Tried to launch my Air 2S yesterday after upgrading both the Remote Controller and the Air 2S to the latest releases that incorporate USA Remote ID and got a Litchi -1008 can not take off error. The corresponding DJI error msg was 108.
Guessing that the new FAA Remote ID requires more info from the remote app and something that Litchi has not been able to incorporate.
On the DJI side, the version numbers of software are:
A/C: 02.04.2320
R/C: 04.12.0060
Fly App: 1.8.0
On the Litchi side, the version numbers of software are:
App: 2.14.2
Firmware: 02.04.2320
FlightController: 03.04.12.100
RemoteController: 04.12.0060
This incompatibility is between DJI’s latest firmware and DJI’s SDK (v4). I have heard that DJI has a beta release of their SDK that addresses this. I’m not sure but Litchi may wait until the fix is out of beta. That’s just a guess.
LOL. You could say the same for all the Titanic passengers who thought they could downgrade to ‘lifeboat’ and stay afloat. Seriously, the problem is with DJI. I never worried about upgrading because I could use DJI Assistant to either refresh my firmware or downgrade and ‘stay afloat’. You said what I said to the Customer Service rep. “Why would I ever want to upgrade my firmware if I can’t downgrade it if I have a problem? Is that what you want your users to do?” More seriously for Litchi is that this release has the USA Remote ID capability. In under a year, you won’t be able to fly your DJI drones without either having this release or purchasing a Remote ID module and stick it on your drone.
That’s great to hear! I’m guessing that DJI didn’t give anyone much of a heads up that they had gotten their UAS Certificate of Compliance and had tweaked the drone/controller firmware interface. I’m getting new messages on the DJI Fly app when starting up, indicating that Remote ID is working. I agree with you. I assume the problem Litchi is having is not being able to send the ‘right’ Remote ID message required for the drone to takeoff.
The FAA comes immediately to mind as the enforcement agency. The FAA won’t ‘stop’ you from flying your drone BUT you don’t want them on your case. As a Private pilot, I have found that they can be my best friend in an inflight emergency or my worst enemy. The State Police won’t preemptively stop you for driving without a license BUT if you get caught driving without one, you know how well that will go.
If you aren’t aware of Remote ID, here is a great link: What Is Remote ID?
If dji decides to match the remote id, then most likely air2s will not be supported by litchi in the future. This is a drone and currently does not support all litchi features.
Yes, it applies only in the USA, although other nations are also looking into doing the same. Any drone manufactured after a certain date this year MUST support Remote ID or it can’t be sold in the USA. DJI was the first drone manufacturer to certify some of their drones on Sept 9, 2022 (Air 2S, Mini 3 Pro, Avita, Mavic 3, Mavic 3 Cine, M30 and M30T) under the FAA UAS Declaration of Compliance for Remote ID. I think Litchi ONLY supports DJI drones. If Litchi doesn’t update their software to support current DJI drones, they lose their ENTIRE USA market around this time next year. You won’t be able to legally fly a drone in the United States, except in a few exclusion zones, unless that drone transmits a Remote ID signal.
The latest Air2s update does include RID, and the pilot is fully made aware, prior to installing, that once upgraded, cannot be downgraded. I’ve heard from persons that attended Airworks, that DJI stated that there are no plans to issue an SDK for the Mavic 3 and that they are concentrating on the Enterprise series. Playing devil’s advocate, being DJI’s approach to the Mavic 3, why should we expect another SDK fixing this issue, since the Air2S is now RID capable?
