Starting/Stopping the Motors

Need to Know: You DO NOT have to worry about pulling the throttle all the way down for more than 3 sec while in the 

Air (not recommended anyway because of VRS, more on that later): so NO, it won’t shut down the motors if you do it 

while flying. The Phantom will NOT shut down until it feels it's not losing altitude for about 3-5 seconds (aka it's on 

ground now). 

The only thing I wouldn’t try is to execute CSC while in the air. If you do a CSC while flying, this will stop the motors 

and your Phantom will drop like a rock. So be careful with the CSC sequence. 

For some hard evidence on these theories, watch this: Motors Cut Mid-Flight???. Someone DID test it....both ways! 

Page 6 
DJI Vision Camera & Radar Function

 The Radar Function is VERY useful to track down where your Phantom is heading or its relative location. 

Page 7 
Know your S1/S2 switches (Naza-M/IOC only)

The following only applies if you have switched your Phantom to Naza-M, activate IOC (Intelligent Orientation Control 

and have S1 bottom position set to FAILSAFE and NOT Manual. See the “Naza-M and IOC: Why and How” section for 

more info. 

Good to Know: When both switches, S1 and S2, are in the upper position (THE only position they should be before you 

start your Phantom, BTW), you are basically flying as if your craft was in the original out-of-the-box “Phantom / Vision” 

mode. 

Need to Know: When flipping S1 or S2 switches to any position, always wait a few seconds to make sure the selected 

mode is activated. 

S1 Switch : GPS(top) – ATTI(middle) – FAILSAFE(bottom) 

GPS: In the default top position you are flying in GPS mode, meaning the Phantom will attempt to maintain the same 

horizontal/vertical position in space (holds the aircraft in a fixed and stabled hover) by automatically compensating for 

drift and light wind whenever you take your hands off the stick. This mode will probably be preferred by beginners. 

ATTI: Move the switch to the middle position and you are now flying in ATT mode (Attitude Hold). In this mode, your 

Phantom will attempt to hold height, orientation and keep itself level by means of the Compass and IMU (the GPS 

module will only be used to maintain ‘some’ flight stability and allow the Return to Home feature to work in case 

FAILSAFE activates) but it won’t counteract for any horizontal drift either from wind or stick move. Therefore, your craft 

may drift with the wind or in the direction it was heading when you switch to ATTI (i.e. no horizontal positioning). You 

will notice a huge difference in ATTI mode even if there is no wind. In ATTI mode it does not slow down by itself. It has 

momentum and will continue flying in whatever direction it was moving until you counter that momentum with thrust in 

the opposite direction. 

 

Why would you want to use this? Maybe you have been flying upwind. For an easy return, flip it into Attitude mode and 

let it drift back to you. Wind direction permitting, it can also be useful for smooth video. Fly upwind, start your video, 

and then turn on Attitude mode and let the video run as your Phantom is born along on the wind. 

Need to Know: You should get used to ATTI flying mode as soon as you can because you’ll have greater control of the 

aircraft rather than relying on automatic systems, which, lets face it, could fail at any time and without warning. 

A switch to ATTI mode is always a good idea if you think or suspect that the Compass and GPS are out of whack; 

so be prepared. 

Need to Know: When the aircraft is entering ATTI mode, either using the S1 switches or because you’ve lost GPS. The 

Rear Led will start flashing slowly Yellow. 

FAILSAFE: Move the switch all the way down and you will Initiate FAILSAFE, which means invoking the Return to Home 

(RTH) feature without having actually lost the control signal. Basically you are telling the Phantom to fly itself directly 

home, if GPS signal is good OR if GPS signal is lost or bad, to simply land straight down. 

Need to Know: You must change the S1 bottom position to activate FAILSAFE using the Vision Assistant software, 

otherwise the default is ATTI. Be careful not to set the switch to Manual Mode by mistake... 

 

Need to Know: If you flip S1 to FAILSAFE by mistake, you have less than 3 sec to cancel it by flipping it back up 

otherwise FAILSAFE is activated. 

S2 Switch -> Off(top) – Course Lock/CL(middle) - Home Lock/HL(bottom)

(Most of the Text is from Visioneer) 

OFF: In the default top position, the Phantom is directionally operated like any other RC craft, forward is the direction 

the "nose" is pointed, back is the direction the "tail" is pointed, left is to its left, right is to its right. 

