Range decreases DRAMATICLY when updates are available.

[michaeldallen1]

This is the 3rd time this has happened this past year. Launching from my regular spot (top floor of 4 story parking structure) at home
where I have gone thousands of feet distance countless times, I now can only go 400 feet away before I loose connection with drone.
No matter which direction I go.... same result. I Land, check for updates (for both drone and controller)... download the updates and try again
and lo-and-behold my distance is back to normal (I stopped at 3500 feet away and came back.
This has happened before. Loss of range, then install updates, and range returns.
I've had this Mavic 3 Classic for a year and a half and never noticed it until this year.
Anyone else notice (what seems to be) available updates restricting your distance until you install them?
Weird!

 

[GFields]

This is the 3rd time this has happened this past year. Launching from my regular spot (top floor of 4 story parking structure) at home
where I have gone thousands of feet distance countless times, I now can only go 400-700 feet away before I loose connection with drone.
No matter which direction I go.... same result. I Land, check for updates (for both drone and controller)... download the updates and try again
and lo-and-behold my distance is back to normal (I stopped at 3500 feet away and came back.
This has happened before. Loss of range, then install updates, and range returns.
I've had this Mavic 3 Classic for a year and a half and never noticed it until this year.
Anyone else notice (what seems to be) available updates restricting your distance?
Weird!

We are not drone police here, but I wouldn't be telling everyone that you're flying BVLOS

 

[michaeldallen1]

I was going to request no comments about the obvious BVLOS, but I thought Nahhhhh, no one will mention that.
Thank you office Fields. (Smiley face goes here)
Point taken.

 

[sarahb]

No need to assist the FAA with that kind of information. You could have, even should have, just mentioned the reduction in range without stating how far you flight, IMHO

 

[Steve Langford]

We are not drone police here, but I wouldn't be telling everyone that you're flying BVLOS

He forgot to say, "asking for a friend".

 

[msinger]

Anyone else notice (what seems to be) available updates restricting your distance until you install them?

I've never heard of such a thing. An available firmware update should have no impact on flight performance (distance or otherwise).

 

[rgarjr]

Which drone is it, Mavic 3 Classic? Also which fw did you install?

 

[MS Coast]

This is the 3rd time this has happened this past year. Launching from my regular spot (top floor of 4 story parking structure) at home
where I have gone thousands of feet distance countless times, I now can only go 400 feet away before I loose connection with drone.
No matter which direction I go.... same result. I Land, check for updates (for both drone and controller)... download the updates and try again
and lo-and-behold my distance is back to normal (I stopped at 3500 feet away and came back.
This has happened before. Loss of range, then install updates, and range returns.
I've had this Mavic 3 Classic for a year and a half and never noticed it until this year.
Anyone else notice (what seems to be) available updates restricting your distance until you install them?
Weird!

You're suggesting that the drone or controller logs on to the Internet each time it's started, connects to a DJI server, compares the drone's firmware and software revisions to the current versions, and modifies the programming to set a distance limit if there's a newer firmware or software?

Highly unlikely. And it would be odd if others hadn't noticed that happening.

We see firmware and software updates frequently blamed for coincidental problems soon after an update. But this is the first time I've seen an update blamed for a problem that occurred before an update.

There's another explanation. Were you logged into your DJI account? If not, the system will both set altitude and distance limits.

 

[michaeldallen1]

You're suggesting that the drone or controller logs on to the Internet each time it's started, connects to a DJI server, compares the drone's firmware and software revisions to the current versions, and modifies the programming to set a distance limit if there's a newer firmware or software?

Highly unlikely. And it would be odd if others hadn't noticed that happening.

We see firmware and software updates frequently blamed for coincidental problems soon after an update. But this is the first time I've seen an update blamed for a problem that occurred before an update.

There's another explanation. Were you logged into your DJI account? If not, the system will both set altitude and distance limits.

