I have send lots of videos and read lots about this, but I flew my brand new Mini 3 Pro (with DJI RC) for the first time today and experiencing some real range issues. I upgraded from the Mini 2 and have flown the Mini 3 Pro in the same locations as the Mini 2 so it’s a fairly direct comparison. At worst the specs say I could get 1500m range in a strong interference urban landscape. I was flying on the edge of farmland so should have gotten way more than this. Around about 300m signal was starting to drop and I was getting warnings. The drone should have easily coped with this given it’s advertised 1500m poorest range. I tried the usual pointing the RC in the right direction etc and no luck. Overall pretty disappointed, other than the camera this doesn’t seem to be a real upgrade from the Mini 2. Is there a working solution for this? Because if not I will reject the goods for reason of “not as described”… FYI I am UK based and understanding the difference between the CE and FCC ranges etc.

You should test it again, on a completely different terrain, with a really clear view all the way to the M3P...
A different RC also has completely different characteristics than what you have used before...

Same thing happened to me recently. I was flying the Mini 3 Pro in northern Scotland two weeks ago and at about 300m, my signal began to drop and the drone was forced to return. This seems to be a common issue among this model. The Mini 2 has better range, which is incredibly disappointing.

Hi, CodeWriter. Thank you for reaching out and we're sorry to read about this short-range issue you're experiencing with your Mini 3 Pro. Have you tried a different flight environment to isolate the issue? If not please do so. Below are some helpful tips for your concern:

1.  Check whether the aircraft firmware, remote controller firmware, and app versions are the latest. If not, please update the firmware to the latest versions first.
2. Check the remote controller antenna position. Please make sure to place the remote controller antenna in the optimal position.

3. Keep note of tree and house obstructions near the flying field. After flying for a period, note the obstruction near the horizontal line to ensure that there are no visible obstructions in the aircraft's direction.
4. Check whether there is significant interference in the flight environment. Common electromagnetic interference sources include but are not limited to Wi-Fi hotspots, routers, Bluetooth devices, high-voltage power lines, high-voltage transmission stations, mobile phone base stations, and television broadcasting towers.

Please keep us updated. Thank you for your understanding and support.

If the RC and Drone alignment is not 100% spot on, you will have issues, for this you will need to use the RC indicator on the Flight Attitude Radar, and here layeth another issue. The compass in the DJI RC needs calibrating, now for problem 3, it will not let you calibrate it if the darn thing thinks that it does not need calibrating.

So, you have to cure problem 3 1st by using a wee magnet over the lower (middle) back of the RC, this will change the compass to show error. now quickly calibrate it, you will probably be too slow to be prepared to do this a few times.
This should cure the RC indicator on Flight Attitude Radar, it should now be pointing at the drone, if not, do the calibration again.
Once you've sort the RC's calibration issues and you're pointing at the drone and accurately, you need to note that that is only for the horizontal plain.

For the vertical plain and close in work, you need to point the top of the RC at the drone, try to imagine that there is a red laser coming from the top of the RC and keep it on the drone.
That does not work for further away, so here is something to think about, when the drone is at 1500m away and at 120m height, the angle of the drone from the horizon is only around 4 degrees, when you realise how low that really is, you will be holding the RC flat, this creates a new problem, seeing the screen. Its all a bit of a juggling act but it is doable.

You need to fly the Mini2 and Mini3 back to back at the same time for any real comparison,   range can be affected by so many things.  Also make sure you turn on the radar and have the indicator on green when you are flying,  this tells you that the remote is correctly orientated.       Also worth remembering that VLOS is defined as <500m n the UK.   

This is usually caused by too much metal and satellites in the area you're flying the drone. Metals mess with the drones signal. Try an area with little metal like a large field. If the issue persists contact DJI directly.

I have exactly same issue my signal drops basically just over 150 metres??? Any direction.
Is a firmware update coming to correct this?
Uk

Arpettaz Posted at 11-13 05:40
Maximum visual line of sight is around 300 metres for this drone so what‘s the issue?

