Hey guys,

Its been 1 month I have been flying with Mini 4 Pro and I am having a really hard time of hand catching the thing when landing.

With my Mavic Mini the whole process was easy as hell and very convenient since i usually take flights in mountainous areas and rocky grounds.

With Mini 4 Pro it is a pain. I have watched a ton of Youtube Videos, I am performing what they preach exactly the same and I have really mixed results. While some times my Mini 4 Pro does recognize my hand as the landing spot and then lands, most of the times it doesnt and the obstacle avoidance kicks in. Needless to say I have no confidence at all performing this task which feels like a bumer to me.

I am really looking for a consistent way to use hand catching, something that works. I appreciate any tips, hints or anything like that.

PS: I would prefer not to use sports mode for this kind of operation, and not disabling the downward sensors as the chances of things going bad is going up significantly.

Many thanks!

Disable the OA under the Safety Tab when it gets in range. This does NOT disable the downward sensors.

The topic has already been discussed
https://forum.dji.com/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=304318

Switch  to sport mode and start landing

Be patient. It takes at least 20 seconds before the drone will land in your hand. I have been flying my drone in the French Alps today and hand landing worked fine…if you are patient

20 seconds is a long time, especially in windy situations... I usually try to keep the time I am close to the drone at a minimum. Waiting 20 seconds with just one hand on the controller is not the best idea, in my opinion.

Thank you all for the replies. Someone also posted a link from another thread which I also went through.

It seems like there is no fine solution to this issue which is a bummer and I hope that DJI addresses it in a future patch.

Waiting 20 seconds with the palm of your hand extended is not ideal in the slightest. And it isnt even safe as someone suggested in specific conditions like wind etc. If it was 5-6 seconds then yeah it would be ok.

The only viable solution is unfortunately to turn on Sport Mode it seems which also isnt ideal.

Valkyre4 Posted at 1-26 00:38
Thank you all for the replies. Someone also posted a link from another thread which I also went through.

It seems like there is no fine solution to this issue which is a bummer and I hope that DJI addresses it in a future patch.

As reported in the other thread it appears to take 5 seconds. After my initial issues I found this to be very repeatable.

StepCH Posted at 1-26 00:59
As reported in the other thread it appears to take 5 seconds. After my initial issues I found this to be very repeatable.

In my experience it doesnt work. And I have tried it many times. Some times, it works. But not consistently. Most of the times it does not initiate the landing procedure. I have waited many many times more than 5 seconds.

In any case it is not how it used to be. The whole process feels junky in Mini 4 Pro.

Rather than landing on your hand,  bring it to hover in front of you and then reach under and take hold of the drone and then flip it upside down to stop the props.  

DAFlys Posted at 1-26 02:01
Rather than landing on your hand,  bring it to hover in front of you and then reach under and take hold of the drone and then flip it upside down to stop the props.

Thanks for the suggestion, however I have tried this and when I do the obstacle avoidance kicks in and the drone rises up in the air to avoid my hand. :S

Valkyre4 Posted at 1-26 02:14
Thanks for the suggestion, however I have tried this and when I do the obstacle avoidance kicks in and the drone rises up in the air to avoid my hand. :S

You just need to be faster,  although swapping to sports mode can also give you slightly more time to do it.

DAFlys Posted at 1-26 02:17
You just need to be faster,  although swapping to sports mode can also give you slightly more time to do it.

I appreciate the fact that you are trying to help but being fast is risking getting injured and the drone crashing. At least I dont have enough confidence to do that yet. It also doesnt feel like it should be like this.

Valkyre4 Posted at 1-26 02:30
I appreciate the fact that you are trying to help but being fast is risking getting injured and the drone crashing. At least I dont have enough confidence to do that yet. It also doesnt feel like it should be like this.

Technically the drone is designed to be landed on the ground,  all these hand catching techniques are really just wrk arounds to other problems.  

You dont need to be super fast just a little bit faster,  here's an example - https://www.youtube.com/shorts/gCMJCvATrEM

Valkyre4 Posted at 1-26 02:14
Thanks for the suggestion, however I have tried this and when I do the obstacle avoidance kicks in and the drone rises up in the air to avoid my hand. :S

Keep pushing the left stick down (if you are using Mode 2) when the drone rises up (when you do that), it will start to land after 3-4 seconds. You can grab the drone and the props will stop spinning. No need to turn the drone upside down.

Pushing the left stick down (AND keep pushing it down until props are turned off) is the key.

