In the Phantom 3 Advanced Quick Start Guide I see a note under Section 7 that says Return to Home is not available in F mode.

If you lose remote controller connection you would not be able to switch back to GPS mode. If you can't regain control the Phantom would land (?) where it is when the battery reaches critical low battery.

Is this limitation still correct for P3A Firmware v1.4.0010?
Is there a plan to correct it in the future?
What is the reasoning for this limitation in F mode?

I can't say for sure, but my assumption is that they mean you can't manually trigger RTH (i.e., from the button on screen or switch) while in F mode.  RTH still works in F mode, because modes like POI require you to confirm your RTH altitude before engaging it.   I'll have to see if i have the option to engage manually next time i use F mode.

I have tested the RTH button in each "F" mode, always the mode stopped and the phantom returned to home as expected. (used v1.4.0010)  (Beta Tester)

hummingbird.uav Posted at 2015-11-4 13:11
I have tested the RTH button in each "F" mode, always the mode stopped and the phantom returned to h ...

Glad to hear that the RTH button works in F mode. Thanks.

Wonder if RTH works on signal loss while in F mode.

F mode is GPS driven so there is no reason for RTH not to work. Wonder what the manual means

raptor30k Posted at 2015-11-5 05:56
Glad to hear that the RTH button works in F mode. Thanks.

Wonder if RTH works on signal loss whil ...

I'm almost certain the RTH altitude confirmation that pops up when entering POI mode says something to the effect of "....please confirm RTH altitude in the case of low battery or signal loss...blah blah"

RTH works in any mode, as far as you have GPS signal. you might have an earlier version of quick start guide

DJI-Tim Posted at 2015-11-4 19:00
RTH works in any mode, as far as you have GPS signal. you might have an earlier version of quick sta ...

Thanks for the feedback Tim.

I downloaded the P3A quick start guide v1.2 dated 2015-11-03 and at the end of section, 7. Getting Ready for Takeoff, the last bullet in the info note says, "When not in P mode, the Phantom 3 Advanced will only maintain altitude, not position, and will drift with wind or user input. Return to Home is not available in F mode."

I suggest that the last sentence should be removed for the next release of the document.

Thanks again, for the definitive answer.

raptor30k Posted at 2015-11-4 20:34
Thanks for the feedback Tim.

I downloaded the P3A quick start guide v1.2 dated 2015-11-03 and at ...

Can't change the manual yet because if signal is lost pressing the button won't help.

If you are in Waypoint mode your flight will continue until it has finished the mission.  Then it will either RTH or hover (whichever option you chose for the mission).  Signal loss DOES NOT trigger the Return to home the mission end directive does.

If you are in POI mode signal loss does nothing it will just circle and circle hoping for you to regain signal.  It will then either RTH or land at current location when it receives a low battery warning.  Battery warning intiates the action not signal loss.

See these threads:  

http://forum.dji.com/thread-30961-1-1.html

This one Ray turns off his controller to initiate signal loss to see what will happen:
http://forum.dji.com/thread-31190-1-1.html

Sir Edward K Posted at 2015-11-4 20:33
Can't change the manual yet because if signal is lost pressing the button won't help.

If you are i ...

Thanks for jumping in here.   This is exactly what I was afraid of.  Very informative posts and tests.

I see rayrokni posted his tests on  2015-9-15 so I suppose he was using v1.4.0010 firmware. In the thread he says, "Dji are aware and am pretty sure they will make changes."  I sure hope so. You would think this would be a high priority. Wouldn't want the bird to drop (land?) in unintended places.

Looks like there has been a lot of discussion on this. My search on "Return to Home" didn't find much. I suppose I should have used RTH in the search instead.

Until fixed guess we have to take what precautions we can. Use RTH for end of missions and cross our fingers for POI.  Or, don't do POI where loss of signal might be an issue.

Sir Edward K Posted at 2015-11-4 20:33
Can't change the manual yet because if signal is lost pressing the button won't help.

If you are i ...

BTW - Looks like someone hijacked the link to your UAV Flight Planning application in post:
http://forum.dji.com/thread-29171-1-1.html

I'm in Arizona and Topo maps would be a good thing. Plus, I'm a database / web app developer too and always like to see apps in areas I'm interested in. Can you re-post the URL here?

raptor30k Posted at 2015-11-5 10:34
Thanks for the feedback Tim.

I downloaded the P3A quick start guide v1.2 dated 2015-11-03 and at ...

Yes, it definitely will be! Thank you

RaptorPilot Posted at 2015-11-4 23:16
BTW - Looks like someone hijacked the link to your UAV Flight Planning application in post:
http:// ...

Wow, that was pretty weird.  Not sure what it said.  I will post it here again.  They automatically remove the link after I post it for some reason.  So I am not posting it as a link just as text in a string.

"http://arcg.is/1EWHo6q"

RaptorPilot Posted at 2015-11-4 23:04
Thanks for jumping in here.   This is exactly what I was afraid of.  Very informative posts and te ...

Yes, it was right after the v1.4.0010 firmware update.  I could not go out and test because of weather so I was reading the quick start guide and posted what I had found and so Ray went out and tested it.