Page 8 
An issue with traditional RC flight is once the craft gets far enough away (or flies into the sun) it’s VERY easy to lose 

track of how it's oriented...is it facing toward me, or away from me? Once you lose orientation your only recourse is to 

give a command and see how it reacts - could mean disaster. The other issue with traditional RC flight is reversing your 

control. When the craft is flying away from you, all's right with the world. If you want to go to your right, you push the 

right stick right...BUT when the craft is coming toward you and you want to go to your right, you push the right stick left 

because your right is now its left. This can get very confusing and dangerous, especially when you're about to crash, 

are in personal panic mode, and are trying to recover. That’s why there are 2 other very interesting modes: Home and 

Course lock. Home Lock being a very good option if you have no idea where the Phantom is now located OR You can't 

tell what direction it's facing. Check the “Always be prepared for the worst” section for more info. 

Need to know: For Home and Course Lock to work, 1) the pre-flight must have been completed (the Phantom got a 

Home Point and Home Orientation fix), and, this only applies to Home Lock, 2) the Phantom must be flying at least 10 

meters (33 feet) away from the Home Point. 

Need to know: Course Lock can be used in both 'ATTI' Mode and 'GPS' Mode. Course Lock does not require GPS 

satellite acquisition or establishing a Home Point. Course Lock relies on Orientation information only while Home Lock 

uses both position (GPS) and Orientation (compass, gyro, accelerometers). 

Course Lock (CL): Move the switch to the middle and you are now flying in Course Lock Mode. In CL, it doesn't matter 

which way the craft is oriented (pointing). Now forward is whatever direction the craft was pointed before it took off (the 

recorded Home Orientation direction). In Short, Course Lock relates to Initial Heading. It's like flying on an invisible, 

fixed grid. If it took off with the nose pointing north, forward will always send it north, back will always send it south, 

left will always send it west, and right will always send it east. When flying in IOC Home Lock or Course Lock you can 

control yaw, while remaining on course. Useful, for example, if you want to track a target by flying “forward” while 

rotating. 

Home Lock (HL): Move the switch all the way down and you activate Home Lock Mode. In HL, like in CL, it doesn't 

matter which way the craft is oriented (pointing). But in Home Lock, back is always back to the Home Point (the 

Recorded or Dynamic(if activated-see below) Home Point location), forward is always away from the Home Point, right 

is always 90° to the right of a line from the Home Point to the craft, and left is always 90° to the left of a line from the 

Home Point to the craft. In short: Home Lock relates to Home Point. Think of the craft as being on the end of a string 

which is the radius of a circle - shorten, it comes back; lengthen, it goes away; twirl (left or right), it goes in a circle 

around the home point. 

Need to Know: When in Home Lock mode, if any of the following situations happen, the system automatically quit 

Home Lock(HL) and switches to Course Lock(CL): 

a) The aircraft flies within 10m/33ft range of the Home Point. 

b) You toggle the S1 to the ATTI Mode. 

c) The GPS signal becomes bad or is lost. 

 H/L, just like FAILSAFE/RTH, is dependant on having enough satellites to properly triangulate. 

Need to Know: It’s possible to manually change the Home Point and Course Lock direction after take off and while in 

flight. Course Lock Direction reset is S2 Top-Middle-Top 3-5 times; Home Point reset is S2 Middle-Bottom-Middle 3-5 

times. Make sure you do not cycle through all three positions (Top through Bottom). Doing all three positions may 

result in the resetting of both CL and HP. Obviously, if you want to manually set a new Home Point, you need to turn off 

Dynamic Home Point (see below). Be sure to check the IOC section for more info. 

News to Know: With the latest DJI updates, it is now possible to activate a Dynamic Home Point function. When using a 

GPS-enabled mobile device and activate the Dynamic Home Point from the VISION app, the Home Point will 

automatically be reset to the location of the device every 2 seconds during flight. Dynamic Home Point is useful in 

situations when you are in motion (on a boat, for example) and require a Home Point that is different from the takeoff 

point. Note: Home Orientation at the point of take off will remain as the reference point. 

Here are some interesting videos to watch and learn from: 

(Just forget about the Manual Mode comments. Set S1 bottom position to Failsafe!) 

- DJI Phantom Flight Modes

- DJI Phantom Intro to IOC

- DJI Phantom 2 Vision/Vision+ - Phantom- and Naza-Mode - Tutorial

- DJI Phantom 2, Vision, Plus: What is ATTI mode? What is Manual Mode? 

- DJI Phantom - IOC Explained - ATTI, Course Lock, Home Lock, Manual Mode

- DJI Phantom 2, Vision, Plus: What is IOC, Course Lock/Home Lock? How do they work? 

