DJI Mini 5 Pro Battery Life Test: How Long Does It Really Last?

Let’s talk about juice. Power juice.

Advertised battery time is to drones what ISO performance is to cameras: the manufacturer will do everything it can to convince you its product can do more, even if they have to bend the truth a little.

For me, the actual flight time is always going to be less for a specific reason: I live at 9,350 feet above sea level here in Quito, and at this altitude, batteries always deliver less flight time than they do at sea level.

Manufacturers do everything they can to stretch that advertised number. That’s why when they state a figure—let’s say the “36 minutes” printed on the box of a standard DJI Mini 5 Pro Fly More Combo—it represents a best-case scenario.

But of those 36 minutes, how much is real flight time?

The first thing to consider is a key change made with the release of the original DJI Mini and the new Fly App: they removed the setting that let us define the exact percentage for the low-battery and critical-battery warnings.

This feature was incredibly useful for testing because it allowed you to prevent the automatic Return to Home (RTH) from kicking in until the battery was almost completely depleted.

Now, I know what you’re thinking: “That’s a safety feature! In the wrong hands, it would lead to more crashed drones!” You’re not wrong, but in my opinion, there should be a “developer” or “tester” mode to access these advanced functions. In the early days, I used to set the low-battery warning on my Mavic 2 Pro to 5% or 10%. I remember hovering the drone during a test when the low-battery warning started, and as it tried to land automatically, I would just hold up on the joystick to keep it airborne. How long could it go? In one test, the battery hit 0%, and the drone still hovered for at least two more minutes.

This software limitation is the first reason why accurately testing the true flight time has become so complicated.

Second, every single feature you activate on the drone drains the battery. Want obstacle avoidance turned on? Sorry, we’re shaving off seconds. Planning to actually record video? More seconds are gone. To get a number close to those fabulous 36 promised minutes, you have to fly in unrealistic conditions.

For our test, we replicated the manufacturer’s likely method: we took off and just let the drone hover. No pictures, no videos, and absolutely no movement.

Here’s how our test went:

• 2:00 PM: Takeoff. Sensors off, Normal mode engaged, Photo mode selected.
• 2:20 PM: Still hovering. Battery is at 40%.
• 2:26 PM: First low-battery warning triggers. The drone wants to initiate RTH, which is pointless since it’s only a few feet away.
• 2:28 PM: The drone attempts a forced landing. I fight it by holding the throttle up.
• 2:29 PM: The drone overrides my command and lands. I give up.

Total Flight Time: 29 minutes.

We missed the advertised goal by 7 minutes. There are two clear reasons why:

1. Altitude: We are at a very high altitude. The air is thinner, so the propellers must spin faster to keep the drone airborne, consuming more power.
2. Software Limits: We could not modify the low-battery or critical-battery warnings. When the drone said, “I’m tired, boss,” we couldn’t keep it working any longer.

After the test, we can only confirm what we already suspected: all manufacturers use tactics to make us believe their new drone can fly longer than the previous version.

The DroneXL Take

I’m a huge fan of the Mini series. I sincerely love the Mini 5 Pro. And yes, when you use the drone to its fullest, the battery life is impressive. I’m not just counting the minutes; I’m counting the actions and shots I can get on a single charge. From that perspective, this battery lasts a long time.

The only issue is that to achieve the numbers promised on the box, we have to fly in ways we normally wouldn’t.

So, what’s the conclusion? Yes, the battery can last 36 minutes… but not during normal, everyday use.