Hello all.
I purchased a Phantom 3 Proffesional a few weeks ago.
Initially I seemed to be able to achieve reasonable range being able to assend to 400m and to a distance of 2000m although this is well below the advertised range.
However, after a few flights and a couple of software updates I now seem to loose connection to the RC at just 100m height and 300-400m distance. I have the latest software updates, I have re-linked the controller, re-calibrated the compass and even the IMU and still I'm getting the same results. This is at different locations a couple of miles apart. I wondered whether anyone else has experienced anything similar.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Kind regards
Chris

Check in the Go app to see if it reverted back to beginner mode or if the limits were reset by default.   If so, all you have to do is turn off Beginner mode and re adjust the limits

Cessna172 Posted at 2015-11-12 00:15
Check in the Go app to see if it reverted back to beginner mode or if the limits were reset by defau ...

No it's not reaching a software limit, it's loosing connection to the RC unfortunately

Ok, not to beat a dead horse but you are aware that if those things are set, it will tell you that it is out of range?
If you've checked them it's something else.

Cessna172 Posted at 2015-11-12 00:37
Ok, not to beat a dead horse but you are aware that if those things are set, it will tell you that i ...

No its defiantly nothing to do with limits. If you try to go beyond a set limit it states limit reached. Mine shows weak signal then disconnects to the controller initiating a RTH

oh ok.  bummer.

Do you have the antennas straight out on the TX ?

Cessna172 Posted at 2015-11-12 00:46
oh ok.  bummer.

Do you have the antennas straight out on the TX ?

To be honest I've tried pointing them in every possible direction with no luck

ChrisNiceButDim Posted at 2015-11-12 11:57
To be honest I've tried pointing them in every possible direction with no luck

I keep hearing this same thing: 'I updated my firmware and now my range is limited', yet I too just bought my P3P recently, immediately updated everything and I get fantastic range, so I am not convinced the update has anything to do with the problem.

Range is affected by a number of factors, as the Phantom will report issues of connection if it is having problems from nearby sources of radio. Remember, the frequency band we use is shared by a whole bunch of other radio devices considered non-essential services, which means they all have to get along with one another. Things such as WiFi, some domestic cordless phones, other radio control systems and the list goes on.

So my question would be, are you having the range problem in exactly the same location as before, and is it in the city or out in a rural area?

So let me get this straight.....

At first you had reasonable reception.....not stellar but reasonable.

Then you flew a few times and did some updates and now you have very poor range.

Is that correct?

Did thr drop in range coincide with the updates or the number of flights?
I cannot see how the number of flights changed anything.

Are you possibly flying at a location different from the first flights and now there is some radio interference?

Unfortunately,  there have been many posts about this problem.  It happens on all models of the P3; standard, advanced and pro.  It is usually after a firmware update to the latest firmware.  Since there has been no official acknowledgement of the issue,  it may be a while for a fix.  I took matters into my own hands and did an antenna mod and mounted a 5 watt 5.8 ghz  amplifier that runs on from 9 - 16 vDC.  I use a very lightweight gelcell battey mounted in my homemade ground station to power it.  No directional antenna needed,  it is fully omnidirectional.  I have not yet hit the range limit for the radio controller with this setup.  For video reception,  you need to keep the rc pointed more or less the direction of the P3, but for control,  it works all directions line of sight.  about 50 bucks for the amp,  another 65 for the battery.    I know,  you should not have to do this sort of thing on something you just purchased, but until the problem is acknowledged by DJI,  if you want to fly and don't want to return it for repair,  this is working.  For me at least.

Hi ,Chris
So you did the software upgrade or firmware upgrade ? Have you tired to re-upgrade the firmware ? If still won't make a difference , please try another remote contoller or try to fly another aircraft  with that remote controller .

We just have CE castrated half-product with 40mW Power instead of 100 mW. Maybe latest firmware have something with it. It will never work as good as versions outside UE.

Sorry about the slow response I hand realised there were more comments. The initial few flights were on the cost of the Isle of Wight so pretty free from interference. On the last couple of flights there I had noticed the low signal error message appear a few time. I have since been using it around my home in louth london but also in a local park and near a local reservoir so at three locations about 2 miles apart. I noticed an improvement after performing an IMU calibration and I can now reach 200-300M if I'm not directly above and about 500M range. It's still does drop from a full signal to a weak or loss of signal very quickly though within a matter of 50m. Would you say this is normal behaviour? The firmware is up to date on phantom, rc and the app.     

DJI-Patrick Posted at 2015-11-12 07:04
Hi ,Chris
So you did the software upgrade or firmware upgrade ? Have you tired to re-upgrade the fir ...

Hi DJI-Patrick. I haven't re-upgrading the firmware I guess I could try that but I don't have access to another Phantom or controller to rule out one or the other unfortunately.

ChrisNiceButDim Posted at 2015-11-13 07:49
Hi DJI-Patrick. I haven't re-upgrading the firmware I guess I could try that but I don't have acce ...

Please try re-upgrading your aircraft . If that does't work , I'm afraid you'll have to send it to the repair center for further analysis .

I have had the same issue after software upgrades to the bird and RC

I had the same issues, do a "cold" calibration of the IMU (put the aircraft in the fridge for about 30 min then calibrate) and add the 32 channel config file to the GO app.  I did this and I have flown thru 4 batteries now with no connection loss at all...had it out to 2800 ft with no problems

It is something to do with the bird update or the RC update. If you go into the app and watch your channels interference and then after the update you will have 10 times the interference over the channels.
Either output was cut or frequency changes have been made.
The clutter across the channels is horable now.

SpunOne69 Posted at 2015-11-12 20:24
I had the same issues, do a "cold" calibration of the IMU (put the aircraft in the fridge for about  ...

That's only a half mile
dji has boasted  a mile and a quarter...... I know under ideal conditions.

I used to have better range before the update but now I'm stuck and can't go back...
Maybe the next update will resolve some issues.

Will the 32 channel config file only extent my video or my remote range too?