solarscar Posted at 2015-11-1 12:42
The short answer is: never do anymore updates to your app, drone or remote.

That may be the short answer, but the real answer is for DJI to fix it.

Potential solution.  Why not set system height limits to (500m) AGL based on GPS coordinates vs topography maps.  Apparently the system has the ability enforce no fly zone.  Why not make 500m AGL a no fly zone- this would require implementing KNOWN topographical information into the system but would preserve the ability to work in the mountains and prevent the risks with RTH at extreme elevations.   Knowing local rules,  Being safe, and flying responsible are on the pilot.   I don't want a car with a max speed of 70mph. Just a thought?.

Cheers...  I do not yet have the confidence or skill as a pilot to risk these extreme flights but the lure of capturing images that can only be filmed by kicking dirt over the lines is why I invested my $$$.  

I am a Litchi user and also got confirmation from the developer that their latest release has the 500m altitude limit. It is a function of the new SDK release from DJI that has restricted EVERY app developed using DJI SDK and firmware.

I did see this coming and before that release, stopped updating DJI Go, any firmware, and Litchi. I am still flying over my mountains without restrictions.

I had to add an app to my android device that blocks all those apps from the internet so that DJI Go doesn't go and update itself and the RC with the new restrictions. I also had to shut down all auto updates on Google Play so the apps don't update that way.

So far, I am perfectly happy with Litchi 2.3.1 which is what I am still running.

Just today, I had to do an IMU calibration and DJI Go refused to connect saying the firmware was out of date, making it impossible for me to do the IMU calibration. DJI did not allow 3rd party apps to have control over some features like that, so that you would always need the DJI app, and it can get your device to 'upgrade' you. It's funny that now with every new upgrade, you lose functionality.

Anyway, I had saved an old APK of the last DJI Pilot app, so I uninstalled DJI Go, and re-installed DJI Pilot. The result was that DJI Pilot was perfectly happy with FW version 1.4.10 (The last public firmware without restrictions) and I was able to do the calibration. I don't use the DJI app anymore to fly with since I have been using Litchi and it does so much more.

Now as long as I keep those apps from getting online and keep Google Play from updating, I will continue to enjoy my P3P which flies as it was intended to without the new restrictions. Incidentally, I also still have the full 32 channels of Video transmission and get very few dropouts, because I am not restricted to the 8 congested channels that DJI left us when they took away the other 24 channels.

That's how I'm playing it.

willieb1172 Posted at 2015-9-15 04:48
I received my Phantom 3 Pro and I've flown it 40-50 times thus far. I live in a flat area so I've k ...

nice video {:3_46:} I want to try flying so high up to but im afraid it will fall down from the sky on bird hit, battery running out, turbulence by strong winds.

Hi
I am wondering. Why is height limit 500 meter????
I want to go 800 meter on high montain. I am 800 meter from sea level(0meter).
I want to go 1600 meter from sea level.
is it so hard to change???
Please DJI.

Regards.

I think that  that DJI should mention on their page that maximum altitude is 500m because many people buy the phantom 3 for high altitude to be able to shot over mountains, that was my case too.   One more thing is that it would be cool if we can have a little icon on go app that show if we are flying CE or FCC because in may country we do not fall either on European territory nor us territory and in our country we uses both CE and FCC.   at 900m i loos video signal on p3 pro would be great to know if am in CE or FCC mode ... By the way thanks a lot dji we know that you are putting a lot of effort to make the drones perfect but some stuff shal be re think about specially altitude limit near mountains.

Thanks a lot

DJI - I want to be able to follow the profile of mountains (as it seems many others do) so why not allow the drone to exceed 500 metres in total ascent providing it is still no more than 100 metres above the terrain directly below the drone. So if I follow the contours to the top of our local mountain at 750 metres I will be able to go all the way to the summit and 100 metres above (total altitude gain from take off 850 metres) but without any risk to air traffic? If I try to move away from the mountain in a straight line then the system could prevent this from automatically descending until the drone is once again no more than 100 metres above the terrain. Sort of like terrain following radar!!

pimezon1@hotmai Posted at 2015-12-29 00:51
Hi
I am wondering. Why is height limit 500 meter????
I want to go 800 meter on high montain. I am 80 ...

