MavicPro disconnected mid flight for the first time ever (any wisdom as to why?)

[billem16]

I was flying around a wedding and have done this hundreds of times with no issues and them my screen on my phone just said it disconnected (or something like that) and I panic'd obviously. I walked closer to it praying it would magically reconnect... it did not. I was able to tell it to activate RTH on my screen (even though I thought it wouldn't activate since it was disconnected?) Anyways it landed safely on it's own thank goodness. But I want to know why it happened and how I can avoid this next time. I'll admit I was operating the RC from behind a building because I wanted to be in some shade to see my screen better. This is probably why...right?? But I don't know why it wouldn't reconnect when I walked towards the drone as it was hovering alone. Thanks

 

[Phantomrain.org]

Yes behind the building has been proven many times to be a signal killer.

Its possible that the RTH was already activated and already connected again but in the panic moment you just were not aware.

You did the right thing by gaining visual line of sight and trying to reconnect, I have noticed that the RTH is not always so quick to engage after loosing signal so I do i push the RTH while gaining Visual line of sight at the same time, Which is what I think you did also.

It will happen again, just dont panic, and change position , gain visual and gain Altitude or if RTH has not kicked in give it the incentive by pushing the button and waiting for response.

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly your Mavic Pro in the Rain

 

[3Greens]

I’ve had this problem too, no reason for it in my case other than software crash, range or antenna orientation as the aircraft turns. Make sure you have RTH activated in case of loss of signal, remembering that if you are flying under a canopy (tree’s for eg) that you also need to adjust the RTH altitude otherwise you will crash as you ascend.
I’ve had to reboot the controller to reestablish a connection with the Mavic Pro and then cancel the RTH and continue flying. It’s an incontinents moment when it first happens, but you get used to it, expect the unexpected.

 

[billem16]

I’ve had this problem too, no reason for it in my case other than software crash, range or antenna orientation as the aircraft turns. Make sure you have RTH activated in case of loss of signal, remembering that if you are flying under a canopy (tree’s for eg) that you also need to adjust the RTH altitude otherwise you will crash as you ascend.
I’ve had to reboot the controller to reestablish a connection with the Mavic Pro and then cancel the RTH and continue flying. It’s an incontinents moment when it first happens, but you get used to it, expect the unexpected.

thank you for this thorough response! Wait, so you can literally power down your controller, and turn it back on mid flight? For some reason I imagine the drone dropping out of the sky if that happens lol, but I guess it just would perform RTH as usual anyways.

 

[billem16]

Yes behind the building has been proven many times to be a signal killer.

Its possible that the RTH was already activated and already connected again but in the panic moment you just were not aware.

You did the right thing by gaining visual line of sight and trying to reconnect, I have noticed that the RTH is not always so quick to engage after loosing signal so I do i push the RTH while gaining Visual line of sight at the same time, Which is what I think you did also.

It will happen again, just dont panic, and change position , gain visual and gain Altitude or if RTH has not kicked in give it the incentive by pushing the button and waiting for response.

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly your Mavic Pro in the Rain

Thanks! I have a question that I feel like I should know the answer to..... so in my case, I activated RTH myself by pressing it on the button... but how do I ensure that RTH will automatically kick in during these incidents?

 

[Thomas B]

Thanks! I have a question that I feel like I should know the answer to..... so in my case, I activated RTH myself by pressing it on the button... but how do I ensure that RTH will automatically kick in during these incidents?

In an open area just fly out about 100-150’ and turn of the controller to simulate loss of signal. Drone should RTH then.

 

[3Greens]

When I fly the Mavic Pro I use the controller with a 5.5” CrystalSky monitor, these monitors are nice but they have there issues as well, one of which is where the aircraft doesn’t respond in quite the same way it normally does, this tantrum is then confirmed by an on screen message saying something along the line of DJI pilot or Go 4 is not responding - with 2 options close / wait
I’ve had to shut down both controller and CrystalSky mid flight, reboot and then carry on.
RTH is an essential bit of kit but it does not return the aircraft immediately, you will find on your RTH test you have to wait up to a minute for RTH to activate, but I’ve always found it very reliable.
Remember, you can adjust altitude in RTH mode but not direction.

 

[DoomMeister]

Not trying to be a drone cop here, but you fly at a wedding and go behind a building so you can see the screen, yet you no longer have visual line of sight with the aircraft resulting in loss of connection. I assume you are 107 certified as you say you’ve done hundreds of weddings, but you didn’t understand about settings for RTH and what happens when the aircraft loses connection with the controller.

Sorry, but I am totally shaking my head.

 

[Dave Maine]

Radio waves cannot go through trees, hillsides and buildings. Signals in the frequency range allotted for drone operations are included in this limitation of the Physics of radiated electromagnetic energy.

Frequently the video downlink will drop off first, still allowing you to control the drone without receiving the video downlink. Without the uplink control signals, theRTH command will not be received by the drone, and work.

