Mavic 3. Satellite acquisition takes over 5 minutes! What gives @DJI???

[chuck1026]

I know this topic's probably been discussed but last night and this morning I tried on two separate occasions to turn on my RC Pro then turn on the Mavic 3 in a clear outside area and both times could not connect to even 10 satellites in 5 minutes time.

Other times I have flown and noticed that the drone kind of can't hold position when I'm doing an ascend and yaw shot (eye of God)... And that's probably because the drone can't hang on to 12 satellites all the time. So it's drifting a little bit on shots that required rock solid steadiness.

So I ask DJI... Do you really think you're going to get access to Galileo anytime soon? The Chinese government is not exactly warming up to the EU so I suspect they won't let you use the system if ever. Also you've lost Glonass and our left with what? 16 satellites the lock on to? Yeah this thing May have a great camera best I've ever seen... But without good GPS the airframe is useless for anything important. I'm extremely disappointed and I don't know what you can do to make me happy and I know I'm not alone. You better figure it out or you can be guaranteed. This is the last DJI product I will ever buy after spending $4,000 on this kit.

 

[Saladshooter]

I know this topic's probably been discussed but last night and this morning I tried on two separate occasions to turn on my RC Pro then turn on the Mavic 3 in a clear outside area and both times could not connect to even 10 satellites in 5 minutes time.

Other times I have flown and noticed that the drone kind of can't hold position when I'm doing an ascend and yaw shot (eye of God)... And that's probably because the drone can't hang on to 12 satellites all the time. So it's drifting a little bit on shots that required rock solid steadiness.

So I ask DJI... Do you really think you're going to get access to Galileo anytime soon? The Chinese government is not exactly warming up to the EU so I suspect they won't let you use the system if ever. Also you've lost Glonass and our left with what? 16 satellites the lock on to? Yeah this thing May have a great camera best I've ever seen... But without good GPS the airframe is useless for anything important. I'm extremely disappointed and I don't know what you can do to make me happy and I know I'm not, better figure it out or you can be guaranteed. This is the last DJI product I will ever buy after spending $4,000 on this kit.

The fix will come and has been somewhat promised to be within the month.... The problem isn't the number of sats in the sky as the system was working when launched then broken in the December update.

The Beidou constellation that replaced Glonass actually has the most satellites. Both Galileo and GPS are still working, however there is some issue in the Mavic 3 that is slowing down acquisition. My M3 is working the same as yours..... 5 minutes plus to lock a homepoint.

 

[chuck1026]

The fix will come and has been somewhat promised to be within the month.... The problem isn't the number of sats in the sky as the system was working when launched then broken in the December update.

The Beidou constellation that replaced Glonass actually has the most satellites. Both Galileo and GPS are still working, however there is some issue in the Mavic 3 that is slowing down acquisition. My M3 is working the same as yours..... 5 minutes plus to lock a homepoint.

Thanks for the very helpful reply! I bought mine right before the January update so I had to wait like 3-4 minutes then... Still looking but it's worse now. I'll be patient.

 

[Starz]

Updates are not mandatory. Your issue is not uncommon relating to firmware that provides improvements along with some undesirable side effects. One consideration would be to hang back and watch for information provided by others that have made the leap to the update bandwagon.
Hopefully the all powerful DJI engineers will move to satisfy the many deep pocketed customers that are in the mix.

 

[chuck1026]

UPDATE - Re-tested again. Wide open area, partly cloudy... Started RC PRo and Fly, turned on Mavic 3 and after the DJI tones I started the stopwatch. After 7+ minutes I had 7-8 sats.... WTF. I have grabbed 12 in 3-4 minutes before the January update and even right after.

 

[Meta4]

So I ask DJI...

DJI aren't here so no-one that can do anything about it will see your post.

Do you really think you're going to get access to Galileo anytime soon? The Chinese government is not exactly warming up to the EU so I suspect they won't let you use the system if ever. Also you've lost Glonass and our left with what? 16 satellites the lock on to?

The Mavic 3 receives data from the Galileo sats as well as the US GPS sats and the Chinese Beidou sats.
The satellite constellations are free access, so no-one has lost Galileo.
The problem is not a lack of satellites.
It's something that's restricting satellite acquisition.

Lots of users are in the same boat and waiting for DJI to come up with a fix.
Why it's taking them so long is a mystery.

 

[millbah]

As I mentioned in my post re M3 & Sat lock, I am picking up enough stats to fly almost instaneously with 1.5.10. I think it may have something to do with geographic location rather than software updates, at least in my case. My location is equator.

 

[Jorge Vergara Latoja]

DJI aren't here so no-one that can do anything about it will see your post.


The Mavic 3 receives data from the Galileo sats as well as the US GPS sats and the Chinese Beidou sats.
The satellite constellations are free access, so no-one has lost Galileo.
The problem is not a lack of satellites.
It's something that's restricting satellite acquisition.

