I took my mini out for a quick flight after work and it was all over the place...Winds were light (5kph), it's winter here but it was +6 C, so not overly cold, battery fully charged, so no red flags. But it was like it was flying itself at times... it would stop with full stick forward, it would start climbing on its own, descend on its own and at times in "P" mode it was like I was in "C" mode in terms of speed/power. First time it's acted like this, but when I read all the others posts, there are so many people having issues with this drone. I've had this since it was launched and if I compare my confidence level with this compared to my Mavic 2, there is no comparison...and that is only directed at my fear of crashing or losing this drone under normal flying conditions. I'm not comparing the drones.
Anyway, great concept DJI, but I really think you failed on this one. I just think this project was really rushed and at the expense of all those who purchased one...Maybe not all, as there are people who im sure have had no or little issues, but just read this forum and that must tell them something.
And what is sad is that this drone was purchased by so many first time drone owners and after this experience, many will either never fly a drone again or at least not one with the DJI badge.

Totally agree

Hi. I am sorry for the trouble this has caused and thank you for your informative insights. With regards to this matter. Since the drone the drone is moving on its own as stated. I would recommend to please calibrate the remote controller to check if the control sticks are drifting and if issue still persists, can you please calibrate the IMU and compass to isolate the issue. Please keep us posted for further assistance. Thank you.

I don't understand people who buy the Mini when they have the M2P.  You might as well create your own FPV drone with DJI Ocusync or DJI FPV if you want something different.  I came from the Spark then gradually got the better drones.  I can fly with full confidence.

AntDX316 Posted at 1-23 16:31
I don't understand people who buy the Mini when they have the M2P.  You might as well create your own FPV drone with DJI Ocusync or DJI FPV if you want something different.  I came from the Spark then gradually got the better drones.  I can fly with full confidence.

Instead of making a comment like that, why not just ask the question??

I live in a city that is almost entirely no fly zone under the Canadian drone laws...but, if I fly responsibly, my Mavic Mini can fly most anywhere...As well, when I travel, the MM is the perfect travel drone...well, that's under the assumption that it performs as advertised.

^^ant, I had a m2z when I first bought the mm.  honestly I thought it would be exactly like my m2z from the standpoint of brand name and ease of flying.  mostly already familiar with dji go/fly and I trust the dji brand to put out a quality drone.  I considered it as a complement to my m2z; I'm a recreational flyer so it's not always about specs, etc.  sometimes you get bored with flying the same drone over and over again and during those long outings, I thought it would be nice to switch off and keep it interesting.  I don't mind a challenge and the mm price is right, I mean who wants to spend another $1k on a 2nd drone.  also my thoughts are maybe just maybe one of these days the <250g crowd might mean something here in the usa.  ultimately I feel safer about flying mm in places where the m2z is too big and too noticeable or "inappropriate."  there are lots of times where I didn't feel comfortable flying such a large drone and with the mm, you could get away with flying a toy but it's not actually a toy.  my thoughts are keep mm in the car so I have a drone with me at all times no matter where I go.  I can't say I am not confident in flying mm because I only have limited time with it due to weather but I plan to find out next spring.  I purchase combo at heavy discount so I have no reason to regret or feel disappointed as I have none of the problems mentioned in this forum for the most part.

What temperature are you flying the drone in ?

hallmark007 Posted at 1-23 17:13
What temperature are you flying the drone in ?

https://app.airdata.com/share/UTYuTi

Exactly opposite opinion here. As a first time drone owner (having flown the P4 and Air before). I loved the Mini and it was everything I wanted. I will never travel with something the size of the P4 or Air, especially on trips where I would spend a fair bit of time on foot. My Mini experience have been perfect through 5 different countries over the last month.  I've flown in the dark, in gusty wind, in the cold (well 45 F) and with flock of pigeons with no problem. I just make sure I did all the pre-flights (waiting for enough sats, doing gimbal cali, waiting for Home point set message) before flying out and I take all warning seriously. I think your problem is trying to apply your experience with the bigger drone to the Mini which is totally not fair.

