Hi
I got a Spark the other day with the Fly More combo, and whilst I love the drone I don't think I've got the controller set up correctly as the range I'm getting from it is poor (roughly 120m / 400ft before I lose signal and the drone returns to home).

The procedure I follow is:
- press power on back of drone once, then press and hold to turn drone on
- press power on RC controller once, then press and hold to turn on
- press and hold power on drone for 3 seconds (lights flash)
- press and hold pause, fn and custom button on RC controller until it beeps.
- eventually RC light goes green, drone lights go green.
- open DJI GO 4 and fly.

I don't have an OTG cable (got one on order) but have heard this doesn't make any difference to range, only video coming back etc.

Have I set it up wrong or is this the best I can expect from the DJI Spark?

For what it's worth I'm in the UK (not sure if that makes any difference) and I have taken it out of beginner mode.

Hello and good day Rob250881. I am sorry to know that you are having these issues with your DJI Spark. Have you tried to fly your drone to a different location to see if the issue will still persist? Have you tried adjusting the antennas when the warning appears? Make sure your antenna should be on the correct position. And make sure you are away to any possible interference. You may check this video about it. Please keep us posted for us to help you further. Thank you.

I think you’ll find your problem is being in the UK. I believe the radio uses a much lower power due to restrictions. There have been threads discussing the problem and giving workarounds. How well it works I can’t say as I’m in the US and don’t have that problem.

But it was your start up procedure that seems a bit excessive. My procedure is:
- Turn on RC
- Turn on drone
- Start app in phone
- Wait for lights to go green then fly.

Once they’ve been paired, I’ve never had to go through all the other steps you are.

Also, for historical reasons, I always turn the RC on first. With the old style radios used on RC planes if you turned the receiver on first it could pick up electrical noise and the controls and throttle could move randomly. The rule was to ALWAYS turn the transmitter on first.

Hi Rob,

Being in the UK, you suffer from low transmission power allowed in Europe.
If you fly in urban areas, you also range also suffers from interference from nearby Wifis, mobile phone, smart watches and so on.
If you fly, you should definitely turn off mobile data on your phone, and also for any bystanders.
An OTG cable does help too.
If you fly in more rural areas, where it is not likely that you will disturb anybodys Wifi connections, you can try the MOD 2.0 app (google it) instead of the the stock DJI Go 4 app. The MOD 2.0 gives you 600mW of transmission power (FCC rules) instead of 25mW. I'm using it all the time and am happy with it.
Also make sure you oriented the RCs antennas correctly (not pointing tips towards the drone).

Cheers,
Wolferl

Thank you.
Have managed to switch it into FCC mode and managed to get over 1,500ft out at the same location I was struggling to get over 400ft the other day.

Rob250881 Posted at 7-23 11:45
Thank you.
Have managed to switch it into FCC mode and managed to get over 1,500ft out at the same location I was struggling to get over 400ft the other day.

Well, i live in Denmark, also Europe last i checked.  
And i am getting 1.6 miles 2 km easy with no mods or hacks. Just me, my spark, rc and old iphone 6