Looking for advice about how to link a new-to-me eBay DJI Air3 with its RC-N2 Controller, I stumbled on a thread in the DJI Air3 discussion forum that is alarming and depressing in equal measure. A recent DJI "firmware upgrade " just out reportedly includes a nasty little surprise for all Air 3 owners who live in the EU and dutifully clicked on the firmware upgrade reminder that was sent out not long ago.
Now multiple DJI Air 3 owners who clicked on that recent firmware upgrade have noticed that the “Continue( waypoint mission)” option has been surreptitiously disabled without any formal announcement to that effect. Quite a few drone pilots have stumbled into that tar pit, thanks to a “firmware upgrade” they all clicked on like so many trout on tasty fishing lures.
In the above linked DJI forum discussion on this subject, a respondent on the current last page asked whether the “(Waypoint Mission)Continue” after RC signal loss option is being disabled for the Air 3 and Mavic 3 family of DJI Fly drones sold in the EU alone, or whether this underhanded crippling of that critical mission continue option of waypoint planning, is being disabled for all DJI drones, both old and new, regardless of where they are being flown on this planet, using the vehicle of “highly recommended” firmware upgrades.
Suffice it to say, all firmware upgrades that are suggested now or in the future will be regarded with extreme suspicion and trepidation by me, as I once again see the virtue of remaining loyal to DJI’s older drones that hark back to a simpler time when the phrase" DJI firmware upgrade" could be uttered in polite company without unduly raising eyebrows.
It remains to be seen whether DJI’s sneaky removal of beyond-RC range waypoint capability for its EU-bound DJI Fly drones will have any contagious impact on third-party apps like Litchi that prefer not to partially disable their gold standard waypoint planning facility in the way DJI has done to its own far less capable native waypoint planning platform.
More rants at a later time. I must now sit in the corner, sulk, and gather my bleak thoughts.
I finally got my newly purchased Air 3 to link with its controller after much frantic meandering buffoonery on my part, though I will assign some of the blame for my confusion on the controller linking instructions from DJI which omitted two crucial steps and also included a couple of misleading untruths.
With the Air 3 ready to create and save its first waypoint mission that will be used as a template for Litchi waypoint missions transposed into DJI Fly format, I hurriedly checked to see if my accepting the latest firmware upgrades for the Air 3 had resulted in the disabling of the “Continue Waypoint Mission” in the event of signal loss menu option, as is being widely reported by EU owners of DJI drones.
To my profound relief and delight my Air 3 does still retain that key menu option to continue the waypoint mission in the event of RC signal loss. All the same, reading about DJI’s sneaky discontinuation of beyond RC signal range waypoint flights for EU drone pilots did ruffle my feathers briefly there.
I don’t plan to accept any suggested DJI firmware “upgrade” from now until the cows come home unless of course the upgrade is forcibly imposed by grounding the drone if I don’t accept the Trojan Horse “upgrade”. In layman’s terms, if it ain’t broke, then I ain’t gonna “fix” it.
Well I’m glad to hear it’s not a problem and the option still lives in the territory you’re in.
However, there is nothing sneaky about this change. Yes, dji could have made more mention of it I suppose. But in actual fact, this is a regulatory issue, not something dji has control over.
In the EU/EASA member states, the Air 3 enjoys a C1 class marking. This is a great thing, because it allows users to legally fly the drone close to buildings, recreational areas, and people. There is no separation requirement per se. Good times!
Also, all new drones have to have a C class certification now in order to be brought to market, so it’s not like dji can continue to release drones here without them.
However, the C1 class also comes with a set of hard requirements to be met by the manufacturer, including things like top speed, maximum energy released in a collision, maximum distance to the operator when in active track mode, etc etc. One particular requirement is that the drone not be allowed to be flown autonomously.
Note: automated flight is ok, autonomous is not.
This means the pilot must be able to take control of the aircraft at all times during flight, which in turn means an option to continue an automated mission on signal loss cannot be permitted.
So, it’s a compliance thing that dji have to obide by if they want to sell their drones here in EASA land.
I hope I managed to explain it in a manner which can be comprehended, English is not my first language.
NB: One scenario in which autonomous flight is permitted is a RTH situation initiated by loss of signal. But that’s purely a safety feature, so therefore permitted.
I appreciate this explanation, sir. I can now see that the loss of BVLOS auto-flight capability for the Air 3 was a necessary tradeoff implemented in exchange for regulatory leniency in a few other EU drone restrictions.
Perusing the DJI forum I was alarmed to read a report from Canada by a vintage Mavic 2 Pro owner, lamenting the removal of the waypoint mission “Continue” option upon RC signal loss that he observed after dutifully downloading the latest DJI firmware “upgrade”, which I successfully fended off by holding up a crucifix while the epic battle of wills lasted.
I am not aware of a DJI-branded waypoint planner that is compatible with older DJI Go4 drones, so I am assuming that DJI’s most recent firmware upgrade eliminated the ability of older Mavic 1 Pro and Mavic 2 Pro models to continue waypoint missions without any RC controller signal connection in Litchi’s waypoint planner, for drones not only in the EU but GLOBALLY, meaning in ALL countries beyond the EU.
So fellow Litchi users, as Clint Eastwood might ask before you accept to download the most recent booby-trapped DJI firmware “upgrade” that MAY hobble forever your Mavic 2 Pro or Mavic 1 Pro, “Are you feeling lucky today?”