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Drones have become incredibly popular over the years and they continue to become more and more popular as well. However with all this popularity more and more people are having issues with their drones not connecting to the controller.
Of course this happens for a wide variety of reasons including the batteries of the controller or drone being low, the controller wasn’t synced properly, or it could just be because of a technical glitch.
If you are experiencing an issue with your drone and controller not connecting properly then this video is for you as we will give you some step by step directions on ways to fix this issue on different models. One important thing to be aware of is that there are quite literally hundreds of different drone models on the market today so if none of the steps in this article work feel free to email us and we will be happy to help.
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Fixing a DJI controller that won’t connect to the drone
Since DJI is one of the largest and most well known drone companies on the market today we figured we would start with these drones. Of course there are many different drones that are made by DJI so the exact instructions might vary slightly depending on your exact model.
The first thing that you need to do is connect the controller to your mobile device and open up the DJI app. You will then turn on your drone itself.
Assuming that it won’t connect at all, your next step is to open the panel on the side or bottom of your drone where the SD card is at and there should be a little round button. All you have to do is click that button once.
Now you will go to the remote control settings on the DJI app and scroll to the bottom where it should say link controller. Click that button and then click to set the controller as your primary one.
And that’s it! Your controller should now have reconnected with the drone and you are ready to take off again!
As mentioned earlier each DJI model is different but all of them should have a reset button that you can click and then you just have to relink the controller to the drone through the app.
How to fix other drones that won’t connect?
As mentioned earlier there are many different drones that are on the market from a wide variety of manufacturers. One issue with having so many different drones is that how to resync the drone and controller is slightly different on each model.
The most common way to resync a controller that isn’t connecting with a drone is what we will cover now. Again, your drone might be slightly different so if these steps don’t work for you then you will have to consult your owner’s manual or contact the manufacturer of the drone.
Syncing the drone with its controller
If you are not able to connect the drone and controller or if it has been previously synced but isn’t any more then to attempt to sync them again use the following steps.
- Switch on both the devices – the drone and the remote controller. The drone’s lights should flash once it is switched on.
- Hold the left-hand stick and then push it from its lowest position to the top. Then, bring it back down to the initial position. On some drones you will hold it in the up position until the lights on the drone flash or until you hear a beep.
- If you have successfully synced, the flashing lights on the drone will stop. Also, you will hear a beep sound. This is a signal that you have successfully synced.
Sometimes, the drone is an advanced one with GPS features. Such a drone will have a compass that has to be calibrated before syncing with the controller. In any case, refer to the instruction manual for guidance.
For mobile application users
It is possible to plan and control the flight of your drone using a mobile application and many drone companies have their own apps. If you are not able to establish a connection between your drone and the manufacturer’s app, go through the following steps for troubleshooting.
- Ensure that the app is supported by your phone. Also, check whether the app supports the make and model of the drone that you are using.
- Some drone manufacturers have their own controller apps which the drone connects to, by default. You will need to change the default application, if you are using a different app.
- If the drone’s manufacturer app is running in the background, shut it down or force quit, if necessary. On the iPhone this is done by double clicking the home button or swiping up from the bottom (depending on the model) and then swiping up to force close the app.
- Check if you have properly plugged in the USB cable between the mobile device and the remote controller.
If nothing seems to work then you should start again from scratch. Close the application, disconnect the USB cable and turn off both the drone and the controller. Now switch them back on again and try launching the app.
A few tips to make sure that the controller gets paired with your drone
- Check whether the controller has been paired with a different drone. This is possible if you have multiple drones or if you have let someone else use your drone or controller recently. If this is the case, all you have to do is disconnect the drone and connect it to your controller.
- When you switch on the drone, its lights keep flashing to signal that it is ready for pairing. If you are not able to see the flashing lights, there could be other hardware issues.
- Make sure that both the drone and the controller have enough power. The device connected to the controller through USB cable also needs to be charged up. A low battery on any of the devices is also sometimes responsible for connectivity issues.
- If you are not able to establish a connection even when the drone and the controller are ready for pairing, a power cycle is recommended. The USB cable can remain connected but all you need to do is switch off the drone and switch it on again.
If you have tried everything and it still doesn’t seem to work, it is best to contact the manufacturer or customer support for help.
Conclusion
With so many different drones on the market it is hard to give a single answer for all models but the two different methods mentioned above are the most common ways of resetting the connection between the drone and controller thereby getting them to work properly again.
If the drone is relatively new and none of these steps or the steps in the instruction manual work then you will want to return the drone for a new one or for a refund.
Connectivity issues are much more common in cheaper drones (you get what you pay for) so if you have this issue repeatedly it might be a sign that you should upgrade to a nicer drone that won’t give you as many problems.