I have seen a few posts about the very poor range in CE mode and have also seen a few good ranges as well. I personally experienced a drastic drop in range from flying my Mavic 2 and the Air2S, which is supposed to have better transmission. I love my distance flights and i flew the same route where my Zoom gets 5km and still have plenty of Signal to go further but the Air2S only gets 2.8km and then a sudden drop in signal - I mean it literally goes from 4 bars to 0 or 2 bars and the drone does a RTH within seconds of losing connection. This flight path is LOS with no obstruction between drone and RC and Yes i am pointing the RC to the drone properly. With the Mavic 2 you could lose video signal but RC signal would allow you to push further and the drone would reconnect, even at 1 bar signal you could still fly comfortably. Dji, can you fix this else it will be rather disappointing to customers that are not in FCC coverage. With 4 antenaes that is now installed the signal should be able to push further or is this only to give a better video feed back to the screen and it cuts the range down?

Anyone who is getting good range over 3km in CE let us know. I want to see how many of you that have got your Air2S and love it but disappointed with the poor signal quality.

The worst part is that I saw a Youtuber reaching 19Km in Europe with the stock controller, but others can't go past 2Km over water, and others getting disconnected at just 300m o_O

For the most part I see a better range than the Mini 2, but the flight becomes pretty unreliable at long range. I see my Mini 2 performing better at longer ranges despite the fact that it has only 2 little antennas vs 4 proper antennas.

Hopefully this gets solved with an update or two, wouldn't want to mod the controller with a boosted antenna like the alientech ones >_<

Huginn Kenningar Posted at 4-23 01:45
The worst part is that I saw a Youtuber reaching 19Km in Europe with the stock controller, but others can't go past 2Km over water, and others getting disconnected at just 300m o_O

For the most part I see a better range than the Mini 2, but the flight becomes pretty unreliable at long range. I see my Mini 2 performing better at longer ranges despite the fact that it has only 2 little antennas vs 4 proper antennas.

Yeah I saw that video, how the heck did he get that range, looks impossible unless he was using a booster. I can even get more then 2.8km LOS and he flies 19km

Does New Zealand use CE then?

Suren Posted at 4-23 12:58
Yeah I saw that video, how the heck did he get that range, looks impossible unless he was using a booster. I can even get more then 2.8km LOS and he flies 19km

Maybe because he is flying in a low interference area... i was quite impressed with that mark.

I did a few more flights and the drone flights quite nice and the connection is quite good and even managed to break my mini 2 personal records (signal penetration is just fantastic), but it seems that at some point and from now and then it just refuses to continue searching the proper channel/frequency.

Its like okay, I'm done with it, from now on you fly with 1 bar, and you are left like come on, I know for sure you can find a proper channel and give me 4/5 bars in that spot.

DAFlys Posted at 4-24 00:15
Does New Zealand use CE then?

Yes, I hope we can change to FCC like parts of Australia

Huginn Kenningar Posted at 4-24 02:49
Maybe because he is flying in a low interference area... i was quite impressed with that mark.

I did a few more flights and the drone flights quite nice and the connection is quite good and even managed to break my mini 2 personal records (signal penetration is just fantastic), but it seems that at some point and from now and then it just refuses to continue searching the proper channel/frequency.

I just compare it to the distance my Zoom used to get on the same flight path and it disappoints me

That is strange, but we have seen updates on the M2 for better range too.

Same here, with mavic pro 2 +/- 5.5 km, mini 2 +/- 4.5 km and air2s +/- 2.5 km so I return it back

Well to be honest I really don't get these "range" questions and needs. Here in the EU VLOS is mandatory. Sure I sometimes loose my drone out of sight (especially to mini 2, phantom 4 pro less) but I'll never ever remotely go near the limits of receptions.

Yep, range sucks

The DH hack now can put the A2S in FCC mode permanently and works fantastically. Cuts through interference like nothing and it's impossible to lose connection at short range, I'd say for everyone living in Europe, doesn't matter if you are a long ranger or just flying within the 500m VLOS range, the hack is a must.

It basically doubles the power for the 2.4Ghz band and cuadruples it for the 5.8Ghz band, so now the 5.8Ghz is usable. In CE mode the app never choses the 5.8Ghz band because it's so limited in power that doesn't mater how saturated is the 2.4Ghz, you'll allways will be flying in 2.4Ghz. With the hack both 2.4 and 5.8 have the same power so the dual band is now useful.

