Being a beginner myself, who only had experience flying cheap toy drones (without gps and altitude hold), here are some of my obervations. Of course joining this forum and reading up tips from all the great guys here helped me a lot.

The mistakes I've made or could have made as a beginner are:
1) Not calibrating my compass (MM automatically prompts it)
2) Setting RTH at highest altitude law allows (not knowing at highest altitude the MM might get blown away by wind)
3) Overtly rely on collision sensors and blame DJI (MM has no sensors so no one to blame)4) Attempted to land on hand and got a small cut from the props after many successful practices indoors (learnt to keep the palm flat as a safer method as opposed to many videos). A drop of blood splashed onto the mini thus the handle - Bloodied_Mini
5) I hardly fly backwards as a beginner, it is only after watching advance videography videos that I found out how some great footages are filmed... flying backwards! (and now I know I better not try it due to lack of backward sensors)

(Edit: Added points 4 and 5)

sbonev Posted at 3-2 10:27
that would make sense as mine is exynos... that is why i suspected it might be something with processor...different architecture, load processing, even the ram. anyway, it doesn't necessarily mean it is not connected to bad updates or other issues. the only certain thing is it is code related and manifests itself on samsung phones. Actually i noticed elevated battery usage while using dji app, not sure how much as i didn't pay much attention but significant, 10-20 % - so it could be bad code in the app is loading the cpu cores and not properly using the resources, but again that is only my wild guess

i assume you had loss of connection and didn't experience phone reboot, correct?

That's correct, none of these problems.
Higher battery usage is not unusual since screen is at is max brightness when using the app.
1200 nits takes a lot of power.

Henrik Olsen Posted at 3-2 12:55
I know it's more expensive but Skydio 2 is pretty close to idiot-proof - My buddy has demonstrated how you can fly it with high speed in a forest and it just dodges the tree and finds a new way if the path has been blocked - it's pretty insane

Range of that drone is pathetic, and pure lie, they claim 3.5km, people are lucky to get 1km.
Also no flying in low light what so ever.

lifeisfun Posted at 3-2 16:20
Range of that drone is pathetic, and pure lie, they claim 3.5km, people are lucky to get 1km.
Also no flying in low light what so ever.

What’s to stop you flying in low light ?

hallmark007 Posted at 3-2 16:26
What’s to stop you flying in low light ?

It will not let you, and you can't override it.
Those 6 cameras need light.
Fly when your drone can see clearly

Your Skydio 2 navigates using 45 megapixels of visual sensing from six 200 degree color cameras, building a 3D map of its surroundings that includes trees, people, buildings and more. Because it needs to see clearly to navigate past these obstacles effectively, Skydio 2 can only fly in normal daylight conditions. Its advanced computer vision won’t work at night or in other low-light conditions. The Skydio app will warn you of low-light conditions and may suggest you land if there isn’t enough light to fly safely.

When low on the horizon, the sun can temporarily blind the Skydio 2 cameras depending on the angle of flight. Note that your Skydio 2 may be cautious or jerky when flying into the direct sun.

https://support.skydio.com/hc/en-us/articles/360000935174-Where-can-I-fly-my-Skydio-2-

Henrik Olsen Posted at 3-2 02:05
This was based on my assumptions, not claiming otherwise.

What I think happened was a combination during the battering combined with low temperature, it was throttled at the end before giving the warning (26%) about low battery and asking me to land.  

Exactly, happened to me over the weekend and twice!

Henrik Olsen Posted at 3-2 12:55
I know it's more expensive but Skydio 2 is pretty close to idiot-proof - My buddy has demonstrated how you can fly it with high speed in a forest and it just dodges the tree and finds a new way if the path has been blocked - it's pretty insane

It all depends on what you consider important for a beginner. If it's the ability of the drone to survive no matter what the pilot does, then the Skydio 2 is definitely better than the MM, and likely better than any DJI drone because its obstacle avoidance appears to be more sophisticated.
But I think that cost is an equally important factor, as many people don't want to spend a fortune just to take a couple aerial shots. If you take that into account, then the $399 MM is definitely more appealing to a beginner than the $999 Skydio.

