I have a Mavic Pro Platium with the extras sitting in the cupboard, can't sell it, as nobody wants it. The problem is that in Europe when you go into the mountains , the phone reception is very poor, so you cannot use the drone. I have bought the M2Z with the smart controller, and the drone works perfectly.Without the need of a mobile network, makea a very big difference. I have tried to get help from DJI in regard to this problem , BUT NO HELP. I would purchase the Mini 2........ BUT as it is not compatible with the Smart Controller..... WHAT A ***** SHAME no use buying the drone. Some thing that is quiet obvious is that DJI DOESNT LISTEN TO THEIR CUSTOMERS.

Lets hope that some thing can be done in regarg to this problem, BUT IAM NOT HOLDING MY BREATH, FOR THIS TO HAPPEN......

Like a lot of us, waiting for compatibility with the Mini2. The SC was both by people owning a M2Z, M2P or MA2.  We have the hardware and now we've bought a Mini2 with Ocusync 2, but not compatible at the moment with the SC.

Why can't you use your drone when "phone reception is poor"?    You do not need a mobile network to fly (as is very evident by you using the Smart Controller)

JEZ2 Posted at 1-13 09:36
Why can't you use your drone when "phone reception is poor"?    You do not need a mobile network to fly (as is very evident by you using the Smart Controller)

You do need to have a mobile network with the older system. it is only when the firmware was changed for the smart controller was introduced was it possible  the newer drones in such areas. I did a lot of experiments with the 2 systems, and spoke to suppliers here in europe , believe me here is a difference. This is why until the M@ is not compatible will not waste my money and buy the product. Only when you experience what I have encountered will you understand the problem I was also informed that DJI does not go back to modify the firmware on older Drones. The Moderators will not tell you this, as they are not permitted to be critical their product.

Chewbaker Posted at 1-13 09:52
You do need to have a mobile network with the older system. it is only when the firmware was changed for the smart controller was introduced was it possible  the newer drones in such areas. I did a lot of experiments with the 2 systems, and spoke to suppliers here in europe , believe me here is a difference. This is why until the M@ is not compatible will not waste my money and buy the product. Only when you experience what I have encountered will you understand the problem I was also informed that DJI does not go back to modify the firmware on older Drones. The Moderators will not tell you this, as they are not permitted to be critical their product.

I've got hundreds of flights staring from a Phantom 3 and up to the Mavic Air 2,  and probably less than 15 were with a device that has a cellular connection.  It is not and was not needed.  

Obviously, plenty of people want the Smart Controller to work with a Mini 2, so no harm that.  It just shouldn't be tied to having network service.

I hope for you and others that want the compatibility it happens soon!

Happy flying.

Sorry to say , but the reseller that I am dealing with, has a lot more experience with drones. He builds also drones for commercial use and sell them. We did experiments with the drones to try all different avenues , re the problem He also encountered the same problem that I had re the signal strength of the phone and the drones use. Just to let you know that we did a serious investigation into the problem , that I encountered, and you may have done a lot of flying, has it been in mountainous regions etc as we did our testing. We did make a serious investigation into the problem

It is indeed strange, you experienced that. I flew my mavic pro (first edition) with my phone on airplane mode. Neither had I any problems flying in other countries while I didn't had a connection because I didn't had a data roaming plan on my smartphone.

The pro platinium came later than the drone I had. Always been on the latests firmware and app (android version).

While you phone was on airplane mode, your phone was still connected to a network. Data roaming is blocked so that you do not have a constant streaming of information You can have data roaming turned off, go somewhere you have free internet and you will be able to download you information. This is why you were able to use the drone. When you have a low signal strength on your phone , you will not able to send video, or in a lot of cases even sms  messages. We did a lot of testing and discovered this problem. As soon as we came into an area that had strong signal strength, it all worked fine. This is why the smart controller is so much better , as it does not use a mobile network at all. I have been involved with electronics for many years, so I do experiment with these apparatus. When the mobile phone network was set up originally, it used the analogue system, then the government's needed the analogue system for the ministry, so we went to Digital. The analogue system works on a ground plain, and so the signal is stronger. THE DIGITAL SYSTEM WORKS ON THE LINE OF SIGHT, which makes this also a problem for radio stations, and television station broadcasts. If you don't believe me in regard to this , do some research. I should know as I also worked in the broadcast industry.

