Mini 3 shipped with no IOS Device Connectivity

[Conservative Nihilist]

I purchased a brand spanking new mini 3 Pro from Costco that was advertised to have all the cables for Android and an iPhone included. What it came with was a cable for micro USB and USB type c. No iPhone cable. I don't use apple products so I didn't care enough to make a stink of it for the rc-n1 controller I was never going to use. They totally package these things missing advertised hardware.

If I resided stateside any eBay purchase would be in my hands within days. Out here in the sticks of the Third World, online purchases can take anywhere from weeks to months to reach me, so discovering after delivery of a brand new drone that I need to order ANYTHING in order to fly the drone, is a major inconvenience that could ground the drone for a very long time. This predicament is precisely what I am facing now, as I try to identify the exact name of the cable I need to fly this Mini 3, as a prelude to embarking on that drawn-out online ordering process.

 

[Meta4]

If I resided stateside any eBay purchase would be in my hands within days. Out here in the sticks of the Third World, online purchases can take anywhere from weeks to months to reach me, so discovering after delivery of a brand new drone that I need to order ANYTHING in order to fly the drone, is a major inconvenience that could ground the drone for a very long time. This predicament is precisely what I am facing now, as I try to identify the exact name of the cable I need to fly this Mini 3, as a prelude to embarking on that drawn-out online ordering process.

Even in a 3rd world country you should be able to find local suppliers of a USB-C to Lightning cable.
These are consumer items that many people use all the time.
If people there buy and use iPhones and iPads, there some shops will sell them.
You just need something equivalent to this, in the length that suits you:

USB-C to Lightning Cable (1m)

The USB-C to Lightning Cable connects any iPhone, iPad or iPod with Lightning connector to a Mac with USB-C or Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) ports. Buy now at apple.com/au.

www.apple.com

 

[Felix le Chat]

This clarification is appreciated, sir. I am downloading DJI Fly on my Android device and will try to fly this drone with that device first thing tomorrow. I'd have preferred to fly the drone with my iPad due to its larger screen, but at this point, any means to get this drone airborne will be better than having it gather dust brand new on a shelf.

You can use your larger screen tablet. buy one of the PGYTECH tablet holders that (if you've owned and flown any of the older mavics) can be mounted between the handgrips of the Mavic pro/Mavic 2 RC1A or RC1B controller. The bottom plate of the holder is exactly the same size as your average mobile phone.

 

[Conservative Nihilist]

My drone flying rig is probably the only one of its kind in the known universe. I place my iPad inside a travel bag whose strap is slung over my shoulder such that the unzipped and open bag hangs conveniently at mid-torso level. The purpose of the bag is of course to shade the iPad screen from the sun's glare, which it does very well even at midday, while inside that bag.

The USB to lightning cable I use is about 3 feet long, allowing it to snake out of the bag to the controller in my hand. I've just now ordered a couple of even longer USB-C to Apple lightning cables for use with my new Mini 3, and those ought to be here in a couple of weeks, at which point my familiar setup will be possible when flying this Mini 3.

In the meantime, DJI Fly appears to be downloading without issues on my cheap Android phone, after which I intend to try a few short-range test flights with the phone clamped to the controller in the traditional manner. I presume that the cables supplied with the drone will work with the Android phone, since no cables were provided for Apple product users, bizarrely.

 

[Bill Dunnuck]

I have a feeling this guy is pulling our legs. Lightning cable in controller. Pull it out, hook it up. Go fly.

 

[Deleted member 170519]

I have a feeling this guy is pulling our legs. Lightning cable in controller. Pull it out, hook it up. Go fly.

He doesn’t have an iPhone and if he is using a iPad those cables aren’t long enough.
From what it sounds like to me is that he purchased an open box from eBay and they stripped it of the cables. Don’t know about the claim of 3rd world and shipping takes months, but I do believe him when he said he doesn’t have the cables. If he came from a phantom, usb a was used and that’s apparently what he was used to.
I’d be more worried about it not actually being a new drone, seller had a remorse buy lost the box and already did the binding in a DJI account and didn’t unbind it.
If it were me, seeing it was an eBay purchase, I’d return it and buy from a reputable seller

 

[Walleye Hunter]

He doesn’t have an iPhone and if he is using a iPad those cables aren’t long enough.
From what it sounds like to me is that he purchased an open box from eBay and they stripped it of the cables. Don’t know about the claim of 3rd world and shipping takes months, but I do believe him when he said he doesn’t have the cables. If he came from a phantom, usb a was used and that’s apparently what he was used to.
I’d be more worried about it not actually being a new drone, seller had a remorse buy lost the box and already did the binding in a DJI account and didn’t unbind it.
If it were me, seeing it was an eBay purchase, I’d return it and buy from a reputable seller

That is what it sounds like to me too. This exemplifies why not to take that route. Some things it's ok, others not so much.

