Mine turned up this afternoon in Australia, very disappointed with the range. Of course I dont want to fly over 2km but this thing wont get past 700m. It leaves me to be concerned that it should be more solid for connectivity than more so range. Lets hope the manufacturer corrects this.

GLOBAL HAWK Posted at 5-21 04:46
Mine turned up this afternoon in Australia, very disappointed with the range. Of course I dont want to fly over 2km but this thing wont get past 700m. It leaves me to be concerned that it should be more solid for connectivity than more so range. Lets hope the manufacturer corrects this.

My mini 3 pro, has very bad video transmission of video at 300m in kl, was scared to push it a little further, I am using the new smart controller, and I was trying to sideload apks to this and its totally locked by dji

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jGL60gxYwQ

Another video today where Mini 3 Pro gets to 7.2 km and could go really further

As any other video we can see since yesterday where they get passed 7km, hw actually points the RD to the drone, since the controller antenna has horizontal polarization, contrary to Mini 2.

Dragonfyr Posted at 5-18 07:49
Thanks for that.

So has anyone got it anywhere close to 8km? Or can link a video about it? Forum post? Anything... please... lol

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jGL60gxYwQ
Another one close to 8km today

Bigplumbs Posted at 5-21 03:42
I think you might have got a dud

Just to many duds here from what I read. Ill be waiting until I truely see some more consistancy all around.

Also read a post yesterday where a guy had only 2km range with his Mini 3. Then he paired with another controller (no screen), got better range, like 6km... then he paired back with screen controller and the distance was again 6km... so he thought that despite of it being FCC, it may be locked in Europe, and disconecting and reconecting the controller brought it back to FCC... but who knows, since it's fixed, just try to disconnect your controller and connect it back again and see if it does something.

And AWAYS point the controller straight to the Mini 3... it's different from Mini 2, the polarization is now horizontal... point 30 degrees upper to the sky, and the signal will be degraded A LOT. You can see videos where it's at 4km and 2 bars... then it's at 3 bars at 5 km... 1 bar at 6km... 2 bars at 7km... it's simply the angle, the antes have a really narrow aperture.

By today, i found only 4 or 5 videos where people test their Mini3 and get 7 or 8 km... may be new fw, may be correct use of controller, may be forced 2.4GHz (Auto not shifting from 5.4GHz), may be FCC really set. may be luck and got not spoiled radios. let's wait some days and see more.

Well that brings up another issue of the GPS in the RC. None of my flights today had the blue directional icon which made it impossible to keep a good lock with the drone. I don't know why it randomly comes and goes.

seems also like strong wind or and strong gusts affect range significantly

frankymusik Posted at 5-19 22:31
Hi Danveal,
a stupid question from me:
Was the DJI RC facing the Mini 3?

Hi, I confirm that the blue arrow indicates an incorrect orientation on DJI RCdespite the antennas being correctly directed towards the drone.

Danveal Posted at 5-21 12:24
Hi, I confirm that the blue arrow indicates an incorrect orientation on DJI RCdespite the antennas being correctly directed towards the drone.

you mean like this?

bxq Posted at 5-21 11:36
seems also like strong wind or and strong gusts affect range significantly

Yeah, the wind blows away the signal before it gets the drone……………………………………… :|

To anyone who says the range is fine.. please don't reference FCC videos and say its all good - this is a CE problem. And OBVIOSLY we are pointing the controller exactly at the drone and there is no wind or nearby interference. I mean I now know of 3 individuals personally and we all have the same issue. All under 1km range at the best. Average 500m. Pull out any other drone and boom full range. So how can it be just the Mini 3. I have a load of flight time and this is a serious issue which I really need addresses urgently as this is a part of my job, I am not playing with this thing and need it to work next week for a job that requires a sub 250g drone for legal reasons. I can't afford drop outs at stupid ranges like 300 to 500m.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MlEKJESQ84
5km

Sander_Manzoli Posted at 5-21 14:54
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MlEKJESQ84
5km

That is FCC - It even says so in the comments by the creator..

