I work in Antarctica, and am often away from any internet connection for a couple of months at a time, causing my Mavic 3 Cine to get locked out and only fly in the resticted mode. This is a major problem when I am trying to do remote field work. Is there any way to avoid this, or at least have a longer period before lockout? I work directly with local air trafic controllers and have all the relevant permits so no fly zones are not an issue. It is having a major impact on my work and wasting a lot of time and money.

For the past 12 months, DJI hasn't come up with any solution to help on this matter...

Best option so far is to purchase an Autel drone and radio that doesn't have this absurd crippling limitation when you fly in remote areas...

DJI doesn't seem to be interested to cater for this section of consumers...

Plenty of threads on this matter if you search...

My Mini 3 Pro doesn't get locked out every couple of months, would you like to buy it from me and not have to worry about this any longer?  

The Saint Posted at 1-14 17:29
My Mini 3 Pro doesn't get locked out every couple of months, would you like to buy it from me and not have to worry about this any longer?

I already have a Mini 3 Pro as a backup. And yes, it does not do lock itself out.
I can understand consumer levels drones being locked out after a while, but having pro-level devices that lock themselves out is not professional at all.

It is nothing short of embarrassing and maddening.

Its a real pain in the behind I tell you

DJI will unfortunately listen to this thread just as much as they have listened to the other ones. Help me better understand things, as I have neither of the drones mentioned. How is the Mini 3 Pro immune to this but the Mavic 3 Cine isn't? They both use the same app to fly with, right?

Johnnokomis Posted at 1-14 18:14
DJI will unfortunately listen to this thread just as much as they have listened to the other ones. Help me better understand things, as I have neither of the drones mentioned. How is the Mini 3 Pro immune to this but the Mavic 3 Cine isn't? They both use the same app to fly with, right?

My Mavic 3 Pro doesn't lock itself out either but I didn't mention it because it's not up for sale.

The Saint Posted at 1-14 18:53
My Mavic 3 Pro doesn't lock itself out either but I didn't mention it because it's not up for sale.

Not again the same bull crap...

Yours does the same as everybody else... You just haven't worked out what the problem is and there is no way to help you understand the issue... Go away in a remote area with your RC Pro and your drone for LONGER THAN A MONTH (sometimes much less than a month) and then comeback here and report....

It has nothing to do with the drone! It is the DJI Fly app in the radio (RC PRo more often than the RC) the problem!!! Not a bug but a feature!


Please, just stop wasting people times with your little game of the bug idea...

The Saint Posted at 1-14 18:53
My Mavic 3 Pro doesn't lock itself out either but I didn't mention it because it's not up for sale.

I don't use my phone to fly with so the Fly app rarely gets opened. Yesterday when I went to grab a few screenshots of the app's terms of service. I started screen recording before opening because I wanted to catch this quick message. The fact that DJI logs everybody out at some point isn't even debatable. They admit to doing so here on these forums and also say it very clearly in the apps terms of service. So I'm not sure why you're trying to defend them when they themselves wouldn't even agree with you on the subject.

Johnnokomis Posted at 1-14 20:35
I don't use my phone to fly with so the Fly app rarely gets opened. Yesterday when I went to grab a few screenshots of the app's terms of service. I started screen recording before opening because I wanted to catch this quick message. The fact that DJI logs everybody out at some point isn't even debatable. They admit to doing so here on these forums and also say it very clearly in the apps terms of service. So I'm not sure why you're trying to defend them when they themselves wouldn't even agree with you on the subject. [view_image]

You are wasting your time with the saint...

You probably forgot this thread...

https://forum.dji.com/forum.php? ... 940&pid=3170880

He simply doesn't want/care to understand the issue...

I must have a "bug" since mine doesn't log out.  Plenty of us are that way.
https://mavicpilots.com/threads/ ... ter-closing.124804/

What happens if you enable Local Data Mode in settings under notification and privacy? Could that prevent the app from losing your authentication token? I didn't know Fly had this option until now.

