Mavic Controller Battery Life...

stuart.black · Dec 16, 2016

Hi all,

I have a question needing answered and fingers crossed someone can help. Today I set up and took off for a per flight test etc on drone battery #1 then changed the battery over for the "real" flight on battery #2, so drone:100% controller:87% what would happen if I wanted to use my last battery #3 would my controller last? How do you get round this if it doesn't last all #3 battery's?

Thanks
Stuart

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msinger · Dec 16, 2016

The remote controller usually lasts for about 5-6 flights. If your battery dies before that, you'll need to charge it

stuart.black · Dec 16, 2016

5-6 flights!? That's a good start thanks msinger [emoji108][emoji4]

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Kevin C · Dec 28, 2016

2 related questions. Does the controller charge the iPhone?

Second can you charge the controller with an external battery?

chippie · Dec 28, 2016

The controller only charges android devices and as such can drain much quicker whilst keeping the device close to 100%.

Yes you can charge it with an external battery and you can even charge it in flight if you use the bottom port for your device and a Micro-USB cable into the side port. DJI do not recommend doing this in flight but people in the know have said that is really should not have any negative impact.

msinger · Dec 28, 2016

Kevin C said:
can you charge the controller with an external battery?

Here's one way to do it:

Kevin C · Dec 28, 2016

msinger said:
Here's one way to do it:

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In this are you charging the iPhone/iPad?

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halley · Dec 28, 2016

Kevin C said:
In this are you charging the iPhone/iPad?

As mentioned above,

chippie said:
The controller only charges android devices

So... no.

Anthony · Dec 28, 2016

I use an Andriod phone and i can easily use my three Mavic batteries without issues with the RC power and i am sure i would be able to use 4 and still have power left.

Kevin C · Dec 28, 2016

Thanks for the info. Still waiting for my Mavic to arrive, just trying to get prepared, going to be quite an upgrade from my Phantom 1

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WolfgangStiller · Dec 28, 2016

My iPhone is the weak link in terms of battery life in the field. The RC and Mavic (multiple flight batteries) aren't the limiting factor. It's really bad in the cold. Here's what I have done to make the iPhone battery situation a little better:

1) Keep the iPhone warm (an inside pocket and a warming pack, either chemical or pre-warmed 3M gel pack for when it's really cold out or when I am out for a really long day).

2) Carry an extra charger for the iPhone and top off the battery between flilghts.

3) I am experimenting with adding some insulation to the iPhone and inserting a chemical warming pack to the back to keep it warm. (I haven't actually done this yet in the field).

4) I have played with the DJI Go 4/Litchi settings. So far, it looks like turning off caching of videos is helpful to reduce battery consumption. (Not sure exactly how much though)

Rom3oDelta7 · Dec 31, 2016

WolfgangStiller said:
My iPhone is the weak link in terms of battery life in the field. The RC and Mavic (multiple flight batteries) aren't the limiting factor. It's really bad in the cold. Here's what I have done to make the iPhone battery situation a little better:

1) Keep the iPhone warm (an inside pocket and a warming pack, either chemical or pre-warmed 3M gel pack for when it's really cold out or when I am out for a really long day).

2) Carry an extra charger for the iPhone and top off the battery between flilghts.

3) I am experimenting with adding some insulation to the iPhone and inserting a chemical warming pack to the back to keep it warm. (I haven't actually done this yet in the field).

4) I have played with the DJI Go 4/Litchi settings. So far, it looks like turning off caching of videos is helpful to reduce battery consumption. (Not sure exactly how much though)

Winter here is typically pretty mild (mid 40s or so) but my iPhone is still the weak link wrt battery life. I was on my third Mavic battery, with plenty of power left on the controller, but my iPhone 6 Plus (which had of course been at full brightness) was almost out of power. This is one area where my P4P outclasses the Mavic (besides the camera, of course): I have never had a low power situation with the iPad Mini or the RC even after using 3 batteries on my P4P. iPad Mini screen is not as bright as the iPhone though, so hopefully the iPad Mini coming out in 2017 will have a screen with more nits of brightness.

Kevin C · Dec 31, 2016

Rom3oDelta7 said:
Winter here is typically pretty mild (mid 40s or so) but my iPhone is still the weak link wrt battery life. I was on my third Mavic battery, with plenty of power left on the controller, but my iPhone 6 Plus (which had of course been at full brightness) was almost out of power. This is one area where my P4P outclasses the Mavic (besides the camera, of course): I have never had a low power situation with the iPad Mini or the RC even after using 3 batteries on my P4P. iPad Mini screen is not as bright as the iPhone though, so hopefully the iPad Mini coming out in 2017 will have a screen with more nits of brightness.

That is my concern too. My iPhone 6s battery doesn't last that long on a good day, let alone trying to run DJI Go.

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F6Rider · Dec 31, 2016

My Mavmount arrived so I hooked up my iPad Air2 and flew 4 batteries down to 25%, still had 60% on the controller and 62% on the Air2. So the Air2 uses less battery than the iPhone 6+. No need for me to carry a power bank as I will not have more than the 4 batteries. But I must say the Air2 screen is so much better to look at than the Phone, makes the extra weight worth it. I am using a neck strap by the 3rd battery.

Texasknowhow · Dec 31, 2016

F6Rider said:
My Mavmount arrived so I hooked up my iPad Air2 and flew 4 batteries down to 25%, still had 60% on the controller and 62% on the Air2. So the Air2 uses less battery than the iPhone 6+. No need for me to carry a power bank as I will not have more than the 4 batteries. But I must say the Air2 screen is so much better to look at than the Phone, makes the extra weight worth it. I am using a neck strap by the 3rd battery.

You have links to the MavMount? Also, what size is the iPad Air2 (I just don't know)?

skypros · Dec 31, 2016

There is a whole thread here on MavicPilots about the mavmount
Anyone use the MavMount for iPad?

Here is the mavmount website
MavMount – Mavic iPad Tablet Adapter

Texasknowhow said:
You have links to the MavMount? Also, what size is the iPad Air2 (I just don't know)?

Texasknowhow · Dec 31, 2016

skypros said:
There is a whole thread here on MavicPilots about the mavmount
Anyone use the MavMount for iPad?

Here is the mavmount website
MavMount – Mavic iPad Tablet Adapter

Thanks!

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Jimmie Hanson · May 12, 2017

Question I just took a flight of say 20 minutes. I had charged my controller 100%. Forgot and left it plugged in all night. When I finished my flight battery on controller was down to 10 % What happened. It was plugged into USB to my cell phone. Maybe that was a mistake and it should have been plugged in on the side.. Maybe I answered my own question. But 20 minutes ouch for Mavic battery and controller. Temp outside was 95 degrees.

rverkoey · May 25, 2017

My Mavic controller only lasts one Mavic battery or 25 mins tops. I am using an iPad mini 4 plugged into bottom usb port.
What would be draining my Mavic controller so fast ?
It sucks only getting 25 mins of flight when I still have 2 more full Mavic batteries.
The controller drains fast and don't know why.

Suggestions??

MavicPro3 · May 25, 2017

TIP: disable video caching in the main menu, this will significantly improve battery life on most devices, especially an iPhone 5s. Unless you're planning to edit downgraded video on your mobile device it's pointless anyway and takes up a lot of space.

The controller battery should typically last about 5-6 flights on a full charge (new). I've heard Android devices draws power from the controller, unlike iPhones. Perhaps this could be affecting the controller battery life in some cases. Try a different device or perhaps a different cable.