Today, I was trying to photograph the auditorium of a theatre. Obviously there's no GPS. But anytime I tried to go more than a few metres high, the f'ing Attitude Mode started and it just wants to fly to drone into the nearest wall.
It couldn't maintain it's position at all in this mode, it just drifted at fast walking pace away from it's start point.
Lowering to just below Attitude Mode, it maintained its position.

I've flown inside without GPS before in Churches and a Town Hall, but never had any issues being forced in that mode. I could fly from floor to ceiling all day long.

How do I disable it. It just ruined the entire shoot.

Thanks.

Edited from name correction.

If you have no GPS and fly up and over bottom sensor limit you are in attitude mode. There is no where around it. In this condition drone doesn't know where it is and cannot maintain position automatically.

Is the OP talking about ATTI or the height limitations when GPS is insufficient?  Personally I think the latter.

From page 60 of the 1.2 manual

Weak GNSS Signal              Restriction                                                                        
Max Altitude                        Height is restricted to 30 m from the takeoff point if lighting is sufficient.

       "                                 Height is restricted to 5 m above the ground if lighting is not sufficient and the Infrared Sensing System is operating.

       "                                 Height is restricted to 30 m from the takeoff point if lighting is not sufficient and the Infrared Sensing System is not operating.


Which suggests to me that, in good light, indoor-flights should be limited to a height of 30m.

Thank you both very much for your help.
This sounds like the problem 'Height is restricted to 5 m above the ground if lighting is not sufficient and the Infrared Sensing System is operating'.

Silly question: can I put tape over the bottom sensors to stop it going into Altitude Mode? Or do I  just need to use a torch/flashlight to illuminate the ground ;-)
The most annoying feature of this is the constant need for the drone to think it needs to head towards the nearest wall all the time.
I just want it to hover in place at an altitude I want.

Unless you are close to a wall then I see no reason why it should head for a wall. (When close to a wall I think there is a tendancy for a drone to suck itself in towards the wall.)

However if the drone lacks sufficient GPS and the light is insufficient for the VPS to work, then the drone is in 'ATTI' mode and at the mercy of any air currents present in the room i.e. draughts from ventilation and momentum. The drone will not automatically brake when you centre the elevator/aileron, the pilot has to apply the brakes by giving suitable commands. In normal flights, GPS assisted etc., the drone actively brakes when the elevator/aileron is centred by applying the appropriate reverse tilt/thrust. In ATTI mode the drone does not do that.

You can to some extent simulate that in safe conditions out doors by flying the drone horizontally and then yawing the drone whilst keeping the aileron/elevator setting constant. If the drone is near enough you should see that the drone does not instantly lose all its speed in the original direction, it 'sideslips' for some time until the speed in the original direct bleeds off due to air resistance.

MS Posted at 10-18 12:55
Thank you both very much for your help.
This sounds like the problem 'Height is restricted to 5 m above the ground if lighting is not sufficient and the Infrared Sensing System is operating'.

People forgot to remove the cover indoors (due to which the sensors were covered), the drone crashed into the ceiling.

MS Posted at 10-18 12:55
Thank you both very much for your help.
This sounds like the problem 'Height is restricted to 5 m above the ground if lighting is not sufficient and the Infrared Sensing System is operating'.

The most annoying feature of this is the constant need for the drone to think it needs to head towards the nearest wall all the time.
I just want it to hover in place at an altitude I want.

Without GPS, your drone has no ability to hold position.
It will drift and when you centre the sticks, it will continue moving without brakes.
That's what atti mode is all about.

MS Posted at 10-18 12:55
Thank you both very much for your help.
This sounds like the problem 'Height is restricted to 5 m above the ground if lighting is not sufficient and the Infrared Sensing System is operating'.

