I just flew the phantom for the first time and flew it out just a little bit and then clicked return home to test it out. Something wired happened. It imediatly landed in the spot that it was and didnt come back to me. After I tried this about 3 more times it finally came back to where it took off from. Any ideas?

The home point will be automatically set after you turn on your Phantom and it establishes a GPS connection. The lights will blink green to indicate that the home point has been marked. If they flash yellow, the home point has not been marked.

If you are less than 20m out it will land.  This is explained in the manual.

Tahoe_Ed Posted at 2015-5-7 09:57
If you are less than 20m out it will land.  This is explained in the manual.

Thank you! That explains why It landed... Typical college student not fully reading everything. Im going to read everything in full detail now before my next flight!

Tahoe_Ed Posted at 2015-5-7 09:57
If you are less than 20m out it will land.  This is explained in the manual.

Glad I saw this. That's a biggie. Imagine if you are over water. Oops.

Always check the map on your Pilot App before takeoff - it will show the current home point that the Phantom has locked in!

Also, try not to start your Phantom right next to trees or buildings - because if it comes home it may hit them! Give it a little room because it could land 10 feet or more from where the home point is set.

I had this issue as well, I was too close to the home point it seems.  I guess if you're near the home point make sure you are over something fairly safe to land on before pressing home.

Tahoe_Ed Posted at 2015-5-7 09:57
If you are less than 20m out it will land.  This is explained in the manual.

Can you please explain this a bit further Tahoe_Ed? (sorry for being a bit dumb here)  

When you say less than 20m, do you mean if the drone is less than 20m horizontal distance from the "Home Point set before takeoff" it will land wherever it currently is flying if you hit the Home button, and not at the exact spot on takeoff?  Is this due to GPS inaccuracy or a design feature?

Tahoe_Ed Posted at 2015-5-7 09:57
If you are less than 20m out it will land.  This is explained in the manual.

Can you provide a link to a online manual?
Thank You in advance

Calvette Posted at 2015-5-7 13:36
Can you provide a link to a online manual?
Thank You in advance

Really?
You want someone else to provide a link for a DJI manual?
Really?  Do you want someone to come over and read it to you as well?
Try going to www.dji.com   and follow your nose.
Or you can get it via the P3 app.

Sorry but this level of wanting everyone else to provide the most basic things is stupid.
How do you expect to be able to fly by yourself if you have to ask for the manual?

Tahoe_Ed Posted at 2015-5-7 09:57
If you are less than 20m out it will land.  This is explained in the manual.

So if the link to the Phantom is broken when your bird is within 20m it goes straight down? What, exactly, is the reasoning behind this behaviour? What's the point?

It's not always possible to find a start location with a 20m safe radius.

labroides@yahoo Posted at 2015-5-7 13:47
Really?
You want someone else to provide a link for a DJI manual?
Really?  Do you want someone to c ...

Whoa there, mate.

Sounds like Mum's spreading the 'roids on a little thick with your vegemite in the mornings. Maybe you could zip over to Kiwi and chill for a few days? Perhaps by the time you get back, someone with a little tact and patience will have gotten all the newbies in the air.

Or maybe DJI will set up an extra forum for you and the other two or three guys who already know everything to sit around and discuss how you already know everything.

With this forum providing the bulk of both basic and advanced information about the new quad, the last thing newbies need is to be hammered by "that guy" who rolls his eyes and throws a tantrum every time he sees an "unworthy" question.

Have you tried ignoring the posts which anger you? Sometimes it appears you are seeking out opportunities to belittle or shame customers who have done nothing to you.

Calvette Posted at 2015-5-7 13:36
Can you provide a link to a online manual?
Thank You in advance

This is half the problems of fly aways and crashes right here.  User error and lazyness

I don't actually see this in the manual.  For Smart RTH on page 12 it says:

Use the RTH button on the remote controller (refer to “RTH button” on page 26 for more information) or
tap the RTH button in the DJI Pilot app and follow the on-screen instructions when GPS is available to initiate
Smart RTH. The aircraft will then automatically return to the last recorded Home Point.

The only thing I see about 20m (searched for 20m in the pdf manual), is that if its less then 20m high, it will rise to 20m then RTH and land.  I could be missing something though, wouldn't be the first time .

labroides@yahoo Posted at 2015-5-7 13:47
Really?
You want someone else to provide a link for a DJI manual?
Really?  Do you want someone to c ...

You know I did do a search and couldn't find it. I'll go back and give it another shot.
Thank you for the kind help and understanding.

