Mini 4 Pro with Extended Plus batteries is OVER 249g!

[rjwmorrell]

I think i'll also mention, that usually most review YouTube video's, if not all, when reviewing the Mini 3 or 4 drone note this fact about the battery weight from the standard to extended changing the drone's weight status from the "249" grams to about 290 grams.

as noted, if you register your drone, the weight issue is not a problem.

Here in Canada, the issue with going over weight is that different rules apply.

Microdrones can pretty much fly anywhere, provided they are not endangering aircraft or people. Once you hit 250g or more in TOW, then you are either under Basic or Advanced operations, both of which require an appropriate licence.

Basic does not allow flying in controlled airspace ... so pretty much anywhere in most cities. It also doesn't allow flying within 100' of people. There are other no-nos but those are the big ones. So, you can fly advanced then if you have the advanced licence, right? Wrong.

In Canada, you can only fly a drone under Advanced rules if that manufacturer has provided a safety assurance to Transport Canada. For my Mini 3, DJI has not provided that. So if I out a heavier battery or prop guards on my Mini 3 and register it, I can only fly it under Basic rules, not Advanced rules - eventhough I have an advanced licence. I haven't checked for the Mini 4 Pro, but if DJI hasn't provided the safety assurance it will not be allowed to fly in controlled airspace or over/near people while overweight.

 

[marinsd]

<sigh> Nothing new here. DJI has always been out front with that information, for anyone who takes two minutes to read through the documentation. Unfortunately, most people don’t bother.

 

[Rich Sugden M.D.]

EDIT: Ok so this may not be news to everyone, especially if you are in the mini space and seen this with last gens models, but for new drone pilots doing research online, or those of us that fly larger drones in general, we may not be aware of this. I know I wasn't because my main drone is a MA2 and the last mini I had was the OG mini. If it helps at least one person be aware when googling info about the pro 4 before purchasing so they know what needs to be done, or helps a current pilot know that they will need to register it for the larger batteries when adding this awesome piece of kit to their arsenal, I call that a win I still stand by the fact though that DJI needs to make this clearly indicated on the fly more combos with the plus batteries so people are not having to scroll to the very bottom of the page to see some greyed out cliff notes that mention it.

Ok, so I don't really see a thread on this and DJI is hiding this info at the bottom of the page. They keep claiming the 249 gram weight of the drone, but on the landing page add a little 1 to the claim. ALL THE WAY AT THE BOTTOM, it states that if you are using the Plus batteries (the ones that give 45 mins of flight) the drone is no longer compliant and under the 249g limit, which means you will NEED to register the drone.

DJI Mini 4 Pro - Mini to the Max - DJI

Here is the landing page and here is a screenshot of the note they added:

View attachment 168674


On the actual product page to buy the drone, they DO NOT clearly indicate that if you buy the plus batteries or fly more combo with those batteries you are going to exceed 249g.

Buy DJI Mini 4 Pro - All-in-One Mini Camera Drone

Shop for DJI Mini 4 Pro (DJI RC-N2) on the official DJI Online Store. Find great deals and buy DJI products online with quick and convenient delivery!

store.dji.com

The first mention that the batteries will make the drone exceed the weight on this page, is down in the comparison section hidden in the little circle i popup screen when hovering next to the Max Flight Time:
View attachment 168675

This is ALL the way that the bottom of the page. Right below the FAQ section, you also get the standard notes:
View attachment 168676

To be honest, it looks like a great drone, but to me, DJI has royally F'd up here in not making it VERY CLEAR that the drone will exceed the 249g cut off to those looking to buy. Lets be honest, not everyone is going to sit here and dig through the entire page when buying and this is something that should be in big bold red letters when picking any package that comes with the plus batteries before someone purchases so they understand what they are getting and that they will need to register the drone.

Take it for what you will, I am just passing along the information I have seen, and I did not really see any posts discussing this. Just want to make sure everyone is aware of what they are getting when they are buying these things.

