Hi. Some of you may remember me from that one topic of mine where I mention to not purchase the Mavic but instead wait for the Phantom 5 to eventually be announced and go for that drone for a number of reasons. Well long story short, I've sold my one month old Phantom 4 in order to use that cash to get the new Mavic Pro (Fly More Combo) solely because of it's huge size and weight difference. I can't stand going out with a heavy backpack any longer, too much hassle. I prefer the greyish matte color over glossy white too.

Anyway, I'd like to bring your attention to this remote transmitter battery issue for the Mavic that I'm seeing and hearing about from at least two YouTube videos.

Go to the 1:15 mark of the YouTube video below and continue watching from there, paying particular attention to the battery percentage number of the remote transmitter on the LCD screen.



The guy turns on the remote transmitter and it says it has 54% battery, which is fine, but watch as the battery steadily decreases throughout the video. Even decreasing to 53% in just 30 seconds. You could literally stand there and watch the battery die, given enough time, not long.

There's also this YouTube video too, where a guy mentions shortly to the end of the video, at the 9:32 mark that the remote transmitter for his Mavic dies out a lot quicker than the remote for his Phantom 3.



That's all understandable though as the battery capacity for the Mavic's remote is a lot less than the capacities of the batteries in the remotes for the Phantom 3 & 4, those are like powerbanks, given their much larger size. They'll last pretty much all day. A guy who works for DJI on here, I believe his name is Ken, mentioned that the Mavic uses far less power than those bigger drones so therefore the remote transmitter should last a long while, equally the same as the Phantom 4's remote transmitter. But as you can see from the above vid, thats simply not the case, which is sadly disappointing to say the least.

Which is why I've come up with this great idea of maybe allowing users to adjust the brightness of the LCD screen on the Mavic's remote transmitter through a software update. To simply dim the screen to their required level and in course, save power. Or how we about being able to turn the screen off altogether? the details on the LCD screen aren't exactly important anyway since you have the mobile device and its screen directly below the remote showing all of the important flight stuff.

Either those options, or or sell an add-on in the future that gives more juice to the remote.

Maybe the Mavic's remote transmitter has some software-related bugs to be sorted out, causing unnecessary battery drain.

What do you all think of this? Battery life on the Mavic's remote should be a lot longer than it currently is. It doesn't look promising.

I just flew three flights with the Mavic batteries starting at 100% down to 50%. The transmitter battery started at 100% and is now at 71%. I think you could easily get six flights out of the transmitter battery. And that's including updating the firmware and changing a bunch of settings.

That's what I'm experiencing. And I'm 99% sure, this depends on the phone! In the vid is a Samsung S7 edge, I got the S6 edge and have the same problem. Maybe an edge problem, fastcarge problem or samsung problem...

ggoodlett@aol.c Posted at 2016-10-28 23:04
I just flew three flights with the Mavic batteries starting at 100% down to 50%. The transmitter bat ...

Well do you think maybe it's just a problem with that one guy's remote then? He may be using an early non-consumer version of the drone and DJI maybe would have made battery adjustments to the final retail model. Not sure. There's a possibility that he hasn't updated to the latest firmware for the remote. I don't know, just guessing at this point.

Is the phone being charged while the Drone is in the air?

Tenreth Posted at 2016-10-28 23:11
That's what I'm experiencing. And I'm 99% sure, this depends on the phone! In the vid is a Samsung S ...

That makes sense I guess. The latest Galaxy S devices like the S6 and S7 have that neat fast charge ability in the settings > battery menu. Maybe this guy had that fast charge feature enabled which would then have the device being charged very quickly from the battery in the Mavic's remote transmitter. I think you're onto something there.

I'll have to test with my own Galaxy S6 once I have the Mavic in my hands.

Lepus Posted at 2016-10-29 06:24
Is the phone being charged while the Drone is in the air?

Yes, the remote charges the phone.