Sys_Admin Posted at 5-21 14:01
To anyone who says the range is fine.. please don't reference FCC videos and say its all good - this is a CE problem. And OBVIOSLY we are pointing the controller exactly at the drone and there is no wind or nearby interference. I mean I now know of 3 individuals personally and we all have the same issue. All under 1km range at the best. Average 500m. Pull out any other drone and boom full range. So how can it be just the Mini 3. I have a load of flight time and this is a serious issue which I really need addresses urgently as this is a part of my job, I am not playing with this thing and need it to work next week for a job that requires a sub 250g drone for legal reasons. I can't afford drop outs at stupid ranges like 300 to 500m.

There is nothing obvious as to how you're pointing the controller, not without video of the screen and video of you controlling the rc, only then will it be "obvious" to us.

This wasn't just a CE issue, certainly not in the beginning, or perhaps those in FCC actually found the best way to hold the RC and its working now?

If you need it for work then it should be fine as 500m is the maximum LOS you're allowed to fly away from the pilot anyway, also, with a mini, 300m LOS is about the furthest they can be seen anyway, i mean seen and be able to take your eyes off and not spend the next hour trying to find its position again, I have very good long-distance vision and i struggle with the Mini 2, the P4P a bit further away, so its certainly still useable for your work for the time being until your issues are resolved. After all, you don't want to void your commercial insurance...

just flied my mini 3 pro and as u can see under 300m, the drones signal bar goes to 3 bars and i am ... scared and had to get it back home.
i had line of site, never faced these kinds of anxiety issues with my mavic pro 1, flew it away for more than 2 km without any issues, can anyone confirm these bugs are issues with hardware, so i can return before my return window closes?

MySky Posted at 5-18 07:53
First i thought this is related to the antenna design in the new RC, but the more i think about and compare it to the 01.04. FW issue of the Mini 2 i am more an more convinced, that is not a bug but a restriction in the FW made by DJI for whatever reason.

Hopefully they will release another version! Who knows?

Well another video from Hong Kong using V01.00.0100 firmware where the Mini2 managed 3.5km while the Mi3P managed 3.8km on the same route and some 4K60 10bit D-Cinelike videos. He also mentioned that he was having some slow reaponse or app freeze of the DJI-RC which was resolved after DJI support told him to refresh the firmware using DJI assistant 2. Is this more of a CE problem as there are now quite a few video from Hong Kong with the Mi3P being flown out to almost 4km

Sys_Admin Posted at 5-21 14:01
To anyone who says the range is fine.. please don't reference FCC videos and say its all good - this is a CE problem. And OBVIOSLY we are pointing the controller exactly at the drone and there is no wind or nearby interference. I mean I now know of 3 individuals personally and we all have the same issue. All under 1km range at the best. Average 500m. Pull out any other drone and boom full range. So how can it be just the Mini 3. I have a load of flight time and this is a serious issue which I really need addresses urgently as this is a part of my job, I am not playing with this thing and need it to work next week for a job that requires a sub 250g drone for legal reasons. I can't afford drop outs at stupid ranges like 300 to 500m.

If you are using it for work then you should comply with the law and not fly beyond line of sight..... Do you think that does not apply to you.

bxq Posted at 5-21 12:30
you mean like this?
[view_image]

Hi, Yes this !

Danveal Posted at 5-22 11:50
Hi, Yes this !

for me it seems better when i connect dji rc to ap made from mobile but still the arrow seems to have it's own life sometimes

Sys_Admin Posted at 5-21 14:01
To anyone who says the range is fine.. please don't reference FCC videos and say its all good - this is a CE problem. And OBVIOSLY we are pointing the controller exactly at the drone and there is no wind or nearby interference. I mean I now know of 3 individuals personally and we all have the same issue. All under 1km range at the best. Average 500m. Pull out any other drone and boom full range. So how can it be just the Mini 3. I have a load of flight time and this is a serious issue which I really need addresses urgently as this is a part of my job, I am not playing with this thing and need it to work next week for a job that requires a sub 250g drone for legal reasons. I can't afford drop outs at stupid ranges like 300 to 500m.

