On my P4P, i never had to calibrate the compass oncem but on the M2P, i have to do almost everytime i relocate a couple of miles, very annoying.
It happens regardless of the places and environment, theres no metal junk or other obvious interference around...

Anyone else?

I saw Billy Kyle on YouTube mention he had to do it every time also on his Mavic2 Pro but not on his Mavic 2 Zoom.

Thank you for reaching DJI forum. Here are some scenarios that we suggest calibrating the compass:
-When compass data is abnormal, and the Aircraft Status Indicator is blinking red and yellow.
-When flying in a new location, or a location that is different from your last flight.
-When the aircraft moves erratically during flight, i.e. the drone doesn't fly in straight lines. You can go this route: MC Settings--Advanced Settings--Sensor--Compass--calibrate.
We suggest calibrating the compass in these scenarios since the compass is the module that the drone knows where to go. For example, when we move to a new place, we might need to make the direction clear. The compass calibration means the same to some extent.

So now  it's new "Old" recommendation to calibrate on every different location? Before it was recommended only to try to change location if compss misbehaves

nixuspix Posted at 2018-9-18 07:39
So now  it's new "Old" recommendation to calibrate on every different location? Before it was recommended only to try to change location if compss misbehaves

You can find the best known practices in the Mavic Compass Calibration Guide.

DJI Paladin Posted at 2018-9-18 07:32
Thank you for reaching DJI forum. Here are some scenarios that we suggest calibrating the compass:
-When compass data is abnormal, and the Aircraft Status Indicator is blinking red and yellow.
-When flying in a new location, or a location that is different from your last flight.

Did you even read my post?

Kingram Posted at 2018-9-18 07:09
I saw Billy Kyle on YouTube mention he had to do it every time also on his Mavic2 Pro but not on his Mavic 2 Zoom.

Maybe they have set the sensitivity trigger to high on this one.
I often also get the magnetic interference message before take off....

msinger Posted at 2018-9-18 08:31
You can find the best known practices in the Mavic Compass Calibration Guide.

Thank You Captain! Very useful

Can you provide a screengrab of the prompt to calibrate? You might be tripping over a poorly designed UI (as I did until folks here set me straight).

That's a great point @Ex Machina.

@CineView Media, is this what you're seeing in DJI GO?




If so, that's just a button to start the calibration process if you decide you want to do it for some reason. If DJI GO wants you to calibrate the compass, you will not be able to take off until you perform the calibration.

msinger Posted at 2018-9-18 10:10
That's a great point @Ex Machina.

@CineView Media, is this what you're seeing in DJI GO?

Its not what i see, its the red alert telling me to calibrate compass, and yes i know how to do it, it just gets boring doing it everytime i wanna go out and fly...

My backpack iPad Mini 4 was in a pocket right over M2 so it asked to calibrate but since I fly with my Galaxy S9+ now and don't carry iPad in bag anymore haven't had to calibrate.

If you move from one location to the other and is more than 31mi then you will need calibrate the compass.

I think it's individual AC characteristics. I've not had any compass issues with any of my drones, Spark, Mavic Pro, Phantom 4 Pro and now the Mavic 2 Pro. My original Mavic Air also didn't have any issues, then a drone eating tree got it. The replacement demands a compass calibration whenever I go more than about 50 miles from the last place I flew it.

fansfcc89423 Posted at 2018-9-18 18:35
If you move from one location to the other and is more than 31mi then you will need calibrate the compass.

Nonsense, then you need to read up on magnetic inclination.
And here in northern Europe youll have to travel hours by plane before it makes any difference.

I calibrated my M2 once - and that's it. Same with my M1 before - no need to recalibrate all the time.

CineView Media Posted at 2018-9-19 03:06
Nonsense, then you need to read up on magnetic inclination.
And here in northern Europe youll have to travel hours by plane before it makes any difference.

Well!!!  here is the USA when ever I travel more than 31miles from my home where I fly in my area for example to the beach which 50miles from me here in florida I am prompted to recalibrate the compass before I fly and guess what I do it for safety reason etc. In the Mavic 2 manual it clearly says anything over 31 miles from where the drone was last calibrated the compass may prompt you to calibrate it. this is always been the case with all my DJI drones. Also I don't operate my drone near any kind of metal structure etc which will interfere with the compass. And lastly if my $1300 drone is prompting me to recalibrate the compass guess what thats exactly what I am going to do!

The manual for M2 says calibrate when you've moved more than 30 miles, not flown for 30 days OR when told to do so.

FWIW my mavic 1 i calibrated maybe once a year.  It never prompted and just worked.

My M2 has been fine locally but i just moved it 7000 miles and this time it prompted to calibrate before flying.  The M1 doing that same trip didnt.

There maybe a design change here as its different compass hardware (and a single compass) compared to the M1.

gnirtS Posted at 2018-9-19 16:21
The manual for M2 says calibrate when you've moved more than 30 miles, not flown for 30 days OR when told to do so.

FWIW my mavic 1 i calibrated maybe once a year.  It never prompted and just worked.

Yeah maybe there is a different design etc, I don't know but I just do it when it prompt me to do so if not then I just go a head and fly no worries.

could be your car. if I put any drone in the trunk of my tesla I have to calibrate on every startup. if in the front seat I dont.

fans589cba4b Posted at 2018-9-19 18:35
could be your car. if I put any drone in the trunk of my tesla I have to calibrate on every startup. if in the front seat I dont.

An electronic compass wont get affected unless you have the power on, so no, thats not possible.

CineView Media Posted at 2018-9-20 13:20
An electronic compass wont get affected unless you have the power on, so no, thats not possible.

ok but it happens every time, it's in the trunk and thats the only variable for the equation so it has to maybe perhaps be possible.

51 Drones on YouTube said he has to calibrate his a lot also, he uses a Samsung 7 or 8 phone.

I hardly EVER had to recalibrate the Spark, but with the Mavic Air I have to recalibrate every flight. Sometimes I have to recalibrate in between battery swaps. BUT, I know flyaways were very prominent with the Spark, and not so much with the MA, so I'm thinking that the MA or M2P have a more sensitive compass to prevent flyaway problems.

Never had to calibrate any of the MP, MP2, SPARK. I MEAN NEVER!

Same here, I almost always have to recalibrate the compass with my M2Pro :/

Haven’t calibrated my M2P since I got it.  That’s with 1000 miles worth of road trip and various locale usage.  When it tells me to, I will.  My MA asks for a calibration all the time, although not so much lately.  The Original Mavic Pro, Spark, and P4P never ask for one either.