Was your phone's battery fully charged?  The Mavic remote supplies a charge to your mobile device when connected.  If you phone was dead the Mavic controller was busy charging your phone from the controllers battery.

Charge your phone fully first.  I bet the controller will not drain so quickly.

Lepus Posted at 2016-10-28 15:24
Is the phone being charged while the Drone is in the air?

Yes.  Exactly.

Lepus Posted at 2016-10-29 06:24
Is the phone being charged while the Drone is in the air?

I believe so, yes. The Phantom 3 and 4 do the same. Once the smartphone or tablet is connected to the remote with a sync cable, the device is kept charging so it doesn't shut off during flight if the device's battery were to be at a critical level. Always been that way.

Fulgerite Posted at 2016-10-29 06:29
Was your phone's battery fully charged?  The Mavic remote supplies a charge to your mobile device wh ...

Yes. Makes perfect sense to me. I still think DJI should allow users to adjust the brightness of the LCD screen or turn it off altogether and still be able to control the aircraft with the sticks and buttons. Will bring heaps of battery life improvements I'm sure. That screen is clearly the primary 'power sucker'. Seems to be running at the highest brightness setting by default.
Let the user decide. Give him or her options to customise the remote to their liking. Simple brightness slider or button presets in the settings menu is all that's needed, e.g. Off, low, medium and high.

Enkeixpress Posted at 2016-10-29 06:29
I believe so, yes. The Phantom 3 and 4 do the same. Once the smartphone or tablet is connected to t ...

Sounds like that might be were the battery is losing out and how big the phone battery is.

Enkeixpress Posted at 2016-10-28 15:36
Yes. Makes perfect sense to me. I still think DJI should allow users to adjust the brightness of th ...

Not really.  The controller LCD light barely uses any power at all.  The screen brightness on the mobile devices DO use a lot of power though.

Tenreth Posted at 2016-10-28 18:11
That's what I'm experiencing. And I'm 99% sure, this depends on the phone! In the vid is a Samsung S ...

Are you saying your losing battery life quickly on your cell phone? If this is true it would be caused by the GPS on your phone. Using GPS on the cell phone is known to suck the life out of the battery and if the remote is charging it, then it will get drained quicker also. Shut your cell phone GPS off when flying. You only need it when you use follow me mode.

The transmitter does not seem the charge ios devices. I've used an Iphone 6s and an Ipad mini 4. Maybe that is the difference.

Fulgerite Posted at 2016-10-29 06:42
Not really.  The controller LCD light barely uses any power at all.  The screen brightness on the  ...

Regardless, being able to turn off the LCD light entirely and fly using the sticks and buttons as normal would be welcome by many, I'm fairly sure. The user can decide whether he/she wants to see the flight data on the remote, or just the flight data on his/her mobile device's screen. Makes sense right? obviously an option for the more advanced user of course. Battery life improvements will definitely come from turning the LCD screen off, or dimming the brightness slightly.

Jake Phantom 3  Posted at 2016-10-29 06:46
Are you saying your losing battery life quickly on your cell phone? If this is true it would be ca ...

I'll keep that in mind when flying mine. I didn't know GPS being enabled in smartphones takes up a lot of battery life throughout the day. Even when not using any applications, or having any applications in the background that occasionally use location data from time to time? Interesting. Was wondering where most of the battery life in my Galaxy S6 was going throughout the day, even whilst in standby mode, and screen off.

Jake Phantom 3  Posted at 2016-10-29 06:46
Are you saying your losing battery life quickly on your cell phone? If this is true it would be ca ...

No, the remote is dying quickly on me.The phone is supported by the remote and keeps nearly at a constant percentage or is moving down slowly.

isn't the remote charged using a USB cable? so couldn't we use a power bank to charge the RC while we are flying?

Most people are reporting at least 4 hours of battery life on the remote.  If you plug a dead phone into the controller it will be less.  If you plug a fully charged phone into the controller you should get at least 4 hours.

leostark Posted at 2016-10-29 08:14
isn't the remote charged using a USB cable? so couldn't we use a power bank to charge the RC while w ...

