I just got a new refurb DJI Mavic air today. The manual sucks to put it mildly but I figured out how to get the battery out and get the charger on it. Getting the charger on the remote was a bit more interesting and really kind of low rent requiring an adapter. I hate having even a normal USB jack hanging out of a USB jack, they can put so much torsion on the connector, with out adding in the length of the solid adapter. Anyway, I have all the pieces charging. Blew $5 on the FAA thing. All legal. Now only to find out my phone's version of android will not run the **** app. I have sent the folks who I bought the drone from a note. If the app is picky, this really should have been disclosed on the outside of the box, Now I am in for a 20% restocking fee if they want to be dicks. My credit card may back me up though.
Whoever came up with the idea of needing a smartphone to fly a drone should be throttled though. It is just a bad idea all around. In a year, the new version of android will not run the old app no doubt, so you have one slice of time when a really expensive toy has support. Not good. Not good at all.
The more I ponder this the more it makes me just wanna get my money back and put that in the paramotor fund.
Regdog,
if it is any consolation, look back a couple of pages and read every post. You will see that I was having terrible problems getting my AIR to work. The guys on here helped me through that initial learning curve and now I love the little 'copter! It is actually a very, very capable, compact drone. Hopefully I can give a little bit back to this place:
If you download the manual from here:
Mavic Air- Download Center - DJI
And watch the tutorials here:
Mavic Air - Product Information - DJI
You can actually fly the drone without the remote control, just using your hands to control it. It won't fly very far, but it will take pictures of you and film you. May I suggest you get a high spec card for it to save the footage and pictures to, the internal storage will give you some, but a card is much better. Yes, it is tiny and a fiddle to get in and out. It is a small drone, you can't have small and spacious, that is a law of physics!
The battery is positively latched in, with two latches, for very good safety reasons. The system is excellent and very simple but very secure, provided you work with it, not against it. Just put the battery in tail end first and 'hinge' it down into the battery bay, then press it in firmly with two fingers while the drone lays, upside down in the palm of your other hand. I do this close to the ground or over soft landing, just in case I drop anything. If the battery lands on a hard surface, such as a tiled floor or stone path, it is likely to split or crack the case. Just like dropping your watch or mobile phone wouldn't like it either. THE BETTERY LOCKS INTO PLACE WITH TWO AUDIBLE CLICKS. This is important, which is why I have capitalised it. The slide catches each side clicking home. If one is not fully latched there is a red warning marker that is uncovered if so. If no red warning mark is visible and the two catches are all the way forward, the battery is properly secured.
I hope you get over the initial frustrations, I was very similar. Enjoy the little AIR, it is worth the effort. Just to cheer you up and show what it can do, I took this yesterday using mine. I am still very much a beginner.