[UPDATE 2017-04-13] Good news! With firmware v01.03.0600, DJI has added back the ability to abort a forced auto-landing by applying throttle. The Pause button still does nothing, but the Sport mode switch still also works. Thanks, DJI-Ken for helping with this request.

[UPDATE 2017-04-07] Firmware v1.03.0550 was release a few days ago, and although DJI has promised to fix this in a future firmware, it seems the fix did not make it into v1.03.0550 I haven't have a chance to test it myself, but a few forum members have reported it's still not fixed. (If anybody would like to correct me before I get a chance to test the new firmware myself, please do so.)

Original Post:
So, as a few users have discovered, for some reason DJI removed the ability to cancel an auto-landing by using the throttle. This worked prior to v01.03.0500, but not anymore. Without this, there seemed to be no way to cancel the auto-landing procedure. I've read at least a couple of threads now where people's Mavics have gone down in unfortunate locations due to an unwanted auto-landing.

After some testing and some tips from other users (@SkunkWerxs) I can confirm that the only way to cancel the auto-landing with v01.03.0500 is to use the Sport mode switch. This is not ideal for several reasons (eg. the switch being almost completely obstructed when using an iPad Mini), but at least it's something.

For clarification: The auto-landing I'm referring to is when the Mavic is at 0.5m or lower from the ground, and you hold the throttle down for a few seconds. Once this auto-landing has been initiated, here's a summary of what you can expect to work:

- Throttle does NOT work. No response at all to throttle stick input
- All other stick movements do work, but do NOT cancel the auto-landing
- Pause button does NOT work. No effect at all.
- Sport mode switch DOES work to cancel the auto-landing, whether going from P to S, or S to P. The Mavic will return to 0.5m height and hover.

I've also posted a video showing my testing and demonstrating how to cancel the auto-landing for now, until DJI (hopefully) brings back the ability to cancel with the throttle. I think it would also make sense for the Pause button to cancel it, too.

[UPDATE] A couple of suggestions or workarounds for this problem would be:
1. Disable Landing Protection, which prevents the Mavic from pausing at 0.5m and therefore prevents autolanding altogether. Just be aware that with Landing Protection disabled you can fly the Mavic into ground/water if you're not careful. See this post for where to find the setting.
2. Downgrade to firmware v01.03.0400, where you can still cancel an autolanding by using the throttle stick.

Turn off the protective landing, you can have more control over your landing.

Turn off the protective landing, you will have more control over your landing.

hungdang Posted at 2017-3-19 18:39
Turn off the protective landing, you will have more control over your landing.

Right. I probably should have mentioned, for those that don't know, that switching off Landing Protection will prevent auto-landing altogether. I actually have Landing Protection disabled pretty much all the time, since I discovered the option a few months ago.

Or, downgrade to .400

hungdang Posted at 2017-3-19 18:38
Turn off the protective landing, you can have more control over your landing.

Hungdang, where can I find that option?  I looked around a bit in DJI GO 4 on my S7 Edge, but couldn't find it.

Thanks!

CAAirborne Posted at 2017-3-20 08:41
Hungdang, where can I find that option?  I looked around a bit in DJI GO 4 on my S7 Edge, but couldn't find it.

Thanks!

It's in the Advanced section of the Sensors settings.

I noticed this the day it came out thinking it was an error and sent a message to R&D and they said it's supposed to be this way and report to them if may users inquire about it and want ti back to how it used to be.
I sent them a link to this thread.

DJI-Ken Posted at 2017-3-20 09:40
I noticed this the day it came out thinking it was an error and sent a message to R&D and they said it's supposed to be this way and report to them if may users inquire about it and want ti back to how it used to be.
I sent them a link to this thread.

Thanks Ken. It would be great if they could bring back the ability to cancel it with the throttle, and (even better) to add the ability to cancel with the Pause button.

R&L Aerial  Posted at 2017-3-20 03:08
Or, downgrade to .400

That's probably what I'll do. Because I actually love the fact that I cancel a auto landing. There are times when your near water and want to get a certain shot .

CAAirborne Posted at 2017-3-20 08:41
Hungdang, where can I find that option?  I looked around a bit in DJI GO 4 on my S7 Edge, but couldn't find it.

Thanks!

From "Visual Navigation Settings" (right below MC Settings) scroll don to Advanced Vision Settings, then 2nd from the top is "Landing Protection".

Jason Lane Posted at 2017-3-20 09:44
Thanks Ken. It would be great if they could bring back the ability to cancel it with the throttle, and (even better) to add the ability to cancel with the Pause button.

I agree, we'll see what happens.

Nicely researched, good simple informative video. Good job..

hallmark007 Posted at 2017-3-20 10:45
Nicely researched, good simple informative video. Good job..

Thank you!

DJI-Ken Posted at 2017-3-20 10:27
I agree, we'll see what happens.

