Howdy everyone.

I'm wondering how everyone who lives at relatively higher elevations are getting on with their Mavic Minis (or is that Mavics Mini)?

Having seen some videos with folks successfully flying the Mini at elevations up to 10,000 feet, I felt pretty confident ordering one.  But I did realize that it would not be as powerful as the larger drones.  That is understandable with something so small and lightweight.  It is a marvel of technology and engineering, for sure!



Now that I've got it, I can see that even at an elevation of 5000', you're working the poor little thing pretty hard!

Having had no chance to fly outdoors yet due to the winds here, I've been relegated to flying inside.  And of course, I've been using the prop guards for obvious reasons:

(newbie + indoors = crashes).

And even the small mass of the prop guards at this elevation really puts a strain on the poor little thing.  I get no more than 12 minutes of fly time here at about 5150' above sea level, and I've gotten the "insufficient power" warning even when flying straight and level at a slow walking speed, or even just hovering.  This is with the .0300 firmware version.  The battery packs come out of the thing rather warm to the touch, too, so I know they've been giving it their all, as well.  


I'd like to hear some encouraging words from people who operate at similar elevations and have had a chance to fly outdoors.

It's an amazing device.  But perhaps not suited to these conditions.

Thanks everyone.

Hi. Thank you for reaching out to DJI Forum. If accessories are mounted to the DJI Mavic Mini, it is recommended to enable the Payload Mode for enhanced safety. After takeoff, Payload Mode is enabled automatically if a payload is detected. Note that the Max Service Ceiling above Sea Level is 1500 meters and the max flight speed is limited when Payload Mode is enabled. Thank you.

Thank you for responding DJI Paladin.

I don't actually have a problem with my Mini.  I think it's doing exactly what it's supposed to do.

I do enable payload mode when the propeller guards are mounted.  But we're slightly above the 1500 meter limit here, so technically, we aren't supposed to use the prop guards here at all.

5150 feet is about 1570 meters, and most parts of town are higher than that.

Regardless, my poor Mini has flown well enough for me this way to have some good fun indoors.   But you can tell it's working very hard, indeed.  So I do feel a bit guilty about stressing the poor thing this way, and I wonder how much better it will do without the guards.

The guards really don't weigh all that much.  I weighed them the other night at work, and they totaled about 46 grams if I recall correctly.  That's only about an 18 or 19 percent increase in weight, which seems somewhat trivial compared to the forces required to fight wind or accelerate upwards, etc.  So it surprises me that this puts the unit so "close to the edge" of its flight envelope.

I'm curious to hear from others flying at this or higher elevations to know what their experience has been, especially without the prop guards and outdoors.  For example:  What kind of battery life are people getting when flying at 5,000 feet, without the prop guards?

I did fire it up outside for a short while this afternoon because I just couldn't resist.  I only flew for about 3.5 minutes.  And I did not go far or high because of the cold weather and wind.  Rising upwards, as it got up to around 25 feet above ground level, the wind did begin to buffet it, and you could hear the poor thing struggling to stabilize its position.  But it did fairly well considering the wind.  Still, I lowered it down close to the ground for the remainder of the brief flight.  Because this was the first time I've had it outdoors, it asked me to do a compass calibration before lifting off.  The display showed only 10 satellites locked in, and despite waiting for a while, that didn't improve.  So I went for it anyhow.

I have to admit, I had fun!

So what say all of you other high elevation Mini owners?

DJI Paladin Posted at 12-9 12:15
Hi. Thank you for reaching out to DJI Forum. If accessories are mounted to the DJI Mavic Mini, it is recommended to enable the Payload Mode for enhanced safety. After takeoff, Payload Mode is enabled automatically if a payload is detected. Note that the Max Service Ceiling above Sea Level is 1500 meters and the max flight speed is limited when Payload Mode is enabled. Thank you.

The payload switch does not work for me with the firmware update. if I out the prop guards on and enable the payload mode, I still get payload warnings. I think there are a lot of bugs with this drone/software/firmware. No matter what there are warnings error messages all the time now...It definitely does not leave you with much confidence when flying this drone. it gives you the feeling that it's just a matter of time before it crashes.

