Pastime Posted at 1-1 17:01
get rid of the mini 3 pro,and get the mavic 3 classic,then move on and be done with it.

I think I will take your advice and just do that.

Tuxtard Posted at 1-1 08:22
DJI admitted the problem by adding front legs on a regular Mini 3. Even so, there might be a production quality issue that affects certain batch of drones and not all of them because people are reporting totally different experiences.

No they didnt admit to anything, the Mini 3 only has O2 that only needs 2 antennas whereas the Mini 3 Pro has O3 which requires 4 antennas.

djiuser_kYK1RlXs7e9R Posted at 1-1 12:04
Hello!
I have this range issue on same drone (Dji Mini 3 Pro with RC). I lost signal on RC at 600 - 700 meters. Try some variant from forum and youtube videos to fix this problem, unfortunally. Many peoples offer use hack to RC, but I am against this approach.
I'm from Kazakhstan, support said to me that in my region RC used FCC, not CE, but i dont have some options like dual mode or 5ghz, only not changable 2.4ghz option and I cant test another variants.

Kazakhstan is CE therefore much lower power over FCC.
If your region supports only 2.4ghz that means you are more susceptible to wifi more interference than you would be using 5.8ghz, the only good thing there is that 5.8ghz in CE is much more lower powered than 2.5ghz. If it was FCC, 2.4 and 5.8ghz use the same amount of power.

AntonioTech Posted at 1-1 07:24
Hi,

Thank you for your thoughts!

I am not saying you have nothing better to do, what i am saying is that folks do not take good advice when given. Following the simple steps that i have mentioned throughout these "range issue" threads should allow folks to gain the best signal possible at the time of the test, I say it like that because it can change due to external factors, i.e.

I am in the UK so stuck with CE like you and testing in 100% rural i can achieve on a bad day, at 100m high is 3.3km, but on a good day and at only 31m high 5.5km was achieved, i only stopped trying because the battery hit 65% and that was my cutoff, it was still at 2 bars with no fluctuation.
In CE over urban I can do about 1.2km but i end up with the nearest houses (30m away) killing LOS.
In FCC on a bad day i could only hit 6km and rural 1.7km. Not had a good day for FCC yet due to poor flying conditions.

Please note, the Mini 2 couldn't not achieve those figures above
Actually, I am going out there again this morning to test both CE and FCC again as I was not impressed with the big drop from 5.5km to 3.3km, please note; I am in the flattest area of the UK, the highest hill is a speed hump.

You are CE so doing the rural test in 2.4ghz will out perform 5.8gh in rural.
5.8 may get further than 2.4 in an urban setting if there is a lot of wifi interference.

My simple steps are,
1, make sure the Flight Attitude Radar is showing.
2, make sure the RC if screened version has a good calibrated compass or phone is using N1, the RC indicator on the Radar should be pointing at the drone spot on if it has a good calibrated RC.
3, use the radar to keep the RC aligned horizontally, even if the compass isn't calibrate, if the RC indicator is green then you're at least close to a good alignment.
4, keep the top of the RC pointed at the drone H and V plane, imagine that there is a red dot laser coming out of the top of the RC, do not take that off the drone.
4, note; at 1.5km the drone is only around 4º off the horizon, therefore to keep that red dot on the drone, the RC should be pretty much flat in your hands, i.e. the screen pointing straight up at the sky.
5, use minute H&V adjustments, i.e. a fraction a mm stick movement, check the signal to see how it responds and adjust accordingly.
6, 2 bars can last a long time, i.e. on my 5.5km run it dropped to 2 bars at around 2.7km

The key is to use the Radar and micro movements, whilst it only really helps horizontally, you're halfway there as you then only need to put most of the concentration on the vertical alignment. Where i mentioned 4º off the horizon, thats a baseline for range testing, even at 300m you should still be lowering the angle of the RC so as to keep that red dot laser on the drone.

With this Mini 3 Pro, precise alignment is key.

One further point, when you're on the edge of max signal, slowing right down to crawl can give you more distance, i.e. at 4kph I can gain another 300m over urban, the steeper the pitch angle the worse the signal will become.

I cannot really give any better advice, its what i use to get the range i do and its pretty much what others do, other than that except to offer anyone to come over to my testing grounds and i can go through it all and show what can be achieved, I know its not practical but the offer is always on the table.

Hope it helps.

Bashy Posted at 1-1 17:48
Kazakhstan is CE therefore much lower power over FCC.
If your region supports only 2.4ghz that means you are more susceptible to wifi more interference than you would be using 5.8ghz, the only good thing there is that 5.8ghz in CE is much more lower powered than 2.5ghz. If it was FCC, 2.4 and 5.8ghz use the same amount of power.