- DJI Phantom Tutorial - IOC Home Lock (HL) explained and demonstrated

- DJI Phantom Tutorial - IOC Course Lock (CL) explained and demonstrated

- How to manually set a new Home Position on your DJI Vision, Plus, Phantom 2

- How to set new Home Point while in the air

Page 9 
Flight Environment Requirements

- Do not fly inside your house/office/store unless you really want to trash it. Why? Just have a quick look a the 

“Failsafe” section then measure the height of your ceiling. But if you really need to fly inside, watch this: 

Flying your DJI Phantom inside? Some things to consider...

- Note wind direction and weather conditions (actual and forecast). Do not use the aircraft in severe weather 

 conditions. These include wind (more that moderate breeze), snow, rain and smog. Watch out for wind gusts as they 

are more of a problem that steady wind, especially when up in the air. To watch: High Wind/Wind Shadow-Flying Tips. 

- Planning to do some winter flying, watch: 

 Winter R/C Flying Tips and Tips for winter flying with your Phantom - snow, fog, ice, batteries... 

- Check for any hazards, high buildings, steel structures, constructions, vehicular traffic, personal property that may 

 affect the accuracy of the onboard compass or flight plan. 

- Be careful when flying near tall structure/building. If you fly behind, you may lose connection. Also air/wind is a 

 matter and if it encounters an obstruction, huge pressure shifts are taking place that might create a vortex big 

 enough to get you into trouble. 

- Stay away from obstacles, crowds, pets, birds, trees, bushes, or water. Do not fly over people or moving vehicles (the 

Phantom is heavy; if it drops...) and keep children away. Use common sense to stay safe and protect others from harm. 

- It is recommended not to take off from any kind of metallic structure like manhole cover, top of your car, reinforced 

 concrete and so on. Best way to take off will always be on a flat surface: ground, grass, portable landing pad... 

- Reduce the chance of electromagnetic interference (EMI) by not flying in areas with high levels of electromagnetism, 

 including cellular towers, electricity pylons or power lines. Urban environments have more EMI interference. 

- Avoid interference between the Remote Control or on-board Wi-Fi device and other wireless equipment including 

 your own or nearby houses wireless routers. This explains why it’s not really wise to fly in your backyard. Also, it’s 

 a good idea to ask other persons near you and carrying a smartphone to turn then off. 

- Watch out for geomagnetic/solar storms. When the K-Index is at higher level(5+), it has a direct impact on GPS and 

affect radio signals which can cause issues in obtaining lock in regards to satellites. To monitor the K-Index you can 

 use the following website: Planetary K-index or this Estimated 3-hour Planetary K Index. 

- Check out what are the rules/laws/regulations in your country about flying these “Unmanned Aerial Vehicles” (UAVs). 

 At the same time, check if you need any kind of license, insurance or personal liability insurance, especially if you're 

 planning on flying it commercially. 

- Verify for airport, air traffic and restricted air space. Do not fly the aircraft within no-fly zones specified by local 

 laws and regulations. If you’re in the US or Canada, a good site to visit is the Don't Fly Drones Here web site. 

 This map represents areas where it is not recommended to fly drones due to regulations. 

- Planning a trip? Be sure to watch Traveling with your DRONE + New FAA Rules about FPV

- For people who have issues with weak GPS satellites locked, someone recommended this nice tool to check and 

 see exactly how many GPS satellites should be visible based on a specified location, the day and time. Have a look: 

 Satellite Predictor Tool (Just make sure “glonass” is unticked, otherwise you will think its fine to fly all day). There 

 are some interesting APPS that shows GPS status, for IOS: GPS Plan and Android: GPS Test / AndroiTS GPS Test

- Do not fly if you’re drunk, taking drugs, under the influence of anesthesia, dizziness, fatigue, nausea and any other 

 conditions both physical and mental that could impair your ability. 

- In case of emergency/problem...DON’T PANIC! Make sure you read the “Always be prepared for the worst” section. 

- Plan you flight in advance. Where are you going, what are you going to do and so on 

- Remember, this is literally a “flying camera”, so be sure you protect the privacy of others. 

- Be sure to watch: Dude where can I fly my drone?

- And finally, try to never lose Line of Sight (LOS) with your Phantom. 

Better Fly Safe Than Sorry!

