I'm Furious! Mini 3 Pro Can't Fly Waypoint Missions

[mobilehomer]

The kicker is, the Air 2S, Mavic 3 and Mini 3 "Pro" all HAVE way points!! But only on Hyperlapse mode. It should be a simple code tweak to enable it on ALL camera modes!! Everything necessary to accomplish this is there!!

 

[IronSky1]

If DJI releases a Software Development Kit i am sure litchi and dronelink with work on it there are plenty people looking for it. WIthout that we will not have a solution.

 

[PHZ]

I wish I had your previous experience and, I agree. I never would have bought the mini 3 had I known. Waypoint capability is an incredibly valuable feature once you've experienced it. This should be a warning to anyone else who is considering the purchase of a mini 3. I did a search to find that the only DJI drones with waypoint capability right now are:

• DJI Inspire 1.
• Mavic 2 Pro and Mavic 2 Zoom.
• Mavic Pro.
• All Phantom 4 drones.
• All Phantom 3 drones.

There are a couple you missed:
Inspire 2
Mini 2. (I can not confirm)

 

[PHZ]

If I had to trade features to get waypoints on my Mini 3 Amatuer they could take every special flight feature except hyperlapse away in return for waypoints. Active track, mastershots, etc. Just give me waypoints like my Mavic 2 which truly earned the name “Pro”.

 

[Droning on and on...]

Its called greed, this is why the "enterprise" models will get it and the others will not. DJI knows that waypoint missions is at the top of the list for most drone pilots and profit from bigger sales with the "enterprise" models.

I challenge the bold above. Strongly.

I assert quite the opposite: The number of DJI customers with consumer class drones that care about WP functionality is so vanishingly small as to not even affect the tenth decimal point digit in their bottom line.

I'd go further to claim that, among that customer base a tiny portion even know what waypoint operation is.

DJI made a promise, then betrayed those customers (many of them very loyal, buying product after product for years). It was a bad decision, from an ethical standpoint.

But this is business. Don't be foolish enough to think this decision was made lightly. It was thoroughly researched in marketing, including impact on profitability, product structuring and road map, and affect on customer loyalty, satisfaction, and company reputation.

All that said, it's obvious DJI decided to structure the product mix to separate consumer products from professional "enterprise" products, put the features that professionals need in the feature-laden enterprise versions, and charge a premium. They make a bunch more money this way.

I would have made the same decision. I don't like it, and since I'm one of those few hobbyists that use and need WP functionality for my just-playing needs, it's extremely frustrating and disappointing. But I see this from a customer perspective, not a business manager.

DJI decided they could live with the ire of the 15 of us that care. Worthy trade for the extra millions of $$ the strategy yields.

 

[Droning on and on...]

They'll release the SDK in a year or so. But yeah a drone with Pro in its name should be such! Enterprise is what they call it. Language barrier! LOL

Actually, every Bob's Drones model has fully autonomous way point capability.

So, if you can find Bob, you can get one.

The problem is finding Bob.

 

[Droning on and on...]

They'll release the SDK in a year or so. But yeah a drone with Pro in its name should be such! Enterprise is what they call it. Language barrier! LOL

No they won't.

 

[Droning on and on...]

I realize that people who don't use waypoints don't care, but that's a lame excuse.

One might consider the above self-centered and arrogant to expect so many people to subsidize a feature for you that they don't care about.

 

[RogerDH]

One might consider the above self-centered and arrogant to expect so many people to subsidize a feature for you that they don't care about.

The necessary hardware is already there, and so is almost all the necessary programming, and the software that isn't there would be a simple rewrite of code they've done a dozen times. What am I asking you to subsidize? The point remains, it was perfectly reasonable for the OP to expect a Mini 3 "Pro" to do waypoints, and perfectly understandable that he is furious that it doesn't.

 

[Skybuyer]

I really had planned to buy a Mini 3 Pro when it was supported in the SDK, but I won't buy one otherwise, so it seems I'll be looking elsewhere for my next drone.

There is always hope that DJI will come out with an SDK for the Mini 3. But it could be a long wait. It was 18 months before one was available for the Mini 2. But when it did become available a lot of 3rd party apps, like Litchi soon became avaiable.

While I currently have a Mini 2, a Mavic 2 Pro a Mini 3 and will eventually buy one of the Mavic 3 variants, I'm not selling my "legacy" models any time soon... at least my Mavic 2 as they have functionality the Mini 3 will not have for a long time, if ever.

DJI uses their "practical monopoly" to build margin by intentionally keeping BASIC features out of their lower margin products. As an example, the DJI RC controller, while it has a USB-c port will not allow the owner to connect to an external device like a phone or a tablet. Prevous controllers included not only one, but two ports that could be used. But for $1200 you can get the RC Pro which has HDMI out. The Mavic 3, until the refurbs or the M3 Classic was made available ALL their packages came with a (low end) RCN1 controller or the RC Pro wiith huge margins built in. While we'll never know why they made the Mavic 3 compatible with the DJI RC controller, I think the sales numbers at first told them that they could get another $300 if someone were to buy the DJI RC. Then later, only later, were any Mavic 3's available to purchase without a controller, at a lower cost. I guess I should be grateful that lower costs options are now available and that having a RCN1 and a DJI RC permits me to keep the cost down, no longer required to buy a duplicate controller in the DJI "kits".