You know what the issue is, its in the 1st post, not everyone has the same eyesight, you do not know what they can or cannot see, 300m is within the law.

djiuser_K6rBJgRWQIq0 Posted at 11-13 08:40
I have exactly same issue my signal drops basically just over 150 metres??? Any direction.
Is a firmware update coming to correct this?
Uk

No as there is nothing wrong with the FW, please see post #5

Arpettaz Posted at 11-15 00:42
I know 300m is within the law (although there is no defined range for VLOS) and that was the point of my post. There are drone users who moan that they cannot achieve anywhere near the maximum range as defined by DJI. But they cannot achieve this range (18km) anyway without breaking the law. I did some tests earlier this year with some friends and the consensus was that they could see the drone using just their eyes out to about 300 metres. Not very scientific I concede. But that is more than enough flight distance for probably most people.

I have to correct you here, we here in the UK have a maximum of 500m, no further. This is what the powers that be have decided is our max VLOS

I agree with you on the 300m being about max for the Mini 3, you can see further but its a stretch and pointless if you're using VLOS because as soon as you look away, finding it again is nigh on impossible. Heck, i couldn't find the darn thing the other day when it was directly above me, There was a very slight haze from the lifting fog and i was at 120m. Once i found it (took a wee while i might add lol) i knew what to look for and that it needed more concentration because it was a little paler due to the dispersing cloud. For my P4P, that about 450m but even with the size of that drone, i would be hard pushed to find it again if i take my eyes off it, i can just see it at 600m though but thats my limit and a pointless distance if using VLOS because i don't think even blinked when i was testing lol. Its all good fun

I may make my own post but my team went out with mini 3 pro, mini 2, mavic 3 cine and the a phantom, but dont recall which one.  We were all around florida the past 2 weeks and columbus and chicago.  Droned all over the place.  Mini 3 pro max was 1,000 fr away, but liked to lose connection many times around 600 - 750 feet.

Before the karens pipe up, we use binoculars of we go out of natural eye sight, as no law in the US yet prevents that.

All firmware updated, forced compass and IMU calibration.  Tried different tricks and techniques with no success.

Surely there is a fix.  Any thoughts or better yet, anyone with this experience and got it resolved?

Sorry about the snarky "karen" comment.  I just see people assume things and try to show how much they know and I just want to get this resolved.

Thanks everyone! I do Appreciate the help.

I’ve read all post here and what was said to get the mini 3 pro to fly further. The mini 2 which I have did not have to go through any of these so called fixes. The problem is the mini 3 pro. Some here are saying to check for this and that for the mini 3 pro to get more range. Funny that the same thing is not being said for the mini 2. Fact is, there is a range problem with the mini 3 pro which I have and there shouldn’t be. We all can’t be wrong having the same issues. There are no Novices here. The problem is with mini 3 pro. Even the RC blacks out several times when I’m flying. Mini 2 does not do that. Wonderful piece of flying machine. DJI, fix the issues with the mini 3 Pro. Don’t even talk about the mini 4 pro. Fix it please!!!

fansf5b3eb10 Posted at 10-28 16:33
I’ve read all post here and what was said to get the mini 3 pro to fly further. The mini 2 which I have did not have to go through any of these so called fixes. The problem is the mini 3 pro. Some here are saying to check for this and that for the mini 3 pro to get more range. Funny that the same thing is not being said for the mini 2. Fact is, there is a range problem with the mini 3 pro which I have and there shouldn’t be. We all can’t be wrong having the same issues. There are no Novices here. The problem is with mini 3 pro. Even the RC blacks out several times when I’m flying. Mini 2 does not do that. Wonderful piece of flying machine. DJI, fix the issues with the mini 3 Pro. Don’t even talk about the mini 4 pro. Fix it please!!!

The only way to fix this hardware issue would be for you to mount the Mini 4 Pro front arms, that do have the aerials back in the original position, into your Mini 3 Pro...

Replacing the front arms is what DJI did to fix this design mistake...  That's why every other DJI drone has those front legs....

I find the RC controller to be inferior in range to the RC-N1. I flew my Mini 3 Pro with both at night and got into the orange at about 1300 feet and had to cut short my survey. Changed to the RC-N1 and was able to complete the whole survey which was out to 1500 feet without any orange warnings.