Page 10 
Pre-Flight Checklist/Tips & Tricks/Notes

(Big thanks to everyone for some very good ideas & additions) 

Inspection (Someone has to do it) 

- Remote Control (TX), Smart Battery(Battery), Range Extender(REx) and Smartphone(Phone) are fully charged. 

- Attach Propellers Guards. Not recommended, unless you have good reasons to use them (they’re “ok” if you are 

learning to fly); Prop Guards - Pros and Cons. They are known to enhance a wobbling state when hovering or 

descending effect called Vortex Ring State; DANGER Turbulence Ahead. Also, watch out for the screws. The long 

ones are ONLY for the Props Guards!!! Short ones are the normal one to use. One last thing to know: Props Guards 

will reduce your flight time by up to 4 min. 

- Turn motors shafts with your fingers and verify they are smooth without excessive play or binding. Check the 

 “Preventive Maintenance Checklist” section for more info. 

- Propellers are mounted correctly: black on the black marked shaft, silver on the silver one. Check if not broken or 

worn. Run finger along leading and trailing edges. Flex both Blades to check for hairline cracks. NOTE: When 

installing brand new props, make sure you did not get a defective one: if it seems to go only half way on the shaft, it 

is defective. Replace it! Check this out: WARNING: Watch for defective Phantom 2 Propellers

- Landing Gears are secure; not cracked/broken/loose. Compass is firmly attached, cable in place. 

- Micro-SD card has been inserted and is formatted. (Do not insert or remove while Phantom battery is On). 

 Optimally, you should use a Class 10 Micro-SD card when filming HD videos. 

- Damping absorbers are in good condition, not broken or worn. Anti-Drop pins are in place and locked. 

- Remove Gimbal Clamp and Camera Lens Cap. (ALWAYS Remove Gimbal Clamp BEFORE powering On). 

- Gimbal is functioning as normal; Camera is secure and moving normally. Camera lens isn't dirty, spotted, 

 smeared. Check condition of Gimbal/Camera black ribbon cables. Look for tears or signs of wear. 

- Battery is not swollen, leaky or damaged in any way. Contact needles and pads are clean. 

- Make sure GPS on Phone is ON (to lock the location of Pilot). Set the Phone to “Flight Mode/Do-Not-Disturb” mode, 

if you like (to block phone calls/texts). It is recommended to “Forget” any other WiFi networks in range, especially 

when flying in small areas. Also make sure the audio is on: you want to ear the battery low alarm warning! 

- Note: Some Android devices do not allow for both a Wi-Fi connection and a mobile data connection at the same 

time. When trying to connect to the Phantom 2 Vision+ Wi-Fi network, most devices will check whether an Internet 

connection has a certain Wi-Fi setting enabled, e.g. Auto network switch or Test for Internet connection. If no Internet 

connection is found because the Phantom 2 Vision+ creates a non-routable connection it will drop the Phantom 2 

Vision+ Wi-Fi network connection and scan for the next available connection. Example: For the Samsung Note 3, 

carry out the following procedures to solve this issue. Tap Settings -> Wi-Fi, and then tap the “Menu” button. Select 

“Advanced” then uncheck the “Auto network switch”. You might see a warning that indicates the Internet connection 

is unstable this message can be ignored. 

- Be sure to watch: Pre-Flight Checks on your DJI Phantom - What to look out for.

Power UP (You’ve checked all your batteries, right?)

- Make sure S1 and S2 are in the Top position AND Gimbal Clamp/Camera Lens Cap have been removed. 

- Initialize the equipment in the following sequential order (Check for Green Lights). 

 (Be sure you watch: ON and OFF-The Proper Procedure) 

 1. Range Extender. System is Blinking Green; Power is Solid Green. 

 2. Remote Control. 1 Beep = CE mode (range ~ 400m) ; 2 Beeps = FCC mode (range ~ 800m). 

 Green light On (not yellow or red). 

 3. Insert and Start the Phantom Smart Battery. 

Page 11 
 Need to Know: Always turn on the Remote Control BEFORE powering on the Phantom and keep it on until the 

 Phantom battery is powered off. After landing, always turn off the Phantom BEFORE turning off the power on the 

 Remote Control. You don’t want the Phantom to think it has lost connection to the Remote Control and take off 

 heading to the last recorded home position. NEVER install or remove the battery when it is turned on. 

- Watch Phantom LED startup sequence for abnormal indications. See next section for Led status indicators. 

- Watch Gimbal startup to verify function. Must be in a stable horizontal position after a short while. If it’s not, watch 

 this DJI Phantom 2 Vision+ Gimbal repair or this Phantom 2 Vision Plus camera repair and solution. 