 

[Conservative Nihilist]

I have a feeling this guy is pulling our legs. Lightning cable in controller. Pull it out, hook it up. Go fly.

Bill if you look over my past posts in this forum you will hopefully note that while I do have a sense of humor, I have never written any comments here that could be construed as false or intentionally misleading. I type at a comparatively slow speed, and as such would not be inclined to devote time fabricating a fictitious predicament just to see what responses I could elicit.

My drone collection comprises older models whose controllers all bear the same USB sockets seen on a standard desktop computer, and as such, I had no inkling that the Mini 3 controller would come with a different variant of USB socket, or that the requisite cable for that socket would be missing among the accessories supplied with a brand new drone,

If I cannot find the USB-C to Apple Lightning cable that will be needed to get this Mini 3 airborne from a local source, then I will be left with no option but to defer any flights with this particular drone until I can take delivery of a cable ordered online, a process which has in the past taken months, due to my remote location. In the meantime of course I will content myself flying my Mavic 2 Pro and other older models that I deploy on Litchi waypoint missions which typically cover 7 miles round trip, of which an easy 80% of the flight proceeds beyond RC signal range, as is legally permissible to do out here far beyond the jurisdiction of the FAA and CAA.

My purchase of the Mini 3 was to an extent a blunder because this impulsive purchase was made the instant I learned that DJI was about to release an SDK for the Mini 3, I wrongly surmised that Litchi waypoint missions extending far beyond the RC controller signal range would be possible for the Mini 3, whose amazing 47-minute flight battery duration was THE major inducement to buy. It was only after hitting the buy button that I became aware that the Mini 3 CANNOT store all waypoint GPS data on board at the start of Litchi waypoint missions, and would thus default to RTH once RC signal connectivity waned.

 

[Conservative Nihilist]

The comedy of error continues apace here. I was able to borrow an iPhone and found that the supplied connector cable did fit the phone. Took the drone out for the first flight after downloading DJI Fly on the iPhone. Powered up the drone, and was greeted by a "firmware incompatibility" error message, followed by a notification that the firmware version was being looked up, as I stood outside the house within range of my WiFi signal.

Nothing came of the firmware update search and then I hit yet another brick wall when I got a message indicating that the drone was NOT paired with its controller. The on-screen DJI Fly instruction then mentioned a need to press the "power button" on the UNDERSIDE of the drone which needed to be depressed for 4 seconds so as to commence the linking process.

Turns out there was NO "power button" on the underside of the drone, but on close inspection, I noticed a small black recess between the downward-facing sensors which looked like it might be a button. Pressed that recessed area for four seconds but did not feel any click to indicate it was actually a button. Tried to link the drone, and the 60-second countdown ran out five times in a row without linking the drone to its controller.

I must say this is the very first time that I purchased a brand new drone, and the very least I expected was that the drone should ALREADY have been linked to its controller so I wouldn't have to perform the obscure linking procedure myself before flying the drone. Every single one of my older drones arrived already linked to its controller and ready to fly right out of the box, but this Mini 3 is different, very different.

Looked at the manual page with the diagram of the drone, and found there is NO "power button" on the underside of the drone, and that the recessed hole I'd been poking with a paper clip end was NOT a button but rather was a sensor or some sort of cosmetic feature that has no function when pressed.

So in summary, even after resolving the cable incompatibility issue with this drone, I could not link it to its controller and thus cannot fly it. Not one of the five DJI drones I own already has ever presented me with so many hoops to jump through just to take a first flight, and on this basis alone, a serious case of buyer's remorse has set in, because I have absolutely no idea how to use this Mini 3, and would already be sending it back for a refund were I resident stateside. As a result, if I am unable to resolve this linking issue I will have just bought myself a very pricey paperweight and conversation piece that will never fly.

If anyone has any idea how to link a Mini 3 to the controller with which it was shipped, I would be very grateful. The manual has been of little help, so any insights that can be shared would be treasured by this now completely exasperated Mini 3 buyer. Thanks in advance.

 

[Walleye Hunter]

From that diagram, it looks like the power button (10) is located directly above the micro SD card slot on the tail end. My buddy has a Mavic of some sort and his button for linking was on the side, maybe under a cover where the micro SD card goes? It was on the side of the drone. My Air 2S was not linked to the controller either but it didn't give me any grief getting it up and running.

