How to Connect Autel Evo Drone (Step By Step Guide)

Autel Evo drones are amazing machines that are capable of doing a lot of things that are on par with, or even better than, the main competition. In the drone industry, that means DJI. Autel Evo drones are generally speaking user-friendly, and are quite easy to connect with the controller. But, you may still need to have a quick guide to walk you through the process the first few times, to easily connect to your Autel Evo drone. So, how do you connect to your Autel Evo drone?

To connect your Autel Evo drone to the controller, download the Autel Explorer app on your smartphone, then connect the smartphone to your controller using a USB cable. Power up both the drone and the controller. You will be prompted to allow the Explorer app to run. Tap OK, and you will be ready to fly your drone.

One of the many features of the Autel Evo drone is that it is very easy for you to connect to it using your smartphone. That said, even though the connection part might be comparatively easy once you get the hang of it, you may still find our guide helpful in getting you set up. Keep reading to get a more detailed, step-by-step process for getting ready to fly your Autel Evo drone.

First some instructions on how to pair the controller and aircraft, if necessary. Then a concise guide to connecting the phone, controller, and drone for each flight. 

How To Connect Autel Evo II Series and Evo II RTK Series #

Pair your remote controller to the Evo II aircraft #

Usually, the remote controller should already come paired with your Autel Evo II aircraft. It should be ready to use the moment you take the two devices out of the box. However, there are some cases where you might want to use a different controller for your aircraft or you simply want to use your controller on another aircraft. To pair your aircraft with a controller, here’s what you need to do:

Step 1: Remove the gimbal guard #

When connecting your remote controller to the Evo II aircraft, the first thing you need to do is to remove the gimbal guard on the drone so that you can now safely power on your aircraft.

Step 2: Turn on your Evo II aircraft #

After removing the gimbal guard, you should now turn on your Evo II aircraft by pressing the power button found on the drone itself.

Step 3: Press the aircraft pairing button #

Look for a small button found beside the drone’s port. You will see a button that is quite small (you may need to use a pin to press it). Simply press it with a pin and you will notice it flashing. This means that the drone is now ready to pair with a new controller.

Step 4: Connect the controller #

When the Autel Evo II drone is ready to be paired with a controller, the next thing you need to do is to shut down your remote controller. After you’ve done this, press and hold the power button and the home button at the same time for about a few seconds. 

You will be able to hear a beeping sound coming from the remote controller, and that means that the pairing between it and the Evo II drone is now complete. Go to the display status on the controller’s built-in LCD screen to confirm that the two are now connected. You’ll be able to confirm this in the Evo II’s flight status.

Connect your Evo II aircraft and controller to your smartphone #

You won’t need to connect your Evo II aircraft directly to your smartphone, as with some other drone models. That’s because the Evo II comes with a controller that has an LCD screen that displays the drone’s flight status. Connecting your drone and controller to the phone should provide you with a better experience because of the phone’s mobile data connectivity. So, here is how you connect the devices:

Step 1: Download the app #

The first thing that you need to do to connect the Autel Evo II drone to your phone is to download the companion app called Autel Explorer. This app should be available for both Android and iOS devices for free in the respective app stores.

Download app from Google Play

Download app from the App Store

Step 2: Connect the phone to the controller #

Once your smartphone has downloaded the Explorer app, the next thing you need to do is to connect the phone to the controller. Pull out the phone holder of your controller and simply attach your phone to it. Next, using the appropriate USB cable that came with the Autel controller, connect the controller to your phone. 

You also have the option to use a tablet but you would have to buy a tablet holder because the controller’s phone holder won’t be able to handle the size of a tablet.

Step 3: Power on your drone and controller #

After connecting your phone to your controller through the USB cable, simply turn your drone and your controller on without doing anything else. If the two devices are already on, you can skip straight to the next step.

Step 4: Open the Explorer app #

When the Evo II aircraft and the controller are on, you should now open the Autel Explorer app on your phone. You may be prompted to allow the app to run, and what you need to do is simply tap OK to allow it to run. 

From there, you are all set to fly your drone. And if you are connected to the internet via mobile data, you will also be able to get weather data through the app that can help you while flying.

Why Won’t My Drone Connect? #

Autel Evo II drones are fairly reliable and generally are not hard to connect with your phone since they also use a controller. And they also come paired with their controllers already, so you don’t have to do anything else. However, if you are having connectivity issues, here are some of the things you may need to try:

• If you are using a remote controller that didn’t come with the drone, you need to pair them first. See our guide above on how to pair your Evo II drone with your remote controller.
• You may be using an outdated version of Android or iOS. Update your OS to the newest version so that you will be able to use Autel Explorer with your smartphone.
• Try using a newer smartphone if your smartphone is too old and outdated. Newer drones tend to work better with the hardware and software that come with newer smartphones.
• If your phone is connected to another drone that uses a Wi-Fi connection, try disconnecting from that drone first.

Image Credit: Autel Drones