Does DJI Avata Have Return to Home? (Explained)

DJI Avata is the latest FPV drone released by DJI with extraordinary characteristics, capabilities, and safety features packed in a unique Cinewhoop frame.

But does DJI Avata have Return to Home?

**DJI Avata has a Return-to-Home function that can be activated manually by pressing the emergency stop button for a few seconds. The DJI Avata Return to Home will also activate in case of low battery or loss of signal. **

There are a few essential things about DJI Avata Return to Home. Let’s have a look over them together.

What do we need to know about DJI Avata Return to Home? #

DJI Avata, like many drones, has position locking via GPS + Galileo + BeiDou that will allow the drone to hover in place and return safely to the take-off point, usually.

The Return to Home feature will work only if enough satellites are locked onto the Avata. Nowadays, drones can easily connect to a decent number of satellites around most places worldwide.

Furthermore, the same button on the back of the remote controller is used for emergency stops. Like the DJI FPV, the Avata will perform the Return to Home function if this is pressed and held for more than two to three seconds.

You will notice that the Return to Home on your Avata has been initialized after you hear some beeps on your controller. Your FPV Goggles will display the function on hud.

Please remember that the DJI Avata does not have any frontal sensors, and the Return-to-Home feature is risky if there is no direct line of sight between the drone and the pilot and if this is not performed at higher altitudes.

Three ways to initialize Return to Home on DJI Avata #

Now, let’s talk in detail about the three ways to initialize the Return to Home on your DJI Avata and the difference between them:

• The failsafe Return to Home (loss of signal, automatic)
• Low battery Return to Home (automatic)
• Manual Return to Home (initiate yourself)

1. The failsafe Return to Home #

The failsafe Return to Home on your DJI Avata will be initiated when you lose signal with the drone, no matter if we’re talking about the loss of signal with both the FPV remote controller and the DJI Goggles 2 or the remote controller only. 

In that specific scenario, the drone will automatically stop in place for a few seconds and switch to Normal Mode, where it will start ascending to the RTH set altitude. 

Afterward, the Avata will automatically follow a direct path toward the take-off point and land. 

The failsafe Return to Home, although it will continue after regaining the signal, can be canceled, and the pilot can continue flying. 

2. Low battery Return to Home #

The low battery Return to Home will always initiate when Avata considers it’s time to return the drone safely because of the low battery.

This function will automatically activate once you hit that minimum threshold to return the drone safely, depending on your drone’s current distance and multiple factors. 

For example, your Avata is 3,000 feet away, and you have 35 percent battery. The drone will consider that with the remaining battery, it’s an excellent choice to return the drone.

The farther your DJI Avata is, the quicker it will initiate the Return to Home.

Warning Note: Overriding the low battery Return to Home function will put your drone at risk of not having enough battery to return it safely.

3. Manual Return to Home #

Like with any other DJI drones, you can manually initiate your Avata Return to Home.

The drone will gain altitude to the RTH altitude set, following a direct path to the take-off point and then landing.

The Avata Return to Home feature is beneficial because it’s an FPV drone in Manual Mode, and it’s difficult to land by yourself.

In this case, most pilots will either switch to Normal Mode before landing or, like myself, use the automatic Return-to-Home function (the “lazy” way).

What are the best Return to Home settings for the DJI Avata? #

To benefit the most from the Return-to-Home function for Avata, you must change a few settings in your FPV goggles.

1. Set the RTH altitude to a higher point to ensure a direct line of return (because of Avata’s lack of frontal sensors)
2. Ensure you have set your point if you remain in a static place 
3. Always have the Aircraft Signal Lost Action set to Return to Home if you fly outdoors
4. Leave the AirSense enabled to ensure you are notified if there are any nearby aircraft on your automatic Return-to-Home drone function because, remember, you are not controlling the drone anymore at that point.

When to activate Return to Home? #

If you intend to manually activate your Avata drone’s Return to Home mode, there should be no specific rule to “when” but in which situations.

It would be a good choice if you feel it’s difficult to return the drone or want to let Avata’s intelligent RTH mode do it for you.

It is essential to know when you should initiate this function. For instance, flying inside a forest and initiating Return to Home will lift the drone towards the set altitude and hit the branches of the trees, with a high possibility of crashing.

What else do we need to know about DJI Avata Return to Home? #

DJI Avata is a Cinewhoop-style drone that allows you to slowly fly near objects and people and in places other drones would not be able to.

This includes flying indoors, in halls, through abandoned buildings, etc. 

If the Return to Home is initialized by low battery, loss of signal, or manually, the drone will start taking off, crashing into the ceilings or walls.

The first tip is **if you fly indoors or in areas without direct line of sight with the sky, DISABLE the Return to Home function (set to hover)! **

As mentioned before, because of a lack of frontal sensors, the drone cannot avoid any obstacles when returning to home; therefore, ensuring a direct path back of the drone before initializing RTH is crucial.

Any obstacles between you and your Avata could be fatal for the drone.

For the reason mentioned above, always set the Return to Home altitude beyond the highest point. I usually like always to set the RTH altitude to about 300 feet. 

Please remember that the Return-to-Home function will be useless if the Avata is not connected to enough satellites (the satellite icon on the goggles will show red).

The Return to Home function will ascend the Avata to the RTH altitude set by you only if it’s 160 feet (50 meters) or farther from you. If not, the Avata will attempt to come back in a straight line toward you.