Just noticed the thing about taping over the sensors.
As I understand things to work, the VPS height is actually measured by the Infra Red (IR) sensors on the bottom of the drone. If that is correct it maybe that taping over ONLY those IR sensors will disable them but leave the visible light portion of the VPS working. If that is correct then
"Max Altitude                        Height is restricted to 30 m from the takeoff point if lighting is sufficient."
might be applicable. If so then, in theory, you would have a height limit of 30m.......BUT......on page 18 of the manual it reads
"Downward Vision System
Precision Measurement Range: 0.15-9 m; FOV: 104.8° (front and back), 87.6° (left and right). The Downward Vision System works best when the aircraft is at an altitude of 0.5 to 12 m."
That might mean that if you go above 12m the VPS system will not be able to see the ground or see it well enough to hold position, if so that may then leave the drone in ATTI mode with no position holding and no braking. However if the VPS works up to a height of 30m then you may be able to get the drone up to 30m with position holding and braking being provided via the VPS.
It would be a matter of experimenting, start in the middle of the room, well clear of any walls and obstacles and take the drone up 1m at a time and see if it behaves correctly at that height, if so send it up another metre etc. etc..  If that works move the drone away from the centre of the room and try again, 'map out' and area/space within which the drone the drone can be flown safely.

I have flown a Mavic Mini or a Mini 2 in a poorly lit stairwell, the lighting was such that the drone was in ATTI mode, space was limited and in the first flight the drone crashed. I successfully navigated the stairwell on subsequent flights but it requires VERY gentle use of the elevator and aileron, VERY GENTLE.

One point, I know of no "Altitude Mode."

Thanks for the replies, especially Sean.
The drifting isn't caused by gentle wind currents, it's like I'm pushing the right stick forward to fly somewhere.

I'm using the RC-N1 with my phone. By default my GPS and WiFi are switched off.
When I want to use the Mini 3, I switch them on. As I entered the theatre yesterday they were off, but switched on when I was ready to fly.
Obviously, switching on GPS was a waste of time. But would switching the GPS on outside the building first to achieve a lock, make any difference to Attitude (Atti) Mode when flying inside?
The GPS would be lost, but it might give a last known nearby position, which maybe the drone could use to maintain some positioning. Yes, I'm clutching at straws!

"But would switching the GPS on outside the building first to achieve a lock, make any difference to Altitude (Atti) Mode when flying inside?"
I doubt that it will do any good, once the drone is inside it would lose access to some or all of the satellites that it had locked onto.,,Where I generally fly from at home the ground is in GPS 'shadow". I send the drone up to the 5m ceiling and wait for sufficient GPS to be obtained. If I then descend to near ground level the number of locked-onto satellites decreases and within maybe 10 seconds the drone considers itself to have insufficient satellites.
In your case the drone will probably consider the GPS insufficient within a few seconds of the drone being brought indoors. I have flown a Mini into the house through the open front door. Once IO did this without switching the hall light on, the flight was at the wrong time of day, the hall wasn't bright enough, and within seconds the drone was in ATTI mode, that surprised me and I panicked and it crashed.

If you wish to avoid ATTI then I think you are stuck with .....flying within the functional range of the VPS system.
Failing that, learn to use the ATTI mode, it is possible. I doubt the stairwell I mentioned is wider than 3.5ft and I might have even managed to get a M2P/Z up or down that but if so it was only once lol, it's too expensive to risk in such experimants.
The problem I can imagine you face is with any horizontal draughts from ventilation.  
I would think video from an ATTI flight would be usable if you become skilled enough using ATTI.

As an alternative, are prop guards available for a the Mini 3? They might allow the drone to hit a wall without damage and remain airborne.

MS Posted at 10-19 01:40
Thanks for the replies, especially Sean.
Altitude Mode is displayed on the screen. The voice says Atti mode.
The drifting isn't caused by gentle wind currents, it's like I'm pushing the right stick forward to fly somewhere.

Altitude Mode is displayed on the screen.
Look closer ... There is no such thing as Altitude Mode

By default my GPS and WiFi are switched off.
That's completely irrelevant.
The GPS receiver in your phone can't help to the drone hold position.
The phone's position couldn't help the drone anyway, which is why the drone never takes any GPS data from your phone.
Whether or not you have it in airplane mode makes no difference to anything.

As I entered the theatre yesterday they were off, but switched on when I was ready to fly.
Obviously, switching on GPS was a waste of time. But would switching the GPS on outside the building first to achieve a lock, make any difference to Altitude (Atti) Mode when flying inside?
The GPS receiver in the phone is of no use at all and whether it's on or off makes no difference to anything.

The GPS would be lost, but it might give a last known nearby position, which maybe the drone could use to maintain some positioning.
No, no and no.
Not even a tiny bit.