I could be wrong but I believe that when Tahoe ed mentions 20 meters he means 20 meters horizontal.If I am not mistaken the p3 pilot should have control of where it lands when in (RTH) or low battery failsafe.If this feature is available I would go to a large open field and test it.I know that after updating my p2 I have full control of where it lands.Tahoe ed...I do not want to spread the wrong info...Am I correct?Can the p3's (RTH) and Low voltage failsafe landing feature be controlled by the pilot?

Oh yeah!!  Good to have you here Muleshoe.Well typed!     We could use a lot more positive support here.   It is very easy to hurt someone...The hard part is helping...labroids it is very easy to get on this type of platform and chastise others..Stop it....Be patient or please..be quiet..I still remember how dumb that I felt when I first began this journey...It sucked..There are two types of people that I encountered here...Be one fo the ones that leave a good memory.The truth is dji is focusing on production and marketing.As far as problem solving all that we have is each other.We can either help each other stay in the air...or just send our machines on a cross country tour...I would rather get it here wouldn't you?

Jerdel Posted at 2015-5-7 19:33
This is half the problems of fly aways and crashes right here.  User error and lazyness

Found it hiding in plane sight.
Now back to studying it so I can get out of beginner mode.

Michael Starley Posted at 2015-5-7 21:27
I could be wrong but I believe that when Tahoe ed mentions 20 meters he means 20 meters horizontal.I ...

You are correct it is 20m horizontal.  It is by design and the Pilot does have control even if the craft is in RTH mode.  You can fly it or take it out of RTH and land.

Good to know..Thanx

droneflyers.com Posted at 2015-5-7 10:36
Always check the map on your Pilot App before takeoff - it will show the current home point that the ...

I don't think you are correct in your assumption.  I was under the impression that the map shows where your phone or tablet thinks YOU are.  The reason I say this is that if your tablet does not have GPS the map does not show up at all.  The map seems to be using the GPS & internet connection in your phone or tablet to generate & display your position.

I may be wrong and perhaps someone from DJI can respond and confirm this?

I did this yesterday.   hit return to home and I guess the drone was within 20 m and it started to land the next cul de sac over from my home.  Looked at my screen and it was heading for the top of a tree.  Got about 20 feet from the top and hit the up.   If I let off, it still tried to land.  Talk about sphincter pucker.   I pushed it up, disabled the return to home and it was fine.  Good to know because I did read the manual twice over and overlooked this tidbit.

ntfa@sbcglobal. Posted at 2015-5-8 01:17
I did this yesterday.   hit return to home and I guess the drone was within 20 m and it started to l ...

WOW!  Really good to know. Long time pilot but still have not taken the bird up. Reading as much as possible first. Received P3P on 5/5/15. Got a Trackimo, cheap insurance IMO.
This was a good post!!

tchavalas@panos Posted at 2015-5-8 00:45
I don't think you are correct in your assumption.  I was under the impression that the map shows w ...

Hmm, I an using an Android device without cellular and the maps show me where the bird is - of course I am there too......so I could be wrong.

The manual for the P3 says that the map displays the current location of the aircraft (as a paper plane icon) - and says nothing about where the operator is.

Check it out and see if you read it the same way.

droneflyers.com Posted at 2015-5-7 16:51
Hmm, I an using an Android device without cellular and the maps show me where the bird is - of cou ...

As a customer service agent for a software company, let me explain something to those who criticize newbees.  The DJI official manual has sections that are very confusing, or that don't provide enough information. For instance there are references to 'the LED light' without explaining to a new user whether its a light on the controller, the range extender on P2, or on the drone.  
Many people who ask questions are not lazy. Most have tried to read the User Guide. But they may easily be CONFUSED. The use of lots acronyms like "RTH" saves space, but it also means that the reader must memorize the full meaning of every acronym. It can be hard to locate a specific reference in the User Guide because one is not sure what section to look under, and DJI doesnt even provide an INDEX in back of the User Guide to topics, with their page numbers noted.
Not everyone knows that when using Adobe Reader to view the User Guide, you can use the Search box (magnifying glass) to search for the location(s) of any word within the entire document. (But a beginner may not have enough knowledge yet to even know what word or term to search for.) That's why we have a forum. Thanks, folks.

RuneW Posted at 2015-5-7 01:11
So if the link to the Phantom is broken when your bird is within 20m it goes straight down? What,  ...

In which case, you land it manually.

if all else fail then read the instructions   I have never invoked the RTH by pushing the button. however when the craft is out of range, it invokes RTH automatically, it always come back home and then i assist it to land at the safest spot.

