Hi guys

I received a Phatom 3 standard as a gift recently and absolutely love the thing but regardless of how much research I do I just can't find proper comprehensive information regarding a few aspects and i'm hoping you experienced dudes can provide a bit of info;

I cannot seem to get decent video stream over anything more than 150m and RC connection more than 250m (ish)? for example I switch on the RC, switch on the Phantom, connect my iPhone 6, open the app, do the 360 calibration steps, wait for GPS fix and green lights then start flying. The problem is that I can go straight up above me and the drone gets no higher than 70m before I get a strong interference warning and then the signal starts to go until around 120-150m when it loses video completely. I also get the weak RC signal intermittently after anything more than a couple hundred metres and the status bar on the app screen goes red and says signal lost?

The strong interference signal is what doesnt make sense to me, I live right on the South East Kent coast UK and there is nothing around! I would understand this in a built up city but in my area it's nothing more than a small town and the sea! in all fairness there may be some freakishly strong signals eminating from somewhere nearby at this location, I can't think what but i'll take it up to the fields where there is quite literally nothing in sight and try it again but was hoping someone could suggest how this can be improved.

I could also use some help on using course and homelock modes. I have read the manual and understood what each setting on the controller represents and i've watched literally every video on youtube regarding what they do but proper guidance on how to enable these modes seems to be lacking.
Last night I went out and set the app to multiple flight mode (although IOC was still greyed out) set the S1 and S2 switches to position 1/up and start flying then when I want to enter course or homelock modes I switch S1 to position 3/down (F-mode) and then S2 switch to position 2/middle which to my understanding is course lock but nothing happens? same when I switch S2 to position 3/down for home lock, I don't see anything changing on the app screen either? the fact that IOC is constantly greyed out tells me i'm missing something.

Any help would be really appreciated, cheers....

Entering Intelligent Flight Mode in the Phantom 3 Standard

As a newb with my P3S I also had difficulty entering intelligent flight mode. Most of the directions and vids are for the Advanced and Professional models. If you are operating the Phantom 3 Standard, entering intelligent flight mode is a little different. After reading, watching  and testing here is what I've been able to glean.  

When you turn on your radio controller both switches should be in the full up position. Turn on the app and connect  via Wi-Fi to the Phantom network. Turn on your bird and allow for the IMU to warm up and satellite acquisition. Once the app reads a green "Safe to Fly" and you've got 10 or so sats locked in, then you're all set.

Now take your P3S up about ten feet. I don't think it works on the ground but I'll let others confirm or refute that.

Now switch the S1 switch (counter-intuitive because its on the right hand side of the controller) two clicks to the full down position. Now you are in F-GPS mode and the intelligent flight menu will appear on the app.

Make sure your drone is oriented in the right direction and engage course lock.

Others can better help you with the video connection issues although I will say there is a lot of antenna pointing necessary to keep things smooth.


There are also a multitude of threads on antenna modding, something I'm considering as well.

Thanks Richard you're a gent

I'm heading out again in a while so i'll follow your guide, I wasn't too sure if I had to land it to make the switch but this seemed a bit illogical so kind of ruled it out.

I'll let you know how I get on

JonF Posted at 2016-2-10 15:02
Thanks Richard you're a gent

I'm heading out again in a while so i'll follow your guide, I wasn't t ...

Is it very windy on the Kent coast at the moment? In the North West here it is a very windy day!

Tintin Posted at 2016-2-10 15:19
Is it very windy on the Kent coast at the moment? In the North West here it is a very windy day!

No it's settled right down now in comparison to the weekend where it was cerr-aazy!

About 6 or 8 mph as I type

Hi guys

Just to update, I have tried several locations and cannot achieve anything better than 50 meters video feed straight up or about 80 meters away at about 10 feet from the ground, I also lose RC signal at about 160 meters. I would really appreciate any tips before I resign myself to calling DJI and getting a replacement. Thanks in advance

JonF Posted at 2016-2-16 06:01
Hi guys

Just to update, I have tried several locations and cannot achieve anything better than 50 m ...

You might want to check the connectors inside the remote if you feel confident enough to open your remote.  I have some pictures of the inside of the remote Remote Guts
Also, you might want to check if you have other apps running on your phone.
Lastly, Depending when you got it, maybe you can get it replaced before sending it for support.