General questions about drones.

[shakescreek]

Hi all, new member here. Daughter and son in law bought me a drone for christmas. It hasn't arrived yet due to the canadapost stike, but thought I'd ask a few questions here so I know what to expect when it arrives. First off I'm an old fart(68) with little knowledge about the digital electronic world. My wife and I live off grid in a remote area of northwestern B.C., not far from both the Alaskan and Yukon borders. We have no road access to our home, we leave our road vehicles parked at the end of a dirt road and get to our home by boat in the summer, and snowmobile in the winter. We have never owned a cell phone and the nearest cell coverage is 700 kilometers away so no point in getting one. We do have internet now thanks to Elon Musk and his starlink system. Our nearest neighbor 12 kilometers away. The drone that's coming is an air 3 fly more combo with the rc2 remote with it's own screen. I would like to be able use it to scout out snowmobile and atv trails and just generally look around and likely take a few picture now and then. My question are about connectivty with the drone. Can I just take it out of the box and connect with the remote and fly it around with no internet or cell tower connection available. I've seen references to some kind of dji fly app whatever that is? Is that something that I have to have to fly this thing, and does that need a cell tower or internet connection? Also seen references to something called binding, is that something that is mandatory to fly it and what kind of connection does that need? In short will I be able to use this thing out in the middle of nowhere as a standalone with no internet or cell connections, or will this thing be useless without those connections available?
Thanks for any knowledge you guys can impart about this stuff that I am basically illiterate in.

 

[TonyPHX]

Start with the manual for the drone. You have a lot going on in your post, but it is going to come down to what drone model you are receiving, and you learning about it. This is best done by reading the manual. Then if you have questions or get stuck, a lot of experience here is happy to help engage with you on this.

 

[Erk1024]

Hi all, new member here. Daughter and son in law bought me a drone for christmas. It hasn't arrived yet due to the canadapost stike, but thought I'd ask a few questions here so I know what to expect when it arrives. First off I'm an old fart(68) with little knowledge about the digital electronic world. My wife and I live off grid in a remote area of northwestern B.C., not far from both the Alaskan and Yukon borders. We have no road access to our home, we leave our road vehicles parked at the end of a dirt road and get to our home by boat in the summer, and snowmobile in the winter. We have never owned a cell phone and the nearest cell coverage is 700 kilometers away so no point in getting one. We do have internet now thanks to Elon Musk and his starlink system. Our nearest neighbor 12 kilometers away. The drone that's coming is an air 3 fly more combo with the rc2 remote with it's own screen. I would like to be able use it to scout out snowmobile and atv trails and just generally look around and likely take a few picture now and then. My question are about connectivty with the drone. Can I just take it out of the box and connect with the remote and fly it around with no internet or cell tower connection available. I've seen references to some kind of dji fly app whatever that is? Is that something that I have to have to fly this thing, and does that need a cell tower or internet connection? Also seen references to something called binding, is that something that is mandatory to fly it and what kind of connection does that need? In short will I be able to use this thing out in the middle of nowhere as a standalone with no internet or cell connections, or will this thing be useless without those connections available?
Thanks for any knowledge you guys can impart about this stuff that I am basically illiterate in.

I think you're probably OK. You need to register it over the internet, and that's usually done with a phone with the DJI Fly app installed. Maybe you could make a trip into town and get it all registered. Then it should work after that. Does your phone connect to the internet through wifi--sorry I've never used StarLink.

 

[Bad Santa]

Binding is the process of making the controller a (virtual) part of the drone.
You're going to want an internet connection to get it set up but once it's set up you won't need one again.

Since you will be out in the boonies buttcrack, you should probably remember one VERY important thing.
Altitude is your friend.
(of course, follow the laws of Canada for max altitude)

 

[shakescreek]

"Does your phone connect to the internet through wifi--sorry I've never used StarLink."

I don't have a phone of any kind, mobile or landline. We do have internet though but only in the house or maybe outside within 100' or so, whatever the router range is. If I can set it up with the laptop in the house that will work fine, but won't have an internet connection available where I will usually be using it, so was hoping that is not necessary.
So is this fly app necessary for registering it but not for flying it?
Can I use this fly app on a windows laptop to register since I don't have a phone?
Will the drone not be flyable at all without registering it?

 

[Bad Santa]

Once you are set up, you can fly it wherever. You won't need any signal other than satellite and transmitter.

