How Fast Will Mavic Air 2 Batteries Discharge? (When Idle)

There’s nothing quite as important as battery care when it comes to electronic devices, particularly for drones. Unlike an alkaline battery, drone batteries will discharge when they’re not being used, but at what rate? If you are reading this, you’re probably wondering how long it takes for a Mavic Air 2 battery to discharge. Even with DJI’s intelligent battery powering your drone, battery care is still important. So, how fast will an Air 2 battery discharge when it’s not in use?

Mavic Air 2 battery, from a full charge, automatically discharges to 96% of the battery level when unused for a day. It will take approximately five days for the battery to discharge to 60%.

In this article, we will have an in-depth discussion of all that relates to Mavic Air 2 drone batteries and how to care for them to ensure longer battery life. 

Do Mavic Air 2 batteries automatically discharge? #

As you probably already know, DJI puts a lot of time and thought into its intelligent battery systems, and there is good reason for the way they behave. Mavic Air 2 batteries do automatically discharge, and they’re not faulty batteries – they discharge in order to maintain optimal battery health.

The batteries are designed to start discharging from a fully charged state if they aren’t flown for some days after charging. While this may seem like a huge disadvantage, it’s actually good because it ensures the batteries remain at an optimal state. It also avoids the potential damage that could occur to the batteries if they are allowed to simply be fully charged over a long period.

The DJI Mavic Air 2 batteries will begin to automatically discharge if they are left outside the drone and unused. They have an auto-discharging feature that prevents them from swelling and becoming damaged due to maintaining a full charge for a long time. 

DJI Mavic Air 2 batteries automatically discharge to 96% if they are left idle for one day. They will automatically discharge to 60% if they are left idle for 5 days. It is also normal to notice some heat emanating from the battery while it is discharging.

When you connect your battery into the drone after a few days of it being idle, you should notice the battery level has decreased, and this is normal. You should build it into your preflight routine to charge your batteries to full just before flight. 

As a side note, always remember to let your batteries cool down after a flight before plugging them into the charger. Charging a hot battery can damage it. 

How long does the Mavic Air 2 battery last? #

Knowing the limitations of your Mavic Air 2’s batteries is quite important. It can help you plan out your shoots better so that you can squeeze as much time out of the battery as possible before it automatically returns to home due to a low battery.

While its predecessor, the Mavic Air, was an impressive drone, the Mavic Air 2 features a significant improvement in the drone’s battery capabilities. DJI added a significant 13 minutes of flight time into the Mavic Air 2 intelligent flight battery up from 21 minutes of flight time in the Mavic Air to 34 minutes of flight time in the Mavic Air 2. It’s one of the most powerful batteries yet for DJI’s consumer drone lineup, featuring a 3850mAh capacity that is quite significant, to say the least.

So, how long does the Mavic Air 2 battery last?

How long the battery lasts will most of the time depend on factors like the flying conditions and the flight speed. The battery can last for up to 34 minutes. Realistically, this usually ends up being about 28 minutes if you’re flying faster and the weather conditions aren’t completely ideal, thus requiring more power. The faster the speed and the harsher the flying conditions, the less time you will get out of your Mavic Air 2 batteries.

How do I know when my Mavic Air 2 battery is charged? #

The Mavic Air 2’s intelligent flight battery must be charged using a DJI-approved charger or battery charging hub.

Making it easy to know when the battery is charged is the fact that the battery has battery level indicators that blink and show the current battery level during charging. When the battery is fully charged, the battery level LED indicators will stop blinking and will all be off.

If you use a battery charging hub that can charge several batteries simultaneously, then the status LED indicator turns yellow, indicating that the batteries are charging. When the status LED indicator turns solid green, then the batteries are fully charged. 

How do I maintain my Mavic Air 2 battery? #

Follow these tips to maintain your Mavic Air 2 battery so that it remains in optimal condition:

• Don’t store a full battery. If you will leave the battery idle for 10 days or more, discharge it to 40-65%. Storing a battery with full power may accelerate its aging. The automatic discharging feature makes this easy. 
• Don’t store an empty battery. Make sure the battery isn’t stored for a long time at a level lower than 10%.
• Store the battery in a cool, dry place at temperatures of 71.6-82.4°F (22-28˚C).
• Don’t overheat your battery. When flying the drone at environmental temperatures higher than 40˚C, pay attention to the battery temperature. If the battery temperature is higher than 65˚C, you should land the drone. If the battery temperature gets higher than 70˚C, it may catch fire or even explode.
• Discharge when traveling. If the battery will be in transit, discharge it to 50%. If you are to fly with the battery, discharge it to 5%.
• Use an official DJI battery charger. Using a generic charger may cause damage to your Intelligent Flight batteries. 
• Cool batteries before charging. Don’t charge the battery when its temperature is high, for example, just after a flight.

How do I check the battery health of my Mavic Air 2 battery? #

Checking the battery health of your DJI Mavic Air 2 drone is quite easy. When you press and hold the battery power button for five seconds, the LED indicator will light up to show the battery’s health. 

The LED lights also allow you to monitor things like how easy it holds and discharges its energy. You can also monitor things like overheating during charging and discharging.

Alternatively, you can go to the GO4 app and specifically check the battery condition. Battery health metrics will be displayed on your controller screen. 

All in all, the health of your drone’s battery is an important factor to consider. If it discharges a bit after being idle for a while, this is normal, so no need to worry. Follow the tips in this guide to ensure your DJI Mavic Air 2 is maintained and lasts longer!

Image Credit: DJI