Possibly. Need someone to test the theory. I thought of this idea earlier when making the topic, but didn't mention it.

Enkeixpress Posted at 2016-10-29 08:19
Possibly. Need someone to test the theory. I thought of this idea earlier when making the topic, bu ...

yeah I'm not getting a Mavic anytime soon with these shipping delays, could somebody who has a Mavic confirm this?

civeng123 Posted at 2016-10-28 20:25
Original comment deleted for vulgar content.

Were you looking in the mirror when you said that?

Jake Phantom 3  Posted at 2016-10-28 17:47
Were you looking in the mirror when you said that?

There is no need for hostility...  We are all just here to discuss.  Be excellent to each other dudes.

I edited your post because this is not an issue. The RC battery will last 5-6 full flights.

You said you could stand there and watch it die, yes you can but after a few hours of continued use.
He starts at 54% then 3 minutes later he's at 51%. I've flown several batteries and you will get 5-6 batteries out of a charge. And with the power bank adapter you can even fully charge your RC with your used 20% left capacity battery.
So if your in the field and have 20 batteries you can still go the whole day and charge your phone and RC with the remaining capacity left in your used flight batteries.
And yes, the RC will not last as long as a P3,P4,Inspire RC battery but you can still fly 5-6 batteries from the RC on one charge.

I have a Tech Armor charger that fits in your pocket, it's about the size of half a cigarette pack. You charge it at home and take it with you to recharge just about anything. I got it with my iPad. It holds a charge so you can charge on the go if your not near electricity. You can use it on your RC, cell phone, gaming controls, just plug in the USB cable and turn it on. It's like carrying an extra battery with you.

Enkeixpress Posted at 2016-10-29 00:25
That makes sense I guess. The latest Galaxy S devices like the S6 and S7 have that neat fast charge ...

False info. Quick Charge is only used when the power supply supports it. In this case, the RC = the PSU.(don't confuse charger with power supply, your charger, is your phone, the power supply, is the piece where you plug in the USB cable on the wallsocket)

So, if the PSU does not support QC 2.0, it will do a standard 5V charge.

So DJI-Ken...  Since there are two USB ports on the Mavic controller...  It does seem like it might be possible to plug a USB battery/charger into one USB port and use the other USB port to connect to the mobile device.  SO it may be possible to greatly extend this life as well using an external USB battery?  Have you tried that?

DJI-Ken Posted at 2016-10-29 08:52
I edited your post because this is not an issue. The RC battery will last 5-6 full flights.

You sai ...

I do like the idea of using the used flight batteries to charge the RC. That's the only thing that had me questioning. What could you do if the battery on the RC dies out while you're out in the field? Well, like you said, use the battery to powerbank adapter that comes with the Fly More bundle to charge the RC from a flight battery, or charge the RC from any other usb powerbank. Makes sense.

It's great that these flight batteries for Mavic are so small too, can stash loads of these into a backpack, though I think 10 or so is enough, or as many as one can put into that shoulder bag. Going to want loads of power available and waiting while out there with this thing by your side.

Enkeixpress Posted at 2016-10-29 09:13
I do like the idea of using the used flight batteries to charge the RC. That's the only thing that  ...

You can even fly nonstop, while the RC is on the sidelines charging, you can fly some batteries in WiFi mode

DJI-Ken Posted at 2016-10-29 08:52
I edited your post because this is not an issue. The RC battery will last 5-6 full flights.

You sai ...

Plus, with the fly more package, we get a car charger too, correct?

zfdtruckman Posted at 2016-10-29 09:40
Plus, with the fly more package, we get a car charger too, correct?

That is correct, the package really is an incredible deal.
Plus it's pretty awesome that batteries are only $89, P4 batteries are $169.

Fulgerite Posted at 2016-10-29 09:08
So DJI-Ken...  Since there are two USB ports on the Mavic controller...  It does seem like it might  ...