 

[Meta4]

Can I just take it out of the box and connect with the remote and fly it around with no internet or cell tower connection available.

Yes, you can ... no problem at all.

I've seen references to some kind of dji fly app whatever that is? Is that something that I have to have to fly this thing, and does that need a cell tower or internet connection?

Yes, you need the app to fly the drone.
The app is pre-loaded on the controller and it does not require internet connection to fly, but you will need internet connection for setup before flying the first time.

Here is the manual for the Air 3 so you have something to read before the drone arrives:

https://dl.djicdn.com/downloads/DJI_Air_3/UM/20240627/1/DJI_Air_3_User_Manual_v1.6_EN.pdf

 

[shakescreek]

Thanks a million for all the quick answers, sounds like it should work well for me. And thanks Meta for that manual link, be great to get read up on it before it arrives. I think this thing will be a lot of fun.

 

[Felix le Chat]

"Does your phone connect to the internet through wifi--sorry I've never used StarLink."

I don't have a phone of any kind, mobile or landline. We do have internet though but only in the house or maybe outside within 100' or so, whatever the router range is. If I can set it up with the laptop in the house that will work fine, but won't have an internet connection available where I will usually be using it, so was hoping that is not necessary.
So is this fly app necessary for registering it but not for flying it?
Can I use this fly app on a windows laptop to register since I don't have a phone?
Will the drone not be flyable at all without registering it?

The references to needing phone to use a DJI drone are misleading. You can use a large screen sim-free tablet just as well. The 'phone' refers to something with a screen that can run the FLY app and display live feed video from the drones camera.

For example: I always carry a spare, fully charged 'flight screen' with me whenever I head out into rough country - this is an older mobile (cell) phone that doesn't have a SIM card installed, but does have my two flight apps installed on it.

The FLY app installed on the screen device gives you access to all the settings and fine tuning menus, which is essential, but it doesn't have to be constantly connected to either a cell network or the internet for both it, and the drone to work, the drone will operate 'standalone' once it has been registered by you when you create an online account with DJI.

You have internet where you live: so you will be able to create the DJI account from your off-grid armchair with absolutely no problems. Just remember to sporadically check that you are logged in to this account with the FLY app before you head out for a flight (probably once a month... again from the comfort of your living room)

 

[boudala]

Air 3 is 720 g so to legally fly it, you would need a license. Basic should be enough for you as it doesn't look like you'll interact too much with air traffic controlled zones and crowds.

Getting a drone pilot certificate

How to apply for a drone pilot certificate.

tc.canada.ca

 

[JoelP]

If you don’t log in to the app from internet, I think once per month, your range and altitude will be restricted. As long as you do that you can fly without a connection.

 

[hank970]

Binding is the process of making the controller a (virtual) part of the drone.
You're going to want an internet connection to get it set up but once it's set up you won't need one again.

Since you will be out in the boonies buttcrack, you should probably remember one VERY important thing.
Altitude is your friend.
(of course, follow the laws of Canada for max altitude)

Not so sure about that. My son was visiting from out-of-town last week, and we were flying our Air 3 drones in a rugged and remote area -- one where there was no cell-phone signal. After one short flight, a message on his controller indicated that he'd need to log-in because he hadn't flown his drone in more than a month. Thereafter, the drone would launch but could fly only about fifty feet in any direction. All was well after we returned to my home and he could log-in using my WiFi. I didn't have a problem because I'd flown my drone more recently.

Neither of us had experienced anything like that before. Is it something new that was included in the latest update? Curious minds want to know...

 

[MS Coast]

After one short flight, a message on his controller indicated that he'd need to log-in because he hadn't flown his drone in more than a month.

Did the message really mention a one-month threshold? That time limit seems to be a folk tale.

 

[hank970]

Did the message really mention a one-month threshold? That time limit seems to be a folk tale.

It did state that log-in was required after a one-month period of inactivity.

 

[Cymruflyer]

See... that's why it pays to not do every update!!!! That is restrictive.

For the OP, your drone and controller connect by their own Wi-Fi system, you do not need cell service or towers or internet, it is all self-contained within its own system. You will have loads of fun but at first set it in beginner mode, it won't allow you to fly very far or high so is a safe mode to learn the basics. It will be amazingly easy for you to learn, trust me, and tons of fun too. Be sure to take off beginner mode when you are ready to fly further and higher.