It seams like my phantom 3 pro had a much larger flight range than my Phantom 4.  This is a disappointment to me.  Has anyone else experienced this or is there maybe something wrong with my Phantom 4?  Thoughts please..

Yes it's out of beginner mode.  Yes max flight is off.  I've owned p2v+ , p3p and now p4.  Unless it's just me this thing does not have the range p3p had.

I have the same issue, weak signal warning at 1300ft That's less the half of what I get with my old inspire 1 with the A type controller.

I'm considering returning my 4 and just going back to p3p.  The new 4 may have more bells and whistles but in my opinion shorter range makes it not worth the change.  It's like taking 2 steps forward and 3 steps back.

Why would I want to upgrade for shorter range?

Yeah I have noticed the same thing but I'm thinking it has something to do with interference because when I fly it in another direction, it goes further. So thinking it's an interference problem in the direction I was flying it.

Same here. I tested my phantom 3 advanced, bought in November with B controller, and my phantom 4 back to back. I'm consistently getting a third less range with the phantom 4. This isn't right. We need a firmware update.

R&L Aerial  Posted at 2016-3-21 01:59
I have the same issue, weak signal warning at 1300ft That's less the half of what I get with my old  ...

Same for me. A little tired about all those "weak video signal and Signal lost" messages...It doesn't match the Inspire (Mod. A) at all.

Can we please get an official response from DJI on the range issue? This is a hot button for me. Range was a major reason for upgrading from a P2V+ and I expect to get at least the range of a P3 Pro. The advertised range of a P4 matches that of the P3 Pro but it sounds like users are seeing a lot less. Can you test a P3 Pro and a P4 flying to the same maximum range? What results are you (DJI) getting? Are we sure that the P4 is using US signal strength settings?

All,

I tested max. range on my new P4 (23,652 feet / 4.5 miles) in an unobstructed rural area two days ago, which slightly exceeded my maximum range flight with my Inspire 1. I could fly the P4 out much farther than my P3Pro due to the P4's increased speed capability (37 mph vs. 26 mph in P mode) and the P4's higher battery capacity.  

You need to set up RC antenna and DJI GO app settings properly for optimal maximum range performance:

1) Both antenna pointing straight up, parallel to one another with wide flat surfaces facing the P4.  Never point the tips of the antenna at the aircraft (like pointing a gun).
2) In HD Menu, choose custom channel, observe channel interference plot for several minutes, and choose a channel with the lowest interference signal levels and with no periodic large spikes. Note: I almost always use channel 20.
3) Set HD transmission rate slider to the lowest setting (far left), which is 4 Mbps.  This will increase max HD Link range and insure stable, stutter-free video.
4) Change your body position, or maintain it, as needed to keep the antenna facing the aircraft throughout the flight.  
5) I use one simple, inexpensive ($30), non-permanent antenna mod (no RC wiring mods required) to increase signal strength - a well-made aluminum parabolic reflector purchased from an eBay vendor, which I slip over the pair of upright antenna.  The curved aluminum reflectors will be BEHIND the antennas and facing the P4 (like a satellite dish faces the satellite from which it is receiving programming).
6) Remember - there must be unhindered LOS between the antennas and the P4. So, no trees, buildings, fences, people, etc. in front of you blocking signals. Even distant obstructions can interfere with signal transmission when P4 is far away. Flying at higher elevations (under 400 feet) ensures you better signal strength.  I flew out 21,000 feet at 250 feet elevation and started to lose HD signal strength. Increasing altitude to 350 feet restored full HD signal strength.
7) Flying in P-mode with obstacle avoidance turned off will allow you fly P4 at up 37 mph with full GPS functionality (like P-GPS mode on P3Pro).  This will increase your maximum range.
8) Be sure to continuously monitor your battery levels, and leave sufficient battery capacity to return safely home. With fully charged battery, that had been cycled twice, I turned around at 62% and barely made it home with 8% battery left. That's cutting it too close.

david.p.mann@ea Posted at 2016-3-21 07:44
All,

I tested max. range on my new P4 (23,652 feet / 4.5 miles) in an unobstructed rural area two d ...

Good post mate, iv been out nearly 14.000ft but because of new battery i turned at 68% landed with 38% so there is still plenty of potential left

None of the measurements below are mine and I apologise in advance if I am not meant to reference other drone forums but it appears that the Phantom 4 does indeed have a shorter range and more limited video transmission power than the Phantom 3 Adv/Pro.

In particular, the first W323 P3P variant had a .746 watt output.

The second, W323A P3P variant, outputs .612 watts.

The WM330A P4 outputs .580 watts by comparison.