 

[Richard1970]

To pair the drone with the controller you start the dji fly app choose mini 3 as your device then click the pair button on the app ,then hold the battery power button for a few seconds the drone should bleep after a few seconds you should be paired up
Make sure drone is powered up before pairing

 

[Conservative Nihilist]

I'm pretty sure that the button labeled as 10 in the above diagram is the main flight battery power button and not the linking button. I note also that there is no feature on this drone that is clearly identified as a "linking button", unlike my old Phantom whose linking button is clearly identified in the manual diagram.

I will now set this drone aside and read the entire manual cover to cover to see if I can make any headway after that. Of all the problems I anticipated, linking the drone to its controller never crossed my mind as a potential barrier to my flying this Mini 3. Either I am overlooking something really obvious, or the DJI Mini 3 manual is very badly written and chock full of confusing ambiguities.

 

[Richard1970]

Here is a video showing how to pair the controller and drone

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[Conservative Nihilist]

To pair the drone with the controller you start the dji fly app choose mini 3 as your device then click the pair button on the app ,then hold the battery power button for a few seconds the drone should bleep after a few seconds you should be paired up
Make sure drone is powered up before pairing

The mystery deepens. If I understand you correctly there is in fact NO "power button" on the underside of the drone, which means that cryptic reference to a power button under the drone was actually in reference to the main flight battery power button on the UPPER surface of the drone. Wow, I never anticipated that DJI Fly would throw in an utterly baffling red herring like that. I cannot fathom how such a glaring error made it past the editors of the DJI Fly instruction sequences.

Getting dark here, so this adventure will continue tomorrow. My patience was thoroughly tested today for sure.

 

[Conservative Nihilist]

Very grateful for this instructional video Richard. Checking this out now.

 

[Walleye Hunter]

I'm pretty sure that the button labeled as 10 in the above diagram is the main flight battery power button and not the linking button. I note also that there is no feature on this drone that is clearly identified as a "linking button", unlike my old Phantom whose linking button is clearly identified in the manual diagram.

I will now set this drone aside and read the entire manual cover to cover to see if I can make any headway after that. Of all the problems I anticipated, linking the drone to its controller never crossed my mind as a potential barrier to my flying this Mini 3. Either I am overlooking something really obvious, or the DJI Mini 3 manual is very badly written and chock full of confusing ambiguities.

On my Air 2S, I press the battery/power button for about four seconds to initiate the pairing process.

 

[Conservative Nihilist]

Well, I'll be dipped. The DJI Fly instructions specifically stated that the linking button was called a "power button" and was located on the UNDERSIDE of the drone and not on the upper surface. Walleye Hunter, I thank you for helping me decipher DJI Fly's bizarre and misleading instructions.

I simply cannot fathom why on earth such a key piece of information could be wrongly stated in the DJI Fly instructions for linking this drone to its controller. Anyway, I'll now return to the video kindly provided above in search of the real procedure I need to follow, as opposed to heeding DJI Fly's confusing, time-wasting, and patently wrong instructions.

 

[Richard1970]

To clarify
Connect device to controller switch controller on open dji fly app switch drone on.
In the dji app click connection guide then scroll through to pick your drone click the desired drone ,it will search for drone if not paired it will say unable to connect, then the pair button will show on the app ,press to pair it will count down from 60 seconds then press the battery button for about 4 seconds the drone will bleep and pairing will start ,once paired check for any further updates looking for the 3 dots top right
then about ,you should do a imu compass and rc calibration as well just follow the onscreen guide
Hope this helps to get you airborne

 

[Conservative Nihilist]

To clarify
Connect device to controller switch controller on open dji fly app switch drone on.
In the dji app click connection guide then scroll through to pick your drone click the desired drone ,it will search for drone if not paired it will say unable to connect, then the pair button will show on the app ,press to pair it will count down from 60 seconds then press the battery button for about 4 seconds the drone will bleep and pairing will start ,once paired check for any further updates looking for the 3 dots top right
then about ,you should do a imu compass and rc calibration as well just follow the onscreen guide
Hope this helps to get you airborne

Now, this is the sort of instruction sequence that I can follow with ease. My hat is off to you sir, and with this far clearer guide at hand, I anticipate this drone will fly tomorrow morning. I am very grateful for your having taken a moment to list the steps above. To paraphrase that old saying "When all else fails, follow the instructions, but NOT the DJI Fly instructions."

 

[Richard1970]

I happy to help ,I've had issues with certain drones and had help from fellow dronies from here it's good to give something back
Happy flying