Mavic compass needs to be calibrated before each flight
- Thread starter tomic
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Be careful where you turn it on. For example, I never turn mine on in or near my car, near a metallic table, or other metallic object.
BD0G
Well-Known Member
I thought this might be the case until recently when I was on a hike far into the woods when I got the same error.
Yes I have gotten this error, what does it mean?
Had the Mavic 1 ( and a replacement ) and I never had to re calibrate the compass. I even travelled from Greece to Hungary and Mavic 1 didnt ask for calibration.
In Mavic2, I had the same issue with OP in the first 4-5 flights , maybe more. Maybe my calibration was not made correctly and the quad was asking for a new one in every flight. Also the manual and GO4 app have contradictive information on how to hold the quad when calibrating the compass.
In Mavic2, I had the same issue with OP in the first 4-5 flights , maybe more. Maybe my calibration was not made correctly and the quad was asking for a new one in every flight. Also the manual and GO4 app have contradictive information on how to hold the quad when calibrating the compass.
I have mavic 1 and mavic 2 zoom. I have newer do calibration compas. Just buy and fly.
Roamer105
Well-Known Member
None of that is normal.
Distance has nothing to do with it.
The manual is quite wrong about this and moving 5 miles or 5000 miles makes no difference to compass calibration.
If you think the app is telling you, that you need to calibrate your compass, look closer at what it's actually saying.
I can think of two possibilities.
1. Some people think that the Calibrate Compass wording in the app is a warning to calibrate the compass when it's just the button you press when you actually need to calibrate.
2. It could be that your compass is warning you of magnetic interference and no amount of calibrating will fix that.
Moving the Mavic away from the problem is the solution.
I believe none of the above two cases are really valid here. 3-4 different people with previous experience of Mavic 1 have confirmed that their M2 is much more sensitive with its compass and asks frequently for re-calibration when moved a few miles/Km from its previous location.
It can't just be a magnetic interference of a location because previous Mavic1 didn't have this issue. Also, I assume we all know how to use GO4 app.
I stand by what I wrote.
Frequent compass calibration messages are not normal, no matter how far you travel.
Compass calibration has nothing at all to do with distance from anywhere.
Magnetic interference is exactly what the compass warns you about.
I'd like to hear some other theories about what might cause these messages.
???
Pretty much sure.
Unless my apple watch messes up with the remote. Edit: just to be clear, when I first calibrated the compass I made sure apple watch was not close. And I'm not the type of person who likes to do calibration proactively. I like the phrase: "if it works don't fix it"
Listen, @Meta4 , don't want to argue with you, but given that others reported similar observations, all I'm saying is that the two points you mentioned have little to zero chances happening in this case.
It simply can't be a magnetic interference happening in every new location that I visited. Others also reported similar observations. Same bad luck to them?
In the past none of my two mavics ever complaint for Magnetic interference at the same spots that I fly. They actually never reported a magnetic interference without a good reason. Having said that, I have read the manual and be in position to know what could affect the compass. Hence, always try to avoid big pieces of metal around or underneath my spot where I would take off the quad.
Next, you mentioned that we may interpret the GO4 app menu in a wrong way and somebody could think that a simple text is actually a warning. Again, given that 3-4 people experienced this issue, with very similar symptoms, I wouldn't believe that all of us are so less experienced to actually misinterpret GO4 app so falsely.
Maybe we have defective units, or maybe we didn't do proper calibration in the first place and the MP2 keeps complaining! Or maybe MP2s which have only one compass (instead of 2 from MP1) actually needed to have two. Who knows?
Let's see how this will develop with the feedback from other members.
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The reason I suggested that was because I've seen many cases on forums of users doing exactly that.
There's no such thing as an improper calibration of the compass. - Either it calibrates or it doesn't.
Having one or two compasses wouldn't make any difference.
Having compass calibration warnings each flight is not normal.
It says the compass needs calibrating. And on looking at the actual sensor status, it does. They've changed the behaviour in the mavic 2 hence the new manual instructions.
Its quite possible it detects via the GPS its moved a certain distances and prompts a recalibration based on that.
Pretty much everything i own with a digital compass wants or needs recalibration after a long distance move.
and yes there is such a thing as a "wrong" calibration. If you have a magnetic field anomaly in a certain area its perfectly possible to calibrate it "wrongly" for when it leaves that area.
Moving it 20-50 miles im not getting prompted. Moving it a few thousands miles im getting prompted. Every time.
The compass is one of the most misunderstood facets of drone flying.
The responses here demonstrate this.
Compass calibration is not related to geographic location.
Compass calibration is only to help the compass understand which magnetic fields are part of the Mavic and which are the earth's normal magnetic field
A magnetic anomaly won't make any difference because calibrating is just to help ascertain which magnetic influences (those that rotate with the Mavic) belong to the Mavic.
If there's a magnetic anomaly, it won't rotate with the Mavic so won't be counted as part of the Mavic.
I must be due to some other factor.
The responses here demonstrate this.
It's not possible because moving any distance makes no difference to compass calibration.
Compass calibration is not related to geographic location.
Compass calibration is only to help the compass understand which magnetic fields are part of the Mavic and which are the earth's normal magnetic field
Refer to my explanation of what calibrating the compass does above.
A magnetic anomaly won't make any difference because calibrating is just to help ascertain which magnetic influences (those that rotate with the Mavic) belong to the Mavic.
If there's a magnetic anomaly, it won't rotate with the Mavic so won't be counted as part of the Mavic.
If so, it has nothing to do with distance from anywhere.
I must be due to some other factor.
The magnetic field around our planet is not the same everywhere.
This why why pilots used words like declination, magnetic variation, interference from the plane when they calculate a heading for navigation.
Today with GPS, it’s not as big as a concern.
It would make sense that the Mavic asks for a reset for long distance, and it appears that the MV2 is more sensitive than the first generation.
This why why pilots used words like declination, magnetic variation, interference from the plane when they calculate a heading for navigation.
Today with GPS, it’s not as big as a concern.
It would make sense that the Mavic asks for a reset for long distance, and it appears that the MV2 is more sensitive than the first generation.
If you don't understand what calibrating the compass does, you are going to be wrong trying to work out compass issues.
There's a huge misunderstanding evident in the responses that keep coming in.
It would help if you folks understood what calibrating the compass actually does rather than what you think it does.
It is not at all related to location changes - really it isn't.
Yes the earth's magnetic field varies but that doesn't matter because calibrating the compass ...
(I'll type this one more time because no-one has taken any notice)
Calibrating the compass only helps the compass understand which magnetic fields are part of the Mavic and can be ignored so that everything else is the earth's magnetic field.
If you don't want to believe me, try reading this (and a few posts before it) for an alternative explanation.
Compass calibration
Ken K
Well-Known Member
Check the magnetic declination for your location (any location) here Magnetic Declination on Map or here Magnetic declination calculator .
Drop a pin at your site on the first, enter your longitude, latitude, and date on the second.
Drop a pin at your site on the first, enter your longitude, latitude, and date on the second.
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