With so much buzz around drones in recent years, many individuals have began dabbling in this fantastic pastime.
Flying a drone is a lot of fun. You’re staring at your viewing gadget, capturing movies and photographs of the lovely countryside as you watch it soar about.
Then you hear a beep…beep…beep, glance down at your screen, and see the words “connection lost.”
Oh my gosh, you now have sweaty hands, your heart is pounding, and you can’t think straight, and suddenly the connection is restored.
When flying a drone, several sorts of connections might be lost, and this page discusses them all.
Sending a drone into the air and seeing it go into the horizon is all part of the joy of flying! However, every now and again, just as it is out of sight, you will receive a disconnected alert from your controller. Surprisingly, this is typical with DJI and other commercial drones. Here, we’ll look at the most frequent reasons for your disconnection and how you may avoid it in the future. Why is my drone always disconnecting? Seven typical explanations…
Why does my drone keep losing signal- (How to Fix it)
What caused the drone's connection to be lost?
Your drone’s connection may be lost as a result of a signal disruption. Something has created a communication breakdown between the controller and the drone.
The following are the most typical causes of connection loss:
Damaged Cables or connectors
Drone, batteries, and controller have not been upgraded.
The drone app has not been updated.
The typical USB cord (the one provided can cause problems)
WIFI Interference Is Excessive
Your Flying Situation
The absence of a GPS signal
Cables or connections damaged
The drone control typically needs that the gadget is connected to a smart phone or tablet. This smartphone or tablet is used live as an interface to control some of the essential characteristics of the drone.
The connection transmits important information, like signal strength, to the software operating on your phone. If the cable is broken in any way or does not firmly connect to any of the phone’s controller – the programme may err for a weak signal to make a loose connection.
Test new cords to link your phone or smartphone to the drone controller.
If you still get the same problem messages after fresh cables have been used for connection. The link to the controller or smartphone may be loose or defective. If you put the connector in, does it feel safe?
If it’s not answered, you have to either use another phone or buy a new controller for your drone.
The Drone App Hasn't Been Updated
Well, believe it or not, this is a common and simple error to correct. If you don’t repair it before flying your drone, you could lose your connection or have a poor one.
When you are busy updating everything, preparing and gathering all of your stuff for your next trip, there is one tiny but important thing you fail to do – you forget to check your phone and drone app.
You should be notified when your app needs to be updated before you can update your drone (I say sometimes since technology has a life of its own). I’ve had firsthand experience with this not occuring and had to cancel my day out.
Make a note of it on your to-do list before you go.
Wi-Fi Interference Is Excessive
Various drones employ different transmission technologies, as explained in this post. The Mavic Air, for example, has improved WIFI, while the Mavic Pro employs OcuSync and the Phantom series use Lightbridge.
DJI created OcuSync and Lightbridge, which are specialised transmission technologies. One of the advantages of these two is that there is no WIFI interruption, which means you are less likely to lose your connection.
If you are flying a drone that uses WIFI transmission, you may lose connectivity while flying at times, depending on your surroundings. For example, if you are flying in a densely populated region, there will be more WIFI signals flying around than if you are flying in a huge open field with nothing around for miles.
Check that the antennae on the remote controller are in the optimal position, as specified in the operator’s manual. You may need to purchase antenna range extenders to do this. They can boost the signal, preventing additional connection loss.
The Usual USB Cable
For one reason or another, there have been several instances of the basic USB cable included with your drone failing to function properly. Typically, this results in a loss of connection between the drone and the controller.
One solution is to try a different USB cable and see if it works (though you shouldn’t have to). USB cables can be brittle, and it’s difficult to determine if they’re working or not without testing them on various devices.
When purchasing a USB cable, there are two options: charge only and data cable plus charge. I would always recommend purchasing a data plus charging cord.
It’s also a good idea to double-check the USB ports that accept the cable. They might get clogged with dirt or dust and fail to form a good connection.
Are you close to electromagnetic radiation sources?
When you fly my drone the most common problem encountered is that you disconnect the drone when you fly in urban environments. That is mainly due to the noise of electromagnetic radiation, WLAN and telephone signals in the urban area.
Also in the urban landscape there is power at high voltages with overlapping lines. Data containing wires and all types of subterranean cables. For a drone, this may lead to a loud environment.
Electromagnetic radiation interacts, making certain signals bigger and others nearly entirely vanish. Your drone has to identify and differentiate between the signal from your remote and a number of other signals.
A notice of aircraft signals and interference can also be given.
The communication between the remote control and the drone can also be interfered with!
Are you close to electromagnetic radiation sources?
Your Drone Flying Situation
Your flying environment might have a major influence on the connectivity of your drones. If you’re having trouble calibrating your drone, it’s an indication that you’re in a bad spot.
For example, I attempted to fly my Mavic Air from my Uncle’s Bike, I never considered it. The interference was so strong that my drone took off on its own. I was frequently disconnected. It was difficult to operate. I had to get off the boat and walk approximately 50 metres before I could securely land.
Flying near other things, such as electrical pylons, or flying with obstructions in between you and the drone might also result in signal loss, particularly if you are using a drone with WIFI transmission.
Even flying in distant locations may be difficult. The ground may include iron or other metals that might interfere with drone flight.
Inadequate GPS Signal
When a drone does not get a GPS signal (on drones that utilise it), it does not know where it is. Here, one of two things may happen:
ATTI (Attitude Mode) will be activated on your drone, putting it in some type of manual manual mode. In general, all of the safety elements, such as obstacle avoidance and the braking system. In addition, if your drone is allowed to hover, it may begin to wander away.
Your drone will lose track of where it is and may attempt to land. This is fine if it is safe to do so, but doing so over water is not.
DJI drones require six or more satellites to maintain a stable GPS connection. This is seen on-screen within the app.
Signal faint or congested
Note that the 5,8GHz channels have 20 times less power than the USA and hardly any Android telephone can utilise them in Europe. You may need to locate the suitable settings for your model and make drones; nevertheless, you could want to look at proper device particular guidance forms if you notice this difficulty at all times.
Is your flight too far away?
One possible cause of a disconnected drone is because you are attempting to fly at distances that cause signal disconnections.
There has been some amazing YouTube footage showing commercial drones flying long distances. If you want to know how far your drone will go, search for the keyword “range test” along with your drone model, and there should be lots of videos detailing and demonstrating you how far you can truly fly before it disconnects – you’ll be amazed how far you can fly.
Before taking your own test, you should always begin by flying closer to yourself and gradually increasing your confidence. You’ll gain trust in your flying abilities as well as in the drone as it demonstrates that it has everything under control!
Final Thought
Losing a connection may be frightening while your drone flies. The greatest approach to calm down is to think about the best path back to you. Having grounded the drone again, take a minute to figure out what the loss of signal may have caused, and don’t fly it again until you know the problems and solve it.
As always, I would highly urge you to contact the manufacturer if you did all this and still have bad connections.
Have fun and fly safe.
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Hi , I'm Manny
Hi, my name is Manny. I’ve owned quite a few drones over the past few years and love them. I’ve also been a habbyist photographer for over ten years, and I have plenty of experience I want to share with you. When I get the chance, you will find me outdoors somewhere acting like a big kid. I love being outdoors doing things like camping, kayaking, walking, swimming and best of all, capturing it.
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