Is the Mini 5 Pro a sub-250g drone?

[Bad Santa]

You are arguing legality, rather than capability. My point was that a simple FW update could have made the drone consistent with the original User Manual, such that it would not broadcast RID with the standard battery. Surely, that was their original intent, until the drone got too fat!

Yes, they could have a FW update that does that but it would violate law to do so since the drone will reliably come in at over 249g with the standard battery (which seems silly to say because most come with the extended battery, thus making it the standard).

 

[anotherlab]

You are arguing legality, rather than capability. My point was that a simple FW update could have made the drone consistent with the original User Manual, such that it would not broadcast RID with the standard battery. Surely, that was their original intent, until the drone got too fat!

That's a distinction without meaning. Yes, they could make a firmware that disables RID, but they could not legally release it.

The Mini 5 did receive FCC certification, and DJI can sell it in the US. They chose not to release it.