Mavic 2 controller battery draining quickly

[Johnmcl7]

I've never paid much attention to the battery depletion on my controller (standard not a smart controller) because it's never been an issue easily running through three Mavic 2 batteries. Recently though the controller battery seems to be depleting much quicker which I first noticed when I received a low battery warning at 12% even though the controller was fully charged and I was only on my second Mavic battery.

I had the controller fully charged today although even though it had been charging for some time it was only in the mid 90's charge wise, I flew one battery for around 10-15 minutes but then when powering the controller up to check something with the drone this evening it was in the low 70's and dropping as I watched it. I removed the Android tablet which I know I can't disable charging for but while the depletion was slightly slower it still seemed far too fast, I measured it losing a percent in around 45 seconds with the tablet unplugged and one percent every 30 seconds with the tablet plugged in.

I've seen suggestions to run the controller low then charge it fully but it did that itself the first time and it's made no difference. The Mavic is well out of warranty so no chance of help from there.

Any other suggestions?

 

[old man mavic]

this seems to be reoccuring theme at the moment, could it be a bad batch of RC batteries ,or some other underlying reason, i wonder if it is only happening to people using android devices as with apple the RC isn't charging the device,or could it have something to do with the latest app updates or device updates

 

[Not A Speck Of Cereal]

I wonder how involved it is to replace the internal battery... in case it comes to that for some of us.

 

[Johnmcl7]

I wonder how involved it is to replace the internal battery... in case it comes to that for some of us.

I'm wondering the same although not finding much online. I plugged the remote into the charger and it jumped from 50% to 97% in around five minutes which does suggest the battery is going wrong although it is showing 100% now.

I think I'll leave it overnight then in the morning power it on and leave it to see if it's any better.

 

[bumper]

This may help taking the Smart Controller apart:

How to modify antenna of the DJI smart controller？

But a brief search on the net did not come up with any difinitive info on replacing batteries or on what type of batteries they are. My own thought, and as much as I like the Smart Controller, I can't see any good reason, save for profit motive, DJI didn't make the SC with a conveniently accessible battery compartment. One of its few failings IMO.

 

[cocoon]

Maybe an issue relating to the last update?
The same problem is occuring to me, It never happen before, the remote controller battery was always a pro of DJI product (with my M1, my M2P)

since few days, it doesn't charge more than 97%.
and drain 10% in one night meanwhile it is not working.
It also drain 25% for one M2P battery (one flight) neanwhile before it was draining only 10% for the same flight....

 

[Darkabaz]

I also got this problem. I find out it is my Android Phone which is charging and that drops the % level of the controller every 30 seconds 1% down! There is no way to put the charging from the android phone off. Also, my battery was charging to 98%. I fix this to put the power cord 3 - 4 times from the controller, and put it again after a few seconds. Than my controller charged to 100%...

 

[cocoon]

I also got this problem. I find out it is my Android Phone which is charging and that drops the % level of the controller every 30 seconds 1% down! There is no way to put the charging from the android phone off. Also, my battery was charging to 98%. I fix this to put the power cord 3 - 4 times from the controller, and put it again after a few seconds. Than my controller charged to 100%...

Thanks for your feedback. Yes with this method it works sometimes but it is not the right way.
It always charge until 100% without doing this.
I know that you can t stop the charge from the remote to the android device but I am flying with the same setup since a year an half and it never happen in this proportion before this month.

I mean for the use of one Mavic 2 pro battery :
After the update of my CS screen :
The remote controller is draining 30% of his own battery and the CS screen battery was draining only 10% of his own battery.

Before the last update of CS screen, for the use of one Mavic 2 pro battery :
The remote controller was draining only 10% of his own battery and the CS screen battery was draining only 10% of his own battery.

any ideas?

 

[naiku]

The controller draining rapidly was one of the first things I noticed when recently picking up an M2P. Previously had a Mavic Air and the controller could last through several flights before needing to be re-charged, it seems as though the M2 controller will at most last through 3 batteries. Now, while 3 batteries is plenty for most times (~80 minutes flying) on that 3rd battery the controller battery getting low and potentially disconnecting is something I would rather not risk.

For now I have tried disabling fast charge on my phone, but not sure it has made much of a difference. I should have a tablet mount soon and can then see if the battery on the controller drains faster with the phone (Note 10+) or the tablet (Samsung Galaxy Tab A), both Android devices, but the tablet is I believe on Android 8 while the phone is on Android 10.

