I had a flyaway incident with my Mavic Mini on 12/24/19.  I had flown it several times with no issues.  I had received some 'strong wind warnings', although there was relatively little wind on the date of the incident, and the drone was not flying terribly high.  When I initiated the Return to Home function, the drone failed to respond and spontaneously landed itself, which unfortunatley was in a river.  The drone had sufficient battery to return home safely.  When contacting DJI customer service and sharing my flight record with DJI, DJI simply passed this off as normal action by the drone given the purportedly strong winds.  DJI further responded that it would offer a 15% discount on a new drone, which is a disappointing response by DJI and a failure by DJI to acknowledge a glitch in its system.  I would be interested if anyone has had this same issue as well as a similarly poor response by DJI customer service.

How do you initiate the RTH, with the button on the controller or the one in the app ? If in the app, then maybe in the next selection you have chosen autoland instead of rth ? And how far was the mini away from you ? If less than 20m then the mini does an autoland immediately, which then is not a RTH. For the experts here you can post the log on airdata or phantomhelp.

It was approximately 2700 feet away from the home position.  I used the RTH function on the remote itself, not the app.  

We apologize for your loss, I managed to get your case number via your Forum account, upon checking it, the drone didn't respond well to the pilot’s commands due to the strong southeast wind, the APP has also prompted “Strong wind. Fly with caution and land promptly”, and the aircraft tilted to some degrees to resist the wind.
The data analysis is based on the flight records, the logs show you were flying in an improper flight environment with strong wind. And we don't recommend to fly the aircraft under the high wind conditions. The warranty service cannot be provided, thanks for your understanding.

DJI Mindy Posted at 1-3 19:59
We apologize for your loss, I managed to get your case number via your Forum account, upon checking it, the drone didn't respond well to the pilot’s commands due to the strong southeast wind, the APP has also prompted “Strong wind. Fly with caution and land promptly”, and the aircraft tilted to some degrees to resist the wind.
The data analysis is based on the flight records, the logs show you were flying in an improper flight environment with strong wind. And we don't recommend to fly the aircraft under the high wind conditions. The warranty service cannot be provided, thanks for your understanding.

If he commanded the drone to RTH it should do precisely that regardless of the wind speed. If the wind speed is too strong to make forward progress the drone still won’t land. Your explanation doesn’t make sense at all.Sounds like a system fault.If it lands vs RTH, that’s a malfunction.

Plus wasn’t the guy following the prompt on the screen, So how can you fault him for following the prompt? Wind speeds and conditions change all the time mid flight.

The real problem is DJI NEVER gives the benefit of the doubt.  But hey at least you all have him 15% off of a new one. That’s 60.00 by the way. How generous.

Improper flight environment.

What a fucking cop out excuse.

jps0309 Posted at 1-3 15:44
It was approximately 2700 feet away from the home position.  I used the RTH function on the remote itself, not the app.

The thing is, if you press the RTH quickly the mini only hoovers, it acts ass a ¨pause¨, however in order to initiate RTH the button must be pressed and hold.
Maybe it went to a blue zone?

Hi,

if you like upload your flightlog, using this > https://www.phantomhelp.com/LogViewer/Upload/

Log will explain what happend.

cheers
JJB

InspektorGadjet Posted at 1-4 04:15
The thing is, if you press the RTH quickly the mini only hoovers, it acts ass a ¨pause¨, however in order to initiate RTH the button must be pressed and hold.
Maybe it went to a blue zone?

Doesn`t it "pause" only when there the sofware is flying?  (RTH, Quickshots etc)

If a MM is within 20 meters of HP, than there is no option RTH in the app only Landing.
What happens if i press the RTH button on the RC withing 20 meters of HP?

cheers
JJB

JJB* Posted at 1-4 04:24
Doesn`t it "pause" only when there the sofware is flying?  (RTH, Quickshots etc)

It works all times, I tested a few times the other day while my family was ¨interrupting¨me, just flying normal and pressing quickly RTH button it does pause and it hoovers.