Source: http://www.phantompilots.com/threads/p4-range.71729/page-3

There's an entire thread/petition regarding that fact with calls to the DJI management to reconsider that decision and address it with a firmware update. How much of that i fixable by firmware is another matter all together.

groovy100 Posted at 2016-3-21 08:50
None of the measurements below are mine and I apologise in advance if I am not meant to reference ot ...

The difference between .746 Watt and .580 Watt is 1dB.  Every 6 dB doubles the distance, a 1 dB reduction will theoretically drop the distance by 20%,  3 miles down to 2.4 miles.

david.p.mann@ea Posted at 2016-3-20 14:44
All,

I tested max. range on my new P4 (23,652 feet / 4.5 miles) in an unobstructed rural area two d ...

Really nice tips. Thanks for posting that. The only open question is this: Will a P4 go as far as a P3 without any antenna mods on either? I am going to try those suggestions myself when I get to the desert next month. I would be happy if I can get 3 miles with no annoying floppy parabolic antenna mod (I used one once for my test drone). I love the idea of turning off collision avoidance in P mode for better speed/battery.

It DEFINATELY HAS SHORTER RANGE.  NO DOUBT.

R&L Aerial  Posted at 2016-3-20 13:59
I have the same issue, weak signal warning at 1300ft That's less the half of what I get with my old  ...

I've had the same problem... Any luck with yours?

Everybody complaining about their range in this thread - have you watched the video DJI made on getting maximum range? (Not the antenna video). Try pushing through your weak signal next time, and you will reconnect. DJI demonstrated this with a real time video of a range test with the P4 that it will reconnect with full signal. Just set your RC Signal Loss is set to RTH, just in case.

Helopilot7 Posted at 2016-3-20 21:35
The difference between .746 Watt and .580 Watt is 1dB.  Every 6 dB doubles the distance, a 1 dB re ...

My very first test flight for range with the P4 got me 2.52 miles (without losing connection). My 2nd test (where i pushed through the weak signal) i got 3.06 miles distance. If what you guys are saying about decreased range is true, All P4s in existence would have the range issue. Mine does not. Try not flying with a bunch of interference around / in between you and your bird.

I'm a novice that just received my P4 a week ago.  I too have not been able to go more than 600-800' away until i lose signal.  I've googled everything i could to set up the P4 and the controller and have not been able to get any more out of it.  The only thing that I keep running across is changing out the antenna.

DemonSled Posted at 2016-10-16 22:33
I'm a novice that just received my P4 a week ago.  I too have not been able to go more than 600-800' ...

Perhaps you should have started a new thread, previous posting here was almost 6 months ago.

If it only goes 800 feet before going out of range then something is wrong...

Is that flying straight up by any chance ?

Have a look at the antenna setup video :-

My Ph3 advanced is twice as good for distance as my brand new Ph4...what a joke.....now i got to spend more money on a Antenna upgrade...otherwise i won't be able to live with it. fooled me once and fooled me twice,thanks DJI

opendoor499 Posted at 2016-10-20 11:02
My Ph3 advanced is twice as good for distance as my brand new Ph4...what a joke.....now i got to spe ...

If it's brand new and all the updates are done I would take it back to the dealer for a refund if it weren't working well. You could then stick with the P3A which has twice the range, or did you get a bad deal with that as well ?

My local dealer in Sydney were i bought my Phantom 3A, told me that the phantom 3A would do 3-7km(in perfect conditions) and it has a fly time of 23minutes, on that information i paid out $1700. When after doing everything correctly and changing different areas (some with interference ,some without) and only getting at best 1200m and fly time of 18min., i was told by the dealer that 1200m is the best I'm going to get and sending it back to DJI will not make any difference and more than likely they will send it back as is. After that i did the antenna modification and was able to get 3km. Because i do need to fly sometimes over people i wanted to be sure there wouldn't be any problems, so i bought the phantom 4 (dual compass/IMU) another $2000 just 2 weeks ago, after doing all the F/W upgrades i find that the avoidance sensors sometimes work sometimes don't work, my distance readout is incorrect 50% of the time, max.distance is 450m,fly time if I'm lucky 19mins and the list goes on,iam a technician of 25 years, so i do know what I'm doing I'm not claiming to be an expert but all the basics have been met,every time there is a firmware update something else goes wrong.
DJI please TEST the firmware updates before releaseing it out to the public.
DJI please train your dealers correctly about the products and there abilities.
DJI please be realistic about the performance of the products, not LAB conditions but REAL conditions. (both would be better)
These products are not cheap for for some unexplained reason i do love DJI, but you need to lift your game badly.

Hey I'm new to all of this as I just got my P4 a week before Christmas and I want to learn things about it. I can fly it pretty good. But I need to learn about the custom settings so if anyone can give me some pointers on it that would be very helpful.

Hello I'm just seeing if this works because I tried to post something before.

