so ive been flying for about three weeks now, got a cheap holy stone thing to learn on before i spend real money. everything was going fine but lately when i let go of the sticks it doesnt just hover, it kind of slowly drifts in whatever direction it was going. thought maybe wind but it does it inside too. did i break something or is this just how these work

probably needs to be calibrated. most of these budget drones have an IMU and compass calibration you have to redo every so often, especially if you moved to a new location or bumped it around in a bag. check the holy stone manual for the specific button combo to start the calibration, usually involves holding both sticks in a certain position. also make sure youre doing it on a flat level surface away from anything metal or electronic

that said some drift on cheaper drones is just... kind of expected. they dont have the same optical flow sensors that more expensive ones use to hold position precisely. the holy stone likely only has GPS hold and if the GPS lock isnt great it'll wander a bit

had the exact same thing with my old eachine, turned out i just never calibrated it after i took it somewhere new. five minutes and it was fine. if calibration doesnt fix it though and its drifting hard in one direction it could be a motor issue but that usually comes with a noise