What happens to the Craft when the App is closed or Lightning cable get's accidentally disconnected?

adam3112 · Dec 18, 2018

Hi guys,

As per the title - what happens to the Mavic or any DJI Drone for that matter if say, I accidentally close the dji go4 app or if the lightning cable becomes disconnected from the phone mid-flight? Does the drone return to home, land where it is, or something else?

Sorry if this has been asked before, I'm curious as well as cautious as to what happens in these situations and I'd rather not test it out for myself in-case.... you know?

go fast · Dec 18, 2018

Nothing that's just video feed not control

adam3112 · Dec 18, 2018

go fast said:
Nothing that's just video feed not control

Thankyou, I just wanted to be doubly sure. As a noob, I want to avoid every possible **** up during my flights.

Hossfly · Dec 18, 2018

Hey guys. I have Pro Platinum. I am also a newbie so I have some questions along the same lines as adam. If you lose your phone or tablet connection, yes I suppose you can still control your drone, but you also lose the 'return to home' don't you? I am perfectly capable of flying home and landing manually, but I don't know how to get around the obstacle avoidance kicking in as it neared the ground. Also, will the remote allow you to throttle down and kill the props once on the ground? I have been solely using the features in the app so I don't know how it works manually.Thanks

HVYMTL · Dec 18, 2018

No you have a RTH button on the remote.

MKGym · Dec 18, 2018

Hossfly said:
Hey guys. I have Pro Platinum. I am also a newbie so I have some questions along the same lines as adam. If you lose your phone or tablet connection, yes I suppose you can still control your drone, but you also lose the 'return to home' don't you? I am perfectly capable of flying home and landing manually, but I don't know how to get around the obstacle avoidance kicking in as it neared the ground. Also, will the remote allow you to throttle down and kill the props once on the ground? I have been solely using the features in the app so I don't know how it works manually.Thanks

Fortunately You can throttle down and kill the props from the remote, and RTH is still available without the app. I had the opportunity to verify that last weekend when my iPad disconnected mid flight. Still not sure what caused the disconnection. Decided to take no chances and discontinue using the aftermarket 8" cable and go back to the factory one.

Mossiback · Dec 18, 2018

Hossfly said:
... If you lose your phone or tablet connection, yes I suppose you can still control your drone, but you also lose the 'return to home' don't you?...

The RTH settings are uploaded to the Mavic and still work without a phone/tablet. You can initiate RTH with the RC by holding down the RTH button until it starts beeping. You can also cancel it by pressing the pause button.

Hossfly said:
... I am perfectly capable of flying home and landing manually, but I don't know how to get around the obstacle avoidance kicking in as it neared the ground...

If you are referring to precision landing, it works with or without the app. You can hand catch or move it to a spot it deems acceptable.

Hossfly said:
... Also, will the remote allow you to throttle down and kill the props once on the ground? I have been solely using the features in the app so I don't know how it works manually.Thanks

The props will stop spinning once it detects that it has landed. You can also just hold the left stick (in default mode 2) down to stop the props.

Hossfly · Dec 18, 2018

HVYMTL said:
No you have a RTH button on the remote.

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Great to know!! Thank you HVYMTL

Hossfly · Dec 18, 2018

Hossfly said:
Great to know!! Thank you HVYMTL

Thanks to all !!!

BD0G · Dec 18, 2018

Scenario 1 : DJIGO4 Crashes and Remote Controller has connection to the Mavic- You can pilot manually using the still connected Remote Control including pressing the RTH Button on the Remote Controller. Most just close the crashed app or it will have closed itself. Then relaunch the DJIGO4 app and regain live video feed and all the telemetry onscreen. Keep flying

Scenario 2 : Remote Controller looses connection to the Mavic -
There is a setting within the DJIGO4 app that is set by default to perform a Return to Home once the Remote Controller looses signal. The Mavic will ascend to the preset altitude first and then begin flying back to the Home Point that was set during take off.
It is important to determine the tallest obstacles within the general area that one is going to be flying and set this Return to Home Altitude value to a greater height than those obstacles.