This is CE - UK.
1km full bar.

Sys_Admin Posted at 5-21 14:01
To anyone who says the range is fine.. please don't reference FCC videos and say its all good - this is a CE problem. And OBVIOSLY we are pointing the controller exactly at the drone and there is no wind or nearby interference. I mean I now know of 3 individuals personally and we all have the same issue. All under 1km range at the best. Average 500m. Pull out any other drone and boom full range. So how can it be just the Mini 3. I have a load of flight time and this is a serious issue which I really need addresses urgently as this is a part of my job, I am not playing with this thing and need it to work next week for a job that requires a sub 250g drone for legal reasons. I can't afford drop outs at stupid ranges like 300 to 500m.

Well can you post this failure and also the boom full range drones ?

Bigplumbs Posted at 5-22 10:18
If you are using it for work then you should comply with the law and not fly beyond line of sight..... Do you think that does not apply to you.

Actually doing off shore marine inspections which can require longer distances that 500m. Biggest risk is it crashes into a fish.

This range issue is not just about the fact its less than a mini 2 in the same environment. Its basically false advertising. So if you bought a car that said it did 200mph but you could only get 60mph and your argument is you are not allowed to exceed 70mph anyway, so its all good. But then they argue its not optimal conditions. Like drive it off a cliff for top speed. Its just crazy.
So why do they get to say it can do 8km range when it really can't. Even if we look at unusually lucky people who can get up to 4km when most struggle past 1km. How is this allowed to be advertised like this?
I don't know why there are so many people who have not even purchased the drone backing up DJI for false advertising basically. Irrelevant of me or anyone else needing, wanting, using or anything this range.

Bigplumbs Posted at 5-22 10:18
If you are using it for work then you should comply with the law and not fly beyond line of sight..... Do you think that does not apply to you.

I need it to fly out at least 4km. If I want more range, I'll fire up my crossfire rigs. I'm a very naughty and disobedient person. I couldn't care less about their screwed up rulings. Government will never stop cracking down on remote controlled "aircraft". It doesn't matter how good everyone complies. The more you comply and fear them, the harder the crackdown. Flying out 5000km with live feed is safer than flying 499m away LOS with a spotter.

Falcoc Posted at 5-22 13:26
I need it to fly out at least 4km. If I want more range, I'll fire up my crossfire rigs. I'm a very naughty and disobedient person. I couldn't care less about their screwed up rulings. Government will never stop cracking down on remote controlled "aircraft". It doesn't matter how good everyone complies. The more you comply and fear them, the harder the crackdown. Flying 5000km with live feed is safer than flying 499m away LOS with a spotter.

They might as well ban drones beyond 200m because its impossible to tell what's going on visually - you can't tell which way its even facing. Anybody using a live video feed can see more from their live feed and act safely as you pointed out. It makes no sense to say 500m is a VLOS limit - literally pointless. But at least someone has the balls to say it like it is.

Falcoc Posted at 5-22 13:26
I need it to fly out at least 4km. If I want more range, I'll fire up my crossfire rigs. I'm a very naughty and disobedient person. I couldn't care less about their screwed up rulings. Government will never stop cracking down on remote controlled "aircraft". It doesn't matter how good everyone complies. The more you comply and fear them, the harder the crackdown. Flying out 5000km with live feed is safer than flying 499m away LOS with a spotter.

And at 5000m how can you see whats behind you ? I now see why you have the name “Falcoc”

hallmark007 Posted at 5-22 13:50
And at 5000m how can you see whats behind you ? I now see why you have the name “Falcoc”

5000km! Not 5000m, hallmark007 lool.

Falcoc Posted at 5-22 13:59
5000km! Not 5000m, hallmark007 lool.