To be honest, after testing it, switching to sport mode seems to be the most convenient way to make this work like it used to work with other drones.

Valkyre4 Posted at 1-29 00:13
To be honest, after testing it, switching to sport mode seems to be the most convenient way to make this work like it used to work with other drones.

i really don`t understand all this hand catching problem.

Tested it again on a Mini4pro and Air3, no problem at all in normal mode. (no change to sport mode needed)

Hover at shoulder level, hand under drone, drone raises height little, RC stick down = landing in my flat hand, motors stops.

cheers
JJB

I quickly grab it from underneath and immediately turn it upside down which cuts the motors.

JJB* Posted at 1-29 00:17
i really don`t understand all this hand catching problem.

Tested it again on a Mini4pro and Air3, no problem at all in normal mode. (no change to sport mode needed)

I think you might have big plates for hands ;)   If the Mini 4 Pro thinks it's above a flat bit of ground it will go into landing mode, but I too have struggled to get it to see my hand as a safe spot to land and usually flip it into sports mode after 2 attempts.....

I was never good at hand catch - - - until reading this thread.

The "Brute force" technique shouldn't involve speed.  It's simply a CAREFUL grab FROM BEHIND the drone, in BEHIND of the downward sensors and BELOW the rear sensors.  With two fingers, grab the MIDDLE of the drone.  As soon as you grab the drone, it will get angry and fight your grip. This is the part I hate. This is where you don't want to linger.  As soon as you grip the drone and the drone gets angry, simply twist your wrist to "upend" the drone; which will produce a "Pitch fault" and stop the motors.

The technique above. . . .is basically put your hand under the drone and force  an automatic landing. While it is landing, you simply clutch (not forcefully grab) the drone to stop it's descent; and the motors will simply turn off (instead of fighting you).  You don't have to have large hands.   You don't HAVE to trigger the bottom sensors to rise before commanding a landing  . . . .but if you put your hand out and the drone rises. . . .that tells you that your hand is already (approximately) in the right spot to grip the drone as it descends.   I counted to eight with the controller down stick before the sequence started.  I could call it a five second trigger.
*edited a typo

Ian in London Posted at 8-16 01:20
I think you might have big plates for hands ;)   If the Mini 4 Pro thinks it's above a flat bit of ground it will go into landing mode, but I too have struggled to get it to see my hand as a safe spot to land and usually flip it into sports mode after 2 attempts.....

nope, size 9 gloves    so norml hands.

Interesting why so many remote pilots have different experiences about hand landing.

I just hover at my shoulder height, hand direct under drone (drone ascend little), down stick and after short moment it starts the autolanding.
Once it started the autolanding landing protection is off, so never an unsafe area to land prompt.
cheers
JJB

I have been doing more hand landings lately. . . . I find "5" seconds downstick works great when it detects your hand (put hand under drone; drone moves up).  It does take appreciably longer if you don't have your hand "properly" under the drone, but it will eventually descend and you simply pluck it out of the air.  As soon as the downward movement stops; the rotors will switch off.

The only thing you need to do is to be patient.  I know that some says to disable the obstacle sensors or put it i Sport mode, but that is not really necessary.  Bring the drone down close enough so that you can reach it place you hand carefully underneath (to fast and the sensors will make the drone to fly away), then push the down level and hold.  after a little while you will get a message that the drone is landing, and it starts to descend really slow, and when you get hold of the drone, the propellers will stop (but not let got of the down stick until the propellers stop).
Look at the video  made:

JJB* Posted at 1-29 00:17
i really don`t understand all this hand catching problem.

Tested it again on a Mini4pro and Air3, no problem at all in normal mode. (no change to sport mode needed)

I do it the same way. No problem at all. Works fine.

Ricardo 1957 Posted at 8-16 00:40
I quickly grab it from underneath and immediately turn it upside down which cuts the motors.

Some say that you shouldn’t flip it upside down as it puts the motors under stress.

sanırım bu konuya en iyi örnek bu youtube videoları. Teşekkürler Nobbygreen

Shameless plug for an awesome You Tuber!

I have successfully both hand launched and hand caught my drone several time.

You really do not have to turn off the obstacle sensors it works perfectly with them on.

Just remember to place your hand gently under (otherwise the drone may fly away a little), keep pressing down and ignore the message of an unsafe place to land. The drone will then commence landing (very slowly) and it is easy to hold it between you fingers. Remember to press the down switch intil the propellers stops.

Se my demonstation here:
https://youtu.be/u9z_D0hBudU