Hello DJI,

Yesterday I purchased the DJI FPV Drone because I knew that I would be able to remove the 500 meter limit using a third-party tool.  Today I watched Joshua Bardwell and Blunty's news feed on YouTube and find out that your are forcing a firmware to prevent third-party tools from removing the 500 meter from take off limit.  This is a step too far!

The FPV Drone is useless for traversing mountain ridges because of this limit.  Once you reach near 500 meters, the drone reverts to normal mode and will ruin the video you are recording.  Some say it might be possible to change the home point and climb higher, but it is very unsafe to do that because you lose Return to Home.


If you are going to prevent people from using third-party tools, than you must remove the 500 meter limit.  Provide a warning to the pilot, but remove the limit.

Not only are you creating ill will to current FPV Drone pilots, you are losing sales.  My FPV Drone has not yet shipped, but I will be returning it if DJI is unwilling to remove this unnecessary limitation.

Please let us all know when you will remove the unnecessary limitation from the DJI FPV Drone.   Thank you

Hi, there. Sorry for the inconvenience. The flight height limit is supported to unlock for DJI FPV. Please fill in the required information at https://www.dji.com/nl/flysafe?site=brandsite&from=nav

I'm with you, mate.

+1. Seems unfair to enforce this.

DJI Thor Posted at 3-15 19:28
Hi, there. Sorry for the inconvenience. The flight height limit is supported to unlock for DJI FPV. Please fill in the required information at https://www.dji.com/nl/flysafe?site=brandsite&from=nav

A year ago, with the Air 2, I tried to go above a piedmont behind my own home and hit the 500 meter limit even though I wasn't 50 meters AGL.  The online unlocking did not work.  It is cumbersome, convoluted, and inconvenient.  As far as I know and remember, it only unlocks areas where there are restrictions, and there were no restrictions here.

To quote DJI's page:
"As a DJI pilot, you are solely responsible for ensuring your flights are conducted safely and in accordance with all local laws and regulations."

I am absolutely responsible for my actions, not DJI.  I also fly with utmost care and caution, as does every other pilot here.  So please remove the 500m limitation so that we may enjoy flying our FPV Drones and capturing amazing videos.

Thank you.

I fly the DJI FPV in the mountains of Colorado and I have submitted a 2500' altitude limit and it was approved in less then one minute.

drone-hacks.com buddy, 50$ will set you free to fly how high you want, but you better not have the newest firmware otherwise your ... outta luck

Whoreable Posted at 3-16 21:27
drone-hacks.com buddy, 50$ will set you free to fly how high you want, but you better not have the newest firmware otherwise your ... outta luck

That's what I was planning to do, but it's not possible if you have a new FPV Drone.  When you activate a new DJI drone, it forces you to upgrade the firmware.  Maybe there will be another jailbreak or work around, but DJI should just get rid of the silly limitation.

My FPV is out for shipping now.  I'm going to return it unopened.

KerryG Posted at 3-16 08:11
I fly the DJI FPV in the mountains of Colorado and I have submitted a 2500' altitude limit and it was approved in less then one minute.

That's great that it worked for you.  The time I tried was pure frustration.  It's possible the authorization system was down.

I don't want to be online and give my location, flight logs, and data to DJI.  How long is the authorization good for?  A few hours or a day?  How about when I have no cell service and want to have an impromptu flight?  Too much hassle.

The Duck Posted at 3-17 05:13
That's great that it worked for you.  The time I tried was pure frustration.  It's possible the authorization system was down.

I don't want to be online and give my location, flight logs, and data to DJI.  How long is the authorization good for?  A few hours or a day?  How about when I have no cell service and want to have an impromptu flight?  Too much hassle.

I can't solve every problem for you. I know where in the general area I am going to be and if I need an altitude unlock, it's easy to do in advance. This one I have for this weekend, I setup for 3 days. I'm not sure what the longest period would be as I don't need to do anything more than 1 day typically. The process was super simple and stupid fast. Sure, it's a minor inconvenience that I don't think I should have to go through, but, it's a simple workaround.