- Check camera LED indicator. Should be solid green. 

- Calibrate the Compass of Phantom whenever in new area, after update or after a few flights. Be sure to read the 

“Compass Calibration” section. 

- Place Phantom on an open flat ground with Battery indicators facing towards you and +/- 3 meters away from you. 

- Wait until the Rear Led slowly blink Green for at least 10-15 seconds to make sure Phantom has acquired 

enough GPS Satellite(6+), has Locked/Marked your Home Point (for FAILSAFE(RTH)/Home Lock(HL) mode) 

and set Home Orientation (for Course Lock(CL) mode). Best if left standing for 1-2 min to make sure it has a 

solid and stable GPS satellites lock and Home Point/Orientation are set. 

- There will be two sets of rapid green flashes: 

 - The first rapid green flashing sequence indicates the Phantom has recorded the Home Orientation. 

 Home Orientation is based on the craft's orientation 30 sec after powering up. 

 Remember that orientation if you plan to fly in Course Lock mode. 

 - The second rapid green flashing sequence indicates it has just recorded Home Point. 

 Home Point is established after 6 or more GPS satellites have been found for 10-15 seconds. 

 - After that, the Rear Led will indicate GPS status. Slow green flashes means 6 satellites or more were found. 

 (Check the “Led Status” section if you are getting something else than Green or Yellow blinks): 

 - Slow Green Flashing: Ready to Fly (GPS)  Good to Go: RTH/HL Mode Ok. 

 The Phantom will hover when all sticks are released. It will Return to 

 Home Point(RTH), if Failsafe is activated. 

 - Slow Yellow flashing: Ready to Fly (Non-GPS)  You will be able to fly, but GPS is Off so No RTH/HL possible. 

 The Phantom will lock its altitude but will not have horizontal 

 positioning. It will land straight down, if Failsafe is activated. 

NOTE: Personally, I wouldn’t fly if I only get 6 satellites; way too risky. You lose one and you lose GPS  

DJI Vision Apps

- Connect Phone Wi-Fi to the Range Extender (may take up to 30 secs to see Extender Wi-Fi). 

 If you’re planning to use Ground Station features: Before connecting your Phone to the Extender, load the map of 

 where you'll be flying (scroll to load wider location). Do it on location or in advance. 

Launch the ‘DJI Vision’ App and : 

- Check if the WiFi connection is the Phantom-##### and have a Green Dot 

- Make sure your Settings are the way you want them to be. 

- Open Camera page and verify connection to Phantom, no on screen errors or warnings, 

- Check the Number of satellites (must be 6+). Make sure you have a solid & stable GPS satellites lock. 

- Verify WiFi signal strength indicator and SD card indicator (enough space left?) 

- Check Status(%) of Phantom and Range Extender Battery. 

- If needed, verify Camera settings, rate, stills, video, burst, ISO, tilt, etc. 

- Confirm good video on Phone (if not adjust Preview Quality in Settings). 

- Set Camera at desired angle. 

- Verify that both pilot's and aircraft location is the same before take off to ensure that if FAILSAFE is being 

 activated, it will return to your Home Point(RTH) and not 300 miles away... 

 - Check the location of aircraft in ‘Flight Radar’. Is it in right position/direction? If the distance reads N/A it doesn't 

 have a Home Point lock. If distance is 0, it has a Home Point. You could also try to move around the Phantom 

 and check if the Radar is following your moves. OR 

 - Use “Find my Phantom” (under Settings panel) or the “Ground Station Screen” (if you enabled it) to ensure that 

 blue and red dots are on the same current location [Blue: Home Point location; Red: Aircraft Location]). 

Page 12 
Ready to Fly (Are you sure, really sure?)

- Ensure the antenna of Remote Control is perpendicular to the ground (pointing upwards) and Range Extender is 

angled properly (Front Flat Face pointed toward Phantom). Try to always keep them pointed at the Phantom and 

AVOID Line of Sight obstacles (->Signal Lost) 

- Phantom is ready to take-off. BUT ONLY if Rear Led are still slowly blinking green and you still have 6+ satellites. 

Satellites lock drop in and out sometimes until finally staying stable. Do not take off is GPS signal is too unstable. 

- Start recording. (A Common Mistake is to forget to Start Recording...I know, trust me) 

- Start the Motors (CSC Command). Make sure they are functioning normally (no unusual noise or vibration and they 

 are all spinning at the same rate/speed). 

- Double check for nearby obstructions, people, power lines, etc. 

