Tahoe_Ed Posted at 2015-4-25 09:42
Unfortunately it is unlikely.

Understand a limit should be set for best practice, but 500 meters isn't much to be creative with, which is why we buy the Phantom - and especially with the narrower field of view from the new camera we need a greater height to view entire landscapes.

I hope this gets extended to 800m and maybe an alert at 500m. Or perhaps to enter above 500m you need 80% battery life.

A better solution is needed.

Rth height limits is adjustable,  read your manual

Has anyone tried setting the height limit to zero and see what happens?

I would also like to register my strong displeasure at this 500m height limit above takeoff. I have had to fly higher than that with my Phantom 2s to stay above ground level in the hilly area where I live. I can understand defaulting to 400' and a warning etc when flying above some limit. But why on Earth is the platform crippled like this? Now there are projects I have to use my old Phantoms for instead of the new P3. I sincerely hope DJI changes this or someone finds a way around it.

It appears that DJI probably got some heat, from the authorities, and rather than care about the end user,  decided to back down.
Why is there a 500m altitude limit, period?
You can fly 1.2 miles away, but can't go above 500?
REALLY??
Come on DJI.
Try caring more about the end user, rather than buckling under pressure from big brother.
I have not heard of any other drone manufacturer  limiting the ceiling to such a ridiculously low limit.

What next?
Max speed?
Max distance?
Max number of uses until you are no longer allowed to fly?
Flight data automatically sent to the authorities?

Everyone needs to calm down, i don't know what the average age in here is, but reading through this thread it would appear to be pre-teen. Speak with civility and maybe someone will listen.

For those still somehow confused, its already been said that the height restriction is from your HOME POINT altitude.

This is not a bicycle were talking about, it's a flying craft, you wouldn't talk the same way about your car having a speed limiter so you can't do 150+mph, or that there are speed limit signs on the road that limit your creativity in choosing your own top speed...

Don't like the limitations? pony up the cash and time for a real pilots license and see just how serious you actually need to be when putting hardware in altitude.

This is a safety issue, not DJI tearing off your creative wings. There are enough idiots out there flying recklessly and i wouldn't be surprised if they gave up on regulating it and banned use altogether.

imdjay Posted at 2015-5-14 03:45
Everyone needs to calm down, i don't know what the average age in here is, but reading through this  ...

How is this a "SAFETY" limit?
You can fly 1.2 plus miles away,, but only 500 meters up.
What is the difference,in regards to safety???

craigr9@comcast Posted at 2015-5-14 04:07
How is this a "SAFETY" limit?
You can fly 1.2 plus miles away,, but only 500 meters up.
What is th ...

Probably hitting planes.    They fly pretty close upon approach to the airport.  Not far over my home.  That's probably the reason

I'm also really unhappy about this. The Phantom 3 Professional is supposed to be a high performance machine for professional use. 500M above the take-off point is simply not enough in many situations - flying up hills, mountains, flying in the countryside far away from airports - there are many times the user will want to fly above 500M and it is perfectly safe for the user to do so. This was a very bad decision by DJI and I'm seriously considering buying the 3DR Solo when it comes out, because I bet it won't have any such restriction.

I just bought a phantom 3 and found that in the US the altitude is limited to 120 meters in GPS mode.

mike6250 Posted at 2015-6-14 13:29
I just bought a phantom 3 and found that in the US the altitude is limited to 120 meters in GPS mode ...

Is this really true? I thought people have easily verified higher than this in the US.

I live in the U.S., you can set it to 500 meters but anything over 120 meters the app warns you that you could be violating the law..  You tap agree and now your going up to 500 meters..  Mike6250 you don't know what your talking about..

Can't you just put tin foil on your RC antenna or something like that?

CloudsNeverDie Posted at 2015-5-17 12:58
I'm also really unhappy about this. The Phantom 3 Professional is supposed to be a high performance  ...

The 3DR solo also has a height limit according to their website and a lot of people on forums are also disappointed... So dji is not the only company who set a height limit to 500m.

I just got back from a trip to British Columbia Canada from the United States and was way up in the mountains.  Not a chance that any aircraft were around.  500 meters is a joke.  I hit that ceiling quickly.  That was barely up one of the mountains.  I tried to follow a stream up to a waterfall and then up the falls.  The falls were higher than the thing could fly.  DJI puts a warning on the system when we change it from 400 feet.  It plainly states it is our responsibility.  If that is the case then let us take the responsibility.  There should be a way to override this.  I really wish that DJI would consider taking the restriction off.

Yepp, 500m is too low.

grangerfx@gmail Posted at 2015-4-27 04:05
Where I live, we have these things called hills. We have these other things called trees. Both of  ...