Low cost is the driver for being a beginner drone. Most beginners will not pay higher prices. So if not, the result is that they will never own a drone at all.

GaryDoug Posted at 3-2 20:07
Low cost is the driver for being a beginner drone. Most beginners will not pay higher prices. So if not, the result is that they will never own a drone at all.

Low cost is the driver for being a beginner drone. Most beginners will not pay higher prices. So if not, the result is that they will never own a drone at all.

There are a few million DJI flyers from the days before DJI made their budget Mini.
I wonder how they all got started??

lifeisfun Posted at 3-2 17:13
It will not let you, and you can't override it.
Those 6 cameras need light.
Fly when your drone can see clearlyYour Skydio 2 navigates using 45 megapixels of visual sensing from six 200 degree color cameras, building a 3D map of its surroundings that includes trees, people, buildings and more. Because it needs to see clearly to navigate past these obstacles effectively, Skydio 2 can only fly in normal daylight conditions. Its advanced computer vision won’t work at night or in other low-light conditions. The Skydio app will warn you of low-light conditions and may suggest you land if there isn’t enough light to fly safely.When low on the horizon, the sun can temporarily blind the Skydio 2 cameras depending on the angle of flight. Note that your Skydio 2 may be cautious or jerky when flying into the direct sun.https://support.skydio.com/hc/en-us/articles/360000935174-Where-can-I-fly-my-Skydio-2-

Forget about skydio, your time would be better spent reading and knowing about Mavic mini. Mini doesn’t have 6 cameras, and those it does have have nothing to do with it taking off in low light, in low light Mavic mini requires 8 satellites and that’s it, and you’ll find satellites come out at night just as they do in day light.
I own a mini and have no problem flying in low light, only thing you need be careful of is vision sensors not operating fully at low altitude.

Now we have the OP recommending the skydio for beginners, and this leads me to believe he is once again here for nothing else only clickbait, to stir sh*t with those who own or have purchased Mavic mini.

It’s clear for anyone that particularly on you tube we see those who have already purchased skydio as the next greatest and safest drone out there, but nothing could be further from the truth, what we have seen is some of the most reckless flying of drones ever on you tube, skydio flying in traffic while the controller rides his one wheeler having no control over the drone whatsoever, many of them with experienced flyers crashing because they couldn’t control them. The OP himself done a video with his friend across the water Orignaldonut all about the skydio, but low and behold now the experienced part 107 Orignaldonut has gone and sold his skydio after only 6 weeks and why ! Well he sold it because he couldn’t Control It.
So I’m saying this thread is for the OP something that can gain him clicks nothing else, he recommends NOT buying the mini for beginners. But instead buy a drone that you have absolutely no control over that costs 3 times the price, I’m sure people can see through that.

His videos on drones always go the same way, the 10 things he hates about mini the 10 things he loves about mini, DONT BUY MINI, BUY MINI, etc etc etc, OP likes to run with the hares and hunt with the hounds .

Labroides Posted at 3-2 14:39
from what I read here, he never blamed the Android operating system itself, not sure why you keep saying this.
Because he said it in the post where I first responded to him.
https://forum.dji.com/forum.php?mod=redirect&goto=findpost&ptid=209990&pid=2097372

as far as I understand his post, he was talking about DJI's development team, not Android's

120ccpm Posted at 3-2 18:51
It all depends on what you consider important for a beginner. If it's the ability of the drone to survive no matter what the pilot does, then the Skydio 2 is definitely better than the MM, and likely better than any DJI drone because its obstacle avoidance appears to be more sophisticated.
But I think that cost is an equally important factor, as many people don't want to spend a fortune just to take a couple aerial shots. If you take that into account, then the $399 MM is definitely more appealing to a beginner than the $999 Skydio.

If you are setting the skydio at $999 then it comes without a RC, so how can a beginner learn to fly , because it’s impossible to fly skydio with a phone, we have also seen many crashes with the uncrashable drone, we have seen many selling on their skydio particularly those with drone you tube channels and I’m certain many cancellations.
I was one of the first owners of Mavic pro, which brought so many new flyers to drones and this drone in its first six months had just as many crashes or lost drones as the mini and it cost 3 times what the mini cost and many more redundancies.
There will always be people who crash smash destroy their drones, safer drones won’t help them, education might but I’m not even sure that will either.

