Strong interference warning

[Justanotherdudewithadrone]

Hey everyone. I’ve read a lot of different forums, drones and misc other. First time posting a thread or whatever this is called. Anyways, first off I’d like to say I’ve noticed when someone asks a question that someone else thinks is common knowledge, or at least that they know the answer, they can respond being rude and belittling the questioner. Let’s remember we are not here to prove how much we know (phrase removed by moderator)…so lets stick to that point.

Here’s my question…I recently bought a phantom 3 standard and have only flown it maybe a dozen times at my house, none farther than 100 yards and I’m still getting a feel for the thing. This evening I went to fly it and while it was still warming up I got the “strong signal interference” warning. It’s the first time I’ve gotten that.
I’ve read through some here and with a google search, but I haven’t found anything definitively answering this:
Is it possible that that warning could be from not necessarily only other drones in the area but could it be triggered by someone trying to hack into my drone and fly it away as their own?
I can will go into details if there is any curiosity, but I have very good reason to believe that could be the case.

Thanks in advance, looking forward to opinions/knowledge

 

[Meta4]

This evening I went to fly it and while it was still warming up I got the “strong signal interference” warning.
Is it possible that that warning could be from not necessarily only other drones in the area but could it be triggered by someone trying to hack into my drone and fly it away as their own?

I'm not sure why you'd think interference might come from another drone.
And no ... it wasn't a result of someone trying to hack into your drone and fly it away as their own.
Interference is common and normal in residential and urban areas.
Drone flyers see it all the time.

I can will go into details if there is any curiosity, but I have very good reason to believe that could be the case.

Your suspicions are beyond unlikely.

 

[Pygar70]

Your suspicions are beyond unlikely.

Not least because it's a P3.
No offense to P3 owners, but if I could hack in to a drone on the fly and was inclined to thieve, I'd pick myself a spanking new Mavic 3!

I did want to hear his story, though...

 

[Deleted member 62848]

Ha yip Joy's of wifi,,,number of items in city limits can have a invisible field of electromagnetic signals ,,some might cause a remote disconnect and maybe reconnect but as long as RTH height set depending on locations of flight it shall return,,you metion warming up,,be aware of launch area ,,thers also a similar warning called ""strong magnetic interference "" which caused by steel in driveways, some sheds which can upset the compass which sometimes ends bad,if you get that anywhere just move you drone and retry,,
And welcome to forum
Oh only hacking available these days is from a drone gun so you pretty safe in that regard

 

[Andy9]

Such interference is often caused by the cell phone you have in your pocket.
I usually put it into The flight mode when I'm flying the drone.
However, it is safer to fly in a place with no such warnings.

 

[David_Cambridge]

Cell phones do not interfere, but WiFi networks do. They operate on the same frequencies that the drones do, and come and go randomly. Note that cell phones can emit 2 kinds of signals - the cell frequencies themselves which allow voice communication and do not interfere with drones, and optionally they too can connect with wireless networks, and will interfere with drones.

An additional factor is that the interference power of a WiFi network rises exponentially as the drone gets closer as the control signals weaken exponentially as the drone gets further from the rc. This is a basic function of radio frequency signals and cannot be changed. The effects of all of this are not easily visible, and result in the difficulty we all experience.

 

[jephoto]

What everyone above has been saying. And I’ll reiterate that it is not your cell phone. I’ve been flying phantoms since the phantom two and have always had an iPad that needed to get its Wi-Fi via my hotspot on my phone. And I always have it on and that’s what gives me my updated maps while I’m flying on the iPad. It’s never been a problem.
On the other hand metal either as something structural under the asphalt or the street or cement such as rebar, or strong Wi-Fi interference from nearby homes or office buildings has often given me those kind of messages. And sometimes I’ve even had to pick a different place to fly.

I had a job at a landscaping company last year where it kept giving me compass error no matter where I said it down anywhere on the property. And it was on hard gravel surface. Turned out they have gotten all their gravel from an iron ore processing place and there was lots of metal in the gravel. As soon as I got to a spot of grass on the corner of the property I was able to takeoff.
If it’s something structural under the location you were trying to launch from.
You Can almost always find a patch of grass nearby to set it on and even that will make the difference. And if the grass is too tall and affects your camera when it’s starting up you can just pick up the drone from the top by two fingers so the drone hangs level while it’s initializing and once the camera stops its movements you can set it back down in the grass and you should be good to go.

 

[Andy9]

You are talking about a completely different thing. The thread is not about compass error caused by the metal under the surface or very close to the drone at the takeoff point.
The question is about radio interference of the signal caused by another signal emitting device and this could be the phone.

 

[dangerd]

You may get this warning due to a lot of wifi signals in the area, sometimes microwave devices or cell and communication towers - anything giving off strong radio emissions.

 

[Grey Master]

I often fly from the field across the road from my house. When I have had strong interference warnings I have been stood close to my P3A with my pnone in my pocket. Now either the phone interferes or the phone interferes. It is quite possible that the phone is hunting for the wifi in the house maybe 50 metres away but a simply few paces away from the drone solved the issue.
It could be as straightforward as that.

 

[Johnnydiesel]

Hi I like to fly my phantom on the coasts and never get this warning except once when I was flying near enough to a light house. Had to fly abit further from the lighthouse. Also you said you are new to drones. Don't forget to set your rth height appropriately to the area your flying in.