KerryG Posted at 3-17 06:06
I can't solve every problem for you. I know where in the general area I am going to be and if I need an altitude unlock, it's easy to do in advance. This one I have for this weekend, I setup for 3 days. I'm not sure what the longest period would be as I don't need to do anything more than 1 day typically. The process was super simple and stupid fast. Sure, it's a minor inconvenience that I don't think I should have to go through, but, it's a simple workaround.

"I can't solve every problem for you."

I wasn't expecting or asking you to solve any problem for me.

The Duck Posted at 3-17 05:13
That's great that it worked for you.  The time I tried was pure frustration.  It's possible the authorization system was down.

I don't want to be online and give my location, flight logs, and data to DJI.  How long is the authorization good for?  A few hours or a day?  How about when I have no cell service and want to have an impromptu flight?  Too much hassle.

Back in 2014 DJI implemented NFZ’s/GeoZones as a knee jerk reaction to some tool landing a Phantom on the Whitehouse lawn. Great in theory, very poor in practise. DJI deemed that my area was a NFZ when in actuality it is not. Since then I’ve requested they change this but my requests have fallen on deaf ears. The only options left to me are.

1. Go through DJI’s convoluted unlocking process every time I fly.
2. Remove the NFZ’s/GeoZones from my DJI products.

I went with option 2.

Preventing users from using their own modifications, on products they have purchased, is both a poor business practice and unethical. In some cases it can be dangerous if the user does not have full control over what can and cannot be done.

DJI are, as far as I know, the only manufacturer whom insists on this overreach. I have many drones from different manufacturers: Autel, Yuneec, Parrot, Pixhawk and Cube based builds, and none of these are as overbearing. In fact when I approached Yuneec about the need to unlock a region they sent me the firmware for the drone without NFZ’s and other restrictions. Parrot supplied me with my own dev kit.

DJI Thor Posted at 3-15 19:28
Hi, there. Sorry for the inconvenience. The flight height limit is supported to unlock for DJI FPV. Please fill in the required information at https://www.dji.com/nl/flysafe?site=brandsite&from=nav

Le self unlock a disparu , vous comptez le remettre en service ?

Nidge Posted at 3-18 03:07
Back in 2014 DJI implemented NFZ’s/GeoZones as a knee jerk reaction to some tool landing a Phantom on the Whitehouse lawn. Great in theory, very poor in practise. DJI deemed that my area was a NFZ when in actuality it is not. Since then I’ve requested they change this but my requests have fallen on deaf ears. The only options left to me are.

1. Go through DJI’s convoluted unlocking process every time I fly.

I would have loved to unlock the FPV drone via drone-hacks, but a newly activated FPV drone and Goggles must run the new firmware.  No unlocking for the newcomers.  Be sure not to upgrade your firmware or your unlocks will be removed.

Today I returned the FPV Drone I ordered and have begun picking components for an FPV build.  It's definitely not plug and play like DJI, but it will maneuver better and will be easily repairable when I eventually crash it.

@DJI:  You are losing sales by not removing these limitations.

The Duck Posted at 3-18 18:50
I would have loved to unlock the FPV drone via drone-hacks, but a newly activated FPV drone and Goggles must run the new firmware.  No unlocking for the newcomers.  Be sure not to upgrade your firmware or your unlocks will be removed.

Today I returned the FPV Drone I ordered and have begun picking components for an FPV build.  It's definitely not plug and play like DJI, but it will maneuver better and will be easily repairable when I eventually crash it.

Over here in Ol’ Bighty sales of the FPV drone have been poor to begin with. No that DJI have released this downgrade sales will be close to none existent.

A couple of days ago I had a second DJI FPV Drone delivered. This one is used but in pristine condition. I paid less than a quarter of the current RRP of a new one. It has the benefit of already being activated so there’s no need to connect to the Fly APP.

As for building your own. I build more than I fly. I probably have over 100 drones/multirotors in my collection now. Except for a very few the vast majority are those I’ve either built myself or bought as “spares and/or repairs” and resurrected back to full health. I’m retired on medical grounds and housebound most of the time so I have plenty of time on my hands to do the Devil’s work.