The choice between the Mini and the Skydio2 is impractical, the latter costs more than double and is not sold outside the USA and Canada.
Ironically, the best drone for a beginner should cost 10,000 euros

I think the question of whether or not the Mini is a good drone for beginners depends on what it is you're looking for. Are you looking for an uncrashable drone that doesn't really require you to know much beyond how to turn it on and how to charge it? Then no, the Mini is not a good beginner drone and you should probably go with the Skydio 2. But if you're looking for a drone that won't bankrupt you if you lose it or crash it, a drone that will force you to learn stuff that really every pilot should know (how to check the wind, what happens with the wind at higher altitudes, when should you use RTH and when should you take full control, why is the compass important, why you shouldn't take off from the hood of your car and so on), a drone that will force you to learn to fly smooth if you want to take nice shots as it won't do pretty much anything for you automatically (except for the rather limited available quick shots) then yes, I think the Mini is a great beginner drone.

lifeisfun Posted at 3-2 16:19
That's correct, none of these problems.
Higher battery usage is not unusual since screen is at is max brightness when using the app.
1200 nits takes a lot of power.

true, though it was not bright sunny day, so it shouldn't be that much drain, when i am using it with other apps for the same amount a time the drain is nothing, also the RC is supposed to charge the phone also. as little as it might be it should still do some difference. definitely some polishing is need to be done to the app, hopefully the march update will make things better and bring new functionalities...

Labroides Posted at 3-2 21:11
Low cost is the driver for being a beginner drone. Most beginners will not pay higher prices. So if not, the result is that they will never own a drone at all.

There are a few million DJI flyers from the days before DJI made their budget Mini.

Dude, you should make a club "how to argue with everybody"...or you could try using a mirror, though not sure how that will end up

Definition of "beginner" in my opinion should be something cheap that does not require big investment, easy to use and learn and safe for somebody without any idea how is it or it works. Something that will start you with a certain type of hobby...How was it in the past doesn't matter, what matters is the present

Renato61 Posted at 3-3 00:27
The choice between the Mini and the Skydio2 is impractical, the latter costs more than double and is not sold outside the USA and Canada.
Ironically, the best drone for a beginner should cost 10,000 euros

Sure Sure, Skydio 2 was not suggested as a beginner drone just a reply to @120ccpm comments about no drone is 100% bulletproof ;-) Just saying it comes close under the right conditions. But I guess people read what they wanna read :-)

Please delete

Henrik Olsen Posted at 3-3 01:28
Sure Sure, Skydio 2 was not suggested as a beginner drone just a reply to @120ccpm comments about no drone is 100% bulletproof ;-) Just saying it comes close under the right conditions. But I guess people read what they wanna read :-)

Far away from bulletproof ....
Also don't forget
Skydio
controller +$150
beacon +$150
battery since you get barely 20min  +$100
You want charger  so the drone doesn't need to be powered on while charging?Yes, this is by design   +$125


So, I don't think that Skydio  is reasonable begginer drone at all.

Henrik Olsen Posted at 3-2 10:20
Yes, that is true it has to be taken very seriously.. but with a drone, this capability is very tempting to push limits and this is when it starts to go wrong

But to push the limits as a beginner is not clever in any activity. And bigger heavier and faster dron on the limit is bigger threat IMPOV.

sbonev Posted at 3-3 01:25
Dude, you should make a club "how to argue with everybody"...or you could try using a mirror, though not sure how that will end up

Definition of "beginner" in my opinion should be something cheap that does not require big investment, easy to use and learn and safe for somebody without any idea how is it or it works. Something that will start you with a certain type of hobby...How was it in the past doesn't matter, what matters is the present

Dude, you should make a club "how to argue with everybody"...or you  could try using a mirror, though not sure how that will end up.
The alternative that you would prefer is to politely accept nonsense posts like the one I commented on without thinking and never learning or improving anything.
The forum could do better, but for that to happen, people would have to think intelligently and understand what is true and what's not.

