How do I bring Mavic home when tablet/phone disconnects without using RTH?

[Logger]

I will chime in and offer variation to the distance method, that I reckon is easier and more robust.

Use the right stick only. Do not turn at all or you will lose your point of reference - stay off the left stick (other than for climb descent).

Pitch forward and watch the distance. If it is increasing simply pitch back to reverse course and distance will decrease. Use all four quadrants of right stick only, to establish best closure. Then finesse the right stick between the two possible closure quadrants to maximise the rate of return. Simple.

This is an excellent question by OP by the way. Because it is possible to end up in ATTI mode with the Mavic drifting away and RTH wont work! If this drop to ATTI mode is due to a compass error, you will still have the GPS to give the distance telemetry on the RC even though the drone cannot Navigate by itself. So knowing how to home by distance readout alone is great thing to know.

 

[Ronin229]

Use the older app - no disconnects.

Yeah the previous version of DJIGO4 I didn't have any problems.

 

[borislip]

The bottom line on the original topic of this thread - if you are out of LOS, have no idea whats your orientation, and lost the app, using the distance reading is inferior to RTH, since it simply uses the same coordinates of the home point in a less optimal way. So the best course of action is likely raising the drone to a safe altitude manually, using the altitude readout (remember, its not true AGL, its above launch point), and then hitting the RTH.

 

[m0j0]

Depends on what is happening. If you do not know where it is.... (out of sight) . You can use the telemetry. Push forward and turn it until distance is closing the fastest. The other way would be to hit return to home and wait for it to start coming back once you verify it is heading toward you cancel the RTH by toggling the mode switch.

 

[AlanTheBeast]

If you're further out than line of sight do as suggested and fly by looking at the distance . Using the RTH is ok but why not use the time to learn to fly and not depend on the automation ? The distance read out is the same info it is using to return to home anyway . If that were inaccurate RTH would not work anyway . The first thing you do in a crisis is Always Fly the Aircraft .

"Always fly the aircraft" applies to aircraft that have a minimum equipment instrument list (that the MP RC doesn't have). That would include airspeed, compass, turn and slip/bank, altimeter, rate of climb indicator. In this case the missing compass heading of the MP on the RC is the biggest glaring mistake DJI made.

 

[rydfree]

"Always fly the aircraft" applies to aircraft that have a minimum equipment instrument list (that the MP RC doesn't have). That would include airspeed, compass, turn and slip/bank, altimeter, rate of climb indicator. In this case the missing compass heading of the MP on the RC is the biggest glaring mistake DJI made.

Always Fly the aircraft has also been a common term at RC fields throughout the years to tell people to not just look at the radio when something goes haywire . Fly the aircraft and worry about the cause after you get it down .

 

[AlanTheBeast]

Always Fly the aircraft has also been a common term at RC fields throughout the years to tell people to not just look at the radio when something goes haywire . Fly the aircraft and worry about the cause after you get it down .

I don't disagree on the underlying sageness of it. But this is not RC flying as you describe it. At all.

People such as the OP are (usually not legally compliant) flying out of visual range and depending on technology for stability and situational awareness, it is more efficient to use RTH - and likely safer when battery power is marginal.

RC flying (as I did a very long time ago) is a one way proposition. You must always be controlling the pitch and bank of the aircraft and power to maintain stable flight. Then navigate. That was hard enough - easy to "see" the plane as being on one heading when it was really 90° to that...

These drones fly themselves where stability and maintaining flight is concerned. Not sure what's going on? Let go of the controls and think it through. It will come to a dead stop and hover while you sort it out. Nothing like RC.

Since, with the OP's case, it is not in visual reference and since the machine has all sorts of abilities to recover, it is best to use those IMO rather than doing an elephant search.

I have nothing against skills. Develop them.

But if I lose my display and I can't resolve it within 30 seconds, I'm simply bringing the drone back with RTH.

That also goes to the takeoff preparation - assuring GPS acquisition and location before spinning the props.

 

[oldtrapper]

Today my Galaxy s7 edge disconnected and in spite of closing and re-opening DJI go 4 and re-connecting cable to RC. I totally lost connection with my screen. Now I did initiate RTH on remote without issued but is there another way to know how to bring it home by just using the remote and not hitting RTH?

