DJI Mavic Pro not stable and keeps drifting is a huge issue and many users deal with this issue. When I was on DJI forums and other drone communities, I have seen that many DJI Mavic Pro users are asking for solutions to this issue. Also, this issue is annoying and disturbing for drone photography and shots.
Therefore, this issue needs to be fixed as soon as possible for the safety of the Mavic Pro and to have stable Mavic Pro drone shots. Following this article, you would be able to figure out why your DJI Mavic Pro not stable and how to fix the issue. Hope this article to DJI Mavic Pro users who are struggling with DJI Mavic Pro stability issues.
Why is DJI Mavic Pro not stable and keeps drifting?
Let’s have a brief look at the causes of DJI Mavic Pro drifting and stability issues.
1. Miscalibrated IMU & compass.
IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit) and compass are the main components of a DJI drone that are responsible for the stability of the drone. So whenever you have an issue with the stability of your DJI drone, you should check about its conditions and whether calibrated it is well.
2. Lack of GPS signals.
If you take off the Mavic Pro on GPS mode and in a rush and don’t care about the number of satellites connect to the Mavic, you might face stability issues with the drone. In order to have a stable flight, you need to wait for at least 8 satellites to connect to the drone.
3. Miscalibrated remote controller.
If your remote controller sticks and is not calibrated well, that also could to this issue.
4. Propeller issues.
Propellers and motors are the wizards that generate the force to fly the drone. So whenever a propeller’s shape is slightly changed, it could cause a difference in the upward force generated from that propeller side. That’s how much attention you should pay when storing and using propellers. Even though DJI’s propellers are designed and manufactured well, drone crashes could cause a slight difference in the propeller’s shape.
5. Hardware issues.
If your Mavic Pro has a hardware issue such as a faulty IMU or compass, motor issues, and motherboard issues, those also could affect the stability of the drone. In these kinds of situations, you need professional support to fix the issue. Also, it’s so advisable to contact DJI to repair or replace those components or drone.
How to fix DJI Mavic not stable and keeps drifting.
Follow the below step-by-step process to fix DJI Mavic Pro stability issues.
Step 1: Refresh or Update firmware before calibrating IMU and compass.
Before calibrating Mavic Pro’s IMU and compass, it’s important to ensure that the installed firmware is updated and working well. So let’s update or refresh the firmware to the latest version.
- Download and install the DJI Assistant 2 application to the PC.
- Open DJI Assistant 2 application.
- Then connect the Mavic Pro aircraft to the PC using the USB cable.
- Power on the Mavic Pro.
- DJI Assistant 2 would detect the DJI Mavic Pro. Choose the DJI Mavic Pro.
- Then log in to your DJI account connected to Mavic Pro.
- Then you’ll enter the firmware update panel of the drone. You can find all the previous and latest firmware for the Mavic Pro.
- Click on the “Upgrade” or “Refresh” button in front of the latest firmware.
- Click “Start Update”.
- Wait until the firmware is completely downloaded and installed.
- Follow the same steps connecting the remote controller and update/refresh its firmware.
Step 2: (Big Step) Calibrate DJI Mavic Pro IMU and compass.
This step is the most effective step to fix the DJI Mavic Pro’s stability issue. So follow the below steps and calibrate Mavic Pro’s IMU and compass properly.
Before Calibrating DJI IMU & Compass.
- Don’t bring metal, electronics, or other ferromagnetic devices near the drone.
- Remove Propellers Before calibrating IMU.
- Charge the aircraft’s battery at least 50%.
Calibrate DJI Mavic Pro IMU.
- Place the DJI Mavic Pro on a flat surface.
- Power on the aircraft while its arms closed in.
- Open the DJI GO 4 app and connect to the aircraft.
- Then click on the three dots at the top right corner. Then click on the drone icon go to Main Controller Settings > Advanced Settings > Sensors > IMU and hit the “Calibrate IMU” button.
- Once the above steps are done, the IMU calibration process would start. You need to place the drone in different poses to calibrate IMU.
- Start with the Mavic Pro on its belly and wait until the IMU is calibrated in that pose.
- Next, move the aircraft onto its right side and wait until the IMU is calibrated in that position.
- Then change the Mavic Pro over to the left side and wait until the IMU is calibrated in that position.
- Then Stand the Mavic pro on its back ends and wait until the IMU is calibrated in that position.
- Then turn the drone upside down and wait until the calibration process goes to 100%.
Calibrate DJI Mavic Pro compass.
- Connect the remote controller to the smartphone.
- Power on the Mavic Pro and remote controller.
- Open the DJI GO4 and connect to the drone.
- Tap on the three dots at the top left corner and click on the drone icon go to Main Controller Settings > Advanced Settings > Sensors > Compass and hit the “Calibrate Compass” button.
- Place the remote controller away where you can see the app screen.
- Take the Mavic Pro aircraft into your hands and hold it horizontally and about 4 feet away from you. DJI aircraft’s indicators should be light yellow right now. Then spin around 360 degrees until those indicators turn to solid green.
- After that, hold the drone vertically and spin it again around 360 degrees until the indicators turn solid green.
Step 3: Calibrate the remote controller.
The remote controller needs to be calibrated to sync with its software controls.
- Connect the remote controller to the phone and launch the DJI GO4 app.
- Enter the camera view and tap on the three dots at the right top corner.
- Then tap on the RC icon and enter the controller settings menu.
- Then tap Remote Controller Calibration.
- Keep controller sticks at the center and “Start”.
- Use controller sticks and follow hollow circles moving in the box. Use the left stick to follow the left box circle and the right stick for the right box circle.
- Follow them completely around the box.
- After calibrating the joysticks, turn the gimbal wheel to both sides.
- Then click “Yes”.
Step 4: Check the propeller’s conditions.
Next, inspect Mavic Pro’s propellers.
- Run your fingers through the propellers and check whether you feel cracks or some difference. If you notice some issues with the propellers, replace the propeller set with a new original Mavic Pro propeller set.
- Also if some propellers’ corners are distorted because of crashes, it’s better to replace the propellers set with new ones.
Step 5: Get ready to fly the Mavic Pro.
Now our work is done and it’s time to check whether the issue is troubleshot.
- Charge the Mavic Pro aircraft and controller to a sufficient level before the flight.
- Connect the remote controller to the phone.
- Power on the Mavic Pro aircraft and controller.
- Launch the DJI GO4 app and connect to the aircraft.
- Then enter the camera view.
Step 6: Wait for about 8 satellites to connect before the takeoff.
When the Mavic Pro is in GPS mode it requires at least 8 satellites for better positioning. So when the user rushes and doesn’t wait until that number of satellites connect to the drone, the user would experience some unstable flight.
So when the Mavic Pro is on GPS mode, make sure to take off after at least 8 satellites connect to the drone. 10 satellites would be ideal for stable flight.
Step 7: Take off the drone.
Once a sufficient number of satellites are connected to the Mavic Pro, take off the drone. Now your drone would stay still and won’t drift.
Step 8: Contact DJI.
If you are still having the same issue, there must be some issues with the hardware of the drone. It could be an IMU/compass component hardware issue, motor issue, motherboard issue, etc. So the best way to fix that kind of hardware is to contact DJI and make a repair request online. I have written a whole article on how to get DJI support to repair your DJI drone in thedronestop. You can check that article using the below link. After following that article, you would be able to send your Mavic Pro to DJI and repair it through them.
Read the Detailed Article: How to get DJI support to repair your DJI unit’s issue.
