Hi fellow fliers, question about flying my drone without GPS. The first time i started it up, it got 5 or 6 satelites, but that was because i live in an urban center with a courtyard, the drone then said i could fly without GPS, but i decided not to. How does a drone pilot take off without GPS and how does one land? what would happen in between?

i decided not to try because i was inside a relatively narrow courtyyard about 20 feet wide by 30 feet long, surounded by buildings. Its a DJI mini 2, thanks

Best not to fly like this,   some drones have an atti mode where it will not use gps to fly and you have to do everything,   when taking off without GPS lock you run a big risk of fly aways when the drone then gets a signal.   One of the most common reasons for lost drones we see here.

Hello there Jenson. Good day and thank you for these information you have given. When the said drone's GPS is weak, the safety feature of the DJI Mini 2 will trigger and limits the height to 5 meters for safety purposes. The interference from other sources might trigger the drone to move uncontrollably.  In addition, the Vision System of the DJI Mini 2 allows the aircraft to hover at low altitudes ( 0.5 to 10 m ), but the ground must have distinct textures, and there needs to be sufficient lighting. Thank you.

All this limiting when there is no gps signal needs to have an option to be turned off.   This kind of stuff is why people don't like DJI drones.

Issicus Posted at 7-30 23:35
All this limiting when there is no gps signal needs to have an option to be turned off.   This kind of stuff is why people don't like DJI drones.

"don't like DJI drones" that will not be me, DJI make drones that meet most peoples demand, and the are safe to handle, also for beginners - besides that hardware is reliable.

Reading the manual before using the drone is the best thing. It took me months to learn everything and then I went out on an flat open filed and started. I also went trough many posts here as well and learned heaps. After all, the drones cost a bit of hard earned money, so why take any risks. Now I have had the Mavic 2 Pro for over 9 months and flown over 100 times and it has not missed one beat. Once you know how everything works, you really appreciate how good the DJI drones really are and why they cost the way the do. Happy flying.

Issicus Posted at 7-30 23:35
All this limiting when there is no gps signal needs to have an option to be turned off.   This kind of stuff is why people don't like DJI drones.

This kind of answer is why DJI can't or has a problem to support you in a normal/standard way. People who want to take their risks, okay understand, but i think you play with the 'forget your guarantee'. After all, ... happy flying!

DJI Stephen Posted at 3-4 00:57
Hello there Jenson. Good day and thank you for these information you have given. When the said drone's GPS is weak, the safety feature of the DJI Mini 2 will trigger and limits the height to 5 meters for safety purposes. The interference from other sources might trigger the drone to move uncontrollably.  In addition, the Vision System of the DJI Mini 2 allows the aircraft to hover at low altitudes ( 0.5 to 10 m ), but the ground must have distinct textures, and there needs to be sufficient lighting. Thank you.

[view_image]

Hi Stephen, are you 100% sure that the being limited to 5m is correct?

I ask because it does not mention 5m in your picture of the instruction manual.

Plus, it does actually state that the operating range is from 0.5m up to 30m but works best from 0.5 to 10m but that's only the sensor range and not a flight limitation, it does not state that you cannot fly out of that range, i.e., it does not state that the AC is limited to inside either range..

What if its dark or low light and no GPS lock, are you saying that it cannot take off at all because the vision sensing wont work?

Bashy Posted at 7-31 17:04
Hi Stephen, are you 100% sure that the being limited to 5m is correct?

I ask because it does not mention 5m in your picture of the instruction manual.

Hi Stephen, are you 100% sure that the being limited to 5m is correct?
See p40 of the manual where it says:
   Height is restricted to 16 ft (5 m) when the GPS signal is weak and Infrared Sensing System is operating.
   Height is restricted to 98 ft (30 m) when the GPS signal is weak and Infrared Sensing System is not operating.

Issicus Posted at 7-30 23:35
All this limiting when there is no gps signal needs to have an option to be turned off.   This kind of stuff is why people don't like DJI drones.

There are plenty of drones available out there that CANNOT use GPS. They usually fly willy-nilly in abandon because there is no position data to use. If that is what you want, go for it, (FPV?). But DJI makes mostly camera drones and those need to be stable in flight to be useful.

GaryDoug Posted at 7-31 18:52
There are plenty of drones available out there that CANNOT use GPS. They usually fly willy-nilly in abandon because there is no position data to use. If that is what you want, go for it, (FPV?). But DJI makes mostly camera drones and those need to be stable in flight to be useful.

But DJI makes mostly camera drones and those need to be stable in flight to be useful.
They also make more fully featured drones with more control options that are ideal for those who want more than cheap, simplified, entry-level drones.

Labroides Posted at 7-31 17:21
Hi Stephen, are you 100% sure that the being limited to 5m is correct?
See p40 of the manual where it says:
   Height is restricted to 16 ft (5 m) when the GPS signal is weak and Infrared Sensing System is operating.

Thanks, Labroides, looks like flying in somewhere like, Cardington hangars (UK) would be out of the question, 210m long and 52m high lol

Bashy Posted at 7-31 19:28
Thanks, Labroides, looks like flying in somewhere like, Cardington hangars (UK) would be out of the question, 210m long and 52m high lol

But no real issue with a Mavic 2 pro or Phantom which allows you to disable the downward sensors.

GaryDoug Posted at 7-31 18:52
There are plenty of drones available out there that CANNOT use GPS. They usually fly willy-nilly in abandon because there is no position data to use. If that is what you want, go for it, (FPV?). But DJI makes mostly camera drones and those need to be stable in flight to be useful.

Not so sure that really compute with me, GPS isn't really for a stable flight, not in a location (GPS) sense of things, that's what the IMU is for (I believe), just to confirm what I'm mean, look at the Phantom's ATTI mode, the camera still works perfectly well, Unless of course, I have completely misunderstood your reply

Unfortunately there will always be more users who will want to make the drones more dangerous. It's the way the world is now. Why not disable everything and go back 50 years.

GaryDoug Posted at 7-31 19:45
Unfortunately there will always be more users who will want to make the drones more dangerous. It's the way the world is now. Why not disable everything and go back 50 years.

I wouldnt say more dangerous, they just one more control than whats available

Heb ik een betere controle over de drone  met een uitgevoergevoerde gps drone