Lool “ its very easy to guess who this is….

bxq Posted at 5-21 11:36
seems also like strong wind or and strong gusts affect range significantly

may also be effected by whether you are wearing leather or rubber soled shoes, it's a earth grounding thing...

Dragonfyr Posted at 5-18 07:15
Watch the video I posted first.

The guy had perfect conditions, on an abandoned runway, and had signal issues at 500 meters.

The 18000 metres is the distance you can fly on a fully charged battery and has nothing to do with transmission range. I agree with you having transmission issues at 500 metres is not right and needs to be addressed, but out to 18000 metres .. never

Sys_Admin Posted at 5-22 13:32
They might as well ban drones beyond 200m because its impossible to tell what's going on visually - you can't tell which way its even facing. Anybody using a live video feed can see more from their live feed and act safely as you pointed out. It makes no sense to say 500m is a VLOS limit - literally pointless. But at least someone has the balls to say it like it is.

I have to agree. The Mini 3 vanishes at about the 70-80m mark.........I can't see it anymore and because its so quiet, can't even hear it and so hoping the screen and RTH works if need be.

Its like the car speed thing. I know a Highway Patrol Police Officer quite well through work and commented about speeding drivers. Here in Australia the max legally on the road is about 110km/h so I asked why the government just doesnt speed limit all vehicles entering Australia and then we wont have any issues anymore.

His response " Who's going to pay my wages if cars are slowing down?"

Just get out and fly, dont do anything silly with it all is well.

bxq Posted at 5-22 12:11
for me it seems better when i connect dji rc to ap made from mobile but still the arrow seems to have it's own life sometimes

You need to calibrate the controllers compass and your mobile compass and do not stand near railings, cars etc as they affect the compass in bother DJI RC and your own phone/tablet

Sys_Admin Posted at 5-22 13:32
They might as well ban drones beyond 200m because its impossible to tell what's going on visually - you can't tell which way its even facing. Anybody using a live video feed can see more from their live feed and act safely as you pointed out. It makes no sense to say 500m is a VLOS limit - literally pointless. But at least someone has the balls to say it like it is.

Actually, its VLOS or 500m whichever is sooner. The 500m is for the bigger drones, such as the phantoms upwards,

I have to mention that you can know the orientation even at 200, 300, 400m out, not with Live Feed or Strobes either, there's a manovure you can perform, make the bird fly in a circle, say, to the left, once it stops flying left it means its heading towards you.

nosnoop Posted at 5-22 12:16
This is CE - UK.
1km full bar.

This is what grips my poop, wasnt he the 1st one to report poor range over urban, not the location he's flying in now by doing a test against another drone and an Autel against the MM3P?  I cant find his video now so maybe it wasn't him, i could have sworn it was mind...?

Also, why stop at 1000m, he's already doubled the law at 500m, and now freaking way could he see it at 1000, made me chuckle him saying he's coming to the end of VLOS lol. He might just as well have carried on and seen what this puppy can do...

Sys_Admin Posted at 5-22 13:05
Actually doing off shore marine inspections which can require longer distances that 500m. Biggest risk is it crashes into a fish.

The law is the law….. LOS is about other aircraft. I don’t agree with it but that is not the point

This whole range thing is BS, everyone has an opinion on it and the fact is few people REALLY understand what factors affect range. Most times, the range is limited by the surrounding radio noise that affects the transmission path. And most itmes, that "noise" is caused by WiFi systems.

nosnoop Posted at 5-22 12:16
This is CE - UK.
1km full bar.

Frankly, I wouldn't trust anything this guy says about the Mini 3 (the guy in the video, not the poster, to be clear)

Dragonfyr Posted at 5-18 07:13
You'll have to state what distance that is pal. No one knows the size of said fields.

That test was to show that the Mini 3 was getting half the range of the Mini 2 in same condition.  The actual distance wasn't relevant....   ...only to say that the Mini 3 easily remained within VLOS without any strobes on board.