Hi guys,

I hope someone here, or perhaps DJI self can help me out.
I have read the forums, searched the web and tried everyones advice, but I cannot get more than 70-80 meters on my spark before I loose visuals. (It just says signal loss)
The radio receiver obviously still works as i can still control it (though i can barely see it, any further and I would have a problem flying it as it would be too small).
At this point I am concidering just selling it second hand.

I have tried:

- Updating firmware
- Using OTG cable and Wifi
- Switching bands
- Turning of my phones wifi and bluetooth for interference
- Tried flying in different locations just in case my local field had some interference

etc. etc. etc.

Nothing works.
I tried it again this weekend on farm area away from everything. I got to about 60m before loosing visuals (almost lost my drone as well as I couldnt see it properly in the sun, so had to use the Fly Home feature)

I love everything else about the drone, its responsive, easy to fly, video and photo quality is excellent. But all of this is useless if I cannot get more than 70-80 meters max.
Even if I got maybe 500 meters i would be happy, but what I am getting now is horrible.

I have the Spark Flymore Bundle and I live in Pretoria South Africa.

Anyhelp or guidance would be appreciated.

Can you try, for reference, another phone or tablet?
You are using right now a .....?

What is the model of your device? Any message from your app? Please ensure that you don't wear a bluetooth device and provide a screenshot of the wifi setting when you turn on your drone in the place you fly. Thanks for support.

S-e-ven Posted at 2017-11-19 18:01
Can you try, for reference, another phone or tablet?
You are using right now a .....?

Hi there. I am using a Samsung Galaxy S8.
I have an old S6 edge I could try this weekend, do you think that will make a difference?
I also have a friend with an iPhone, so I could try that.

DJI Elektra Posted at 2017-11-19 18:21
What is the model of your device? Any message from your app? Please ensure that you don't wear a bluetooth device and provide a screenshot of the wifi setting when you turn on your drone in the place you fly. Thanks for support.

Thank you for your reply.
I am using the Samsung Galaxy S8.
There is no message from the app. The signal, GPS everything shows 100%, and as I fly away from me the signal just starts going red.
I have tried switching off my Bluetooth on the phone, I will also leave my smart watch at home and try again. (Do you really think its that sensitive?)

I will try to get a video of the signal loss this week somewhere and post it.

The DJI Go4 Version? Maybe 4.4.18 has more flaws?

Yes, I would try the S6 AND any iOS you can get your hand on!

GilbertQ Posted at 2017-11-20 07:12
Thank you for your reply.
I am using the Samsung Galaxy S8.
There is no message from the app. The signal, GPS everything shows 100%, and as I fly away from me the signal just starts going red.

Thanks for your hard work. We will wait for your video and further check your problem.

Hi guys,

Sorry for only getting to this now.
Here is the link.
I did a firmware upgrade again, no difference.

https://drive.google.com/open?id ... 07ubemeJwmkexwYgJsr

Let me know what you guys think!

GilbertQ Posted at 2017-11-27 09:58
Hi guys,

Sorry for only getting to this now.

Not enough altitude.

Rubik Posted at 2017-11-27 10:07
Not enough altitude.

Hi there...

Thanks for your reply.

Wish that was the case.
If I fly higher, I get even less distance.
Highest I have ever gotten is around 100m before also loosing signal.

Lucky for me, at 70m I can still see the drone to steer it home so I haven't needed the fly home function  yet.

But really, at this stage if 70m is my max, it really isn't worth the R13,000 I paid for the fly more bundle.

GilbertQ Posted at 2017-11-27 12:15
Hi there...

Thanks for your reply.

Hi there,

Did you manage to get around the distance problem? I am looking to get the Mavic, but the distance limitations in South Africa is seemingly a problem.

Thanks!

Did you download and update the NFZ? ( No Fly Zone ).

Un updating NFZ could be a reasons.

go4 Posted at 2017-12-6 06:38
Hi there,

Did you manage to get around the distance problem? I am looking to get the Mavic, but the distance limitations in South Africa is seemingly a problem.

Hi,

No, the distance on my Spark is still useless.
However, I am not aware of issues on the Mavic. My friend has a Mavic and not getting any issues.

Cheers...

Ahmed Hussain Posted at 2017-12-6 08:15
Did you download and update the NFZ? ( No Fly Zone ).

Un updating NFZ could be a reasons.

Hi,

I will make sure tonight. But last time I checked everything was 100% up to date.


Cheers...

HI guys,

So I tried a different phone as well.
Took one of our iPhone 6 test devices from work, even worse. Lost visuals at about 50m. (And yes, I did go higher to see if altitude was the issue)

I think my spark is a dud :-(

Hi

I have exactly the same problem.  I am using Samsung Galaxy S8 and I loose video feed when drone is less than 100m away.

Any suggestions?

I have iphone x and max distance is 250m when I used android I did cca 700m. (Europe). You do not need dji for that, cheap china drones can do the same...

HI,

So this weekend I flew my drone into the ground while trying to be fancy. Luckily its still fine :-D

Anyway, I think I have figured out why my range was/is so bad.
The connection always prefer 5.8Ghz instead of 2.4Ghz, and changing to 2.4Ghz and getting it to actually stick is not simple. It seems to not always accept the change after choosing your channel.
However, for some reason this weekend it actually chose 2.4Ghz and stuck to it by it self. I managed to get 650m before the video starting giving issues. YAY, this is a massive improvement.
After doing some research, its seems like 5.8Ghz has the lower latency which is why it is preferred by the drone and controller for smoother video. (This is also why racing drones prefer 5.8)
However, apparently 2.4Ghz has a longer range.

No I don't know why on 5.8Ghz I am so limited as even at that the range should be a lot better than what I have now, but whatever I can get I will take.
I am going to try and manually force to 2.4Ghz again and see if I can get the same result. WIll keep you guys posted.

Cheers...

GilbertQ Posted at 2017-12-21 00:22
HI,

So this weekend I flew my drone into the ground while trying to be fancy. Luckily its still fine :-D

Good to know. Please ensure that your drone enter the wifi setting and it selects the channel with best signal. Please ensure that you choose the lowest column which means less interference.

Reading this thread, i have pretty much the same problem and had coincidentally tried all the same fixes and am also in South Africa. I get "weak visual transmission signal" from about 60m high and 150m away and I loose all signal from 75m high and about 180m away at absolute best.  I also think of my Spark as a dud.  What else can we try short of returning the unit and crying foul?

djiuser_XNWZos4 Posted at 2017-12-23 21:59
Reading this thread, i have pretty much the same problem and had coincidentally tried all the same fixes and am also in South Africa. I get "weak visual transmission signal" from about 60m high and 150m away and I loose all signal from 75m high and about 180m away at absolute best.  I also think of my Spark as a dud.  What else can we try short of returning the unit and crying foul?

Update:  I may need to wear the idiot badge for a while.  I think I have found the solution to my own problem with range and image transmission quality.  Hope this simple answer helps others.

I adjusted the antennas on RC so that they point perpendicularly up.  I was mistakenly positioning them straight out.  This has made a radical difference and I went passed all previous height and distance limits.