Hi Everyone, max altitude is 1500mt but i saw some video s at 2500mt and above so It seems that mini can Flight at High altitude maybe with less battery time?
It's that correct?

Thanks bye

luca6686 Posted at 12-9 21:19
Hi Everyone, max altitude is 1500mt but i saw some video s at 2500mt and above so It seems that mini can Flight at High altitude maybe with less battery time?
It's that correct?

As I understand it, the max altitude above sea level is supposed to be 3000 meters (9842 feet), but people have flown them at over 10,000 feet and it looked like it worked fine.

The 1500 meter limit is with the propeller guards in place because they add some extra weight, and perhaps also block a tiny bit of airflow as well.

Hi, there have been numerous posts on the Mini FB page, of people flying the Mini at elevations around 12,000 feet, & possibly even higher...

I just got my Mavic mini and I haven't had any problem I am currently flying at 2800m

dutch937 Posted at 12-9 18:35
The payload switch does not work for me with the firmware update. if I out the prop guards on and enable the payload mode, I still get payload warnings. I think there are a lot of bugs with this drone/software/firmware. No matter what there are warnings error messages all the time now...It definitely does not leave you with much confidence when flying this drone. it gives you the feeling that it's just a matter of time before it crashes.

Hi. I am sorry to know that you are having trouble with your DJI Mavic Mini. For this concern. May I know what is the mobile device you are using for the said drone. Have you tried a different comaptible mobile device to isolate the issue. Please keep us posted for further assistance. Thank you.

DJI Paladin Posted at 12-10 11:34
Hi. I am sorry to know that you are having trouble with your DJI Mavic Mini. For this concern. May I know what is the mobile device you are using for the said drone. Have you tried a different comaptible mobile device to isolate the issue. Please keep us posted for further assistance. Thank you.

iPhone 8+. it's the only phone I own, so that's the only choice I have.

dutch937 Posted at 12-10 15:48
iPhone 8+. it's the only phone I own, so that's the only choice I have.

Thank you for the additional information. With regards to this issue. I would recommend to do a firmware refresh on both the drone and remote controller to isolate the issue. For reference, I will be posting a link ( https://www.dji.com/mavic-mini/downloads )  for the DJI Assistant 2 and an official DJI Video Tutorial for the said process. Please keep us posted for further assistance. Thank you.

DJI Paladin Posted at 12-11 15:46
Thank you for the additional information. With regards to this issue. I would recommend to do a firmware refresh on both the drone and remote controller to isolate the issue. For reference, I will be posting a link ( https://www.dji.com/mavic-mini/downloads )  for the DJI Assistant 2 and an official DJI Video Tutorial for the said process. Please keep us posted for further assistance. Thank you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGBLAweLpXo

Hi, I've already done this and no success.

djiuser_ymH49Ic6tJCq Posted at 12-10 06:56
I just got my Mavic mini and I haven't had any problem I am currently flying at 2800m

What sort of battery life (fly time) are you getting?

Here, at a bit over 1500 meters, but with the propeller guards in place, I get around 12 minutes of fly time per fully charged battery.

I am at 6900 ft here in Colorado, and my flytime outdoors is about 29 minutes,Tim

fans7e30011f Posted at 12-12 11:07
I am at 6900 ft here in Colorado, and my flytime outdoors is about 29 minutes,Tim

That's encouraging!  That makes me think it is definitely the prop guards that are working my drone so hard, and not just the elevation.

I hope the wind here dies down some in the near future so I can get outside for some longer flights to see what this little drone is able to do.

I did sneak in a very short outdoor flight the other day, and the battery performance seemed good, but I only flew for a few minutes due to the wind.  So it wasn't a very good test.

Thanks again for the encouraging information.

I've got aircraft cabin fever!

I live at about 8k' in CO. When I had the prop guards on and indoor I was looking at about 17 minutes. Outside, without the prop guards I get close to 25 but was flying in C mode and not doing any hard flying just more or less casually flying around taking pics and videos in 50 degree weather.

fansa029aa8c Posted at 12-12 13:35
I live at about 8k' in CO. When I had the prop guards on and indoor I was looking at about 17 minutes. Outside, without the prop guards I get close to 25 but was flying in C mode and not doing any hard flying just more or less casually flying around taking pics and videos in 50 degree weather.

