My Mavic Air 2 and Mini 2 Range Issues

[CBR549]

Look guys, I appreciate all of your opinions concerning BVLOS (Beyond Visual Line of Sight) but again, and for the last time, that is not the issue!

The issue is the actual ½ mile as opposed to the stated, imagined, falsely claimed by DJI range of 11.5 miles. Yes given certain terrain with no signal interference, it may very well be possible to reach more than ½ mile but unfortunately not in my case.

As I’ve seen in many other posts within this forum, this is a common issue with both the Mavic Air 2 and Mini 2. Could be a bad batch of hardware or messed up programing , I don’t know, but I do know that a limit of ½ mile is not worth what I paid for these two drones!

 

[eEridani]

Look guys, I appreciate all of your opinions concerning BVLOS (Beyond Visual Line of Sight) but again, and for the last time, that is not the issue!

The issue is the actual ½ mile as opposed to the stated, imagined, falsely claimed by DJI range of 11.5 miles. Yes given certain terrain with no signal interference, it may very well be possible to reach more than ½ mile but unfortunately not in my case.

As I’ve seen in many other posts within this forum, this is a common issue with both the Mavic Air 2 and Mini 2. Could be a bad batch of hardware or messed up programing , I don’t know, but I do know that a limit of ½ mile is not worth what I paid for these two drones!

Where does DJI claim an 11.5 mile range for the Mavic Air 2?

Two specs:

• Max Flight Distance​

• 18.5 km

• Max Transmission Distance​

• 10 km (FCC), 6 km (CE), 6 km (SRRC), 6 km (MIC)

Max flight distance is how far the drone can fly on a battery - much like range of a car on a full tank of gasoline.

Max transmission distance is how far apart the drone and controller radios can communicate. This is what most of us consider range.

10km is about 6 miles. There are many videos posted above showing the drone achieves a substantial portion of those six miles. But, since many people want to retrieve their drone intact don't push them out that far. Opting to return at around 4 miles, when the batteries are capable of making the return trip successfully.

 

[eEridani]

And here's a test: the guy was out more than 26,000 feet, 5 miles:

Go to about 13:00 minutes.

That video confirms five miles of range, and that the drone will fly 10 miles on a charge - the pilot has >10% battery after 10 miles.

 

[eEridani]

If you are seriously upset and believe your drone is not performing as expected. Upload a log showing the flight where you can't get more than 1/2 mile without losing signal.

It will be a file named something like

DJIFlightRecord_2021-07-12_[21-24-21].txt

We can have a look and probably explain why you aren't getting more range.

 

[CBR549]

As I have explained in previous posts, the drones have already been sent to DJI for checkup. Hence no flight logs.
And no I’m not as you say, seriously upset, just dismayed at your insistence on proving my drones are
performing as expected.

Ok so…

Max Flight Distance
18.5 km or 11.5 miles
Around in a circle or straight line, given battery charge.

As a loss of transmission triggers a return to home then the
Max Transmission Distance of 10 km or 6.2 miles, given no obstacles or transmission interference
Should be a straight line out and back of about 3.1 miles

What I’m getting is less than half that at ½ to ¾ miles.

So… what’s your point?

 

[eEridani]

Surprised DJI would delete logs.

Max Transmission Distance of 10 km or 6.2 miles, means you can fly out 6 miles before losing radio contact. No round trip implied. Videos show people flying 5 miles out without signal loss.

If DJI has seen the drone, then that's confirmation the drones probably aren't broken. Where you fly is most likely why you get disconnected at 3/4 mile. So a flight log is the best way to show where you are flying that causes you issues.

Charge up a battery. Fly your drone where you have problems, fly out to the point you get a weak signal warning, bring the drone back and land it. Should take all of 10 minutes.

Find the log for the flight. Upload it here. Easy to do and someone will probably be able to explain exactly why you are losing a signal so close to your launch point.

 

[eEridani]

Here's another way to think about range:

 

[CBR549]

Surprised DJI would delete logs.

Max Transmission Distance of 10 km or 6.2 miles, means you can fly out 6 miles before losing radio contact. No round trip implied. Videos show people flying 5 miles out without signal loss.

If DJI has seen the drone, then that's confirmation the drones probably aren't broken. Where you fly is most likely why you get disconnected at 3/4 mile. So a flight log is the best way to show where you are flying that causes you issues.

Charge up a battery. Fly your drone where you have problems, fly out to the point you get a weak signal warning, bring the drone back and land it. Should take all of 10 minutes.

Find the log for the flight. Upload it here. Easy to do and someone will probably be able to explain exactly why you are losing a signal so close to your launch point.

I haven't gotten them back yet! As a matter of fact they are in route to them now. I have done flights with clear line of sight with the same results as stated. Thank you for your insistence attempting to prove the unknown but at this point it is unnecessary.

 

[eEridani]

... Funny this issue with range seems to be a common occurrence. With a supposed advertised range of 11.5 miles, 1/2 miles to 3/4 miles seems like something must be wrong?

Well - this is not a common issue at all - you are rather unique in saying your drone can only get 1/2 mile away then loses connectivity. And your idea of what range means was wrong from the start.

But okay - good luck with DJI.

 

[CBR549]

It's OK... no need to apologize. Some people just can't understand and you are entitled to your opinion.

 

[Wild Drone Pilot]

I own a DJI Smart Controller and have never faced any range issues with my Mavic Air 2. Those guys on YouTube showing their drones out miles are accurate an not making imaginary recordings.

The flip side is I have also seen video and logs of people flying from treed areas and in-between buildings and their drones going dark less than 500 feet away. This is also expected. Trees absorb radio waves; it's why a satellite dish must have a clear view of the sky - no trees allowed in front of it.

