Losing RC signal

[A.O.]

Don't know if it's related. I had the same problem with my M2P w/Smart Controller. Had excellent signal and connection, then when I updated the SC to work with the MA2, then the M2P started having the above problem. The MA2 works great, just had the degraded signal/distance on the M2P.

Were you able to come up with a fix?

 

[boblui]

One thing you can try is getting an Andriod phone and installing older versions of the fly app which is available from apkmirror. I speak Chinese but hope this doesn't sound Chinese to you ....

 

[Meta4]

So according to the DJI guy over on the DJI forum its due to using the iPad mini 5. It is not on the "reccomended" list for some reason. I thought for sure when I got it it was on the list , but it is not.

The DJI forum and DJI people there are the least likely source of accurate technical information.
The DJI people there don't fly drones and work from scripts like their phone people do,
That a recent iPad isn't on their list means nothing.
Their list has very few phones/Tablets because they rarely test anything or add to their list.

The mobile device, app or update are unlikely to have any effect on signal strength/range.
Firmware updates get blamed for much more than they really are responsible for.
Concentrate on other factors.

 

[A.O.]

The DJI forum and DJI people there are the least likely source of accurate technical information.
The DJI people there don't fly drones and work from scripts like their phone people do,
That a recent iPad isn't on their list means nothing.
Their list has very few phones/Tablets because they rarely test anything or add to their list.

The mobile device, app or update are unlikely to have any effect on signal strength/range.
Firmware updates get blamed for much more than they really are responsible for.
Concentrate on other factors.

Concentrate on other factors like what??

 

[Meta4]

Concentrate on other factors like what??

Like things that might be expected to make a difference.
Antenna orientation, radio frequencies and your local environment.

 

[Deleted member 133794]

I realise my last offer of help didn't work ( it was rubbish newbie advise) but after reading Meta4 post above i just wondered if you've accidentally altered the radio
frequency setting at all. Compared to the brains of this place i'm
very much a newbie and can already see eyes rolling but thought
it worth a mention in case it helped. Being in lockdown here in the uk
i haven't flown properly for months so can't even recall the options
for this setting. Apologies all round if this is useless info again.
Phamtomrain had a post on here last week with range/connection issues
etc and after he switched this setting all was good.

 

[Repaid1]

So I flew with my iPhone 7 today... EXACT same outcome and to make matters worse my phone auto updated to version 1.2.5 as soon as I got it hooked up Grrrr!!
So still trying to figure out what to do.
Found another update , the fly safe or whatever its called, so I did that. Went back to using the mini 5 and no better, got a message a couple times, "vision sensors blocked fly with caution"... hmm, it was at 140 feet high in clear air, no idea what that was about.
So when I get weak RC signal it is very spotty so I was playing ith it.. turning the drone on its axis, going a little forward and back, things like that... I'd go from strong signal to almost no signal back and forth, no real rhyme or reason to it!!

Repaid1, I am listening to what you are saying but most of it is Chinese to me... cloning?? not a clue what you are talking about there...

GETTING FRUSTRATED!! What to do, what to do...

Bout ready to park it!

I don't fly using the Fly App (No Aircraft that uses it) But...If the fly App is similar to the Go series and the way the MA2 runs in Auto mode you will see a pause (Bad signal) as it detects issues on a channel and scans for a better one. You can go to your transmission tab and look and see if there is some weird stuff going on in your area. Did I understand you to say that you did go off site (say a mile or so) and try a straight out flight and the range wasn't better? Or it was better? Bit confused on that. We need to rule out a hardware failure first. If you have done that, then "Something" has changed in your normal flying zone...what that is?? Who the heck knows..I know your rural, so it is a bit strange. We might have to go to a Yagi antenna booster...But it is a darn strange issue given your location sans a possible hardware failure https://www.amazon.com/Yagi-UDA-Booster-Controller-Antenna-Accessories/dp/B08FRH4QT6

Anyway check this video if you haven't seen it.

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[A.O.]