That's probably it. I remember when I went to check for updates, wi-fi could not be found and I had to hunt down my connection and reconnect. Coincidentally, updates were available at those times and I was blaming my issue on 'available updates' instead of no wi-fi connection causing distance limits. Thank you, MS Coast, for the most logical answer (and for no, deserved, BVLOS berating)

 

[Felix le Chat]

This is the 3rd time this has happened this past year. Launching from my regular spot (top floor of 4 story parking structure) at home
where I have gone thousands of feet distance countless times, I now can only go 400 feet away before I loose connection with drone.
No matter which direction I go.... same result. I Land, check for updates (for both drone and controller)... download the updates and try again
and lo-and-behold my distance is back to normal (I stopped at 3500 feet away and came back.
This has happened before. Loss of range, then install updates, and range returns.
I've had this Mavic 3 Classic for a year and a half and never noticed it until this year.
Anyone else notice (what seems to be) available updates restricting your distance until you install them?
Weird!

It might be worth trying LDM (Local Data Mode) in the app: there are a number of options you can disable, including allowing the drone to communicate data to DJI servers (which it does)... fair enough, you lose the little map in the flight screen but one by-product is that the drone no longer automatically remote-checks your login status or for firmware updates. I would think that your Mavic 3 classic is now in such a state of polish that it is beyond having useful new features shoehorned into its firmware, so what's to lose?

 

[Droning on and on...]

I was going to request no comments about the obvious BVLOS, but I thought Nahhhhh, no one will mention that.
Thank you office Fields. (Smiley face goes here)
Point taken.

While @GFields is absolutely right, and his advice on this is wise to be followed, set your mind at ease, a general statement about having flown BVLOS on some flight at some time in the past is way short of any evidence to trigger interest on the part of the FAA to devote any of their limited enforcement resources on "busting" you.

Were they to act on such vague statements that's all they'd be doing.

Now, post a video breaking rules, and post again and again videos showing how little you care for the FAA regs, and there's a much bigger possibility you'll be contacted.

 

[Droning on and on...]

I've never heard of such a thing. An available firmware update should have no impact on flight performance (distance or otherwise).

Ditto.

 

[michaeldallen1]

Which drone is it, Mavic 3 Classic? Also which fw did you install?

Yes, it was the Mavic 3 Classic. Issue seems to have been solved by MS Coast when he mentioned distance could be limited if I'm not logged into my DJI account (and I wasn't at the time). Logging in is what gave me my range back..... not any updated that were available.
BTW... the firmware I downloaded was just the 2 updates for the drone and controller.

 

[michaeldallen1]

Ditto.

Issue seems to have been solved by MS Coast when he mentioned distance could be limited if I'm not logged into my DJI account (and I wasn't at the time). Logging in is what gave me my range back..... not any updated that were available.

 

[michaeldallen1]

It might be worth trying LDM (Local Data Mode) in the app: there are a number of options you can disable, including allowing the drone to communicate data to DJI servers (which it does)... fair enough, you lose the little map in the flight screen but one by-product is that the drone no longer automatically remote-checks your login status or for firmware updates. I would think that your Mavic 3 classic is now in such a state of polish that it is beyond having useful new features shoehorned into its firmware, so what's to lose?

Thank you, I never considered that. But... Issue seems to have been solved by MS Coast when he mentioned distance could be limited if I'm not logged into my DJI account (and I wasn't at the time). Logging in is what gave me my range back..... not any updated that were available.

 

[michaeldallen1]

You could have, even should have, just mentioned the reduction in range without stating how far you flight, IMHO

Good point, thanks. I wasn't thinkin'

 

[Parkerjh]

Anyone else notice (what seems to be) available updates restricting your distance until you install them?
Weird!

No, I am on three year old firmware for two different drones and don't update them and never had range degradation.

 

[MS Coast]

No, I am on three year old firmware for two different drones and don't update them and never had range degradation.

See earlier posts. The OP's problem was not caused by a firmware update.

 

[EssenYVR]

You're suggesting that the drone or controller logs on to the Internet each time it's started, connects to a DJI server, compares the drone's firmware and software revisions to the current versions, and modifies the programming to set a distance limit if there's a newer firmware or software?

Note that the drone doesn't have to connect to the Internet every time in order to know that an update is available. The first time it connects and discovers an update it can set a flag in its internal memory, and on subsequent startups it will be aware of the pending update even if it can't connect.