First time posting here, so pardon me if i said anything funny.
MM is my first drone, enjoyed it immensely while seeing things from a different angle.After going through multiples threads, learnt plenty on pre-flight checks, GPS lock etc. From what I observed, seems like the RTH is giving plenty of problem to MM.
So I wonder, to RTH or fly it back visually with LOS or fly back using the phone screen?
Thanks....

RTH is a fail-safe of sorts. It's only really there if you lose signal or cannot control the Mini itself with it ideally returning itself to you.

If you can fly it back yourself, do it. It's good practice, builds confidence, and you are in full control the whole time.

Eventually you should learn and practice all methods but ultimately it seems that most pilots with more experience prefer to manual fly home. i might recommend to practice RTH in ideal conditions (within LOS, on big open spaces, on wind free days - sooner or later i am sure dji will solve this issue but currently it does seem to be a problem ) and for the rest practice manual return home. some times (more usually as a beginner) if you have lost bearings with your drone and cant see properly on yr screen and do not know which way it is facing, then you can do RTH (so the drone can orient itself to face home) and then you can disengage and fly home manually.

Rth works perfectly, there have been no failures with Rth, the problem is caused by some new users flying in conditions not conducive with Mavic mini.
Mini has it limits and if respected they are just fine and flying or Rth won’t be a problem.

Learning to fly home is always your best bet unless in an emergency or you have lost signal, you can use Rth if you are not confident enough at times, it works great and I’ve never known it to fail, you should also be aware of how Rth works for all events .

And no you questions are very valid particularly with all you see going on.
Good luck .

Better learn to fly back manually, and like some mention practice how RTH works in good situations, check what each stick does, and also use the GPS MAP if in doubt.

The camera screen may be confusing, things like thin branches or wires wont show correctly so better to use a combination of things, it also will be backwards, GPS map seems more reliable to get you back safe.

Alternatively initiateRTH and once is coming back at right altitude override RTH and go in Sports mode, to come back as fast as possible.

I rather leave RTH as a true safety feature, but is also nice to use it as autonomous pilot for taking shots. Also pay attention on wind speed and direction when you want to RTH.

Dirty Bird Posted at 1-20 04:57
I often use RTH to head back from a long flight.  I don't usually let it come all the way back & land, though I do occasionally.  I have never had RTH fail in at least two thousand flights.  Make sure you wait for a good Home lock, set your RTH altitude appropriately, & be mindful of the wind speed/direction & you should be fine.  Another nice thing about RTH is, while the bird flies home, you can adjust altitude, rotate the drone, & pan the camera up/down while the flight computer brings you back.  This makes for a nice sort cable-cam of sorts so you can focus on capturing images or video while the bird handles the fliying.

Some insist RTH is only for emergencies.  Frankly, that is bunk.  If it isn't reliable what good is it in an emergency?  RTH is just another flight mode for you to enjoy.  It is a safety feature & a convenience.

Hi,

Are you sure that you can move the MM while flying back in RTH mode ? I've read somewhere on this forum (from a dji moderator) that the only thing you can do in RTH is to move the camera, a single move on the sticks would cancel the RTH.

Francoisd Posted at 1-20 08:25
Hi,

Are you sure that you can move the MM while flying back in RTH mode ? I've read somewhere on this forum (from a dji moderator) that the only thing you can do in RTH is to move the camera, a single move on the sticks would cancel the RTH.

Caught ! Again someone who hasn't read the manual.
There are soooooooo many questions here that would be unnecessary if the manual would be read.

Page 14 ...

Francoisd Posted at 1-20 08:25
Hi,

Are you sure that you can move the MM while flying back in RTH mode ? I've read somewhere on this forum (from a dji moderator) that the only thing you can do in RTH is to move the camera, a single move on the sticks would cancel the RTH.

Everything but direction on Rth on landing IE when craft starts to decent you can change direction .

The main thing you must be aware of is after you hear the nice lady say "The home point has been updated, please check it on the map",
Be aware, very aware of the wind. The MM is a light air frame, and can't handle to much wind, like 17 mph max???.
Fly your bird in a park, on a calm day with zero wind, and check you maximum speed in both directions.
Deduct 5 mph from that, and that should be the maximum wind speed you should fly in.
At all altitudes.......wind speed usually only increases with altitude....

Thank you hallmark007, I perhaps have misunderstood

I'm a total newbie on all things drone. MM is my first and I've flown it now for two month. I tried RTH a few times but usually take it off when the drone is in LOS again. But I will try it again when conditions are right

Hi. Thank you for reaching out to DJI Forum. I hope that our valued DJI co pilots can provide you the best information for this inquiry. Thank you for your valued support.

Hi Guys,

Thank you for the invaluable feedback.
So conclusion:
1) Fly back manually if possible.
2) Set RTH altitude properly before flying and update home point
3) RTH as failsafe, ie during AC signal lost to controller, or lost orientation unable to fly back.
4) Always always fly back manually if possible..