Hello!
I received an official response from DJI support that FCC is used in Kazakhstan.
But you talk about CE...
OMG, why such different answers?
Does anyone know why only 2.4ghz mode is present on the RC, how can I turn on dual mode or 5ghz?

JerryBrusler Posted at 1-1 20:25
Hello!
I received an official response from DJI support that FCC is used in Kazakhstan.
But you talk about CE...

There was no FCC in Kazakhstan. And 5.8 is also not allowed (as in TV)

JerryBrusler Posted at 1-1 20:25
Hello!
I received an official response from DJI support that FCC is used in Kazakhstan.
But you talk about CE...

DJI support only knows so much without escalating the query, this time they are either wrong and/or misunderstood.

Like Drone.Hunter has said also, 5.8 is not allowed in your country, just be thankful its 5.8 and not 2.4 :/

JerryBrusler Posted at 1-1 20:25
Hello!
I received an official response from DJI support that FCC is used in Kazakhstan.
But you talk about CE...

Hi, there. We are sorry for the inconvenience caused.
The reference certification in Kazakhstan is CE.
May we know how you contacted our support as well, then we will ask the relevant team to pay attention to this problem, thank you very much in advance.

AntonioTech Posted at 1-1 17:04
I think I will take your advice and just do that.

I have been out and tested it this morning, it was a little breezy. Using the phone with the N1 remote in CE mode I hit 4.7 at only 30m high with 2 bars remaining, sadly the wind drained the battery, i nearly didn't notice, but managed to turn it back at about 50%, although i got back with about 20 odd percent. I also managed it with a dicky compass, the stupid cruddy Galaxy S7 I'm stuck with wouldnt calibrate, so the RC indicator was pointing about 45 degrees from the drone.

so clearly i am doing something right

DJI Natalia Posted at 1-2 01:25
Hi, there. We are sorry for the inconvenience caused.
The reference certification in Kazakhstan is CE.
May we know how you contacted our support as well, then we will ask the relevant team to pay attention to this problem, thank you very much in advance.

Hello!
I contacted Online Customer Service from website https://www.dji.com/support/product/mavic-3.
What about my problem?

Bashy Posted at 1-1 17:43
No they didnt admit to anything, the Mini 3 only has O2 that only needs 2 antennas whereas the Mini 3 Pro has O3 which requires 4 antennas.

Not relevant. Air 2S and Mavic 3 also have O3 and front legs.

AntonioTech Posted at 1-1 16:15
I am still in the 14 day period and I may take the current drone to have it replaced with the retailer, not DJI, and then I can see what is happening with the range. Look, as I said, most of us don't have time to deal with some unintentional production faults and I understand the DJI is silently replacing them but certainly hope that DJI will soon offer a firmware update that will somewhat fix the range issue. I understand the 8 km may not reachable but I'd like to have at least 2-3 km.

I don't think DJI will offer firmware update to fix this issue if they haven't already. This is probably a hardware issue. If you can fly Mavic 3 without any restrictions in your area than I would suggest replacing your drone with Mavic 3.

Tuxtard Posted at 1-2 04:24
Not relevant. Air 2S and Mavic 3 also have O3 and front legs.

Maybe so but the Mini 3 Pro has O3 and the Mini 3 has O2, i cannot see the Mini 3 out performing the MIni 3 Pro with its range!

Tuxtard Posted at 1-2 04:31
I don't think DJI will offer firmware update to fix this issue if they haven't already. This is probably a hardware issue. If you can fly Mavic 3 without any restrictions in your area than I would suggest replacing your drone with Mavic 3.

You are right! If DJI could have fixed the issue with a firmware update, they would have done it by now.

AntonioTech Posted at 1-1 07:26
I can't believe you two don't get the point. If someone is selling a product with specific characteristics, then the customer should expect at least 85% of what the claimed range is but this isn't the case.

Yes, I could sell, or return the product but this does not solve the issue for many others and I don't agree that we should sweep it under the carpet just by "selling" a semi-product. Actually, where is the moral of selling bad product to someone else?

Oh I get it.  The manufacturers have a responsibility and many fall short.  It was more of a commentary on the approach a particular member was taking.

Tuxtard Posted at 1-2 04:31
I don't think DJI will offer firmware update to fix this issue if they haven't already. This is probably a hardware issue. If you can fly Mavic 3 without any restrictions in your area than I would suggest replacing your drone with Mavic 3.