 

[Johnmcl7]

I haven't changed my set up and it was working fine with the same Android tablet before, it's still dropping too fast even without a device and only charging to 94 or 95%.

I think the next step is to see if DJI do any repairs or exchanges on controllers, there's a few second hand controllers for sale but they're not cheap and no guarantees the same won't happen a short time after.

Can the remote controller be charged by the side port while connected to a tablet using the USB port underneath? I'm thinking for now I could use a batter power back to keep the controller charged.

 

[Camino Ken]

I haven't changed my set up and it was working fine with the same Android tablet before, it's still dropping too fast even without a device and only charging to 94 or 95%.

I think the next step is to see if DJI do any repairs or exchanges on controllers, there's a few second hand controllers for sale but they're not cheap and no guarantees the same won't happen a short time after.

Can the remote controller be charged by the side port while connected to a tablet using the USB port underneath? I'm thinking for now I could use a batter power back to keep the controller charged.

I’m pretty sure that the bottom port is disabled when you have something plugged into the side port.

 

[Johnmcl7]

I’m pretty sure that the bottom port is disabled when you have something plugged into the side port.

That's for data, I've checked and found a few people have been able to charge the controller with a phone/tablet connected.

 

[Camino Ken]

That's for data, I've checked and found a few people have been able to charge the controller with a phone/tablet connected.

So I guess I was only half right. Good to know. I have not tried it.

 

[cocoon]

I haven't changed my set up and it was working fine with the same Android tablet before, it's still dropping too fast even without a device and only charging to 94 or 95%.

I think the next step is to see if DJI do any repairs or exchanges on controllers, there's a few second hand controllers for sale but they're not cheap and no guarantees the same won't happen a short time after.

Can the remote controller be charged by the side port while connected to a tablet using the USB port underneath? I'm thinking for now I could use a batter power back to keep the controller charged.

Exactly the same issue happen to me. Charge until 95, 97%. Then in only one night, without being connected to any device, the battery drain alone until 75% (25% loose in a night) and then, the battery will stay at 75% for many days and will start a normal discharge cycle.

I haven"t change anything in my configuration. ( M2P, CS 5.5)

 

[ff22]

That's for data, I've checked and found a few people have been able to charge the controller with a phone/tablet connected.

Yes, you could attach a battery bank to the side port and charge the controller while the lower/bottom port is connected to your device and still fly.

 

[Johnmcl7]

DJI have replied to my support request answering none of the questions I asked aside from one which they incorrectly answered and just told me to book it in for repair. I'm getting the feeling I should just bite the bullet and buy another controller.

 

[cocoon]

DJI have replied to my support request answering none of the questions I asked aside from one which they incorrectly answered and just told me to book it in for repair. I'm getting the feeling I should just bite the bullet and buy another controller.

"DJI have replied to my support request answering none of the questions"
It is always the case, very polite but not efficient at all. It is so sad from DJI

 

[Johnmcl7]

I've had another reply from them also answering nothing and suggesting I contact the UK service centre directly which is Drone Doctor in Brighton. They replied saying it's not a repair they would do and recommended sourcing a data only USB cable. I'm surprised at the responses especially given the Mavic 2 is now approaching two years old even without a fault it's likely controller batteries could be seeing noticeable degradation.

I was thinking of going for another controller but I'm feeling more reluctant to go with that option since it's expensive and it doesn't look likely the repair stance is going to change. I'm using a 10,000mAh powerbank to keep it topped up and may look into a smaller 5000mAh to keep it going for now.

 

[magicman98445]

I think this may be an issue with the Android OS exclusively. I normally use an iPad Mini when flying my Mavic Pro and never had any excess controller battery drain. Yesterday I was using my Nvidia Shield tablet (Android 7.0) and after only 2 1/2 flight batteries, the Mavic controller started beeping with low battery warning at 12%. I don't know if there is a way to remedy this issue between the iOS & Android OS. I hope someone has answers.

 

[Not A Speck Of Cereal]

The answer is that DJI Go currently does not allow you to turn off charging for Android devices. If you want longer RC battery life, go back to the iPad (making sure the setting to charge the tablet is OFF for the iOS device).

Since there was a recent firmware update, you can check if they changed that, but I haven't heard that they have. It's really kind of a dumb bug.

Chris