Mavic Pro in freezing temperatures?
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61298 52 2016-10-20
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WolfgangStiller
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If you using an iPhone, you may want to take a few extra precautions for cold temperatures. See this:

iPhone cold temperature tips
2017-2-10
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fans3d2c0c91
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Flight distance : 391040 ft
United States
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The iPhone tip is a great one.  The manic and the batteries in it worked fine in subzero, but the phone and iPad almost froze solid immediately. The batteries on the apple things died very quickly.  
2017-2-25
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emirates901
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JohnPereyra Posted at 2016-12-12 20:36
How about trying to get those winter heating packs and attached one pack on the battery to keep it warm??  I am going to try this myself to prevent my video footage from shaking.

I was thinking along the same lines. Did anyone try this? I will be going to Greenland in a couple of weeks and the temperature there is generally between 0 and 30 F during this time of the year.
2017-3-3
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Swedrone
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dana5 Posted at 2016-10-20 05:34
The documentation clearly states minimum 32F. That means 32F is the minimum temperature they say it should be flown at. Fly below that at your own risk, and blame no-one but yourself for any damage to the drone. 32F meand 32F, just like no means no. DJI is not going to chime in on this and say, "yes, we said 32F, but it's really ok to fly at -30F."

Now, let's say the temp is 45F, and it's wet and foggy. I am NOT going to fly! However, if it was 20F, and dry, and I am bringing the Mavic out from my nice, warm house or car, I may fly it for 5 minutes or so, but no longer, and it would probably be just fine. I suspect the 32F is stated because they don't want someone hiking in 20F weather, and then flying the drone when it's cold, when the BATTERY is cold. Cold temperatures have been known to destroy the intelligent batteries, that were not designed to perform in sub-freezing temperatures.

DJI would also see from the flight log that the tempraure was below freezing temperature
2017-5-10
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Swedrone
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IflewbyU2 Posted at 2016-12-10 09:11
To me, the biggest concern with the Mavic in Winter is that three sides of the battery are exposed on three sides directly to the cold air. This could potentially cause battery failure. Pre-warming the battery is important as stated above, but with this direct cold exposure, I don't know what the limits might be, and that concerns me. I flew my P3P last Winter and learned a lot about protecting it from the cold, but the Mavic will require more testing and research, and careful documentation of the elemental conditions, to fly safely in the cold. Another big concern is that plastic arms and shells are more brittle in cold temps, most likely more susceptible to vibrations and cracking. I have aluminum motor mounts on the P3P and have avoided any cracks after almost a full year of flying. But the Mavic is a complete unknown in cold temperatures. Be careful. If anyone who makes decal skins in listening, a winter skin for Mavic batteries with a layer of insulation foam would be an excellent seller!

Another interessting factor is the chill effect when flying. It will be much lower than on the ground.
I have been flying the Phantom  in minus 15 Celsius many times without problems, but will try the Mavic today in Norway.
2017-5-10
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fans590b9683
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kevinelliott Posted at 2016-10-20 05:52
I disagree with you to some degree.

The other day I found several posts from 2015 and early 2016 on the Inspire board where Tahoe Ed and several other pros were discussing flying the Inspire well below it's rating of -10C (aircraft/controller) and 0C (camera), noting that it operated fine.

What you neglect is that the Inspire has battery heaters
2017-12-25
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MegaMech
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Canada
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What a bunch of babys. "Oh I'm not gonna fly in a measly -5c". If this thing can't fly in -30c then it's not worth it's price tag. -5 is nothing. -5 isn't even cold. If anything at -5 you'll get increased flight time due to the motors and battery having more efficient cooling. I flew mine at -30 no problems. The S5 neo kept saying that it wouldn't charge. The GPS worked great, smooth flight. Very well made rc quadrocoptor/multirotor. To be fair, every time I flew I it was in the house before hand. The only time you'll get condensation is when you go from cold to hot and the rc coptor is off when you do that anyway so there's no danger. I didn't notice any condensation after taking it in the house. The flight time was a decent 20-30min every time at -30. Today it's -40c so maybe I won't take it out, but maybe I will.
2017-12-29
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Swedrone
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I have been flying at -15 C /5 F without problems. Hoover for 5 minutes and the batteries warm up.
2017-12-29
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fans246d1aed
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https://youtu.be/8diDZG1Xg40

Mavic flies fine in very cold weather when you heat the battery with your body heat.
2018-1-15
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ManiacMagic
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Finland
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I just took my mavic out in -17c ... Flew for about ten min and brought it back. When I started to land it would get very shaky to any movement and it started saying motor current issues. I didn't know to warm the battery. But when I got down all the props we're iced so I think that extra weight and resistance was causing the issues. Other than that it worked fine. I was pretty nervous landing it
2018-1-27
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A.J. Williams
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United States
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I just flew mine in the light snow and a little windy, but I didn't have any issues
2018-3-14
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Pabloottawa
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dana5 Posted at 2016-10-20 05:34
The documentation clearly states minimum 32F. That means 32F is the minimum temperature they say it should be flown at. Fly below that at your own risk, and blame no-one but yourself for any damage to the drone. 32F meand 32F, just like no means no. DJI is not going to chime in on this and say, "yes, we said 32F, but it's really ok to fly at -30F."

Now, let's say the temp is 45F, and it's wet and foggy. I am NOT going to fly! However, if it was 20F, and dry, and I am bringing the Mavic out from my nice, warm house or car, I may fly it for 5 minutes or so, but no longer, and it would probably be just fine. I suspect the 32F is stated because they don't want someone hiking in 20F weather, and then flying the drone when it's cold, when the BATTERY is cold. Cold temperatures have been known to destroy the intelligent batteries, that were not designed to perform in sub-freezing temperatures.

I agree with this logic.  By stating that the Mavic Pro should not be flown in sub zero temps DJI is indemnifying itself from any claims related to this type of flying. In other words; "This is what we recommend so do what you want but you have been warned and we will not warranty it if it malfunctions in any way while being operated in sub zero temps.

That said the scientific logic  behind this response makes total sense. As for the matter of leaving your drone in a car in sub zero temps.... Well, use your head lol.
2018-10-22
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JVulcan05
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United States
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Maybe someone can come up with a jacket, some sort of insulating cover or a pouch that we can put on or around the battery to keep it warm during flying.  This would mostly apply to when its in flight, but it can be used as battery warmer when not in flight.
2020-12-27
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