I agree. I have read all the posts about Mini 3 range, good and bad. I believe it is an assembly problem, maybe a pinched wire or loose connection. Some have GREAT CE range and some FCC have terrible range. Location doesn't matter.  

I watched again the video of the lucky person who managed to fly 11 km one way and then 11 km back and I noticed several things:

- the pilot is on a high hill
- the height at which he flies is 273 m

In the light of these facts, and especially the fact the he is basically keeping the drone almost at the same height, or close to his starting point, I wonder if the altitude has anything to do with the range. It could but there are no rules, especially when you consider that there are so many other radio, Wi-Fi, military, police and who knows what other frequencies that surely influence the connection between the RC and the drone.

I found an interesting video which deals with the range issue. There are some nice points in it which I saw during my test run today.

Hi guys,

I set a new world record on my drone today No kidding!

I drove to the highest point I could find nearby and claimed even on a small wall when I was holding the controller. I recorded the screen on the RC this time and need to do some post-production before I post it on YouTube but the findings are interesting. The flying area didn't seem to have almost any houses and I was trying to keep the drone away from them.

I was standing on a high hill and I flew the drone downwards into the green pastures.

I managed to reach... 4228 meters!

This result is much higher than the ones I did when I lifted the drone from my house. Thus the drone signal is really susceptible to WI-Fi signals, mobile usage around the flying zone, possibly military, police and other radio frequencies.

After that, I lost the drone and it initiated Automatic RTH.
During the last kilometer of flying, I was purposely moving slowly the RC horizontally and vertically trying to figure out what RC movement and position helps and found out that keeping it horizontally helped extend the range. Please note that my experience may not be yours.

Here is the result:

The Kp Index should also be monitored in relation to signal range.

https://www.spaceweatherlive.com ... urora-forecast.html

Mirek_62 Posted at 1-2 14:24
The Kp Index should also be monitored in relation to signal range.

https://www.spaceweatherlive.com/en/auroral-activity/aurora-forecast.html

Very helpful info! Thank you!

Mobilehomer Posted at 1-2 11:14
I agree. I have read all the posts about Mini 3 range, good and bad. I believe it is an assembly problem, maybe a pinched wire or loose connection. Some have GREAT CE range and some FCC have terrible range. Location doesn't matter.

I do not agree at all, its all down to the pilot and location, when the location is optimal and the pilot understands what one must do to achieve the best then it will vastly improve the range and to prove that, the OP, AntonioTech, finally managed a considerably decent distance over their previous flights as seen in post #59, granted there was a FW issue for Canada where they were stuck in CE, but still, they could have achieved at least 5.5km and not the couple of hundred meters many of them complained about, their issue was resolved with a FW update.

AntonioTech Posted at 1-2 13:53
Hi guys,

I set a new world record on my drone today  No kidding!

Hi, well done and glad you finally got there, now that you know the best way to reach a decent range this too can be applied in urban too but it will still be vastly lower than in rural, i.e. from my house in my village to the end of the village is about 1.2km, this is over a housing estate so WiFi galore, with the Mini 2 i could just about do 1km, the Mini 3 Pro will do 1.2km plus about 2-300m more if i fly backwards or crawl at 4kph in forwards. I actually lose LOS with the drone due to houses about 30m away, although, i can fly through the gap in those houses but then i hit even more houses about 60m away, so even if i fly at 120m high, those houses are going to kill my LOS not too long after passing those houses so reaching 1.2-1.5km from my property is pretty darn good all things considered. Again, well done

Mirek_62 Posted at 1-2 14:24
The Kp Index should also be monitored in relation to signal range.

https://www.spaceweatherlive.com/en/auroral-activity/aurora-forecast.html

I am not so sure that the KP index will affect the radio signal all that much if any, a high KP may affect the GPS signal though.

I have flown in a KP 7 with no discernable difference noticed.

The worst that could happen is that sat acquisition may take a bit longer, the home point may be off a little perhaps up to maybe 100ft for KP 7 to 9, or you could end up in ATTI mode or all 3. and where you are may also affect the strength, i.e. Scotland will see more degradation than say Norfolk where i am.

Dirty Bird Posted at 1-2 19:38
If the drone is within the 14-day window then by all means exchange it at the retailer & try another unit.  I empathize with your range issue & I would be extremely disappointed were I getting less than 500 meters.  But allow me to state I have been flying DJI quads since 2014.  My first was the Phantom 2 Vision+ which was listed as "800 meters" for range.  The P2V+ routinely exceeded that range & I have old videos online demonstrating this.  I own a dozen DJI drones, including a Mini 1, Mini 2, & Mini 3, Mavic Pro, Mavic 2 Pro, Phantom 4, & all the Phantom 3 series.  I have never had range issues with any DJI drone.  My Mini 1 easily met the stated 4 km range & I only turned back due to the battery.  