Lots of users are in the same boat and waiting for DJI to come up with a fix.
Why it's taking them so long is a mystery.

DJI aren't here so no-one that can do anything about it will see your post.


The Mavic 3 receives data from the Galileo sats as well as the US GPS sats and the Chinese Beidou sats.
The satellite constellations are free access, so no-one has lost Galileo.
The problem is not a lack of satellites.
It's something that's restricting satellite acquisition.

Lots of users are in the same boat and waiting for DJI to come up with a fix.
Why it's taking them so long is a mystery.

It's really frustrating to read your comments and even more so to have to "wait" for a new Firmware update that "maybe" fixes this problem of slowing down the M3 with satellite recognition, as well as other details that it still has...I'm not wrong about that DJI made a mistake in launching this equipment if it was not yet fully debugged…which was what it gained by doing so, they say; because of the pressure that the competition was putting on it.?... I think nothing at all... simply dissatisfied buyers with this drone, more I am annoyed with the youtubers who told us in the presentation videos of the M3 (by the way: DJI he gave them to some of them) that it is an “extraordinary drone, that it is the best that DJI has launched on the market…etc..etc…and they subtly urged you to acquire it, that it was worth the effort to buy it and Subjectively, they gave explanations as to why it really wasn't an expensive drone, considering everything that the drone had, both in software and hardware... As well as many who confidently bought this M3 and have to arm themselves with patience while waiting for a definitive solution. the problems that this equipment still has….there are others that we are still waiting patiently to acquire it once this “famous Mavic 3” is fully debugged….Patience and Greetings..!..

 

[Meta4]

As I mentioned in my post re M3 & Sat lock, I am picking up enough stats to fly almost instaneously with 1.5.10. I think it may have something to do with geographic location rather than software updates, at least in my case. My location is equator.

Where you are located makes no difference.
The sats are constantly moving on their orbits and the earth rotates inside those orbits.
This gives you and everyone else different sats all the time.

 

[Faster]

It's really frustrating to read your comments and even more so to have to "wait" for a new Firmware update that "maybe" fixes this problem of slowing down the M3 with satellite recognition, as well as other details that it still has...I'm not wrong about that DJI made a mistake in launching this equipment if it was not yet fully debugged…which was what it gained by doing so, they say; because of the pressure that the competition was putting on it.?... I think nothing at all... simply dissatisfied buyers with this drone, more I am annoyed with the youtubers who told us in the presentation videos of the M3 (by the way: DJI he gave them to some of them) that it is an “extraordinary drone, that it is the best that DJI has launched on the market…etc..etc…and they subtly urged you to acquire it, that it was worth the effort to buy it and Subjectively, they gave explanations as to why it really wasn't an expensive drone, considering everything that the drone had, both in software and hardware... As well as many who confidently bought this M3 and have to arm themselves with patience while waiting for a definitive solution. the problems that this equipment still has….there are others that we are still waiting patiently to acquire it once this “famous Mavic 3” is fully debugged….Patience and Greetings..!..

I'm really sorry for what you are going thru and I hope everything gets solved ASAP, but this is not new with any new product in the market (I don't want to justify DJI at all) Being an "early adopter" is always risky because you'll become a "Beta Tester" like it or not. Time has showed me to be patient and wait for some real people get them and start to show the flaws and/or advantages of the new product. One of the best sources for getting a real knowledge are the forums, just like this one. I don't trust any Youtuber that has been paid for reviewing any product.

 

[Meta4]

Being an "early adopter" is always risky because you'll become a "Beta Tester" like it or not.

There have been a few small glitches, but most DJI drones have been very good right from the launch.

I don't trust any Youtuber that has been paid for reviewing any product.

I doubt that the Youtube early reviewers get paid or that they get to keep the review drones.
But to be fair to them, the Mavic 3 didn't have this problem when it launched.
It was much later that DJI introduced the problem with a firmware update.

 

[chuck1026]

It's really frustrating to read your comments and even more so to have to "wait" for a new Firmware update that "maybe" fixes this problem of slowing down the M3 with satellite recognition, as well as other details that it still has...I'm not wrong about that DJI made a mistake in launching this equipment if it was not yet fully debugged…which was what it gained by doing so, they say; because of the pressure that the competition was putting on it.?... I think nothing at all... simply dissatisfied buyers with this drone, more I am annoyed with the youtubers who told us in the presentation videos of the M3 (by the way: DJI he gave them to some of them) that it is an “extraordinary drone, that it is the best that DJI has launched on the market…etc..etc…and they subtly urged you to acquire it, that it was worth the effort to buy it and Subjectively, they gave explanations as to why it really wasn't an expensive drone, considering everything that the drone had, both in software and hardware... As well as many who confidently bought this M3 and have to arm themselves with patience while waiting for a definitive solution. the problems that this equipment still has….there are others that we are still waiting patiently to acquire it once this “famous Mavic 3” is fully debugged….Patience and Greetings..!..

