A DJI drone that hovers a short way above the ground instead of landing is usually being held up by Landing Protection: its downward sensors think the surface is unsafe, so it waits for you to confirm. Tap confirm in DJI Fly or hold the throttle stick all the way down for about a second, and it will land. A drone that won't power off afterward usually has a failed firmware update or a damaged power button, according to DJI.
Why it won't land
During landing and Return to Home, DJI drones check the ground below. DJI's Mini 4 Pro manual describes three outcomes:
- Suitable ground: it lands.
- Unsuitable ground: it hovers and waits for you to confirm.
- Can't tell: DJI Fly shows a landing prompt at 0.5 m. Tap confirm, or push the throttle all the way down and hold it for one second.
The Neo does the same, but its prompt appears at 0.3 m. Grass blowing in wind, water, shiny tiles, plain surfaces and low light all confuse the sensors.
Force the landing
- Hold the throttle down. Keep the left stick (Mode 2) fully down until the drone touches and the motors stop. DJI says the motors can be stopped after landing by holding the throttle down or by repeating the start-motors stick command.
- Move it. Fly a few meters to flat, textured ground in good light, then descend again.
- Neo and Flip palm landing. Hover the drone, put your hand flat right under it, and keep still. DJI says the Neo's palm landing works within 0.7 m below it, and it may rise slightly before settling. Don't grab it.
Never stop the motors in the air to "drop" it. By default, DJI drones only allow a mid-air motor stop in an emergency such as a collision or a stalled motor, and it causes a crash. See DJI emergency propeller stop.
Neo not landing on its own
The Neo lands itself on critical low battery, or when positioning fails or it detects a collision in Palm Control and app control. If it's hovering in a mode like Follow, it waits for you. Use palm landing or land it from DJI Fly or the controller.
Drone won't turn off
DJI's help center gives two causes when the drone or battery won't power off:
- A failed firmware update. Reinsert the battery and run the update again. On the Neo, DJI says to retry with DJI Assistant 2 if it fails. See DJI firmware update failed.
- A damaged power button. On the Neo and Mini series the button is on the drone, so the drone goes to DJI for repair.
Check you're using the right press: on Neo, Flip and Mini models it's press once, then press and hold. The Flip also starts a power-off countdown when you fold both rear arms, but DJI says this won't happen while it's accessing the album, downloading or updating, or after a collision in that flight. Pressing any button during the countdown cancels it.
For an Osmo or RS gimbal that won't shut off, see DJI RS 4 not calibrating or not turning on. If none of this works, start a repair.
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