How was it in the past doesn't matter, what matters is the present
Of course, there's no reason at all to learn from anyone with actual knowledge or experience.
There are people who have been flying DJI drones for six years and learning plenty along the way.
Just because you have bought a cheap and nasty Mavic Mini, doesn't mean your only source of drone information should be other beginners with a handful of flights and are trying to learn themselves.

Ice_2k Posted at 3-3 00:24
as far as I understand his post, he was talking about DJI's development team, not Android's

He was responding to a post that said:   mine is rock stable on iOS
... to which he replied: well, not the case on android unfortunately.
It's hard to read that any other way than that he's saying that DJI's app doesn't run work well on Android.

Labroides Posted at 3-3 02:07
He was responding to a post that said:   mine is rock stable on iOS
... to which he replied: well, not the case on android unfortunately.
It's hard to read that any other way than that he's saying that DJI's app doesn't run work well on Android.

yes, i agree, that's the correct way of reading it. But he's blaming the developers of the DJI Fly app, not the makers of the Android OS

Anyway, this is quite a silly discussion to have tbh

Labroides Posted at 3-3 02:00
Dude, you should make a club "how to argue with everybody"...or you  could try using a mirror, though not sure how that will end up.
The alternative that you would prefer is to politely accept nonsense posts like the one I commented on without thinking and never learning or improving anything.
The forum could do better, but for that to happen, people would have to think intelligently and understand what is true and what's not.

so if I understand correctly your "intelligent" words and harangues, as an experienced pilot i should listen to you and believe you when you say dji fly app is working flawlessly on android and i am imagining issues and is totally safe and is happening only to me, right?? ok thanks, noted

He was responding to a post that said:   mine is rock stable on iOS
... to which he replied: well, not the case on android unfortunately.
It's hard to read that any other way than that he's saying that DJI's app doesn't run work well on Android.

man you are not the brightest bulb out there, right?!  could you dissect even further into my writing and tell us your insights of any other secret meaning my words hide - probably i said something else i am not aware of

Labroides Posted at 3-2 03:59
well, not the case on android unfortunately.
And you are writing off the Android operating system on the basis of observations of how many Android devices?
If you had a poor performance on one, that's because you used an underperforming device, not because there's a problem with Android.

Yep. I can't complain about the functionality as well. I got some video-glitches on the right side when using the app but that's all. Perfectly stable, everything works, no freezes/crashes or any other Bugs.
Using a Xperia XZ1 Compact (which is not supported officially).

Henrik Olsen Posted at 3-2 02:05
This was based on my assumptions, not claiming otherwise.

What I think happened was a combination during the battering combined with low temperature, it was throttled at the end before giving the warning (26%) about low battery and asking me to land.  

Batteries suffer from low temperatures and quick temperature changes in general, usually within a few % loss. I haven't experienced significant performace drop when batt. level is low, but there are uncommanded descents reported (very dangerous IMPOV).

sbonev Posted at 3-3 02:40
so if I understand correctly your "intelligent" words and harangues, as an experienced pilot i should listen to you and believe you when you say dji fly app is working flawlessly on android and i am imagining issues and is totally safe and is happening only to me, right?? ok thanks, noted

He was responding to a post that said:   mine is rock stable on iOS

so if I understand correctly your "intelligent" words and harangues, as an experienced pilot i should listen to you and believe you when you say dji fly app is working flawlessly on android and i am imagining issues and is totally safe and is happening only to me, right??
I think I explained it in detail previously but here it is again for you, genius.
The app will run perfectly on may Android devices.
You will be disappointed if you try to run it on any device (Android or iOS) that does not have sufficient resources to run the app properly or is not properly configured.
It's really not that complicated.

I know it's hard to accept but six years of flying DJI drones for thousands of kilometres in all conditions, together with reading forums and helping hundreds of new flyers confers valuable experience and a lot more understanding that someone who got a Mini for Christmas and has only flown it a few times.

Missing functions in a beginner drone:

For example, collision sensors.
If you compare this with the automotive world, nobody is expecting a collision-warner in a low-cost car, it's always in more expensive cars.
You get what you pay for. That simple.

