so ive been reading some stuff about the FAA supposedly cracking down harder on remote ID compliance this year and honestly i cant tell whats real and whats just people on reddit freaking out. anyone actually been stopped or talked to by enforcement while flying? or is this still mostly theoretical

i fly a mini 4 pro mostly in class G airspace well under 400ft, got my TRUST cert, and my drone is remote ID compliant out of the box so im probably fine but i have buddies flying older gear without broadcast modules and theyre kinda nervous. one of them flies a phantom 4 he refuses to retire lol

also heard something about them maybe changing waiver processes again but couldnt find anything solid on the FAA site. the site is a nightmare to navigate anyway

from what i understand the enforcement is real but its still pretty complaint-driven, like they arent sending people out to random parks to check your drone. if someone calls in a complaint about a drone and they can identify the pilot, then remote ID becomes part of the conversation. your friends flying without modules in uncontrolled airspace are technically in violation but the practical risk day to day is still pretty low unless they do something dumb that draws attention

that said i wouldnt push it. broadcast modules are like 30-40 bucks and its just not worth the headache. the phantom 4 situation is real though, those old birds are getting harder to justify keeping legal without spending money on them

yeah the FAA website is genuinely terrible, i spent like an hour trying to find updated guidance on BVLOS waivers last month and gave up. your friend with the phantom should just grab a remote ID module, RioRand makes one that works fine, i put one on my old mavic 2 and it was painless. dont let him be the cautionary tale story people share on here lol