Hi, I used auto take off today and the mavic climbed up to 20 feet and started hovering, from there I didn't have any other issues, but lucky me I was in an open space with no trees or anything otherwise I would have crashed. This is the first time I use auto take off with the latest firmware so I don't know if it is related to that. Has anybody had a similar experience?

Did you activate the checkbox for precision landing recording? If you did, that's the expected behavior.

At least on the iOS app, there's a typo in the checkbox label where precision was typed or autocorrected as "precious". ;)

so the Mavic will climb to 20 feet in the air if the precision landing setting is turned on? That doesn't sound correct. 20 feet is pretty high. I thought the Mavic would hover anywhere from 4 to 6 feet to take some pictures of the ground to be able to return exactly where it took off from. I doubt it will do this from 20' high lol

I just tested and it went to 4ft. Did you wait until the home point was recorded although I don't know if that matters or not.

I don't remember if precision landing was activated, but I don't think that would make it hover that high when the software clearly says 1.2m. I did wait for the aircraft to record the home point.

Asainz320 Posted at 2017-3-14 13:53
so the Mavic will climb to 20 feet in the air if the precision landing setting is turned on? That doesn't sound correct. 20 feet is pretty high. I thought the Mavic would hover anywhere from 4 to 6 feet to take some pictures of the ground to be able to return exactly where it took off from. I doubt it will do this from 20' high lol

i read 30ft for precision to work

Fernanditu Posted at 2017-3-14 14:01
I don't remember if precision landing was activated, but I don't think that would make it hover that high when the software clearly says 1.2m. I did wait for the aircraft to record the home point.

As one of the preconditions for Precision Landing the manual says:

  - Aircraft must take off vertically. Take off altitude must be greater than 10 meters.

So, my read on the new feature is that people weren't launching and then hovering long enough to get a Precision Landing fix before flying off and about, so the engineers added an optional Auto-takeoff checkbox that automatically takes the Mavic high enough to get that fix. If you don't select the checkbox then it does the normal hover height.

When I click the precision landing check box my Mavic climbs to 20 feet.   I believe that is an expected response in the latest firmware..

That's good to know machina =]

It was much better if they released this information clearly stated under what's new in the latest firmware release...mostly as it is rely dangerous drone behavior without user specific knowledge...

Ex Machina Posted at 2017-3-14 14:20
As one of the preconditions for Precision Landing the manual says:

  - Aircraft must take off vertically. Take off altitude must be greater than 10 meters.

I fear you are confusing the functionality of auto-takeoff with precision landing. The two are not integrated as a single flight function. I use both regularly and have updated firmware and GO4 App.

Auto-takeoff starts the motors and then climbs the aircraft to 1.2 meters / 4 feet where it hovers using Downward Vision System for stabalization. You should always wait for adequate GPS before using Auto-takeoff and listen for the "Home Point has been updated, please check it on the map".



While I'll agree that the translation for precision landing could be clearer, the reference to "Take of altitude must be greater than 10 meters" is a function of the Downward Vision System. You need to climb above 10 meters/32 feet to give it time and field of view to locate your initial landing point to perform the precision landing. My aircraft has Never automatically climbed to 32 feet/10 meters when precision landing was selected.



For me, auto-takeoff has NEVER climbed above 4 feet..... and precision landing doesn't work unless I climb higher than 32 feet and abide by the other requirements...

Forgive me, but these are my observations for the two functions which I use regularly.

Daroga Posted at 2017-3-14 16:02
I fear you are confusing the functionality of auto-takeoff with precision landing. The two are not integrated as a single flight function. I use both regularly and have updated firmware and GO4 App.

Auto-takeoff starts the motors and then climbs the aircraft to 1.2 meters / 4 feet where it hovers using Downward Vision System for stabalization. You should always wait for adequate GPS before using Auto-takeoff and listen for the "Home Point has been updated, please check it on the map".

