Mid-Air Battery Fall Out! (Mavic Pro)

[Skull Studios]

DJI will never admit to having an issue

 

[Andre Coleman]

Wow,
How often do batteries swell?

 

[Ken-Mav-Mtl]

See my post under GENERAL MAVIC 2 DISCUSSION Forum regarding the possible design flaw that allows the Mavic 2 Zoom to eject batteries in mid-flight.

Solution is to use a 3rd party battery strap to hold the battery in place and to look for signs of expansion resulting in wear on the bottom side of the battery where there is printed information.

 

[Andre Coleman]

Yikes!
Do batteries swell in all drones or just the Mavic 2s
have this issue.
I had a Mavic Pro and don't recall this being an issue.
I'm now considering getting a Zoom but....

 

[Ken-Mav-Mtl]

You will have to do some research since my familiarity with this issue is as recent as last week when my Mavic 2 Zoom battery popped out over water. I am fortunate to have purchased Care Refresh, but in my view, DJI should admit that there is a design flaw that allows Mavic 2 Zoom to fail.
Don't get me wrong. The Mavic 2 Zoom is in incredible drone and I can't imagine not having one. But you should protect your investment from this possibility of failure. I have ordered straps to hold the battery in place during flight.

 

[Conservative Nihilist]

See my post under GENERAL MAVIC 2 DISCUSSION Forum regarding the possible design flaw that allows the Mavic 2 Zoom to eject batteries in mid-flight.

Solution is to use a 3rd party battery strap to hold the battery in place and to look for signs of expansion resulting in wear on the bottom side of the battery where there is printed information.

Holy mackerel! I can credit you with saving my newly acquired Mavic 2 Zoom from suffering a battery ejection whose outcome would have left me none the wiser.

This discussion topic has been a major eye-opener for me because two years ago a Mavic 1 Pro out on a 12-mile round trip Litchi mission vanished from radar forever on a route I'd flown the same drone numerous times previously.

I had no idea at all that the likelihood of a DJI Mavic 1 Pro, Zoom, or Mavic 2 series drone battery ejecting INCREASES when the weather is hot and/or the flight, is of a long duration. Well, given that ALL my drone flights are Litchi waypoint missions exceeding 6 miles round trip, I now understand belatedly that a retaining strap to hold the battery in place is ESSENTIAL for these model drones.

Each flight that my Mavic 1 and Mavic 2 Pro drones embarked upon before I stumbled upon this key nugget of wisdom a moment ago, was essentially a spin of the revolver cylinder before each trigger pull during a game of Russian Roulette.

My ignorance of the need to affix a battery retainer strap on my Mavics cost me a Mavic 1 Pro fitted with a 35-minute after-market Ali Express battery, yet I was doomed to make the same grievous error again YESTERDAY, Xmas day 2024, before finding this topic only minutes ago. Once again, the casualty was a newly acquired mint-condition Mavic 1 Pro, which as before was fitted with an Ali Express hump-back 35-minute extra-range battery that was undergoing a flight duration test swooping along a spiral 30-minute flight path centered on my home, only to have the drone abruptly drop like a rock to my utter dismay.

When all else fails, the old saying suggests the innovative idea of reading the instructions. I only wish I'd found this thread a year ago haha. My small fleet is down TWO flagships of a bygone era, but the good news is I am FINALLY aware that a battery retainer strap is MANDATORY for all Mavic 1 Pro and Mavic 2 Zoom/Pro drones. My hat is off to you Ken. Your advice studied and recorded here by me late but not too late, motivates me to fabricate and utilize henceforth those velcro-attached straps to ensure battery ejection issues never recur.

 

[Felix le Chat]

Holy mackerel! I can credit you with saving my newly acquired Mavic 2 Zoom from suffering a battery ejection whose outcome would have left me none the wiser.

This discussion topic has been a major eye-opener for me because two years ago a Mavic 1 Pro out on a 12-mile round trip Litchi mission vanished from radar forever on a route I'd flown the same drone numerous times previously.

