond controller range, while on a waypoint mission, you lost connection (of course, it’s beyond range) and then never saw the drone again? It didn’t complete mission or return to home?

It’s hard to comment on DJI support here as I’m not sure what exactly happened, but if it’s user error through a poorly executed flight plan, then 30% discount seems like a reasonable offer for something they could wash their hands of

 

[7thstring]

Yes I have tested it on my own quad and I cannot set a waypoint beyond 500 meters on waypoint 1.0 - I have the MP1 and I tried flying beyond 500m to set one and it will not let me - maybe waypoint 2.0 is different and you can prep program them using the map on the Go4 app.

Sorry for the confusion just trying to help.

Thanks, I confirm it's Waypoints 2.0 on a Mavic 2. Applying a customer-centric approach, I cultivated the open-minded habit of not challenging all assumptions made ;-) so thanks for "believing" it was Go4 now ...

 

[7thstring]

So I’m not sure what exactly happened here, maybe I’m just tired.
Are you saying that after flying beyond controller range, while on a waypoint mission, you lost connection (of course, it’s beyond range) and then never saw the drone again? It didn’t complete mission or return to home?

It’s hard to comment on DJI support here as I’m not sure what exactly happened, but if it’s user error through a poorly executed flight plan, then 30% discount seems like a reasonable offer for something they could wash their hands of

It lost connection after a mere 1088m and didn't return. So I don't know if it completed the mission. And the flight plan was spot on (the only doubt could be about battery issues), altitude and most important RTH altitude were more than adequate (at least 30 meters margin) from any obstacle.

If you read carefully, I'm saying that they basically offer you a replacement drone at the retail price, so there is no "discount" at all. If you do the math, a Mavic minus controller alone can be easily valued 70%. If you also consider that the drone can be purchased on Amazon at less than the retail price, where's the convenience?

Btw DJI answer was kind of like "it took off, positioned at 120m altitude, ran straight for 1088m then lost connection and never got back". Thanks, I reached that conclusion myself.

 

[AnzacJack]

I think the 30% discount is a discount of drone only price, not a discount of the whole kit

 

[WithTheBirds]

As has been said- usual policy is discount off aircraft only (excluding remote and accessories). That would seem generous in circumstances where the cause of the loss can’t be demonstrated. Refresh wouldnt have helped given they require the crashed AC. Your refusal for whatever reason to provide further information makes it difficult to have an opinion on what is reasonable. It might be you shouldn’t have been offered anything- who knows

 

[Meta4]

Btw DJI answer was kind of like "it took off, positioned at 120m altitude, ran straight for 1088m then lost connection and never got back". Thanks, I reached that conclusion myself.

It's kind of difficult for DJI to tell what might have happened when the signal has been lost and there's no data to look at.
Just like it's kind of difficult to take this thread seriously when there's no recorded flight data to show what might have happened.

 

[AnzacJack]

I can only guess it was an illegal or illadvised flight and wonder what the OP is looking for in this thread

 

[7thstring]

I think the 30% discount is a discount of drone only price, not a discount of the whole kit

DJI haven't replied yet but the wording leaves little doubt as whether it's €1249-30% - that would be €874.30. The RC alone goes around €300-350 if I recall.