6 Quick Tips For Your DJI Mini 3 Pro drone from 51 Drones!

 Hi everyone. I hope you’re having a great day. In this video, I’m going to give you six useful tips for your Mini 3 Pro. And two of the things that I’m going talk about are how to deal with some design issues that may exist in this drone. Some people are having some issues, and I’m going to talk about it and let you know what I think. So let’s get started.

1. Insert a microSD card into the remote controller

Hi everyone, my name is Russ. Welcome to the channel. Now, the first tip that I have for you on the Mini 3 Pro today is if you have the RC controller, you should always have a micro SD card inserted into it. And this is for two reasons.

First of all, and the most important reason to do that is, so you are able to screen record every single flight. You don’t have to have a card in the drone and the controller for it to work, but I do recommend having one in the controller as well as the drone because you can screen-record your flight. And the reason I recommend that is that if anything ever goes wrong with your drone throughout your flight, you’ll have a recording to help supplement the flight data that you might have to send to DJI. And this is going to help provide some perspective.

It’s going to help provide more details to anyone that may be examining that flight data, and that’s going be very, very useful. You know, sometimes they do ask for that, and if you can just provide that right up front, um, that’s going help you out in the end.

So now the other reason to do that. It also acts as a backup for any video that you might lose from the card that’s on your drone. And, of course, the footage is not going to be professional looking. It’s lower resolution. It’s going to have those overlays on it. But let’s say you get a once-in-a-lifetime shot, and that card fails for some reason from the drone, at least you still have it in some way from the screen recording.

So, screen-record. Screen-record. Screen-record. Every single time you fly.

Now, if you don’t have the RC and you have the RC-N1 controller with your mobile device on top, whether it be a tablet or your phone, I do recommend screen recording on your phone as well, or whatever mobile device that you’re using because again, it’s just a great backup to have.

It’s nice to be able to Review if you have to go back and look at something. It’s nice to have that data, and I think the more information, the better. So screen-record every flight, you guys.

2. Format your microSD card in your drone

Now, speaking of micro SD cards, another tip that I have for you is that when you get a new card like you order a new card for your drone and you know you’re about to go flying, make sure that you format your card while it’s installed in the drone.

Don’t. Just pop it in and start recording on it. This needs to set, be set up in your drone. Also, don’t format it on your computer. Don’t format it in your camera, and then pop it in the drone and record with the drone that goes with any device. You don’t wanna format a card in one device and then use it in another device.

And the reason that you don’t wanna do that is that it messes with the compatibility. You always want to format your card in the drone because it maximizes compatibility and it sets up the proper block size that matches the drone camera

Now, I learned that a long time ago when I started flying, when I had my DJI Mavic Pro, and I don’t completely understand it, but it is one bit of information I’ve retained.

Is that formatted in the drone? Because when it formats it, it sets up certain blocks, like data is stored in blocks on the card. And if you mess with that, if you do it somewhere else and bring it into the drone, there’s a chance of that becoming corrupted. Something might go wrong. It doesn’t happen a whole lot, but it does happen, and it’s not worth the risk.

And then the other thing that I learned years ago is if you do happen to use a card, like let’s say, let’s say you have your 360 camera or your GoPro, or your action camera or any other camera. You forgot to put a card in your drone, of course, that’s a last resort, and you do what you have to do.

But, don’t take your card out of your action camera that’s been formatted and used in your action camera, and then put it in your drone and record with that because there’s a, there’s a good possibility that that data’s going become corrupted. Not always, but it does happen. So just know. Always have a card with you.

That’s another reason to keep an extra card in your controller, because if you do happen to forget the one that’s in your drone, you leave it at home in the computer, and you get out in the field, and you’re like, ah, I forgot my card, but at least I got one in the controller. Then you have that, you have that option to use that backup card on there.

So anyway, just make sure that you format it in the device. Don’t forget to do that. That’s really, really important.

Now, as far as what card to use, what exact card to use, you know, there are so many different cards out there, really comes down to a personal choice. I’ve been using the Sandisk Extreme Pro cards for a very long time.

I’ve had no problems with them. Some of you might like the Lexar, some of you might use the Sony cards, and honestly, whatever works for you, use that card. I’ll put a link in the video description for the ones that I use. They usually go on sale probably once a month. They’re always on sale. But I’ll put that link down there.

