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Need to calibrate compass every flight
42132 22 2018-3-29
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Stahl80
lvl.1
Sweden
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Hi. I’m a new DJI owner, have the Mavic Air. Just starting to learn everything about it.
Made about 10 flights, now before every flight it asks me to calibrate the compass, litterateur every time. It didn’t do this
the first 2-3 flights. It doesn’t matter if I’m in the woods, open space or urban area.
Is that normal? Not a big problem since it’s done in a few seconds but does strike me as strange.

Thanks.
2018-3-29
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davidmartingraf
Captain
Flight distance : 84805085 ft
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You must be flying near or under metallic objects? If not, do you store your Mavic Air next to, or on top of, any objects that have metal in them? That may be the reason why it's asking you to calibrate your compass every time, because the MA perhaps is stored in a way that is setting off the frequency issues when turning the unit on (if you're not taking off under or near any conflicting objects)?
2018-3-29
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A CW
Captain
Flight distance : 13838848 ft
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United Kingdom
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Yep, always best to store the drone away from any magnetic objects
2018-3-29
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Stahl80
lvl.1
Sweden
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davidmartingraf Posted at 2018-3-29 09:43
You must be flying near or under metallic objects? If not, do you store your Mavic Air next to, or on top of, any objects that have metal in them? That may be the reason why it's asking you to calibrate your compass every time, because the MA perhaps is stored in a way that is setting off the frequency issues when turning the unit on (if you're not taking off under or near any objects)?

I don’t think I take of near any metal, at least not visible to me. And it’s in every location I try.
I store the mavic in its case on a wooden desk. But maybe it’s sensitive and I have some interference
at home. Guess I will have to try it out some more. Should I contact DJI it it continues?
2018-3-29
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stacebaal
Second Officer
Flight distance : 621257 ft
United States
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There are a few threads on this. Several users, including myself, also experience this.  I need to recalabrate every time it starts up (like after battery changes) regardless of location.  It's not metal as some are suggesting - I own multiple DJI drones and am very familiar with the compass process. I'd suggest you open a ticket, the more data they can get then perhaps they can come up with a solution.  
2018-3-29
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Matthew Chirico
Captain
Flight distance : 769160 ft
United States
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I owned the Mavic Pro before the Air and I definitely realize a TON more calibration with the Air...
2018-3-29
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Stahl80
lvl.1
Sweden
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Thanks for the answers. Will do a search and open a ticket on it!
2018-3-29
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sky6105
First Officer
Flight distance : 345653 ft
United States
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I found everytime I fly off the tailgate of my truck I have to calibrate it.
I think it's the metal tail gate under the bed liner.
I also found taking off some sidewalks with the rebar in them also causes an issue.
2018-3-29
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Kevjones1959
Second Officer
Flight distance : 61932 ft

