Mavic Mini DJI Fly app crashed in flight... TWICE!

[Coppermine]

Hi everyone
Yesterday I was flying the mini in my city from my roof, wind was ok, signal was ok (I was using the parabolics signal boosters too) , the flying conditions were perfect, 15 sats locked. But then... almost **** my pants. DJI Fly app crashed on my phone while I was performing a manual circle flying in P mode. Seconds later, I launched DJI Fly App once again, and ... linked automatically, even when the drone was around 100 meters up and 400 away (the mini is so small, I can't even see it at those altitudes). Finally I got the live feed again... pheeeeeeeww... did not crash, he was just hovering in place awaiting for orders. Then I press RTH... remote starts to beep loud as hell.. beep beep beep... and then half way home... DJI Fly App crashed again, while I see the drone approaching slowly and stopping on top of me and start descent. When it reached 1.2 meters from the ground it didn't land by itself, had to hand catch it.

Should I be worried?
How to fix that app crash thing?
Is the Fly App Really necessary for flying this tiny aircraft in this kind of situations?
Can I rely on the sticks and manually bring back home the aircraft?

I mean, yesterday I was lucky. Next time might not be so lucky.

Let's see what the experts say about this issue.

Thanks in advance

Martin

 

[Thomas B]

What device were you using for video feed? How many apps were open on it?

 

[Meta4]

Should I be worried?
How to fix that app crash thing?
Is the Fly App Really necessary for flying this tiny aircraft in this kind of situations?
Can I rely on the sticks and manually bring back home the aircraft?

The app does not fly the drone.
If the app crashes, you should still have full control with the controller.
The most likely cause for app crashing is running the app on a phone or tablet that doesn't have the resources to properly run the app which is quite demanding.

 

[Coppermine]

What device were you using for video feed? How many apps were open on it?

its a Xiaomi Mi Note 2
Before every flight I kill other apps, I just leave the Fly app running. There are plenty of memory left.

 

[Coppermine]

The app does not fly the drone.
If the app crashes, you should still have full control with the controller.
The most likely cause for app crashing is running the app on a phone or tablet that doesn't have the resources to properly run the app which is quite demanding.

Thanks for the answer!
I have set the app in the "gaming mode" which allows to use more resources to run more.. smoothly (no it doesn't)
So if I hit RTH button on the remote, it should come back to me even if Fly app isn't running? (let's say, phone battery died, restarted, etc)

 

[Thomas B]

Thanks for the answer!
I have set the app in the "gaming mode" which allows to use more resources to run more.. smoothly (no it doesn't)
So if I hit RTH button on the remote, it should come back to me even if Fly app isn't running? (let's say, phone battery died, restarted, etc)

Yes. Just be certain you’ll clear any obstacles... of course if it is within 20’ or so it will land right where it is unless you cancel or make more input.

 

[Capt KO]

When you say that the app crashed, did you still have telemetry and just lose video? Or was it shut down completely. Usually the video cuts out well before the telemetry to the remote. Full control remains and enough info on screen to fly home blind. If total shutdown, you need to try another cable or two to locate the disconnect. You’ve already taken care of the background apps. Good luck

 

[Coppermine]

When you say that the app crashed, did you still have telemetry and just lose video? Or was it shut down completely. Usually the video cuts out well before the telemetry to the remote. Full control remains and enough info on screen to fly home blind. If total shutdown, you need to try another cable or two to locate the disconnect. You’ve already taken care of the background apps. Good luck

Not just lost video, the whole app crashed and back to the launcher home screen. No apps were running on that precise moment, just DJI fly app.

 

[Gregtay67]

My Fly app crashed 3 times yesterday. On Redmi 4x flying Mavic Air 2. Screen went blank and reappeared after like 5 seconds then it started to connect back to the drone again and working again. Then the same thing happened another 2 times. This was almost at the end of my flight at the 20mins mark. Hope it gets fixed. Luckily the drone was already hovering near me.

 

[bigswifty]

And this is why, for me, getting all the telemetry on the actual controller on the M2 is worth the extra money IMO.