I have finally come to the end of a 6 month nightmare of flight restrictions that nobody could help with.

[Steven Panter]

I purchased and received my DJI Mini 2 back in November 2020 and the first few days were great, it’s flew as should and I was a loving my new hobby.

After the initial few day my unit started to become limited tot he distance and altitude it was able to fly. It would stop at 90ft altitude and 160ft distance.



As I was new I didn’t think much to it as I still was getting used to all the settings and processes in flying successfully.



People here on Reddit and other forums all suggested the same things



Have you updated firmware?

Have you calibrated the compass?

Are you in a restricted area?

Are you logged in with your real name?



All of these factors were looked into and were already fine. I got in touch with DJI and in January sent my device back to the Netherlands in order to have it assessed.

Due to brexit it took 3 months to arrive there and it was super stressful.



Once it was DJI it was assessed and they told me there was nothing wrong width the device and they will be sending it back to me, I was devastated.



In the mean time a work colleague said to me, “don’t suppose you have your VPN turned on” to which I replied ‘yes I do” for an to manage my data allowance.



When the drone returned on Friday I deleted the data management app and turned of the VPN and it has flown perfect ever since



Essentially the VPN was hiding my identity and then causing restrictions. Something so simple but nobody had stated anywhere that flying with VPN’s would be so problematic



If anyone else out there is having this issue then check your VPN settings



I wish I knew this info back in November



Fly safe all.

 

[Repaid1]

That sucks but, I guess I have to ask did you even mention to people you were flying using a VPN? I mean that is the main purpose of a VPN is to hide location and scramble communications. So in effect you were never really logged into your account.

I put a VPN on my FireStick and then tried to use my Hulu Account...it went nuts saying that I had moved and would I like to update location..it then went on to say that I could only change location "X" amount of times. I watch local channels with it as I use their streaming TV service on my account...so yeah VPN's have some issues across multiple platforms.

Great info though, one I would not have thought about as many people don't VPN devices just home WiFi.

 

[Gagey52]

Learning new stuff every day here!
Regards

 

[sar104]

I purchased and received my DJI Mini 2 back in November 2020 and the first few days were great, it’s flew as should and I was a loving my new hobby.

After the initial few day my unit started to become limited tot he distance and altitude it was able to fly. It would stop at 90ft altitude and 160ft distance.



As I was new I didn’t think much to it as I still was getting used to all the settings and processes in flying successfully.



People here on Reddit and other forums all suggested the same things



Have you updated firmware?

Have you calibrated the compass?

Are you in a restricted area?

Are you logged in with your real name?



All of these factors were looked into and were already fine. I got in touch with DJI and in January sent my device back to the Netherlands in order to have it assessed.

Due to brexit it took 3 months to arrive there and it was super stressful.



Once it was DJI it was assessed and they told me there was nothing wrong width the device and they will be sending it back to me, I was devastated.



In the mean time a work colleague said to me, “don’t suppose you have your VPN turned on” to which I replied ‘yes I do” for an to manage my data allowance.



When the drone returned on Friday I deleted the data management app and turned of the VPN and it has flown perfect ever since



Essentially the VPN was hiding my identity and then causing restrictions. Something so simple but nobody had stated anywhere that flying with VPN’s would be so problematic



If anyone else out there is having this issue then check your VPN settings



I wish I knew this info back in November



Fly safe all.

Those restrictions are in effect if your controller is not connected to the app or if you have not logged the app into your DJI account. Assuming that you were running the DJI Fly app then it must have been the latter - you had not logged into your DJI account. That will be unrelated to running VPN, since that won't stop you logging in and you don't need an internet connection at all to fly - you just need to have previously logged in.

There have been cases where the app appeared to be logged in but behaved otherwise - the solution is to log out and then back in again. I suspect that you simply logged in again and that caused it to start working properly.

 

[Steven Panter]

That sucks but, I guess I have to ask did you even mention to people you were flying using a VPN? I mean that is the main purpose of a VPN is to hide location and scramble communications. So in effect you were never really logged into your account.

I put a VPN on my FireStick and then tried to use my Hulu Account...it went nuts saying that I had moved and would I like to update location..it then went on to say that I could only change location "X" amount of times. I watch local channels with it as I use their streaming TV service on my account...so yeah VPN's have some issues across multiple platforms.

Great info though, one I would not have thought about as many people don't VPN devices just home WiFi.

I forgot i even had the app on my phone in the first place. An app thats purpose was to monitor what was using my data up on my phone

hadn’t even used it in a year or so, I didn’t even know what a vpn was for lol

 

[Steven Panter]

Those restrictions are in effect if your controller is not connected to the app or if you have not logged the app into your DJI account. Assuming that you were running the DJI Fly app then it must have been the latter - you had not logged into your DJI account. That will be unrelated to running VPN, since that won't stop you logging in and you don't need an internet connection at all to fly - you just need to have previously logged in.

There have been cases where the app appeared to be logged in but behaved otherwise - the solution is to log out and then back in again. I suspect that you simply logged in again and that caused it to start working properly.

