How to fly dji in restricted zone?

Question

Avalok Thakur, · Answer

In this guide, we’ll walk you through how to identify whether where you want to fly is in airspace that requires unlocking, the two different types of geofencing DJI uses, and what to do to unlock each one of them.

Here’s our YouTube video, but if you’d prefer to read through this guide, please scroll below:

Start by using DJI’s Fly Safe Geo Map to see whether the area in which you want to fly is located in a geofenced “zone” that will require unlocking.

To do this, enter the address of the location where you want to fly in the search box in the top left of the interactive map that appears on the Geo Map page, and then click on the area to populate the geofencing zones in the location where you want to fly.

Quick note: Make sure to check off the “Warning Zones” and “Enhanced Warning Zones” boxes below the map to make sure all of the geofencing information relevant to your mission will be included in your search.

Once you input the location where you want to fly, you’ll notice color-coding indicating the different kinds of geofencing zones that cover the area (these colors correspond with the “DJI GEO Zones” you see listed horizontally below the map in the screenshot above).

Red zones indicate restricted areas, which require a Custom Unlock. We’ll walk you through how to request a Custom Unlock in the next section.

Gray zones indicate areas with altitude restrictions and are usually found near airport runways. Due to safety reasons, these restrictions cannot be turned off.

Blue zones indicate areas where flying is risky but up to the discretion of the pilot, and may be flown after completing a Self Unlock. We’ll walk you through how to perform a Self Unlock in the next section.

Yellow zones indicate areas where flying is potentially dangerous but does not require any unlocking (these are those Warning Zones and Enhanced Warning Zones areas). When taking off in these areas, a warning will be shown to pilots along with a request for the pilot to take responsibility for flying in the area by checking a box.

As we’ve already noted, there are two types of unlocking you can perform on your DJI drone: a Self Unlock (associated with blue zones) and a Custom Unlock (associated with red zones).

Self Unlock zones can be unlocked fairly easily by clicking through a series of steps, while Custom Unlock zones require proof of authorization (via LAANC or other documentation, such as a COA).

A Custom Unlock requires proof of authorization for flying in the restricted area and can only be requested via DJI’s website. Make sure to secure your Custom Unlock before you go into the field—don’t arrive on-site and expect to get a Custom Unlock right away.

Before you start the process listed below, make sure to secure authorization to fly in the area where you are requesting a Custom Unlock, since you’ll need to present this authorization to DJI in order to have your unlock request granted.

[To learn more about how to get airspace authorization see this step-by-step resource we created.]

Self Unlock can be done either before you fly or while you’re at the location where you plan to fly. Here’s how to do each one.

*Depending on the area, in order to trigger the Self Unlock prompt while on location you must have internet access (which means you won’t be able to do Self Unlock using an iPad that does not have internet access).

**You may need to perform a CSC maneuver to trigger the Self Unlock prompt to appear. If the prompt is not appearing, try doing a CSC maneuver to trigger the prompt.

Pro Tip: Although DJI documentation says that Self Unlock only works on a desktop browser, if you are in the field and only have an iPhone you can use Safari to do a Self Unlock by clicking the share button at the bottom of the screen, then selecting “request desktop site.” Doing this will allow you to do a Self Unlock on the DJI Self Unlock webpage while in the field.

Aasim Department · Answer

With a little bit of effort, you can unlock the no-fly zones and fly your drone wherever you want.

There are two main ways to bypass DJI’s no-fly zones restrictions:

DJI Fly Safe is a set of tools and features that help drone pilots fly safely and responsibly. It includes things like geofencing, which prevents drones from flying in certain areas, and a flight data recorder, which records information about the drone’s flight path in case of an accident.

DJI Fly Safe unlocking is a process that allows you to bypass DJI’s geofencing from the restricted zones. This can be useful if you want to fly in an area that is normally off-limits, or if you want to use a drone with features that are normally restricted.

This method uses a special code to unlock the no-fly zone restrictions. The code is entered into the DJI GO app, and it will automatically unlock the DJI no-fly zones. This method is much easier to use than self-unlocking, and it does not require any special software or knowledge.

DJI self unlocking is a feature that allows you to bypass DJI geofencing from the restricted zones without having to go through the official unlocking process.

You can self-unlock either before you fly or while you are at the location where you want to fly.

Self-unlocking is the process of manually overriding the DJI no-fly zones’ restrictions. This can be done by connecting your drone to a computer and using special software to change the drone’s GPS coordinates. This is a fairly complicated process, and it is not recommended for novice users.

To determine whether you’ll need to unlock an area before flying there, start by checking the DJI Fly Safe Geo Map on DJI.

To do so, go to the Geo Map page and enter the address of the location where you want to fly in the search box in the top left corner. Then fill out the geofencing zones in the area where you want to fly by clicking on them.