Like things that might be expected to make a difference.
Antenna orientation, radio frequencies and your local environment.

I have really been making a point of pointing the antenna at the bird. local environment (my property) has not changed. Not sure what can be done about radio frequencies.. I've not changed the settings on my controller.

 

[A.O.]

One thing you can try is getting an Andriod phone and installing older versions of the fly app which is available from apkmirror. I speak Chinese but hope this doesn't sound Chinese to you ....

Absolutely no offence meant about the Chinese thing, just that I didn't understand him. I'm sure there are a number of people on there that speak it, and computers, way better than I!

 

[A.O.]

I realise my last offer of help didn't work ( it was rubbish newbie advise) but after reading Meta4 post above i just wondered if you've accidentally altered the radio
frequency setting at all. Compared to the brains of this place i'm
very much a newbie and can already see eyes rolling but thought
it worth a mention in case it helped. Being in lockdown here in the uk
i haven't flown properly for months so can't even recall the options
for this setting. Apologies all round if this is useless info again.
Phamtomrain had a post on here last week with range/connection issues
etc and after he switched this setting all was good.

I liked it, thought it sounded like a good idea, but I too am a newbie. Not sure how I would have altered the radio, i did not change the transmission settings, I checked.
I saw that but I think he was using an alternative setting... Alien something or other...
And I'm trying everything that I am advised, at least the stuff I understand.

 

[Repaid1]

I have really been making a point of pointing the antenna at the bird. local environment (my property) has not changed. Not sure what can be done about radio frequencies.. I've not changed the settings on my controller.

If on Auto we may need to go manual, that is why you need to go to transmissions and see how many red bars there are. And if the thing is on manual already and on a bad (Red) channel. When doing firmware updates it is highly possible that it may have changed settings, or lost setting and set to default. That is just things we need to see why it went from one day good, next day bad.

 

[A.O.]

I don't fly using the Fly App (No Aircraft that uses it) But...If the fly App is similar to the Go series and the way the MA2 runs in Auto mode you will see a pause (Bad signal) as it detects issues on a channel and scans for a better one. You can go to your transmission tab and look and see if there is some weird stuff going on in your area. Did I understand you to say that you did go off site (say a mile or so) and try a straight out flight and the range wasn't better? Or it was better? Bit confused on that. We need to rule out a hardware failure first. If you have done that, then "Something" has changed in your normal flying zone...what that is?? Who the heck knows..I know your rural, so it is a bit strange. We might have to go to a Yagi antenna booster...But it is a darn strange issue given your location sans a possible hardware failure https://www.amazon.com/Yagi-UDA-Booster-Controller-Antenna-Accessories/dp/B08FRH4QT6

Anyway check this video if you haven't seen it.

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I did not go "offsite" but I took it up to height limit, 396 ft high and flew it straight away from me (over a large hay field and some woods, no structures) started losing signal (spotty) at about 2600 feet continued out to I think it was 3300 feet at which point the signal was pretty weak so I returned.
So on that video his screen and mine are different, I have the option of 2.8 or 5.6 (if I remember the numbers correctly without firing the bird up) or auto, which is supposed to find the best one, I just have it on auto. (also he has that nice orientation indicator , I knew you would like that!)
AND I do get the pauses in the camera, like you are talking, here lately also, like a bad connection or something. Camera will freeze for a second, then go again...

 

[A.O.]

If on Auto we may need to go manual, that is why you need to go to transmissions and see how many red bars there are. And if the thing is on manual already and on a bad (Red) channel. When doing firmware updates it is highly possible that it may have changed settings, or lost setting and set to default. That is just things we need to see why it went from one day good, next day bad.