- Ready, Set, Fly...!! When taking off, don’t be shy about using the throttle to get off the ground a few feet. Trying to 

throttle up slowly can lead to a tip over where the blades hit the ground causing a crash. If there is a strong wind, a 

tip over is even more likely. 

REMEMBER: If you get in trouble, let go of the sticks and it will automatically slow and hover in place

 OR fly UP fast (watch for trees, power lines, etc).

NOTE: Vertical hover accuracy is +/- .8m (GPS/ATTI); Horizontal hover accuracy is +/- 2.5m (GPS only). 

- Hover at 6-8 feet for a while. Watch closely for loss of GPS Lock; if it happens land and redo the pre-flight steps. 

 Ensure Phantom remains in place without drifting, flying in circles (Toilet bowl effect-TBE) or other signs of 

erratic/abnormal/unexpected behaviour. Check that the Phantom holds position steady while yawing 360 degrees. 

Check control response, yaw left-right, pitch forward-backward, roll left-right, throttle up-down. 

If everything is ok, you're good to go, otherwise LAND IMMEDIATELY. It is recommended you switch to ATTI 

before Landing, in case the Compass and GPS are out of whack. DO NOT attempt to yaw or move, just get it 

straight down ASAP and recalibrate the Compass, then power cycle the Phantom. If that doesn't help, Recalibrate 

everything (check the “After Firmware Update” section for more info). If THAT doesn't work either, DO NOT FLY at 

all. Try to pin point the issue and ask for help or send the phantom for repair. 

- During Flight: if Phantom ever seems to behave oddly, feel less responsive, or start moving without input, LAND 

IMMEDIATELY wherever you are and Recalibrate everything. It is recommended you switch to ATTI before Landing, 

In case the Compass and GPS are out of whack. Be sure to read the “Always be prepared for the worst” section. 

- To make absolutely certain the Home Point has been locked (for FAILSAFE(RTH) and to avoid Flyaway): 

Send the Phantom off about 30m and do a practice Home Lock return by flipping the S2 switch down to “Home 

Lock”, and pull back on the right stick. No need to return all the way home; if it flies straight back to you or your 

previously set Home Point, you’re good to go. Flip S2 all the way back up and enjoy what is usually a stress free 

flight. Warning: HL turns to CL when Phantom is less than 10m/33ft from Home Point (see the section about IOC). 

- Keep an eye on your flight parameters while flying; control sticks are quite sensitive. Be particularly gentle with the 

left stick so that you don't accidentally cause elevation gain or loss while you are yawing: don’t assume you’re still at 

the same altitude you were. 

- Watch the Rear Led. Should be slowly flashing green(6+ sat). Otherwise check Led Status in the following section. 

 Make sure the number of satellites on the DJI Vision camera screen is always 6+. 

- Always keep an eye on your batteries status (Smart & Extender). You don’t want to get caught with low battery while 

 being far away! (Check the “Battery Status” section for more info). 

- Don't go zooming far or high until you feel comfortable with it. Remember that the farther away it is, the harder it will 

be to see what it’s doing. If you are new at flying this thing, try to always keep the front pointing away from you. 

That way forward will be away from you, left will be left, right will be right and finally backward will bring it back 

towards you. Last advices: Always stay in control and fly safely & responsibly! 

Page 13 
Always be prepared for the Worst

Besides hardware/software issues, it is YOU, the operator, who is responsible to ensure the system is functioning 

properly prior to take-off. So, if you did not follow the proper procedures before take-off (described in details earlier), 

YOU AND ONLY YOU might be the person to blame for any issue occurring while flying! 

Need to Know: If you’ve switched to Naza-M, enabled IOC and set your S1 switch bottom position to activate FAILSAFE, 

you have much more options available to recover if something bad happens. 

Need to Know: In some cases, if you did not or didn’t want to follow the previous Need to Know, your only options will 

be to either Do Nothing and hope for the best OR activate FAILSAFE by turning your Remote Control Off. 

Need to Know: When you activate FAILSAFE, either by using the S1 switch or turning off the Remote Control, always 

wait at least 3 sec before doing anything else (flip S1 out of FAILSAFE or turn the Remote back on), otherwise 

FAILSAVE is cancelled. 

