The max. altitude for the Air 2S is 5000m on the specs sheet.

Does anybody know if this is a fixed limit by software (like geofence) or a physical limit by thin air, that may be exceeded in ideal conditions or adapted propellers? Does anybody have experience with the Air 2S at high altitude? I was wondering if it can be used above 5000m as in tests with strong winds it performed as good as the Mavic 2 Pro which would launch up to 6000m. I wold prefere to buy the Air 2S instead of the 3 year old Mavic 2 Pro (mainly because is's smaller and leighter and because of Spotlight 2.0 which I consider a very useful function)

Hey I think its a thin air issue, you maybe able to but different props from a third party.  You must live in a really high up place if you want to go to 6000m.  

It's the service ceiling and performance above 5000 metres can't be guaranteed.

The continental USA doesn't have anything that high. Besides the thin air I think you have 2 other major factors that could cause the drone to not work the way you want. First the wind, at that altitude I would be surprised if any DJI drone would stay in place. The second more critical is battery/ drone performance, it is not recommended below 32 degrees Fahrenheit. You have icing problems, battery efficiency, problems and wind problems to overcome. That's without the work of getting the drone physically up there.

I( would say that the Air 2S is not safe to fly above 5000 meters due to performance degradation.  Consider how long it would take to get to 5000 meters and back down - can battery last long enough.  At that altitude you have to consider extreme winds, icing on props, signal connection, etc.  If you do decide to try it let us know the outcome.

Where in the world are you to be above 5000m?

Thanks for all your answers so far. I would like to fly in the Himalaya. Starting e.g. at 5500m and then fly up 100-200m. I was just wondering what service ceiling means. If this is a software limit (which would be difficult to overcome) or a physics limit, which would not be a sharp threshold. One would loose already 25-35% of static thrust from 0m to 5000m and only about 6% additionaly going from 5000m to 6000m. If it's not limited in software, there would be still a chance to fly, but of course the reserves are limited and wind and cold (which can be managed) may be an issue.

summitDrone Posted at 6-25 12:32
Thanks for all your answers so far. I would like to fly in the Himalaya. Starting e.g. at 5500m and then fly up 100-200m. I was just wondering what service ceiling means. If this is a software limit (which would be difficult to overcome) or a physics limit, which would not be a sharp threshold. One would loose already 25-35% of static thrust from 0m to 5000m and only about 6% additionaly going from 5000m to 6000m. If it's not limited in software, there would be still a chance to fly, but of course the reserves are limited and wind and cold (which can be managed) may be an issue.

I was just wondering what service ceiling means.
Google is faster and usually a more reliable source for accurate information than asking in this forum.

summitDrone Posted at 6-25 12:32
Thanks for all your answers so far. I would like to fly in the Himalaya. Starting e.g. at 5500m and then fly up 100-200m. I was just wondering what service ceiling means. If this is a software limit (which would be difficult to overcome) or a physics limit, which would not be a sharp threshold. One would loose already 25-35% of static thrust from 0m to 5000m and only about 6% additionaly going from 5000m to 6000m. If it's not limited in software, there would be still a chance to fly, but of course the reserves are limited and wind and cold (which can be managed) may be an issue.

I do not think its software

summitDrone Posted at 6-25 12:32
Thanks for all your answers so far. I would like to fly in the Himalaya. Starting e.g. at 5500m and then fly up 100-200m. I was just wondering what service ceiling means. If this is a software limit (which would be difficult to overcome) or a physics limit, which would not be a sharp threshold. One would loose already 25-35% of static thrust from 0m to 5000m and only about 6% additionaly going from 5000m to 6000m. If it's not limited in software, there would be still a chance to fly, but of course the reserves are limited and wind and cold (which can be managed) may be an issue.

Expecting your new post already. I haven't seen anyone flying the drone on the Himalaya.(Maybe I just missed the news.) The stipulated max altitude for flying,5000m, is extrapolated from the experiment data as far as I am concerned. As for the reasons, I would say that, under such extreme conditions, service ceilings will obviously be defeated by the natural restrictions. Is there a company which just consider the service limits instead of doing physical tests  before they launch out new products?

Labroides Posted at 6-25 15:21
I was just wondering what service ceiling means.
Google is faster and usually a more reliable source for accurate information than asking in this forum.

I guess the term "Service Ceiling" comes from the Helicopter term of "Hover Ceiling".
It's pretty easy to understand.

legendbb Posted at 12-25 09:06
I guess the term "Service Ceiling" comes from the Helicopter term of "Hover Ceiling".
It's pretty easy to understand.

The term Service Ceiling was around long before helicopters

summitDrone Posted at 6-25 12:32
Thanks for all your answers so far. I would like to fly in the Himalaya. Starting e.g. at 5500m and then fly up 100-200m. I was just wondering what service ceiling means. If this is a software limit (which would be difficult to overcome) or a physics limit, which would not be a sharp threshold. One would loose already 25-35% of static thrust from 0m to 5000m and only about 6% additionaly going from 5000m to 6000m. If it's not limited in software, there would be still a chance to fly, but of course the reserves are limited and wind and cold (which can be managed) may be an issue.

Stock drone no, modded drone yes, shown on K2 with a similar model by the polish team around Andrzej Bargiel in 2019 already. Some YouTubers went >FL30 since.

You would probably need variable pitch propellers (if such a thing existed for the Air 2S) to keep the volume of air pumped constant. But even if you have these, you would have problems with the battery becoming inefficent (or failing) at the very low temperatures. And even if the battery didn't lose charge though the cold, it would take a long time to travel 5k vertically, perhaps too long. And even if it did that, there wouldn't be enough power to land safely

iM looking  for that  answer too. Iflew the  drone near corona del inca in argentina at 4600  above sea level , but  when we reach  the summit  I cant get to take off , 5440  meters , imposible to  flight or something  like this appears in the sccreen , Anyboby  know  sone third party app that can unlock  that safety