I had no idea at all that the likelihood of a DJI Mavic 1 Pro, Zoom, or Mavic 2 series drone battery ejecting INCREASES when the weather is hot and/or the flight, is of a long duration. Well, given that ALL my drone flights are Litchi waypoint missions exceeding 6 miles round trip, I now understand belatedly that a retaining strap to hold the battery in place is ESSENTIAL for these model drones.

Each flight that my Mavic 1 and Mavic 2 Pro drones embarked upon before I stumbled upon this key nugget of wisdom a moment ago, was essentially a spin of the revolver cylinder before each trigger pull during a game of Russian Roulette.

My ignorance of the need to affix a battery retainer strap on my Mavics cost me a Mavic 1 Pro fitted with a 35-minute after-market Ali Express battery, yet I was doomed to make the same grievous error again YESTERDAY, Xmas day 2024, before finding this topic only minutes ago. Once again, the casualty was a newly acquired mint-condition Mavic 1 Pro, which as before was fitted with an Ali Express hump-back 35-minute extra-range battery that was undergoing a flight duration test swooping along a spiral 30-minute flight path centered on my home, only to have the drone abruptly drop like a rock to my utter dismay.

When all else fails, the old saying suggests the innovative idea of reading the instructions. I only wish I'd found this thread a year ago haha. My small fleet is down TWO flagships of a bygone era, but the good news is I am FINALLY aware that a battery retainer strap is MANDATORY for all Mavic 1 Pro and Mavic 2 Zoom/Pro drones. My hat is off to you Ken. Your advice studied and recorded here by me late but not too late, motivates me to fabricate and utilize henceforth those velcro-attached straps to ensure battery ejection issues never recur.

.... if you're interested: the joys of 3D printing meets the Amazon marketplace

 

[Conservative Nihilist]

I could kick myself for taking so long to stumble on the thread in this forum that described the midair loss of Mavic 1 and Mavic 2 Pro batteries as a design flaw that becomes a critical issue once the drone is heated up during longer flights. My failure to carry out due diligence by properly researching this issue cost me THREE Mavic 1 Pro drones in two years. These lessons are now taken to heart belatedly but not too late, ensuring that I won't see another loss due to battery ejection again.

I like that 3D-printed battery retainer clip you've kindly identified on Amazon, Felix. I'll order a few of those to secure the stock batteries of my surviving Mavic 1 Pros and Mavic 2 Pros. I also borrowed the idea mentioned in this forum of using a ZipTie as a backup fastener that will be long enough to hold down the taller extra-range Ali Express batteries.

Talk about hindsight being 20-20. I truly wish I knew back then what I know now.

 

[Felix le Chat]

I could kick myself for taking so long to stumble on the thread in this forum that described the midair loss of Mavic 1 and Mavic 2 Pro batteries as a design flaw that becomes a critical issue once the drone is heated up during longer flights. My failure to carry out due diligence by properly researching this issue cost me THREE Mavic 1 Pro drones in two years. These lessons are now taken to heart belatedly but not too late, ensuring that I won't see another loss due to battery ejection again.

I like that 3D-printed battery retainer clip you've kindly identified on Amazon, Felix. I'll order a few of those to secure the stock batteries of my surviving Mavic 1 Pros and Mavic 2 Pros. I also borrowed the idea mentioned in this forum of using a ZipTie as a backup fastener that will be long enough to hold down the taller extra-range Ali Express batteries.

Talk about hindsight being 20-20. I truly wish I knew back then what I know now.

I'm lucky enough not to have had this occur.... yet.... but I have noticed with my two oldest mav 2 batteries (which have started to bloat slightly) that the definitive "click" that is supposed to herald a good battery lock isn't quite as definitive. So at the moment those IFB's have a "NO FLIGHT - TEST ONLY" label stuck to them.

They still hold a good charge and one of these collars would give a degree of confidence that the IFB won't part company with the airframe if I really needed to use either on a long duration deployment... that's why I'm waiting for Amazon to deliver the goodies.