Labroides Posted at 3-3 03:57
so if I understand correctly your "intelligent" words and harangues, as an experienced pilot i should listen to you and believe you when you say dji fly app is working flawlessly on android and i am imagining issues and is totally safe and is happening only to me, right??
I think I explained it in detail previously but here it is again for you, genius.
The app will run perfectly on may Android devices.

I think I explained it in detail previously but here it is again for you, genius.
The app will run perfectly on may Android devices.
You will be disappointed if you try to run it on any device (Android or iOS) that does not have sufficient resources to run the app properly or is not properly configured.
It's really not that complicated.
for a SECOND time - i have a samsung NOTE 8 - nothing related to performance!!!

I know it's hard to accept but six years of flying DJI drones for thousands of kilometres in all conditions, together with reading forums and helping hundreds of new flyers confers valuable experience and a lot more understanding that someone who got a Mini for Christmas and has only flown it a few times.
nowhere i have given any single advice related to how to fly a drone - simply discussed the app. unfortunately  having 6 years of experience of flying drones obviously doesn't make you a smarter guy nor it helps you judge people well - i ordered the mini in november... And i have 15 years of experience in IT and you are still arguing  how the app works....

just browsing another topic i found this --- please read carefully, which i doubt you can, but still give it a try a t least.....as i suspected issue is with exynos processors and is definitely a code related, pending a fix. i would like to see you argue with the facts, seeing how ignorantly disrespectful you are to any opinion and thinking, different then yours, still i hope we put an end to this totally pointless waste of time discussion

https://forum.dji.com/forum.php? ... 906&pid=2053600

Most of points made support title, "Mavic Mini is All Wrong for Beginners".  


Majority of beginners are not going to understand issues of #7 (WiFi).  For that matter, most people have little understanding of issues of WiFi in general.

When it comes to #6 (wind), majority of beginners will have little idea as to what 8m/s (17mph) wind feels like.  Nor will they realize wind 100-feet up can be drastically different than wind at ground.

How amusing would it be if Labroides and sbonev were actually the same person using two different sign-ins?

Labroides Posted at 3-2 21:11
Low cost is the driver for being a beginner drone. Most beginners will not pay higher prices. So if not, the result is that they will never own a drone at all.

There are a few million DJI flyers from the days before DJI made their budget Mini.

I said "Most" in case you missed it. How can you tell how many users would exist now if the cost was initially lower? There is no way to make a comparison without a statistical study including a lot of polls. But I guess you would consider that nonsense also, so never mind.

I think the price is very important, if I'm a novice driver I don't buy a limousine to learn and many today have a Mini thanks to the affordable price.
Personally I believed that piloting a drone was much simpler, I had no idea of the problems of calibration of compass, number of satellites, etc.
This is why I read many parts of the manual only AFTER I started flying.
It would still be easier if I had purchased an older drone with software problems solved.

hallmark007 Posted at 3-3 00:15
Now we have the OP recommending the skydio for beginners, and this leads me to believe he is once again here for nothing else only clickbait, to stir sh*t with those who own or have purchased Mavic mini.

It’s clear for anyone that particularly on you tube we see those who have already purchased skydio as the next greatest and safest drone out there, but nothing could be further from the truth, what we have seen is some of the most reckless flying of drones ever on you tube, skydio flying in traffic while the controller rides his one wheeler having no control over the drone whatsoever, many of them with experienced flyers crashing because they couldn’t control them. The OP himself done a video with his friend across the water Orignaldonut all about the skydio, but low and behold now the experienced part 107 Orignaldonut has gone and sold his skydio after only 6 weeks and why ! Well he sold it because he couldn’t Control It.

Dito for click....

Renato61 Posted at 3-3 10:40
I think the price is very important, if I'm a novice driver I don't buy a limousine to learn and many today have a Mini thanks to the affordable price.
Personally I believed that piloting a drone was much simpler, I had no idea of the problems of calibration of compass, number of satellites, etc.
This is why I read many parts of the manual only AFTER I started flying.

Yes and that’s why the OP is completely wrong about this drone, and I believe he posted for nothing else only his own gain, there were many beginner dji drones, all phantoms all mavics in fact the orignal Mavic broke all records for a beginner drone and yes many many crashes, many drones lost to the wind, in fact Mavic pro had one huge flaw when first released , it only flew in Rth mode at 22mph 4 mph faster than mini, so huge problems with that drone being lost to the wind in Rth mode, soon after dji implemented allowing users to use remote to give extra power to Mavic pro, but still to this day many users getting caught out.

