For the past year, I have been able to launch my drone facing any direction from my wooden deck. Beginning about a month ago, I noticed that whenever I launched the drone facing north or south, upon later performing an auto return, the drone would only descend to about 6 foot high, and then present me with a message stating something to the effect that I must make sure the area is clear before Further landing manually. I’m wondering what type of sensors the Mavic three uses for sensing obstacles. I believe there are both optical and infrared sensors. I am wondering if part of my sensing system has gone out. And if it has, is this the results I could expect. Even on a relatively bright day, the drone won’t auto-land when oriented north, or south on the deck. But will land fine when oriented east or west. I even tried putting a large drone landing pad under the drone, but it refuses to land on the landing pad when oriented north or south. I suspect the problem is due to the fact that the slats run the length of the deck in an east-west direction. The slats are about 0.25 inches apart. The deck is elevated about eight feet above the yard. What I can't figure out is why it has worked well for the past year, and now all of a sudden it can't auto-land when oriented north-south. Does anybody have any ideas? Oh, by the way, with the drone off of the deck, it will land in any orientation when landing directly on the ground.

Hi, Gary h. Thank you for reaching out and we are sincerely sorry you are going through these difficulties. DJI Mavic 3 is equipped with both an Infrared Sensing System and Forward, Backward, Lateral, Upward, and Downward Vision Systems. May we ask if the issue is happening when doing a manual landing as well? If yes, please follow the steps below:

1. Please check whether the remote controller’s control stick mode and the control stick operation are correct. If the control stick mode is Mode 2, push the left control stick down to land.
2. Calibrate the remote controller and ensure that the remote controller’s control stick can respond normally.
3. Check whether the landing ground meets the conditions (for example, whether the ground is flat, or whether there is a water surface). For drones with a landing protection function, when the Downward Vision System works and the ground does not meet the landing conditions, the aircraft will hover and wait for the user’s further operation.
4. Avoid flying through clouds or in a heavy fog environment, which will affect the Downward Vision System.
5. Remove any payload under the aircraft which may affect the Downward Vision System.
6. Perform the newly released firmware update:


Additional Notes:
· The Downward Vision Systems work best when the aircraft is at an altitude from 0.5 to 30 m if there
is no GNSS available. Extra caution is required if the altitude of the aircraft is above 30 m as the
Vision Systems may be affected.
·  Keep the sensors clean at all times. DO NOT tamper with the sensors. DO NOT use the aircraft in
dusty or humid environments.
·  DO NOT fly when it is raining, foggy, or if there is no clear sight.
Check the following before each takeoff:
a. Make sure there are no stickers or any other obstructions over the Infrared Sensing and Vision Systems.
b. If there is any dirt, dust, or water on the Infrared Sensing and Vision Systems, clean it with a soft
cloth. Do not use any cleanser that contains alcohol.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.