Hi Every one.
I dont know if this has been discussed here recently so appologies if it has.


I have been having serious range issues with my inspire 2. The area i was flying was over the ocean with nothing in sight. at around 400-500 m it starts breaking up. I have tried two different controllers. Switched between 2.4 and 5.8. Last year filming a wildlife series in Botswana i managed to get atleat 2km+ but it seems the last firmware changed things. Most of the places i film is in the middle of nowhere.

I have had the i2 for close on 4 years and have never had a problem. A DJI store has had a look at it and they said everything checks out.

Has anyone had this problem.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Hi Steven. Thank you for reaching out and we do apologize for the inconvenience. Can you please try to refresh your firmware using the DJI assistant 2 and try to fly your drone to see if there would be some changes? Also, I will highly recommend trying to calibrate also the compass to see if that would help. Please keep us posted on the latest updates for us to help you further. Thank you for your kind and understanding. Cheers!

Salt water has great effect on range. Not much you can do if in normale circumstances range is good.

Q1: Is this issue apparent in one particular place or anywhere?
Q2: Everything was OK until now?

Note: compass calibration is absolutely unnecessary and even dangerous, unless the readings are NOTORIOUSLY off the green on bar indicator in every location!!!

DJI Gamora Posted at 7-10 08:13
Hi Steven. Thank you for reaching out and we do apologize for the inconvenience. Can you please try to refresh your firmware using the DJI assistant 2 and try to fly your drone to see if there would be some changes? Also, I will highly recommend trying to calibrate also the compass to see if that would help. Please keep us posted on the latest updates for us to help you further. Thank you for your kind and understanding. Cheers!

DJI Gamora, please do not recommend compass calibration not knowing what is the culprit! It is a bad advice ... ...

Matthew Dobrski Posted at 7-10 10:56
DJI Gamora, please do not recommend compass calibration not knowing what is the culprit! It is a bad advice ... ...

Hi Matthew, thanks for your spot on and sorry for the confusion. Strong compass and GPS signals are essential when operating a drone. Interference to this system may cause instability and since it was mentioned that the drone is being flown in different places and above water, it is recommended to calibrate the said system in the next flight to test if the issue will persist after refreshing the firmware. ​Thank you for your kind and understanding. Cheers!

DJI Gamora Posted at 7-11 10:36
Hi Matthew, thanks for your spot on and sorry for the confusion. Strong compass and GPS signals are essential when operating a drone. Interference to this system may cause instability and since it was mentioned that the drone is being flown in different places and above water, it is recommended to calibrate the said system in the next flight to test if the issue will persist after refreshing the firmware. ​Thank you for your kind and understanding. Cheers!

That is correct, but OP is reporting transmission issue, not compass. Short transmission range can be caused by many things (i.e. radio interference, obstacles, hardware malfunction), but not by compass reading or GPS reception. After all it's irrelevant since OP don't even bother to provide additional information ...

Matthew Dobrski Posted at 7-11 13:40
That is correct, but OP is reporting transmission issue, not compass. Short transmission range can be caused by many things (i.e. radio interference, obstacles, hardware malfunction), but not by compass reading or GPS reception. After all it's irrelevant since OP don't even bother to provide additional information ...

Thanks for your attention. Definitely, compass problems should not cause any issues with range or transmission issues and sorry if it seems to be highlighted erroneously. We recommend calibrating the compass when flying in different locations as mentioned in the post to ensure stability for possible flight test after refreshing the firmware. Again, thank you for your continued support. Cheers!

Matthew Dobrski Posted at 7-10 10:07
Q1: Is this issue apparent in one particular place or anywhere?
Q2: Everything was OK until now?

Hi Mathew.

This happened in two separate places.

One was at the ocean and the other in the bush. Last year it was fine and worked 100% I could get at least 4km range filming elephants.

This year at same location with new firmware I am only getting between 500 and 800 m

Matthew Dobrski Posted at 7-11 13:40
That is correct, but OP is reporting transmission issue, not compass. Short transmission range can be caused by many things (i.e. radio interference, obstacles, hardware malfunction), but not by compass reading or GPS reception. After all it's irrelevant since OP don't even bother to provide additional information ...

Sory I haven't replied as I have been on a shoot with zero reception

Steven brooks Posted at 7-16 02:50
Hi Mathew.

This happened in two separate places.

Steven, let me rephrase my question:

Is this issue apparent notoriously in one particular place (or places), while in other places there's no problem with typical transmission range?  Or - in contrary - range is limited now generally in all places? Is it above densely populated area or in total wilderness? I.e. recently added strong radar system in marina nearby may cause radio interference.

Regardless, 500-800 m range is not normal nor acceptable for this class aircraft, but is not caused by .0300 firmware tweak. What is your rig compiled of (RC, device)? All is updated?