In case it's helpful to anyone .... I would like to place the Pocket 2 on a high pole - out of reach - and have it ready to shoot whenever I'm ready.  Since it has no Leave it ON feature, I set it for Timelapse, 60-second Interval, 5 hour Duration and let it run, figuring that in my "real life" situation I'd be able to change to any other shooting mode whenever I wanted.  The Pocket 2 battery got too low and shut down after 96 minutes.  Power was at 100% to start; at T = 45 minutes it had dropped to 57%, at T = 75 minutes (an additional half-hour) was at about 30%; at T = 96 minutes (about 20 minutes more) the Pocket shut off automatically.  This page https://store.dji.com/guides/dji-pocket-2-faq/  indicates the battery life under ideal circumstances should be 140 minutes.

Does anyone know of other options that will allow the Pocket 2 to remain ON, with even more minimal battery drain?  As a failsafe to the battery life I will attached a powerbank to the Pocket 2 when I use it in the intended fashion, but I still need it to remain ON until I'm ready to turn it OFF.

Thank You!

Start with battery level at 50% with power bank connected so it gets charged up too. This will ensure that battery is not fully charged otherwise the powerbank will stop charging further even if the battery drain down.

Once you start timelapse 60-second Interval, 5 hour Duration and let it run but disconnect the wifi which consumes the most power.
Your timelapse will still be continuing above the pole & you can switch on wifi & connect Mimo app to check in between whenever you like.

Ranjan Posted at 4-5 09:10
Start with battery level at 50% with power bank connected so it gets charged up too. This will ensure that battery is not fully charged otherwise the powerbank will stop charging further even if the battery drain down.

Once you start timelapse 60-second Interval, 5 hour Duration and let it run but disconnect the wifi which consumes the most power.

Thank you! It never thought about turning off Wi-Fi. I’m sure that would save the phone battery, but will it also save battery power on the Pocket 2?

And if I understand correctly, you’re saying that once I’ve set the Pocket to Timelapse and triggered the action I can close the Mimo app without disturbing the Timelapse sequence, then relaunch Mimo, reconnect to the Pocket and stop the Timelapse and begin a different action ?!?! I guess this would work with Motionlapse, too? If that’s all correct (and I’m not doubting you) then I’m surprised that I haven’t found that tip in all the Pocket/Mimo videos I’ve watched.  It should be included in the owners manual.

This little camera is even more amazing than I first thought. Thanks, again!

tomlesser Posted at 4-5 12:11
Thank you! It never thought about turning off Wi-Fi. I’m sure that would save the phone battery, but will it also save battery power on the Pocket 2?

And if I understand correctly, you’re saying that once I’ve set the Pocket to Timelapse and triggered the action I can close the Mimo app without disturbing the Timelapse sequence, then relaunch Mimo, reconnect to the Pocket and stop the Timelapse and begin a different action ?!?! I guess this would work with Motionlapse, too? If that’s all correct (and I’m not doubting you) then I’m surprised that I haven’t found that tip in all the Pocket/Mimo videos I’ve watched.  It should be included in the owners manual.

Yes it will save battery on Pocket 2 & also save it from heating up.

Pocket 2 reviews don't mention this tip since most youtuber used & reviewed it when it came new so they mostly talk about new features. Only real long time user would know about such problem & try to find such solution.

Yes you understood it correctly.
Putting timelapse on camera is just to avoid it going to sleep mode, Disconnecting wifi & mimo app is for saving battery power & overheating. Power bank charging at 50% is to not let it charge fully to 100% otherwise auto power off will happen from power charging & the only way to start recharging is to manually press the power bank button which in such cases will be mounted high up on a pole.

I discovered this method last year when I faced similar situation on my professional work but the pocket 2 would go to sleep. Now I have been shooting professionally using the same workaround.

Ranjan Posted at 4-5 18:21
Yes it will save battery on Pocket 2 & also save it from heating up.

Pocket 2 reviews don't mention this tip since most youtuber used & reviewed it when it came new so they mostly talk about new features. Only real long time user would know about such problem & try to find such solution.

Thank you, Ranjan. This is all very helpful information. I’m grateful that you share your knowledge. Be well!

