Hey guys,

I searched to see if I could find a similar thread but no luck.  I bought a Mavic Air 2 about 2 weeks ago and really love it.  I have watched many YouTube videos to learn everything I can about this drone.  However, I am noticing a pattern that I am not thrilled with.  I live in a suburban neighborhood and when I take the Mavic Air 2 to 300 feet and fly over a nearby shopping center, i get "signal lost" at about 2300 feet!  This this is supposed to go 10KM and I realize that open area works best, but I am not in a city area.  I got it to go 3200 feet once, but have seen YouTube videos where people are getting 13,000-18,000 feet.  I am nowhere near that.  Also, if you let the batteries (fully charged) sit for a day, then I only get about 15 minutes flight time with them.  Is that normal?  I have 4 batteries, but have NEVER gotten the 34 minutes that they advertise.

I welcome all opinions and advice.

Thanks in advance.

Oh...and I highly recommend DecalGirl's website for drone skins.  I bought two Mavic Air 2's and skinned them both.  I have a murder hornet and a dystopian craft. (Check the pic)  HIGHLY recommend.  I will let you google yourself and won't post the link here. (Not sure if that is allowed)

When flying in areas like this Wifi is not your friend. When your thinking
distance remember that in perfect condition. Flying over a shopping center
that has lots of wifi signal will and can cause lost of signal. Also try flying higher.

Never charge your batteries and then leave them, they will automatically discharge. Only charge bnatteries just before you use them. And, as Woe says, a shopping centre is full of WiFi systems that are on the same frequency band as your aircraft, keep away from them.

You may also want to check that the drone skins could effect the antenna on the drone.

bjr981s Posted at 6-6 23:37
You may also want to check that the drone skins could effect the antenna on the drone.

Thank you..but I just put the drone skins on Friday and was having the issue way before that.  Thank you all for the advice.

This guy gets 9900 feet in an urban environment!!  I am having a hard time believing that WiFi signals from a shopping center cause me to get less than 2500 feet.  The decals are not the issue as I am getting the same range as before I applied them.  Very strange.    I have two drones and they both act about the same.  Not thrilled about my distance tests. Check this out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kt3Fpy1g3N8.

Hello there HazeMon$ter. Thank you for reaching out and for sharing these information with us. Can you please try to fly your DJI Mavic Air 2 to a different location or in an open area with less interference and please stay within the line of sight to isolate the issue. Woe is correct on post #2. The said drone could have been affected by signal interference that is why the range is also affected. In addition, the DJI Mavic Air 2 has an Auto-Discharging function to prevent the battery for swelling, the battery automatically discharges to 96% of the battery level when it is idle for one day and automatically discharges to 60% of the battery level when it is idle for 5 days. It is normal to feel moderate heat being emitted from the battery during the discharging process. For additional reference I will post a list of the intelligent flight battery safety guidelines. Thank you.

DJI Stephen Posted at 6-14 21:59
Hello there HazeMon$ter. Thank you for reaching out and for sharing these information with us. Can you please try to fly your DJI Mavic Air 2 to a different location or in an open area with less interference and please stay within the line of sight to isolate the issue. Woe is correct on post #2. The said drone could have been affected by signal interference that is why the range is also affected. In addition, the DJI Mavic Air 2 has an Auto-Discharging function to prevent the battery for swelling, the battery automatically discharges to 96% of the battery level when it is idle for one day and automatically discharges to 60% of the battery level when it is idle for 5 days. It is normal to feel moderate heat being emitted from the battery during the discharging process. For additional reference I will post a list of the intelligent flight battery safety guidelines. Thank you.

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Thank you very much.  I will try what you suggested and let you know.

HazeMon$ter Posted at 6-15 03:53
Thank you very much.  I will try what you suggested and let you know.

Hi there HazeMon$ter. Thank you for the reply and you are very much welcome. Please keep us posted fro further assistance. Have a safe and a happy flying always.

Since I now own the FPV drone with goggles, they NEED to make it work with the Mavic Air 2.  Would love to fly FPV with my two Mavic Air 2's.  I know there are workarounds...but MAKE IT HAPPEN DJI!!!

Commenting on the battery, first. LiPo batteries that self discharge by as much as you suggest indicates the batteries are not in prime condition. To put this in some sort of context, I remember my laptop batteries behaved like yours are doing after a lot of use and were known to be close to death. A full charge and immediate use did run the laptop (s, there were several over the years) at about 70 full capacity. My current laptop holds full charge for at least a month. I recently moved house and discovered some old LiPo cells I bought way back in 2005. I never used them, but out of curiosity, I put them on charge and found they showed fully charged after 15 minutes. They were fitted into a torch, to see if they still had any capacity. The lasted longer under test than the well used cells from the torch. Regarding range. You never mentioned at what charge level remained when you decided the batteries were used up.  You mentioned 15 minutes use. Was this with 30% charge showing (the usual DJI default ) or 10% or zero? My 2016 Phantom 3 pro has always shown about 17 to 18 minutes flight when the 30% warning to land goes off. Those batteries are well used and are the original. 4 that I bought with the drone. You also didn't mention if the range you claimed in the built up area was achieved with nothing like buildings or trees, for example, in between. Think of it this way, If you had binoculars, could you still see the drone? Anything in the way will reduce signal strength and the wise advice from others about WiFi interference is more relevant  than ever.