lost my drone though i know it's general area. what are my options?

[Swordfish]

My brother is traveling next month so I was teaching him how to use my drone. We were using his phone for it and this was the first time on his phone, which is probably not relevant but mentioning just in case. After the demo was over I pressed the Home button - but rather than coming towards us it went away! Yikes. And then it crashed into the hotel next to my apartment building.

I spoke to the hotel but they have full occupancy right now so they'll check when free. But the problem is they have like 30 floors and I don't know which floor it's on. I know it's on the west face of the building. But the west face has a north and south balcony and I don't know which of those two it'd be on. So those 30 floors become 60 suites. I know the drone has GPS and I was hoping that'd narrow it down but no not at all. After the crash the position on the map was shown as across the street about 100m away, so yeah that doesn't help. Dont know why it'd be so off. My only guess is its because Im downtown surrounded by tall buildings. When I first got a Holy Stone I had to turn GPS off because it couldnt get a signal.

Any options available to me right now besides just waiting for the hotel? Any way to track it down? Keep in mind it was paired with my brothers phone last, not mine, and he doesn't live nearby.

 

[Exphantomflyer]

My brother is traveling next month so I was teaching him how to use my drone. We were using his phone for it and this was the first time on his phone, which is probably not relevant but mentioning just in case. After the demo was over I pressed the Home button - but rather than coming towards us it went away! Yikes. And then it crashed into the hotel next to my apartment building.

I spoke to the hotel but they have full occupancy right now so they'll check when free. But the problem is they have like 30 floors and I don't know which floor it's on. I know it's on the west face of the building. But the west face has a north and south balcony and I don't know which of those two it'd be on. So those 30 floors become 60 suites. I know the drone has GPS and I was hoping that'd narrow it down but no not at all. After the crash the position on the map was shown as across the street about 100m away, so yeah that doesn't help. Dont know why it'd be so off. My only guess is its because Im downtown surrounded by tall buildings. When I first got a Holy Stone I had to turn GPS off because it couldnt get a signal.

Any options available to me right now besides just waiting for the hotel? Any way to track it down? Keep in mind it was paired with my brothers phone last, not mine, and he doesn't live nearby.

Im gonna guess that as you were flying in a heavy built up area then the GPS was insufficient maybe and that caused the flyaway, as for finding it the app will only show the last position before it lost connection, so it looks like you may have to wait for the hotel to find it

 

[Deleted member 103366]

If this was a DJI drone then your brother's phone likely still has the logs on it. If so, get him to send them to you.
If you sync (which I DO NOT DO as I believe sync'ing removes the DAT files and I like to keep all my logs, yes I know I could back the logs up before sync'ing ) then I believe that its idea is that you can down load the .txt logs that have been sync'd but as I say I do not sync so can not confirm this to be true.
Personally I would get him to email them to you rather than transfer them (if possible) via sync.
That said, if your GPS was incorrect through out the flight then I doubt its information will be of much value. The logs, if retrieved, can be posted on here.

What height was given as the crash height and what is the height of the ground around the hotel relative to the take off point? That could possibly narrow the search done to a few floors.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

Any options available to me right now besides just waiting for the hotel? Any way to track it down? Keep in mind it was paired with my brothers phone last, not mine, and he doesn't live nearby.

As above, get the txt (and dat if possible) by going here and following the instructions (section 3).

Mavic Flight Log Retrieval and Analysis Guide< section 3

You can use airdata or phantomhelp, I find phantomhelp is probably a little easier to understand the process.

Post up the URL link to the report after uploading the txt file.
Might as well post here, rather that the crash / flyaway section, as the backstory helps here and no point duplicating.

There are quite a few on here that should be able to help narrow it down, which would help greatly in possible recovery.

 

[HuistonPhill]

Im gonna guess that as you were flying in a heavy built up area then the GPS was insufficient maybe and that caused the flyaway, as for finding it the app will only show the last position before it lost connection, so it looks like you may have to wait for the hotel to find it

totally agree with everything you said
that's all my thoughts when I was reading the op's post)

 

[Meta4]

Any options available to me right now besides just waiting for the hotel? Any way to track it down? Keep in mind it was paired with my brothers phone last, not mine, and he doesn't live nearby.

As usual, the answers are going to be hidden in your recorded flight data.
To get that go to DJI Flight Log Viewer | Phantom Help
Follow the instructions there to upload your flight record from the phone that was used for the flight.
That will give you a detailed report of the flight.
Come back and post a link to the report it gives you.
Or .. just post the txt file here.

From the flight data, we can tell what height teh drone was flying at, or what height it would have tried to RTH at.
We can also work out what actually happened - RTH won't ever fly anywhere but towards the recorded home point.
The information might help you to avoid a similar incident in future.

