So the Mavic Air's controller looks like the Sparks controller but are they interchangable?

I really like my Spark, no don't really want carry around more than one controller. I would also really like 4K camera and I really like this small compact nature of the Spark. Yes I want one, but I don't want another controller.

Any ideas??

Hey Hotwire, we're sorry that the Spark RC and Mavic Air RC are not compatible at this moment.

DJI Susan Posted at 2018-1-23 23:04
Hey Hotwire, we're sorry that the Spark RC and Mavic Air RC are not compatible at this moment.

Thanks good to know as wasn't sure either - thanks for the confirmation.

I am trying to find the info again but I thought I read or heard the Air has a new wifi link that is more robust.  On the DJI webpage it just advertises new wifi video link.  A better link would mean a new RC.

I was hoping the Air had Occusync but in a world that requires staying within VLOS the cheaper wifi link might make more sense.  Air is looking better as a Mavic Pro replacement on my wish list.  But then the Mavic Pro just dropped to $828 on Amazon.

Really bad that none of the Spark/Mavic Pro/Mavic Air RCs can work with different ACs. It would be really perfect to just have to carry around on RC instead 2-3.

I guess DJI don’t expect any costumer to buy more than one of their quads.

The other way around would be great! If the Mavic Air controller (with OTG support) would be compatible with the Spark I would immediately buy one. Plus the upside of being able to remove the joysticks which is great for portability. Since Spark en portability can be used interchangeable this would be great.

Gunship9 Posted at 2018-1-24 00:52
I am trying to find the info again but I thought I read or heard the Air has a new wifi link that is more robust.  On the DJI webpage it just advertises new wifi video link.  A better link would mean a new RC.

I was hoping the Air had Occusync but in a world that requires staying within VLOS the cheaper wifi link might make more sense.  Air is looking better as a Mavic Pro replacement on my wish list.  But then the Mavic Pro just dropped to $828 on Amazon.

They are calling the MA's 'Enhanced' WiFi, whatever that means. Hopefully, we'll be able to compare the two in a couple weeks when we receive it.

i asked around myself.. the common phrase i keep hearing/seeing is "not as of yet" or "not as of now".  

i wonder what designated "enhanced wifi" from normal wifi..  that's what i want to know.   reading the instructions and materials looks like it is literally just a spark controller with high output power.  doesn't seem to be any on the fly frequency shifting/switching technologies or unique encryption methods.  even states same methods of pairing and unpairing controllers and changing wifi channels/frequencies. aso pairing phone to controller, looks like mavic air by default want you to use wifi on controller just like the spark's controller but i seen 2 videos where reviewers used OTG cable as well, doing the same plug unplug dance.     not very advanced just more output, im guessing..?

my guess is it may work as long as DJi did not intentionally do any hardware ID blocking..  should be able to put the spark and the mavic air controller into pairing modes and it should work in theory even if the mavic air RC has more channels/different channels and spacing some of the channels will be cross over on both 2.4Ghz and 5.8ghz since they will be using existing bands/channels only (too costly to expand beyond it and get certified).
  

I will wait and see if someone gets around to testing these theories, however  Sparks Firmware and APP component have been recently updated and much better. I'm thinking Mavic Air had something to do with that.

Actually in any drone programming configuration , the data packets received by either of the devices must contain a system ID and component ID. So it is not possible to introduce this information from  the new Mavic Air R/c.

DJI Susan Posted at 2018-1-23 23:04
Hey Hotwire, we're sorry that the Spark RC and Mavic Air RC are not compatible at this moment.

I have a similar question.  Can the Mavic Pro controller be used with the Mavic Air?

djiuser_lRU30UQ4GzYg Posted at 2018-1-29 13:12
I have a similar question.  Can the Mavic Pro controller be used with the Mavic Air?

Two different communication systems, so I would say no.

No you cannot. Although they do appear the same

I mean sure its not supported but why? they are both wifi based quads

djiuser_lRU30UQ4GzYg Posted at 2018-1-29 13:12
I have a similar question.  Can the Mavic Pro controller be used with the Mavic Air?

Sorry, they are not compatible.  

Well even if it is possible I would rather use the Mavic Air controller with the Spark, than vice versus.

法轮功 Posted at 2018-2-4 12:01
they both use "apsrv" on the RC side, speaking to "dji_network" on the other side... this is a very trivial feature enable that you will probably never see. Stop by the DJI Slack RE group, I bet we can make this possible for the masses with ease.

If you notice the question I was responding to was about Mavic pro controller being compatible with Mavic Air.

It would be nice if the controller could show a model list of the craft they can control. Even if they were only of one type. This would mean you could have a backup drone for those problem days. Maybe Spark is not in that category.

No you cannot! Dji wants money lol

SOUNDWAVE439 Posted at 2018-2-14 17:11
No you cannot! Dji wants money lol

Convenience wise this isn't fulfilling the objective. The attraction of Spark and Mavic Air is compactness.
I have one Tx for all my mini quads, which is std stuff for RC.

I think it is really dumb that they can't be used between each other... Besides, the Mavic Air comes with a controller, fly more AND less.

This crazyness must end.
I hope EU will do again what they did when demanding the end of proprietary phone power supplies.

heliman Posted at 2018-1-24 09:50
I guess DJI don’t expect any costumer to buy more than one of their quads.

Yes, they are only trying to get your money surely.. the same with all the bundles and stuff like drone to phone charging and not USB-C charging capability and so on. And of course the "Smart battery". my phone's battery is not, but it's 3 years old already and fine... and does not cost 50 to 80

Flew my spark today and acted very weird. First was very laggy on maneuvering then would not capture pictures. Kept getting a message unable to take picture. When recording video it would not stop recording tried using the controller and touching my phone, also kept losing connection with my phone. I am using an LG G5 phone have not experienced these issues until today although I have noticed the drone hasn't been connecting when starting it is connected through Wi-Fi but phone screen says not connected have to restart drone several times before allows me to take off. Using Dji Go 4 and LG G5. Any help would be appreciated.