InspektorGadjet Posted at 1-4 04:27
It works all times, I tested a few times the other day while my family was ¨interrupting¨me, just flying normal and pressing quickly RTH button it does pause and it hoovers.

but it does pause too if i release all sticks.....

so when i fly forward and keep the stick forward and press quickly the rth/pause button it will hover while i am holding the stcik forward ?

JJB* Posted at 1-4 04:54
but it does pause too if i release all sticks.....

so when i fly forward and keep the stick forward and press quickly the rth/pause button it will hover while i am holding the stcik forward ?

I think so, I haven´t tested exactly like that though... leaving the stick pushed, but I will test it once I get a chance.
What I know is that once is paused any input from sticks will override the ¨pause¨ command.

JJB* Posted at 1-4 04:54
but it does pause too if i release all sticks.....

so when i fly forward and keep the stick forward and press quickly the rth/pause button it will hover while i am holding the stcik forward ?

Good point ;-) and for me it would be make no sense, that the RTH button has a function if the drone is not in an automode like quickshot or RTH (autoland included). But anyway, how the OP declared he has pushed the button on the controller and this is the point...in his case it doesn't matter whether he has pressed long or short or twice or whatever, the mini should not have landed, unless it actually flew into a NFZ as InspektorGadjet assumed as possible cause.

jonny007 Posted at 1-4 05:42
Good point ;-) and for me it would be make no sense, that the RTH button has a function if the drone is not in an automode like quickshot or RTH (autoland included). But anyway, how the OP declared he has pushed the button on the controller and this is the point...in his case it doesn't matter whether he has pressed long or short or twice or whatever, the mini should not have landed, unless it actually flew into a NFZ as InspektorGadjet assumed as possible cause.

Well, i never jump to conclusions without seeing the flightrecord...

What`s in people mind and memory is not always representing the actual seeings or actions.

cheers
JJB

SkyJax Aerial Posted at 1-3 22:16
If he commanded the drone to RTH it should do precisely that regardless of the wind speed. If the wind speed is too strong to make forward progress the drone still won’t land. Your explanation doesn’t make sense at all.Sounds like a system fault.If it lands vs RTH, that’s a malfunction.

Plus wasn’t the guy following the prompt on the screen, So how can you fault him for following the prompt? Wind speeds and conditions change all the time mid flight.

If he commanded the drone to RTH it should do precisely that regardless of the wind speed. If the wind speed is too strong to make forward progress the drone still won’t land. Your explanation doesn’t make sense at all.Sounds like a system fault.If it lands vs RTH, that’s a malfunction.

Improper flight environment.
What a fucking cop out excuse.
What an ignorant response from you.
You haven't seen the flight data, but you think you know what happened?

Having seen so many cases of flyers leaving their Minis up in winds too strong to RTH,it's very easy to believe this case was probably just another one.
But I'd have to see the data to confirm my suspicions.

Labroides is right. Without the data, we are merely making conjecture as to what could have happened.

JJB* Posted at 1-4 04:24
Doesn`t it "pause" only when there the sofware is flying?  (RTH, Quickshots etc)

If a MM is within 20 meters of HP, than there is no option RTH in the app only Landing.

If you initiate yourself you still have some stick control, and believe me I have seen quite a few initiate Rth in that 20m zone .

hallmark007 Posted at 1-4 06:21
If you initiate yourself you still have some stick control, and believe me I have seen quite a few initiate Rth in that 20m zone .

This was about quick press,.so pause something. wich does not do anything while i fly manually.
About RTH < 20 meters, I know, you can even fly up in autolanding!  up and fly to dry feet is possible.

But what happend for a MM within 20 meters, press the RC RTH button?  
Guess in the same logic as selection the soft button in the flyapp : landing.

cheers
JJB

jonny007 Posted at 1-4 05:42
Good point ;-) and for me it would be make no sense, that the RTH button has a function if the drone is not in an automode like quickshot or RTH (autoland included). But anyway, how the OP declared he has pushed the button on the controller and this is the point...in his case it doesn't matter whether he has pressed long or short or twice or whatever, the mini should not have landed, unless it actually flew into a NFZ as InspektorGadjet assumed as possible cause.

