Why Does My Drone Keep Beeping? (Solved!)

There is nothing quite as frustrating as preparing all your gear, choosing a perfect spot, and getting ready to fly your drone – and then, all of a sudden, a beeping sound starts coming from your drone or its controller. Sometimes, it may be a simple warning, and the beeping can be stopped by following some calibrations or acknowledging the warning. Other times, you may find that nothing seems to stop the annoying sound. So, if you are wondering why your drone keeps beeping, we have just the answer you are looking for.

A continual beeping sound from your drone is an alert that there is an issue that needs to be resolved. A few likely reasons that your drone may be beeping are due to a critically low battery, a firmware issue, an obstacle ahead of your drone, or a disconnected transmitter.

In this article, we will go into detail as to why your drone or your drone controller may be making a beeping sound, and also talk about what you can do you do to resolve the issues behind the beeping. Stick around to find out more. 

Reasons why your drone keeps beeping #

Have you ever been trying to fly your drone but run into problems with the drone starting to beep all of a sudden? Maybe you are just starting off, and it’s your first drone, and you are not sure what the beeping is all about. This is quite understandable. As frustrating as it may be, one of the common mistakes most drone owners make when they experience this beeping noise is to panic and misinterpret the whole situation.

With most models, drones will make a noise when they are initially turned on. This “noise” isn’t so much of a beep. It’s actually a chime, so don’t confuse the two. This chime indicates that your drone is turned on. This is true for most of the brands you’ll find on the market, and if yours doesn’t make this noise when you turn it on, then there may be something wrong with it.

If you find yourself in a situation where you have turned on your drone, and it produces an incessant beeping noise, then you need to pay close attention. Some of the reasons behind this beeping noise may be:

1. A low battery #

One of the most common reasons your drone may be beeping is due to a low battery charge. As you very well know, it isn’t recommended to fly a drone if the battery isn’t fully charged. Most drones will give alerts that the battery level is low. It doesn’t matter if it’s in the air or you have it on the ground; if the battery level drops below a certain percent, the drone will give you an alert at 2 minutes and then start to beep 30 seconds after that. At this point, if the drone is in the air, it may start to fall.

Most drone crashes occur due to a battery dying while the drone is in flight. Once the battery becomes depleted, the drone crashes to the ground, and only then will the beeping stop (probably because the drone is damaged, or has completely run out of charge).

However, if the drone wasn’t in flight, it will just go on beeping unless you turn it off (or it runs out of juice completely) and charge the battery till it’s full.

Also, if your drone’s battery is faulty or isn’t well secured to the drone, your drone may start beeping. To stop this, you can check to ensure that the battery is properly secured, or you may have to get a new battery for your drone if the battery is malfunctioning or damaged.

It’s important to note that drones that lose power while in flight and are damaged are the pilot’s responsibility. So always make sure the battery is fully charged before turning on the drone. This way, you won’t experience any beeping sound, and your drone won’t crash mid-flight.

2. A firmware issue #

One mistake that many drone owners make is forgetting how important firmware is for the proper functioning of their drones. Your drone’s firmware is its heart: it controls everything from flying inputs to the landing mechanism and so much more. This is one of the reasons why it’s recommended to update your drone’s firmware every time a new update is available.

One of the reasons behind a drone producing a beeping sound is if the firmware is out of date. Aside from causing this beeping sound from your drone, it can also cause an interruption of drone flight, and in some cases, it can lead to serious flight issues or even crashes.  This is why it is crucial to keep the firmware for your drone updated to ensure the operation of your drone is safe.

Some drones have quite strict systems to the point that if you don’t update the firmware, the drone beeps continually and refuses to take off. Firmware updates are also important to fix bugs in terms of flight stability algorithms and battery management systems. Not performing the updates can make your drone vulnerable to flyaways and crashes. This is something that no one wants to ever happen to their drones.

So, instead of ignoring the beeping sound coming from your drone, check to ensure that the firmware is up to date.

3. Disconnected transmitter #

A disconnected transmitter may be the reason behind your drone’s beeping. You should always make sure that the drone’s transmitter is set to mode 1 or manual mode. 

It could be that the drone and the transmitter aren’t paired correctly or are disconnected. No matter how good the transmitter is, if they aren’t paired correctly, your drone will produce a beeping sound, and it will not react to any order given through the transmitter. If this is the case, bind them together and turn them off, and then on again. If the beeping sound has stopped and there is no flashing of lights, then the drone and transmitter are successfully connected.

Another reason for the beeping may be because the battery power of the transmitter isn’t enough to sustain a flight. In such cases, the signal the transmitter is releasing becomes weak, such that the drone cannot receive any commands. This may cause a beeping sound in your drone. To solve this, you will have to change the batteries of your transmitter.

A disconnected transmitter can cause many problems apart from a constant beeping noise. If your drone is in flight, it may even crash because the transmitter cannot relay the directions you are giving to your drone. So always make sure the transmitter is correctly connected to the drone and that its batteries have enough power to last the entire flight.

4. Obstacle avoidance sensor #

Many drones have forward, backward, and downwards facing sensors that detect obstacles that are in front of the drone while flying. If an obstacle is detected, the drone will stop flying forward, and it will start beeping. The remote controller will also start beeping. This noise informs you that moving the drone any closer will cause it to crash into the obstacle.

If you hear a continual beeping from your drone while in flight, check the nearby surroundings for obstacles near your drone, and fly away from them. If the beeping stops, you’ve found your issue. If the beeping continues, check the sensors for dirt or debris. In some cases, the sensors may even be inaccurately detecting obstacles, but this is rare. 

Reasons why your drone’s controller keeps beeping #

Some of the things that may cause the remote controller of your drone to beep include:

1. Stuck button #

Your remote may make a beeping noise if one of the buttons is stuck. For most drone controllers, it’s hard to tell from visual observation alone if a button is stuck in the pressed position or not. You should press every single button to check for an audible click or a physical or mechanical click upon pressing. If any of the buttons don’t move or make a sound when pressed, try and identify what may be causing the button to be stuck in the pressed position.

The buttons may be stuck due to aging, in which case you should probably get a new controller. It may also be because of trapped dirt, in which case you should clean the remote and its buttons. Regular cleaning of your remote controller will help prevent this issue.

2. Return-To-Home activated #

Another reason your drone controller may be beeping is if the RTH feature has been activated. Most DJI drone controllers, for instance, will make a beeping noise if the RTH automatic landing feature is activated.

3. Dropped controller #

A dropped controller is one of the most common reasons for beeping noises in drone controllers. When you accidentally drop the remote controller of your drone, it can give an error code that results in the beeping. Drone pilots who are just starting off and even professional pilots will admit that at times they have a clumsy moment and end up dropping the controller.

If the controller doesn’t break upon impact, you can fix the beeping issue by calibrating it. You just need to turn on the remote controller and connect it to a PC, tablet, or phone. Open the drone’s app and then click on calibrate. A pop-up instruction will appear. From there, read it and then click OK. After this, the app will calibrate the controller.

4. Joystick misalignment #

At times, your controller may beep to signify that the left or right joystick is out of alignment or isn’t detected in the center of the joystick’s movement. To fix this, you just have to calibrate your controller as instructed above.

All in all, these are the most common possible things that may cause your drone or its controller to produce a beeping noise. What we recommend is that you know your drone and how it operates, or even spend some time with the owner’s manual. This will make troubleshooting easier.