The mode is called attitude mode. More details can also be found here: https://pilotinstitute.com/atti-mode-flying/

Sean-bumble-bee Posted at 10-19 02:33
"But would switching the GPS on outside the building first to achieve a lock, make any difference to Altitude (Atti) Mode when flying inside?"
I doubt that it will do any good, once the drone is inside it would lose access to some or all of the satellites that it had locked onto.,,Where I generally fly from at home the ground is in GPS 'shadow". I send the drone up to the 5m ceiling and wait for sufficient GPS to be obtained. If I then descend to near ground level the number of locked-onto satellites decreases and within maybe 10 seconds the drone considers itself to have insufficient satellites.
In your case the drone will probably consider the GPS insufficient within a few seconds of the drone being brought indoors. I have flown a Mini into the house through the open front door. Once IO did this without switching the hall light on, the flight was at the wrong time of day, the hall wasn't bright enough, and within seconds the drone was in ATTI mode, that surprised me and I panicked and it crashed.

OK, thank you for your help.
The problem is I'm wanting to shoot bracketed photos, panoramas etc. So I don't want any movement at all, if possible.

I'll try again and hopefully they can rig up some spotlights to illuminate the stalls area.

Thank you Labroides and _SoP_ for the information and clarification.

What height do you need to accomplish these shots?
Try something that is visually quite distinctive and largish under the drone, it may help VPS maintain a visual lock, have a look at page page 20 of the manual, in particular

" i) Flying over surfaces with repeating identical patterns or texture (e.g., tiles with the same design)."

Sean-bumble-bee Posted at 10-19 08:09
What height do you need to accomplish these shots?
Try something that is visually quite distinctive and largish under the drone, it may help VPS maintain a visual lock, have a look at page page 20 of the manual, in particular

Something around 7.5 - 10 metres.
I'll see what the theatre has in their cupboards ;-)

I was going to post a 360 sphere of the theatre to illustrate the problem.
But the Sky Pixel site keeps giving me Fatal Error messages when trying to view it (I've uploaded it three times so far, I'll try again tomorrow).

I also had a problem uploading the sphere to Skypixel. However, you just have to wait after uploading the image (despite the displayed error). Sometimes for a short time, sometimes for a long time. Unfortunately

Ross14 Posted at 10-19 10:37
I also had a problem uploading the sphere to Skypixel. However, you just have to wait after uploading the image (despite the displayed error). Sometimes for a short time, sometimes for a long time. Unfortunately

I think it's been uploaded successfully. The thumbnail is being displayed on "my page".
But error message mentioned "loading failed". And it's been at least an hour since I last checked.
I can wait.

I had some panoramas in order only the next day after uploading.

Wait... what???

If the question is directed at me, the 360 sphere reported an error when uploading to Skypixel and did not show up. I tried uploading several times but it didn't work, I stopped uploading. The next day, the same panoramas showed up without errors even though the day before it reported an error while uploading.
Now I upload the panorama despite the error, I wait until the next day and everything is fine, I don't know where the problem is.

Ross14 Posted at 10-20 11:57
If the question is directed at me, the 360 sphere reported an error when uploading to Skypixel and did not show up. I tried uploading several times but it didn't work, I stopped uploading. The next day, the same panoramas showed up without errors even though the day before it reported an error while uploading.
Now I upload the panorama despite the error, I wait until the next day and everything is fine, I don't know where the problem is.

Probably the Skypixel server bandwidth is too small. It is a global asset for droners.

Mobilehomer Posted at 10-20 13:10
Probably the Skypixel server bandwidth is too small. It is a global asset for droners.

That would be unlikely, what is more than likely is a script or MySQL issue.

FYI, normally when sites reach bandwidth limits it will actually display bandwidth limit reached by the hosting company as this is your hosts side of things and it's more to embarrass you into upping the limit by paying for it. Normally it wouldn't get this far though because you would have been notified well before it reached this far.

As a side note, I know all this because I have my own dedicated server based in France for my own web hosting co and personal weather station sites.

if you have no GPS and fly up and over bottom sensor limit you are in attitude mode. There is no where around it. In this condition drone doesn't know where it is and cannot maintain position automatically.