So, according to my plan, I also got RC-N1 in addition to my RC Pro. Not going to comment on the quality/usability of RC-N1, that would be a subject for another discussion.


Apparently, you need to pair them to the craft EACH time you switch them? Is this correct? You can't have TWO controllers paired to the same craft?

I understand the possible implications (one controller sends "UP" command, another one "DOWN" command), but still, I thought there was a way to have them both operational, like one being a pilot and another a camera operator... I'm pretty sure you could have two people operating Mavic 2 Pro. Am I missing something?

Also, after pairing RC-N1, it told me it was not bound and said something to the point of not being able to fly more than 5 times.
I did not proceed with this step, since I was concerned to screw up the situation with my RC Pro. Which, by the way, always tells me the controller is not bound to the device when I start it, but then that message disappears after a few seconds. That said, I definitely flown more than 5 times already.
Now, if I bind RC-N1 to the craft, does it mean I would later have to bind RC Pro? Or is it a one-time deal? I'm a little hesitant at this point.
Maybe the whole second controller idea was not that smart, to begin with, and I better return it while I can?

Please chime in!

''people operating Mavic 2 Pro. Am I missing something?''

No you are not, I have that setup with both a M2P and an M2Z. One controller is the "primary" and the other is the "secondary", if both controllers issue commands at the same time the primary has precedence.

In addition, with the FPV you can have both the normal controller AND the motion controller permanently paired to the drone, as in you do not have to re-pair each time you switch.
But, during any given drone switch on, if both controllers are switched on the first controller to connect to the drone is only one of the two controllers that exercises control. However if you switch the controlling  controller off I seem to remember that the other controller takes over.

But at a guess the M3 will not do either of these as for the former you would need to be able to specify which controller is the primary and which controller is the secondary and I have not seen that option in the fly app menus.

Sean-bumble-bee Posted at 12-13 17:26
''people operating Mavic 2 Pro. Am I missing something?''

No you are not, I have that setup with both a M2P and an M2Z. One controller is the "primary" and the other is the "secondary", if both controllers issue commands at the same time the primary has precedence.

Oh, good, I'm not imagining things...
Well, I guess maybe the magic January update will take care of that.
In the meantime, I'm not going to bother, unless I really need it.

youre best bet is to get rid of the 2nd controller and bind your rc-pro properly. i don't know what messages you are receiving because you are being specific but you should know exactly what is happening before you end up doing something that you don't intend.  those messages don't pop up for nothing and i believe for care refresh, some of the services require rc binding.  so far i think we've learned 2 controllers at the same time is not possible.

AFAIK, binding (different from pairing) a controller is only needed to enable the Flyaway coverage. When I swapped one controller between my MA2 and A2s I always re-bound the controller to the drone I was using. Also, I always had to install different firmware on the controller to match the drone. That got tiresome so I bought another controller.

GaryDoug Posted at 12-13 19:57
AFAIK, binding (different from pairing) a controller is only needed to enable the Flyaway coverage. When I swapped one controller between my MA2 and A2s I always re-bound the controller to the drone I was using. Also, I always had to install different firmware on the controller to match the drone. That got tiresome so I bought another controller.

I hear you. My situation, apparently, is reverse: one drone, two different controllers.

I am still trying to understand what is the difference between "pairing" and "binding".

Pairing apparently allows a remote to control the drone, and, in Mavic 3 case, it breaks a pairing link with any other previously paired RC.

As for the binding, I have never gotten any suggestion to bind it from an RC Pro, but, as I have mentioned, during every start an error "not bound" is displayed, but then goes away. And I don't see any way to initiate that binding in RC Pro.

RC-1N + iPhone, on the other hand, immediately went into the whole "need binding" series of dialogs. (which at this point I haven't completed).

Can some DJI person clear this for me, please?

DarthSLR Posted at 12-13 20:34
I hear you. My situation, apparently, is reverse: one drone, two different controllers.

I am still trying to understand what is the difference between "pairing" and "binding".

Binding is "new" term meant DJI knows that only binded controller can drive the drone so if the drone get missing and You claim Your Care refresh they can see logs and be Sure You did not land Your drone back with second controller and falls claim it missing
P.S. That's how I understand it

i cannot vouch for this info:  https://dronedj.com/2021/02/05/h ... r-flyaway-coverage/

Man, this is all too much...