Wiz33 Posted at 1-23 19:04
Exactly opposite opinion here. As a first time drone owner (having flown the P4 and Air before). I loved the Mini and it was everything I wanted. I will never travel with something the size of the P4 or Air, especially on trips where I would spend a fair bit of time on foot. My Mini experience have been perfect through 5 different countries over the last month.  I've flown in the dark, in gusty wind, in the cold (well 45 F) and with flock of pigeons with no problem. I just make sure I did all the pre-flights (waiting for enough sats, doing gimbal cali, waiting for Home point set message) before flying out and I take all warning seriously. I think your problem is trying to apply your experience with the bigger drone to the Mini which is totally not fair.

I appreciate your comments, but your last one is completely wrong. No comparison being made to my Mavic 2. The only comparison is my level of confidence flying the Mavic mini vs the 2.  I know there will be exceptions and people with different experiences, I’m just giving my opinion based on my own experiences..

My experience is 180 degrees opposite from what you experience dutch. My MM works great.

Sounds to me as if you didn't have gps lock or need to calibrate the compass, but of course I do not know.

If you do a YouTube search for MM you will find dozens of drone professionals that have not experienced what you are experiencing either.

dutch937 Posted at 1-23 19:17
I appreciate your comments, but your last one is completely wrong. No comparison being made to my Mavic 2. The only comparison is my level of confidence flying the Mavic mini vs the 2.  I know there will be exceptions and people with different experiences, I’m just giving my opinion based on my own experiences..

But you did own and fly the pro first which sets you up with certain expectation. I'm not saying that what you experience today is normal but it shows that the Mini just does not have the same operation perimeter compared to the larger drone. It's more prone to be affected by the environment (temp, wind, moisture in some cases, minor wear/damage in the props) and the Software/firmware can certainly use more tweaks.

On the other hand, although I've flown the P4 and the air, it was awhile ago so while they gave me some experience on basic drone operation, I don't really remember much about their flight characteristic. I went into the Mini using a fair amount of caution and took it slow, keep it low and close for the first 2 weeks and it was a very positive experience.

To be honest, I'm not as happy with this drone as before.  In fact, I can't call him a real drone.  I would say it's a very good toy.  It's really portable, has a good flight time and a decent camera.  That's where it ends.  The mini certainly has very limited capabilities.  I cant trust him because he sometimes behaves unpredictably., highly limited camera capabilities.

I just could get into flying 2 times since i own the Mini but i have to say the first time it behaved exactly like the OP described. It was flying instable, didn't respond as intended, flew around up and down, left and right without any reasons. I got enough sattelites and did all the preflight stuff. I'm very careful with my electronics and wouldn't rush anything, especially since i have 0 experience with flying or Drones.
The second time it behaved perfectly. Same spot, same day, just a few hours later. The only difference was in my first flight it got around -2°C and the second fly it was 1°C at ground level.
I didn't fly that high and far. ~ 50m height and 200m far I guess.

Could this really be such a huge troublemaker for the mini? Very strange.

I've lost one which disconnected and failed to RTH so I can speak for myself. For what I've seen and felt on the ground about the Mini... it's a speeding bullet compared to how mini and light it is.

While I don't know for certain what happened to my 1st one I personally haven't noticed any weird behavior, rather the little being has an outstanding image stability in the wind, it's uncanny how smooth it manages to capture videos, even at times where I woulnd't even dare to elevate it past 10 meters... S mode and left thumb ready to bring it down.
Also the 1080p is tack sharp with very decent dynamic range... I like to have the option of 2.7K, but considering my tools it's a very good feature having an absolutely wonderful 1080.

Mizzu Posted at 1-23 23:31
I just could get into flying 2 times since i own the Mini but i have to say the first time it behaved exactly like the OP described. It was flying instable, didn't respond as intended, flew around up and down, left and right without any reasons. I got enough sattelites and did all the preflight stuff. I'm very careful with my electronics and wouldn't rush anything, especially since i have 0 experience with flying or Drones.
The second time it behaved perfectly. Same spot, same day, just a few hours later. The only difference was in my first flight it got around -2°C and the second fly it was 1°C at ground level.
I didn't fly that high and far. ~ 50m height and 200m far I guess.

