What happens when Skydio 2/2+ Enterprise loses signal?

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  1. Skydio
  2. Skydio 2/2+ Enterprise
  3. Flying Skydio 2/2+ Enterprise

Establishing return behaviors for your drone is a critical pre-flight safety precaution that ensures a safe return flight and landing. When a return is triggered, either manually or autonomously, Skydio 2/2+ will ascend to the user-specified height before beginning the return flight. You can customize this return height, and other return settings to ensure that no obstacles, people, or animals will be in the return pathway of your drone. Obstacle avoidance remains present when Skydio 2/2+ loses communication with the controlling device. If you do lose signal, remain calm and let Skydio navigate home by itself.

In-Depth

CS_connection_status_icon.png You can monitor the strength of the signal connection between the controlling device and your Skydio 2/2+. Select the Connection Status icon to display the connected drone status, signal strength, GPS quality, and satellite count. CS_S2PE_connection_status_menu_UI.jpg

Lost Connection return behaviors

If you lose connection, Skydio will default to the Lost Connection settings you have selected prior to your flight:

  • Wait Before Return - the amount of time that you want Skydio to wait before it initiates a return flight, allowing time to reconnect.
  • Land Once Returned - when enabled, Skydio will return, hover for a specified amount of time, then land.
  • Wait Before Land - the amount of time between 0 to 300 seconds (the default is 240 seconds) that you want Skydio to wait before landing. This setting is only enabled when Land Once Return is toggled on.
Skydio will then follow the Return Behavior settings you have selected. Adjust settings such as the speed, orientation, and height of your drone during the return trip. Skydio will use Standard Obstacle Avoidance while returning.

[info text="If the return type is set to GPS but the Skydio 2/2+ enters a GPS denied situation your drone will return to the last known GPS point using vision navigation. If a GPS link is not re-established your drone will return to the launch point using vision navigation."] 

If your signal connection is lost while following a subject:

Skydio 2/2+ uses visual tracking, in combination with GPS and WiFi, to establish its position and keep track of a subject. Occasionally those signals can be obscured by the environment, especially when a subject is moving quickly.
  • If Home Point is set: Skydio will continue to follow the subject for 20 seconds, or until the drone initiates a return home due to a low battery (whichever occurs first). After tracking has stopped, Skydio 2/2+ will wait the specified Wait Before Return time (minus 20 seconds) before returning to the Home Point.
  • If NO Home Point is set: Skydio 2/2+ will continue to track for 20 seconds. After that time, Skydio will wait the specified Wait Before Return time (minus 20 seconds) before returning to the last location it was actively tracking a subject while connected.

If your signal connection is lost while NOT following a subject:

If Home Point is set: Skydio 2/2+ will return to the Home Point you have set.

If NO Home Point is set: Skydio 2/2+ will go to the last known location of a tracked subject. If there was no subject tracked in this flight, Skydio will return to the Launch Point.

[info text="Example: You start your flight in the Motion Track Skill so you can track yourself while biking along a trail. During that same flight, you switch to the Manual Skill and pilot the drone to capture cinematic footage. You lose connection to your drone and you did not set a Home Point for this flight. Based on these circumstances, Skydio will hover and wait the amount of time set in the Wait Before Return setting, then it will return to the last location it tracked you."] 

Recovering a lost drone

In the event that your Skydio 2/2+ is lost, you may view its last known location by selecting your vehicle within the Info tab (Info > Devices) and selecting “Find <vehicle name>”.

Explore More

Explore related articles for additional information

Access Skydio 2/2+ Enterprise Manuals and Guides

How to set the return behaviors on your Skydio 2/2+ Enterprise

 

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