DarthSLR Posted at 12-13 21:41
Man, this is all too much...

Its the same with the orginal Smart controller and Mini2,   but just pop it in pairing mode and then in the fly app goto Settings -> Control -> Connect to aircraft (IIRC) and it will connect.   Only takes a moment.  If you can stand the beeping.

DAFlys Posted at 12-14 01:24
Its the same with the orginal Smart controller and Mini2,   but just pop it in pairing mode and then in the fly app goto Settings -> Control -> Connect to aircraft (IIRC) and it will connect.   Only takes a moment.  If you can stand the beeping.

was there also the "bound" issue?

DarthSLR Posted at 12-14 07:07
was there also the "bound" issue?

I tried to bind or link or whatever my Mavic mini 2 controller to my M3 Cine on vacation as a back up.  I received the same message you did regarding the "five" uses.  I never had to use the controller, but it did let me bind it to the M3.  I believe when I went to use my Mini again I may have had to rebind it to that drone.  

As an aside, I just ordered another standard controller on eBay for this very purpose.  To just have a backup controller that is bound to my M3 along with the RC Pro.

Finally, someone on this forum gave a really good explanation of binding vs linking at some point.  May be worth trying to find.

Harkco Posted at 12-14 09:07
I tried to bind or link or whatever my Mavic mini 2 controller to my M3 Cine on vacation as a back up.  I received the same message you did regarding the "five" uses.  I never had to use the controller, but it did let me bind it to the M3.  I believe when I went to use my Mini again I may have had to rebind it to that drone.  

As an aside, I just ordered another standard controller on eBay for this very purpose.  To just have a backup controller that is bound to my M3 along with the RC Pro.

So, multiple bindings to the same craft are OK, but multiple pairings are not?
Confusig AF...

DarthSLR Posted at 12-14 09:18
So, multiple bindings to the same craft are OK, but multiple pairings are not?
Confusig AF...

Yes - and I have asked for clarification on this from DJI on several occasions and have gotten a range of responses - from I cannot do this, to another rep telling me exactly which controller to buy and from which  third party - since DJI does not sell them individually - which is pretty silly.

alex_markov Posted at 12-13 21:16
Binding is "new" term meant DJI knows that only binded controller can drive the drone so if the drone get missing and You claim Your Care refresh they can see logs and be Sure You did not land Your drone back with second controller and falls claim it missing
P.S. That's how I understand it

"Binding" is hardly a "new" term.

DarthSLR Posted at 12-14 09:18
So, multiple bindings to the same craft are OK, but multiple pairings are not?
Confusig AF...

it's confusing because the terms are being used casually and out of context and generally misused.

KLRSKIR Posted at 12-14 09:45
"Binding" is hardly a "new" term.

I realize this.

The terms are not new, but they are being used slightly differently by DJI. (Edit - Updated to include 'Pairing' - Not available on the RCP as yet)

Linking is the term DJI use to electronically link the aircraft to the remote, this term refers to the connecting of the control system of the aircraft so you can control it. Linking is achieved by selecting 'Connect to Aircraft' on the remote (Fly App) and powering up the aircraft then, pressing and holding the power button for 4 seconds until the aircraft beeps & then it searches for a RC in linking mode.

Binding is the term used by DJI to record the serial number of the aircraft to the serial number of the RC Controller, this is a requirement should you need to claim on DJI Flyaway cover. Binding can only be achieved with an internet connection as it send information to your DJI account. This is why you are 'allowed' 5 flights with an un-bound controller. Binding is done, either at the Fly App prompt to bind the controller or by selecting it within your Profile & Aircraft Management from within the Fly App.
Pairing is effectivly the process where a remote can hold the identification details of several 'linked' aircraft, so the Smart cCntroller holds aircraft that it has been 'linked' with previously. so if you want to fly your M2 Pro you just select it from the list of linked aircraft and it 'pairs' with that aircraft, swap to your Air 2S and it connects to that instead, again you can only pair one controller and aircraft at the same time. Aircraft can only hold the identification of one main controller and, possibly, the identification of a secondary remote, for the poorly named 'Master/Slave' arrangment of say the M2 Pro or M1 Pro.