Scouthen Posted at 2016-12-27 16:46
Hey I'm new to all of this as I just got my P4 a week before Christmas and I want to learn things about it. I can fly it pretty good. But I need to learn about the custom settings so if anyone can give me some pointers on it that would be very helpful.

The best pointer to understanding the settings is to download and read the manual from Here.

We just performed a test with my Phantom 4 and a friend's Phantom 3 Advanced, both updated to the latest firmware and simultaneously flying from the exactly same spot (a rural area). Same altitude, same direction, same antenna alignment.

* The Phantom 3 started to issue weak video signal warnings at 2.5 km. The signal was starting to break up at 2.9 km. Video feed completely lost at 3.2 km.
* The Phantom 4 started to issue weak video signal warnings at 0.8 km. The signal was starting to break up at 1.2 km. Video feed completely lost at 1.6 km.

This is Europe, so the radio signal is throttled according to the EU standards, but it looks to me that the P4 has approximately half the range of the P3. We will redo the test later and see of our findings are presistent.

Here's something I have noticed....If I adjust the iPad so that it is very parallel to Tx I have chance of interference. If I have iPad at more of a 90 degree angle to Tx no trouble at all.
So I'm just guessing but maybe the metallic backing on devices reflects signal from antenna and giving drone a reflected signal as well ???  
Me not huge techy just sharing my experience with my Phantom 4

The main thing ive NOTICE is DJI reluctance to respond........................i wonder why ???????????????????/

My lil stud of a copter

My lil stud of a copter

i fly over water and went farthest 800m, pretty low (maybe 20-30m high) and didnt have any worries with signal strength. since i maintain line of sight most of the times, i never experienced loss of connectivity, although i have experienced occasional video jitters. i dont own antenna boosters but i have found 14dBi boosters and seen youtube claims of almost 4km (9km round trip) using boosters. however, i somehow dont trust range extenders mostly because they are aftermarket.

Hi guys, it would appear there is still an issue with the P4 and pathetic range! I tried mine on a "long" flight yesterday and it didn't even reach 1 mile out! The RC disconnected from the Phantom, and RTH was initiated. First time ive experienced a real life RTH and it performed flawlessly. But not even a mile? Disappointed. Going to try the recommendations above about changing the channel in the App.

ed@edwardsroofi Posted at 2016-3-20 09:37
Yes it's out of beginner mode.  Yes max flight is off.  I've owned p2v+ , p3p and now p4.  Unless it's just me this thing does not have the range p3p had.

Many people have reported that.  It's not too much of a difference, nut it is noticeable.  It has to do with the controller, the Phantom 4 controller is less powerful than the Phantom 3 controller.

I have never had range issues with my P4.  A few weeks back I successfully flew 10kms and will be trying for 15kms soon

My experiance has been disconnects during every flight so far and most less than 1000  meters away . Unless your on flat open ground it seems to struggle

So far my Ph4 has done better for range than the PH3.  Flying from the same park, the PH3 would begin to lose signal about about 1300 feet or so.  Video was gone but control still possible for a bit further.

With the PH4, flying from the same location, all is still strong at 2000 feel out...both video and control.  

This is a city area with lots of houses, people, cars and power lines.  Have not had the chance to test in a more open flat rural area.

david.p.mann@ea Posted at 2016-3-20 13:44
All,

I tested max. range on my new P4 (23,652 feet / 4.5 miles) in an unobstructed rural area two days ago, which slightly exceeded my maximum range flight with my Inspire 1. I could fly the P4 out much farther than my P3Pro due to the P4's increased speed capability (37 mph vs. 26 mph in P mode) and the P4's higher battery capacity.  

"I use one simple, inexpensive ($30), non-permanent antenna mod (no RC wiring mods required) to increase signal strength - a well-made aluminum parabolic reflector purchased from an eBay vendor, which I slip over the pair of upright antenna.  The curved aluminum reflectors will be BEHIND the antennas and facing the P4 (like a satellite dish faces the satellite from which it is receiving programming)."

I love how hard they try to make them look like they're not just a beer can cut in half!

phantom_of_the_ Posted at 2017-3-27 11:26
Hi guys, it would appear there is still an issue with the P4 and pathetic range! I tried mine on a "long" flight yesterday and it didn't even reach 1 mile out! The RC disconnected from the Phantom, and RTH was initiated. First time ive experienced a real life RTH and it performed flawlessly. But not even a mile? Disappointed. Going to try the recommendations above about changing the channel in the App.

Not a follower of UK drone code then?

Rigger73 Posted at 2017-9-5 13:50
Not a follower of UK drone code then?

Could you explain what you mean by that statement??
I am the person who you quoted by the way. I have since changed my username to something shorter.