Litchi not working with Air 2

[RParker762]

Trying to get Litchi to work with my Air 2 but the camera view does not seem to want to work. I get telemetry and such but the app still says disconnected at the top. Disassociated DJI Fly app, force stopped DJI Fly but everything I try does not seem to work. Any thoughts?

Using a Galaxy Note 10+.

 

[alanj49]

Trying to get Litchi to work with my Air 2 but the camera view does not seem to want to work. I get telemetry and such but the app still says disconnected at the top. Disassociated DJI Fly app, force stopped DJI Fly but everything I try does not seem to work. Any thoughts?

Using a Galaxy Note 10+.

The reason I think you will find is that Litchi do not at this time support the MA2, it has been in beta for a few months now but not released in production for the MA2

 

[davefabik]

I believe that the SDK for the Mavic Air 2 which 3rd party vendors (such as Litchi) need to add "new" drones to their existing software is buggy and DJI has yet to release any bug corrections.

 

[AZDave]

I believe that the SDK for the Mavic Air 2 which 3rd party vendors (such as Litchi) need to add "new" drones to their existing software is buggy and DJI has yet to release any bug corrections.

I'm pretty sure that's not accurate. From what I understand, the latest SDK for the Mavic Air 2 (which I think was released back in December) is OK. The problem is that the Mavic Air 2 does not (and won't ever) support fully autonomous missions (i.e., commands uploaded to the drone and executed from there), so control apps like Litchi had to convert to "virtual stick" control for the Mavic Air 2, where the control app continually sends commands to the drone. Maven has been able to do this since late December (I've used Maven with my Mavic Air 2 and it works reliably) and Dronelink just recently released an update to do the same, but Litchi thus far has not. Based upon various comments I've seen here, it is unclear to me whether Litchi is actively working on it or not, but in any case it doesn't sound like a high priority for them.

 

[Timewarden]

I have the similar problem. (1) Downloaded Litchi (paid sub) for IOS - wouldn't work work with MA2, (latest version states compatible with MA2) and with IOS there appears to be no way to remove the app from default. (2) Again purchased Litchi Android, deleted all (including DJI app) unnecessary apps. WiFi / internet on, logged into Litchi account without a problem. Went through the connection procedure for Litchi as described. Tried several times; receiving telemetry Ok, however, message'Disconnected'. Will not show camera view. Any ideas?

Les

 

[Timewarden]

I read the post 'doesn't yet support MA2', however, other posts suggest otherwise? Now I'm completely confused! Help!

 

[RParker762]

I have the similar problem. (1) Downloaded Litchi (paid sub) for IOS - wouldn't work work with MA2, (latest version states compatible with MA2) and with IOS there appears to be no way to remove the app from default. (2) Again purchased Litchi Android, deleted all (including DJI app) unnecessary apps. WiFi / internet on, logged into Litchi account without a problem. Went through the connection procedure for Litchi as described. Tried several times; receiving telemetry Ok, however, message'Disconnected'. Will not show camera view. Any ideas?

Les

Still have not figured it out. Have a message to developers but waiting on a response.

 

[AZDave]

I read the post 'doesn't yet support MA2', however, other posts suggest otherwise? Now I'm completely confused! Help!

Contrary to your post above, the "Help" page on Litchi's web site does NOT list the Mavic Air 2 as being compatible. It shows the Mavic Air, but not the Air 2 ... they are different animals. How many posts have you seen that say anyone has successfully been using Litichi with the Mavic Air 2? I haven't seen a single one and I've been closely monitoring this topic since December.

 

[ninja_geezer]

message them on face book. they are pretty quick ,i used it in beta with my Air 2 but they was awaiting to add waypoints to it any day now.

 

[Timewarden]

Contrary to your post above, the "Help" page on Litchi's web site does NOT list the Mavic Air 2 as being compatible. It shows the Mavic Air, but not the Air 2 ... they are different animals. How many posts have you seen that say anyone has successfully been using Litichi with the Mavic Air 2? I haven't seen a single one and I've been closely monitoring this topic since December.

Thanks for your response - I am now informed! I haven't been monitoring posts until recently, and did several searches - yes Mavic Air - NOT MA2.

 

[OneQuickSix]

... The problem is that the Mavic Air 2 does not (and won't ever) support fully autonomous missions (i.e., commands uploaded to the drone and executed from there), so control apps like Litchi had to convert to "virtual stick" control for the Mavic Air 2, where the control app continually sends commands to the drone. ...

Oh man, that is not what I wanted to hear, but was afraid of it all this time. So basically, you can never send MA2 on a "true mission," especially one where the waypoint would take the drone out of controller range or if there is controller interference. Is that a correct assumption?

Way back when (like this time last year, lol) when I bought the MA2, I was shocked and seriously disappointed (almost returned it) as I had seen so many videos with DJI GO4 and/or Litchi with waypoint missions, which I was primarily interested in. Had no idea they would strip this and force use of DJI Fly.

Annnnyway ... so, if this is indeed the case, the only way to do true waypoint missions with GO4/Litchi would be to purchase and older drone (like a Mavic 2 Pro perhaps) ? (Or a a much more expensive/pro drone?) Is this correct?

Thanks.

 

[AZDave]

Oh man, that is not what I wanted to hear, but was afraid of it all this time. So basically, you can never send MA2 on a "true mission," especially one where the waypoint would take the drone out of controller range or if there is controller interference. Is that a correct assumption?