My Mini 3 has routinely been out 26,400'+ (5 miles) with the longest flight being about 33,000' (6.25 miles).  I could have continued as I still had contact.  Again only the battery forced me to turn back.  Perhaps you received a dud, but your range is all going to depend on your flight environment, maintaining a clear LOS between the drone & RC, & proper antenna orientation.  Granted I am in FCC mode & my extreme distance flights are over open water or rural areas, but even over Baltimore City I am getting a couple of miles with the Miini 3.  Don't become disheartened.  Exchange the drone & try flying in some different locations.  Keep the antenna correctly oriented & make sure nothing comes between the RC & drone.

I take it you missed post 59
https://forum.dji.com/forum.php? ... 321&pid=2944688

Dirty Bird Posted at 1-2 19:53
I'm curious as to why you concealed the altitudes?  Were you flying extremely low or extremely high?  Asking because this can make a difference.

I too was intrigued by that and i asked but i don't think he ever said why, i do think he was low though looking at the image and i felt that this was in part to blame especially with the urban image...

I did a range test on a hot windy day, using RC, with no binding for flyaway insurance ( in CE mode ). I never fly my drone particularly low, so I was interested to know how far I could go, skimming plantation paddocks. I found that there might have been some interference after going over a patch of pine. But the link was starting to crap out around 3K, and I had to elevate to maybe 70m to get to 3300. Then because of the 40kmh winds, I chickened out. There is no radio interference around here, besides a poor mobile tower 10km away, doing 700-1000MHz. The annoying thing is when you try to do a panorama at this range, and the orientation of the antennas change, and 3 seconds later....

(I can't get these youtubes to start when they are embedded)

This is the range in open areas.


And this is inside the city. And when I wanted to go down to the riverbed, where the ice slide is, the signal began to fall very strongly.


PS: It also happens when you hover at one point and start turning the drone, the signal level also changes.

Bashy Posted at 1-2 17:44
I do not agree at all, its all down to the pilot and location, when the location is optimal and the pilot understands what one must do to achieve the best then it will vastly improve the range and to prove that, the OP, AntonioTech, finally managed a considerably decent distance over their previous flights as seen in post #59, granted there was a FW issue for Canada where they were stuck in CE, but still, they could have achieved at least 5.5km and not the couple of hundred meters many of them complained about, their issue was resolved with a FW update.

You are right that the pilot must consider the circumstances and there are many to be aware of. On the other hand, I feel that DJI should insert a line in the manual: go to a totally open space, like a flat green field, if you want to achieve a longer distance LOL

Bashy Posted at 1-2 17:58
Hi, well done and glad you finally got there, now that you know the best way to reach a decent range this too can be applied in urban too but it will still be vastly lower than in rural, i.e. from my house in my village to the end of the village is about 1.2km, this is over a housing estate so WiFi galore, with the Mini 2 i could just about do 1km, the Mini 3 Pro will do 1.2km plus about 2-300m more if i fly backwards or crawl at 4kph in forwards. I actually lose LOS with the drone due to houses about 30m away, although, i can fly through the gap in those houses but then i hit even more houses about 60m away, so even if i fly at 120m high, those houses are going to kill my LOS not too long after passing those houses so reaching 1.2-1.5km from my property is pretty darn good all things considered. Again, well done

Hi Bashy,

Thanks for sharing your thoughts! It's true that in the urban areas there is so much loss of signal but TBH I am shocked at the loss which turns out not to be (so much, or at all?) DJI's fault but the condensation of frenquencies is influencing so much the signal that one has to be really aware of that.

Yeah, it's true that besides paying attention to every object around yourself, one has to also be careful how is handling the RC because when I was doing the test yesterday, I stopped the drone at about 3rd km when the signal was weak and was purposely moving the controller slowly in all directions trying to catch what was the best position to hold it in so that the signal was optimal. For me it turned out to be horizontally.

I realized that I have to move around to find the best signal, just as you suggested. No other way.

