Pairing or connecting the drone to the controller is the first step for flying a drone. So if the drone not pairing or connecting to the controller, it’s a game over. I have seen many drone pilots asking for a solution to this issue through many forums. So today let’s find out why drone not pairing and how to fix it.
Why drone not pairing/connecting
Usually, drones won’t connect because of firmware issues, software glitches, low battery levels, and improper pairing. Especially if you just bought the drone, you would face this issue because of improper pairing. You can solve the issue by pairing the drone again to the controller.
Reason 1: Insufficiently charged batteries.
Having sufficient battery in the drone and controller is essential to fly the drone. Because the controller is responsible for sending radio signals and the drone is responsible to receive those signals and fly according to commands. That’s how things work. So if you have low battery level in the drone, the controller or both, it’s not safe to fly the drone. That’s why your drone lands when it’s battery level low. So check whether both controller and drones’ batteries are sufficiently charged.
Reason 2: Outdated firmware or firmware glitches.
Outdated firmware is the most common software issue that matters. So if you have older version firmware in your controller or drone, it would not be valid to the drone anymore. So you need to update them to the latest version. You would be able to update them through the drone’s mobile or PC application. If you have already updated, just try to reinstall the firmware again.
Reason 3: Not having the same firmware version in the drone and controller.
If you have different firmwares in your drone and controller, I can guarantee you that the drone won’t connect or pair to the controller. Best drone manufacturers like DJI also mention in every drone pairing tutorial to have the same firmware in the drone and controller in order to pair them. So in these situations you need to update them separately using the app or PC application to the same firmware version.
Reason 4: Controller not properly paired.
If you just unboxed the drone and it won’t pair or connect to the controller, this would be the reason why it won’t. Pairing is essential to recognize its controller to receive signals. Usually when you buy the drone they are already paired. But in this case it might have glitches while pairing. So all you just have to do is relax and pair the drone again.
How to pair the drone to the controller using the app.
- Connect the mobile or tab to the controller.
- Turn on the remote controller and the drone.
- Launch the mobile app.
- Tap the “Link Aircraft” button or similar action button.
- Then the controller will start beeping which means ready to link the drone.
- Finally, press the link button in the drone and the controller will stop beeping and ready to fly.
How to pair the drone to the controller in an old school way.
- Press and hold the drone’s function button for about three seconds. If you have a DJI drone until hearing three beeps.
- Turn on the remote controller.
- Press the pause button, function button, and customizable button all at once for a few seconds. Release them once you hear a beeping sound.
- Drone’s light will flash solid green once it is successfully paired.
Reason 5: Technical issues.
When considering drone technical issues, we can encounter them from hardware to software. So with hardware cases it’s good to have an appointment with an expert to solve the problem. But many software issues are possible to solve yourself. In this case resetting the controller and updating software is the solution to fix those technical issues.
How to reset the drone controller.
- Turn off the drone and the controller.
- Press and hold the Function button, Pause Button until the controller starts beeping and continuously beeps.
Reason 6: Mobile application glitches.
When you have an older version of the drone’s app or haven’t given permission the drone won’t connect to the app. So uninstall the app and download the original app from the manufacturer’s site and install. Be sure to give required permissions.
Also I was able to find solutions to specific drones by reading articles and forums. Here are them. Hope you got one of them.
Fixes for the specific drones.
DJI Mavic Pro not connecting.
DJI Mavic Pro pilots encounter this issue because of an improper linking process. Performing a proper linking process would solve the issue. Read more about the problem. Follow the following steps.
- Power on the Mavic Pro and the controller.
- Connect the controller to the smart device you are using.
- Open the DJI Go app.
- Then look for the small door, usually put the SD card located on the right side of the Mavic Pro.
- Open the door and find the small back dot button.
- Use a small pin or screwdriver and press the button once.
- Then go back to the app and visit remote controller settings and click “Linking RC”.
- Choose the “Primary controller” on the prompted dialog box and you will get 1min to press the recently pressed black dot again.
- So press that button before the countdown ends.
- The drone indicators will flash green once it is successfully done.
- Once it is done the drone will be connected to the controller automatically.
DJI Mini 2 not connecting.
Many DJI Mini 2 users were facing this issue because of being unable to update firmware because of DJI Fly app glitches. They report that it allows only 50% of the update and is unable to update firmware successfully.
Many DJI Mini 2 users were able to fix this issue just by uninstalling the existing app and reinstalling the DJI Fly app. Also you can try updating from the PC application DJI Assistant 2. Be sure to update the drone and controllers firmwares to the same version. Because It also would be a reason.
Phantom 3 not connecting.
- First, turn on the Phantom 3 and the controller.
- Open the DJI GO app and select the Aircraft and tap camera view.
- Go to the main menu and go to remote controller settings.
- Scroll all the way down and find the option to “Linking RC”.
- Tap on the “Linking RC” option. Then the remote controller will start beeping.
- Then find the linking button located behind the camera and battery near to the little LED indicator of the Phantom 3.
- Use a pin or screwdriver and press that button.
- Then the controller would stop beeping.
- Phantom 3 would connect to the controller successfully.
Phantom 4 / Phantom 4 Pro not connecting.
Solution 1 : Pair the drone in the old school way.
- Turn on the controller and connect it to the mobile device.
- Open the DJI GO app and go to the menu and remote controller settings.
- Scroll bottom and click the “Linking RC” button.
- Choose “Primary remote controller” if asked. Then the controller will start beeping.
- Then you have to get a pin or screwdriver and press the button near the LED of the drone.
- Then the pairing process will be done successfully.
- The drone will be connected to the controller automatically.
Solution 2: Reset the controller.
- First, turn off the remote controller.
- Then press and hold C1 ,C2 ,and the record button all at the same time for about 2 seconds.
- After that, power on the remote controller.
- The indicator will turn blue which means it has been reset successfully.
- Then try connecting to the drone.
Holystone drone not connecting.
- Charge the drone battery full and use new batteries to the remote controller.
- Place the drone down facing the head away from the pilot and tail toward the pilot and power it on.
- Turn on the remote controller and push the left stick up and down quickly.
- When it’s paired successfully, the drone will beep and light on.
- Then the controller will be connected to the drone.
Ryze Tello not connecting.
- Forget the Tello Wifi settings on your smart device.
- Then turn on the drone and hold the power button until it’s flashing yellow.
- Then press and hold the power button again until the LEDs flash again.
- After doing these steps the drone will reboot.
- Uninstall the tello app and reinstall it.
- Follow the process to connect to Tello.
Parrot Bebop 2 not connecting.
I found this answer on the parrot pilots forums. It seems like this happened because of pilots doing the thing improperly. Many parrot users think it happens because of the Skycontroller issue.
- Turn on the Wifi on the phone and turn off airplane mode.
- Then tap the green “Connect” button.
- Register the drone with your phone and sync with the Skycontroller 2.
Parrot Anafi not connecting.
Parrot Anafi users were able to solve the issue by hard resetting the drone. So give it a try.
- Power on the Parrot Anafi.
- Press the power button and hold it for about 8 seconds until the battery’s LEDs turn red one by one.
- When all four LEDs flash red release the power button.
- Go to the Anafi’s SD card and look for the txt file which includes Wifi network password. That txt file is created by the system while it’s rebooting.
- Reinstall the FreeFlight6 app to your smart device.
- Try to connect the drone by giving the new Wifi network password.