Page 1 DJI talks about this being from the "Take off point."

The device gets a fix on where you placed it before take off and measures from that point on.

Ranini Posted at 2016-2-7 19:01
I think that  that DJI should mention on their page that maximum altitude is 500m because many peopl ...

I mountain starts off around 300m, anything decent is gonna be well above 500m. You're not going to have enough battery life to get any where near the top of a decent mountain let alone on top of one. It's going to be a straight up and straight down flight for sure hoping you have enough juice to land. Keep in mind mountains are generally wooded. If your bird looses signal or juice and spirals of into the woods, you could be risking your own life trying to retrieve it. So I highly suggest an external mounted GPS and have an hiking gear...and hope you have cell service for the GPS...which isn't always the case in the mountains.

gdeuchars@gmail Posted at 2016-2-8 10:07
DJI - I want to be able to follow the profile of mountains (as it seems many others do) so why not a ...

The altitude limit is determined from take off point, so if you take off from 250m up the mountain you can reach the 750m above sea level altitude you are after. the 500m limit is very generous in my opinion, no other commercial drone will let you go that high, most of the others limit flyers to 120m.

SVTRay Posted at 2016-2-8 09:34
I mountain starts off around 300m, anything decent is gonna be well above 500m. You're not going t ...

Ok thanks a lot for the advice.  but till a higher battery capacity and a little more altitude near mountain would be a dream come true for p3 pro users

have a good day and thanks a lot for your reply

Ranini Posted at 2016-2-8 20:17
Ok thanks a lot for the advice.  but till a higher battery capacity and a little more altitude nea ...

Oh it's doable now if you got the money...and a country that allows it. Anything over 122m is illegal in my country, so 500m max doesn't bother me.

Anyhow, there is a guy who sells modified P3 Batteries that allows you to plug in two extra battery packs. The modified DJI battery comes with the two extra smaller battery packs and brackets for $300 USD. Generally speaking, these supposed to give a person 5-6 extra minutes. I'm not sure about something like extreme altitudes since altitude puts a strain on battery life, they may only give you an extra 2-3 minutes. Another option would be using DJI's new Matrices 100. It has the ability to use two regular batteries inline together giving it 45 minutes run time.

maxverschr@gmai Posted at 2015-4-26 19:06
You lucky basterds ... In Belgium in 2 months a new law concerning multicopters will arrive and the  ...

Yes it sux being a slave.

grangerfx@gmail Posted at 2015-5-1 15:51
The FAA person I talked to at NAB gave me the deer in the headlights look when I explained the probl ...

Unfortunately the P3 has no way of knowing what the mean sea level barometric pressure is for any given day and location, so it can only use the position at which the motors were armed to be "zero" feet. However, this often leads to confusion with beginners because they mistakenly believe that any height restriction is based on their takeoff point - it's not, it's based on the ground the aircraft is overflying at any given point.

Example: you take off from the side of a hill and climb to 400 feet (that's what the Go App indicates). You then fly out from the hill and descend by 100 feet. Go App says you're at 300 feet, but the ground beneath the drone has fallen away. WRT regulations, how high are you? 300 feet? No. Your height is the vertical distance between your drone and the ground. It's not what the app tells you it is.

This proves tricky because it's an unknown and that's where good judgement comes in.

The example you've given above about trying to fly over a 1000 foot hill and crashing because your drone is limited to 400 feet is, respectfully, more than a little ridiculous. Are you saying that you just fly where you want, towards objects, buildings and hills and just expect the drone to clear them. And if it doesn't well, that's someone else's fault? Surely you can't be serious.

As with all these things it's the pilots responsibility to ensure they comply with the rules of the country they're operating in. If you try to fly over something at 1000 feet and you can only climb to 400, but fly towards it anyway screaming "I'm gonna do this whether it works or not!" Then the danger to people on the ground is from you, not the drone.  If the limit is 400 feet agl and you decide to fly off the top of a 1000 foot hill, climb to 400 feet agl and then overfly a valley at 1400 feet, that's your responsibility and contrary to what you've said in your post, you're not "following the FAA regulations to the T" in any possible sense. The regulations say your height above the ground you're overflying is limited to 400 feet. Not the height above your takeoff point.