Thanks for the reply @Jorge Vergara Latoja . Yes, I feel the same way. I actually waited until early January to buy after I heard new FW was on the way but I should have held off a bit longer. Even yesterday others told me, "it's your M3, mine connects in X minutes (most say 2 which only happens for me after a quick battery change)... so I call BS to that. Also, if I connect to 8 after 5 minutes, power down the RC and M3 then power up in a minute or 2, the 8 sats come back so that makes me feel like the radio is ok in the M3 but it can't see enough satellites.

I really hope this is resolved soon. I still have 3 Mavic 2's (One Zoom and two Pro's) and they are AWESOME so for YouTube I should not have upgraded, but of course did...

Stay in touch on here.

Chuck

 

[chuck1026]

There have been a few small glitches, but most DJI drones have been very good right from the launch.


I doubt that the Youtube early reviewers get paid or that they get to keep the review drones.
But to be fair to them, the Mavic 3 didn't have this problem when it launched.
It was much later that DJI introduced the problem with a firmware update.

@Meta4 that is true based on my Mavic Pro, Spark, Mavic Air, Mavic 2 and FPV but not this time. The M3 is NOT EVEN CLOSE to being useable. I lose 10 minutes waiting for sat connection at the moment. Sure, lots of time for safety checks but so much for 40+ mins of flight time (well a heavy 30 minutes anyway real world).

Chuck

 

[Faster]

There have been a few small glitches, but most DJI drones have been very good right from the launch.


I doubt that the Youtube early reviewers get paid or that they get to keep the review drones.
But to be fair to them, the Mavic 3 didn't have this problem when it launched.
It was much later that DJI introduced the problem with a firmware update.

I respectfully disagree with you. If you read the DJI Mavic 3 Release Notes, this is what early Mavic 3 adopters had been going thru for getting a "fully functional" drone and they are still waiting for other major fixes.

DJI Mavic 3 Release Notes DJI Mavic 3 - Imaging Above Everything - DJI Copyright © 2021 DJI All Rights Reserved.

1 Date: 2022.01.24
Aircraft Firmware: v01.00.0500
Remote Controller: v04.13.0500
DJI Fly App iOS: v1.5.8 DJI Fly App Android: v1.5.8
What’s New?
• Added QuickShots including Dronie, Rocket, Circle, Helix, Boomerang, and Asteroid. • Added Panorama mode, capable of capturing in high resolution. • Added burst shooting. • Added digital zoom for normal video mode. • Added Color Display Assist for D-Log. • Added 4K/60fps and manual EI adjustment for MasterShots. • Added QuickTransfer. • Added zoom and D-Log for FocusTrack when recording video. • Added support to set RTH altitude for Advanced RTH. • Added USB mode for Mavic 3 Cine for copying data. • Optimized accuracy of color correction. • Increased image sharpness of Tele camera when shooting at high magnification. • Optimized image area for Timelapse photos. • Added support to DJI RC Pro to output clean HDMI footage. • Added support for DJI RC Pro to cache video and download original video to an external SD card. • Added support to use DJI RC Pro with DJI Air 2S. • Fixed some minor bugs. Notes: • Added features require DJI Fly v1.5.8 or later. • USB mode will be disabled after updating firmware. Users can enable USB mode again in DJI Fly. • If the update fails, restart aircraft, remote controller, and DJI Fly or DJI Assistant 2 (Consumer Drones Series), and retry. DJI Mavic 3 Release Notes DJI Mavic 3 - Imaging Above Everything - DJI Copyright © 2021 DJI All Rights Reserved.

2 Date: 2021.12.10
Aircraft Firmware: v01.00.0400 Remote
Controller: v04.13.0400
DJI Fly App iOS: v1.5.4 DJI Fly App Android: v1.5.4
What’s New?
• Added FocusTrack, MasterShots, and Timelapse. • Added RAW Only photo format. • Reduced video recording noise for ProRes of Mavic 3 Cine. • Reduced occasional vibration of aircraft arms in some scenarios. • Improved RTH performance. • Improved obstacle avoidance performance. • Improved hover stability. • Fixed issue: some computers could not connect to aircraft via USB. • Fixed issue: abnormal color appeared in some scenarios. • Fixed some bugs for remote controller. Notes: • Added features require DJI Fly v1.5.4 or later. • If the update fails, restart aircraft, remote controller, and DJI Fly or DJI Assistant 2 (Consumer Drones Series), and retry. DJI Mavic 3 Release Notes DJI Mavic 3 - Imaging Above Everything - DJI Copyright © 2021 DJI All Rights Reserved.