Johnnokomis Posted at 1-15 08:58
What happens if you enable Local Data Mode in settings under notification and privacy? Could that prevent the app from losing your authentication token? I didn't know Fly had this option until now.

It'll take a month to find out I guess.

Hi there. To ensure flight safety, the FlySafe Database will be updated from time to time, which requires users to connect to the Internet. Thus, a prompt for account login is displayed to remind users to connect to the network. If you don't connect to the network for one month, the DJI Fly App will be logged out automatically after one month, and re-login is required. I will provide your feedback to the relevant team. We appreciate your patience and understanding.

DJI Tony Posted at 1-16 00:19
Hi there. To ensure flight safety, the FlySafe Database will be updated from time to time, which requires users to connect to the Internet. Thus, a prompt for account login is displayed to remind users to connect to the network. If you don't connect to the network for one month, the DJI Fly App will be logged out automatically after one month, and re-login is required. I will provide your feedback to the relevant team. We appreciate your patience and understanding.

That is precisely the problem. Often I can't login, so my expensive drone suddenly becomes useless, with no way to activate it. Not all users have access to the internet all the time. When this affects work for my business this is not acceptable.

Antzkiwi Posted at 1-16 00:33
That is precisely the problem. Often I can't login, so my expensive drone suddenly becomes useless, with no way to activate it. Not all users have access to the internet all the time. When this affects work for my business this is not acceptable.

We understand the inconvenience. We are continuously submitting this concern to the relevant team. Please rest assured all your feedback is being noticed. We appreciate your patience.

Antzkiwi Posted at 1-15 19:55
It'll take a month to find out I guess.

With regards to testing, what happens it you switch the phone to airplane mode and manually change the date on the phone?

Antzkiwi Posted at 1-15 19:55
It'll take a month to find out I guess.

That is where I'm right now...

Waiting to see if it still logs me out within the month...

(two weeks, so far, so good)

When you are next logged out, fly a flight or at least start the motors with a screen device connected to the controller, the log records that you are logged out.
It could form a useful reference to gauge the log out time interval.

It's pretty ridiculous that we are even having to come up with a test to learn what DJI's policy even is. If a company has a time limit in place before their product is made completely useless, the least they could do is provide an answer on what that time limit is. "From time to time" is not an acceptable answer and updating the FlySafe Database has absolutely nothing to do with this. DJI loves to come up with irrelevant excuses and point the finger at something else to distract from the actual problem that customers have. FlySafe can be updated without logging you out. You can still be logged in while flying with an outdated FlySafe Database. The two are not at all related so I'm not sure why DJI Tony just tried to blame one for the other.

DJI Tony Posted at 1-16 01:52
We understand the inconvenience. We are continuously submitting this concern to the relevant team. Please rest assured all your feedback is being noticed. We appreciate your patience.

Why can't we at least have the same three months as the Enterprise and Agriculture customers do???

That would be a start, and it would show that your "Relevant Team" has actually bothered to acknowledge the problem that they have created in the first place by changing it from three months down to one!

Does it make sense, Tony?


Unless, once again, this was purposely done just for the reason to force people to buy the more expensive setup to fly in remote areas....

Yup, not good if out in the field for months

DJI Tony Posted at 1-16 00:19
Hi there. To ensure flight safety, the FlySafe Database will be updated from time to time, which requires users to connect to the Internet. Thus, a prompt for account login is displayed to remind users to connect to the network. If you don't connect to the network for one month, the DJI Fly App will be logged out automatically after one month, and re-login is required. I will provide your feedback to the relevant team. We appreciate your patience and understanding.