It's pretty cold here lately (Central Wyoming).

Even in our building, the heat has only been set to around 52°F.  I've been getting the battery low warning at about 12 minutes flying with the prop guards on.

That's been pretty calm flying in P mode, indoors, so nothing fast - just trying to get around slowly without crashing into things.

I'm surprised you're getting 17 minutes with the prop guards in place at your elevation, but that's encouraging.

I wonder if I should order some new prop blades and make sure the ones I got are not the original ones that were not yet optimized for high elevations.

I saw a pair of videos on YouTube where the guy was having problems at high elevation even without prop guards on.  He was contacted by DJI, and they gave him new prop blades and a firmware update, and then he was able to fly at 10,000 feet with no problems.

So this has me wondering if I somehow got an early model kit with the older original blades that don't do so well at high altitudes.  I'd like to think I could get at least as much fly-time with the prop guards in place as you're getting.  I'm only at about 5150' here and yet, all three of my batteries only give me about 12 minutes before I get the low battery warning, and when I land, I'm down to 15% or so if I recall correctly.

Maybe the batteries will develop a bit more capacity after a few charge/discharge cycles, too.

Here's hoping!

Sigmo Posted at 12-12 21:27
It's pretty cold here lately (Central Wyoming).

Even in our building, the heat has only been set to around 52°F.  I've been getting the battery low warning at about 12 minutes flying with the prop guards on.

When I flew inside with the prop guards on I wasn't really flying, just hoovering as my house isn't huge. But it would have been 70 degrees so the battery wouldn't have been impacted by the cold. Also being inside I ran it till it wanted to autoland so that is probably further than you drained the battery. But it was at 8k'

fans7e30011f Posted at 12-12 11:07
I am at 6900 ft here in Colorado, and my flytime outdoors is about 29 minutes,Tim

What's the maximum altitude you've flown? I am also in Colorado and just got a Mavic Mini. I had planned flying it at various altitudes and temperatures, to sort of characterize flight vs. height performance. However, my Mavic Mini is grounded, since (LOL) it won't fly with my smartphone. Guess that's progress for you....

dutch937 Posted at 12-11 16:20
Hi, I've already done this and no success.

Hi, I am sorry to know that the issue still persists after the provided resolution. I would recommend for you to contact our DJI support team at ( https://www.dji.com/service/repair?site=brandsite&from=nav ) for further diagnoses, analysis and repair. Again, I am sorry for the trouble and thank you for your understanding.

Hello

My own experience. I am currently enjoying vacations at about 2000m altitude. Very quickly after starting my Mavic Mini, I got a message in DJ Fly app stating that I have an additionnal payload and that the drone will be limited to a maximum distance of 100m... That's quite annoying!
I guess that the drone is thinking that I add a payload due to a lower air density at 2000m altitude...bu thanks to the GPS it should realize it...

Would be good to have an option to block this payload mode...

I don't know if DJI updated the app since, but I got my Mini in January and just took off 3 flights from 2980 meters and 3310 meters above sea level, plus another 100-200 meters relative flight altitude no problem.  Yes the warning is there for the altitude, but I didn't get the limit set on flying distance (I got 1.52km in one and 2.28km in the other).  Flight times were all 17 minutes.  Temperature was around 10C, and winds were fairly strong).

I live in Bolivia at 3600 m.a.s.l. (almost 12000 feet) where I flight it on my neighborhood it and works great, I am careful because like the warnings said, it takes more distance to brake. Just had one time incident when I made it flight on the hills where we reach 13000 and the drone started to fall to the ground without any reason, the rotors were working and I tried to lift it up but it didn't respond, lucky for me it grounded on the herb. Since that day I flight with distrust.

One of the things I always wanted to do is the create a high elevation props set.

Mavic Mini has a ceiling cap of 3000 meters a.s.l. I do believe with the right pitch on the blades it can fly fine even above that level.

I flew the Dji Mini 4 Pro to 10,000 Feet above ground! Watch the video here! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLdIjsThZUY&t=56s