The one thing that you do need to be careful of is counterfeit micro SD cards. So when you purchase a card, whether it be on Amazon or another website, Make sure that the vendor, the person selling the company, selling the card is the card manufacturer.

What happens is people can get these cards and put a fake label on them, and it’s not an actual micro SD card from that company, and those are made very, very cheaply.

You know, they’re selling for full price, but they’re not the actual authentic card. SanDisk is one of the most counterfeited cards on the market, so when you go online, make sure that you are purchasing from that company. Okay? Don’t buy from a third party, if possible. So just be very, very careful because there’s, there’s starting to be a lot more of that out there.

3. DJI Mini 3 Pro battery lock tabs can crack

Now the next one I’m going talk to you about is this is something that quite a few people, not quite a few, but a few people have been having an issue with, and that’s with the batteries for the Mini 3 Pro. It’s a pretty major issue if it’s widespread, but I don’t think it’s widespread. But anyway, what’s happening is the lock tabs.

These lock tabs right here. They’ve been cracking, and some of them have been completely breaking off, which can be pretty frustrating as well as catastrophic. Now, one gentleman on one of the forums thought that maybe his issue was that it was very cold. It was like flying, I think it was like 24 degrees Fahrenheit, but then there was another person that said, no, they were doing it in the fall when it was nice and warm out.

And they were flying in the fall, and their tab broke off as well. I wanted to test this out for myself because that’s a pretty big issue. You know, if it’s a design issue, maybe it’s just, I don’t know.

So what I did is I just started inserting this into the power bank, and I just stuck it in and out of the Power Bank like a hundred times.

I didn’t count exactly, but it was at least a hundred times to see if I could crack that tab. I also did it with the drone. Pushed it in and out of the drone several times. I think it was at least a hundred. And, then, finally I just squeezed these tabs again and again and again, and I squeezed them in as far as I could.

Like I tried to stress it out as much as I could because on the regular batteries, on the batteries that keep the drone under 249 grams, there’s no stop in there. Like you can push these things in really, really far on the, um, on the longer flight battery, there’s a stop in there. So when you try to push the tab in, it actually stops because there’s something in there that’s stopping it from going all the way in.

So I was pushing this in as far as it goes, as hard as I could, and I did that a hundred times. I squeezed it on both sides like this as much as I could, and I pushed on the top more. I pushed on the bottom more. I could not get that to fail, and there was no cracking. There’s nothing on this battery.

So the only thing that I could deduce after my testing is that this problem that I’m seeing on the forums. It’s only with maybe a certain batch of batteries. Like maybe there was just a time when they used a different kind of process or a different kind of plastic, or I don’t know, but I’m not having any problems.

I want to know if any of you, watching right now, have you experienced this issue? Go check your batteries right now and look at them. Do you have any cracks right here in this weak point on these tabs? Is there any problem? And then let me know in the comments, let’s see how widespread this is. Or if it’s just a few people that are having this.

4. Calibrate the IMU on your DJI Mini 3 Pro

Now let’s get back to the Mini 3 Pro for just a second. I’m going to talk about calibrating your IMU. Now, when should you calibrate your IMU? Some say that you should only do it when the drone prompts you to. It’ll say Im calculation, calibration required, or whatever. I can’t remember what it says, but it tells you, you know, calibrate your IMU.

But I also advise calibrating it, if your drone starts acting erratically or doing weird things. Sometimes you might experience a little bit of drifting outside the normal parameters. You might see a drone just when it’s hovering. It might be drifting, even though you have a solid GPS lock, or when you’re flying, maybe you’re pushing the stick straight ahead, but the drone’s just kind of drifting a little bit to the right.

After you’ve calibrated your sticks and after you’ve calibrated your compass, calibrate your IMU too, because sometimes that will help. Actually, every time I’ve done it, that’s helped with any kind of drifting that I’ve had on my Mini 3 Pro. It’s only happened twice, but the IMU was the issue, so keep that in mind.

Okay. By far, the most common issue when calibrating your IMU as a beginner, a lot of people start to do the calibration, and they’re watching the screen. Then it gets up to 95% after that first position. You know, you have the drone setting down, and it says 95%. And then you’re just waiting. And you’re waiting, and you’re waiting.