Way back when (like this time last year, lol) when I bought the MA2, I was shocked and seriously disappointed (almost returned it) as I had seen so many videos with DJI GO4 and/or Litchi with waypoint missions, which I was primarily interested in. Had no idea they would strip this and force use of DJI Fly.

Annnnyway ... so, if this is indeed the case, the only way to do true waypoint missions with GO4/Litchi would be to purchase and older drone (like a Mavic 2 Pro perhaps) ? (Or a a much more expensive/pro drone?) Is this correct?

Thanks.

Yes, that is my understanding. However, you may want to keep in mind that FAA regulations in the U.S. require that the operator be capable of control of the drone at all times. Technically speaking, a fully autonomous mission where you no longer can control the drone isn't legal. Of course, interference and technical failures do occur, which is why at least the DJI drones will automatically return to base (or pause or land) if control is lost. But if you knowingly send the drone out of controller range you are violating the law as I understand it.

 

[mihaildorian]

Hello,
You can fly with Litchi if you are a tester for beta version v4.19.0_BETA-g Build 3825. You can not fly waypoints mission...yet. Zoom function it is not implemented also .

 

[maelstrom]

but they was awaiting to add waypoints to it any day now.

Both the Mini (1 & 2) and the MA2 require a virtual sticks mode for waypoint missions. Litchi has been saying that this feature is “coming soon” for about 10 months. Dronelink and Maven have both been successfully using virtual sticks since the SDKs were released. It would be great if this feature really was coming to Litchi any day now but I’ll believe it when I see it.

 

[OneQuickSix]

Yes, that is my understanding. However, you may want to keep in mind that FAA regulations in the U.S. require that the operator be capable of control of the drone at all times. Technically speaking, a fully autonomous mission where you no longer can control the drone isn't legal. Of course, interference and technical failures do occur, which is why at least the DJI drones will automatically return to base (or pause or land) if control is lost. But if you knowingly send the drone out of controller range you are violating the law as I understand it.

Thanks. So are those people that are still using drones that support DJI GO 4 and/or Litchi to send their birds out on missions consistently violating the law I guess? I'm doubting they get "grand-fathered" in or something, and pretty sure Part 107 qualification doesn't allow it either ... so I guess the answer is "yes". Tis' a shame.

 

[AZDave]

Thanks. So are those people that are still using drones that support DJI GO 4 and/or Litchi to send their birds out on missions consistently violating the law I guess? I'm doubting they get "grand-fathered" in or something, and pretty sure Part 107 qualification doesn't allow it either ... so I guess the answer is "yes". Tis' a shame.

No ... I didn't say that. You can use any sort of autonomous mission that you want as long as you are still CAPABLE of immediate direct manual control. Litchi or whatever app you want can be in total control of the drone and flying preprogrammed missions as long as you can takeover at any point in the mission. Litchi allows you to still manually override it simply by moving a joystick, making you able to control the drone at any point in the mission. What is illegal is knowingly sending your drone on a mission that takes it outside of your ability to manually control it. Intentionally flying it beyond your visual line of sight or flying it beyond the range of your RF signal are what is illegal ... using an app to fly the drone while still within your ability to directly control it. isn't.

 

[OneQuickSix]

No ... I didn't say that. You can use any sort of autonomous mission that you want as long as you are still CAPABLE of immediate direct manual control. Litchi or whatever app you want can be in total control of the drone and flying preprogrammed missions as long as you can takeover at any point in the mission. Litchi allows you to still manually override it simply by moving a joystick, making you able to control the drone at any point in the mission. What is illegal is knowingly sending your drone on a mission that takes it outside of your ability to manually control it. Intentionally flying it beyond your visual line of sight or flying it beyond the range of your RF signal are what is illegal ... using an app to fly the drone while still within your ability to directly control it. isn't.

Right, of course. But I see videos of missions that are well beyond the range of the controller, especially for some of the older models. To be fair, some of the videos (definitely not all) were probably created BEFORE the FAA instituted such restrictions I imagine. Thanks for the clarification though.

 

[AZDave]

Right, of course. But I see videos of missions that are well beyond the range of the controller, especially for some of the older models. To be fair, some of the videos (definitely not all) were probably created BEFORE the FAA instituted such restrictions I imagine. Thanks for the clarification though.

Yes, and I should have clarified that my comments hold only for U.S. drone operators, and probably for some other areas but not all. I don't want to be one of those people who act like the only people using this forum live in the U.S.

 

[dawgpilot]

I just noticed a new update to Litchi beta (on Android) that supposedly adds Waypoint support for Air 2 users. Anyone get a chance to try it out yet?

 

[Repaid1]

No ... I didn't say that. You can use any sort of autonomous mission that you want as long as you are still CAPABLE of immediate direct manual control. Litchi or whatever app you want can be in total control of the drone and flying preprogrammed missions as long as you can takeover at any point in the mission. Litchi allows you to still manually override it simply by moving a joystick, making you able to control the drone at any point in the mission. What is illegal is knowingly sending your drone on a mission that takes it outside of your ability to manually control it. Intentionally flying it beyond your visual line of sight or flying it beyond the range of your RF signal are what is illegal ... using an app to fly the drone while still within your ability to directly control it. isn't.

I'm not picking this apart but can you point me to the law, that states you personally must have the ability to take control of autonomous flight or your flying "illegal"? I would like to site the reference to others. The FAA states rules/guidelines, but I find no citation to a law, thus not technically illegal to break a "rule" IMHO? The FAA rules are quite a bit subjective in my view and could be very speculative...much gray area to me. Much the same as flying BLOS...what law prohibits this function for recreational flyers? I would say it must be a federal statute obviously?