so anyway ive had this thing for about a year and a half and the range has always felt a bit short compared to what people talk about online but lately its gotten noticeably worse. im talking like it starts getting sketchy at maybe 800 meters in open fields, no real interference around. its running the skylink transmission system which is supposed to handle way more than that.

ive updated firmware, recalibrated the compass, tried different frequencies. controller antennas look fine physically. not sure what else to check. the video feed gets choppy first and then it starts throwing signal warnings. doesnt drop out completely usually but its nerve wracking.

anyone dealt with this before? wondering if its the controller starting to go or something on the drone side. its not under warranty anymore which is fun

check your antenna orientation on the controller ? sounds obvious but a lot of people dont realize the flat face of the antenna needs to point toward the drone, not the edge. makes a surprising difference. also if youre flying near any power lines or even certain agricultural equipment thats been known to mess with skylink more than youd expect.

that said if youve had it a year and a half and its gotten progressively worse rather than always being this way, id look at whether the antennas on the drone itself might be partially damaged or have a loose connection inside. ive seen that happen after harder landings. autel support is actually pretty responsive even out of warranty in my experience, worth emailing them before assuming the worst

mine did something similar a while back and it turned out to be a firmware issue that got introduced in one of the updates ? rolled back one version and it was back to normal range. not saying thats definitely it but might be worth trying if you havent already. i know it sounds backwards that an update would make it worse but it happened to me