 

[Joel1521]

I was flying around a wedding and have done this hundreds of times with no issues and them my screen on my phone just said it disconnected (or something like that) and I panic'd obviously. I walked closer to it praying it would magically reconnect... it did not. I was able to tell it to activate RTH on my screen (even though I thought it wouldn't activate since it was disconnected?) Anyways it landed safely on it's own thank goodness. But I want to know why it happened and how I can avoid this next time. I'll admit I was operating the RC from behind a building because I wanted to be in some shade to see my screen better. This is probably why...right?? But I don't know why it wouldn't reconnect when I walked towards the drone as it was hovering alone. Thanks

I had similar issues from time to time. As it turned out, it was related to a lose/corrupt wire connection between the controller and my iPhone. The iPhone was "disconnected" but, in fact, the RTH still worked because the drone was still in contact, i.e. connected, to the controller. Replacing the wire, solved the problem.

 

[3Greens]

Radio waves cannot go through trees, hillsides and buildings. Signals in the frequency range allotted for drone operations are included in this limitation of the Physics of radiated electromagnetic energy.

Frequently the video downlink will drop off first, still allowing you to control the drone without receiving the video downlink. Without the uplink control signals, theRTH command will not be received by the drone, and work.

Yes and no. Dave Maine is correct but, and I can only speak for the Mavic Pro and Mavic Enterprise Dual. There is a setting in DJI Pilot under “flight controller settings” (RC signal lost) then 3 options hover, land, and return to home, if RTH is preselected the aircraft will switch to autonomous mode and fly itself back at your predetermined altitude and land, once in range you can cancel RTH and resume your flight if you wish.

With DJI Go 4 go into settings, MC Settings, advanced, advanced settings, others - RC Signal Lost and choose your option, here again with RTH, autonomous mode takes over and fly’s the aircraft back to point of origin.

Regards.

 

[MavicAir2Marc]

If you pressed RTH and it responded, it sounds to me like you just lost your phone connection and the RC still had a signal.

 

[wardtom084]

Radio waves cannot go through trees, hillsides and buildings. We need to correct this. None of us would be making cell calls at work or home if this were true.

 

[3Greens]

Radio is a very critical beast, no one is wrong really it’s all to do with how you apply it, cave rescue deep underground or a submarine on the seabed use a extremely low frequency radio system to communicate with the surface.
As the frequency of the transmitted signal increases it becomes more critical, directional, specific, and polarised, it also requires more power. Low frequency signals will follow the curvature of the earth by bouncing off the ionosphere, Short Wave or HF Radio, where as UHF, EHF or SHF signals will pass through which is how Satellite Tv or GPS works and how we can tell a drone on Mars what we would like it to do.
We in the planet earth drone community have been blessed with the heavily congested 2.4 and 5.8Ghz bands which work remarkably well considering, however we should keep the controllers antennas vertical not horizontal because they radiate omnidirectionally not from the tip and avoid slipping behind any obstruction that hides the drone from your view because 2.4 and 5.8Ghz should be seen for the safety of your investment as line of sight communication.

We in the uk have 4 main mobile phone networks, god only knows they work because the towers are mostly hidden in Wood’s and Forests because they don’t look pretty, something which is now coming back to bite them on the Butt with the introduction of 5G, remember those higher frequencies we talked about earlier, there also looking to increase the height of new and existing towers to a minimum 15mtrs - still not enough.
And wet tree’s are a nightmare.

 

[Reginald E Johnson]

One thing I use was short, high quality Cables! At least One Foot or a Foot and a half! I haven’t had a disconnection since!

 

[3Greens]

I use the TecMad range from Amazon to link controller and CrystalSky when flying the Pro, a bit steep but never had a problem since, got a spare just in case they become extinct.

 

[mereflyer]

I’ve had this problem too, no reason for it in my case other than software crash, range or antenna orientation as the aircraft turns. Make sure you have RTH activated in case of loss of signal, remembering that if you are flying under a canopy (tree’s for eg) that you also need to adjust the RTH altitude otherwise you will crash as you ascend.
I’ve had to reboot the controller to reestablish a connection with the Mavic Pro and then cancel the RTH and continue flying. It’s an incontinents moment when it first happens, but you get used to it, expect the unexpected.

Had same happen to my MP About 8 times over 3 years. Did similar to your reactions and recovered without drama. Important to make sure RTH activated for loss of signal.

 

[SpitFire]

I also use a short quality cable, with my MP.s, two of them in conjunction with a Mini 4 tablet. Been avoiding anything between me and the drone, I fly strictly by line of sight.

 

[Repaid1]

To the OP, before rebooting anything, just try simply unplugging the cable from device (and replugging) and if not then controller. Save alot of time if it works...I also say to go with a high quality cable. It is very well known amoung DJI fliers that cables work 99% of the time till they just don't. Always carry a spare.

 

[LA 2020]

I was flying around a wedding and have done this hundreds of times with no issues and them my screen on my phone just said it disconnected (or something like that) and I panic'd obviously. I walked closer to it praying it would magically reconnect... it did not. I was able to tell it to activate RTH on my screen (even though I thought it wouldn't activate since it was disconnected?) Anyways it landed safely on it's own thank goodness. But I want to know why it happened and how I can avoid this next time. I'll admit I was operating the RC from behind a building because I wanted to be in some shade to see my screen better. This is probably why...right?? But I don't know why it wouldn't reconnect when I walked towards the drone as it was hovering alone. Thanks

The only time I disconnected is because I got behind some trees. My M2Pro just paused in mid air and then reconnected when I moved a little. Line of sight is always best also many times when you reconnect you can just go to a higher altitude