I, personally, was never that concerned about the monthly "sign-in" since I have gotten in the habit of turning everything on at home or at a site that has either wifi or cell service ( for a hot spot) before heading out into a remote area....... BUT...I now realize that it is a SERIOUS issue for individuals like the original poster who will be in such a remote location for months at a time!!! COMPLETELY UNSATISFACTORY DJI....Let's do something else... the individuals who use the drone like that paid their money and it would be nice to be able to use the thing properly   Come on DJI you can do better

Sorry But I have a RANT!!!!
I am NOT happy about the news i got this week
No more USA contract work with DJI drones. as I was told in a letter by my airport manager  
So my only solution now,  would be to buy a non dji drone that does not require the drone to phone home to china every time I start the thing.

I was told Its the main reason the USA government banned DJI drones from allowing US. Gov agencies or its sub-contractors to use them.  that's just not optimal.
This is my honest opinion the DJI drones are the best in the world.   but absolutely useless for US goverment contract work now as i was notified this week.
What galls me is USA made drones I seen in my search are seriously restricted on flight capabilities and royally suck in comparison to  DJI drones camera's and reliability. and are seriously over priced..

The real loser here, is "WE" the US. Drone pilots who want the safest, most reliable drones for our work. and the US consumer drones I have seen so far do not measure up, cost 5x more and are severely restricted by US government unelected bureaucrats on their flight capabilities unless you fly M.A.R.S, and I am not military so that lave me out.

I am sorry if i seem a bit disgruntled. But because of this new BS DJI ban rule,  I either have to buy a new  US made drone that is only a 1/4 as capable as the dji mavic3 cost 5x more or lose my sub-contract.
  Who does this ban-rule benefit anyway? not me the forgotten little flyer struggling to get by.  

@ DJI Tony

What happens there, mate?

Did someone cut your tongue? Can you ask your "Relevant Team" to at least put it back to three months and let us know, or you can't even do that?

Why the silence treatment? Why is it taking so many months just to answer a simple question?

Come on DJI, do the right thing...

DJI Tony Posted at 1-16 01:52
We understand the inconvenience. We are continuously submitting this concern to the relevant team. Please rest assured all your feedback is being noticed. We appreciate your patience.

Tony, my man. This isn't an inconvenience. An inconvenience would be a low RC battery and having to go to the truck for a charging brick. An inconvenience is having to find a shade tree to be able to better see the RC screen. Traveling far out to a jobsite then not being able to do it isn't an inconvenience. Tools for the job are not a convivence or luxury item. They are necessary and an absolute essential part of some jobs. DJI Admin's copy/paste only responses are an inconvenience. Explaining to your boss that you weren't able to do your job because of a dumb DJI policy is beyond that.

So no, you don't "understand the inconvenience". If you did you wouldn't call it such. Can we hear from your relevant team directly since a cat apparently has your tongue?

Ms Ivy Posted at 1-17 12:23
Sorry But I have a RANT!!!!
I am NOT happy about the news i got this week
No more USA contract work with DJI drones. as I was told in a letter by my airport manager  

The most saddening and, frankly, pathetic part of this whole "ban DJI" motion is that THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO EVIDENCE that ANY "vital" information is being communicated/transferred!! Also, DJI drones are not allowed to fly (with DJIs own software, not a government-forced restriction at that) in those so-called "vital" areas. This is all an effort by a group that is invested in the development and primary use of US drones ...No competition if the primary and most reliable/successful drone maker is just blatantly (and illegally IMHO) taken out of consideration..Again, where is the evidence?

Ms Ivy Posted at 1-17 12:23
Sorry But I have a RANT!!!!
I am NOT happy about the news i got this week
No more USA contract work with DJI drones. as I was told in a letter by my airport manager  

That is really sad to hear and for the rest of everybody, your ban is coming soon too if we don't do something about it now.  This never should have happened and the fact that is has without much opposition from the greater drone community (because it doesn't apply to *me*), well you know the saying:

First they came for.....China
I did not speak out because I'm not....from China

Next they came for....Chinese-made drones for federal use
I did not speak out because I'm not....the fed

Then they came for me, the recreational user
And there was no one left to speak for me

The Saint Posted at 1-18 08:30
That is really sad to hear and for the rest of everybody, your ban is coming soon too if we don't do something about it now.  This never should have happened and the fact that is has without much opposition from the greater drone community (because it doesn't apply to *me*), well you know the saying:

First they came for.....China

Indeed, The new Parrot Anafi USA. I just order this morning cost me $7300, it can only fly 43 mins and has a range of 9mi .  there no fly more kit you have to buy every extra piece & acessorie. which in the end going to be around $9g's for 3 extra batteries and hard case, and prop guards  GRRRR  I had to take a personal load out for it. this is so unnecessary.

