Flew my Phantom 4 the other day at the beach and lost RC signal at 4200 feet away, 297ft high. No trees around and open sky. Is the a common occurrence with Phantom 4s?

DJI Answer - Make sure you have the antenna correctly positioned.  Make sure you have wifi off on the device you are using as ur eyes.  Make sure you are on the latest firmware etc.

Real Answer - Its not supposed to happen, but it seems to be happening to a lot of people.  Some seem to have very poor signal.  

I have good days and bad days with mine in the same locations.  Some days I can get about 2 or 3km away, other days its a few hundred feet before it loses signal. Always set my Home location, calibrate before take off etc - if it loses connection, it comes back home.

I've had the controller signal lost while the bird was right over my head P4 needs updates and fast.

projeffrey11 Posted at 2016-4-12 09:00
I've had the controller signal lost while the bird was right over my head P4 needs updates and fast.

If you are flying directly above you, you must position the antenna flat so as it sends the signal upwards.  Its not ideal to fly directly above your head.

Ryanuk Posted at 2016-4-12 03:39
If you are flying directly above you, you must position the antenna flat so as it sends the signal ...

Yes I am aware of this, and even by doing so the signal is sometimes unstable.

This is getting ridiculous, I have yet to get my Phantom 4 any further than about 1200 feet I even lost signal when it was only 160 feet above me with antennae flat out. There is woods behind my house with 100 foot trees that go for about 1000 feet then there is a huge empty space where they are building a bunch of houses, only 4 houses up right now...even if I still go when they aren't working. I've set the HD feed to 4gb and use manual channels with best signal and still no difference I notice a lot of people having problems, but 1200 feet....really???? Should I exchange mine for another or just give up?

projeffrey11 Posted at 2016-4-13 14:33
Yes I am aware of this, and even by doing so the signal is sometimes unstable.

Right above your head is the worst place for signal, because it does not matter how you adjust the antennas on the RC unit, the ones in the aircraft are pointing the ends straight down. This is not a fault, it is not something that will be corrected by a firmware upgrade, it is plain normal.

Not sure why but I had the same problem that was resolved by resetting all camera settings

davemajchrzak Posted at 2016-10-29 15:04
This is getting ridiculous, I have yet to get my Phantom 4 any further than about 1200 feet I even lost signal when it was only 160 feet above me with antennae flat out. There is woods behind my house with 100 foot trees that go for about 1000 feet then there is a huge empty space where they are building a bunch of houses, only 4 houses up right now...even if I still go when they aren't working. I've set the HD feed to 4gb and use manual channels with best signal and still no difference I notice a lot of people having problems, but 1200 feet....really???? Should I exchange mine for another or just give up?

The first thing you should do is realize you are flying illegally. In the USA beyond line of sight is illegal. There is no way you are able to see that craft at 1200 feet or even 800 feet distance.
Should you give up? Yes. Please do. Until you are mature enough to understand and follow the rules

Crack The Sky Posted at 2016-12-7 13:05
The first thing you should do is realize you are flying illegally. In the USA beyond line of sight is illegal. There is no way you are able to see that craft at 1200 feet or even 800 feet distance.
Should you give up? Yes. Please do. Until you are mature enough to understand and follow the rules

The rules in the UK are very similar to those in US, with the CAA (Civil Aviation Authority) suggesting a radial limit of 500m (that's about 1,640 feet) as being maximum visual line of sight. I know for a fact that I can see my aircraft at 500m, although it is easy to lose sight if concentration is lost. I usually take a ground reference to help me quickly spot it again.

My point being that the P4 can be seen relatively easily at 1200 feet unless looking directly into the Sun.

There are many posts reminding people of the various rules and regulations. And if they've been in this hobby for a few months or more, then most are aware of restrictions that may affect them.

I had the same with my p4p on the second flight, clear line of site, 500 meters away, no warning, total loss of signal and auto returned to home, very worrying on a brand new drone, never had ths before in 130 flights with my old P4 I think the bug is in all latest updates

I have the slip-on gold foil parabola antennas for long flights on my P4.  This picture is from my P4 at 8800 feet distance with full communication bars displayed.   Parabolic Slip On Antenna

Crack The Sky Posted at 2016-12-7 08:05
The first thing you should do is realize you are flying illegally. In the USA beyond line of sight is illegal. There is no way you are able to see that craft at 1200 feet or even 800 feet distance.
Should you give up? Yes. Please do. Until you are mature enough to understand and follow the rules

I guess a lot of people here are immature according to you. I have seen a lot and I do mean ALOT of posts about people (In the US too) that have flown their bird out of sight too. This isn't a discussion board to post about what you think is mature and right, its about the drones. If all you have to say is a smart ass comment then take it elsewhere.

fansb1fe1104 Posted at 2016-12-7 16:49
I guess a lot of people here are immature according to you. I have seen a lot and I do mean ALOT of posts about people (In the US too) that have flown their bird out of sight too. This isn't a discussion board to post about what you think is mature and right, its about the drones. If all you have to say is a smart ass comment then take it elsewhere.

Its not what I think is right. Its the law.   

Crack The Sky Posted at 2016-12-8 07:36
Its not what I think is right. Its the law.

How nice of you to edit your response that I am an ignorant moron. Guess you don't know how to follow the rules.





UB

It was an issue with mine as well.  The phantom 3 pro went twice as far with full bars.  I ended up getting a maxx range antenna and boosters.  It makes a huge difference but its not a cheap upgrade.  Some swear by the parabolic slip on antennas which for me didn't really make a big difference.  

Hi.. Dji support.. I have a problem in my drone please fix my problem my Drone model is phantom 4 advanced Plus my Drone is ready to take off after takeoff it fly up to 10 feet after that the signal is lost there is a RC signal problem I can't able to fly my drone about 10 feet the signal is automatically cut at the 10 feet I upgrade all my latest firmware and RC update and aircraft update after all my update the thing is fixed my problem please help me to solve my problem thanks