DJI Mini 2 Battery (All You Need to Know)

The Mini 2 is one of DJI’s most portable drones yet, not to mention it can shoot videos in high-quality 4K. Yet the time will inevitably come when you have to recharge your Mini 2’s Intelligent Flight Battery. How do you do it?

**To charge a DJI Mini 2 Intelligent Flight Battery, you can connect it to the DJI Two-Way Charging Hub and charge up to three batteries at once. You can also charge the battery through the Mini 2 itself using a USB cord. **

If you have yet more questions about the DJI Mini 2’s Intelligent Flight Battery, we have answers. In this extensive guide, we’ll talk more about the battery itself, how to charge it, what the recharge time is, and how you’ll know when your Mini 2 is low on power.

Let’s get started! 

What Battery Does the DJI Mini 2 Use? #

First, let’s talk about the battery that comes with your purchase of the DJI Mini 2. It’s DJI’s own Intelligent Flight Battery, a LiPo 2S battery. LiPo is short for lithium-polymer or lithium-ion polymer. You’ll sometimes also see this type of battery abbreviated as Li-poly or LIP.

Rather than containing liquid electrolytes, LiPo batteries feature a polymer electrolyte. Within the electrolyte is a semisolid gel that’s very conductive. That allows the battery to charge exceptionally well. 

LiPo batteries are known above all else for being lightweight. The battery in your smartphone is a LiPo, as is the case with other mobile devices like tablets. Outside of drones and other small aircraft, you’re likely to see LiPo batteries in electric cars.

So what does the 2S mean? That’s referring to the fact that the Intelligent Flight Battery includes two cells to a series. The nominal voltage of one LiPo battery cell is 3.7 volts, so by increasing it to two cells, the voltage is now 7.4 volts. DJI says the Intelligent Flight Battery is rated for up to 7.7 volts and a charging limit of 8.8 volts.

The rated capacity of the DJI Intelligent Flight Battery is 2250 mAh, with mAh standing for milliamp hours. Most devices with a LiPo battery draw 100 milliamps or mAs per hour. In that case, the Intelligent Flight Battery could do that for 22.5 hours. 

How to Charge the DJI Mini 2 Battery #

Now that you’re more familiar with the technical side of the Mini 2’s Intelligent Flight Battery, let’s delve into the two options you have for charging the battery when it’s close to dead. The first is to use the DJI Two-Way Charging Hub and the second option is to charge while still connected to the Mini 2.

Charging the Mini 2 Battery with the DJI Two-Way Charging Hub #

The DJI Two-Way Charging Hub is not included with your purchase of the Mini 2, so you’d have to buy it separately for $39. The Charging Hub we linked you to is made specifically for the Mini 2. If you own a Charging Hub for another DJI drone, even the original Mini, it wouldn’t be compatible with the Mini 2.

Designed for charging three batteries sequentially, the Two-Way Charging Hub will restore batteries at a rate of up to 29 watts. It can even charge other devices with LiPo batteries such as your phone. 

Here’s how you use the Two-Way Charging Hub to recharge the Mini 2’s batteries. 

Step 1: Begin by removing the batteries from the Mini 2 and putting them in the included battery port. You’ll know the batteries are securely in the port when you hear a clicking sound. 

Step 2: Plug the Two-Way Charging Hub into a power outlet rated for 100 to 240 volts or 50 to 60 hertz via USB cord and an 18W USB charger that you can buy from DJI for $15. 

Step 3: Check the LED lights on the Two-Way Charging Hub, as they’ll indicate when the three batteries are fully charged. Keep in mind that since the Charging Hub works in sequential order, the battery that’s fullest charges before the others. 

Charging the Mini 2 Battery Through the Drone  #

If you don’t own a Two-Way Charging Hub or yours is in the mail but has yet to arrive, you don’t have to keep your Mini 2 drone on the ground until then. You can charge the battery through the DJI drone itself. Here’s how.

Step 1: Check that the battery is firmly in the Mini 2.

Step 2: With a micro-USB plug, connect to a source of AC power that’s no higher than 240 volts. You might need a power adapter for this, so that’s something to keep in mind. 

Step 3: Allow the Intelligent Flight Battery to charge, watching the LEDs that indicate when the batteries are fully charged and ready to go. 

How Long Do DJI Mini 2 Batteries Take to Charge? #

You’ve got your Mini 2 batteries connected to a charger and they’re currently regaining power. Should you read a book or find something else to do while the batteries charge, or do you need to be ready to grab them off the Two-Way Charging Hub in 10 or 15 minutes?

It certainly won’t be that fast! As you know if you’ve ever drained your smartphone battery to almost two percent, the battery doesn’t climb right up to 90 percent in a matter of minutes. Since the Mini 2 batteries are LiPo as well, it’s much the same story.

If you look in your manual for the Mini 2, it mentions that the batteries should take approximately four hours to fully charge. However, some factors can affect charging speed, such as the temperature of the room, the type of charging cable you use, and the charge power. 

How Do You Know When the DJI Mini 2 Battery Is Fully Charged? #

Since so many factors can impact the Mini 2 battery charging time, you can’t necessarily wait four hours, come back, and expect your batteries to be at 100 percent every single time. What indicators can you rely on to tell you the batteries are fully charged?

The Two-Way Charging Hub will clearly spell it out for you with its four LEDs. Here’s what each LED readout means. 

• The first two LED lights are flashing and the third and fourth are on – the battery is between zero and 50 percent
• The first three LED lights are flashing and the fourth light is on – the battery is between 50 and 75 percent
• All four LEDs are flashing – the battery is between 75 and 100 percent
• All four LEDs are solid – the battery has finished charging 

How to Discharge the DJI Mini 2 Battery #

All batteries will self-discharge to an extent, and that includes when they’re not plugged into a source of power. Discharging is more common with batteries filled with electrolyte fluid, but LiPo batteries can self-discharge as well.