I do not make enough in my sub contract to even come close to pay for this new drone, so now I am going to have to hustle to get more contracts to just defray the cost.  i bought the new Parrot Anafi USA at B& H because the company do not even sell them , you have to get them from a authorize dealer. so I am guess the support going to be for crap for this new drone
I am so angry right now I could spit

It’s possibly the most frustrating thing dji have enforced on any flyers and can cause so much problems.

For instance, since December I have flown 8 times all from confines of my own back yard so was connected to my own home Wi-Fi , then 3 days ago I travelled a short distance set up to fly only to receive the warning “NOT LOGGED IN” so now I have to waste time trying to connect via hotspot hoping I am in an area of reasonable signal, wait for device to connect to hotspot fill in all necessary sign in details before I can fly my own drone.

Now I was led to believe this cut off was due to not being connected or flying for one month, but this couldn’t be further from the truth , it seems now its based on when new fly safe has been issued . I’ve had some extremely bad experiences on trips to Scotland and Norway. I have complained bitterly to dji without any satisfaction. There is no rhyme or reason to how this is applied and if there is it should be documented and posted . It also would not be difficult for dji to notify any users that this could be a problem , they have all our details including emails , they are the ones stopping us from flying they should be able to tell us why and notify us when this is likely to happen.

Ms Ivy Posted at 1-19 07:33
Indeed, The new Parrot Anafi USA. I just order this morning cost me $7300, it can only fly 43 mins and has a range of 9mi .  there no fly more kit you have to buy every extra piece & acessorie. which in the end going to be around $9g's for 3 extra batteries and hard case, and prop guards  GRRRR  I had to take a personal load out for it. this is so unnecessary.

I do not make enough in my sub contract to even come close to pay for this new drone, so now I am going to have to hustle to get more contracts to just defray the cost.  i bought the new Parrot Anafi USA at B& H because the company do not even sell them , you have to get them from a authorize dealer. so I am guess the support going to be for crap for this new drone

I'm in the middle when it comes to this debate. I see where using a DJI would be preferred simply because of performance, I also see the concern in using a DJI in some cases. What Hallmark007 just said is a HUGE issue. DJI now makes you "check in" with them and basically you now have to be granted permission periodically before being allowed to use your drones. This is not acceptable in any fashion and should be alarming to everyone. They have also recently made quiet changes to the frequency of this logging out happening. Many other threads here have asked what their exact time limit is now and DJI won't even touch the question. I'm sorry but I do not need to ask DJI's permission to fly AT ANY TIME, much less every few weeks.

The great thing about Parrot is that there is no GeoZones to have to worry about. They treat their customers like adults and allow them to make their own decisions. This may sound bad to some people but right now you can go buy a car that goes 150+ MPH and nobody bats an eye. What purpose does this speed have? Nothing legally. I've never owned a Parrot brand drone and have limited knowledge with them. The specs you're stating are not much different when you really look at it. The M3T Fly More Combo is $7740 which is in the same ballpark. The Anafi can "only" fly 43 mins? There isn't a Mavic that can even come close to this flight time, regardless of what flight time DJI tries to claim. A 9 mile range is incredible and far longer than a battery would even allow.