The RC Pro will display the 'Not Bound' message until it receives the aircraft serial number when it connects. This takes a few seconds and it will then go away, I would suspect that the message requires muting during start up to stop it appearing while communications is established.

In the RC world Binding is the term that is used when a RX and a TX are first connected together which is where the confusion has come from.

Linking and Binding are in the DJI world are two separate processes.

DarthSLR Posted at 12-14 09:18
So, multiple bindings to the same craft are OK, but multiple pairings are not?
Confusig AF...

The M3 does not support dual controller connections at the moment, it took months before it was available on M2 Pro.

Having two controllers as the main device is not a good idea, it also may not be possible as if two controllers were the primary device then it could cause quite a few issues. The Aircraft System therefor, rejects the connected controller when another one connects to it.

Exactly the same as the RC world, where one remote can connect to many receivers, but receivers can only connect to one remote, sensible when you think about it.

Buzzyone Posted at 12-14 10:47
The terms are not new, but they are being used slightly differently by DJI.

Linking is the term DJI use to electronically link the aircraft to the remote, this term refers to the connecting of the control system of the aircraft so you can control it. Linking is achieved by selecting 'Connect to Aircraft' on the remote (Fly App) and powering up the aircraft then, pressing and holding the power button for 4 seconds until the aircraft beeps & then it searches for a RC in linking mode.

I think it was your initial explanation I read elsewhere.  If so, thanks again for clarifying.

As an aside - do you know if you can permanently bind two controllers (RC-Pro and Standard non Cine controller) to the Mavic 3?  I have received conflicting answers from DJI.  

DarthSLR Posted at 12-14 09:18
So, multiple bindings to the same craft are OK, but multiple pairings are not?
Confusig AF...

You cannot have for than one remote 'Bound' to the aircraft.

If you have the aircraft 'Bound' to your remote and go into The Fly App and look under Profile, Device Management, Account and Value Added Service, it will show both the Aircraft and the Remote Serial number.

If you then change the Bond Remote to, say the RC Pro, you will see the aircraft serial number disappear out of the list.

You can switch bound devices, but, you need an internet connection to do it.

Buzzyone Posted at 12-14 10:47
The terms are not new, but they are being used slightly differently by DJI.

Linking is the term DJI use to electronically link the aircraft to the remote, this term refers to the connecting of the control system of the aircraft so you can control it. Linking is achieved by selecting 'Connect to Aircraft' on the remote (Fly App) and powering up the aircraft then, pressing and holding the power button for 4 seconds until the aircraft beeps & then it searches for a RC in linking mode.

this is an excellent description of the different definitions; thank you.  could you please update with a definition for "pairing"?

Harkco Posted at 12-14 10:52
I think it was your initial explanation I read elsewhere.  If so, thanks again for clarifying.

As an aside - do you know if you can permanently bind two controllers (RC-Pro and Standard non Cine controller) to the Mavic 3?  I have received conflicting answers from DJI.

Really?  After given the correct definitions for the terms, you ask this question?  You're asking if you can "permanently bind" two controllers to one drone when you can only fly the drone with one controller at a time?

Bind the drone with controller #1 when you go flying on Thursday.
Bind the drone with controller #2 when you go flying on Friday.
Because binding is the process of tracking which controller is flying which drone for the purposes of the Care Refresh process.

Are you really asking about "pairing", perhaps?  Sounds like you want to fly your drone using either one of two remote controllers and you don't want to go thru any type of process before you start flying....just as if you were only using one controller.  BTW, that's not the binding process.

Sounds to me like the drone has one "working" slot and that slot has only room for the details for one controller.  If you occupy that slot with your remote controller, there is no room for your neighbor's remote controller or even your 2nd controller to occupy that slot unless you clear it.  I'm going to call that "pairing" until buzzy corrects me.  Pairing is one time and done and you clear it by unpairing and then you can pair to another controller but until then, it remains paired until you take action.  It's not permanent, it's never permanent; you don't want it to be permanent.  But it persists if it's working right and until and if we get an update that allows multiple pairings at which time you can have two controllers paired to a single drone (and you won't have to worry about a process before flying)....controlling the drone notwithstanding.

