I am posting this in the General Discussion Forum even though I am flying a Mini 2, it may affect many other DJI Drone Models.
On another Drone Web Site, one of the members posted that their Mini 2 Drone was working perfectly however the Return to Home (RTH) function did not work and they asked for help. They did not provide any other information.
In my initial reply, I sent them the link to the User Manual and suggested they read the part on setting up the RTH and see if that resolved the problem.
Although the original poster did not reply, I followed-Up with this posting in case others have this issue.
I remember when I flew my Mini 2 in my back yard the first time and I took off from the Deck and flew out 30 or 40 feet and tried the RTH and "something" flashed on the screen but I did not catch it as I was also trying to keep my eyes on the Mini. I tried it again and I caught the message, "RTH Cancelled", but in the excitement of my first flight, I did not give it much thought.
When I was out flying my Mini 2 just for fun the other day, I thought of that RTH posting and I decided to play with the Return to Home (RTH) and I found out some stuff not in the user manual.
I flew the Mini 2 out for a 100 feet or so and tried all four RTH protocols. User press the RTH Button, Loss of Signal (turned off the App and then I also turned off the Controller), and I ran the battery down, and all four worked as specified.
So now I tried some "close-up" RTHs (under 20-meters from HP) and I caught the message this time and recorded it on my Tablet in a screen shot… The FLY App and the Controller will not engage the RTH routine if the Drone is within 20-meters of its Home Point.
I also tried running the battery down and again the Drone would not engage RTH. And I also turned off the FLY App and pressed the RTH on the Radio Controller and as before, it just hovered there. And even if everything is turned off and the battery is on its last legs, the drone will just hover in place until the battery died and the Drone just settled in place.
In the first Screen shot, you can see the message "RTH is unavailable within 20-meters of home point"
A point to mention, the warning did not come up every time I pressed the RTH button, it was just like I had done nothing… But when I pressed it a second time, a message came up on the second push, "RTH Cancelled" so it knew I pressed the RTH the first time, but the App sent no warning…
In the second Screen Shot, you can see the same message and the Low Battery Warning and it hovered until it went into a forced landing.
So, be aware of this limitation (within 20-meters of home point) if you are pushing the boundaries, such as flying FPV and you cannot actually see the drone behind some obstacle (building, tree, etc…) and you want it to RTH or its battery is low and it wants to RTH, it ain't gonna happen…
'
On another Drone Web Site, one of the members posted that their Mini 2 Drone was working perfectly however the Return to Home (RTH) function did not work and they asked for help. They did not provide any other information.
In my initial reply, I sent them the link to the User Manual and suggested they read the part on setting up the RTH and see if that resolved the problem.
Although the original poster did not reply, I followed-Up with this posting in case others have this issue.
I remember when I flew my Mini 2 in my back yard the first time and I took off from the Deck and flew out 30 or 40 feet and tried the RTH and "something" flashed on the screen but I did not catch it as I was also trying to keep my eyes on the Mini. I tried it again and I caught the message, "RTH Cancelled", but in the excitement of my first flight, I did not give it much thought.
When I was out flying my Mini 2 just for fun the other day, I thought of that RTH posting and I decided to play with the Return to Home (RTH) and I found out some stuff not in the user manual.
I flew the Mini 2 out for a 100 feet or so and tried all four RTH protocols. User press the RTH Button, Loss of Signal (turned off the App and then I also turned off the Controller), and I ran the battery down, and all four worked as specified.
So now I tried some "close-up" RTHs (under 20-meters from HP) and I caught the message this time and recorded it on my Tablet in a screen shot… The FLY App and the Controller will not engage the RTH routine if the Drone is within 20-meters of its Home Point.
I also tried running the battery down and again the Drone would not engage RTH. And I also turned off the FLY App and pressed the RTH on the Radio Controller and as before, it just hovered there. And even if everything is turned off and the battery is on its last legs, the drone will just hover in place until the battery died and the Drone just settled in place.
In the first Screen shot, you can see the message "RTH is unavailable within 20-meters of home point"
A point to mention, the warning did not come up every time I pressed the RTH button, it was just like I had done nothing… But when I pressed it a second time, a message came up on the second push, "RTH Cancelled" so it knew I pressed the RTH the first time, but the App sent no warning…
In the second Screen Shot, you can see the same message and the Low Battery Warning and it hovered until it went into a forced landing.
So, be aware of this limitation (within 20-meters of home point) if you are pushing the boundaries, such as flying FPV and you cannot actually see the drone behind some obstacle (building, tree, etc…) and you want it to RTH or its battery is low and it wants to RTH, it ain't gonna happen…
'