DJI is still going to be better in some areas and cheaper as well. That's largely in part to Parrot paying their workers an acceptable wage vs Chinese factories using.. questionable labor practices. They don't have OSHA or safety in general to worry about. Far less regulation, workers rights, copyright laws and red tape that American companies have to navigate. I hope other brands, even outside the USA, continue to progress and maybe one day DJI is knocked off their high horse that they have been on.

Johnnokomis Posted at 1-19 10:01
I'm in the middle when it comes to this debate. I see where using a DJI would be preferred simply because of performance, I also see the concern in using a DJI in some cases. What Hallmark007 just said is a HUGE issue. DJI now makes you "check in" with them and basically you now have to be granted permission periodically before being allowed to use your drones. This is not acceptable in any fashion and should be alarming to everyone. They have also recently made quiet changes to the frequency of this logging out happening. Many other threads here have asked what their exact time limit is now and DJI won't even touch the question. I'm sorry but I do not need to ask DJI's permission to fly AT ANY TIME, much less every few weeks.

The great thing about Parrot is that there is no GeoZones to have to worry about. They treat their customers like adults and allow them to make their own decisions. This may sound bad to some people but right now you can go buy a car that goes 150+ MPH and nobody bats an eye. What purpose does this speed have? Nothing legally. I've never owned a Parrot brand drone and have limited knowledge with them. The specs you're stating are not much different when you really look at it. The M3T Fly More Combo is $7740 which is in the same ballpark. The Anafi can "only" fly 43 mins? There isn't a Mavic that can even come close to this flight time, regardless of what flight time DJI tries to claim. A 9 mile range is incredible and far longer than a battery would even allow.

In all fairness it was the price that gets me. and the fact I had to buy it threw a authorized dealer instead of factory direct.
The parrot does not have a fly more kit you pay  $7300 for just the bird 1 battery and the basic skycontroller the the pro controller is around $650.  the batteries are $399 each and i need a min of 3 batteries for most trips, you have to buy separately the lights kit which this bird takes the FoxFury D10 Parrot ANAFI Drone & Thermal Lighting System which is $199 & the hard shell case not included cost another $199  bringing my total cost with tax over $9000
DJI drones are affordable for the small commercial flyers . and can be purchased in a complete kit .
yes the parrot pays Union wages and have a lot of goverment agencies over seeing their development because they were originally for the military.
The only plus side is there is no geo zones and they include a 720p FLIR Boson 320 Thermal Imaging camera, it also has a 32x Continuous Zoom and 4K HDR Video
no way points or hyperlaps, no quick shots and only 3 point collision avoidance system.
this was the cheapest and the only drone i could find that compared to the M3E.
85% of the USA drones are not even USA made, and start at around $12,000 and only go up from there

Dirty Bird Posted at 1-19 12:41
Personally I have never experienced the logout issue, but clearly others are.  What I find most concerning is, if this is taking place across-the-board for all DJI models, it could potentially render every DJI drone unusable.  Hypothetically, were DJI to fold or the servers be shut down, then eventually all DJI aircraft would log out & become grounded.  I don't expect DJI to fold, but this is certainly an alarming & reasonable concern which DJI should address.

This is precisely what I have been saying for a good while now. If tensions between China and the West continue to escalate DJI has the ability to ground every one of their drones without having to do a thing. Don't think they'll ever do that? If Xi Jinping wanted it done DJI would follow orders like a loyal dog. Our drones now essentially have built in is a Reverse SSH Tunnel that every few weeks request a login token from DJI for permission to fly. Without this token (Which can only be given by DJI) the drone goes in to paperweight mode. People getting upset about DJI being banned from government agency's need to open their eyes. There are many other concerning things going on in regards to privacy. This logging out thing is just one of them but it alone should be enough to see where things are headed. If law enforcement and other government workers become dependent on DJI products and other brands fizzle out, what will we all do when DJI executes Order 66 that they've been waiting for? That's a Star Wars reference if not already aware.  

Could you use satellite phones? I understand Iridium works near the poles and you would be able to hotspot to them and have access to the internet?