My five cents on the topic: If you have a powerbank with a trickle charge mode (such as one of the Anker models), use that. I tested my PowerCore Metro 20,000 mAh with the trickle charge mode and the Pocket 2 battery running low, and I stopped after 8 hours as I don't need to record that long :-D

Hello there tomlesser. Good day and thank you for reaching out. I hope that our fellow DJI members who owns the DJI Pocket 2 can give out the best recommendation with regards to this matter. Thank you and keep filming.

HGDC84 Posted at 4-7 03:52
My five cents on the topic: If you have a powerbank with a trickle charge mode (such as one of the Anker models), use that. I tested my PowerCore Metro 20,000 mAh with the trickle charge mode and the Pocket 2 battery running low, and I stopped after 8 hours as I don't need to record that long :-D

I think my power bank is a simple battery.  If it has a trickle charge mode, the manufacturer is keeping it a secret.  I'll set it up with the power bank attached and see how long it will run.  If it doesn't do what I need it to do, I'll look at the options you suggest.

I guess I thought hooking up a power bank would be like giving the Pocket a battery with more mAh capacity .... that is, when the Pocket internal battery is drained the Pocket would simply draw it's power directly from the power bank.  But if I understand your point correctly, you're saying the power bank will recharge the internal battery even as the camera is drawing power from it ....

tomlesser Posted at 4-8 04:12
I think my power bank is a simple battery.  If it has a trickle charge mode, the manufacturer is keeping it a secret.  I'll set it up with the power bank attached and see how long it will run.  If it doesn't do what I need it to do, I'll look at the options you suggest.

I guess I thought hooking up a power bank would be like giving the Pocket a battery with more mAh capacity .... that is, when the Pocket internal battery is drained the Pocket would simply draw it's power directly from the power bank.  But if I understand your point correctly, you're saying the power bank will recharge the internal battery even as the camera is drawing power from it ....

Yes, you are right in the point of the powerbank charging the Pocket 2 even when in use. When I started my test, the Pocket 2 was running at about 13 percent. With the timelapse shooting and the trickle charge mode enabled, the battery of the Pocket 2 went up to 78 percent and stayed there during filming. Not sure how long would it stay were I to record until the powerbank ran out, but that would certainly be for a long time, as only one of the four led indicators showing the power left had turned off.

HGDC84 Posted at 4-8 05:28
Yes, you are right in the point of the powerbank charging the Pocket 2 even when in use. When I started my test, the Pocket 2 was running at about 13 percent. With the timelapse shooting and the trickle charge mode enabled, the battery of the Pocket 2 went up to 78 percent and stayed there during filming. Not sure how long would it stay were I to record until the powerbank ran out, but that would certainly be for a long time, as only one of the four led indicators showing the power left had turned off.

Thank you.  I have the power bank hooked up to the Pocket 2 now and set up for Timelapse @ :60 for 5 hours.  The Pocket 2 battery was at about 85%.  I'll see how it performs and try another test at a lower starting % if I need to.

tomlesser Posted at 4-8 05:57
Thank you.  I have the power bank hooked up to the Pocket 2 now and set up for Timelapse @ :60 for 5 hours.  The Pocket 2 battery was at about 85%.  I'll see how it performs and try another test at a lower starting % if I need to.

It might be that having the Pocket 2's battery at that high could cause the powerbank to charge it full and then stop providing power for it, and it doesn't start automatically again after that. At least that's what I have heard the recommendations from other forum members say. That could possibly also depend on what charging mode the powerbank is on (standard or trickle charge).

HGDC84 Posted at 4-8 06:03
It might be that having the Pocket 2's battery at that high could cause the powerbank to charge it full and then stop providing power for it, and it doesn't start automatically again after that. At least that's what I have heard the recommendations from other forum members say. That could possibly also depend on what charging mode the powerbank is on (standard or trickle charge).

Yes, thank you, Ranjan previously suggested starting at about 50%, and mentioned the same, that if the power bank charged the Pocket 2 fully it would "stop charging further even if the battery drained down" and automatically power-off, and then I'd have to retrieve the camera and start it again.  The pocket 2 battery is now at 91% (it started at 85%) so I'll see soon what happens when it gets fully recharged.

tomlesser Posted at 4-8 06:12
Yes, thank you, Ranjan previously suggested starting at about 50%, and mentioned the same, that if the power bank charged the Pocket 2 fully it would "stop charging further even if the battery drained down" and automatically power-off, and then I'd have to retrieve the camera and start it again.  The pocket 2 battery is now at 91% (it started at 85%) so I'll see soon what happens when it gets fully recharged.