Need to Do: It is highly recommended you do some "recovery" practices in a more controlled environment (meaning, 

you are not in "Panic Mode") before something bad happens. If you can eliminate the confusion of what’s going on 

when something happen then most of the time it becomes relatively “easy” to deal with. Try to initiate a Manual Failsafe, 

so you can understand what’s going to happen; same thing if you switch to Home Lock or Course Lock; do some 

flying/landing practice in ATTI mode so you know what to expect and so on. Feel free to do as much as you can. The 

better you get at reacting fast under pressure, the better chance you'll be able recover your aircraft intact or with 

minimum damages! This is a very expensive piece of machinery, so be prepared...for the worst! 

And always remember this simple rule: Don't trust anything, Test everything! 

A- Lost Orientation and/or Location

 1- Radar Function 

 Your best option when you can’t tell what direction the Phantom is heading (too far, bright sun...) or its current 

 Location (lost Line of Sight), is to simply look at the Radar Function(bottom-left corner) on the DJI Vision Apps 

 Camera screen. If it’s too small, just tap it to bring the Radar on the center of your screen (tap again to remove). 

 Look at “DJI Vision Camera & Radar Function” section for more info. 

 

 By default, the center of the radar indicated your recorded Home Point. Tap the center of the radar to switch the 

 center to your mobile device’s current location. The Red Arrow indicates the Phantom current heading, direction 

 and approximate distance from the center point. Playing with your Remote sticks and watching the way the 

 aircraft moves on the radar screen might help you regain control of orientation or bring it back in sight. 

 Need to Know: If your mobile device contains a compass, the top portion of the Radar is the direction you are 

 pointing. If not, the radar will be oriented due north. Be careful because this can be misleading. 

 

 2- FPV 

 If you know your surrounding very well (near, far and from an "Up in the air, point of view), you might be able to 

 approximate where your aircraft is located or where it is heading just by looking at what’s displayed on your DJI 

 Vision Apps Camera screen. Try to locate some known reference points (like a specific building,stadium,park,etc) 

 to get an idea of where the aircraft might be. 

 If you’re good at this and are using something much bigger than a simple smartphone screen...You could try to 

 move around using only your screen as your guide I.e. flying in FPV or First Person View. Watch out for your 

 aircraft surrounding if you can. Objects(obstacles) are always closer than you might think in FPV, especially for 

 wide-angle. 

B- Lost Video/Telemetry Feeds

 If you’ve lost Video link but Telemetry feed is still working, the first thing you should do is take your hands off 

 the sticks and wait for a moment. Sometimes the video link can stutter in and out. If this doesn’t work, try to exit 

 out of the DJI Vision app all together then relaunch it. 

Page 14 
 If both Video and Telemetry are off, and your nose was pointing directly at or away from you when it happens, 

 "turn" your phantoms nose left or right a little, even though you can't see it rotating, it is. The Phantom has 

 greater FPV range with it's side facing you and your video/telemetry feeds may return. 

 if nothing happens immediately then fly a little forward or backward, you may just be flying over a small patch of 

 radio interference that once you pass-over the video may return. 

 

 If still no success, check out the next section. 

C- Baby, Come Back

 You find yourself in one of the following situations: 

 - Your Phantom has flown out of effective Extender Wi-Fi range or the signal has been blocked, meaning 

 you’ve lost the “Second Channel - 2.4 GHZ” connection and

 - You got the “Phantom connection Lost” warning. 

 - You lost Video/Telemetry feeds. 

 And the steps from previous section didn’t work. 

- If for some reason, you cannot use the Radar Function (previously described) and 

 - Have no idea where the Phantom is now located (lost Line of Sight). 

 - You can't tell what direction it's heading. 

 

 - Your battery is getting low. 

 - Your phantom seems to be floating away or is not doing what you think it should be doing. 

 - Any other reason you might think of... 

 

 Now maybe a good time to bring your aircraft back, ASAP. 

 Always give Extra Elevation before doing anything else. Even if you can't tell it's working. 

 This will help avoiding obstacles on the way back. If you can’t see it, just assume it ascends at 6 meters a 

 second. In 10 seconds, it should be 60 meters up. You can now go ahead and do one or more of the following: 

 1- You could try to get it back using your ability to maneuver the remote control sticks, BUT, if you can’t see 

 where it’s heading or located, it’s going to be very difficult to bring it back safely and in one piece... 

 How to regain orientation without IOC - bring your DJI Phantom back! 

 Since Course Lock (CL) is dependant on Compass only to work and Home Lock (HL) is dependant on 

 GPS&Compass to work correctly, the next options depend on whether you still have GPS signal or not. 