I do agree that you should retain the ability to move the drone upwards in the event of an emergency, but this can easily be achieved by flying slightly below 400 feet.

However! The original question in this thread asked here about getting around the 500 meter limit does have a hack of sorts. Saw a video on YouTube this week about a guy who was able to get round it using RTH, then whilst it is attempting to return home, and since RTH allows you to adjust the height, he climbed above the 500 limit. Search YouTube and see for yourself.

I cannot stress enough however how irresponsible this is. You do it at your own risk ( or should I say at the risk of the passengers in light, medium and large aircraft around you)! Darwinism has a tendency to weed out the kind of people who would try this...........

http://youtu.be/9NnW62aFaLE

Amazing that some people very calmly state "it's ok, I was in an open area and I couldn't see any aircraft around" and then follow it by adding that they couldn't actually see the drone anymore!

400 foot limit is there for a reason. Light aircraft are only allowed down to 500 feet agl. In theory there should be a nice 100 foot gap between planes and drones. Unless of course you decide other people's lives are worth the risk........

SVTRay Posted at 2016-2-8 17:13
Oh it's doable now if you got the money...and a country that allows it. Anything over 122m is ille ...

Thanks for the info but  $300 USD for 2 extended minutes expensive, we can get 2 additional battery in that lol ... hehehe i will start to buy some additional battery climb a bit on the mountain to be able to have nice shot till dji finds a solution for those who like to do Arial photography of mountains and till dji start to sell battery with higher capasity.  a 8000 or 10000 mah battery with 45 or 1 hr flight time would be a dream come true    

Anderjon Posted at 2016-2-9 02:28
Unfortunately the P3 has no way of knowing what the mean sea level barometric pressure is for any  ...

"Saw a video on YouTube this week about a guy who was able to get round it using RTH"

That loophole has been closed for quite a while now.

Ranini Posted at 2016-2-9 01:24
Thanks for the info but  $300 USD for 2 extended minutes expensive, we can get 2 additional batter ...

DJI already makes 45 minute drones, you're looking at $3,500 though. Like I said, it's doable but it';s gonna cost you. Anyhow, I have a home in the mountains and I'm in no hurry to send my drones up trying to photograph them.

Ranini Posted at 2016-2-8 11:24
Thanks for the info but  $300 USD for 2 extended minutes expensive, we can get 2 additional batter ...

You're forgetting that adding batteries adds weight.  More weight requires more lifting power.  More lifting power requires more motor power.  More power uses more battery.  There is a point of diminishing returns.  You use battery much faster when you add weight, so you eventually use all of your extra power just to keep it in a hover or worse.

SVTRay Posted at 2016-2-9 05:16
DJI already makes 45 minute drones, you're looking at $3,500 though. Like I said, it's doable but  ...

U miss understand
I mean .. i would be cool for phantom 3 user to have a battery that last at least for 45 minutes.

Ranini Posted at 2016-2-10 03:59
U miss understand
I mean .. i would be cool for phantom 3 user to have a battery that last at lea ...

Oh sure, I'm just pointing out another DJI product with double the run times.

martijn.kriens Posted at 2016-2-10 04:42
As a pilot I totally agree with you. I have the feeling that some people really do not see the dif ...

As a pilot also, on approach and departure I'm always hoping there's not some $#@$%!@ out there trying to get video of landing and departing aircraft. Unfortunately I do see in the near future that there will be an incident and just hope no one is injured.

Michael M Posted at 2015-7-31 23:48
I know how to exceed 500 meters. Have done it myself and it does work. Im running 1.1.5.
Heres how  ...

Hi Michael M,
Will that work with the P3S?
There is no physical RTH button on the RC, Only through the app.

Michael M Posted at 2015-7-31 23:48
I know how to exceed 500 meters. Have done it myself and it does work. Im running 1.1.5.
Heres how  ...

Will this work for the P3S? The only RTH is via the app..

wendell Posted at 2016-2-19 21:58
Hi Michael M,
Will that work with the P3S?
There is no physical RTH button on the RC, Only throug ...

doesnt work anymore, they patched it.