Yes, he is very sensitive to everything .... I can't trust him because sometimes he can be completely unpredictable. Special care should be taken when flying low above water, if the outside temperature is low, if it is dark, if there is slight wind, if you are flying near reinforced concrete structures (may have trouble with the compass). I don't want to say that he is worthless, he is not as unique as many people say. Nevertheless, it is possible to have a good time with it. I hope DJI gives more functionality to this bird. I'm not talking about active tracking or anything like that. I would be very happy if I had full control over the camera. The Mini would be a unique travel drone. I bought it with that thought in mind. Sorry for my english ;)

I think like with many products, it's early time, most issues will be ironed with FW updates, but so many new users having mixed feelings regarding their expectations...
Can't say I feel bad about how mini behaves apart from some small inconsistencies, being my first drone my overall experience is positive.
Just hoping for manual video settings and some camera extras.

I love my mini and couldn't be happier with it. However,  DJI has to address some issues quite a few people seem to have. I, myself haven't experienced any issues.......so far

AntDX316 Posted at 1-23 16:31
I don't understand people who buy the Mini when they have the M2P.  You might as well create your own FPV drone with DJI Ocusync or DJI FPV if you want something different.  I came from the Spark then gradually got the better drones.  I can fly with full confidence.

Different situations require different tools. Sometimes it’s the convenience, other times it could be restrictions.

I have a full frame DSLR hanging from a heavy lift hexacopter but I wouldn’t want to drag it around with me all the time just because on paper it’s far superior to my Spark, which was my grab and go drone until I received a Parrot Anafi as a present. I personally have no desire to own a Mavic Mini but I wouldn’t criticise someone else’s choice, as their needs and wants will not be the same as mine and their scope for creativity will not be any less.

Back to the original poster’s dilemma. It’s always difficult to try and communicate a problem via a forum but based on the info provided I would initially follow the suggestions of others here and perform a full calibration of all the components in a suitable inert environment. Some unwanted behaviour can be attributed to particular mechanical issues and/or errors induced during the calibration process.

Nidge.

I think its a bit non-fact based initial Post.
Looking at the Flight log everytime the Mini moves "itself" in the Log are "Not enougth Force/ESC Error" Messages see:
https://app.airdata.com/share/UTYuTi/GENERALNotifications

I think under the Trees you dont have feeled the Wind above the Trees and there was gust of wind that moved the Mini.
In general we have a lot of people here complaining about problems with there AC and when they upload Flightlogs in most of these Threads someone makes an analysis with an good explanation of the "Magic".
Complaining should be always fact based and the DJI Drones record 100 Times a second all Sensor Data to the Flight Log remotely located on the phone. We have an real nice basis for facts during our flights.  

Mizzu Posted at 1-23 23:31
I just could get into flying 2 times since i own the Mini but i have to say the first time it behaved exactly like the OP described. It was flying instable, didn't respond as intended, flew around up and down, left and right without any reasons. I got enough sattelites and did all the preflight stuff. I'm very careful with my electronics and wouldn't rush anything, especially since i have 0 experience with flying or Drones.
The second time it behaved perfectly. Same spot, same day, just a few hours later. The only difference was in my first flight it got around -2°C and the second fly it was 1°C at ground level.
I didn't fly that high and far. ~ 50m height and 200m far I guess.

Maybe you can show an flightlog too, then we can talk further.

I to am becoming disillusioned with the Mini.  I have a Mavic Air and use it when I am touring on my motorcycle or on general holidays.  The Mini sounded even better as it it lighter, etc.

However, my last flight with the Mini almost ended in disaster.  I launched it by hand (I have a spaniel that has a passionate hatred for drones) flew it about for 11 minutes and then it simply descended by itself and ignored any input from my left stick.  It descended a total of 27ft before it detected water/landing zone and then bounced up, I regained some control and flew it back to land for a hand landing.  It got to within 2 feet from the water, the flight log shows -11 feet, that's because I launched it by hand from the bank.

https://www.phantomhelp.com/LogViewer/NGMSJ9UDIRFHIYE43O3W/

At around 11 minutes you will see its behaviour and my response on the left stick on the right.  It simply did not respond to my input and I was 20 yards from it.

The drone and batteries have been returned to DJI and they have responded with "No Fault" and it looks like they are returning it to me, I have asked DJI to respond to the flight log and have had no response at time of writing.

The bottom line is that you have to be able to trust the thing you are flying and if you can't trust it, you can't fly it.

If a drone does not respond to control inputs from the pilot then its simply an accident waiting to happen.