It also doesn't matter whether if you fly from android or ios, it's drone related so works in both platfroms.

hi, and what was the range before and then the range after the hack ?

Henri 58 Posted at 8-13 07:01
hi, and what was the range before and then the range after the hack ?

Max range in optimal LOS conditions will be about the same in my case, wich is about 6.2Km due to the battery bottleneck. I hit that mark in CE mode some months ago, no doubt I'd smash it in FCC mode if the batteries lasted longer.

The main difference at long range is that in FCC you always have 5-4 bars (even through some light obstacles like trees) while in CE mode you are struggling at 2 bars or less and having lots of disconnections if you are not perfectly aligned with an unobstructed LOS.

At close range in FCC mode, you don't even have to point the controller towards the drone, the difference is super noticeable, is the best mod/accesory you can buy for any European drone (FPV, Mini2, etc).

Before changing to FCC I was constantly thinking of ways to improve the connection, like purchashing an Alientech boosted antenna, finding a taller place to take off, removing the controller sun hood (yep, in CE mode the loss of signal strength is significant), etc. Now it just has a rock solid connection anywhere from 0 to 6Km, even with some antenna towers in the middle, so you can concentrate more on the flight rather than in maintaining signal strength because the bottleneck will always be the battery.

If you are struggling with the connection it will solve all those problems. I only purchased it for the Air2S, because it's my main drone and I reserve the Mini 2 for situations where the 2S can't fly, like close to uninvolved people, wich usually are close range operations.

Huginn Kenningar Posted at 4-23 01:45
The worst part is that I saw a Youtuber reaching 19Km in Europe with the stock controller, but others can't go past 2Km over water, and others getting disconnected at just 300m o_O

For the most part I see a better range than the Mini 2, but the flight becomes pretty unreliable at long range. I see my Mini 2 performing better at longer ranges despite the fact that it has only 2 little antennas vs 4 proper antennas.

You dont need to modify your remote. A simple app on android enables fcc mode. Works great! I reached 6 Km with no effort at all, and i am limited only by the battery. At 6 Km distance i add FULL signal strenght but i had to return because of battery.I fly with a cheap yagui antena i bough on ebay and allways use 5.8Ghz

Huginn Kenningar Posted at 8-13 06:31
The DH hack now can put the A2S in FCC mode permanently and works fantastically. Cuts through interference like nothing and it's impossible to lose connection at short range, I'd say for everyone living in Europe, doesn't matter if you are a long ranger or just flying within the 500m VLOS range, the hack is a must.

It basically doubles the power for the 2.4Ghz band and cuadruples it for the 5.8Ghz band, so now the 5.8Ghz is usable. In CE mode the app never choses the 5.8Ghz band because it's so limited in power that doesn't mater how saturated is the 2.4Ghz, you'll allways will be flying in 2.4Ghz. With the hack both 2.4 and 5.8 have the same power so the dual band is now useful.

Yup, I put that on my drone a few days back, works like a charm and range is amazing

Are You talking about DHCompanion Android application? Or are there other options?

Miguel Leitao: Is that Yagi range extender working (I mean truly increasing signal strenght)?

Extremely dissapointed with my purchase (air2s) so far! Allready down to the second one due to issues with the first one i received. Now... poor range, Wrong altitude readout, etc...
Not impressed by dji so far! Lot of money for what starts to look more and more like a cheap chinese toy!

virtual Posted at 8-14 01:20
Are You talking about DHCompanion Android application? Or are there other options?

Miguel Leitao: Is that Yagi range extender working (I mean truly increasing signal strenght)?

Now you can use the DH desktop app to enable FCC permanently on the drone, so there's no more need of using the android app. If you already had the license for the android app there's no need to pay again.

It will be in FCC mode no matter what phone you are using and won't default back to FCC after a restart, so pretty useful.

virtual Posted at 8-14 01:20
Are You talking about DHCompanion Android application? Or are there other options?

Miguel Leitao: Is that Yagi range extender working (I mean truly increasing signal strenght)?

Yes im talking about DH companion app. But they now have a permanent fcc hack with their windows app. And they added altitude and NFZ limitations removal. As for the Yagui it doenst do miracles on its own but i think it helps guide the signal with more precision and in the end it will result in 5 to 10% better range. But remember, in order to benefit from yagui antena, you have to use 5.8ghz....