What does wifi have to do with the GPS signal?

barry.j.anderso Posted at 2015-4-25 11:57
I really don't intend to fly anywhere near the 500m height limit, but just curious as to why the Pha ...

That info was poorly presented in the specs. I too was confused until I realized they meant maximum operating altitude, not max altitude.

there was one guy on the forum a while back saying that the dealer he ordered from gave him a hacked pilot app that let him bypass the limit. Im calling bs until someone can confirm this

Not that I'm at the present interested in going above 120m myself, but has anyone tried setting the app limit to 0? I've read that when set to 0 it changes the app set limit to unlimited which means you would only be bound by signal limitations.

Someone that can legally try it, try it and report back.

I know how to exceed 500 meters. Have done it myself and it does work. Im running 1.1.5.
Heres how to do it.
Throttle up all the way until you get to 500 and the app tells you, you have reached the height limit. Hold down the RTH button on your controller and throttle up some more as it is returning home. You should see you are now past 500 meters.

craigr9@comcast Posted at 2015-5-14 04:07
How is this a "SAFETY" limit?
You can fly 1.2 plus miles away,, but only 500 meters up.
What is th ...

500M is 1500+ feet. That puts you in the same airspace as a small plane. I agree around mountains etc. it can be a pain, but we all know, if the thing could fly at 5000M, there would be those that would do it.

L8again Posted at 2015-7-31 10:21
500M is 1500+ feet. That puts you in the same airspace as a small plane. I agree around mountains  ...

...but when the limit is RELATIVE TO HOME and you are trying to scale mountains and steep hills where NO aircraft would (or should) be...

Let me ask this...where would an airplane most likely be flying - at 500m above your home point or at 50m above the terrain on the side of a steep mountain that is 450m above your home point? (That is rhetorical, but for those who cannot see the point, this thread most certainly does not apply to you) Now can we agree about the stupidity of any reasoning for enforcing such a limitation?

To those who don't really understand the need to remove this limitation (DJI attorneys, engineers, etc), the world must really be flat to you.

What a joke!

For the DJI SDK engineers and decision makers, I hope that there will be serious consideration for providing an app key that gives a level of permission either to remove or to at least exceed the current limitation with a more reasonable limitation - even if it means that app users for such have to agree to something that indemnifies DJI and/or the app developer.

barry.j.anderso Posted at 2015-4-24 23:57
I really don't intend to fly anywhere near the 500m height limit, but just curious as to why the Pha ...

The 6000m figure is the flight envelope limit - i.e., engineering specs anticipate that above that altitude the quad will not be able to fly - in real aircraft this is typically referred to as the "operating ceiling."

The 500m height limit means you can go only 500m above where you take off.

taneks@gmail.co Posted at 2015-4-25 00:21
Is the limit based on 500m above mean sea level, or from home position?

What happens in the followi ...

If you take off well up into the mountains and then descend, the barometric sensor will record you as having a negative altitude.

Let's say you take off at 6,000 feet above sea level. If you descend 1,000 feet, your theoretical height (the one your Phantom will measure) will be -1,000 feet.

Another way to look at it - let's say you're on a high cliff. Said cliff is 1,000 above sea level. If you let your Phantom drift out away from the cliff (say, over a 2,000 foot dropoff), it would be kind of silly for any kind of instrument to change your "numbers" wouldn't it?

jmtw000 Posted at 2015-4-27 09:40
Let me get this straight, there's a 500m (from home point) altitude limit in the P3 firmware which c ...

Despite DJI being a Chinese firm, perhaps the "suits" at DJI are somewhat influenced by some "suits" in some other countries.

talinthis@hotma Posted at 2015-4-27 21:42
cant you just change the height in the assistant program or has this option been removed? if so th ...

I think the "assistant" program you refer to was for a previous version of the Phantom. That program is NOT compatible with the Phantom 3.

john.lambert4@o Posted at 2015-4-28 01:18
Sorry, I thought RTH height was the altitude it took off from - not the height it climbs to before ...

The "failsafe RTH" is a changeable user option. I don't have too many hills where I live but I have tons of trees to contend wtih. I set mine at 40m. Fortunately there are no sequoias or redwoods anywhere around where I live!

bactrimforte Posted at 2015-5-1 10:44
Hi all, I've read hundreds of threads over the net but still having some question about height. I li ...

That's absolutely correct. When you get to the beach, your alititude should show up as -500 feet.
Altitude on the Phantom is NOT calculated using GPS - it comes from a barometric device.

craigr9@comcast Posted at 2015-5-13 16:07
How is this a "SAFETY" limit?
You can fly 1.2 plus miles away,, but only 500 meters up.
What is th ...

Over 1600 feet up is into small aircraft space.  That is how this is a "Safety" limit.