You propably don't want to hear that: stick to the rules and maintain line of sight and use the rc to bring it safely back home. Quite simple, isn't it?

okok, no showstopper:
always try to imagine where ac is, bing it down to a safe height ... often 35 m is enough to stay above trees and houses, close your eyes and try to bring it close. Sooner or later yolu will hear it, then try to see it and you are done. If it does not work, there is still RTH. Practise this and you will have an real Plan B. Rely on your brain.

 

[Palliz]

Personally wish DJI would do something similar to the old style compass in the dji Vision 1.0.61 app where you can tap the small icon & it almost fill the whole center screen with compass & ring distances - saved me from a whole heap of losing direction - location.

 

[borislip]

Personally wish DJI would do something similar to the old style compass in the dji Vision 1.0.61 app where you can tap the small icon & it almost fill the whole center screen with compass & ring distances - saved me from a whole heap of losing direction - location.

The entire three was about staying in control after LOSING the app.

 

[Paul Dawson]

Bwudiful!

 

[AlanTheBeast]

The entire three was about staying in control after LOSING the app.

Indeed - but two things make me wonder about DJI's lack of thinking in their drones.

1. Have a heading indicator on the RC. That is: what the drone is reporting as its heading.

2. Use GPS/IMU to determine ground track (ersatz heading) when the compass' are futzt.

 

[Fletcher500]

Good stuff, thanks. I have only taken it out 3 times, so these questions were running through my mind, including a dream one night that did not end well.

 

[Fearless Flight]

It would be nice if you could set either the C1 or C2 button to be your home lock. Then if your phone goes blank but you still have RC connection you could easily hit the C1/C2 button manually putting it into home lock which would then allow you to pull back on the right stick and no matter which way your Mavic is pointed it would fly directly back to you.

 

[Logger]

It would be nice if you could set either the C1 or C2 button to be your home lock. Then if your phone goes blank but you still have RC connection you could easily hit the C1/C2 button manually putting it into home lock which would then allow you to pull back on the right stick and no matter which way your Mavic is pointed it would fly directly back to you.

In that situation simply presssing the RTH button would provide a better outcome. To put it another way, for home lock to work the drone needs to be able to navigate. If navigation is available so is RTH.

 

[Richvel]

I had this happen with my S7 edge this weekend after the update. The phone didn't shut off, but the app just closed mid flight. I didn't unplug the cord (was using the usb at the bottom of the RC ) but just restarted the app and it connected. A little scary, I even considered getting an iphone lol.

My S7 Edge has started disconnecting since the newest upgrade. The mavic appears to freeze at that point and I have been able to restart the app and continue flying but the thought of an extended flight and that happening is scary. Do you think it has to do with any phone settings?

 

[ckizer]

I'm used to the P3P and all the flight modes. I just want to be clear, if I need to take control of the aircraft manually I can just switch into sport mode right? If it's flying away and I still have control or need to manually land?

 

[Bunny Too]

My S7 Edge has started disconnecting since the newest upgrade. The mavic appears to freeze at that point and I have been able to restart the app and continue flying but the thought of an extended flight and that happening is scary. Do you think it has to do with any phone settings?

It may have to do with your phones android version, the newest nougat does not always work that well with DJI GO4, (sometime is does there are people out there with no problems,) For me it is an issue. You can always turn off any app you are not using (try an app called greenify) turn off Bluetooth, WiFi and cellular (or just put it on airplane mode.) These are only suggestions that have worked for me on a different device. Good Luck,
Regards,
-d.

 

[msinger]

if I need to take control of the aircraft manually I can just switch into sport mode right? If it's flying away and I still have control or need to manually land?

It depends why it's flying away. Switching to sport mode will cancel the current intelligent flight mode. It will not cancel RTH though.

 

[Ronin229]

It may have to do with your phones android version, the newest nougat does not always work that well with DJI GO4, (sometime is does there are people out there with no problems,) For me it is an issue. You can always turn off any app you are not using (try an app called greenify) turn off Bluetooth, WiFi and cellular (or just put it on airplane mode.) These are only suggestions that have worked for me on a different device. Good Luck,
Regards,
-d.

I made the jump to the IPhone and now everything runs smooth