Hoarfrost Posted at 1-19 15:03
Could you use satellite phones? I understand Iridium works near the poles and you would be able to hotspot to them and have access to the internet?

No, latency is too high, and data rate too slow, so the website times out. Also iridium data is very expensive.

Johnnokomis Posted at 1-19 14:24
This is precisely what I have been saying for a good while now. If tensions between China and the West continue to escalate DJI has the ability to ground every one of their drones without having to do a thing. Don't think they'll ever do that? If Xi Jinping wanted it done DJI would follow orders like a loyal dog. Our drones now essentially have built in is a Reverse SSH Tunnel that every few weeks request a login token from DJI for permission to fly. Without this token (Which can only be given by DJI) the drone goes in to paperweight mode. People getting upset about DJI being banned from government agency's need to open their eyes. There are many other concerning things going on in regards to privacy. This logging out thing is just one of them but it alone should be enough to see where things are headed. If law enforcement and other government workers become dependent on DJI products and other brands fizzle out, what will we all do when DJI executes Order 66 that they've been waiting for? That's a Star Wars reference if not already aware.

I have flow my m3 using the  Litchi  app  https://flylitchi.com/ & the Aloft Air-comtrol app https://www.aloft.ai/air-control/ for airport infrastructure inspections and it flew fine. I had to allow FAA access to the drone & it logs it own data.
Though I am pretty sure if a crash would happen using the these apps the warranty wouldn't be covered.  But TRI  would not let me use djifly app & now they won't allow dji drone at all
I dunno why flying under aloft air control by passed DJI flight data, using the the DJI RC N1 controller with my phone with those apps so I think your right somethings going on

It is encouraging to finally see more and more users here, starting to see the issue that we reported nearly 12 months ago...

Hopefully we can keep the momentum going and get enough noise out there...

While we still got nothing from DJI, I was wondering why none of the people here (and I don't want to put names down) that are constantly bombarding this forum with YT video, have bother to make one related to this issue... Now it is the time to put your foot down and spread the word about this problem before it gets out of hand...

I honestly believe that this silly games can be changed, if enough people help to spread the news...

I don't expect DJI to change their mentality for me, but I do expect at least to have the same treatment as every other DJI customer... Enterprise customers gets three months, I want at least the same time between log outs!

While it is obviously not the solution, it is at least a step in the right direction...

@ DJI

Here in Australia we have laws that do allows us to return a product if not fit to the intended purpose. We also have about 80% of the country not cover by mobile or data... Because of that, your RC Pro radio and therefore the drone, are not really fit to be sold in this country.

It is an ugly way of looking at it, but it is the truth...

My brother was unable to use the RC Pro and Mavic 3 in North QLD/NT border because of this crippling limitation, so he ended up purchasing a new Autel V2 drone and moved on... They also had to replace the other 7 drones used for the same job, and Yes you guess it, they are not DJI drones... MY brother left to me the DJI "brick", as in his words, it is "useful as tits on a bull".

So now I have this piece of equipment that I'm wondering if I should returned by taking advantage of the law and get our money back... I don't think the D1 store will be very impressed, but I'm getting to a stage here that I don't really understand the logic of this saga, and perhaps follow DJI attitude would be the best course of action...

I mean, if DJI don't give a sh1t about their own product's functionality, why should we??? Why do I need to be patient? Why do I need to wait for "the team" to act on this? Why did this happened in the first place?? The funny thing is that the Mini 3+RC has none of these problems, and that it makes you wonder even more...

I keep asking the same questions, but it seems that on this matter, every DJI representative has disappeared like a fart in the wind...

We need Youtube coverage on this issue guys, and we need it now!!!

Antzkiwi Posted at 1-19 15:10
No, latency is too high, and data rate too slow, so the website times out. Also iridium data is very expensive.

Starlink? It covers Antarctica now.

Do any of those complaining about being locked out fly with a wifi-only tablet.
I do and my drone doesn't have internet access when I'm flying.
I'm not getting locked out.