If you have a range problem, 99% of the time it's where you are flying.

Sorry mate
I'm on the coast flying out over the ocean no trees just clear air and clean water and a 1mile range
Next guess?

 

[Zeprider]

Many YouTube videos of people showing them being a rogue pilot and not following the rules where they live. I see people flying rogue on occasion - like flying in (I mean taking off / landing inside) National Parks / State Parks / etc - so does that make it legal / legitimate?

By putting such things out in a very public forum could lead to actions against said people - that is why I simply tell folks here, you can fly and do what you want - it's your drone and your responsibility - but simply don't post that you flew 2 miles downrange or flew 600 ft AGL. Keep that info private.

Fair enough.

 

[Heindrich1988]

Legality aside, make sure you are aligning your antennae correctly.

When I first got my Air 2, I flew from the roof of my 30 storey apartment building in China. At first I regularly experienced signal drops around 2km despite standing at the tallest point for miles in the direction I flew towards, thus direct line of sight to the drone, (obviously BVLOS at that range though).

I thought it was urban signal interference until on a later flight, I realised my signal was much stronger if I held my controller flat, so the top of the antennae faced the drone.

Correctly aligning my antennae, I was able to reach 9km+ on a subsequent range test over a nearby lake. The constraint for range on the Air 2 is battery capacity, not the strength of Occusync.

 

[TnDronePilot]

What would scare me about BVLOS would be a collision with a small plane or chopper, both of which I have seen under 400’ agl. Yes, the chances are extremely slim but look how many have won the lottery with extremely slim chances.

Not only that, not all planes and helicopters are equipped with ADS-B AirSense so if you take a chance flying BVLOS, you could have a collision that at best would bring down your bird and at worst, well you know. I'm not under a direct flight path of my city's airport which is about 10 miles away but, the skies over my neighborhood are somewhat busy with single engine planes and a couple LifeStar helicopters that sometimes fly under 400ft AGL. That being said, I don't always get the AirSense warnings when either fixed wing or rotors fly overhead even though I can hear and see them.

Dustin Dunnill does a ton of long range tests in Hawaii but he's usually launching from a park that's the highest point (in the flight) and sending the drones towards the Pacific Ocean so he has that luxury of having a very clear signal and path. Not to mention, I rarely see any antennas in his videos.

I live about 25 miles north (as the drone flies) of the Great Smoky Mountains and live in a flat neighborhood surrounded by hills/ridges that are typically 100ft higher than my driveway. I live in the burbs but there are all kinds of antennas around so when I fly VLOS with my MA2, I start to lose some signal bars within 300-400 feet away at about 200ft up. So, unless you're in no mans land (although breathtaking) like Dustin is, you're probably gonna be getting a lot less range than the manufacture states. Kinda like the average MPG on your vehicle's window sticker.

 

[Heindrich1988]

Dustin Dunnill does a ton of long range tests in Hawaii but he's usually launching from a park that's the highest point (in the flight) and sending the drones towards the Pacific Ocean so he has that luxury of having a very clear signal and path. Not to mention, I rarely see any antennas in his videos.

Yeah, the key really is height. You can achieve advertised range even under urban conditions if there is no physical obstruction between your controller and drone. Higher altitude of the drone itself also helps to stay clear of ground level signals interference. Of course, it's unsafe and illegal to fly higher than 120m in most countries. I only occasionally did this because my city in China did not have an airport.

 

[z28lt1]

There have been a couple of reports of drones that did had issues that DJI "repaired", so it is possible that something is wrong. But people constantly underestimate the impact of trees, hills, houses, and wifi interference on these things. I've posted here before, that in my area, I probably get about 3/4 of a miles from my house (very visible at night with the bright strobes, for those wondering). I've gone 4 miles with range to go before I turned around over the ocean with the same setup. In international waters, below 20 feet above water level for those worried about that as well.

So I believe the drone can achieve what DJI has published. But when you get off of "ideal" conditions, it goes down in a hurry.

 

[Boxman]

Hi

Been flying my Mavic Air 2 and Mini 2 for about 9 months but as I was new to it I never flew more than a few hundred feet distance. After getting more comfortable I finally decided to do little range testing. I live in a rural area with sub divisions, low rolling hills, forest and fields. I was never able to reach more than ½ to ¾ of a mile flying from 200 to 400ft altitude. I changed location to the top of the highest hill with the same results. Thinking it was only something to do with settings I did the research, made a few but no major changes, again I got same results. Finally called DJI support and on three different calls all suggested that I send them in to be checked? Funny this issue with range seems to be a common occurrence. With a supposed advertised range of 11.5 miles, 1/2 miles to 3/4 miles seems like something must be wrong?

I get about the same as you over a big lake and I have a Leopold spotting scope that clamps on my truck window I can keep it in site . I have never got the range DJI climes form any of my DJI drones (and kept video connection) .

 

[Wild Drone Pilot]

The best I have achieved with my MM2 was 3.5km before I lost signal.
Regards

Has ANYONE ever seen close to the range DJI claims? And how about the new SC Pro & MP3 what will it get?

 

[Heindrich1988]

Has ANYONE ever seen close to the range DJI claims? And how about the new SC Pro & MP3 what will it get?

Yes, anyone who can find a location with clear line of sight (and thus no signal interference) for 10km+

I've reached 9km+ on my Air 2. I could have pushed it further, but the limiting factor is battery, not signal strength.

 

[Deleted member 142250]

No one said to ignore the BVLOS rule or other legalities. That is not the issue here. The issue here is whether DJI either imagined or lied about the achievable range of the Air 2.

Has anyone ever achieved 5 miles or 8 kilometers one way with the Air 2? Just sayin.

I also did a 10km run one way, but didn't make it back.