Mini 2 tilted horizon and shifting when hovering

[ManuCH]

So I've got a brand new DJI Mini 2 and it works well so far. However I encountered the following 2 issues:

1. the horizon is tilted by about 3°. If I do the automatic gimbal calibration, it looks fine on the ground, but then when I take off it's still tilted. Also, the tilt angle varies depending on the heading (and it can be anywhere between 1.5° and 5°). Any clue on how to fix that? Maybe I should play with the yaw setting of the manual gimbal calibration? Or do I need an IMU calibration? (scared to do that on a brand new drone though)

2. when hovering in place, even with good GPS lock and when close to the ground with recognizable patterns (so the visual positioning system should work well), the drone tends to move around back/forward by about 10-20 centimeters. Is that within range of tolerance or could something be off? Any experiences? I'm coming from a Mavic Pro and Mavic Air, they didn't do that, so I'm still trying to figure out what's normal and what is not.

The Mini 2 is on firmware 1.02, using DJI Fly 1.2.2 on iOS 14.3.

Thank you ?

 

[Pochi]

Noticed the same behavior regarding hovering today. 1st flight after the last firmware update... for me the movements were an all axis. The drone would also move up and down for few centimeters. Also I noticed that when I tried to go straight ahead the drone would drift laterally.
Didn’t notice any of that on my previous flight with the other firmware...

Pierre

 

[TullyWhistles]

I've also had this problem (which is why I'm searching for tilt issues on here). I worry that my crashes have caused the problem because my first shots with it didn't have that problem... but the crashes and the new firmware coincided so maybe that is the problem. The same shot from a week ago was flat. Yesterday and today, tilted.

I've done the IMU, gimbal and compass, and camera reset but still tilted when I'm at max altitude. If I rotate it will occasionally be level but usually tilted when I get back to the starting point. Hmm.

 

[Whitefalcon]

Yep. some odd movements with mine too. I sometimes get an odd rhythmic pulsing when in the hover that has only happened with the update and also possibly some horizon tilt. Had thought it was something to do with cold weather. Check props for damage etc bt nothing obvious. Interesting see how many others are experiencing these odd things.

 

[TullyWhistles]

So here's some more information. When facing southeastish at max altitude I set the gimbal manually. It's about 2.5 degrees off. When rotating the MM2 to the northeastish, it is back out of level again but now in the opposite direction. It's almost like the horizon is being adjusted based upon which direction I'm facing.

 

[TDZHDTV]

Let’s face it it’s ill conceived by DJI again, i really don’t understand what the app testers do.... oh my mistake that‘s us customers!

 

[Geeforce]

Hi, Do you guys mean like this? Then I have the issue too. Just not straight. Did calibration also, looks good in the ground, but in the air it's a bit tilted...

Just took some pictures, see below.

 

[ManuCH]

Hi, Do you guys mean like this? Then I have the issue too. Just not straight. Did calibration also, looks good in the ground, but in the air it's a bit tilted...

Just took some pictures, see below.

Yes, exactly like that. No idea if I need to have the Mini 2 replaced or if that's just how it is... hard to find information about that. Or if maybe an IMU calibration would help.

 

[hooah09]

I have also noticed this on my Mini 2, even immediately after performing an auto calibration. I also had this occur during cold weather (under 40ºF). Maybe the drone needs to "warm up" first?

 

[ManuCH]

I have also noticed this on my Mini 2, even immediately after performing an auto calibration. I also had this occur during could weather (under 40ºF). Maybe the drone needs to "warm up" first?

True, I have actually only noticed it in cold weather, when bringing out the drone from the house (still warm) and turn it on in cold weather. Maybe that's a bad idea? Maybe it's best to "let it be cold" (except the battery) and turn it on just then?

 

[Geeforce]

Thanks so far for sharing. Makes me feel a little bit better.

 

[Geeforce]

Looked at some photos I made earlier, when temperature was around 8-10 degrees. Here I see the horizon a bit tilted too, but not as much as these pictures in the snow. Also asked this on the DJI forum, hope someone from DJI will come up with a solution. For me the horizon should be straight.

When I look at movies from other users, I see the horizon is often not 100% straight. Just pause the movie, or view a photo and use the screenshot tool.

Found a video here. In the beginning it is even swapping between straight and not, but the rest is the same as I have:
SCHAATSEN OP DE ROTTEMEREN 2021/ DJI MINI 2 DRONE - YouTube

 

[Geeforce]

Well it's about 10-15 degrees warmer here and now the horizon is staight again. Maybe indeed the low temperature.....

 

[waffles985]

So I sent my Mini 2 back to be repaired because of this issue, and they told me they were replacing the Core Board module but it looks like they just replaced the drone.

So first flight when I got the drone back and the horizon is exactly the same as before. Such a disappointment :-(

I don’t know what to do next, it looks like it is a real problem on a lot of new Mini 2 drones… is there a point in going back to DJI again?

 

[FR4-Pilot]

Mine is new and I notice a slight tilt as well. No crashes yet so that’s not a contributing factor, with mine at least.

I’ve only done the compass calibration once and was hoping that or similar was all that’s needed, but it sounds like maybe not …

 

[spudster]

YOu can always try calibrating the gimbal and see if that helps.

 

[FR4-Pilot]

YOu can always try calibrating the gimbal and see if that helps.

This actually did work for me.
Thanks Spudster !

 

[MarkusAtHome]

Well it's about 10-15 degrees warmer here and now the horizon is staight again. Maybe indeed the low temperature.....

I have experienced a tilted horizon on my Mini 2 this morning at 4°C. Up until now I was flying in 10+°C temperatures. It seams, that there is a temperature / gimbal tilt correlation. By the way: IMU and camera calibrated.

 

[MarkusAtHome]

I bought my Mini 2 in July and so far was very happy with it. However, last week I experienced a tilted horizon (about 5°). In addition to the tilted horizon, rather than turning on-the-spot in hover by applying yaw only, the drone "jumped" around in a small circle. I did the following: • IMU calibration • Compass calibration • Camera calibration • Firmware flash (current release) • Different Android Fly app 1.4.2 / 1.4.8 (1185) / 1.4.12 (1420) • Smart Controller (with current FW release) • Standard controller with iPhone 8 (iOS 15.0.2) • ND filter mounted/removed • Replaced propellers • SD card removed (DJI instruction) Nothing helped. No wind and temperatures at around 10°C during all flights. Oh and by the way, never had a crash or hard landing. DJI asked me to send the drone to their service center. We will see what happens…

 

[waffles985]

Yeah I did that and they said they repaired the unit. It looked new to me when it was returned but the same issue appeared immediately.

Then DJI wanted me to return it straight away and I tried to get them to actually give me a new unit but it was like talking to the wall. The customer service was friendly but would take 3-4 days to reply to each mail and not actually address any questions I had asked. I asked for an escalation and they said someone one contact me. I’d give them about 10% customer satisfaction.

I just triggered the DJI care refresh and paid €79 for a replacement unit that has had no problems since.