You still only have the same transmission power as before from the remote controller. The only thing you are doing is to concentrate the signal from being wide (all around) to narrow beam. Its like almost using a laser beam and concentrating all the power in a narrow beam towards the drone. You therefore really have to point the remote towards the drone or you will lose the contact to the drone very easily..

BartClaes Posted at 8-14 03:21
Extremely dissapointed with my purchase (air2s) so far! Allready down to the second one due to issues with the first one i received. Now... poor range, Wrong altitude readout, etc...
Not impressed by dji so far! Lot of money for what starts to look more and more like a cheap chinese toy!

I was disappointed at the beginning, but as long as you keep LOS it will reach any distance quite nicely, but nothing spectacular. If you are flying within the rules... well, I'd say is quite difficult to lose connection under 500 meters.

And if you unlock FCC I really doubt any drone out there can beat that range and quality of connection unless is using 4G/5G, because it just becomes flawless.

Huginn Kenningar Posted at 8-14 11:48
I was disappointed at the beginning, but as long as you keep LOS it will reach any distance quite nicely, but nothing spectacular. If you are flying within the rules... well, I'd say is quite difficult to lose connection under 500 meters.

And if you unlock FCC I really doubt any drone out there can beat that range and quality of connection unless is using 4G/5G, because it just becomes flawless.

Unlock FCC? So, you are saying that you have to hack the thing for it to perform according to its price tag??
Nice one! I did another flight today and the image started freezing at 80m so forget your 500m. Also, while i was 8-9m up in the air the app said i was at -2.5m ?? I guess i have to be thankful that it did not stop at 30m saying, 'maximum flight distance reached' like the first one i had to send back. Oh...by the way, this one still does that but i have now figured out that you just need to disconnect the controller mid flight to resolve the issue! Talk about safe! Marvelous peace of tech. Sorry for being frustrated and disappointed with my purchase! I think i would have better performance buying a drone of wish.com

kyalami Posted at 8-14 07:09
You still only have the same transmission power as before from the remote controller. The only thing you are doing is to concentrate the signal from being wide (all around) to narrow beam. Its like almost using a laser beam and concentrating all the power in a narrow beam towards the drone. You therefore really have to point the remote towards the drone or you will lose the contact to the drone very easily..

This doesn't sound good, looks like useless accessory if it's true...

Huginn Kenningar Posted at 8-14 03:23
Now you can use the DH desktop app to enable FCC permanently on the drone, so there's no more need of using the android app. If you already had the license for the android app there's no need to pay again.

It will be in FCC mode no matter what phone you are using and won't default back to FCC after a restart, so pretty useful.

So how it works? I have Air 2, I look for solid cennection stability (do not need some "crazy range" in Europe). I read that You can not update app and fw having this hack (or airplane mode for phone only at the moment) which sounds like issue for me...

I bought and return it back 2 times. I bought it a third time and now seems that everything works fine. I got to +/- 5.8 km. So to my humble opinion, there has to be a different version out there of the air2s bird. Some good and some bad. So I had to change three of the birds before I got the one with the good results.  very strange. I Use the Fcc mode and I got to fly to a high altitude .

Air 2s range sucks.   Straight truth

virtual Posted at 8-15 03:46
So how it works? I have Air 2, I look for solid cennection stability (do not need some "crazy range" in Europe). I read that You can not update app and fw having this hack (or airplane mode for phone only at the moment) which sounds like issue for me...

You just need to buy a license for your drone in DH website, I have both for the Mini 2 and the Air2S.

It's not only about range, it's about signal stability and performance in environments with high 2.4Ghz interference.

In FCC mode you have x4 the power on the 2.4Ghz band and x16 the power on the 5.8Ghz band compared to the standard CE mode we get on Europe. On CE mode the drone isn't multichannel, you'll always be flying on 2.4Ghz because 5.8Ghz transmission power is just 25mW.

In FCC mode mode you get 400mW for both 2.4 and 5.8Ghz.

