I have been flying DJI drones since before Flysafe, GEO, NFZ, etc. existed. Phantom 2-4, Inspire 1-2, A2, A3, M600, M300, and Mavic 2-3. Unfortunately, even after so much progress, the current FlySafe system still has serious issues that DJI needs to fix. The issues include:
1. Waiting until you are in the air before requiring you put in your phone number, a code, and then three check boxes before you can continue.
2. Halting the drone from moving in certain directions (even the ones that get you back to your home point) before the above verification is complete. Even in authorization zones.
3. Timing out and leaving an error in a modal dialog with no means of closing it.
4. Lacking consistency with national airspace regulations and guidelines.
5. Not making it abundantly clear why a drone will refuse to fly in a certain direction. Ideally BEFORE flight.
6. Requiring a phone verification code every time the app is updated.
I write this because again today Flysafe caught me out with the Mavic 3 Cine. Despite being 4 miles from the nearest airport, I took off knowing I was on the edge of an authorization zone and expected that maybe I might have to check a box after I took off. Unbeknownst to me, the app had updated and thus it required a full phone verification.
At this point, I tried to bring the drone back the 20 or so feet I had flown it to be safely away from people which happened to be over an incline. The drone didn't want to come back despite the authorization zone being to the right. As result, the choice now was to get the authorization while in the air or land the drone half way down a steep hill.
Having connected to the internet and put my phone number in the app for the hundredth time, the verification dialog then timed out leaving nothing but a white box with an error message and no way to close it. At this point, the app was essentially frozen and the drone refused to come back towards me.
Thankfully Mavic 3 batteries last as long as they do! I forced the app closed, restarted it, only to have it not bring up the verification dialog. Drone still wouldn't fly back. I had to restart the app 2 more times before it prompted me to verify myself again. Fortunately, it finally worked and I was able to regain control of the drone.
This whole fiasco took almost five minutes. Five minutes with a drone in the air that I could not fully control. To be clear, I don't care if the verification process takes 20 minutes if the drone is still on the ground. But because it waits until after you are in the air, it creates a dangerous situation that could easily be avoided. DJI, fix this!
End of rant.
1. Waiting until you are in the air before requiring you put in your phone number, a code, and then three check boxes before you can continue.
2. Halting the drone from moving in certain directions (even the ones that get you back to your home point) before the above verification is complete. Even in authorization zones.
3. Timing out and leaving an error in a modal dialog with no means of closing it.
4. Lacking consistency with national airspace regulations and guidelines.
5. Not making it abundantly clear why a drone will refuse to fly in a certain direction. Ideally BEFORE flight.
6. Requiring a phone verification code every time the app is updated.
I write this because again today Flysafe caught me out with the Mavic 3 Cine. Despite being 4 miles from the nearest airport, I took off knowing I was on the edge of an authorization zone and expected that maybe I might have to check a box after I took off. Unbeknownst to me, the app had updated and thus it required a full phone verification.
At this point, I tried to bring the drone back the 20 or so feet I had flown it to be safely away from people which happened to be over an incline. The drone didn't want to come back despite the authorization zone being to the right. As result, the choice now was to get the authorization while in the air or land the drone half way down a steep hill.
Having connected to the internet and put my phone number in the app for the hundredth time, the verification dialog then timed out leaving nothing but a white box with an error message and no way to close it. At this point, the app was essentially frozen and the drone refused to come back towards me.
Thankfully Mavic 3 batteries last as long as they do! I forced the app closed, restarted it, only to have it not bring up the verification dialog. Drone still wouldn't fly back. I had to restart the app 2 more times before it prompted me to verify myself again. Fortunately, it finally worked and I was able to regain control of the drone.
This whole fiasco took almost five minutes. Five minutes with a drone in the air that I could not fully control. To be clear, I don't care if the verification process takes 20 minutes if the drone is still on the ground. But because it waits until after you are in the air, it creates a dangerous situation that could easily be avoided. DJI, fix this!
End of rant.