 

[RayOZ]

If your drone didn’t not have a good GPS lock, the last thing you want to do is press the Home button. It wouldn’t really know where to go.
It’s too late to mention this but testing/demonstrations should be done in an open field away for obstacles.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

When I first got a Holy Stone I had to turn GPS off because it couldnt get a signal.

The OP might not have a DJI drone ?

If that was a past drone / experience, and it is a DJI drone that's lost, then the flight log is best recovered and posted (or a link to the report etc).

RTH won't ever fly anywhere but towards the recorded home point.

Is there is at least one DJI drone (the M2 ?) that will retrace the route for a certain distance before commencing RTH ?
Granted, this is likely in an OA situation, not sure if it includes failsafe loss of signal or interference etc also.
Also unsure if the OP has a DJI drone, or if any other later model DJI drones also do this RTH maneuver, and in what situations.

The flight log would reveal that anyway.

 

[hiflyer201]

A crowded hotel?? are you sure you really want to know into where whom it collided

 

[GFields]

Greetings welcome to the forum! So sorry for your loss. Hope you had insurance or DJI refresh.

 

[Merrill277]

If you were taking video when you crashed, your brother's phone should have it stored there. You may be able to tell from the video more exactly where it crashed. Also did you try "find my drone"? I like using the mapped GPS when using for better reference than the grid. You should be able to use it to find its location, although if up on say a balcony many floors up, it could be a problem, but at least you will know the room balconies to search. That might help narrow it down some. Best of Luck.

 

[Swordfish]

Holy crap so many replies! Somehow I didn't know I'd gotten responses, so sorry guys! I really appreciate your help.

I'll look into the logs thing. I did ask my brother earlier before I saw your responses and he said he doesnt think so because he had used my login credentials. Not sure if that's a thing. But I'll read the links then try again.

Im gonna guess that as you were flying in a heavy built up area

Yes correct.

If your drone didn’t not have a good GPS lock, the last thing you want to do is press the Home button. It wouldn’t really know where to go.
It’s too late to mention this but testing/demonstrations should be done in an open field away for obstacles.

Ouch. Good to know for future. Is there a way to know if the GPS isn't adequate though?

The OP might not have a DJI drone ?

If that was a past drone / experience, and it is a DJI drone that's lost, then the flight log is best recovered and posted (or a link to the report etc).



Is there is at least one DJI drone (the M2 ?) that will retrace the route for a certain distance before commencing RTH ?
Granted, this is likely in an OA situation, not sure if it includes failsafe loss of signal or interference etc also.
Also unsure if the OP has a DJI drone, or if any other later model DJI drones also do this RTH maneuver, and in what situations.

The flight log would reveal that anyway.

Yes I have a DJI Drone. Holy Stone was my previous one.

Funny story, I took out my Holy Stone to send it on a scouting mission. Wasn't very helpful. But on the way back I lost control of that too. The last transmitted image was at my apartment building, much higher up though. It lost signal there somewhere. So I lost that too. I've put up a flyer since then saying I lost it, and someone put up a post-it note on that saying that flying drones are illegal and it's creepy but they still hope I find it. That was kinda funny. I just got an email today from someone saying they found it, so hopefully it's fine. But this is the old Holy Stone, not the important DJI in question.

Greetings welcome to the forum! So sorry for your loss. Hope you had insurance or DJI refresh.

I dont know what either of those things are. Perhaps I should for future. Well, insurance is self-explanatory I suppose, though I didnt realize that's a thing with devices that arent in the thousands. Idk what DJI Refresh is.

If you were taking video when you crashed, your brother's phone should have it stored there. You may be able to tell from the video more exactly where it crashed. Also did you try "find my drone"? I like using the mapped GPS when using for better reference than the grid. You should be able to use it to find its location, although if up on say a balcony many floors up, it could be a problem, but at least you will know the room balconies to search. That might help narrow it down some. Best of Luck.

I do have the last transmitted image. It's actually of my apartment building, being seen through the railing of the balcony it's on. I'm making an estimate of which floor it's looking at, but it's VERY fuzzy.

I didnt try Find my Drone earlier. I dont know how much that would help given the GPS seemed off. Also I already know whereabouts it is in horizontal space, but not vertical space; although if someone stole it that changes things. Also I saw a few days later that there was an option to turn the lights on and make sound. But would that still work days later? Now it's been almost 2 weeks so I'm guessing it wont work anymore, but if it still might that's great.

 

[Meta4]

I'll look into the logs thing. I did ask my brother earlier before I saw your responses and he said he doesnt think so because he had used my login credentials. Not sure if that's a thing. But I'll read the links then try again.

It's not a thing.
No matter whose login was used, the app records flight data to the phone that was used..