I see someone has said on this thread “Majority of Beginners” don’t understand WiFi as well as not knowing wind is stronger at higher altitude, if I was a beginner I would find this hugely offensive especially where it’s coming from and it was directed not at a few but at the majority, and I can tell you from the first time I could climb a hill I knew wind was stronger the higher I climbed, and I have no doubt this was the same for the majority of new users.

All drones are a learning curve and dji doesn’t make any drones that are easier to fly than Mavic mini, many many dji drone users cut their teeth on spark Mavic air and even Tello the vast majority learn pretty quickly and this is the same with Mavic mini.

Just like all drones mini has its limits and if not respected then problems will happen, there also seems to be a problem with some minis that are having some malfunction problems, these problems should not be put down to users, so apart from some lost to the wind and in the last 4 weeks we’ve seen 3 that were user error not the majority as has been suggested.
We see almost no threads or very few, I crashed my mini into a wall into a tree because people who own mini can actually fly it and the more they fly it the better they’ll get, I also think this very light drone was released in the middle of the winter for most of the world when conditions may not have been conducive to flying such a light drone and so we can see results of this, in fact the the experienced OP here almost lost his drone when flying in a ridiculous wind of 40kph or more.
I also believe this drone was a huge success among new flyers another reason we might have seen more crashes around here.

I also think many were like you and thought mini was just a matter of taking out of the box and flying, I’m sure they are learning that they are much more interesting than that .

hallmark007 Posted at 3-3 11:17
Yes and that’s why the OP is completely wrong about this drone, and I believe he posted for nothing else only his own gain, there were many beginner dji drones, all phantoms all mavics in fact the orignal Mavic broke all records for a beginner drone and yes many many crashes, many drones lost to the wind, in fact Mavic pro had one huge flaw when first released , it only flew in Rth mode at 22mph 4 mph faster than mini, so huge problems with that drone being lost to the wind in Rth mode, soon after dji implemented allowing users to use remote to give extra power to Mavic pro, but still to this day many users getting caught out.

I see someone has said on this thread “Majority of Beginners” don’t understand WiFi as well as not knowing wind is stronger at higher altitude, if I was a beginner I would find this hugely offensive especially where it’s coming from and it was directed not at a few but at the majority, and I can tell you from the first time I could climb a hill I knew wind was stronger the higher I climbed, and I have no doubt this was the same for the majority of new users.

"I see someone has said on this thread “Majority of Beginners” don’t understand WiFi as well as not knowing wind is stronger at higher altitude, if I was a beginner I would find this hugely offensive especially ..."


You obviously found it "hugely offensive", thus making people ponder the "If I was a beginner".   

JMynes Posted at 3-3 07:37
How amusing would it be if Labroides and sbonev were actually the same person using two different sign-ins?

Wouldn't be first time.  One of members lecturing here has used multiple accounts within last week.

HedgeTrimmer Posted at 3-3 13:45
"I see someone has said on this thread “Majority of Beginners” don’t understand WiFi as well as not knowing wind is stronger at higher altitude, if I was a beginner I would find this hugely offensive especially ..."

You are a beginner and everyone can see that, I expect their laughing up their sleeve at him who’s telling them they know nothing about wind .and less about drones.

hallmark007 Posted at 3-3 14:26
You are a beginner and everyone can see that, I expect their laughing up their sleeve at him who’s telling them they know nothing about wind .and less about drones.

"You are a beginner and everyone can see that, I expect their laughing up their sleeve..."

Classic hallmark007 expertise:
"Another basic step in understanding how to fly a drone is to become  acquainted with all of the terms involved. How could you possibly know  to fly a drone unless you understand things like throttle, roll, yaw, or  pitch? Ailerons, Rudders.
Throttle. If you’ve ever had anything to do with any type of moving  vehicles, you’ll know that throttle makes it go forward or backward."

Throttle Forwards/Backwards

If by your standards I am a beginner, then by same their laughing their ar*es off at you.