The Mavic mini if Rth is pressed on weak gps it will land, so there are explanations why Mavic mini might land in certain situations, as for the OP if he uploads logs we might see what happened.

Thanks for everyone's feedback. I have uploaded the flight logs, which I believe are accessible through the link below. There were no strong wind warnings at takeoff and upon being prompted of such alleged strong wind, I attempted to bring the drone back with RTH.  It is very disappointing that DJI won't stand behind their product in this manner.  I would be curious how many other times these Mavic Mini drones have spontaneously landed due to alleged strong wind situations.  

https://www.phantomhelp.com/LogViewer/BKQ08EYL6WJP73ICST74

Interesting.  

jps0309 Posted at 1-4 07:34
Thanks for everyone's feedback. I have uploaded the flight logs, which I believe are accessible through the link below. There were no strong wind warnings at takeoff and upon being prompted of such alleged strong wind, I attempted to bring the drone back with RTH.  It is very disappointing that DJI won't stand behind their product in this manner.  I would be curious how many other times these Mavic Mini drones have spontaneously landed due to alleged strong wind situations.  

https://www.phantomhelp.com/LogViewer/BKQ08EYL6WJP73ICST74

At 10.23 you initiate Rth altitude 164 ft distance from home 2775 ft at 10.41 you lower craft to 116ft in Rth mode at 10 54  2619ft from home, you change to sport mode from here for no obvious reason I can see craft is continually lowering in sport mode and eventually Rth mode until it lands in the river, you did attempt to raise craft but to no avail.
It looks pretty clear that your craft was not making any ground against wind in both sport and Rth mode, it’s not explained why it continues to lose altitude.

hallmark007 Posted at 1-4 06:51
The Mavic mini if Rth is pressed on weak gps it will land, so there are explanations why Mavic mini might land in certain situations, as for the OP if he uploads logs we might see what happened.

Hiya,

This is second log i see today where not enough power is the cause of loosing a MM.

At the end, last time RTH, only 5 - 8 degrees nose down (100% fwd and 100% up)  normally about 15. So less fwd speed.

Same for Sport mode ; only few degrees nose down!  see records 10m54 to 10m57 for example.

See what DJI thinks about this flight.


About your saying "When I initiated the Return to Home function, the drone failed to respond and spontaneously landed itself, which unfortunatley was in a river"
It did respond to your RTH command, but because of the low pitch down angles it did not fly really forward towards home.
First RTH start - distance out 905 meters, cx by you at 855 meters (in 15 seconds only 50 meters).
Second RTH start - 841 meters, stop at 798 meters, (30 seconds only 43 meters closer to home)
Last RTH start - 804 m, down at 828m in 15 secs.

So it dit not land due to autolanding ect, just by loss of power.


cheers
JJB

JJB* Posted at 1-4 08:15
Hiya,

This is second log i see today where not enough power is the cause of loosing a MM.

Yes I think it would be helpful to know wind speed, also not sure why this craft just continues to lose altitude.

hallmark007 Posted at 1-4 08:25
Yes I think it would be helpful to know wind speed, also not sure why this craft just continues to lose altitude.

Yes, but wind how imo nothing to do the with pitch down.

I mean, to fight against wind in RTH MM will pitch down to designated max angle, if more speed is needed the rpm will increase up to its maximum or pre-defined setting, at that point MM will fly at his top speed (in RTH mode), if head wind is larger than this speed it will fly backwards.In sport mode craft will picth more down, thus more speed as the rotors will spin faster as well.

So why did this MM only pitch down to 5 - 8 degrees in RTH and not more?? And same for Sport mode.  

cheers
JJB

JJB* Posted at 1-4 08:33
Yes, but wind how imo nothing to do the with pitch down.