I set the Pocket 2 up to do Timelapse at Interval = :60, Duration = 5 hours and monitored the battery level. It was attached to an Insignia power bank with a Battery Capacity = 5000mAh and Output Capacity of 2900mAh.  I'll admit I don't understand the difference between Battery Capacity & Output Capacity.  Photo resolution was set to 16MP and JPG.  There ws good news and BAD news.

The charge level of the power bank at start was somewhere between 75-100% ... it has (4) LEDs indicating approximate charge (all were lit), but not a specific % indicator.

At T = 0:00, P2 battery was at 92%, power bank "4 LEDs"
at T = 0:20, 85%, 4 LEDs
at T = 1:00, 72%     "
at T = 1:45, 32%     "
at T = 2:15, 50%, 3 LEDs
at T = 3:00, 73%, 2 LEDs   
at T = 3:30, 78%,     "
at T = 4:00, 78%,  1 LED
at T = 4:30, 73%,     "
at T = 5:00, 59%, 1 LED blinking, indicating nearly spent
at T = 5:30, 37%, no LED lit
at T = 5:45, 18%, no LED lit
at T = 6:00 the camera had shut down

So, my experiment showed that I can leave the Pocket 2 in an inaccessible location for an extended period in Timelapse mode which will keep if from powering off.  I dis-connecetd and re-connected Mimo at each recorded T interval, so that works fine.  

BUT, and this is the BAD news, none of the photos were written to the card.  I kept an eye on the shutter button when Mimo was connected and watched the little circle go around.  It was taking photos, but I don't know where they went.  At the end, a 32GB card has some videos and DNG files from the other day, and 29GB of free space, no JPGs.  What went wrong?

Thanks for reading to the end.

tomlesser Posted at 4-8 12:53
I set the Pocket 2 up to do Timelapse at Interval = :60, Duration = 5 hours and monitored the battery level. It was attached to an Insignia power bank with a Battery Capacity = 5000mAh and Output Capacity of 2900mAh.  I'll admit I don't understand the difference between Battery Capacity & Output Capacity.  Photo resolution was set to 16MP and JPG.  There ws good news and BAD news.

The charge level of the power bank at start was somewhere between 75-100% ... it has (4) LEDs indicating approximate charge (all were lit), but not a specific % indicator.

As far as I know, the Timelapse functions only produce video, not still pictures. If anybody knows otherwise, please feel free to correct me.

HGDC84 Posted at 4-12 10:59
As far as I know, the Timelapse functions only produce video, not still pictures. If anybody knows otherwise, please feel free to correct me.

In Pro mode you can set video to VIDEO, VIDEO+JPG and VIDEO+RAW.  I had it set to VIDEO+JPG.  When I reviewed the content using Mimo (and when viewing on the Pocket 2 alone) I saw only the videos ... no stills .. and panicked.   But when I put the SD card in the computer, I discovered that all of the stills were recorded and stored in the folder TIMELAPSE.

tomlesser Posted at 4-12 11:15
In Pro mode you can set video to VIDEO, VIDEO+JPG and VIDEO+RAW.  I had it set to VIDEO+JPG.  When I reviewed the content using Mimo (and when viewing on the Pocket 2 alone) I saw only the videos ... no stills .. and panicked.   But when I put the SD card in the computer, I discovered that all of the stills were recorded and stored in the folder TIMELAPSE.

Okay, I stand corrected. Apologies for the misinformation. And glad that you found the pictures. :-)

HGDC84 Posted at 4-12 11:19
Okay, I stand corrected. Apologies for the misinformation. And glad that you found the pictures. :-)

No apology necessary.  I figure we're all in this together.  I think the notes I have taken while watching various videos use up more paper than the owner's manual from DJI.  But each video raises another question, so forums like this are a blessing.  I hope someone else finds my "discoveries" as helpful as some of those I've found here and on YouTube.  Yes, I'm glad I found the pics, too.  :-)

I just read through this entire thread and now have a much better understanding of using a power bank for an extended timelapse.  Thanks to all that contributed!

smbishop Posted at 6-11 09:21
I just read through this entire thread and now have a much better understanding of using a power bank for an extended timelapse.  Thanks to all that contributed!

You're welcome, glad to hear you found it helpful I hope you get the most out of your timelapses