Same for Mini-3 Pro

 

[Landshark99]

The standard batteries even have the markings on them indicating they are the ones to use to stay under 250

 

[RDowson]

Even the standard Mini 3 battery takes the Mini 4 Pro over 249g

 

[lenabanana]

I grabbed the fly more plus and ended up ordering a single regular battery for travel in case they gave me trouble. I’ll just resell one of my plus batteries and it’s a wash. The dock has an out so when my smaller battery drains, I can use the bigger batteries to recharge it.
When I put the larger battery in in Europe, a warning pops up on screen.

 

[3rdof5]

Even the standard Mini 3 battery takes the Mini 4 Pro over 249g

You are right. My mini 4 pro weighs 251g with the standard battery that came with my mini 3.

 

[lenabanana]

You are right. My mini 4 pro weighs 251g with the standard battery that came with my mini 3.

Wish I knew this sooner! Hoping that if I ever encounter an issue they go by the 249g printed on it and don’t actually weigh it!

 

[RDowson]

Wish I knew this sooner! Hoping that if I ever encounter an issue they go by the 249g printed on it and don’t actually weigh it!

Your performance will be limited as well though.

 

[3rdof5]

Here in Canada, the issue with going over weight is that different rules apply.

Microdrones can pretty much fly anywhere, provided they are not endangering aircraft or people. Once you hit 250g or more in TOW, then you are either under Basic or Advanced operations, both of which require an appropriate licence.

Basic does not allow flying in controlled airspace ... so pretty much anywhere in most cities. It also doesn't allow flying within 100' of people. There are other no-nos but those are the big ones. So, you can fly advanced then if you have the advanced licence, right? Wrong.

In Canada, you can only fly a drone under Advanced rules if that manufacturer has provided a safety assurance to Transport Canada. For my Mini 3, DJI has not provided that. So if I out a heavier battery or prop guards on my Mini 3 and register it, I can only fly it under Basic rules, not Advanced rules - eventhough I have an advanced licence. I haven't checked for the Mini 4 Pro, but if DJI hasn't provided the safety assurance it will not be allowed to fly in controlled airspace or over/near people while overweight.

I just registered my Mini 4 Pro and I can confirm that DJI has made NO declaration, same as my mini 3.

 

[rjwmorrell]

I just registered my Mini 4 Pro and I can confirm that DJI has made NO declaration, same as my mini 3.

Well, that limits the usefulness of the newer minis then if you put the attachments on. If they're not approved for flight near/over people or in controlled airspace once modified, even with something like prop guards which add to the safety, then that creates an issue if you want or need to fly u der Advanced rules... in other words, you can't.

 

[lenabanana]

Your performance will be limited as well though.

Doubtful, the 3 battery has more capacity

 

[RDowson]

Doubtful, the 3 battery has more capacity

It literally says so on the DJI website.

 

[mavic3usa]

Doubtful, the 3 battery has more capacity

It literally says so on the DJI website.

Normally that would be the case, more capacity = more flight time, but it sounds like if you insert the old 3 battery into the newer 4 drone, the 4 doesn't react so well and actually will reduce the drone's performance. Not sure why, maybe the 3 battery is not as smart as it should be to provide the most accurate information to the newer 4 technology and to compensate, the 4 has to put some limits on assumptions.

So it's true, you lose a little when you use a 3 battery in a 4. Whether this is actually the case or it's just marketing hype, not exactly sure. Perhaps the YT testers will verify. If you look at the DJI website, they call it the Mini 4 battery and the Mini 3/4 battery so it sounds like the 4 battery is "too smart" to be used with the 3 drone.

 

[InAz]

EDIT: Ok so this may not be news to everyone, especially if you are in the mini space and seen this with last gens models, but for new drone pilots doing research online, or those of us that fly larger drones in general, we may not be aware of this. I know I wasn't because my main drone is a MA2 and the last mini I had was the OG mini. If it helps at least one person be aware when googling info about the pro 4 before purchasing so they know what needs to be done, or helps a current pilot know that they will need to register it for the larger batteries when adding this awesome piece of kit to their arsenal, I call that a win I still stand by the fact though that DJI needs to make this clearly indicated on the fly more combos with the plus batteries so people are not having to scroll to the very bottom of the page to see some greyed out cliff notes that mention it.

