I have a Mavic Pro purchased in Hong Kong, only used in Hong Kong. I don't understand how the mainland chinese phone number restriction is applied.
Last weekend I was hiking and flying the my Mavic in Pat Sing Leng Country Park. I succesfully flew the drone from roughly this spot hereand it worked without issues. I then carried on walking and tried again from roughly here, and the app requested a mainland China number. I don't have a mainland China SIM card and was unable to proceed or cancel the message, so I restarted the app, put it into flight mode, etc etc. but was unable to get it to work. I guessed it might have something to do with the app detecting a chinese mobile phone network as my phone had roaming enabled. I continued up to the top of the hill in the hope that the HK network would be stronger, and sure enough was able to fly again from around here.
I understand that DJI has to comply with mainland China rules, but I want to understand why the app spontaneously demanded a chinese number. Was it entirely based on the mobile phone network? Do I need to put the phone in flight mode any time I go anywhere within range of the border? Is it enough to disable roaming? Can I force it to recognize my GPS location instead?
The challenge is that the mainland china phone networks tend to be quite strong. I have noticed when hiking in the new territories and on Lantau that my phone switches to China networks for a stronger signal. I do not really want to be constantly juggling networks, particular as it seems that once the message pops up, there is no way to get rid of it and use the app without somehow re-registering on a Hong Kong network.

Did you buy the Mavic Pro at DJI HK store or DJI authorized dealers' stores ?

Jason WAI Posted at 2017-9-5 02:33
Did you buy the Mavic Pro at DJI HK store or DJI authorized dealers' stores ?

Yes, the DJI official store here in Hong Kong

With China Mainland network, a China Mainland phone number is required to register. I would recommend you to re-install the APP and then put the mobile in flight mode to check.

DJI Susan Posted at 2017-9-6 00:17
With China Mainland network, a China Mainland phone number is required to register. I would recommend you to re-install the APP and then put the mobile in flight mode to check.

Thanks for the reply. I would prefer not to have to put the phone in flight mode every time I hike near the border, but I can if it's absolutely necessary.

What exactly is triggering this behaviour? Is this based on the phone connecting to the network even without data, or does the app require a data connection to verify it's on a china network? Is it enough that I have data roaming disabled, or does it need to be stopped from connecting to a china network completely?

Can I use the phone normally on a china network without the app running, *then* put it in flight mode, *then* start the app? Or will the DJI app detect that the *previous* network I connected to was a China network and ask for a phone number?

Is there any documentation around how the app behaves in terms of asking for verification? Not just for China but also for other jurisdictions too?

Unfortunately I can't experiment without  being next to the border in an area of overlapping networks, and I'd rather not hike for several miles only to find I can't fly. Hence I'm trying to establish exactly what is triggering this so I can plan accordingly :-)

What I might end up needing to do is buy a separate phone or tablet just to use the DJI app, and keep this in flight mode whenever I leave the house, I guess that would prevent any kind of verification check?

DJI Susan Posted at 2017-9-6 00:17
With China Mainland network, a China Mainland phone number is required to register. I would recommend you to re-install the APP and then put the mobile in flight mode to check.

Thanks for the reply. I would prefer not to have to put the phone in flight mode every time I hike near the border, but I can if it's absolutely necessary.

What exactly is triggering this behaviour? Is this based on the phone connecting to the network even without data, or does the app require a data connection to verify it's on a china network? Is it enough that I have data roaming disabled, or does it need to be stopped from connecting to a china network completely?

Can I use the phone normally on a china network without the app running, *then* put it in flight mode, *then* start the app? Or will the DJI app detect that the *previous* network I connected to was a China network and ask for a phone number?

Is there any documentation around how the app behaves in terms of asking for verification? Not just for China but also for other jurisdictions too?

Unfortunately I can't experiment without  being next to the border in an area of overlapping networks, and I'd rather not hike for several miles only to find I can't fly. Hence I'm trying to establish exactly what is triggering this so I can plan accordingly :-)

What I might end up needing to do is buy a separate phone or tablet just to use the DJI app, and keep this in flight mode whenever I leave the house, I guess that would prevent any kind of verification check?

I had exactly the same issue, living in...France, and never been in China.
DJI support never gave me any answer (search my thread in the forum).

AAllali Posted at 2017-9-6 01:35
I had exactly the same issue, living in...France, and never been in China.
DJI support never gave me any answer (search my thread in the forum).

did you use simulator?  reinstall dji GO app. Should help

JJ_HK Posted at 2017-9-6 01:03
Thanks for the reply. I would prefer not to have to put the phone in flight mode every time I hike near the border, but I can if it's absolutely necessary.

What exactly is triggering this behaviour? Is this based on the phone connecting to the network even without data, or does the app require a data connection to verify it's on a china network? Is it enough that I have data roaming disabled, or does it need to be stopped from connecting to a china network completely?

When you connected with China Mainland network, the message popped up but you ignored it, so it would remained even when you connected the App with local network. That's how it works. Therefore, I would suggest you to re-install the APP first. And enable the flight mode before connecting with China Mainland network.

I have the same problem, I live in Indonesia. I have 2 android phones, one of them work fine, the other one have problem.

I have the same problem with the DJI GO 4, I Live in Spain, and I bought a Mavic Pro, but the APP requires me a phone number of China, and it doesn't put a Spanish phone number, It's crazy, I am annoyed with this, I would like a solution for this. Thanks