I mean, to fight against wind in RTH MM will pitch down to designated max angle, if more speed is needed the rpm will increase up to its maximum or pre-defined setting, at that point MM will fly at his top speed (in RTH mode), if head wind is larger than this speed it will fly backwards.In sport mode craft will picth more down, thus more speed as the rotors will spin faster as well.

I’m not to sure what the angle is when craft is going backwards and lowering at the same time, but this might be what your seeing.

It looked like there was ~47% battery power left when it went into the river.  Wouldn't there have been sufficient battery life for the drone to return home?  

jps0309 Posted at 1-4 08:44
It looked like there was ~47% battery power left when it went into the river.  Wouldn't there have been sufficient battery life for the drone to return home?

You had plenty of battery, how strong was the wind ?

According to historical weather data in Red Wing, MN, the ESE wind was approximately 5 miles per hour.  

https://www.timeanddate.com/weather/usa/red-wing/historic

jps0309 Posted at 1-4 08:49
According to historical weather data in Red Wing, MN, the ESE wind was approximately 5 miles per hour.  

https://www.timeanddate.com/weather/usa/red-wing/historic

So even if this was stronger at 100ft it’s not likely to be stronger than the power of 13 m/s the Mavic mini has in sport mode, yet you craft was moving backwards and downwards, I think as jjb has said power may have been an issue here and this could be up to dji to sort out .

GE ...

Thanks.  I would have thought the Mini would have been able to return to home, as well.  I had followed up with DJI directly via email to escalate this case after DJI had initially offered the 15% discount for a new one. Unfortunately, DJI has failed to respond at this point; it has been over 3 business days and prior to this request, DJI had responded promptly.  Disappointing response from DJI on this one.  

jps0309 Posted at 1-4 08:56
Thanks.  I would have thought the Mini would have been able to return to home, as well.  I had followed up with DJI directly via email to escalate this case after DJI had initially offered the 15% discount for a new one. Unfortunately, DJI has failed to respond at this point; it has been over 3 business days and prior to this request, DJI had responded promptly.  Disappointing response from DJI on this one.

Contact a moderator here and dji Mindy above is your best bet , ask can she get your case reopened, give what information you have derived from others here and ask if they can explain in detail why and how .
Good luck .

hallmark007 Posted at 1-4 08:40
I’m not to sure what the angle is when craft is going backwards and lowering at the same time, but this might be what your seeing.

[view_image]

When i fly in Sport mode i get approx 25 degrees down with speed of 13m/s.

Problem is what DHJ means with Downward vision system enabled, because yopu cannot switch it off.
I think this 20 degree angle / 8ms is flying low within range of the downward sensor?

cheers
JJB

Ok @JJB so I have performed some tests and I can confirm, full throttle going forward right stick up, press quick RTH while maintaining right stick full throttle up, mavic mini pauses and it hoovers, I repeat with right stick engaged full up. So not only works in quick shots and RTH, also flying manually.

I can post logs if needed but all I wanted to say with this is that some users reported commanding RTH and mini didnt came, but drifted in the wind or flew away, but the thing is you must press and hold, and listen to the screen indications/beeping that indeed is trying to RTH, only quick press makes mini pause and hoover, and in a windy scenario the drone will drift, loose signal, loose power, land or crash.

This is from the MM Specs on DJI site

InspektorGadjet Posted at 1-4 10:04
Ok @JJB so I have performed some tests and I can confirm, full throttle going forward right stick up, press quick RTH while maintaining right stick full throttle up, mavic mini pauses and it hoovers, I repeat with right stick engaged full up. So not only works in quick shots and RTH, also flying manually.

I can post logs if needed but all I wanted to say with this is that some users reported commanding RTH and mini didnt came, but drifted in the wind or flew away, but the thing is you must press and hold, and listen to the screen indications/beeping that indeed is trying to RTH, only quick press makes mini pause and hoover, and in a windy scenario the drone will drift, loose signal, loose power, land or crash.

thanks for the tests, and ofcourse after press RTH you will see in the app that the mode is changed.
check, check anddouble-check  ;-)