Why won't my DJI Air 3 connect to the controller or phone?

Most DJI Air 3 connection problems come down to one of four things: the drone and controller are not linked, the phone isn't talking to the RC-N2, the controller has no internet for activation or login, or QuickTransfer settings are off on the phone. Re-pairing the controller fixes the most common case and takes under a minute.

Air 3 connection checks — An Air 3 connection problem is one of four separate links. Find the one that is failing, then use the matching fix.

Drone won't connect to the controller

The controller's lights tell you a lot. On the DJI RC 2, a solid red status LED means disconnected from the aircraft, blinking blue means linking, and solid green means connected. On the RC-N2, the battery level LEDs blink slowly when the controller loses its link to the aircraft.

To re-pair (from the Air 3 manual):

Power on the aircraft and the controller. Keep them within 0.5 m (about 1.5 ft) of each other.
Open DJI Fly. In camera view, tap the settings menu, then Control > Re-pair to Aircraft.
Press and hold the aircraft's power button for more than four seconds until it beeps and the battery LEDs blink in sequence.
The controller beeps and its LED turns solid green (RC 2), or its battery LEDs turn solid (RC-N2).

Linking a new controller unlinks the old one. If pairing still fails, update both devices to the latest firmware and try again, or see DJI drone not connecting to controller.

Phone won't connect to the RC-N2

The RC-N2 has no screen, so DJI Fly runs on your phone over a USB cable.

Use the controller cable for your phone's port (USB-C or Lightning). A charge-only cable won't work.
Close and reopen DJI Fly, then unplug and replug the cable.
Update DJI Fly from your app store or the DJI Fly download page.
On Android, if a prompt asks which app to open, choose DJI Fly.
Try a different phone to rule out a phone setting.

More fixes are in RC not connected to mobile device.

"No network connection" or "account not logged in"

Activation, firmware updates, GEO zone unlocks and map downloads need internet and a DJI account. The drone itself doesn't connect to Wi-Fi.

DJI RC 2: slide down twice from the top of the screen to open Quick Settings. Tap the Wi-Fi icon to turn it on, or hold it to open settings and join a network. A phone hotspot works.
RC-N2: DJI Fly uses your phone's data or Wi-Fi. Check that DJI Fly is allowed to use mobile data.
Then log in under the profile tab in DJI Fly.

See DJI account not logged in: check network for more.

Phone won't connect to the drone over Wi-Fi

That is QuickTransfer, which links the phone directly to the aircraft to download files. Turn on Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and location services on the phone, and press and hold the aircraft power button for two seconds to confirm the first time. The DJI RC 2 does not support QuickTransfer. Full steps: Air 3 QuickTransfer not working.

Still not connecting

If the aircraft LEDs never respond, or pairing fails after a firmware refresh in DJI Assistant 2, the controller or the aircraft's transmission module may be faulty. Contact DJI support or start a repair. More about this drone is in the Air 3 guide.