Magnetic Interfence with Compass

[CamdenGunter]

Hey guys,

I’ve had my Mavic Air for about a month and it’s worked great so far and have only had to calibrate the compass about 3-4 times. Last weekend I took it to the beach for the first time and tried to fly it but the compass kept saying there was magnetic interference.
I just got an iPhone XS and that was my first attempt at flying so that could be a reason but I tried twice at 2 beaches about 5 miles apart. I didn’t have any magnetic objects near me unless they are underground. Only thing I had was a DSLR camera a few feet away.

There is a power plant about 2 miles away from where I tried to fly and also a military base about 7 miles away. Could either of these be the cause of it not calibrating? I tried it again when I got home and it was fine. Couldn’t find anything about the issue so anyone help would be appreciated

 

[Meta4]

There is a power plant about 2 miles away from where I tried to fly and also a military base about 7 miles away. Could either of these be the cause of it not calibrating?

No ... neither of those would have any effect at 1/4 mile away.
Look closely at where you've put the drone when you get those warnings.
Calibrating is not the solution. Moving the drone away from what the compass is warning you about is.
Are you by any chance putting the Mavic on a steel or reinforced concrete surface?

 

[jason38]

Did you unfold the drone before switch it on? Motors are magnetic , and too close of the body when it's folded..
Did you take the RC+phone enought away from the drone?
Or Did you try to make it take off from your car's roof or something like that ?

No, the power station will not affect compass until you'll get close to it (less than 100-200m)

Meta4 is right, you can calibrate as much as you want, if you're near interference source, it'll never calibrate correctly... First find whats going wrong, and then calibrate, when you don't have any alert message no more...

Maybe try to calibrate it at home (where it seems working well) and then go the that beach to try again...

 

[CamdenGunter]

No ... neither of those would have any effect at 1/4 mile away.
Look closely at where you've put the drone when you get those warnings.
Calibrating is not the solution. Moving the drone away from what the compass is warning you about is.
Are you by any chance putting the Mavic on a steel or reinforced concrete surface?

I was attempting to take it off from the surface of a surfboard laying in the sand instead of directly from the sand. Unless there’s steel under the sand ( which I would assume there isn’t ) there didn’t appear to be any type of steel or reinforced concrete nearby

 

[CamdenGunter]

Did you unfold the drone before switch it on? Motors are magnetic , and too close of the body when it's folded..
Did you take the RC+phone enought away from the drone?
Or Did you try to make it take off from your car's roof or something like that ?

No, the power station will not affect compass until you'll get close to it (less than 100-200m)

Meta4 is right, you can calibrate as much as you want, if you're near interference source, it'll never calibrate correctly... First find whats going wrong, and then calibrate, when you don't have any alert message no more...

Maybe try to calibrate it at home (where it seems working well) and then go the that beach to try again...

Yeah was just trying to take it off from the surface of a surfboard ( which has no metal in it ) since that would be better than taking off directly from the sand. I was about the same distance away from the drone as I always am when taking off. And drone was also unfolded. My guess is there is some type of steel or reinforced concrete underground that could be interfering

 

[jason38]

Yeah was just trying to take it off from the surface of a surfboard ( which has no metal in it ) since that would be better than taking off directly from the sand. I was about the same distance away from the drone as I always am when taking off. And drone was also unfolded. My guess is there is some type of steel or reinforced concrete underground that could be interfering

Yes, I think it's the most likely thing that could happen...
If you make your start up as usual and that works everywhere else, so that beach is magnetic... You're right there are lots of places you don't imagine there can be concrete with metal , or just metal underground
Maybe try to move on that beach to find a place with no interferences (maybe 1/2miles farer everything is fine...)