South Africa
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It is possible that the Mavic air has upgraded sensors that are more accurate and therefor more sensitive .... merely speculation however. I dont have anything to benchmark mine against.
2018-3-29
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Lamplighter55
Captain
Flight distance : 538596 ft
United Kingdom
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Mavic Air - one compass. Mavic Pro two compasses. Maybe the Pro has an algorithm that uses the differential of the hysteresis between the two compasses to qualify any offsets due to drift or interference.
2018-3-29
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SamCox
lvl.1
Flight distance : 134888 ft
Australia
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For the most effective way to calibrate the compass the manual says to use DJI Assistant 2... not sure if this would fix the issue on having to re-calibrate it before each flight but worth a shot
2018-3-29
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AG0N-Gary
Captain
Flight distance : 700846 ft
United States
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Never start or takeoff close to metal objects.  Go out in an open field and calibrate the compass per directions.  Fly from that field and see if you still get told again to calibrate.  If so, talk to DJI because it isn't right.
2018-3-29
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DJI Thor
Administrator
Flight distance : 13602 ft
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Hi there, regarding this case, please refer to the reply below.
1. When the app prompts that the compass needs to be calibrated, the drone’s compass has suffered from interference as the aircraft was turned on in a place where there is magnetic interference. Make sure to fly the aircraft in an open area free of interference.
2. When powering on the drone, ensure that the aircraft is at a standstill. If there is interference or the aircraft is powered on during movement, the compass’s orientation may be altered, and then recalibration is needed.
3. To ensure the flight stability, the app will prompt you to calibrate the compass when there is a need. Please follow the app and calibrate it. Thank you for your support.
2018-3-29
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Datadogie
Second Officer
Flight distance : 27028 ft
United Kingdom
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Could it be that when you transport it in your car the place you put it (in the boot (trunk{-;) back seat, front seat)? have anything to do with it.
2018-3-29
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Kune
First Officer
Flight distance : 2773465 ft
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Spain
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I use to have the same issue as well... I needed to calibrate mavic air compass on every flight too... when I was using an iPhone X, but since I bought crystalsky, from that moment on... I never had to calibrate compass again... I tried exactly in the same places than bofore just to discard the magnetic interferences. But surprisingly they compass calibration disappeared and everything was ok.... no more calibration...
2018-3-29
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Kune
First Officer
Flight distance : 2773465 ft
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Spain
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Today I used the iPhone X and It asked to calibrate! the compass again!!
2018-3-31
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GLJones
lvl.3
Flight distance : 41381 ft
United States
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OK...I can make the compass calibration prompt come up.  If I power the Mavic Air and set it on a metal surface, like the trunk of the car, it will ALWAYS ask to calibrate.  Keep it away from metal while it powers up, no issue.
2018-3-31
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Peter Koopman
lvl.1

Netherlands
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I halve the same problem. I fly the Mavic Air at the beach (no metal, no nothing). It's od to calibrate every time. Might this be a Sw issue   ?
2018-4-1
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AM0
Captain
Flight distance : 415554 ft
Estonia
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just a wild guess, if you transport it in a car, maybe there is a strong magnetic field that affects the compass every time?
2018-4-1
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TFile
lvl.4
Flight distance : 56398 ft
United Kingdom
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I'm also experiencing this on 90% of my flights. Very odd.

I don't think I'm doing anything wrong re magnetic interference or metal etc.

DJI what's going on?
2018-4-3
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WayneMHK
Second Officer
Flight distance : 694728 ft
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United States
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sky6105 Posted at 2018-3-29 10:46
I found everytime I fly off the tailgate of my truck I have to calibrate it.
I think it's the metal tail gate under the bed liner.
I also found taking off some sidewalks with the rebar in them also causes an issue.

I would never consider doing this (fly off tailgate).  
2018-6-1
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HedgeTrimmer
Captain
United States
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Stahl80 Posted at 2018-3-29 09:47
I don’t think I take of near any metal, at least not visible to me. And it’s in every location I try.
I store the mavic in its case on a wooden desk. But maybe it’s sensitive and I have some interference
at home. Guess I will have to try it out some more. Should I contact DJI it it continues?
I store the mavic in its case on a wooden desk. But maybe it’s sensitive and I have some interference at home.


If you want to check for Magnetic Interference that effects Earth's normal magnetic field you can get a few Apps for free and a few for 0.99 that run on your IOS iPhone or Android Phone.

What you are looking for is deviation (stronger or weaker) from Earth's normal magnetic field.    You can expect some deviation inside a building or home.  For example: Move Smart-Phone close to another cellphone, and you will see a slight change - a no big deal.

List of a few such apps for IOS:
GaussTeslaMeter  (personal favorite)
Tesla Recorder  (next best)
Magnetometer
CrowdMag

An example:

Two protruding lobes are result of iPhone passing over steel railing and coming back across same steel railing.
The dip in between lobes is result of iPhone getting closer and closer to large steel building.
Smoother areas is Earth's normal magnetic field without magnetic interference.
2018-6-1
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fans7db7b7fd
New

United States
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I also have this problem EVERY TIME! I have the iPhone X as well not sure if that is the issue.
2019-8-16
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