Weak signal - lost transmission

[loco]

Hello all,

I bought a Mavic Air from the US but currently i'm in Greece.

My drone has serious issues and anything that i have tried does not work.

At about 150 meters the "weak signal" message appears. After, at about 200 meters, image is lost, RC Signal lost message also appears, RC disconnected message appears and of course my heart starts to beat very fast.

When (and if) the image is back on screen (before it gets lost again), it is very laggy and even if you for example, turn the drone, the screen will show the turn after 3-4-5 seconds.

I have tried the following:

- Used an original iphone cable to connect the RC with my iphone (iphone 6, updated to latest iOS)
- Have tried both 2,4 and 5,8 frequencies
- Updated all devices to the latest firmware
- Connected drone to dji Assistant 2, restored to factory defaults and checked it

Antennas always pointed correctly.
Flown in places where my p3a never had any issues

Is there ANYTHING else i can try so i don't need to return it? Please help!

Thank you in advance!

 

[Espy]

Are you flying in the same places when you try all of the above? Maybe there is just a lot of interference of some kind where you are. See if you get a different result in a more open rural area.

 

[loco]

Are you flying in the same places when you try all of the above? Maybe there is just a lot of interference of some kind where you are. See if you get a different result in a more open rural area.

Hello, thank you for your reply.
The places i have tried are places that my previous drone (p3a) never had an issue.
Also, yesterday, i went to a more open place where i had exactly the same results.

Can it be something more than interference? Perhaps something is faulty?

Also, i just realized, that my RC is not visible from dji assistant 2 and shows "version unknown" at the about page (where usually someone would go to check for firmware updates). However, when i connect my android i can see the RCs version but the button for checking for a possible updated version is not there.

Is there a chance that the problem is the RC?

 

[Just_nick]

Since the RC is the main transmission device, it's quite possible.

 

[Avian]

Isn't Greece a CE region?
When you switched on the drone the first time in Greece. Did you get a prompt that "you are flying in a different country try and your WLAN settings gs will be updated"?
And if so, did you hit ok?

 

[InvisibleName]

Also, you should be aware that, unless you’ve registered & filed a flight plan, Greece rules dictate that you must keep your drone within 50m in all directions! I know because I’m going to Rhodes this summer & checked, because Greece have previously arrested several UK plane spotters for allegedly spying!

 

[loco]

Isn't Greece a CE region?
When you switched on the drone the first time in Greece. Did you get a prompt that "you are flying in a different country try and your WLAN settings gs will be updated"?
And if so, did you hit ok?

I am not sure, but i think that yes, i did hit OK. Was that my fatal mistake?
How can i be sure that the actual problem is the CE/FCC and not something faulty?

I learned CE and FCC just some days ago, so i cannot be really sure but i think yes, europe is CE.
However, i saw someone using CE to hit something more than 2km in range plus that i know someone else with a Mavic air who also hit about 2km (do not know if he got the prompt though).

dji has been giving me a really hard time as they want me to return the drone under my expense and then send the drone to where i got it from (USA).

 

[loco]

Also, you should be aware that, unless you’ve registered & filed a flight plan, Greece rules dictate that you must keep your drone within 50m in all directions! I know because I’m going to Rhodes this summer & checked, because Greece have previously arrested several UK plane spotters for allegedly spying!

I have flown my previous p3a in Greece last year and never had to fill anything. Maybe i was just lucky.
From what i know, if you follow the rules (not fly near airports, near military bases etc) and just use it for personal reasons, you will be fine.

 

[vedkontho]

I am not sure, but i think that yes, i did hit OK. Was that my fatal mistake?
How can i be sure that the actual problem is the CE/FCC and not something faulty?

I learned CE and FCC just some days ago, so i cannot be really sure but i think yes, europe is CE.
However, i saw someone using CE to hit something more than 2km in range plus that i know someone else with a Mavic air who also hit about 2km (do not know if he got the prompt though).

dji has been giving me a really hard time as they want me to return the drone under my expense and then send the drone to where i got it from (USA).

Yes it was. Once you hit ok,Your wifi strength has been reduced to half since it has moved to CE. But you can get it back to FCC in under 5 mins

 

[loco]

Yes it was. Once you hit ok,Your wifi strength has been reduced to half since it has moved to CE. But you can get it back to FCC in under 5 mins

Even if it was cut in half, 150-300 meters will become 500 meters? Isn't that still much less than the 4km they claim? Ok, i understand that 4km is in perfect conditions, but shouldn't it reach at least 2km without any issues?

