DJI Find My Drone Feature - Overview
12084 19 2017-9-22
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JoeCec
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The Find your drone feature was added to the DJI Go 4 app around April of 2017 with firmware update version 4.0.7. If for whatever reason your drone decides to take a trip without your knowledge or intention, you can use this feature to track down your drone and hopefully bring it back home safe and sound.

The devices I will be using for this test includes:
Samsung Galaxy S8+ with android version 7.0 installed DJI Go App version 4.1.9
Samsung Note 5 with Android version 7.0 and DJI Go App version 4.1.9
And the latest gen Apple iPad with iOS 11 installed and DJI Go App version 4.1.10
As of this recording, these are the latest updates and firmware revisions.
I also did everything possible to make it equal across the board so I update or made sure all the drones were up to date as far as their firmware was concerned. This is to satisfy all the initial series of interrogations brought forth by DJI and others.

Moving into the Find my Drone user interface you’ll find an exact match across all the drones. Meaning the feature is the same across the spectrum of DJI drones.

Let’s take a look at what the user interface has to offer. Starting at the top left corner of the screen you have your 3 dots. Expand this to find your GPS and RC signal strength as well as your drones battery percentage level. Moving down the-the three vertical icons at the bottom you have your Map view as well as Satellite and Hybrid Map selections. Below, it you have the compass heading lock which will enable or disable the map from rotating as you navigate to find your drone. And below that, you have your home point or drone location coordinates which you can use to toggle between the last known position of the drone and your launching point.

Last but not least is the camera icon which allows you to see what your drone is seeing view the camera. This option, however, is only functioning if you have the connection with the drone. If your camera happens to be covered by thick growth or tree limbs and leaves then there are 2 other options for locating your lost drone. If you are in the area where the app says your drone is located you can select the drone and it will pull up another menu. Here you can select whether to make your escs start beeping or turn the drones lights on. This is accomplished by simply selecting the icon of the drone and choosing which option you would like. Here is what you can expect to hear from the Spark Mavic Pro and Inspire 2…  

One last thing to mention is that I could not get the Android devices to start the Smart LED or ESC beeps. I have not yet found the reason why this is the case but I will post an update when or if I do. If you have a Samsung device or different Android device other than Samsung and these features work for you I’d like to hear about it, so leave me a comment below. You can always treat the comments as an open forum and ask questions for me or others to answer.

2017-9-22
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KEDDK
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Nice post thank you, just need to mention this feature is not available on RC with build in display, perhaps the same would count for Crystal displays?
2017-9-22
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JoeCec
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KEDDK Posted at 2017-9-22 07:28
Nice post thank you, just need to mention this feature is not available on RC with build in display, perhaps the same would count for Crystal displays?

Really, so the P4Pro+ wont be able to display this?
2017-9-22
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Genghis9
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Thank you, good post
I have wondered, this feature really only works effectively if you have contact or connection with your drone, correct?  Meaning, if you loose signal/contact and it flies off then this feature will not work as you described, correct?
Please clarify that for us please?
2017-9-22
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KedDK.
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JoeCec Posted at 2017-9-22 11:10
Really, so the P4Pro+ wont be able to display this?

No, you can see the answers following my Q.

Guess we just have to not loose it
2017-9-22
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Labroides
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The big limitation to Find My Drone is that it can only show you the last recorded location of the drone.
If your Phantom landed or crashed at that point, it could be nearby.
But if the Phantom was i flight and connection was lost, it will only show you the point where that happened, not where the drone ended up.
2017-9-22
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Geebax
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Genghis9 Posted at 2017-9-22 11:28
Thank you, good post
I have wondered, this feature really only works effectively if you have contact or connection with your drone, correct?  Meaning, if you loose signal/contact and it flies off then this feature will not work as you described, correct?
Please clarify that for us please?

You are correct, it only works if you still have contact with the aircraft. So if it flew off, then the last position it reported will be shown. If the battery runs down, the same applies, it will only show the last reported position. One problem is, the battery will run down relatively quickly, even though the motors may not be running, as the battery is powering the whole aircraft, including the camera, which use a lot of power. So, it can be concluded that is you want to try and locate your aircraft, you need to do it pretty quickly before the battery is flat.
2017-9-22
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Genghis9
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Geebax Posted at 2017-9-22 15:08
You are correct, it only works if you still have contact with the aircraft. So if it flew off, then the last position it reported will be shown. If the battery runs down, the same applies, it will only show the last reported position. One problem is, the battery will run down relatively quickly, even though the motors may not be running, as the battery is powering the whole aircraft, including the camera, which use a lot of power. So, it can be concluded that is you want to try and locate your aircraft, you need to do it pretty quickly before the battery is flat.

That is what I thought and feared.
Thanks Geebax!
2017-9-22
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ihackstuff
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Thanks for this! Very helpful!
2017-10-16
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JoeCec
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thanks for watching!
2017-10-23
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Woe
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Thanks for the info
2017-11-6
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Rodger8
Second Officer
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Great Tutorial. I have used "Find My Drone" in the real world (unfortunately) and it works great. I use an Apple iPad mini 4 with Cellular and Wi-Fi. Using the Hybrid view I  went to the exact spot where the Phantom was located.
2017-11-6
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ajf3103
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hi. what if my drone has been missing for a over 12 hours. the battery will obviously be dead now. if i enable indicator flashing and sound alert will this feature still function?
2019-2-10
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Geebax
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ajf3103 Posted at 2-10 13:43
hi. what if my drone has been missing for a over 12 hours. the battery will obviously be dead now. if i enable indicator flashing and sound alert will this feature still function?

No, as you say, the battery will be dead flat.
2019-2-11
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ajf3103
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Geebax Posted at 2-11 00:12
No, as you say, the battery will be dead flat.

thanks for your response. Devastated mate
2019-2-11
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Geebax
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ajf3103 Posted at 2-11 05:11
thanks for your response. Devastated mate

The best thing you can do is upload your flight log for that flight to here: https://www.phantomhelp.com/LogViewer/Upload/

Then come back here and post a link to the result. One of the members who is experienced at reading these logs may be able to advise you where your aircraft might be.
2019-2-11
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ajf3103
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Geebax Posted at 2-11 13:28
The best thing you can do is upload your flight log for that flight to here: https://www.phantomhelp.com/LogViewer/Upload/

Then come back here and post a link to the result. One of the members who is experienced at reading these logs may be able to advise you where your aircraft might be.

Hi. Heres my flight record:

https://www.phantomhelp.com/LogViewer/SXFIORN4N988NG7V86WM/
2019-2-12
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greydog15
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Flight distance : 1925066 ft
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Thanks, great post, but another quick tip, film your flight to your DJI Go 4 app device over any scrub or forest area. Then play it back to help find your drone. Worked for me.
2019-4-5
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djiuser_Ie8iYB2qJkfJ
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Flight distance : 1318888 ft
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Yes thanks for the post. Informative. Question...I have two drones. Air 2 and a Mini 2. If one goes missing and I use Find My Drone, how does one use the app to focus on the lost drone and not point to the one right next to you. Can you single out the missing drone only someway? Much appreciated if you have any clues. Cheers
2020-12-6
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A J
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It is a great feature
2020-12-7
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