From the specs, it all mentioned that DJI Mavic Mini has a range of at least 2.5 miles. However, when I fly my mini, most of the time, I lost connection around 1000 ft, or about 300 meters.


My question is, what may cause the extreme short range of my drone?


Thank you in advance.

Obstacles like trees and buildings and WiFi interference. Do you have a clear line of sight? I usually get about 1 mile in one direction but only a few hundred meters in another direction in a suburban environment at about 150 feet altitude. Much less at 70 feet.

Hello there ttsyny. I am sorry for the trouble this has caused and thank you for reaching out. Can you please fly your DJI Mavic Mini Mini to a different location with less interference to see if the issue will still persist? The said DJI drone might have picked up magnetic interference in the said location.  In addition please make sure that the antennas are pointed toward the aircraft for optimal transmission. Thank you.

Those specs are under ideal test conditions.  Your range will depend on where you fly and weather  conditions.  Range will be effected by many things such as wind, signal interference from buildings, trees, wifi, etc.  I've found that I get much better distance in the open countryside than in suburban areas.   

Thank you all for your kind reply. Finally I realized that I was flying too close to other houses: I was flying in my backyard, and there are houses all around me. I think it is a simple geometry problem: close-by houses blocked the signal! I went out to an open filed, now my range increased to about 2000 ft, not ideal, but it is already much better than flying in my backyard. Also, it seems putting the transmission mode from auto to manual helped.

ttsyny Posted at 7-17 07:37
Thank you all for your kind reply. Finally I realized that I was flying too close to other houses: I was flying in my backyard, and there are houses all around me. I think it is a simple geometry problem: close-by houses blocked the signal! I went out to an open filed, now my range increased to about 2000 ft, not ideal, but it is already much better than flying in my backyard. Also, it seems putting the transmission mode from auto to manual helped.

Just fly the same course a few times, trying different bands and channels. You will find that there are sometimes big differences. My "Favorite Channel" is for example channel 9 (2.4GHz) and I never set it to automatic.

ttsyny Posted at 7-17 07:37
Thank you all for your kind reply. Finally I realized that I was flying too close to other houses: I was flying in my backyard, and there are houses all around me. I think it is a simple geometry problem: close-by houses blocked the signal! I went out to an open filed, now my range increased to about 2000 ft, not ideal, but it is already much better than flying in my backyard. Also, it seems putting the transmission mode from auto to manual helped.

Get a ladder and climb onto the roof to fly your Mini. I do that a lot when flying at my home, except I am sitting on the boathouse roof ;-)

Required legal disclaimer: "Do not do this at home because of the risk of falling!"

Hey OP, try flying in a more open area, with no buildings around.  You should be launching your drone from a high ground which has the least signal blocking in your flight path. Usually when we need to fly far, we go for hills. However don't try range tests over lakes or sea ;)

mhm the longest way i was flying i was about 1850m away. Thge signal was still okay, but i was returning. Did you hold the controller antenna in the way to the drone?

jonny007 Posted at 7-17 07:45
Just fly the same course a few times, trying different bands and channels. You will find that there are sometimes big differences. My "Favorite Channel" is for example channel 9 (2.4GHz) and I never set it to automatic.

I tried to test 2.4 GHz bands for flying my mini, but somehow the current version of DJI Fly app does not allow this. All the channels in the "manual" option are 5.8GHz channels, all three-digits numbered channels. Seems 2.4GHz bands (ch 1-13) are not allowed in the manual option.

MM Pilot Posted at 7-18 04:43
mhm the longest way i was flying i was about 1850m away. Thge signal was still okay, but i was returning. Did you hold the controller antenna in the way to the drone?

I get about 500 m in my neighborhood. Will try range extender later. I realized my iPhone 12's compass was not calibrated the other day, so the heading of my RC was not exact the right direction. After calibrated the iPhone's compass, the signal reception improved.

GaryDoug Posted at 7-17 18:07
Get a ladder and climb onto the roof to fly your Mini. I do that a lot when flying at my home, except I am sitting on the boathouse roof ;-)

Required legal disclaimer: "Do not do this at home because of the risk of falling!"

I am not that nimble, and my roof is quite steep and slippery...

ttsyny Posted at 7-19 11:57
I get about 500 m in my neighborhood. Will try range extender later. I realized my iPhone 12's compass was not calibrated the other day, so the heading of my RC was not exact the right direction. After calibrated the iPhone's compass, the signal reception improved.

sounds well. But do you have trees in your neighborhood? Or something else which reduces the reception?

MM Pilot Posted at 7-20 09:05
sounds well. But do you have trees in your neighborhood? Or something else which reduces the reception?

There are some trees, but not very dense. I suppose they will attenuate the Wi-Fi signal somewhat.

ttsyny Posted at 7-20 10:20
There are some trees, but not very dense. I suppose they will attenuate the Wi-Fi signal somewhat.

mhm then i don't know why the signals is still bad, if there are only a few trees

1725 meter easy and it would have gone farther!

How come I DJI mavic mini only goes 120 ft distance