Fred1969 Posted at 2015-9-8 15:03
Over 1600 feet up is into small aircraft space.  That is how this is a "Safety" limit.

"Over 1600' up is into small aircraft space"?

Did you you mean

"Over 1600' above ground level is into small aircraft space"

If that were the case, then everybody should be happy. The problem is that the world is not flat, at least not where I live and work. For example, I can see the saddle of a mountaintop less than a couple miles away that is more than a 1600' rise above where I am sitting. Would small aircraft space be 1600' above that saddle? Or, would it be in the side of the mountain?

Kdurree@gmail.c Posted at 2015-4-29 00:20
Failing to disclose this information until after purchase and noticing it in the app is misrepresent ...

they can if its being sold in countries where thats the legal limit. its up to the consumer to do research before they drop $1000 on a device. i had no problem seeing that theres a 500m limit before i bought, what was your problem?. go try taking this case to a judge "the box says it can go to 6000 feet. i know im not legally allowed to fly that high, but they wont let me break the law"

Tahoe_Ed Posted at 2015-4-24 23:30
I am sorry, it is a policy set by DJI HQ.  Also note that if you loose GPS signal then the altitude  ...

Why does DJI website say 2000m  for Phantom prof? and app limits to 500m? doesn't make sense. Then why can't they change that in the website to 500m?

I have not tried to reach those limits, but I buy the phantom 3 adv knowing the scope of control is more than 1km, I will not be able to get to this point? in my country there is no legislation regarding drones ...

If what you say is correct, this is crap, I would have bought the phantom 2 without fpv.

$ 1,000 invested in a product with false advertising

Kdurree@gmail.c Posted at 2015-4-28 11:37
What he heck DJI!? You guys made no mention of such restrictions on the specs page. There are PLENTY ...

Do not make hasty decisions, I'm sure these changes will DJI quality policies

The app, Litchi, removes height limit. You can also get around it by climbing to 500m, initiating RTH, then you can climb higher while in RTH.

anstinantony@ro Posted at 2015-9-10 11:26
Why does DJI website say 2000m  for Phantom prof? and app limits to 500m? doesn't make sense. Then ...

Where did you see that.  I checked and this is what I found.

Max Altitude Above Sea Level 6000 m

That is the operating altitude.  I have not seen 2000m anywhere.  I appreciate your assistance.

willieb1172 Posted at 2015-7-31 11:22
Not that I'm at the present interested in going above 120m myself, but has anyone tried setting the  ...

I received my Phantom 3 Pro and I've flown it 40-50 times thus far. I live in a flat area so I've kept the 400 feet limit but I will be traveling to a mountainous area soon so this still concerns me.

I set it to 0 but it doesn't accept it. It resets back to what it was set to.

I'm also not sure about going to 500 feet, triggering RTH, then ascending past 500 feet as some suggested. If I can't control the direction that doesn't help much. Once I get past 500 feet up can I disable RTH and continue to ascend past 500 feet?

Even though it's not the most accurate, seems like what would resolve this issue is for the Phantom to intelligently keep up with GPS altitude and compare it to the home point altitude. Then if it goes past a certain threshold away from home point altitude, it uses GPS altitude for telemetry and RTH if triggered.

The first video below is a crash (not me) that's not caused by the 500m limit, but caused by RTH not raising to the RTH set altitude relative to current position. You can see where the Phantom is flying from a valley to a higher altitude location then signal is lost and RTH is triggered, it's not very far off the ground and crashes into a very low wooded area. The video is washed out but still beautiful. You can fast forward or scrub to 1:30 and see the valley, then signal is lost (1:50) and a crash occurs (2:10).

In the second video below, the Phantom goes straight up to 500m. Then watch at 1:40 when he pans around to view the mountains which are clearly above the Phantom! I don't know where this was filmed but in this situation you obviously could not maintain 400 feet above the Phantom's current position all the way up the mountain if it has a 500m limit relative to the take-off point!!

DJI, please remove this limit and allow us to fly responsibly above mountainous terrain so we can maintain 400' above the Phantom's current position!

Tahoe_Ed Posted at 2015-9-12 02:10
Where did you see that.  I checked and this is what I found.

Max Altitude Above Sea Level 6000 m

Remote Controller
Operating Frequency

2.400 GHz-2.483 GHz
Max Distance

2000m (outdoors and unobstructed)
(copied from DJI site)


But another question is- is 500m vertically and 2000m horizontally? that will make sense.

barry.j.anderso Posted at 2015-4-24 23:57
I really don't intend to fly anywhere near the 500m height limit, but just curious as to why the Pha ...

The 6000m is from sea level I think. Thats the best where phantom can reach up with perfect air density.