There goes mobility
I would try, but I'm missing a USB-male to USB-male cable for charging with the bottom USB-connector. And in the manual it specifies the connector on the side as the charging port. Nothing about the one on the bottom. Maybe you can charge with the one on the side and connect your phone with the one on the bottom. But those cables...

Tenreth Posted at 2016-10-28 23:27
Yes, the remote charges the phone.

Wrong, the remote does not charge the phone on the Mavic.. When you plug that phone in the charge icon flashes and then turns off so that device is not charging.

Lepus Posted at 2016-10-28 23:24
Is the phone being charged while the Drone is in the air?

The remote does not charge the phone on the Mavic.. When you plug that phone in the charge icon flashes and then turns off so that device is not charging. There is a video by iPhondo on Youtube where he tests this and proves it (It is in one of his 3 Mavic review videos).

aeoncs Posted at 2016-10-29 17:51
Wrong, the remote does not charge the phone on the Mavic.. When you plug that phone in the charge  ...

No, you're wrong. I've just checked: Connected the phone at 77%, the charging symbol appeared for a few seconds, vanished for like 2 seconds and reappeard again. Phone is now at 79%.

Tenreth Posted at 2016-10-29 15:41
No, you're wrong. I've just checked: Connected the phone at 77%, the charging symbol appeared for a ...

You all need to include some more info.

1. What type of phone are you using? (iPhone/Android AND model)

2. Is the charge indicator lighting up and staying lit? (It may not actually increase the charge, as the supply may be very similiar to the draw, depending on the phone and settings.)

3. Does your remote battery lose the same amount of juice if it is left on and sitting idle over a 20-minute period (no flying, just sitting with phone connected and powered on) with a discharged phone versus a fully charged phone connected?

4. Which port were you plugged into with your phone? (Side or bottom of the remote)
5. For grins, what was the starting remote battery level and ending battery level?

It shouldn't take more than an hour to test your setup and post here.  It won't take long to gather enough data to make a basic matrix of results.

Can you charge the remote while using it to fly or must it be disconnected/turned off to charge the remote?

I can confirm that my Galaxy S7 charges off the remote and drains its power. I was surprised yesterday when the remote gave me a low batt warning about half-way through a second flight battery. I thought it seemed a bit short, but didn't really know what the norm should be, since it was only my 2nd day and the Mavic is my first drone. It was only later that it occurred to me that my phone may have been using up the controller's battery.

I did some testing today and confirmed that my phone does indeed keep charging while it's plugged into the controller. I tried disabling the fast charging option, but that didn't seem to make a difference. I also tried changing the USB mode (Media files, Pictures, MIDI, Charging) to see if it made a difference, but the phone would automatically revert to the USB charging mode.

For now, I guess I'll fly with a powerbank plugged into the left port of the controller, and my phone plugged into the bottom port. I tested this and it seems to work (connected fine, but didn't actually try flying the Mavic). I happen to have a short USB cable that's just about the perfect length: http://www.i-mee.com/Mono%20Cable%20(Blue)


EDIT: For clarification, when I said that switching off fast charging made no difference, what I should have said is that it didn't stop the phone from charging from the controller. Whether or not it reduced the draw, I'm not sure. I didn't test that.

Gary Mac Posted at 2016-10-30 13:17
You all need to include some more info.

1. What type of phone are you using? (iPhone/Android AND  ...

I'll answer some of these questions off the top oh my head.

1. Nexus 6p.
2. Yes
3. Didnt try this
I'll skip 4/5 since I didnt do three.

But yesterday I flew 4 flights, 12/10/8/12min over three mavic batteries.
RC was at 100, phone was at 95/98 % .

After all that, the RC was about 56% when i got home, and my phone was still about 80%ish ...
It was definitely charging the phone, or rather topping up, but even after all that, I think theres enough juice in the RC to fly another 2 flights easy.

Just my experience.