Note: To ensure that all of the geofencing data relevant to your mission is included in your search, make sure to check off the “Warning Zones” and “Enhanced Warning Zones” boxes below the geo zone map.

Wondering how to remove DJI No-Fly Zones on your drones? Thanks to the great drone hack, it is easier than ever. Drone pilots have long awaited a solution for DJI geo zones functionality, which limits pilots’ ability to take off in particular areas. Drone Hacks has offered multiple solutions to remove these restrictions but now has an easy-to-use solution.

The FAA rules define the ultimate responsibility of a drone pilot. Drone pilots must understand where they are permitted to fly and where they are not allowed to do so.

The FAA has stepped up its recent efforts to educate pilots on how to safely access airspace.

Visit: The FAA regulations and rules for flying drones page for more information.

The FAA has even required recreational pilots to complete a recreational quiz, the Trust Program before they take to the skies. We believe pilots should know where they can and cannot fly legally.

This new software change allows responsible drone pilots to take flight in controlled airspace when they have LAANC approval. Or simply put an approval to fly in controlled airspace. Even when pilots have airspace approval, oftentimes their drones can remain grounded.

DJI’s geo zones have inhibited pilots from taking off in certain areas, even if it was a legal flight. Oftentimes this system has flaws. The system will auto-populate TFRs in areas where there are no TFRs. We have run into these issues ourselves. The system has also made commercial operations more complex and problematic.

Drone U even showed drone pilots how to hack their Mavic 2 Pro to acquire Attitude mode for safer flight and smoother video motions.

Now, responsible pilots can simply plug in their drones and remove all DJI No-fly zone’s from their drones. We recommend this solution for commercial pilots, but recreational pilots should exercise caution using when hacking their drones. The new hack adds a certificate to the drone to essentially remove any take-off limitations. Supposedly the hack will still show pilots when they are in restricted and controlled airspace.

There are some caveats to this particular hack though. The hack adds the certificate to the drone, but if pilots are looking to fly inside, they’ll have to turn the certificate off in order to take flight.

The hack is supposed to work for a wide variety of DJI drones. When the hack was first launched, some users reported errors on Facebook. Most of those errors seem to have been fixed at this time.

The biggest question we have seen in the comments is if the hack will remove the warranty of any given drone. The warranty of the aircraft shouldn’t be voided by simply adding a certificate to fly in airspace. Multiple users have reported hacking their drones and still being able to use DJI’s care refresh program.

Yet this issue is an important point to choosing to use insurance rather than DJI’s care refresh program when replacing a drone.

A Custom Unlock can only be obtained via DJI’s website and requires proof of authorization for a flight in the restricted zones. Before you go into the field, make sure to get your Custom Unlock, do not expect to receive a Custom Unlock straight away.

You can watch our video to know more about Custom Unlocking Your DJI Drone.

Drone Pilots must have the authorization to fly in controlled airspace to legally conduct operations. This hack does not waive any liability. The pilot is still ultimately responsible and should know where they can and cannot fly. We ask pilots to use this hack responsibly to ensure the safety of the airspace.

Bruklin Loy · Answer

In this guide, we will establish how to unlock DJI Drones to enable flight planning in defined Geo-restricted (no fly) zones.

DJI is one of the leading brands in drone technology and is often seen as one of the top innovators in drone safety.

As a leader in drone safety, DJI implemented its own Geo Zone system also known as a No Fly Zone.

GEO zones that prohibit flight are implemented around locations such as airports, power plants, and prisons. They are also temporarily implemented around major stadium events, forest fires, or other emergencies.

Certain GEO zones don’t prohibit flight but do trigger warnings that inform users of potential risks.

The Hammer Hub has a built-in No-fly Zone map that enables you to quickly check if your planned flight falls within any of these Geo Zones or No-Fly Zones. To access the No-fly zone map on the Hammer Hub click the aircraft icon on the right-hand side of the screen.

Before you fly it is highly recommended that all of your equipment is up to date and has the latest firmware installed, this includes not only the drone but any accessories, including the DJI App and CrystalSky monitors if you use them.

In this post, we will take you through how you unlock those Geo Zones (No-Fly Zones) to enable drone flights in those specified restricted areas.

So what are Geo-Zones and what do they look like?

DJI’s GEO Zone System defines where it is safe to fly, where flight may raise concerns, and where flight is restricted.

DJI have created their own GEO Zone map that defines areas of concern when planning your flights. You can check this map on their designated GEO Zone website:

https://www.dji.com/flysafe

Each zone has its own category and is colour coded.

You will see from the example above that areas on the map are coloured to determine their severity.

The key below gives you an indication of what each colour means and how that may affect your planned flight.