The rate of discharge is affected not only by the type of battery but its ambient temperature as well. Once temperatures exceed 131 degrees Fahrenheit or 55 degrees Celsius, discharge increases dramatically. 

Although a discharged battery loses energy and self-discharging is thus generally regarded as negative, it’s not necessarily the worst thing that can happen to a LiPo battery. If the battery remains full or is overcharged, it can begin to swell. 

The gas and heat that accumulates in the battery could lead to the LiPo battery exploding. The battery could even cause a fire in a worst-case scenario. 

Fortunately, swollen batteries are rare, but if you have to self-discharge the DJI Mini 2 battery, how do you do it? 

**It’s simple: to discharge your Mini 2 battery, take it out of the Two-Way Charging Hub. It will slowly self-discharge over time. **

Yes, it really is as easy as that. This DJI forum thread features a post by a user who couldn’t get their batteries to discharge. Other users chimed in and mentioned that they left their batteries in the Charging Hub for upwards of a month without the batteries self-discharging at all.

Keep an eye on the battery level once it’s out of the Charging Hub, as a self-discharging battery is losing juice little by little. We’ll tell you later how to determine how much power your Mini 2 batteries have left, so be sure to check that out!  

How to Remove a DJI Mini 2 Battery? #

In order to charge your DJI Mini 2 battery in the Two-Way Charging Hub, you first have to remove it from the drone. Some Mini 2 owners have found that it can be a bit of a challenge to get the battery out of its slot. 

In order to get the battery to release to slide out, there’s a little tab on the bottom of the battery that pushes in. This needs to be firmly pushed in to release the lock, then while holding the tab in, slide the battery out of the slot. 

The battery may feel like a tight fit in a new drone, or the tab button may be a bit stiff, so use enough force to fully release the battery before trying to slide it out. Whatever you do, don’t try to pry the battery out with anything, as you may damage the drone and/or the battery.

You will also need to push the release tab on the battery to remove it from the charging hub when charging is complete. 

How Long Will a DJI Mini 2 Battery Last? #

You waited the requisite four hours for your Mini 2 batteries to charge, and now you’re ready to fly your drone. How much flight time will you get out of the batteries on average before you have to charge them again?

According to DJI’s website, the Intelligent Flight Battery in the Mini 2 lasts for 31 minutes at a clip. Since the Mini 2 has wind speed resistance features, even in high winds, you don’t necessarily lose much flight time. 

The Mini 2 has among the longest flight times of any drone on the market, beating out the Sim Too Pro and the Autel Robotics EVO Drone, both of which can fly for 30 minutes. Even among DJI drones, the flight time of the Mini 2 is very impressive.

The Phantom 4 flies for only 28 consecutive minutes, the Mavic Pro for 27 minutes, and the Inspire 2 for 27 minutes. The Phantom 3 Standard has an average flight time of 25 minutes and the Phantom 3 Pro flies for upwards of 23 minutes. None can match the Mini 2!

How to Know When It’s Time to Charge a DJI Mini 2 Battery #

How will you know when your Mini 2’s battery is about empty? You can lose track of time when flying a drone, so it’s not like timing yourself for a half-hour would help. 

Worry not, as the Intelligent Flight Battery will tell you courtesy of the DJI Intelligent Battery Management System. This system tracks how much power your drone’s batteries have and indicates their status to you continually. With a calculation of how much more time you can sustain flight with your drone visible to you on your controller screen, you’ll know when to safely land the Mini 2 before it’s at risk of running out of juice. 

What if you flew your Mini 2 for only a little so you know its battery isn’t dead, but you’re curious how much more power is left? In that case, when you get home, plug your Intelligent Flight Battery into the Two-Way Charging Hub.

The four LED lights will indicate the battery level. Here’s the breakdown:

• All four LED lights are on – the battery is at 88 percent or over
• The first three LED lights are on but the fourth one is flashing – the battery is between 75 and 88 percent
• The first three LED lights are on but the fourth one is not – the battery is between 63 and 75 percent
• The first two LED lights are on, the third one is flashing, but the fourth light is off – the battery is between 50 and 63 percent
• The first two LED lights are on but the third and fourth lights are not – the battery is between 38 and 50 percent
• The first LED light is on, the second light is flashing, and the third and fourth light is off – the battery is between 25 and 38 percent
• The first LED light is on but the other three are not – the battery is between 13 and 25 percent
• The first light is flashing and the other three LEDs are off – the battery is between zero and 13 percent 

How to Update DJI Firmware for the Mini 2 #

Remember how earlier we mentioned that Mini 2 owners were reporting that their Intelligent Flight Batteries weren’t discharging when left in the Two-Way Charging Hub? That was a significant enough problem that DJI is working on a firmware update for the issue as of May 2021, says Digital Photography Review. By the way, firmware updates on the drone will automatically extend to the Intelligent Batteries as well. 

When a firmware update is ready, either that one or another, how do you update your Mini 2? Here are the steps to follow.

Step 1: Connect your Mini 2 via its USB cable, then turn the drone on.

Step 2: Access DJI Fly, which is DJI’s app for the Mini 2, the original Mini, and the Mavic Air 2.

Step 3: Check for notifications of a new firmware update. Select the option Firmware Download, then Start Update. 

Step 4: Let your drone update, keeping it powered on for the duration of the update time.

Conclusion  #

The DJI Mini 2 includes an Intelligent Flight Battery that many users charge with the Two-Way Charging Hub. You can also recharge the LiPo batteries through the Mini 2 drone. If you’re new to the fascinating world of DJI drones, we hope this post helped you better understand your battery! For more information about the DJI Mini 2, read the full review here.