DJI has officially responded to claims that the DJI Mini 2 has a minor battery issue, with the drone giant saying a firmware fix is en route to solve the issue.
Earlier this week we saw growing reports, sparked by a video from YouTuber Ian in London, saying that the DJI Mini 2 has a battery discharge issue that may harm the long-term health of its batteries when they're stored in the drone or its charging hub.
The issue is that most LiPo (Lithium Polymer) batteries, like the ones used by the DJI Mini 2, ideally need to slowly discharge when they're left at full charge, because this helps prolong their life and prevent long-term issues. DJI's Intelligent Flight Batteries normally do this, but many users found that the DJI Mini 2's batteries weren't doing it – and DJI's official response bears this out.
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A DJI spokesperson told us: "DJI is working on a firmware update for the Mini 2 and its battery system to initiate auto-discharge when batteries are in the drone or charging hub and have not been used recently."
The spokesperson added: "When placed in the drone or charging hub, the batteries use a minute amount of charge to maintain vital functions and do not initiate auto-discharge. For customers storing their drone for long periods of time, DJI recommends that batteries are removed from the drone and/or charging hub whether the firmware is updated or not. DJI will provide information on timing once that information becomes available."
So there we have it – the advice remains that you remove the DJI Mini 2's battery from the drone or charging hub if you're not planning to use it for weeks, regardless of the firmware update. But for those who have taken their drones away on short trips (or simply forget to remove the battery), a firmware fix is coming to start auto-discharging and protect the long-term health of your batteries.
Full charge ahead
As battery issues go, this auto-discharge problem is a pretty minor one. After all, it isn't something that affects the safety of the drone in flight at all, and is likely something that most DJI Mini 2 owners have barely noticed.
The Mini 2 launched almost exactly a year ago and has been our top pick for the title of best beginner drone since then. But it'll certainly be worth grabbing this firmware update when it arrives, as it should help protect the health of its batteries in the long-term – particularly if, like us, you often forget to remove them in between trips.
There's also been no suggestion that the batteries of other DJI drones, like the new DJI Air 2S, have any auto-discharge issues. The mid-range Air 2S uses a completely different battery to DJI's smaller drones, so this is solely an issue for the Mini 2.
Given the latter is a year old, you may also be wondering if it's due to be succeeded soon. So far, there have been no rumors on that front, but we have started to hear early speculation about the possible arrival of a DJI Mavic 3 Pro – so according to the rumor mill, that drone is likely to be next out of the DJI hangar.