I didnt try Find my Drone earlier. I dont know how much that would help given the GPS seemed off. Also I already know whereabouts it is in horizontal space, but not vertical space; although if someone stole it that changes things.

FMD won't be any help.
It can only show where the app last had contact with the drone (that's when contact was lost) and it doesn't show the height.
It's useless for anything that happened after contact was lost.
But the flight data should have enough information to show what height the drone would have been at.

 

[Interficiam Stercore]

Your persistance in this matter is futile. Just hope it's found sitting on the hotel balcony and you are contacted.

I lost a drone in a field once. I walked a pattern through the entire area. I must have walked right past the thing. Later I used another drone to scan the field in the last known location. As I reviewed the footage on my computer, I actually saw it. Went back the same day and picked it up. The find my drone feature never worked, because the drones battery was allready dead.

 

[Swordfish]

Yeah I'm hoping to send someone else's drone on a scouting mission tomorrow. I'm not optimistic but let's see.

 

[Meta4]

Yeah I'm hoping to send someone else's drone on a scouting mission tomorrow. I'm not optimistic but let's see.

Still no flight data?

 

[Swordfish]

yeah not as yet. my brother has it and am waiting for him.

 

[Swordfish]

Update - found the drone! I hired someone on Craigslist who does roof inspections with his drone and he surveyed the area with it and found it. We didn't find it immediately but reviewed the footage later and although it was kinda grainy and involved some guesswork, yup, found it.

I may make a new post to ask this question but I'd first like to ask it here - what can I do to avoid this in the future?

1. The problem happened because I pressed the Home button, and rather than coming back to me it went away. Since this crash happened two others have said a similar thing, that they pressed Home and theirs lost control or crashed. And even someone in this thread has said if you don't have a good GPS lock the last thing you want to do is press Home. So the question for future is, how do I know when I can or cannot press Home?

2. I saw a mention of Insurance or DJI Refresh. Never heard of those. What are they?

3. Is there anything else I can do to avoid this from happening? For example I saw someone on Reddit mentioning they put lights on theirs to make it more visible. I also had the idea of putting a Tile on it. Tile is something that is typically attached to a phone. I believe it's bluetooth driven and is only good for 100-200 feet. But that might be good enough. And my GPS wasn't functioning properly when it crashed (it said the drone is across the street when it was much closer) so that may be a good idea. Not to mention once the drone is dead I want to still be able to find it.

4. Has anyone put their contact details on the drone? That may be a good idea. Just not sure how to make it big enough that it be visible yet small enough to get all the important information. eg "IF FOUND PLEASE CONTACT ME AT XXX.XXX.XXXX".

5. I just tried a test flight for the first time since finding it. But when I turned on the drone I couldn't find it anywhere under wifi. Not sure what that's all about. When I turned on the app I could still see through the camera, and after hesitating a while I flew it for a few seconds just to test it. But I'm a bit uneasy that I couldn't see it mentioned under wifi. Every drone I've ever had (equipped with camera) would show up under wifi. And I could be remembering incorrectly but I thought this one did as well. Doesn't it?

 

[Chrislaf]

What DJI drone do you have? I am assuming it is one of the Mini’s because if you are flying a bigger drone you would be quite limited to the places you could legally fly in Toronto.

Also, if you want to learn from your mishap so that it doesn’t happen again, get the logs from your brothers phone and post them here. There are some very skilled members who will be able to analyze the log and tell you what happened so that it doesn’t happen again. It also helps other community members as well.

Chris

 

[Meta4]

1. The problem happened because I pressed the Home button, and rather than coming back to me it went away. Since this crash happened two others have said a similar thing, that they pressed Home and theirs lost control or crashed. And even someone in this thread has said if you don't have a good GPS lock the last thing you want to do is press Home. So the question for future is, how do I know when I can or cannot press Home?

That's very basic.
Wait until the drone has good GPS and records it's homepoint before flying away.

3. Is there anything else I can do to avoid this from happening?

You still haven't posted the flight data to find out what the cause of the issue actually was.
It would be best to do that to confirm, rather than assuming something that might not have been related.

4. Has anyone put their contact details on the drone?

Lots of folks have ... those that would like to get their drone back if lost.

When I turned on the app I could still see through the camera, and after hesitating a while I flew it for a few seconds just to test it. But I'm a bit uneasy that I couldn't see it mentioned under wifi. Every drone I've ever had (equipped with camera) would show up under wifi. And I could be remembering incorrectly but I thought this one did as well. Doesn't it?

Which model is the drone?
If you can see the camera view, that's a good indication of a connection.
Does the phone or tablet connect to the controller via cable?
If so, the drone does not use wifi.
Only basic, cheap drones use wifi.