 GPS signal is ok:

 

 2- Flip the S2 down to HL (S1 must be on GPS) and pull down the Right Stick and keep it down till you get 

 back Connection or have the Phantom in sight then Flip S2 to Off. Remember: Home Lock changes to Course 

 Lock if your S1 switch is on ATTI, GPS signal is lost (less than 6 satellites) or not set. So be careful as you 

 might think you’re in HL when in reality you’re in CL. 

 

 Need to know: When the distance between the Phantom and the Home Point is less than 10m/33ft, HL(Home 

 Lock) turns into CL(Course Lock), so either flip S2 to OFF before the 10m mark or know your Home Orientation 

 direction. Otherwise you might get caught off guard as it might change direction when it reaches that 10m limit. 

 OR 

 3- Flip the S1 down to FAILSAFE (Just turning off the Remote Control will accomplish the same thing) 

 and wait for the Phantom to come back at Home Point(RTH). When in sight, take back control if you 

 want (Flip S1 to ATTI, then to GPS). More details on Failsafe in the next section. 

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 Need to Know: In FAILSAFE(3) mode, the aircraft speed is really slow and if you are low on battery it 

 may be an issue, where HL(2) returns much faster. 

 GPS signal is not ok:

 2- If you’re not sure you still have GPS signal(no telemetry) but you remember your Home Orientation: flip the S2 

 switch to CL and maneuver the Right Stick till you get back Connection or have the Phantom in sight then Flip 

 S2 to Off. Be sure you always keep in mind your initial Home Orientation when moving the sticks, otherwise 

 you might get things worse. Tip: Position yourself facing in the same direction will help a lot. 

 Besides option 1 (above), this may well be the “safest” option available to regain some control if you've lost 

 GPS signal (HL won't work and failsafe will make it land straight down) and don't know where your aircraft is 

 now located. Why? Maybe because you flew over water, a forest or a crowd, for example, in which 

 case a straight down landing is not such a good idea. 

 OR (if you really have no choice) 

 3- Flip the S1 down to FAILSAFE (Just turning off the Remote Control will accomplish the same thing), 

 the Phantom will simply land straight down. In which case, you might need to use DJI Vision “Find my 

 Phantom” function to try locating it or check out the “Recovering from a Flyaway” section. More details on 

 Failsafe in the next section. 

D- Failsafe (RTH) 

 You are flying and suddenly you get the “Control Signal Lost” warning followed by “Coming Home” (Meaning 

 you’ve lost the “First Channel - 5.8Ghz” connection). You’ve entered the Failsafe mode. Phantom tail lights turned 

 rapid Yellow flashing. Be sure to also check out the “Failsafe” section later in this guide, where you’ll find more 

 detailed information on what’s really happening during a Failsafe. 

 When will Failsafe activate? 

1- The Remote Control is Powered off (maybe because of dead batteries) or you have flipped the S1 to the bottom 

position by mistake or intentionally. 

2- The Phantom has flown out of effective Remote Control range (CE mode ~400 / FCC mode ~800m). 

3- The signal between the Remote Control and the Phantom has been blocked. 

4- There is interference causing a signal problem with the Remote Control. 

 Need to know: if you flip S1 to Failsafe by mistake, you have less than 3 sec to cancel it by flipping it back up 

 otherwise Failsafe is activated. 

 When it activates, you have 2 choices: 

 1- Let the Phantom do is thing and land by itself: 

 How it will land depends on GPS Status. 

 - If GPS is still Active: The Phantom will either stay at current elevation OR raise up 20m/66ft (or to your manually 

 set RTH altitude (see below)) above your pre-established (auto or manual) home point, 

 whichever is highest, and then make a straight-line course back to your “Home Point” 

 (Return to home (RTH)), pausing for about 15 sec before descending, land and power itself 

 off. 

 Need to know: If there are obstacles, buildings or trees in the way when flying at that 

 elevation on Return to Home, the aircraft WILL hit them on its way back...! 

 Need to know: With the latest DJI’s update, we now have the ability to change the default 

 Return to Home altitude (20m/66ft) using the VISION app or the Assistant 

 software. If you did not update, you won’t be able to adjust the Return to Home 

 elevation height, unless you reset your Home Point. See the “IOC section” to 

 learn how to manually reset the Home Point and why you would want to do 

 that. The main reason being to effectively avoid crashing into obstacle higher 

 than 20m/66ft in case failsafe is activated. 

 - If GPS signal is Lost or not Active: Phantoms simply land straight down. It may be drifting during the descent 

 and landing process (ATTI mode). I hope you’ve bought some spare props... 

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