Ken, can you confirm whether or not flying with a previous firmware (eg. v01.03.0400) can void a warranty claim in case anything were to happen?

DJI-Ken Posted at 2017-3-20 09:40
I noticed this the day it came out thinking it was an error and sent a message to R&D and they said it's supposed to be this way and report to them if may users inquire about it and want ti back to how it used to be.
I sent them a link to this thread.

As I mentioned in another post, I think nearly every automatic UAV feature should allow a pilot override.  They are smart (UAVs), but the pilot is ultimately in charge and responsible for the operation of their UAV.

CAAirborne Posted at 2017-3-20 11:12
As I mentioned in another post, I think nearly every automatic UAV feature should allow a pilot override.  They are smart (UAVs), but the pilot is ultimately in charge and responsible for the operation of their UAV.

But that's not how it works, sorry about that.

Jason Lane Posted at 2017-3-20 11:11
Ken, can you confirm whether or not flying with a previous firmware (eg. v01.03.0400) can void a warranty claim in case anything were to happen?

I don't work in customer service and you would need to inquire about that.
If the crash had something to do with some parameters that were in the later firmware then possibly it wouldn't be covered because if you were on the latest update it would not have happened.
But if it's something irrelevant to firmware and was a malfunction then I'd guess it would be a warranty repair.
And I'm sure it would also be a case by case scenario.
But again, I do not work in customer service so I can't be of any advice on it.

Hey Ken what if the crash occurred on the latest firmware and said crash demonstrably would not have happened with the previous firmware?
In this case because of DJIs change in auto-land logic.
Just crashed my Mavic today when auto-land malfunctioned and I was unable to climb away and recover. In this case some degree of pilot error but had a) the drone not spontaneously drifted away from a rock solid hover when in auto-land below 0.5m, and b) had it responded to full up throttle (commands visible in logs) it would not have crashed.

Waiting to hear back from support.

This is just bad in every way.
There is absolutely no good reason to take away this control.
Put it back the way it was DJI.
And while you are at it remove and replace the program developer that thought this was a good idea.

Thanks much for making this video.  It probably will save many from what could be a bad situation.

DJI basically eliminated a safety feature by disabling the ability to use full throttle up to abort a landing.  For safety reasons we need to have full intuitive control all the way to landing,  and I urge Dji to add full landing control back in a future FW.

I also urge DJI to be completely upfront and transparent about ALL changes made when upgrading FW. In this case, the sensors could be fooled to think the Mavic was lower than it really was causing an autoland at high altitudes, with no intuitive way to cancel.  Not good!  What were you guys thinking?

Just a suggestion....maybe dji could use their own forum more frequently to poll users to vote on various future options. Good companies change  based on customer feedback, before a proposed modification. Other companies make changes based on their perception of what might customers want, then later react to the fallout of bad decisions.
Dji, we want you to be the best at what you do so we can continue to purchase your products. Everyone benefits if you view change  through your customers eyes.

Hi.

The biggest problem here is that DJI didn't inform the users in any way about this change. I have used my mavic today. This was the first time after firmware update and I didn't know that cancelling of the autolanding has been taken away. So I have landed somewhere I didn't wanted. Honestly I was just playing around with the mavic and expected I can throttle up after starting to landing. So I have landed my mavic in the mud. No damage luckily but a big mess. Grass pieces all over the camera and the body and mud. I had nothing on me to clean it at the seen so it dried on and I can't perfectly clean the grass now. I know this is just cosmetic damage but this is not the point. What if that mud would had some water on top and would damage the electronics?

I have contacted DJI support today and explained all this. And I complained about the fact they didn't inform users about it.

And requested to forward my complain to the relevant department.

fans36c806f5 Posted at 2017-3-27 10:55
Hi.

The biggest problem here is that DJI didn't inform the users in any way about this change. I have used my mavic today. This was the first time after firmware update and I didn't know that cancelling of the autolanding has been taken away. So I have landed somewhere I didn't wanted. Honestly I was just playing around with the mavic and expected I can throttle up after starting to landing. So I have landed my mavic in the mud. No damage luckily but a big mess. Grass pieces all over the camera and the body and mud. I had nothing on me to clean it at the seen so it dried on and I can't perfectly clean the grass now. I know this is just cosmetic damage but this is not the point. What if that mud would had some water on top and would damage the electronics?

Lucky the mud wasn't an ocean.

fans06b77ccc Posted at 2017-3-27 13:24
Lucky the mud wasn't an ocean.

In my case it was a river full of salt water.

...and in my case, a ditch full of water.

Oh - That's rough!  What was the damage?  

Sorry about that.

Gary Mac Posted at 2017-3-27 20:19
...and in my case, a ditch full of water.

Click...

Ouch... That was painful to watch :-(

DJI-Ken Posted at 2017-3-20 10:27
I agree, we'll see what happens.

