How to Fix Performance Issues on a DJI Spark

Authored by: Support.com Tech Pro Team

1. Introduction

In This Guide

You'll Learn How To:

• Improve the performance of your DJI drone.

2. Safety First

As with all Drone flying, please keep the following in mind:

• Make sure you are properly registered with the Federal Aviation Administration, or qualify to fly without registration.
• Make sure you have permission to fly from the person or group that owns the land you'll be over.
• Make sure you are in-touch with the control tower before flying near an airport.
• Make sure there's no obstructions, such as power lines or trees, above your flight area that could cause problems.
• Make sure there's no one below your flight area that could be hurt.
• Make sure you are not near government infrastructure or other sensitive properties.
• Make sure the weather is safe to fly in.
• Make sure you keep your drone in your sight at all times, and get help from an observer if necessary.

For more detailed information, please visit:
http://knowbeforeyoufly.org/

3. Toggle Flight Mode

The DJI Spark drone has two flight modes you can manually select, plus an additional flight mode the drone will fall back to in certain circumstances. Each of these flight modes affect the drone's behavior and performance. Understanding them can help you select the right mode for the environment you're piloting the drone in and prepare you for potential performance issues or hazardous situations. The three flight modes are:

• P-Mode (Positioning): P-Mode is the standard flight mode for the majority of pilots. In this mode, all the sensors on your aircraft are active, including GPS and any available vision. This results in precise hovering of your drone, even if you stop controlling it with the remote control. P-Mode requires a strong GPS signal to function and will disconnect if lost. This mode is best for safe flight and navigating between obstacles. Large stick movements must be made on the remote control to achieve high flight speeds.
• S-Mode (Sport): S-Mode is a more advanced mode of flight. In this mode, the drone uses only GPS signal for positioning. While this increases the available speed of your drone, obstacle sensing systems are disabled. As such, the drone is unable to sense and avoid obstacles on its own. S-mode is designed for agility and speed in the air, making it more responsive and sensitive to stick movements. This means a small stick movement on the remote control translates into a large travel distance of the drone. Maximum speed, descent speed and breaking distance are significantly increased. Greater care must be taken when flying in this mode.
• A-Mode (ATTI or Attitude): Your drone will enter ATTI Mode when the vision systems are disabled or unavailable and either it loses GPS signal or if there’s compass interference. ATTI mode is designed only to maintain the altitude and attitude of the drone and does not use any GPS or vision systems. Therefore, this allows the drone to drift and move in windy conditions and needs to be carefully controlled manually.
  
• While ATTI Mode is available on all drones, it cannot be manually selected on the DJI Spark.

To select the flight mode you wish to pilot the drone in, slide the flight mode switch in the middle of the remote control to the left for P-mode or to the right for S-mode.

By default, the drone is locked in P-mode regardless of the switch position. To be able to switch between flight modes with the remote control, the Multiple Flight Modes feature needs to be enabled in the DJI GO 4 app. Here's how to do it:

1. Launch the DJI GO 4 app on your mobile device.
   

1. Go into the menu (three dots) in the top right corner.
   

1. Then go to the drone tab on the left.
   

1. And enable the Multiple Flight Modes option.
   

4. Restart RC & Drone

To complete the following steps, you will need both your remote control and drone handy.

On the Remote Control

1. To turn off the remote control, press and release the power button then press it again quickly and hold it until the lights turn off.
   

1. To turn it back on, press and release the power button then press it again quickly and hold it until you hear it make the initialization sound.

On the Drone

3. To turn off the drone, press and release the power button then press it again quickly and hold it until the lights turn off.
   

3. To turn it back on, press and release the power button then press it again quickly and hold it until you hear it make the initialization sound.

5. Reseat/Replace Battery

To reseat or replace the battery you have to follow the same steps:

1. Press the battery buckles and detach the battery.
   

1. Wait 10 seconds.
2. Insert the same or replacement battery into place.
   

6. Charge Battery

Your Spark drone has an intelligent battery, that will not start up if it is not fully charged. Please charge your battery to full first.

1. Plug in the USB cable into the provided AC adapter and plug that into a power outlet.
   

1. Plug the other end into the Spark.
   

1. The battery will be done charging when the lights are all on or all off.
   

7. Charge RC

1. Plug one end of the provided USB cable into the charger then plug the charger into a power outlet.
   

1. Plug the other end of the same cable into the Micro USB port of the remote control.
   

1. The battery indicator lights will start scrolling until they turn off meaning the remote control is charged.
   

8. Additional Information

To better assist you, please answer this question.

9. Repair Issues with Your DJI Spark Companion App

Show Me HowClicking this button will open a new guide that will provide you with steps to resolve your issue.

10. How to Update Your DJI Spark Drone

Show Me HowClicking this button will open a new guide that will provide you with steps to resolve your issue.

11. How to Factory Reset your DJI Spark Drone

Show Me How

Clicking this button will open a new guide that will provide you with steps to resolve your issue.

12. What's next?