Update 9/21: DJI Releases Remote ID Firmware Update
DJI released a firmware update on 9/21 that adds support for Remote ID in the United States.
Update 9/19: FAA Extends Remote ID Enforcement Date Six Months
The FAA announced on September 13 that drone pilots will now have until March 16, 2024, to comply with Remote ID (RID) rules. This represents a six-month abatement from the previous compliance date of September 16, 2023. In the release, the FAA cited issues drone pilots are experiencing in procuring RID broadcast modules.
DJI still lists the Remote ID Tracking number for the Phantom 4 RTK as “TBD”. While DJI has not yet provided updates on planned RID compliance for the P4RTK, pilots can rest easy for at least another six months.
Read the 9/13 FAA press release here.
Original Post 7/19:
The Phantom 4 RTK has been the workhorse drone for thousands of surveyors across the country. Released in 2018, it has been extremely popular among the surveying and mapping community for being simple to operate, impressively accurate, and reasonably priced. There are still tens of thousands of Phantom 4 RTKs being regularly used by businesses everywhere. But with the FAA’s new Remote ID rules coming into effect in less than 2 months, will they even be legal to fly still?
The short answer: we don’t know for sure yet.
DJI stated in a blog post earlier this year that for the P4 RTK, they will “release a firmware version to make [it] Remote ID compliant.” However, with under 2 months until the effective date of the rules, The Phantom 4 RTK still does not have an update. All of the current generation drones, including the Mavic 3 Enterprise and Matrice 300/350 drones, are already Remote ID compliant. But DJI’s most popular enterprise drone still isn’t.
We’ll be honest, part of the reason we are publishing this is to hopefully put more pressure on DJI to update and release the Phantom 4 RTK firmware to make it Remote ID compliant as soon as possible. While we understand the desire to try and push people to newer drones, delaying the release of this firmware is bad for DJI’s customers in general. We know that people love the Phantom 4 RTK: we do too! But with Remote ID coming very soon, businesses need to start making decisions now if they want to keep flying.
So what should you do if you own a Phantom 4 RTK?
Unfortunately, there is no clear answer for what to do. The best course of action is probably just to wait and hope that DJI releases the firmware update before the September 16th deadline. However, DJI hasn’t given any public guidance on when they will do so.
For surveyors that need to be sure they remain compliant and can stay flying, the best bet would likely be to upgrade to the latest DJI mapping drone, the Mavic 3 Enterprise RTK, which is already Remote ID compliant.
We hope that DJI releases new firmware for the Phantom 4 RTK soon to keep everyone flying safely and legally, and if they do, we will update this blog post. Be sure to enter your email address below to be notified of any news about the Phantom 4 RTK’s Remote ID compliance.