Christian U Posted at 1-24 06:14
I think its a bit non-fact based initial Post.
Looking at the Flight log everytime the Mini moves "itself" in the Log are "Not enougth Force/ESC Error" Messages see:
https://app.airdata.com/share/UTYuTi/GENERALNotifications

I'm not sure I understand your reply..?>?
Im certainly not complaining, just providing opinion and stating facts...In all circumstances when you read a post related to an issue with one of the Mavic AC's, i'm sure being there in person lends itself to a different experience than a post on a forum and the flight data.
In my case, it was primarily the last 2 or 3 minutes when the drone was less than 400 feet away from me and less than 100 ft in the air. it was at or just below the surrounding trees and I had a clear view with my controller. So, I wasn't imagining anything and there was no movement in the trees at that height, so the wind was the same or near the same as it was where I was standing. Anyway, it doesn't really matter, as this is something I will deal with, as it's quite obvious at this point that DJI can't or won't do anything.

Mizzu Posted at 1-23 23:31
I just could get into flying 2 times since i own the Mini but i have to say the first time it behaved exactly like the OP described. It was flying instable, didn't respond as intended, flew around up and down, left and right without any reasons. I got enough sattelites and did all the preflight stuff. I'm very careful with my electronics and wouldn't rush anything, especially since i have 0 experience with flying or Drones.
The second time it behaved perfectly. Same spot, same day, just a few hours later. The only difference was in my first flight it got around -2°C and the second fly it was 1°C at ground level.
I didn't fly that high and far. ~ 50m height and 200m far I guess.

Yes, the Mini does not like really cold temp. A lot of the problem that was reported was from people trying to fly at close to freezing temperatures.

Donsir_LTU Posted at 1-24 00:35
Yes, he is very sensitive to everything .... I can't trust him because sometimes he can be completely unpredictable. Special care should be taken when flying low above water, if the outside temperature is low, if it is dark, if there is slight wind, if you are flying near reinforced concrete structures (may have trouble with the compass). I don't want to say that he is worthless, he is not as unique as many people say. Nevertheless, it is possible to have a good time with it. I hope DJI gives more functionality to this bird. I'm not talking about active tracking or anything like that. I would be very happy if I had full control over the camera. The Mini would be a unique travel drone. I bought it with that thought in mind. Sorry for my english ;)

It's not about trust and the Mini is totally predictable. It's about knowing the limit of the Mini. It does not have avoidance sensor, it has a very basic sensor for height, it's motor is not that strong and it's more sensitive to temperature variation and weather. As long as you keep that in mind. The Mini works as advertised.

Wiz33 Posted at 1-24 08:20
It's not about trust and the Mini is totally predictable. It's about knowing the limit of the Mini. It does not have avoidance sensor, it has a very basic sensor for height, it's motor is not that strong and it's more sensitive to temperature variation and weather. As long as you keep that in mind. The Mini works as advertised.

Ok, but whats happening with mini's now. There is a lot of drop off from the sky without any reason. Not one, but many. Everybody talks about the similar situations. Mini doesnt respond to controller, mini drop off and....almost every day the same. I think these failures started with 0.400 firmware. I'm started to see strange flying, very unstable hovering after new fw upgrade.  

Donsir_LTU Posted at 1-24 09:30
Ok, but whats happening with mini's now. There is a lot of drop off from the sky without any reason. Not one, but many. Everybody talks about the similar situations. Mini doesnt respond to controller, mini drop off and....almost every day the same. I think these failures started with 0.400 firmware. I'm started to see strange flying, very unstable hovering after new fw upgrade.

9 time out of 10, those people are flying in low temperature. Sure, a lot of them is saying that they are flying at 2-3C (which is within Mini's operating perimeter) but that's ground level. Once you get up in the air. it could be colder than that. Also, if there's enough moisture in the air, you can get ice buildup on prop. Most people that got in trouble seems to be pushing the mini to the limit one way or another. so I'm sure most of them are at fault on what happened to their Mini and many actually admitted that it's their own fault.

It’s kind of strange that temperature has been established as a cause of craft loosing and gaining altitude yet almost everybody on this thread seems willing to ignore this, it could be a simple thing of just leaving Mini in your car for a couple of hours, maybe to clear up some of these problems just let us know temperatures.