I took my P3P up to 500m and about 3/4 mile away into the wind.The wind was quite light at ground level when i took off. I flew into the wind climbing up to 500m filming with no problems. I did notice it started to climb slower, so i hovered to check readings and battery level etc.
When i looked back to were my P3P was, i couldn't see it. I hovered while i tried to calm down and scan the skies.After what seemed like ages (prob 30 secs) i hit RTH and waited.
Still panning the sky, nothing, then a faint buzz from the props but i still couldn't see it looking in the direction i had been flying.
I turned around to see it coming back to me from behind, what a relief.
My point is, yes it would be cool to fly higher than 500m in some circumstances, but maybe with a warning at 500m then press something on theDJI Go App that allows you to go to a new height.
What caught me out on this flight was the strength of the wind at 500m height was massively more than at ground level. It was a good job i flew into the wind first otherwise i would never had enough battery life to get my P3P back in one piece.
Always start your long flights into the wind.
500m is plenty for 95% of people i guess.

Michael M Posted at 2016-2-20 15:21
doesnt work anymore, they patched it.

There is another app out there that does the waypoint setup the way I understand it used to be. Point and play. I'll find the name of it once again. They mentioned that it is capable of marking different heights along the way. Hmmmm.. Very interesting.

aburkefl@gmail. Posted at 2015-9-8 09:28
The 6000m figure is the flight envelope limit - i.e., engineering specs anticipate that above that ...

Actually, it's called "absolute ceiling"...the altitude at which an aircraft can no longer climb.  It will still *fly*, but can no longer climb, even with full power (whatever is available at that altitude for that particular engine).

Hawks100 Posted at 2016-2-20 06:27
I took my P3P up to 500m and about 3/4 mile away into the wind.The wind was quite light at ground le ...

Yep, the winds can be very different up there.


Dave

WQTK Posted at 2016-2-24 17:39
There is another app out there that does the waypoint setup the way I understand it used to be. Po ...

cool let us know what happens

grangerfx@gmail Posted at 2015-5-1 08:51
The FAA person I talked to at NAB gave me the deer in the headlights look when I explained the probl ...

I talked to an FAA official also and you will come to realize that they are just as confused as well. Some FAA regs conflict. i.e. Min Requirement for Commercial UAS use in the States PIC must at min be a Sport Pilot, yet regs say a Sport Pilot can not be used for commercial operations. We had similar issues with Sport Pilots not being able to fly above a certain height then FAA allowed exception for flying over mountains. One last point is that even thou you may find ways around programming, you will not find a way to override wind turbulence that you will find over these peaks. While I do not think it should be unrestricted out of the box, there should be an option and disclaimer before allowing it to be turned off for situation like this. Just hope with all these folks flying high dont bring down a plane and kill someone and ruin it for all of us.

I watched a video other night of a guy who was at the 500m height limit, and then he turned on the RTH sequence and in doing so started pushing up on his left stick.  He went all the way up to 875M from 500M.  Now im not sure if this still can be done, but the images from that height were stunning.  He did it in a safe area... no airports within 50 miles... huge huge huge k

http://bfy.tw/4ViC

Rain1dog Posted at 2016-3-1 04:25
I watched a video other night of a guy who was at the 500m height limit, and then he turned on the R ...

And as reported in #145 above and many other times, this no longer works.

labroides@yahoo Posted at 2016-2-29 15:33
And as reported in #145 above and many other times, this no longer works.

fantastic....

While I do agree it would fun to be able to go higher than the 500m limit I also have to keep in mind why these limits are being put in place not just by DJI but by regulatory agencies.  Its important to remember that just because you would not abuse or risk human life does not mean many others would not....how many cases have we already seen with idiots flying their drone right next to jetliners because they want some 'cool' footage.  Next you would have some extremist strap a brick of C4 to his drone and fly it up close to an airliner and boom.   I hate that I live in a world where my drone is limited but I understand why it is so; as soon they allowed it there would be those people who just have to fly it up to several thousand feet because they wanna record the jet going by risking so many lives.  Personally, that would be knowledge that would haunt me for a long time.  I do not know what the solution is or what would be a safe and fair compromise, I really do not....I'm just not willing see innocent people injured or dying to satisfy my hobby.

I just received my new Phantom, and lo and behold, it has these limits-that are not in any way prominently displayed prior to purchase.  The marketing material describes a service ceiling, of ~6000 meters....and to  be accurate,[b] it should say that the device has been hobbled via software to a small fraction of that altitude.