3 Date: 2021.11.05
Aircraft Firmware: v01.00.0300
Remote Controller: v04.12.0300
DJI Fly App iOS: v1.5.0 DJI Fly App Android: v1.5.0
What’s New?
• Optimized flight safety. • Added ability to unlock GEO zones. • Added C4K/120fps, 4K/120fps, 1080p/120fps to Slow Motion. • Added 1080p/30fps to Explore mode. • Added D-Log mode. • Optimized image quality. • Increased maximum flight speed for APAS 5.0. Notes: • If the update fails, restart aircraft, remote controller, and DJI Fly or DJI Assistant 2 (Consumer Drones Series), and retry

 

[Jorge Vergara Latoja]

I'm really sorry for what you are going thru and I hope everything gets solved ASAP, but this is not new with any new product in the market (I don't want to justify DJI at all) Being an "early adopter" is always risky because you'll become a "Beta Tester" like it or not. Time has showed me to be patient and wait for some real people get them and start to show the flaws and/or advantages of the new product. One of the best sources for getting a real knowledge are the forums, just like this one. I don't trust any Youtuber that has been paid for reviewing any product.

Believe me, I share your opinion about being a buyer of a new product, it makes us all "potential testers" and obviously in the case of a Drone...it may have some faults...but it is very curious that this is happening with the Mavic 3, it is only happening with this equipment and I mean, for example, that at the launch of this drone, it did not have the intelligent flight functions activated, in short, that it came with all its software at 100% and I did not I mean that it has no bugs, I mean that it came 100% operational in its functions, it is a fact that debugging will have to come later in its software, as has happened with other drones that DJI has launched... I comment this because I have experience with Phantom 4Pro, Mavic 2 Pro and with the Inspire 2, which are the drones that I have…and with none of them I had the bad experience that is being experienced with the Mavic 3 and I don't want to give acid comments about DJI, but I feel that they don't have been totally transp with the consumers of their products... my criticism points to that situation, it is to be expected, as you comment, that this improves and why not say it, that it be solved once and for all, perhaps the delay in the new Firmwere goes somewhere , in which they are seeking to solve all those details, which have caused discomfort in consumers. Greetings.!

 

[Jorge Vergara Latoja]

Believe me, I share your opinion about being a buyer of a new product, it makes us all "potential testers" and obviously in the case of a Drone...it may have some faults...but it is very curious that this is happening with the Mavic 3, it is only happening with this equipment and I mean, for example, that at the launch of this drone, it did not have the intelligent flight functions activated, in short, that it came with all its software at 100% and I did not I mean that it has no bugs, I mean that it came 100% operational in its functions, it is a fact that debugging will have to come later in its software, as has happened with other drones that DJI has launched... I comment this because I have experience with Phantom 4Pro, Mavic 2 Pro and with the Inspire 2, which are the drones that I have…and with none of them I had the bad experience that is being experienced with the Mavic 3 and I don't want to give acid comments about DJI, but I feel that they don't have been totally transp with the consumers of their products... my criticism points to that situation, it is to be expected, as you comment, that this improves and why not say it, that it be solved once and for all, perhaps the delay in the new Firmwere goes somewhere , in which they are seeking to solve all those details, which have caused discomfort in consumers. Greetings.!

 

[millbah]

Where you are located makes no difference.
The sats are constantly moving on their orbits and the earth rotates inside those orbits.
This gives you and everyone else different sats all the time.

Certainly using GNSS with geodetic surveying, sat positions change & accordingly, PDOP, so I would argue location does make a difference at certain times. Do you have any other explanation why my wait time is consistently close to zero?

 

[chuck1026]

Certainly using GNSS with geodetic surveying, sat positions change & accordingly, PDOP, so I would argue location does make a difference at certain times. Do you have any other explanation why my wait time is consistently close to zero?

I personally have no idea why your wait time is so low. If you're specifically talking about a cold boot scenario. My wait time was previously three or so minutes to get 12 satellites, but it's recently gone up significantly where it struggles to get even eight and I'm not sure why. That's why I'm asking these questions.

 

[Meta4]

I respectfully disagree with you. If you read the DJI Mavic 3 Release Notes, this is what early Mavic 3 adopters had been going thru for getting a "fully functional" drone and they are still waiting for other major fixes.

I'm not sure what you are disagreeing with.
I'm fully aware of the firmware updates that the M3 has had.
And that there was no GPS issue until after the 1st update in December.

 

[Meta4]

Certainly using GNSS with geodetic surveying, sat positions change & accordingly, PDOP, so I would argue location does make a difference at certain times. Do you have any other explanation why my wait time is consistently close to zero?

Simple ... Not all Mavic 3s are having this problem and you have one that's working normally.
It has nothing to do with your location.