Mini 3 Pro range? What's your experience been like?

[shadow3467]

I contacted DJI today about signal issues Ive been experiencing with my mini 3 pro and they said they have no reports of signal loss or bad signal, I found that hard to believe

I'm in Canada and the most I can get is 1000m range and that's in a mostly rural area with no tall buildings or not much housing in the way

This is my first drone ever but from what I understand that's pretty bad

what have your experiences been like?

 

[zeldalink72]

I contacted DJI today about signal issues Ive been experiencing with my mini 3 pro and they said they have no reports of signal loss or bad signal, I found that hard to believe

I'm in Canada and the most I can get is 1000m range and that's in a mostly rural area with no tall buildings or not much housing in the way

This is my first drone ever but from what I understand that's pretty bad

what have your experiences been like?

I live in New Jersey and I get like you max 1000 meters … So I checked my retail box and saw a sticker on it that’s says Uk ce and ça. Could it be the issue that we have a European version of the mini 3 and not a us version??

 

[Phantomrain.org]

I have watched quite a few pilots now fly some extended flights and what I notice most is that the Signal Strength indicator is very sketchy.

The Bars turn orange and white an back again , and yet the drone keeps flying further out sometimes finding a sweet spot and the Transmission stays solid,

One of the long distance flights was from inside the car and was 10,000 ft or more so although not making records , still nice to see.

So i am thinking that New Pilots are bailing out at the first sign of an Orange bar , rather than letting the signal get lost , which I have not see to much of. Im looking forward to testing it from inside the car over the lake as my base for all my drones to determine signal strength.

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly your Mini 2 in the Rain and Land on the Water.

 

[shadow3467]

I have watched quite a few pilots now fly some extended flights and what I notice most is that the Signal Strength indicator is very sketchy.

The Bars turn orange and white an back again , and yet the drone keeps flying further out sometimes finding a sweet spot and the Transmission stays solid,

One of the long distance flights was from inside the car and was 10,000 ft or more so although not making records , still nice to see.

So i am thinking that New Pilots are bailing out at the first sign of an Orange bar , rather than letting the signal get lost , which I have not see to much of. Im looking forward to testing it from inside the car over the lake as my base for all my drones to determine signal strength.

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly your Mini 2 in the Rain and Land on the Water.

Yeah I tested it from inside the car today and could not go further than 500ish meters

 

[Phantomrain.org]

Yeah I tested it from inside the car today and could not go further than 500ish meters

Did you loose signal or did you let the Drone go to RTH status. ?

 

[shadow3467]

Did you loose signal or did you let the Drone go to RTH status. ?

I lost signal and got to 1 bar so I got nervous and got out of the car and signal went up a bit

The signal seems to be VERY sensitive to both the angle you hold the remote as well as even the slightest bit of anything between you and the drone (including a single tree)

It basically feels like I'm flying a $150 drone from Amazon

 

[mavicn00b]

Those internal antennas embedded in the RC are always sketchy, most of the time is just the angling of the RC but you need to hold it in odd angles to maintain signal.

 

[Phantomrain.org]

I really hope this is not the case because , Signal Strength should be strong without a perfect position of the Antennas. If you watch my Videos of flying inside the Car with the Air 2 and Air 2S im flying backwards behind the car, sometimes with my Jacket over the Smart controller ect.. UGH !

I also have a video were I am flying with no antenna at all 2000 ft with the Air 2S , so not everything adds up for me yet on this signal issue .

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly in the Rain. Land on the Water.

 

[shadow3467]

I really hope this is not the case because , Signal Strength should be strong without a perfect position of the Antennas. If you watch my Videos of flying inside the Car with the Air 2 and Air 2S im flying backwards behind the car, sometimes with my Jacket over the Smart controller ect.. UGH !

I also have a video were I am flying with no antenna at all 2000 ft with the Air 2S , so not everything adds up for me yet on this signal issue .

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly in the Rain. Land on the Water.

It's honestly such a shame because EVERYTHING else about the Mini 3 Pro is just so good

But it's just not acceptable paying this much and getting this low of a range

 

[Phantomrain.org]

It's honestly such a shame because EVERYTHING else about the Mini 3 Pro is just so good

But it's just not acceptable paying this much and getting this low of a range

Can you post a screen shot of your Transmission setting on the RC? I have yet to see it and wonder if its setup like the SC where you can choose another setting. ?