The Saint Posted at 12-14 11:47
Really?  After given the correct definitions for the terms, you ask this question?  You're asking if you can "permanently bind" two controllers to one drone when you can only fly the drone with one controller at a time?

Bind the drone with controller #1 when you go flying on Thursday.

He responded to my initial question while I was writing my response.  So it looks like I asked the question again after he responded - but I did not.  We were both typing responses at the same time.

On any account - for me personally - I just want the option or ability to have a backup controller when traveling.  Years ago we went to Hawaii - I had my M2 Pro with the older RC Pro ( forget what they call that one) and it was bricked during an update the first day there and I had no backup - and it sucked.  Sorry if I am creating any confusion or frustration. Just trying to determine if what I want in my head is even an option.

Thanks for all the follow up replies, and sorry if I hijacked Darth's thread.

Buzzyone Posted at 12-14 10:47
The terms are not new, but they are being used slightly differently by DJI.

Linking is the term DJI use to electronically link the aircraft to the remote, this term refers to the connecting of the control system of the aircraft so you can control it. Linking is achieved by selecting 'Connect to Aircraft' on the remote (Fly App) and powering up the aircraft then, pressing and holding the power button for 4 seconds until the aircraft beeps & then it searches for a RC in linking mode.

Thank you very much!

The Saint Posted at 12-14 11:30
this is an excellent description of the different definitions; thank you.  could you please update with a definition for "pairing"?

Yeah, done that although its not applicable to the RCP as yet as it lacks the firmware bootstrap to load in the correct software for the different aircraft types.

Harkco Posted at 12-14 10:52
I think it was your initial explanation I read elsewhere.  If so, thanks again for clarifying.

As an aside - do you know if you can permanently bind two controllers (RC-Pro and Standard non Cine controller) to the Mavic 3?  I have received conflicting answers from DJI.

Yeah I have posted about this before :-)

Harkco Posted at 12-14 12:29
He responded to my initial question while I was writing my response.  So it looks like I asked the question again after he responded - but I did not.  We were both typing responses at the same time.

On any account - for me personally - I just want the option or ability to have a backup controller when traveling.  Years ago we went to Hawaii - I had my M2 Pro with the older RC Pro ( forget what they call that one) and it was bricked during an update the first day there and I had no backup - and it sucked.  Sorry if I am creating any confusion or frustration. Just trying to determine if what I want in my head is even an option.

cool, no problem.  understandable to want 2 remotes when traveling since it would be nearly impossible to get a replacement while on vacation and you don't want to end up dead in the water.

DarthSLR Posted at 12-14 07:07
was there also the "bound" issue?

Ive not had that issue at all.  Its just such a shame you cant have two controllers paired at the same time.

I flew my Mavic 3 over 2700 miles on the DJI RCN1.   I kept it in Imperial unit of measure the whole time.  
Now I have the DJI RC controller.   I went in and set it to Imperial, under usual control tab, but it only shows my prior flight data as metric.  I tried to switch back and forth and to restart everything, but it will not show my prior flight data in anything but metric.  
The Mavic 3 powered on in flight ready mode does show the Distance in ft and Height in feet as well and current live flight data on screen, but flights logged onto the DJI RC controller are in metric.  
Is there a way to have the DJI RC show Imperial for past flight data also?   Am I missing something or is there another separate way to have the flight data log in Imperial?
Thank you.  

fansf72da4e5 Posted at 10-1 17:43
I flew my Mavic 3 over 2700 miles on the DJI RCN1.   I kept it in Imperial unit of measure the whole time.  
Now I have the DJI RC controller.   I went in and set it to Imperial, under usual control tab, but it only shows my prior flight data as metric.  I tried to switch back and forth and to restart everything, but it will not show my prior flight data in anything but metric.  
The Mavic 3 powered on in flight ready mode does show the Distance in ft and Height in feet as well and current live flight data on screen, but flights logged onto the DJI RC controller are in metric.  

Hi there. We apologize for the inconvenience. Currently, Android devices (including DJI RC) do not support changing the distance unit for flight records. The default display unit is m or km. The DJI engineers have been informed of this issue and will address it through a future app update. This will not affect flight records. Feel free to continue using your product. Thank you for your understanding and support.