 

[RogerDH]

There is always hope that DJI will come out with an SDK for the Mini 3. But it could be a long wait. It was 18 months before one was available for the Mini 2. But when it did become available a lot of 3rd party apps, like Litchi soon became avaiable.

While I currently have a Mini 2, a Mavic 2 Pro a Mini 3 and will eventually buy one of the Mavic 3 variants, I'm not selling my "legacy" models any time soon... at least my Mavic 2 as they have functionality the Mini 3 will not have for a long time, if ever.

DJI uses their "practical monopoly" to build margin by intentionally keeping BASIC features out of their lower margin products. As an example, the DJI RC controller, while it has a USB-c port will not allow the owner to connect to an external device like a phone or a tablet. Prevous controllers included not only one, but two ports that could be used. But for $1200 you can get the RC Pro which has HDMI out. The Mavic 3, until the refurbs or the M3 Classic was made available ALL their packages came with a (low end) RCN1 controller or the RC Pro wiith huge margins built in. While we'll never know why they made the Mavic 3 compatible with the DJI RC controller, I think the sales numbers at first told them that they could get another $300 if someone were to buy the DJI RC. Then later, only later, were any Mavic 3's available to purchase without a controller, at a lower cost. I guess I should be grateful that lower costs options are now available and that having a RCN1 and a DJI RC permits me to keep the cost down, no longer required to buy a duplicate controller in the DJI "kits".

I suspect we'll soon see a Mini 3 Enterprise. I believe a lot of European pros were looking to the Mini 3 Pro because of its weight, not its price point, and those pros will likely want to use tools like DroneDeploy for mapping, etc.

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

For those that say it is a fair expectation to HAVE waypoints, why?

Just because some other drone has it and earlier drones had it why should a more modern one have it?

It boils down to .....you did not do the enough research and or got sucked in by the "I must have the latest thing" mindset.
It's not DJI's fault....... it is yours, do research BEFORE you buy.

If previous features must be continued then cars would still have provision for hand cranked starting and I would be able to start my car. They would also have full sized and full speed-rated spare-wheels/tires, how many of you are driving around in cars that have space saving spare-wheels rated at 50mph, or no spare-wheel at all and only cans of puncture repair chemicals?

 

[Tufargon]

For those that say it is a fair expectation to HAVE waypoints, why?

Just because some other drone has it and earlier drones had it why should a more modern one have it?

It boils down to .....you did not do the enough research and or got sucked in by the "I must have the latest thing" mindset.
It's not DJI's fault....... it is yours, do research BEFORE you buy.

If previous features must be continued then cars would still have provision for hand cranked starting and I would be able to start my car. They would also have full sized and full speed-rated spare-wheels/tires, how many of you are driving around in cars that have space saving spare-wheels rated at 50mph, or no spare-wheel at all and only cans of puncture repair chemicals?

I did tons of research. In the case of the Air 2, it was advertised that it would be included then after they released it they said it wasn't going to be. So what you're saying is not entirely true for some.

 

[peterc4]

Your fault mate if it was so important to you, you should have checked

 

[RogerDH]

The kicker is, the Air 2S, Mavic 3 and Mini 3 "Pro" all HAVE way points!! But only on Hyperlapse mode. It should be a simple code tweak to enable it on ALL camera modes!! Everything necessary to accomplish this is there!!

Which reminds me of discovering that the Mini 1's camera system-on-a-chip has the object tracking used by ActiveTrack, but they only partially used it in some of the QuickShot modes.

 

[RogerDH]

For those that say it is a fair expectation to HAVE waypoints, why?

Just because some other drone has it and earlier drones had it why should a more modern one have it?
...

Some other drones? Well, it's more like virtually all other GPS-drones since their invention, including those from DJI right up to the Mini 1, had both autonomous return-to-home and waypoints. Why should a "more modern one" have them? Because they're so danged useful! Someone had a pretty pessimistic estimate of how many people care, and I wouldn't bet on a number, but I would bet that a lot more people would use them if they knew how useful they are... and they were available! And then you figure out that the real reason they aren't supported is that DJI knows how useful they are...

 

[Tufargon]

Your fault mate if it was so important to you, you should have checked

How so? That comment doesn't even make sense lol. They advertised it (Air 2) as it was going to have it. I said in my comment that I did a ton of research. They false advertised the Air 2.
You obviosly haven't done enough research on the A2 to even make that statement.

 

[Jagerbomb52]

Not a deal breaker for me but it would have been nice to have a true Waypoint function on my Air 2S. I bought it for the 1 inch sensor over anything else. If I truly need Waypoint missions sent to the drone and not virtual sticks I just use my Parrot Anafi with Litchi and convert the file with CSV2JSON so that my Anafi understands what is expected of it. If I lose connection it continues the mission every single time. Maybe the camera is not as good but I get the job done.
Funny how a small drone like the Anafi can do this and a way better Air 2S cannot.

 

[MaxE1955!]

It’s a shame that there isn’t an American company that can compete with the quality and technology that DJI has attained. The fact that we handed over most ( or it was stolen and copied) of the developed tech is even more sad! America was once the greatest producer nation of tech and innovation in the world, now we seem to have to rely on Asia for everything from shoe laces to micro chips. Sad to say the very least.

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

I did tons of research. In the case of the Air 2, it was advertised that it would be included then after they released it they said it wasn't going to be. So what you're saying is not entirely true for some.

Where it was said it would be added to a drone then it is a fair complaint if it is not.
But was it advertised that it was included or would be added in the Mini 3 Pro.