Thanks for clarifying that, anyway I still don't know what happened, I had gps and the home point was recorded. I will try it again tomorrow to see if it does the same thing again.

I never use auto take off, i dont really see the point, but i always make sure i have a precision landing calibration by taking off up to 10m and hover for 10 seconds or so, then go do my thing...
In my experience, precision landing works extremely well when doing this, so i've never felt the need to do anything different.

It kinda makes sense to get auto take off to record the precision landing though, that should have been implemented from the start (with clear warnings)

boostedford Posted at 2017-3-14 14:14
i read 30ft for precision to work

Thats correct. For it to work, but not for the Mavic to automatically take off that high all by itself. I have flown a few times since the .500 firmware was uploaded and it hasn't taken off to 20' and I always use auto-takeoff and precision landing is On.

Fernanditu Posted at 2017-3-14 16:37
Thanks for clarifying that, anyway I still don't know what happened, I had gps and the home point was recorded. I will try it again tomorrow to see if it does the same thing again.

I agree that auto takeoff should not climb to 20 feet.  Your mavic vision sensors or sonar sensors may be dirty or malfunctioning.

Daroga Posted at 2017-3-14 16:02
I fear you are confusing the functionality of auto-takeoff with precision landing. The two are not integrated as a single flight function. I use both regularly and have updated firmware and GO4 App.

Auto-takeoff starts the motors and then climbs the aircraft to 1.2 meters / 4 feet where it hovers using Downward Vision System for stabalization. You should always wait for adequate GPS before using Auto-takeoff and listen for the "Home Point has been updated, please check it on the map".

Have you used Auto-takeoff with the new Precision Record Takeoff Point option checkbox enabled in .0500/Go 4.0.5?

I have reported this to designated team for review.
If we need any further information, I'll let you know.

Maybe you can try to simulate that with the integrated flight simulator?

Safari Posted at 2017-3-15 03:38
Maybe you can try to simulate that with the integrated flight simulator?

Good idea!


So, as you can see, this is the expected behavior if you select the checkbox. By default the checkbox is unselected and the original description covering the 4 ft hover height presents. Ideally, the checkbox might be placed further away from the slider control so as to prevent accidental selection.

Ex Machina Posted at 2017-3-15 10:32
Good idea!
[view_image]

This is one of those cases where DJI really should have made this new feature much more clear. It could potentially be dangerous, and at the very least quite scary for somebody used to seeing the Mavic only rise to 4ft. I saw somebody post about this new feature in a Facebook group just the other day. Pretty much nobody in the group was aware of it, which seems to be the case here, too. I also didn't know about it, and apparently neither did DJI-Ken.

Jason Lane Posted at 2017-3-15 10:47
This is one of those cases where DJI really should have made this new feature much more clear. It could potentially be dangerous, and at the very least quite scary for somebody used to seeing the Mavic only rise to 4ft. I saw somebody post about this new feature in a Facebook group just the other day. Pretty much nobody in the group was aware of it, which seems to be the case here, too. I also didn't know about it, and apparently neither did DJI-Ken.

I did notice that in the official firmware thread the feature was not mentioned -- I saw it in the Apple Store's app upgrade description.

Maybe a first-launch-after-upgrade screen describing what's new with the app/firmware updates would be helpful?

Ex Machina Posted at 2017-3-15 10:32
Good idea!
[view_image]

Thanks, now I'm going to hear Gollum "My Precious" in my head every time I set that at take off now.

Also hoping the 20m is supposed to be 20ft or 10m. 60 feet up I'll definitely have to watch where I take off and watch wind conditions above tree line.

Why would you take off without unlimited vertical clearance in the first place?  RTH is going to bring you back on that vertical path, should it be invoked by some emergency, etc.

Ex Machina Posted at 2017-3-15 10:32
Good idea!
[view_image]

By looking at the image you have posted, I can confirm that precision take off mode wasn't activated, because I remember reading the message that says 1.2m not 20m. I didn't have time to fly today but I will try tomorrow.