The example above has three defined coloured areas, Grey, Blue, and Red. As you can see from the key these are as follows:

GREY: Altitude Zone, these will present themselves as a warning on the DJI App and flight altitude will be limited.

BLUE: Authorisation Zone, these present themselves as a warning on the DJI App, and flight is limited by default. These zones may be unlocked on the DJI App by authorised users with a verified DJI account.

RED: Restricted Zone, these will present themselves as a warning on the DJI App and flight will be prevented. To unlock these zones you will need to contact flysafe@dji.com or perform an online unlock.

As you can see from the last two examples, blue and red, there are times when you will need to unlock your drone to perform a flight, so how do we perform an unlock to operate in those authorised or restricted areas?

There are two methods of unlocking your drone to fly in restricted or authorised areas. These are known as custom unlocks and live unlocks, here we will discuss unlocking your drone in both Authorisation Zones and Restricted Zones.

Authorisation zones, those zones that are BLUE, require an unlock which can be performed both in the DJI app or on the FlySafe website. Here we will discuss unlocking using live unlock:

Live unlock is available in a BLUE zone and involves unlocking your drone in the field before performing your planned flight, this is done in the DJI App.

You will need to make sure your device has an internet connection for the authorisation to be established.

You will be notified that you are in an authorisation zone the moment you start the props, the following steps will allow an unlock for 24 Hours.

1: The app will notify you that you have entered an Authorisation zone and ask if you wish to apply for a self-unlock to access it. Press Ok to continue.

2: Check both boxes and press OK

3: You will be prompted to enter your phone number, make sure you have the correct country code. This is for identity authentication, you will also have to check the box to agree to the DJI Geo Zone Unlocking Conditions.

4: You will receive a text message to verify your identity, input this here.

5: Confirm that you are authorised by checking the boxes and then press OK

6: Once you press OK you will see the notification that unlocking was successful

You can also use a custom unlock to fly in an Authorisation Zone, this requires you to have a verified DJI Account. Custom unlocks are used as an alternative method of unlocking for Authorisation Zones and are the only way to unlock a Restricted Zone.

In the next section we we look at how you unlock using custom unlock.

Restricted zones, those zones that are RED, require a custom unlock which can only be performed on the FlySafe website and requires you to have a verified DJI Account which can be set up on the FlySafe site. Here we will discuss unlocking using custom unlock:

1: Navigate to https://www.dji.com/flysafe and scroll down the page until you get to the section labeled Unlocking Requests

2: Click 'Unlock A Zone' and you will be presented with a log-in page

3: From here you can create a DJI Account or log in to one you have previously created. For the purpose of this tutorial, we will assume that you have already created one. Log into your DJI account.

4: Once you have logged in you will see the page where you can request a new unlock. You will see from this example that some unlocks have already been authorised (some information redacted)

5: From here select 'New Unlock Request'

6: Once you have selected 'New Unlock Request' you will have to agree to the terms and conditions and then select which type of unlocking you require.

7: Custom unlocking allows you to draw a circle or polygon anywhere on the map to apply to have that specific area unlocked, Zone unlocking allows you to select the entire GEO Zone as defined by the colours on the map and unlock that area. This also includes authorisation zones as previously discussed.

8: Once you have selected your method of unlocking press confirm, in this example, we have selected custom unlock. You will be presented with a page to input your basic information.

9: Input your information which will include your organisation and drone/drones that require the unlock and press next

10: The following page lets you select your custom unlock area, the altitude you require, and the reason behind the request to have the restricted zone unlocked. You can also upload and supporting documents for your unlock for example agreements with local authorities or NATS authorisation.

11: Once you have inputted the information and uploaded any supporting documents select submit.

DJI tries to review and process all custom unlock requests for Authorized, Restricted, and Altitude Zones within 30 minutes.

You can review your unlock requests, and can sort them by Waiting for Review, Under Review, Accepted, or Rejected and you will receive an email once a decision has been made.

Once the application has been accepted by the FlySafe Team you will be issued a certificate which will be accessible in your DJI App, this can then be actioned to unlock the designated restricted or authorised zone.

We hope this guide helps you understand the flight planning behind unlocking DJI Drones in restricted GEO Zones.

Once you've unlocked your drone, you probably want to collect high-quality data from the field. If you'd like to learn more about how to capture high-quality data and get the most out of your drone flights using our cloud-based platform, please feel free to visit our learning resources.

If you haven't got a Hammer account and would like to try Hammer Missions you can get started on our free trial.

To learn more about our enterprise solutions, including mission collaboration, data processing, and AI solutions, please contact us at team@hammermissions.com.

We look forward to hearing from you.

— Team at Hammer Missions

Wakefield Dunsdon · Answer