Dirty Bird Posted at 1-2 19:38
If the drone is within the 14-day window then by all means exchange it at the retailer & try another unit.  I empathize with your range issue & I would be extremely disappointed were I getting less than 500 meters.  But allow me to state I have been flying DJI quads since 2014.  My first was the Phantom 2 Vision+ which was listed as "800 meters" for range.  The P2V+ routinely exceeded that range & I have old videos online demonstrating this.  I own a dozen DJI drones, including a Mini 1, Mini 2, & Mini 3, Mavic Pro, Mavic 2 Pro, Phantom 4, & all the Phantom 3 series.  I have never had range issues with any DJI drone.  My Mini 1 easily met the stated 4 km range & I only turned back due to the battery.  

My Mini 3 has routinely been out 26,400'+ (5 miles) with the longest flight being about 33,000' (6.25 miles).  I could have continued as I still had contact.  Again only the battery forced me to turn back.  Perhaps you received a dud, but your range is all going to depend on your flight environment, maintaining a clear LOS between the drone & RC, & proper antenna orientation.  Granted I am in FCC mode & my extreme distance flights are over open water or rural areas, but even over Baltimore City I am getting a couple of miles with the Miini 3.  Don't become disheartened.  Exchange the drone & try flying in some different locations.  Keep the antenna correctly oriented & make sure nothing comes between the RC & drone.

Hi,

Thank you for sharing your thoughts as it is helpful to see what someone with longer experience has to say!

As you can see in my 59# post, I finally managed to get a bit over 4 km of range but the circumstances were completely different - I was on the top of the hill and even climed a small wall and form there the signal was good because the drone was going almost downwards.

Bashy Posted at 1-2 21:45
I too was intrigued by that and i asked but i don't think he ever said why, i do think he was low though looking at the image and i felt that this was in part to blame especially with the urban image...

HI guys,

I will post the unconcealed picture LOL. Nothing to hide, I was flying at 49-50 m.

Drone.Hunter Posted at 1-2 23:03
This is the range in open areas.
[view_image]

Thanks for your thoughts! Yep, to change the song of "every move you make," we have to admit that:

- every move we make, it influences the signal
- every location we choose, it influences the signal, sometimes badly

So, I am curious, do you now think your "To those who really lick DJI's butt I...." etc. comment should be withdrawn?

AntonioTech Posted at 1-3 01:16
Thanks for your thoughts! Yep, to cahnge the song of "every move you make," we have to admit that:

- every move we make, it influences the signal

the whole thing is getting more ridiculous by the day!
Why don't you just send your drone back and buy something from Autel or buy a Mavic 3?
The constant whining is annoying!!!

UweE Posted at 1-3 01:52
the whole thing is getting more ridiculous by the day!
Why don't you just send your drone back and buy something from Autel or buy a Mavic 3?
The constant whining is annoying!!!

No one is asking you to read my "annoying thoughts" on the drone's range issues. If I don't like to read something, I pass it. As simple as that.

Sean-bumble-bee Posted at 1-3 01:40
So, I am curious, do you now think your "To those who really lick DJI's butt I...." etc. comment should be withdrawn?

To satisfy your curioucity: Nope! Because the DJI Mini 3 Pro is the first drone with so many range issues reported. Yes, other drones may have had some but not as M3P. The issue is obviously still around, no matter the range.
If you think there is no problem, then DJI must include in the M3P manual instructions for its users to ONLY fly to drone in a wide-open green pastures and not in the cities, towns and villages.
Or you expect someone to pay 1300 euro, fly more kit included, just to take the drone occassionally to some green pastures to watch the cows chew on the grass LOL

JerryBrusler Posted at 1-2 02:58
Hello!
I contacted Online Customer Service from website https://www.dji.com/support/product/mavic-3.
What about my problem?

Thanks for your update, and we will ask the relevant team to pay attention to the reply in the future.
And please understand that your drone cannot use the 5.8 GHz frequency band in Kazakhstan. But areas, where 5.8 GHz is unavailable, will be updated irregularly based on the revisions to local laws and regulations. You can also stay tuned for it.
Thank you for your understanding.

I understand the frustration some of you display with me, or with other users who have issues with the DJi Mini 3 Pro. However, besides the users informing themselves about the hows and whats of the product they buy, the real questions still remain:

- Why are there so many random users with the issue? Why is everyone getting stuck at about the 300 meter range?

- Since the Mini 3 Pro seems to be the first drone with so many range issues, why is it so? Hardware, software, coding...

I personally don't expect DJI to fix anymore anything about the issue. DJI is basically operating on the principle: Take it or leave it! Or buy another drone.

AntonioTech Posted at 1-1 13:03
I was flying at 49 m height. If the weather allows me tomorrow, I will do more tests but this time I will record my RC screen.

And at 49m height how far in rural? You won't be able to get 2-3KM unless you go up to 120M etc...