Will mentally put this in my head whenever I fly now....

Jim_H Posted at 1-20 17:42
Hi Guys,

Thank you for the invaluable feedback.

I would add: learn to fly manually while using the map view. It's not difficult to lose orientation when you're busy taking shots and looking at the camera, and it's easy to lose VLOS with the MM because the AC is very tiny.
Practice how to make the map bigger on the screen, and use it to bring the AC back home while keeping an eye on the camera view to make sure you're clearing potential obstacles. Switch between map and camera if you need to. And also make it a habit to keep an eye on the telemetry data... amazing how many people lose their drones because they think they're flying back when they're not, when a simple look at the distance would tell them what the AC is doing.

RTH is a crutch.  It should only be used if you have to...ie you’ve lost Signal

If you lose VLOS or don’t recognise the terrain, you still have the map and arrow to get you back.

It’s bad practice to use RTH in my opinion.   

I am happy i have RTH though, it gives me confidence and i have used it a few times, but only when it self initiates after losing contact.   I’m pretty sure I’ve never even selected RTH before.

The people that have lost their drones is not so much due to RTH itself, it’s because they didn’t know what they were doing or flew in the wrong conditions, but the fact remains that in some of those cases they wouldn’t have lost their drone if they didn’t initiate RTH

Noted, now i always try to manually fly back the drone and not rely on RTH.
By the way, is it my MM or what, because usually pass 500m, i always constantly lost signal to my remote...
How's the experience for other people? mine controller is CE and in setting seems like it's always in 2.4Ghz

Cookster670 Posted at 1-20 23:24
RTH is a crutch.  It should only be used if you have to...ie you’ve lost Signal

If you lose VLOS or don’t recognise the terrain, you still have the map and arrow to get you back.

In the past week I have discussed RTH more than in my entire life... don't know what's wrong with me... :-)

Anyways... I rarely use Smart RTH, but I don't consider it a bad practice. I consider bad practice relying on it to bring the AC back, but if you're in control and know what you're doing, what's wrong in pressing that little button, and see technology working its magic?

Only use RTH in emergency situations. You are relying on a drone without obstacle avoidance. Even drones with obstacle avoidance sometimes crash with RTH, small branches from trees, power lines etc.

120ccpm Posted at 1-21 19:01
In the past week I have discussed RTH more than in my entire life... don't know what's wrong with me... :-)

Anyways... I rarely use Smart RTH, but I don't consider it a bad practice. I consider bad practice relying on it to bring the AC back, but if you're in control and know what you're doing, what's wrong in pressing that little button, and see technology working its magic?

Well, read a few posts and you’ll see a few people who have hit the RTH button and watched their mini drift away.  Why, because they think it’s magic and they don’t realise RTH has a wind limitation or that you can’t control direction when activated.   

If you know exactly how it works and what to do in certain situations, then that’s fine, but many do not....and use it as a crutch

Cookster670 Posted at 1-22 01:50
Well, read a few posts and you’ll see a few people who have hit the RTH button and watched their mini drift away.  Why, because they think it’s magic and they don’t realise RTH has a wind limitation or that you can’t control direction when activated.   

If you know exactly how it works and what to do in certain situations, then that’s fine, but many do not....and use it as a crutch

that's true though...
oh well, now i only resort to RTH if i lost signal, once regain signal will fly manually back..

hallmark007 Posted at 1-20 08:47
Everything but direction on Rth on landing IE when craft starts to decent you can change direction .[view_image]

Let me post the Chinese Version User Manual about controlling during RTH  :
返航過程中，遙控器信號正常時用戶可通過遙控器或DJI Fly控制飛行器速度、高度和機頭朝向，但不可以控制左右飛行。
The last sentence "但不可以控制左右飛行" mean  "but flying "left or right" (左右) cannot be controlled.
And in Chinese version "orientation" is "機頭朝向", which mean "direction of the drone's head".
The English user manual is not translated very well here....... they wrongly translated "flying left or right" to "direction" and "direction" to "orientation"......

So, under RTH, you can control the direction of the bird, but not flying left or right.

Steven So Posted at 2-3 17:49
Let me post the Chinese Version User Manual about controlling during RTH  :
返航過程中，遙控器信號正常時用戶可通過遙控器或DJI Fly控制飛行器速度、高度和機頭朝向，但不可以控制左右飛行。
The last sentence "但不可以控制左右飛行" mean  "but flying "left or right" (左右) cannot be controlled.

No you can’t change direction, but you can turn the drone while it’s on it’s on Rth .
So left stick right or left in mode2

hi,
One youtube video explain very well the RTH. Also, he explain why it could go wrong.

JeromeM Posted at 2-3 18:34
hi,
One youtube video explain very well the RTH. Also, he explain why it could go wrong.

thanks guys...

will need to fly more to get more experience...