Hi Ken. We've now seen in this thread what appear to be several confirmed cases where the forced autolanding has caused unnecessary crashes. Any word from the devs? Seems to me like a no-brainer that we need the ability to easily abort an autolanding.

Jason Lane Posted at 2017-3-27 22:45
Hi Ken. We've now seen in this thread what appear to be several confirmed cases where the forced autolanding has caused unnecessary crashes. Any word from the devs? Seems to me like a no-brainer that we need the ability to easily abort an autolanding.

I've forward this thread again to them so we'll see.

DJI-Ken Posted at 2017-3-28 07:50
I've forward this thread again to them so we'll see.

Hi Ken,

just a legal issue - if pilot is not able to override auto-land  - then if something happens during landing - it will be DJI who a liable for the damage incl. 3rd party damage. If Pilot can override - ball is back in his court. So I do think it would be in DJIs own interest to change it.

Thought read a flip to sports mode will cancel it in new firmware.

kazcow Posted at 2017-3-28 13:28
Hi Ken,

just a legal issue - if pilot is not able to override auto-land  - then if something happens during landing - it will be DJI who a liable for the damage incl. 3rd party damage. If Pilot can override - ball is back in his court. So I do think it would be in DJIs own interest to change it.

I think if you read all the terms when you activate the aircraft and install the app it would tell you differently.
But I am not legal and only tech support.

DJI-Ken Posted at 2017-3-28 13:33
I think if you read all the terms when you activate the aircraft and install the app it would tell you differently.
But I am not legal and only tech support.

Hi Ken,

that is unfortunately one you cant write you way out of no matter how good your EULA is.

That reverts to manufacture liability - just like if a Tesla autopilot killed someone IF that person could NOT manually control the car.

Once DJI takes the control out of the users hand completely  - it is a lawsuit waiting to happen - especially in the US.  Even Auto-land on big airplanes have a captains override - else it would be costly. Many airplanes today can land better on "autoland"  than their captains...

Logger Posted at 2017-3-22 07:46
Hey Ken what if the crash occurred on the latest firmware and said crash demonstrably would not have happened with the previous firmware?
In this case because of DJIs change in auto-land logic.
Just crashed my Mavic today when auto-land malfunctioned and I was unable to climb away and recover. In this case some degree of pilot error but had a) the drone not spontaneously drifted away from a rock solid hover when in auto-land below 0.5m, and b) had it responded to full up throttle (commands visible in logs) it would not have crashed.

I heard back from support and they classified  it pilot error. Frustrating part was there was zero acknowledgment of the fact the Mavic started to drift away from a stationary hover mid autoland even though the logs clearly show it occurred. Nor any acknowledgment of the fact I  Ineventually vainly put in full up stick with no response milliseconds before it crashed.

Mine started to auto land as my dog came running around the side of the house because my girlfriend let him out. Thankfully I grabbed him just as he was about to take a bite out of the Mavic. One of the props did manage to clip/cut his nose a little bit. If I could have cancelled auto landing with the left stick it could have been avoided all together. I think the dog learned his lesson not to go near it anymore though.

IMHO the landing procedure should be something completely distinct and apart of all normal operations.
By that I mean that when landing protection is activated the craft should not land at all unless one does something (i don't know what) completely out of the ordinary. Maybe even pull the stick outward or answer to a dialog box to confirm the desire to land.
But making the drone land just because one kept the stick down for 1-2 seconds is to me extremely dangerous. Especially when flying over water. And the proof is all those crashes. And the thing gets more complicated when the drone is not in close proximity or flown in FPV mode where the distance from the ground is not that obvious. By the time you hear "landing its in the lake.
I thing that landing protection should work like obstacle avoidance in the sense that when its on the drone DOES NOT land (hovering at 50 cm) until you expressively, somehow tell it to and by that i do not mean holding the stick down for just 1-2 seconds....
PS to tell the truth when hovering low i allways have my heart pumping in fear that acidently i could initiate an auto land procedure.

Jason Lane Posted at 2017-3-27 22:42
Ouch... That was painful to watch :-(

Yah, the audio was NSFW.  On the up-side, I recovered it and it is fine.  A combination of electronics background/knowledge, proximity (within 2 feet of it) and quick action.  It never even made it below the surface of the water and the battery came out immediately.  I pulled the top and bottom covers, used a hair dryer and then left it in rice to finish.  Had to calibrate the vision sensors when I finally fired it up but it was fine.  A rather happy ending to a sad video clip.  

I shot this a couple days later:

thehippoz Posted at 2017-3-28 13:29
Thought read a flip to sports mode will cancel it in new firmware.

Yes, but Sports Mode is not intuitive or quick to get to.  No reason it shouldn't abort if you let go of the control.  HOLD DOWN to land until the props stop... LET GO or MOVE UP to abort.  

JMHO.

...and the pause button shout immediately stop all automatic actions!  Honestly, that's the one button that should act the same way under all circumstances.

I've sent another email to R&D to look at this thread again as it's growing.