AG0N-Gary Posted at 2017-3-15 13:48
Why would you take off without unlimited vertical clearance in the first place?  RTH is going to bring you back on that vertical path, should it be invoked by some emergency, etc.

I can think of many scenarios where I would do it, flying indoors would be the most common, but you can also take off from a porch on a beach house or from a balcony which I do all the time at my apartment on the beach.

Ex Machina Posted at 2017-3-14 19:39
Have you used Auto-takeoff with the new Precision Record Takeoff Point option checkbox enabled in .0500/Go 4.0.5?

THANKS Ex Machina! I actually flew this morning in high winds to double-check this functionality again. Called myself looking everywhere for the checkbox and learned that I'm a complete creature of habit and blind as a bat!!!! Thanks for posting the simulator screenshot!!!

Of course, you must have the Precision Landing slider turned on under the Vision System menus and the aircraft must be in GPS mode for the checkbox to even show up. As you state, the default is unchecked, so I completely missed the checkbox when I've flown with GO4 v4.0.5:

When the checkbox is checked, the slider menu changes greatly to advise you of the pending climb to 32 feet/20 meters and you can use downward throttle to override this climb:

Interestingly, the Android GO4 v4.0.5 Auto-Takeoff differs by stating that the aircraft will only climb to 6 meters/20 feet.

I'll try to check this tomorrow to see what altitudes the aircraft actually climbs to.

Fernanditu Posted at 2017-3-15 15:22
By looking at the image you have posted, I can confirm that precision take off mode wasn't activated, because I remember reading the message that says 1.2m not 20m. I didn't have time to fly today but I will try tomorrow.

I'm wondering if you accidentally hit that checkbox when you went to swipe-enable auto-takeoff? They are dangerously close to each other, especially on iOS.

Daroga Posted at 2017-3-15 18:45
THANKS Ex Machina! I actually flew this morning in high winds to double-check this functionality again. Called myself looking everywhere for the checkbox and learned that I'm a complete creature of habit and blind as a bat!!!! Thanks for posting the simulator screenshot!!!

Of course, you must have the Precision Landing slider turned on under the Vision System menus and the aircraft must be in GPS mode for the checkbox to even show up. As you state, the default is unchecked, so I completely missed the checkbox when I've flown with GO4 v4.0.5:

Yikes on those Android differences, wrong info (assuming manual is correct) and truncated description text to boot.

AG0N-Gary Posted at 2017-3-15 13:48
Why would you take off without unlimited vertical clearance in the first place?  RTH is going to bring you back on that vertical path, should it be invoked by some emergency, etc.

If you need to takeoff from a position without a clear line to the sky, you can change the SIgnal Loss behavior to Hover or Land instead of RTH, so the Mavic won't try to RTH and land at the takeoff point.

Ex Machina Posted at 2017-3-14 13:47
Did you activate the checkbox for precision landing recording? If you did, that's the expected behavior.

At least on the iOS app, there's a typo in the checkbox label where precision was typed or autocorrected as "precious". ;)

Sorry, not true. With NO firmware at Auto-T/O it climbs 20 feet when prec-land is engaged (I never ever switched it off since I have mine and it never went higher up than 4ft)

Ex Machina Posted at 2017-3-15 18:51
I'm wondering if you accidentally hit that checkbox when you went to swipe-enable auto-takeoff? They are dangerously close to each other, especially on iOS.

The box is really close with gloves on!  

Hey thanks for the heads-up on this.  I flew & like the functionality.  It defaults to the good ole 3.9ft unless the box is ticked.  If ticked, yep...  It climbs up slowly like I usually do, so this is genius!  

Kudos, DJI!

(Note 5, Android 6.0.1, GO 4.0.5)

Ex Machina Posted at 2017-3-15 18:58
Yikes on those Android differences, wrong info (assuming manual is correct) and truncated description text to boot.