Chewbaker Posted at 1-13 23:32
While you phone was on airplane mode, your phone was still connected to a network. Data roaming is blocked so that you do not have a constant streaming of information You can have data roaming turned off, go somewhere you have free internet and you will be able to download you information. This is why you were able to use the drone. When you have a low signal strength on your phone , you will not able to send video, or in a lot of cases even sms  messages. We did a lot of testing and discovered this problem. As soon as we came into an area that had strong signal strength, it all worked fine. This is why the smart controller is so much better , as it does not use a mobile network at all. I have been involved with electronics for many years, so I do experiment with these apparatus. When the mobile phone network was set up originally, it used the analogue system, then the government's needed the analogue system for the ministry, so we went to Digital. The analogue system works on a ground plain, and so the signal is stronger. THE DIGITAL SYSTEM WORKS ON THE LINE OF SIGHT, which makes this also a problem for radio stations, and television station broadcasts. If you don't believe me in regard to this , do some research. I should know as I also worked in the broadcast industry.

As I put my phone into airplane mode, all my radio's are cut off. Even bluetooth and WiFi (if I don't turn it on manually). I don't use free WiFi, because I know the dangers as a system administrator. Network tools don't give any connection, nor an IP-address on my phone. A ping from my phone doesn't give any result in "airplane mode".  And I flew my drone on remote locations where there wasn't any connection or WiFi.

Chewbaker Posted at 1-13 09:52
You do need to have a mobile network with the older system. it is only when the firmware was changed for the smart controller was introduced was it possible  the newer drones in such areas. I did a lot of experiments with the 2 systems, and spoke to suppliers here in europe , believe me here is a difference. This is why until the M@ is not compatible will not waste my money and buy the product. Only when you experience what I have encountered will you understand the problem I was also informed that DJI does not go back to modify the firmware on older Drones. The Moderators will not tell you this, as they are not permitted to be critical their product.

I think you misunderstand the role of a Forum Moderator.  Their's isn't necessarily a "help-desk" function.  That's why you have options of Online Chat, and the various Support pages.  (scroll to the bottom and click on Support).
If you bought the Mini 2 with the "expectation" that it would be compatible with any other controller the issue is with YOU, not DJI !  Based on your past purchases and forum participation, you should realize that every quad has had different controllers, batteries, props, chargers, etc.  
And, FWIW, the controller that comes with the Mini 2 is quite capable !  It should work just fine in the mountains of Europe.

Something in your story doesn't make sense...You don't NEED any internet/cell/WiFi connection to fly the drone. The remote controller communicates directly to the drone. The maps will not be refreshed at the site without access but that will not stop the ability to fly.....
Possibly, a required update might be stopping it from flying but that can be done before getting to the remote area!

jmb63 Posted at 1-16 03:49
Something in your story doesn't make sense...You don't NEED any internet/cell/WiFi connection to fly the drone. The remote controller communicates directly to the drone. The maps will not be refreshed at the site without access but that will not stop the ability to fly.....
Possibly, a required update might be stopping it from flying but that can be done before getting to the remote area!

No idea what is different in Europe, but I fly my Mavic Platinum with a Galaxy S7 without a sim card and not connected to a hot spot.

As many have already said, people all over the world use every one of DJI’s drones without any sort of internet connection all of the time.  

I don’t know what your reseller is telling you, but what you are saying is incorrect. People use phones with no SIM cards.  People use tablets that have no cellular connection at all. I’ve personally been in the mountains where there is no possible way of getting a signal on any device.  DJI, nor any drone I’m aware, of requires an internet connection to function correctly.  

Monkey007 Posted at 1-16 12:41
No idea what is different in Europe, but I fly my Mavic Platinum with a Galaxy S7 without a sim card and not connected to a hot spot.

nothing is different in Europe. I flew in different countries, like the Netherlands, Germany, France, Iceland, Norway, ... without any connection to a gsm or WiFi network. In remote areas. No problem at all.