Hi all,

Longtime DJI Pilot (P4, P4P, MP, M2P, and M3P). but New to the M3P and the DJI RC.

I purposely quit updating all software and firmware on my small fleet of DJI drones after DJI permanently messed up the P4Ps in a fiasco a few years ago (and had a bunch of other problems with updates).  Once I got things working, I locked my software updates and have been happy for the past three years without an issue.
I have flown all around the world, never once thinking or knowing about Maps in the DJI world.

I flew my brand new M3P yesterday in a bunch of locations in CT, without problem.

Today, ONLY IN this forum, I keep seeing comments about the need to download maps (and a lot of people complaining about the tiny maps that need to be downloaded one at a time).

So, what's up with Maps?  why do I need to upload a bunch of tiny maps?  Help?

Hi there. Thanks for reaching out. With the offline map, the operator can still observe the flight environment without a network connection. In scenarios where the map is not used, flight operations and functions will not be affected even if the offline map is not downloaded. If there is no network in the operating environment, we strongly recommend that the user download the offline map in advance so as to be prepared. We hope this helps.

DJI Tony Posted at 6-2 23:32
Hi there. Thanks for reaching out. With the offline map, the operator can still observe the flight environment without a network connection. In scenarios where the map is not used, flight operations and functions will not be affected even if the offline map is not downloaded. If there is no network in the operating environment, we strongly recommend that the user download the offline map in advance so as to be prepared. We hope this helps.

Hi Tony,
I feel like I didn't get an answer to my question.  Since I have flown all over the US, including VERY remote locations with no cellular or wifi, and I have never once downloaded any map, nor had a problem getting my Mavic 2 Pro to fly, I'm still confused as to why I need to download tiny maps.

What are the maps for?  
Why do we need to download them?  
And why the heck don't you allow larger areas of maps to be downloaded?