 

[shadow3467]

Can you post a screen shot of your Transmission setting on the RC? I have yet to see it and wonder if its setup like the SC where you can choose another setting. ?

I will do so tomorrow and also do a screen recording of a test flight if the weather here permits.

 

[MaximusCZ]

I was able to fly over city almost 1.85 km before my signal dropped and drone initiated RTH.
I flew 1.5 km away from me when taking photos of a rock formation, and the signal dropped only after I flew behind it.
I flew on a hill that has a tower with loads of antenae on it (overviewing whole city, so probably serving all kinds of wireless for it), and after a while I realized my drone is behind a tree line from me, inbetween tower and city (and roughly 1.5 km out), and the signal was still solid.
I havent modified my antenae at all, its all straight from factory, in EU country so limited transmit power. RC with display.

 

[Cymru]

Signal strength seems *very* dependent on the transmitter angle. Looks like the drone might have a narrower beam antenna.
You really do need to use the compass display to make sure you remain pointing at it.
Provided i go that then ive had no issues a 500-600m which is the furthest i can realistically see it and maintain VLOS anyway.

Using the RC-N1.

 

[Cymru]

I'm in Canada and the most I can get is 1000m range and that's in a mostly rural area with no tall buildings or not much housing in the way

Surely even that is further than you're legally allowed to fly? I doubt you can see a mini 3 at 1km.

 

[Jet skier]

I lost signal and got to 1 bar so I got nervous and got out of the car and signal went up a bit

The signal seems to be VERY sensitive to both the angle you hold the remote as well as even the slightest bit of anything between you and the drone (including a single tree)

It basically feels like I'm flying a $150 drone from Amazon

Something is definitely not right I did 3 1/2 miles just yesterday with my Mavic 2 and that has occusync 2

 

[Yama]

ive been finding the range to be more than adequate for my needs, managed to easily get 1374m in a semi-urban environment before the signal dropped down to 2 bars at a height of 39m. i went for the stock N1 RC.

 

[saltydrone]

Surely even that is further than you're legally allowed to fly? I doubt you can see a mini 3 at 1km.

Not OP, but here <249g has no set altitude or visibility requirements. The only law it falls under is the catch-all "don't be stupid", which of course is very situation dependant.

 

[Wild Drone Pilot]

Something is definitely not right I did 3 1/2 miles just yesterday with my Mavic 2 and that has occusync 2

If anyone has flown the same path with other birds
And the m3 on the that same path is not as good I would say it is a very sad day indeed
*** ***
That is why I got the m3 to fix the issue with last firmware update
My Air 2 and Mini 2 range went way down
And of course no way to go back on the firmware
DJI was sending a clear message to us all
Time to get a NEW drone *** *** and here is the fix the new m3
And I fell for it again!

 

[Chaosrider]

I have watched quite a few pilots now fly some extended flights and what I notice most is that the Signal Strength indicator is very sketchy.

The Bars turn orange and white an back again , and yet the drone keeps flying further out sometimes finding a sweet spot and the Transmission stays solid,

One of the long distance flights was from inside the car and was 10,000 ft or more so although not making records , still nice to see.

So i am thinking that New Pilots are bailing out at the first sign of an Orange bar , rather than letting the signal get lost , which I have not see to much of. Im looking forward to testing it from inside the car over the lake as my base for all my drones to determine signal strength.

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly your Mini 2 in the Rain and Land on the Water.

This is an excellent point.

People reporting low range problems should specify whether they took it all the way to low signal RTH, or whether they stopped of their own volition as a result of seeing a Signal Strength indication that they didn't like.

When I first started flying Minis, I'd turn around if the Signal Strength indication dropped to 3 bars. But I gradually realized there was a fair amount of controllable range beyond that point.

With the Mini-1 and -SE it's been a little different. I've seen them pop into low signal RTH when I had 4 or 5 bars showing on the Signal Strength indicator.

Thx!

 

[old man mavic]

@saltydrone just need to clarify your statement in your post#17 above when you said no set altitude, actually there is a 400ft maximum height limit in place ,so i am assuming you meant no set minimum altitude AGL