That way the Mavic does not crash into those obstacles on its return to home.
There is an exception to this if the Mavic is very close to the Remote Controller (7 or 5 Meters) then the Mavic will not ascend first to the preset altitude before returning to the Home Point. It will just being the Return to Home from its present altitude and distance away.

What most flyers will do is regain Remote Control signal to the Mavic as it is Returning to Home and then just cancel the Return to Home process (Pause Button or Switch to Sport Mode and back to P Mode -side button on Remote Controller) and then begin flying using the Remote Controller once again. That is unless its the first time this happens and then they will allow the Mavic to Return to Home , land and then begin sweating profusely and check thier underwear.

I have personally flown a decent distance away from my Home Point and turned the Remote Controller off completely. It was stressful as it takes a while for the Mavic to ascend first and then fly back as it does so in the slower P Mode and does not switch to Sport Mode and whizz back. I was just patient and the Mavic flew back overhead and landed right next to me like a well trained pet.

DanMc · Dec 18, 2018

On my second real flight (other than quick little launch/land exercises) I looked down at the phone and saw the Apple logo on my iphone screen due to a depleted battery. I did have a brief moment of panic, but the Mavic Air was easily visible and it wasn't hard to bring it back in visually. Since then, I make sure the phone has >80% battery and then I put it into airplane mode once it has downloaded the local map.
Incidently, and off-topic (sort-of), I took my two-year old iPhone 6s+ to an authorized Apple service center to replace the battery. They refused to replace it, saying that it was "still at 80% of full capacity". Even though I said I wanted it replaced and I was paying for it, they still refused. I was so pi$$ed.

BD0G · Dec 18, 2018

Ill replace it for you! Send me the phone and the battery. You can also do it yourself in 4 minutes

DanMc · Dec 18, 2018

Wow, that's much easier than I thought! BDOG: I appreciate your offer and the link. This is a corporate phone, so I it can't leave my possession. Plus I'm now ready to go back to an Apple store and go to war with them if they refuse again. Corp IT said that I need to take it to an Apple service center - they don't do it.

BD0G · Dec 18, 2018

Your Welcome! Its a cake walk compared to some of the Electronics I have repaired in the past.

I have repaired many smart phones in the past. In one of my previous careers I was a Senior Electronics Technician so I often work on Electronic items just to keep my skills sharp.

I totally understand Corp IT as I used to work in Corporate IT as well in one of my past careers. LOL.

macfawlty · Dec 19, 2018

adam3112 said:
Hi guys,

As per the title - what happens to the Mavic or any DJI Drone for that matter if say, I accidentally close the dji go4 app or if the lightning cable becomes disconnected from the phone mid-flight? Does the drone return to home, land where it is, or something else?

Sorry if this has been asked before, I'm curious as well as cautious as to what happens in these situations and I'd rather not test it out for myself in-case.... you know?

We're all newbies when faced with new situations not encountered before... and new situations seem to occur with almost every flight. It's impossible to memorize every word in the manual (which is only a cursory overview). I knew there was a RTH on my M2 controller, but missed the part about holding it down for several seconds. Like you, I wasn't sure what would happen if I closed and restarted the Go4 app. I had to use rely on my distance reading on the controller to determine whether I was heading in the right direction back to home. Newbie mistake, but I only had the M2 for 3 days before my previously planned flight. I watched a lot of YouTube videos and a couple quick reads of the manual in that 3 days, but there's no substitute for flying yourself.

I've lost video feed often on both my P3 4k and more recently on my M2. There are a dozen or more reasons why it happens including obstacles, signal interference, low altitude, tablet/phone capability, inadequate/faulty USB cable, distance, or any combination of the above. My iPad 2 is apparently not powerful enough for the Go4 app. I replaced my cable on other's advice. Thanks to this forum, we can learn from other's experience on what and why things happen and how to recover quickly. I've had to relearn the battery level issue with several close calls (and forced-descent crashes).

I realized long ago the only way I learn anything is by failure. Making the mistakes, testing capabilities, settings and flight characteristics, analyzing footage, grading and editing, etc. Every time I set up for a professional video shoot (or with my drone) there are problems and challenges. Sometimes, it's not apparent until I review the footage later and I have to figure out how to fix it... like today, grading a video interview I shot a couple weeks ago with a major lens flare problem. Disaster.