Ok, so I don't really see a thread on this and DJI is hiding this info at the bottom of the page. They keep claiming the 249 gram weight of the drone, but on the landing page add a little 1 to the claim. ALL THE WAY AT THE BOTTOM, it states that if you are using the Plus batteries (the ones that give 45 mins of flight) the drone is no longer compliant and under the 249g limit, which means you will NEED to register the drone.

DJI Mini 4 Pro - Mini to the Max - DJI

Here is the landing page and here is a screenshot of the note they added:

View attachment 168674


On the actual product page to buy the drone, they DO NOT clearly indicate that if you buy the plus batteries or fly more combo with those batteries you are going to exceed 249g.

Buy DJI Mini 4 Pro - All-in-One Mini Camera Drone

Shop for DJI Mini 4 Pro (DJI RC-N2) on the official DJI Online Store. Find great deals and buy DJI products online with quick and convenient delivery!

store.dji.com

The first mention that the batteries will make the drone exceed the weight on this page, is down in the comparison section hidden in the little circle i popup screen when hovering next to the Max Flight Time:
View attachment 168675

This is ALL the way that the bottom of the page. Right below the FAQ section, you also get the standard notes:
View attachment 168676

To be honest, it looks like a great drone, but to me, DJI has royally F'd up here in not making it VERY CLEAR that the drone will exceed the 249g cut off to those looking to buy. Lets be honest, not everyone is going to sit here and dig through the entire page when buying and this is something that should be in big bold red letters when picking any package that comes with the plus batteries before someone purchases so they understand what they are getting and that they will need to register the drone.

Take it for what you will, I am just passing along the information I have seen, and I did not really see any posts discussing this. Just want to make sure everyone is aware of what they are getting when they are buying these things.

Is this really important? All it is is a registration and won't really change any requirements in the US.
My question would be:
those who bought The m4p with fly more combo, given your experiences now, would you have stuck with the combo or go with the combo plus??
AND, those who bought the combo plus (w/ the 45 mins), would you have bought the combo if you knew what you know know about the plus?
I'm goung to buy m4p but need to know what wiil be worth my while.

 

[davedrone 178]

The heavier battery makes the drone more stable in the air. I could never see a scenario where the authorities would want to weigh the drone. It will always
look like a toy, LOL.

 

[InAz]

The heavier battery makes the drone more stable in the air. I could never see a scenario where the authorities would want to weigh the drone. It will always
look like a toy, LOL.

Yeah, but it's not a toy.
Not sure why some are into perception of what something looks like vs what it's capable of. To me, why spend the extra wad (well over $1k moretan m4p comparing apples to apples) on a mavic 3 pro for instance, a huge "toy" that sounds like a gas edger when flying? I read at about 100ft, the m4p is virtually silent vs Mavic or air 3 still makes people look up wondering what that noise is.

 

[mavic3usa]

...... on a mavic 3 pro for instance, a huge "toy" that sounds like a gas edger when flying? I read at about 100ft, the m4p is virtually silent vs Mavic or air 3 still makes people look up wondering what that noise is.

Obviously at 15 feet overhead there is a difference but at 150 feet, the difference is not that bad.

 

[InAz]

Obviously at 15 feet overhead there is a difference but at 150 feet, the difference is not that bad.

I'll start with my mini toy & work up.

 

[Torque]

Yeah, but it's not a toy.
Not sure why some are into perception of what something looks like vs what it's capable of. To me, why spend the extra wad (well over $1k moretan m4p comparing apples to apples) on a mavic 3 pro for instance, a huge "toy" that sounds like a gas edger when flying? I read at about 100ft, the m4p is virtually silent vs Mavic or air 3 still makes people look up wondering what that noise is.

If I fly my Mavic 3 from my back yard, all the neighbors hear it, even at 200 ft if I'm accelerating. If I fly my Air 3, only the neighbors on either side of me hear it. If I fly the Mini 4 - nobody seems to notice.
If I fly the Avata, the whole county knows!