Calvette Posted at 2015-5-6 22:36
Can you provide a link to a online manual?
Thank You in advance

There is a copy of the updated flight Manual right in the Go app. Hahaha
Seriously What are you guys smoking? ;-)

Get to know your kit, "before you take off", eh? Hahaha

RedHotPoker

With regard to the RTH or Return To Home function, I think it should be regarded as an emergency measure, not a normal everyday control that you use to come home. I have not pressed it once in 50 odd flights because I prefer to have full control over the aircraft. If you rely on automatic functions like this you will take a long time to learn how to fly the aircraft, so that when it becomes necessary, you will not have the skills. For my first few flights, all I did was take off move around a little and then practice landing as close to where I departed from manually. RTH has plenty of hidden gotchas, don't rely on it.

draadkar Posted at 2015-12-13 17:33
if all else fail then read the instructions   I have never invoked the RTH by pushing the button.  ...

Every Phantom owner should practice using the button so that if they ever need RTH, they will have an understanding of how it works, how to initiate and how to cancel and resume control.
There are many reports of lost or crashed Phantoms because the owners didn't know how to use RTH or didn't understand how it works.

When you need RTH is not a good time to be learning how to.

RedHotPoker Posted at 2015-12-12 23:28
There is a copy of the updated flight Manual right in the Go app. Hahaha
Seriously What are you gu ...

I found it a day later back on May 7th and I think it was before it was in the app.

You gotta love it, when you reply to a thread. Throwing out, firing off, your best one liner.
Only to then discover, it to be an ancient Sanskrit scroll. Actuall artifact, on hand pressed velum.
Written in sanctified/sacrificed goat blood. With a teradactyl quill.

Fool that we are, don't bother to quickly check thread dates, before replying in earnest, or jest.
In God we trust. ;-) Innagoddadavida

RedHotPoker

Calvette Posted at 2015-5-7 05:36
Can you provide a link to a online manual?
Thank You in advance

Hi...
I found safer the HOME LOCK function rather than RTH automatic sequence(if the signal is still obviously working).
For the 20 meters gap i found not properly intelligent mode ,it would have much more sense if the quad would  land in the spot were took off, meter more meter less .
This i smy humble opinion.

Cheers to all

labroides@yahoo Posted at 2015-12-13 10:39
Every Phantom owner should practice using the button so that if they ever need RTH, they will have  ...

oh my craft has RTH many times when it lose contact with the RC so am well trained how to handle it when it reaches home area again.

draadkar Posted at 2015-12-15 06:28
oh my craft has RTH many times when it lose contact with the RC so am well trained how to handle i ...

But do you know how to initiate RTH .. have you tested that?
Many first time users of RTH manage to push the button wrongly or think it isn't working and push again which cancels it.

Tahoe_Ed Posted at 2015-5-6 17:57
If you are less than 20m out it will land.  This is explained in the manual.

So "out"  would mean horizontally from the home point without regard to altitude?

Yes, 20 meters away from you and NOT altitude.

fales.david@gma Posted at 2015-12-12 23:40
As a customer service agent for a software company, let me explain something to those who criticiz ...

Thank you for an excellent post that will help a lot of newbies, including me.

I've asked some questions over the past two or three months that must have sounded pretty stupid to seasoned Phantom owners.

We all had to start at the beginning and not all of us had someone there to help us in the beginning. I'm 70 years old with a brain issue that makes it difficult for me to remember things that are technical in nature for more than a few minutes so I'm constantly referring to one manual or another.

Affter three months, I still don't know how to find the Phantom 3 Professional simulator in the DJI Go App.

Thanks again for a very good post on the difficulties that arise for the new people who buy these birds. It was very kind of you to write that. Thank you.

Bud

The onboard flight Sim is found under the Graduation cap, when you first open the Go app.
Top right corner, in my Go App version.

RedHotPoker

It's obvious that labroides shouldn't have been so rude but many of us can identify with his frustration. So many of us are doing the best we can to learn and fly as responsibly as we can yet we see vids by rich kids pulling the phantoms right out of the box and tying to fly in populated areas without reading the first words from the manual.

Yes it's true that the Phantom is the easiest to fly aircraft on the market BUT IF YOU CAN'T EVEN FIND THE MANUAL then maybe drones aren't for you?

Truth is this. There is a lot to know about flying GPS drones and it should be taken seriously or YOU are going to be the reason the next law is passed.

HAPPY FLYING! EVERYBODY!