How can i know if it's on CE or FCC? Also, how come and someone got 2km in CE?

 

[Avian]

Even if it was cut in half, 150-300 meters will become 500 meters? Isn't that still much less than the 4km they claim? Ok, i understand that 4km is in perfect conditions, but shouldn't it reach at least 2km without any issues?

How can i know if it's on CE or FCC? Also, how come and someone got 2km in CE?

HI Loco

Check in your wifi setting page on the app. If you see 1-13 channels and then Ch 149 upwards..you are in CE mode, if you see Chn 1-11 and then 149 up you are in FCC mode.

In an open area i easily get 3km from my Air, but in built up areas it decreases to as little as 500m...Wifi signal of surroundings areas plays a major role.

 

[loco]

HI Loco

Check in your wifi setting page on the app. If you see 1-13 channels and then Ch 149 upwards..you are in CE mode, if you see Chn 1-11 and then 149 up you are in FCC mode.

In an open area i easily get 3km from my Air, but in built up areas it decreases to as little as 500m...Wifi signal of surroundings areas plays a major role.

Ok, so you mean that the real issue here is me not having FCC set and that there is nothing else going on with the drone right?
Because, as i mentioned again, i saw a range test video of a guy reaching more than 2km in CE mode.

 

[macoman]

When you got to Greece... Did you calibrated the drone? Also, it will not a bad idea to uninstall and reinstall DJI go 4 app.

 

[loco]

When you got to Greece... Did you calibrated the drone? Also, it will not a bad idea to uninstall and reinstall DJI go 4 app.

What do you mean calibrate it? It never asked me anything than to calibrate the compass.
I have tried reinstalling the app as well as restoring the drone to factory defaults (which by the way, did not return the wifi setting to FCC, i mean it never asked me to change wifi settings again).

 

[Avian]

It

What do you mean calibrate it? It never asked me anything than to calibrate the compass.
I have tried reinstalling the app as well as restoring the drone to factory defaults (which by the way, did not return the wifi setting to FCC, i mean it never asked me to change wifi settings again).

wont ask you to change the setting until the drone is back in an FCC region...hence you will stay in CE at this stage.

So i dont think there is an issue with your drone...like i said, i was used to 3km range and when i flew in a built up area i got 500m...

Wifi signals can get easily interfered with...

Do me a favor and send me a PM, and ill respond with some more details.

 

[loco]

Ok, i will try and change to FCC today and will do the tests needed and will let you all know when i have more news.
To be completely honest, i see that dji gives a 2km in CE, which obviously i am not getting even when i fly in residential areas or in areas with no houses (as mentioned before, range never changed in any of these areas, its range was 100 to 280 meters the most)

 

[InvisibleName]

I have flown my previous p3a in Greece last year and never had to fill anything. Maybe i was just lucky.
From what i know, if you follow the rules (not fly near airports, near military bases etc) and just use it for personal reasons, you will be fine.

I have flown my previous p3a in Greece last year and never had to fill anything. Maybe i was just lucky.
From what i know, if you follow the rules (not fly near airports, near military bases etc) and just use it for personal reasons, you will be fine.

Greece introduced new drone rules in Nov 2017 Drone rules and laws in Greece - current information and experiences - as long as you are aware that breaking the rules carries a max penalty of 250,000euros...............

 

[loco]

Greece introduced new drone rules in Nov 2017 Drone rules and laws in Greece - current information and experiences - as long as you are aware that breaking the rules carries a max penalty of 250,000euros...............

oh...so last summer i was completely an outlaw! Thank you for the info! Will be careful from now on!

 

[loco]

Hey all,

So, i changed the mode from CE to FCC (11 channels in the wifi settings section, that's how i knew i had changed).

Flew the mavic air about 800 meters at 2.4GHz without any interference or any problems at all!
I flew it in the same place that i had serious issues but now everything seemed going smoothly.
I hope that i did fix it and that it wasn't just luck.

If there is anything new, i will let you all know!

The only problem that now remains, is that i cannot check for updates for my RC (iphone app does not show the firmware version and does not have the option to check updates, android app shows the firmware version and does not have the option to check for updates and dji assistant 2 does not recognize the RCs driver - tried it in 3 different systems win7, win10, mac).