I did check that and it is still on auto. I went through and tried to check everything, even had to do a flysafe , I think its called, update.
Other than batteries, EVERYTHING I could find has been updated and or recalibrated.
The only other thing that has changed around here is we finally got our new replacement hot tub,(lightning killed our last one) in fact I take off and land on it most of the time, and stand near it while flying. I cant imagine that would make a difference but I'll try taking off somewhere else not so close to it! Heck I'll try about anything right now!
And if I go to manual do I go 2.8 or 5,.6 or does it matter?
Thanks for the help

 

[yankfanp]

So since my latest "upgrades" Firmware and the Fly App 1.2.5 I keep losing RC signal , and I'm losing it in places where I have frequented flying to before with no problems. So its not that I'm flying to marginal areas, I am flying into known areas where I never had these problems before. One is about 2200 feet from home point, the other only about 1000 feet. Very annoying, and I'm losing confidence in flying this thing!!!

Also, I get a warning to "adjust my antennas" is there any adjustment there?

Any Ideas??

I have only had my MA2 for a short while and have had numerous problems using it with the smart controller. Cannot get maps with my phone as a hot spot. The app has crashed three times and have lost signal twice without being more than a 1000 feet away. I am disappointed and miss my Mavic 2 Pro.

 

[stevenws]

I am not a big Apple Guy, but I fly my DJI with Apple. I used to have a P3P (well still do) that I flew with a iPad Mini 2. As things progressed I got a P4, back then The Go 3 App still worked on it. I then got a MP1 and again the Go 3 worked as well. My Go 3 App was old software, I hadn't updated it in about 2 years. Subsequently is when DJI went and from the Toggle switch of old Geo Fence to new system beta, they updated the App, pulled the choice and went to the GEO that we all know today (Close enough).

I hadn't updated as I said. But what they did do was pull the P4 and MP1 over to their new system the GO 4 App. Now this didn't effect me at first as I left all my Firmware (Aircraft) alone and flew with my Old Go 3 App. But this became that and improvements were made and then the Mini 2 couldn't run the newer Go 4 without glitching. So I planned on getting a Mini 4 in preperation for the future, which was just out... I then opted for a iPad Pro as it was even more powerful and larger screen. I contacted one of my friends and he outlined the procedure of the "Clone" which was pretty straight forward to do via a laptop. So long story short my new iPad Pro got loaded with my Mini 2 and thus my Old Go 3 with ability to turn of the GEO. SO I know it can be done or at least could. I may be wrong but I believe the only way to do is to "Clone" to a computer, not to a iCloud, as then Apple will just update the software marker of installed programs...I can't verify that today, but I believe that was the situation.

Sounds like more of a money pit than the house is... lol.

 

[DJ Wes]

I have really been making a point of pointing the antenna at the bird.

If you are literally pointing your antennas at the drone that may be the problem. The flat portion of your antennas should be facing your drone.

 

[A.O.]

If you are literally pointing your antennas at the drone that may be the problem. The flat portion of your antennas should be facing your drone.

Well with my MA2 controller, pointing it at the drone makes the flat side of my antenna face the drone.

 

[011111110]

This thread was from a month or two ago, but just thought I'd chime in and ask - did you get the problem sorted out?

From your description, it sounds more like an interference problem than a distance problem. Are there any cell towers in your immediate area? I know the cell phone carriers have been busy upgrading all their gear to 5G, some of which operates in the 2-6 GHz range and can cause interference to stuff operating on neighboring frequencies (e.g. our drones). Maybe they recently activated a 5G antenna near you?

 

[Deleted member 133794]

Yes......he sorted the problem......he sold the drone, he's now FPV ing.

 

[A.O.]

This thread was from a month or two ago, but just thought I'd chime in and ask - did you get the problem sorted out?

From your description, it sounds more like an interference problem than a distance problem. Are there any cell towers in your immediate area? I know the cell phone carriers have been busy upgrading all their gear to 5G, some of which operates in the 2-6 GHz range and can cause interference to stuff operating on neighboring frequencies (e.g. our drones). Maybe they recently activated a 5G antenna near you?

Yeah, the problem was I'd fly up over trees and then down again on the other side of them, I was just getting too much woods between me and the drone....
Closest cell tower is 2-3 miles away ish.
And then what Garyr said above.. sold it and got the new DJI FPV! MAN is it fun and fast!!