With both the iOS and the Android versions of 4.0.5, if you check the Precise Record of Takeoff Point, then the Mavic Pro climbs slowly to 20 feet or 6 meters NOT 20 meters! Tested today with both Android and iOS....

Angelo26 Posted at 2017-3-16 06:28
Sorry, not true. With NO firmware at Auto-T/O it climbs 20 feet when prec-land is engaged (I never ever switched it off since I have mine and it never went higher up than 4ft)

If you update to version 4.0.5 (or 4.0.6) of DJI GO4 app and have Precision Landing turned on, then there is a NEW checkbox just above the auto-takeoff slider as shown in post #19 and #26 above. If you check the checkbox, then the aircraft climbs slowly to 20 feet recording the landing site for a precise return. You can override this climb with your sticks since if climbs slowly enough.

If the checkbox remains unchecked (default) then the normal 4 foot auto-takeoff results. The checkbox must be manually checked each and every time you want to use this feature.  

Daroga Posted at 2017-3-16 13:48
With both the iOS and the Android versions of 4.0.5, if you check the Precise Record of Takeoff Point, then the Mavic Pro climbs slowly to 20 feet or 6 meters NOT 20 meters! Tested today with both Android and iOS....

Huh, so the question now becomes has DJI improved precision landing so that it no longer requires a 10m minimum height (as stated by the current manual), or is the new feature misimplemented?

This is where the confusion was for me. I thought we were talking about the Precision Landing feature which has always been there since the begining. Now, the new feature is called Precision TakeOff. Anyway I tried it today and I was not impressed. It landed about 10 feet from take off point. If you notice mine says before setting it "3.9feet" then when set the units change to meters "6m".

Asainz320 Posted at 2017-3-16 19:48
This is where the confusion was for me. I thought we were talking about the Precision Landing feature which has always been there since the begining. Now, the new feature is called Precision TakeOff. Anyway I tried it today and I was not impressed. It landed about 10 feet from take off point. If you notice mine says before setting it "3.9feet" then when set the units change to meters "6m".

If the manual's correct, then 6m is just not high enough to get a precision landing fix. I've used precision landing many times in the past and have been impressed with its accuracy.

Maybe it was fixed in today's Go 4 updates?

Ex Machina Posted at 2017-3-16 20:06
If the manual's correct, then 6m is just not high enough to get a precision landing fix. I've used precision landing many times in the past and have been impressed with its accuracy.

Maybe it was fixed in today's Go 4 updates?

Todays update was for iOS i believe. Im using Android. I will try going higher straight up and see if it works better.

Asainz320 Posted at 2017-3-16 20:38
Todays update was for iOS i believe. Im using Android. I will try going higher straight up and see if it works better.

It's not fixed in iOS 4.0.6, neither is the typo.

So today I flew a total of three times in different locations. The 3 times I took of with the Precision Takeoff turned on. The Mavic climbs to about 20 feet by itself, but I manually flew straight up another 20 feet before starting to fly on any other direction. I can report that all three attempts to do an auto RTH were extremely successful!!! The Mavic was landing within an inch or two from its takeoff point. So yeah, flying straight up to around 30 to 40 feet should yield a very good result for the RTH.

Asainz320 Posted at 2017-3-17 16:39
So today I flew a total of three times in different locations. The 3 times I took of with the Precision Takeoff turned on. The Mavic climbs to about 20 feet by itself, but I manually flew straight up another 20 feet before starting to fly on any other direction. I can report that all three attempts to do an auto RTH were extremely successful!!! The Mavic was landing within an inch or two from its takeoff point. So yeah, flying straight up to around 30 to 40 feet should yield a very good result for the RTH.

I flew today as well. Out of four launches that used the new precision recording feature, only one managed to return to the proper landing point with any accuracy, and that one was a simple straight-up and then down flight. The others all failed to get a precision fix at the 20ft hover used by the feature.

It's seems the precision landing feature still requires a 10m+ altitude to get a proper fix.