Wiz33 Posted at 1-24 09:56
9 time out of 10, those people are flying in low temperature. Sure, a lot of them is saying that they are flying at 2-3C (which is within Mini's operating perimeter) but that's ground level. Once you get up in the air. it could be colder than that. Also, if there's enough moisture in the air, you can get ice buildup on prop. Most people that got in trouble seems to be pushing the mini to the limit one way or another. so I'm sure most of them are at fault on what happened to their Mini and many actually admitted that it's their own fault.

Hope you're right ;)

dutch937 Posted at 1-23 18:44
https://app.airdata.com/share/UTYuTi

You have a lot of "Not Enough Power/ESC Error warnings on that flight.

Follow up -https://app.airdata.com/share/woPRdV

Short flight just now, considerably more wind, about the same temp (Avg.  6 C), no errors, now power issues, very stable, only high wind warnings, which were justified. Mini handled perfectly, especially considering the wind.
Only change from yesterday, downgraded firmware to v01.00.0300 from most recent firmware.
So, this all goes back to my original post ... lack of confidence in this product. Maybe the hardware is excellent, especially considering the price and the capabilities, but if the software is not reliable then it doesn't matter how good the hardware is.

hallmark007 Posted at 1-24 10:11
It’s kind of strange that temperature has been established as a cause of craft loosing and gaining altitude yet almost everybody on this thread seems willing to ignore this, it could be a simple thing of just leaving Mini in your car for a couple of hours, maybe to clear up some of these problems just let us know temperatures.

In some cases we know that they flew in Fog or clouds at low temperatures. And ice builds on the blades, so they had not enougth lift anymore and drop.

I disagree with all the comments concerning low temp, fog or anything else, I have been flying Spark and Mavic Air for 3 years, never had a drone disobey a command.

When mine headed for the water I was 20 yards from it, on a clear warm day, no wind.

Mavic Dave Posted at 1-24 12:20
I disagree with all the comments concerning low temp, fog or anything else, I have been flying Spark and Mavic Air for 3 years, never had a drone disobey a command.

When mine headed for the water I was 20 yards from it, on a clear warm day, no wind.

I agree completely.  I lost my first MM in the river.  Light winds.  Temp was around 45F.  Replacement MM exhibiting same behavior off and on.  I'm not convinced it's props or temp or wind.  I fly in very reasonable conditions.  I can tell if the flight will be rife with errors and altitude drops if I do full right stick in Sport mode.  If I can get over 20 mph, the flight will be perfect.  If I can only get to around 15 mph, I know I'll be getting "max power load reached" errors and it will drop.  I can't find any consistent thing which causes it.  I think it is, ultimately, a flaw in the firmware tied to other minor environmental conditions.  DJI needs to examine what the flight controller and ESC are doing in these conditions in a serious lab environment.

Mavic Dave Posted at 1-24 12:20
I disagree with all the comments concerning low temp, fog or anything else, I have been flying Spark and Mavic Air for 3 years, never had a drone disobey a command.

When mine headed for the water I was 20 yards from it, on a clear warm day, no wind.

There are plenty of threads of spark going down landing from heights above clouds, Mavic pro had many cases of involuntary landing .
It’s ridiculous to say you don’t agree with asking the temperature being flown, people are just trying to get the common denominator as to why loss of altitude, I myself have tested at mins 3/4 and it was pretty clear that altitude decrease and increase was caused by confused IMU , do you really think that dji put a limit on conditions to fly for a laugh.

Now unless you know something more than the rest of us, please be so kind as to let us know what it is, otherwise no need for the ridiculous statements .It's not all about you .

+6 C but all full of snow in the images. Maybe the ESC Errors are from ice on the blades.

Mavic Dave Posted at 1-24 12:20
I disagree with all the comments concerning low temp, fog or anything else, I have been flying Spark and Mavic Air for 3 years, never had a drone disobey a command.

When mine headed for the water I was 20 yards from it, on a clear warm day, no wind.

The Mini is different, its much ligther and has not so much Motor Power than the other DJI drones, you have to get this into your calculations.

Christian U Posted at 1-24 12:49
+6 C but all full of snow in the images. Maybe the ESC Errors are from ice on the blades.

Ice on the blades??? it was partly cloudy and +6 and I wasn't flying in the clouds.
So, no.

Donsir_LTU Posted at 1-24 10:22
Hope you're right ;)

I think this is what it is for most cases, but not all are the same but we haven’t got correct temps or seen all logs.