For the reasons on this thread I would say I don't need big brother making decisions on this for me-as it is clear that all the bedwetting on the dangers appear to be VASTLY overstated.

I am a licensed private pilot, and I encounter large birds regularly in my approaches and departures under 5000 feet.  These birds ave roughly the identical form factor and mass as this drone, and I cannot understand how people believe that these drones represent any increase in the hazards, statistically, of a strike induced accident-when it would take one hell of a lot of drones to tip the scales of incidence versus these naturally occurring phenomenon in most places-at least @ <5000' AGL.

I wish they would focus on catching people running in controlled airspace-which is just stupid-and not take the idiotic european stance to limit things to jumping height.   I am thinking about both returning this drone, and asking about deceptive trade practice for non-disclosure of operating limits.

Flyin&#39;Bryan Posted at 2016-3-20 09:34
Wow...  First off, there's no deceptive trade practices, it's well known that they won't fly above ...

Wow, that's a really cool picture of you.  Let me help you with your reading comprehension a bit, if you would allow.  Service ceiling is the maximum height at which an aircraft can sustain a specified rate of climb dependent on engine type-easy to find on google whether I am an "alleged" pilot, or not, since you take exception to that claim-and given that its the only spec provided on their spec sheet for the phantom on altitude for this product , where there is no mention of the limits in the software-it is a failure to disclose meaningful information.  To contrast-operating altitude is the highest a plane can go for structural/pressurization reasons. For instance, FL370 is the Maximum Operating Altitude in an ERJ because that's the highest it can go will maintaining a 7.8 psi cabin differential pressure while also maintaining an acceptably low cabin altitude (8000 ft), even though the engines and aiframe would have no problem climbing higher if the cabin altitude was not an issue-(I don't fly these, or anything interesting-just making a point with random info) .  To go back-these terms as defined both refer to SPECIFIC aircraft.  In THIS case, my drone.  Putting only ONE statistic out there-that 19k+ number, as applicable to THIS aircraft-is misleading.  If Cessna described a service ceiling of 19k feet, and I smacked their plane into a mountain at 12k feet because they had not disclosed the limit-I think a reasonable jury would conclude I had a point....But, Lastly, I didn't threaten-unless you consider the word "ask" a threat-which I clearly said in the post-ASK.  Now run along and take some more excellent selfies.

Flyin&#39;Bryan Posted at 2016-3-20 11:29
Lol, wow, did you google all of that by yourself?  Impressive, but I don't have time to read that e ...

This is kind of fun, and I have time to kill...so one more time for the slow learner-and clearly you are reading my blubbering-since you went back and edited your post.  And yes, the googling which impressed you was all my own.

The description of altitude they use in their sales material describes capability FAR beyond the limits they have placed on this copter.  This isn't trivial-since I had intended to fly this thing up the side of a mountain from the valley floor-and I cant-where I could easily be under 400' AGL---YET well beyond 1500' limit.  This is just one example of this limit being a problem-there are many more on this thread and others (that I now of course wish I had read instead of taking the companies spec sheet at face value).  I dont need to fly this thing at 19k feet-but I also need to exceed the arbitrary limits in this software-which for the 3rd time-wasn't disclosed in the marketing material from DJI.

As for calling people idiots that I don't know-like you are trying to do here-it's tempting, with that picture alone to work with-but now I am bored with you, and this.

chriwi2@gmail.c Posted at 2016-3-20 19:26
This is kind of fun, and I have time to kill...so one more time for the slow learner-and clearly y ...

Where in their sales material do they state you can fly above 500 metres?  I can't see that anywhere.

The problem DJI have is being the market leader, they have to be seen to be making their products safe for the masses to use.  In the US you have a 400 ft altitude limit; in the UK it's 500 ft or 1,000 feet if you have a companion spotting for you flying when in in FPV mode.  Both limits can be breached by the 500 metre limit in the app.  So where do DJI draw the line?  
If you have a specific reason that requires >500 metre altitude flying, then a mass-market consumer drone isn't for you.  Any google search on 'max altitude dji phantom' brings up endless articles on the 500 metre / 1,500 ft limit.  Nowhere on the DJI site do I see any claim that the drones can go higher.  

Ian