Since today we have seen some reports concerning flight altitude and distance limitations that seem to "suddenly appear" after updates have taken place, I have collected the five most common reasons for this behaviour of the Spark. The suggested checklist is as follows:
1. Are Aircraft, RC and Battery on the latest firmware?
2. Is the No Fly Zones database up to date?
3. Have you re-logged in with an DJI account within the App while online and not logged out thereafter? (permanent online conection is not required after first log in)
4. Have you been connected at least once online with DJI server after a firmware update?
5. Did you have a stable GPS link at the moment of take off?
If any of the above requirements is not met, an automatic limitation of flight altitude and distance applies. Thus it might be worth going through this checklist if the problem occurs. In the "heat" of firmware or App updates, one can easily forget one or the other of them...

Nice tips, they are definitely helpful, thanks for sharing!

DJI Diana Posted at 2017-9-24 23:10
Nice tips, they are definitely helpful, thanks for sharing!

Thank you Diana, but just to clarify: I am not the author, I have only collected the possible known reasons and summarised them. Many have contributed to this and we have to thank them all! I had only observed that after every update, be it firmware or App, reports of concern are popping up on the above topic. The checklist might at least help as "first aid" to adress these concerns.

Thanks for sharing!

Not sure that I understand #3.. I 'logged in' I suppose when I first got the app.. I have never seen an option to log out.  I got a message a few days ago saying that I needed to update the no fly zone maps and I clicked 'not now'.. and I have not been prompted to download them again since.

LouisP Posted at 2017-9-25 13:23
Not sure that I understand #3.. I 'logged in' I suppose when I first got the app.. I have never seen an option to log out.  I got a message a few days ago saying that I needed to update the no fly zone maps and I clicked 'not now'.. and I have not been prompted to download them again since.

A couple of recent updates have logged folks out thus making it necessary for you to log in again.

Huh, a lot of incorrect information in these 5.
These are indeed good for safety and warranty reason but certainly not for the range.

Points 2 & 3 are not required at all and has nothing to do with distance/Altitiude limitations. You just need to keep the mobile in Airplane mode during flight.

eYeSkYeYe Posted at 2018-1-9 07:55
Huh, a lot of incorrect information in these 5.
These are indeed good for safety and warranty reason but certainly not for the range.

They are all correct ;-)

Wachtberger Posted at 2018-1-9 08:07
They are all correct ;-)

Nope...
Simple proof:
With FW .300 and DJI Assistant, 500m altitude limitation can be set to whatever value.
With FW > .300 it's no longer possible. So how is 500m max better range than whatever battery allows range?

eYeSkYeYe Posted at 2018-1-9 08:13
Nope...
Simple proof:
With FW .300 and DJI Assistant, 500m altitude limitation can be set to whatever value.

We are talking about totally different things. The five points above are relating to specific conditions when Spark will be automatically set to max. 50 meters altitude and 100 max distance. Read the manual if you like.

Wachtberger Posted at 2018-1-9 08:29
We are talking about totally different things. The five points above are relating to specific conditions when Spark will be automatically set to max. 50 meters altitude and 100 max distance. Read the manual if you like.

Than were are:

1. Use RC instead of cell phone.
2. Switch off beginner mode.

I am pretty much sure these are the basic one and should have made to the top of the list.

eYeSkYeYe Posted at 2018-1-9 08:31
Than were are:

1. Use RC instead of cell phone.

Just make a new list then ;-)

Do you have some apps that I can use in Canada to know if its is safe to fly the drone in my area..

sreejhu1988 Posted at 2018-5-3 13:21
Do you have some apps that I can use in Canada to know if its is safe to fly the drone in my area..

A very popular one comes from Airdata UAV which takes not only flight restrictions but also weather conditions into account.