USB C Side Port Not Working

[Cduncan]

Hey all!

I just purchased a Mavic Air, and I'm excited to be joining this community! I know I have a lot to learn, so I'm hoping this will be a good resource to do so.

Upon unboxing my Air, I've run into all sorts of problems... first off, the battery in the box didn't work... would not charge and completely unresponsive. So, I went and bought a new one. Now I'm having some trouble connecting to the drone from my phone (S8 Plus) via the side port. When I plug in, I can see it tries to start charging my phone, so there's some connection, but it doesn't actually connect to the RC. It's like the cable only charges, no data transmission. When I instead use the bottom USB port, the phone connects perfectly with no problems.

Any thoughts of why this could be? Do I need to buy a different kind of cable to use with the S8? Thank you in advance!

Cheers,
Connor

 

[DanMan32]

You're better off using the bottom port. Much more reliable and uses standard connectors. The side port is a not commonly used micro-A, rather than the more common micro-B. This is because the RC is the host like a PC, your phone the target. If PCs had micro USB ports, they also would have Micro-A formfactor.
The short cables are accordingly custom.

 

[Cduncan]

You're better off using the bottom port. Much more reliable and uses standard connectors. The side port is a not commonly used micro-A, rather than the more common micro-B. This is because the RC is the host like a PC, your phone the target. If PCs had micro USB ports, they also would have Micro-A formfactor.
The short cables are accordingly custom.

Awesome, thank you! I've had no problem flying with the bottom port, and think I could just stick with that. My only problem is that I'm just using the data cable (USB C) that they provided with the drone. Unfortunately, it's incredibly long and gets in the way of properly holding the RC. Any recommendations for cables to use instead? Preferably that tuck into the RC so I can properly hold the RC.

As for the original problem, is it possible that my phone justg isn't accepting a connection to act as a slave with that port, as opposed to the host as it normally does?

Thank you very much for the advice!

 

[DanMan32]

Sounds like bad short cable or the C side didn't make it all the way into your phone.
But you did say the phone saw charge voltage.

Aukey makes good cables. You can get a variety pack with different lengths. I often like to use 10', put tablet on a bench and have freedom to move around with light remote in hand. Not sure if offered by Aukey, but I've seen coiled cables out there.

 

[Maviac]

The micro-A side port is a big design flaw, in my opinion. Aside from making it hard to replace a cord, it’s easy to insert wrong and damage the port. I recommend an Anker Powerline (standard, +, II, II+, all are fine, although the newer ones offer a lifetime warranty, I think). I use a 12 inch one with the bottom port for my MA. My longer ones used for daily use with my phone haven’t shown any wear in several years of heavy usage so I expect the one used with my MA to last the life of my Mavic. And for the side port, I use a permanent magnetic plug. Some folks have had some issues with the magnet affecting the sticks, but I’ve never had any issues in 10 months of use.

 

[jep4755]

I'm confused I thought you had to use the side port Micro USB to connect the phone
to the remote . I purchased a used MA and the side port is not very good so can i use
the bottom port instead ?

 

[Cduncan]

I'm confused I thought you had to use the side port Micro USB to connect the phone
to the remote . I purchased a used MA and the side port is not very good so can i use
the bottom port instead ?

Yes, you can use the bottom port instead. Just use the full size USB cable, and it should communicate much better.

The problem in my case ended up being a faulty cable. I just had to buy a replacement cable for the side port, and everything worked fine!

 

[jep4755]

Thankyou

 

[Mrmund]

I'm confused I thought you had to use the side port Micro USB to connect the phone
to the remote . I purchased a used MA and the side port is not very good so can i use
the bottom port instead ?

Bottom works, no problems
I just use the side to charge the RC

 

[jep4755]

Thanks that worked

 

[gianni_BT]

Most of times the issue is not the side port, but the original DJI supplied connecting cable. The one I had last after 5 times I opened and closed the RC. I bought an aftermarket cable on Amazon(7 euro) and then 2 aftermarket cables on Banggood (3.6 euro each) much more robust than the original and everithing works perfectly.

 

[Bofman51]

I bought one of these TecMad cables. Very happy with it 10.5 inches long

Amazon.com: USB a to USB c Cable TecMad 90 Degree Plug Nylon Braided Type C to USB 3.0 Cable for New MacBook,Nexus 5X,Samsung s9 s8 Note 9,LG V30 V20 G6 G5,Hero 6/5,DJI Mavic Pro Drone and More-0.8ft/0.25m Grey: Industrial & Scientific

Buy USB a to USB c Cable TecMad 90 Degree Plug Nylon Braided Type C to USB 3.0 Cable for New MacBook, Nexus 5X, Samsung s9 s8 Note 9, LG V30 V20 G6 G5, Hero 6/5, DJI Mavic Pro Drone and More-0.8ft/0.25m Grey: USB Cables - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

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[leephotojedi]

Hey guys, I had same issue, but even bottom port tries to charge the phone, then stops, then starts, send the phone nuts