Last night, I took my Mini 3 out to check on some smoke in the area. I unfolded it, did a quick compass calibration, and launched before the GPS was fully locked. The icon showed 11 satellites, so I thought it would be fine.
Usually, I let the drone hover for 10 seconds, but this time I took off after 5. Right away, it started going crazy, flying at 20 m/s in random directions. I tried switching between Normal and Sport modes, but nothing worked. In a panic, I pushed the throttle up to avoid obstacles.
After 31 seconds (based on the flight log), I got a “Home point set” message, but it showed the home point 200 meters away from where I launched. At that moment, the drone stabilized. I brought it back, landed, powered it off, and recalibrated everything. It flew fine after that.
This has never happened to me before. I’ve flown a Phantom 3, Phantom 4, and Mini 1, and never had an issue, even indoors (though I know that’s not recommended).
Has anyone else had this happen? Should I report it to DJI? What should I do if it happens again?
TL;DR: Took off without a full GPS lock, and the drone went haywire for 30 seconds. Almost lost it.
TL;DR: I’ve had similar issues with a couple of drones when taking off without full GPS lock.
I lost my Spark this way. It would sometimes take off at full speed in one direction or lock up entirely. The last time I flew it, it drifted into a waterfall, and I couldn’t regain control. I later learned these are called ‘flyaways’ and can happen if you take off without GPS.
Now, I never take off without a full GPS connection, even with my Mini 4. I learned the hard way.
Sounds like there might’ve been strong electromagnetic interference. If it was a fire, emergency services might’ve had strong radio signals, or people were using phones heavily. Without a good GPS lock, drones rely on onboard sensors to stay in place, and interference can cause issues between the drone and controller.
@Shay
For the first 30 seconds, the drone didn’t move on the map but was flying erratically in real life. Once it got the ‘home point lock,’ it stabilized. Maybe it was a mix of bad weather, compass issues, and GPS signal?
This sounds like a weak GPS signal. When the drone doesn’t have GPS, it relies on onboard sensors, but a weak or inaccurate GPS can make it ‘chase’ a moving position due to errors. Once the GPS lock improves, it stabilizes.
Always let the GPS fully lock before taking off. It’s not worth the risk.
Kai said: @Kingsley
It’s strange because I’ve flown without GPS before, and it stayed stable in Attitude mode. Maybe the Mini 3 doesn’t handle it as well?
Older drones had manual Atti mode, but that’s not available now. GPS errors like this can be tricky because the drone thinks it’s in a different spot and tries to correct itself.
This happens with weak GPS. The drone doesn’t know exactly where it is, so it starts ‘chasing’ a moving position. Once it gets a good lock, it stabilizes. It’s an old issue, and drones used to have Atti mode to avoid this, but newer models don’t.
I lost my first Air 3 this way. I took off without waiting for GPS, and it set the home point in the wrong spot. It ended up crashing in a tunnel when it went into ATTI mode and lost all control. Now, I never fly without GPS.