And I made this mistake too, my very first time. You’re not watching the screen, so you’re not actually seeing what you’re supposed to do with the drone. You have to reposition it to the position that it wants you to. So you have to set it on the side, and then it’ll show you set it on the other side, and it’ll say step one of five, step two of five, step three of five.

And if you’re not paying attention, or if this is the first time you’ve ever done it, you’re not going do anything. You’re just going to let the drone sit there, and you’re like, why is this stuck at 95%? And so just keep that in mind. Watch the screen as it’s calibrating, and it will show you how to position the drone.

It’s a very common mistake, but it should only take about two minutes to calibrate your IMU. So if it’s taking longer than that, just make sure that you have the drone position correctly.

5. Weak screws on the DJI Mini 3 Pro

So, as many people know, the screws that hold the propellers on the Mini 3 Pro are very weak. This is a well-known issue, and quite a few people have had their screws break off while they’re changing propellers and even while in flight, which can be very, very concerning.

That could least lead to a crash. So how do you prevent this? One thing, I believe it’s a result of over-tightening these screws because what happens is you actually twist the screws a little bit, and then when the motor spin, you know, over time, it puts a lot of torque on those screws, and eventually they break.

So just know that you don’t need to tighten those screws super, super tight. You don’t need to torque ’em down as soon as you feel resistance that’s tight enough. Don’t twist it beyond that.

Also, this screwdriver that DJI sends with the kit, with it, you know, to change your propellers, it’s complete garbage. Okay? It’s too big. It doesn’t set into the screw. The screws are soft. Plus, this is not the right size to exactly the screw size, so you run the risk of stripping the screw, and a lot of people are having that issue. And the reason is cause they’re using this piece of junk right here. So my suggestion is to get yourself a good electronics screwdriver kit or an electrician’s screwdriver kit.

They’re not that expensive. This one I’ve used, I’ve had this one for a long time. This is from, um, Klein Tools. You can find this in any hardware store, Home Depot, Lowe’s, or whatever. Just look in the electrical section. It’s not going be where the regular screwdrivers are.

This is going to be in the electrical section of your hardware store. If you don’t live near your hardware store, I’ll put a link for this in the video description. I like this one because I can keep all of my bits in the handle. Okay? And you need what you need for these screws.

On the Mini 3 Pro, you need a triple zero screw. Okay. Phillips head, screw triple zero. Keep that in mind. So when you’re shopping around, you don’t have to get this one. But this, I think, this was 20 bucks or 19 bucks or something like that, but there’s a lot of different options out there. I just like this one because I know it’s well-made.

Klein Tools makes a lot of stuff for electrical stuff. Use this and then when you’re changing your props on your drone, make sure that you keep that screwdriver perpendicular to the hub. You know, don’t be screwing it crooked.

Don’t be screwing crooked. You wanna screw straight up and down, right? So make sure that you keep that perpendicular. and you keep it in that position the whole time because if you have any, you know, variability in that position of your screwdriver, that’s going mess with the head of the screw.

So keep that in mind too. Also, try to get a magnetic one. This one’s magnetic. That way, you don’t lose these little screws. That’ll stay stuck to the end of the screwdriver.

6. Use the DJI Mini 3 Pro battery charger as a power bank

So the last tip that I have for you is, and I don’t think enough people know about this, or they don’t remember it, but this charging hub right here for your Mini 3 Pro batteries can also be used as a battery bank.

It’s a power bank, and it’s a super convenient way to charge your phone or your controller. Maybe when you’re out in the field, you know your controller’s getting low, and you can use it to charge other devices. Maybe you got your 360 camera. Or your other action camera, or maybe you have a portable light that you need to charge, or maybe your wireless microphone, if you have the DJI wireless mic, you can charge that with this.

I think it’s just so convenient. All you have to have is a USB to a USB-C or USB to micro cord with you. So, put that in your bag and then you can use this. This is a pretty powerful power bank and you can charge whatever needs to be charged when you’re out in the field.

So again, I don’t think hardly anybody uses it for that but, but I just wanted to throw that out there because I’m sure some of you’re like, oh, I didn’t even know that.

So, but, anyway, if you received any value from this video today about your Mini 3 Pro, click that thumbs-up button. I really appreciate that. Share this video on your social media that helps get the word out and helps people learn more about their Mini 3 Pro. Subscribe to become part of the most interactive drone community on YouTube.

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Have a great day, and as always, fly safe and fly smart.