The Duck Posted at 3-18 18:50
I would have loved to unlock the FPV drone via drone-hacks, but a newly activated FPV drone and Goggles must run the new firmware.  No unlocking for the newcomers.  Be sure not to upgrade your firmware or your unlocks will be removed.

Today I returned the FPV Drone I ordered and have begun picking components for an FPV build.  It's definitely not plug and play like DJI, but it will maneuver better and will be easily repairable when I eventually crash it.

check with other drone vendors like advexure or dronenerds maybe they have some old stock ones in inventory

how do you confirm they need the newest firmware?

Whoreable Posted at 3-19 01:47
check with other drone vendors like advexure or dronenerds maybe they have some old stock ones in inventory

how do you confirm they need the newest firmware?

I think Joshua Bardwell (or maybe Mads Tech) on YouTube said that you can't circumvent a firmware upgrade upon activation if you are using an Android device.  But if you use an iOS device there is a trick where you disconnect and force quit the DJI Fly app.  I'm sure that will get "patched" too.  I'm not sure about activating on DJI Assistant 2.

The Duck Posted at 3-20 08:52
I think Joshua Bardwell (or maybe Mads Tech) on YouTube said that you can't circumvent a firmware upgrade upon activation if you are using an Android device.  But if you use an iOS device there is a trick where you disconnect and force quit the DJI Fly app.  I'm sure that will get "patched" too.  I'm not sure about activating on DJI Assistant 2.

any link to this?  my 4 day old DJI FPV front left motor is bad and I am getting a new one from Newegg.  More than likely I have to activate the new one.  If I can stop it from getting the latest firmware that would be great.

mbze430 Posted at 3-20 13:57
any link to this?  my 4 day old DJI FPV front left motor is bad and I am getting a new one from Newegg.  More than likely I have to activate the new one.  If I can stop it from getting the latest firmware that would be great.

I don't know the procedure to prevent the firmware update.  You might what to look through these videos and also the comments to see what it is:

https://www.youtube.com/c/MadRC/videos

mbze430 Posted at 3-20 13:57
any link to this?  my 4 day old DJI FPV front left motor is bad and I am getting a new one from Newegg.  More than likely I have to activate the new one.  If I can stop it from getting the latest firmware that would be great.

I don’t think you should have any issues. I’ve replaced motors on other DJI products, and while the drone can detect motor overload and etc the motors themselves are not reliant on FW versions.

The Duck Posted at 3-16 04:57
A year ago, with the Air 2, I tried to go above a piedmont behind my own home and hit the 500 meter limit even though I wasn't 50 meters AGL.  The online unlocking did not work.  It is cumbersome, convoluted, and inconvenient.  As far as I know and remember, it only unlocks areas where there are restrictions, and there were no restrictions here.

To quote DJI's page:

Sorry for the late reply. We have forwarded your feedback to our engineer. Currently, you are supported to unlock the flight height via the link I've posted above. Thanks for your understanding.

CD6D Posted at 3-18 08:19
Le self unlock a disparu , vous comptez le remettre en service ?

Sorry for the late reply. Please refer to the reply I've posted in #21. Thanks for your understanding.

KerryG Posted at 2022-3-16 08:11
I fly the DJI FPV in the mountains of Colorado and I have submitted a 2500' altitude limit and it was approved in less then one minute.

Have you noticed yet that you can’t fly manually when you’re geo unlock is enabled… kinda defeats the purpose of owning an FPV doesn’t it.

Cum se poate debloca altitudinea pt DJI Air 3 ??

djiuser_kH44W8jMWmGz Posted at 9-11 02:16
Cum se poate debloca altitudinea pt DJI Air 3 ??

Hello there. Thank you for reaching out. Is this for flying in a Geozone? Please use this website to submit an unlocking request: https://www.dji.com/global/flysafe. We appreciate your patience. Have a great day ahead.

fans6a62466b Posted at 4-25 21:07
Have you noticed yet that you can’t fly manually when you’re geo unlock is enabled… kinda defeats the purpose of owning an FPV doesn’t it.

Right, because in manual mode you can crash through the NFZ before the drone is stopped due to its current angular momentum.