Incorrect, i was logged in as previously stated in the post.
The vpn was sending conflicting information about my location so thats why the restrictions happened.

logging out and back in to the app never helped but turning off VPN has

 

[sar104]

Incorrect, i was logged in as previously stated in the post.
The vpn was sending conflicting information about my location so thats why the restrictions happened.

logging out and back in to the app never helped but turning off VPN has

I'm sorry, but location data are not required as part of that process, and VPN does not send "conflicting information" about location. As I mentioned, you can fly with no internet connection at all.

You could test it by turning VPN back on to see if the restrictions return.

 

[Steven Panter]

I'm sorry, but location data are not required as part of that process, and VPN does not send "conflicting information" about location. As I mentioned, you can fly with no internet connection at all.

You could test it by turning VPN back on to see if the restrictions return.

Which it did

 

[sar104]

Which it did

And if you simply turn off cellular and wifi - so it has no internet connection - restricted or unrestricted?

 

[Steven Panter]

And if you simply turn off cellular and wifi - so it has no internet connection - restricted or unrestricted?

Ill try it

but when I adjusted that before it made not odds

 

[Jobz]

At a guess the VPN software (e.g. SurfShark) had GPS spoofing feature as well which could cause issues.

GPS spoofing more of a thing for those playing Pokemon Go.

 

[Smooth Rhythm]

I purchased and received my DJI Mini 2 back in November 2020 and the first few days were great, it’s flew as should and I was a loving my new hobby.

After the initial few day my unit started to become limited tot he distance and altitude it was able to fly. It would stop at 90ft altitude and 160ft distance.



As I was new I didn’t think much to it as I still was getting used to all the settings and processes in flying successfully.



People here on Reddit and other forums all suggested the same things



Have you updated firmware?

Have you calibrated the compass?

Are you in a restricted area?

Are you logged in with your real name?



All of these factors were looked into and were already fine. I got in touch with DJI and in January sent my device back to the Netherlands in order to have it assessed.

Due to brexit it took 3 months to arrive there and it was super stressful.



Once it was DJI it was assessed and they told me there was nothing wrong width the device and they will be sending it back to me, I was devastated.



In the mean time a work colleague said to me, “don’t suppose you have your VPN turned on” to which I replied ‘yes I do” for an to manage my data allowance.



When the drone returned on Friday I deleted the data management app and turned of the VPN and it has flown perfect ever since



Essentially the VPN was hiding my identity and then causing restrictions. Something so simple but nobody had stated anywhere that flying with VPN’s would be so problematic



If anyone else out there is having this issue then check your VPN settings



I wish I knew this info back in November



Fly safe all.

Thanks for sharing!

 

[Yeunglings]

That's a nice little tidbit to keep in my toolbox for questions to ask. Even if only anecdotally it worked for you its now something for me to ask and suggest when people have problems. You may be able to fly without an internet connection but if the VPN is masking your location it could, possibly, cause an issue. Maybe FLY sees your phone pretending to be somewhere it isn't and locks itself.

 

[cgmaxed]

Those restrictions are in effect if your controller is not connected to the app or if you have not logged the app into your DJI account. Assuming that you were running the DJI Fly app then it must have been the latter - you had not logged into your DJI account. That will be unrelated to running VPN, since that won't stop you logging in and you don't need an internet connection at all to fly - you just need to have previously logged in.

There have been cases where the app appeared to be logged in but behaved otherwise - the solution is to log out and then back in again. I suspect that you simply logged in again and that caused it to start working properly.

Question for you. Sometimes my DJI FLY APP makes me re-input my telephone number and sends me a new login code that I have to enter. It does this every3-10 days. Any ideas, why it might do this. Or, is it just a normal thing.

 

[sar104]

Question for you. Sometimes my DJI FLY APP makes me re-input my telephone number and sends me a new login code that I have to enter. It does this every3-10 days. Any ideas, why it might do this. Or, is it just a normal thing.

I haven't seen that behavior. Are you running the latest version?

 

[GFields]

Glad you were able to figure out the problem

 

[PinpointUAVS]

Question for you. Sometimes my DJI FLY APP makes me re-input my telephone number and sends me a new login code that I have to enter. It does this every3-10 days. Any ideas, why it might do this. Or, is it just a normal thing.

I see this occasionally as well

 

[Blume TMS]

I had to look up VPN, did not have a clue what it was....

just saying.........

 

[cgmaxed]

I see this occasionally as well

At least I'm not alone. Just so you all know, I fly with the exact same wifi, computer, router and software ident each time. But just sometimes, DJI seems to need to confirm my identity with my phone number and a new code. But, now that i know this happens to others, i'm not going to worry about it. it's just a little annoying sometimes.

 

[cgmaxed]

At least I'm not alone. Just so you all know, I fly with the exact same wifi, computer, router and software ident each time. But just sometimes, DJI seems to need to confirm my identity with my phone number and a new code. But, now that i know this happens to others, i'm not going to worry about it. it's just a little annoying sometimes.

Maybe it's the government. They think I'm flying elicit drugs/items around my flight area and dropping them with my object release equipment. LOL. Joke.

I use that attachment to drop my fishing line out over coastal waters, instead of trying to cast my line out over the waves. Those things work great actually. I can drop my hook and bait as far as my line will reach. Cool little gadget. They have a servo, that releases the line, using the landing light under the drone. The drop occurs when the sensor sees you turn the light on, then the servo opens the release bar and down the bait and hook go. Great invention.