BartClaes Posted at 8-14 15:41
Unlock FCC? So, you are saying that you have to hack the thing for it to perform according to its price tag??
Nice one! I did another flight today and the image started freezing at 80m so forget your 500m. Also, while i was 8-9m up in the air the app said i was at -2.5m ?? I guess i have to be thankful that it did not stop at 30m saying, 'maximum flight distance reached' like the first one i had to send back. Oh...by the way, this one still does that but i have now figured out that you just need to disconnect the controller mid flight to resolve the issue! Talk about safe! Marvelous peace of tech. Sorry for being frustrated and disappointed with my purchase! I think i would have better performance buying a drone of wish.com

Of course.

DJI can't go past CE restrictions, so they put 4 antennas on the Air2S instead of just 2, and despite the output power being the same on all CE drones it performs better than the Mini 2, which uses the same controller but only has two little antennas.

On Europe drones are bottlenecked by CE regulations so if you want better performance you need either to increase the antenna size or boost the signal strength either by buying a boosted antenna or unlocking FCC mode.

By unlocking FCC mode you are multiplying by 4 the transmission power on the 2.4Ghz band and by 16 on the 5.8Ghz one.

My max range record is still the one I got in CE mode, which was about 6.2Km (battery bottlenecked). Range depend on a lot of factors, but ofc, by having a much more powerful connection on both bands you'll be able to reach further.

That being said, even on CE mode, transmitting 1080p video to more than 6Km in such a compact format is quite impressive. The first time I bought a drone, I didn't expect it to go further than a few hundreds of meters. In fact my first flight with the Mini 2 I went 300 meters and back and was like OMG... and nowdays I nearly never fly under 2Km distance with either the Mini 2 or the Air2S.

Huginn Kenningar Posted at 9-17 16:19
Of course.

DJI can't go past CE restrictions, so they put 4 antennas on the Air2S instead of just 2, and despite the output power being the same on all CE drones it performs better than the Mini 2, which uses the same controller but only has two little antennas.

Can you suggest me an “easy” way to upgrade to FCC permanently. My range is ok in general but in urban environment I would really want some better signal penetration.

Thanks,

SjK_oldman Posted at 9-17 15:43
Air 2s range sucks.   Straight truth

It far out distances my ability to see and that’s enough for me.   Try driving where you want to take pictures instead of trying to fly your drone there.  

Suren Posted at 2021-4-24 13:58
Yes, I hope we can change to FCC like parts of Australia

which parts of Australia are FCC?

djiuser_c8GLrzxZgHiV Posted at 1-20 15:33
which parts of Australia are FCC?

Not sure about which parts but I have seen posts that Aussie is now FCC and not CE anymore.

I've only gotten 1.8 miles.
There's a lot of houses, electric wires and a couple 5g towers but  nothing to block between me and the drone.
I get a little static around 1.6 and completely cuts out at 1.8
Same flight path every time
I'm going on the roof tonight and try to push it to the 2 mile mark

I've bought 2 here in the US through Amazon, and seem to be limited to 2 miles. How can I tell if I have been sold a EU version? This thread got me thinking, so I removed my Air 2S battery and the label inside had large markings UK, CA, CE. What does this label show for true FCC versions?

Can anyone help me identify these markings? I see "FCC Compliant" but that doesn't convince me. Seems it would be easy to be fcc compliant at the lower EU power.

Huginn Kenningar Posted at 2021-8-13 06:31
The DH hack now can put the A2S in FCC mode permanently and works fantastically. Cuts through interference like nothing and it's impossible to lose connection at short range, I'd say for everyone living in Europe, doesn't matter if you are a long ranger or just flying within the 500m VLOS range, the hack is a must.

It basically doubles the power for the 2.4Ghz band and cuadruples it for the 5.8Ghz band, so now the 5.8Ghz is usable. In CE mode the app never choses the 5.8Ghz band because it's so limited in power that doesn't mater how saturated is the 2.4Ghz, you'll allways will be flying in 2.4Ghz. With the hack both 2.4 and 5.8 have the same power so the dual band is now useful.

Is there any danger of using this FCC mode in the UK, or anywhere? Could it void insurance / warranty?

b9y Posted at 7-14 20:23
Is there any danger of using this FCC mode in the UK, or anywhere? Could it void insurance / warranty?

No issues with using it but don't advertise it.

I just have to ask: Why do you need these distances? I no area I've been these distances are legal to fly, being responsible operator is a big part of flying a drone. If the answer is: the box says you can than you probably don't understand how regulation works. With non of the drones I own or have owned connection has been a problem.

I got the flight range less than 2.8KM. anything help to increase the range?