A good drone battery is a pilot’s favorite feature, and this comes as no surprise. There's no point in having fancy features in a drone if there isn’t enough power under the hood to facilitate them.
Fortunately enough, DJI batteries come in many variations and are up to par more often than not. Let's talk about the life expectancy of DJI batteries in brief detail.
The individual battery life per charge varies for different drones. As for the total life expectancy, the DJI batteries are recommended to be used for up to 100 cycles overall. Or two to three years, in other words. This is the time period during which battery performance will be ideal.
Don’t get me wrong though. This limit is for ideal battery performance only. This doesn’t necessarily mean that you can’t use your battery anywhere further than this.
In fact, a lot of drone users are well-aware of how to maintain their battery’s longevity. They can even push their batteries to work for over 400 cycles.
I personally don’t think there’s any harm in doing so. Basically, all you are doing is getting all the juice that you can from one battery before replacing a new one. Truth be told, if your battery can efficiently last for more than 100 cycles or even beyond, it means you took care of it just the right way!
In this post, I will talk more about different ways to increase the battery life of your drone. I will also discuss the flight times of various drone models in detail.
While there’s no exact way to determine the life expectancy of a DJI battery, here’s a close estimation.
Ideally, DJI batteries are designed to last for 300-500 charge cycles. However, that can only happen if you store it at the right voltage and temperature, use the correct charger, and have regular charging/discharging cycles. With better maintenance, you are simply adding more cycles to the battery.
You might have noticed that I’ve mentioned the term charge cycles multiple times. Let me explain what they really mean.
A charge cycle is a series of charge levels of a battery starting from fully charged, to fully discharged and then fully recharged once again.
It basically specifies a battery’s life expectancy. How long a battery is going to last typically depends on how many cycles of charges it has gone through. Charge cycles are even more detrimental than the mere passage of time of battery usage.
Most DJI drones use Lithium Polymer (LiPo) batteries. These batteries tend to degrade over time. However, if maintained properly, you can easily elongate this degradation period and enjoy a better working output than what’s mostly considered an average limit. In other words, how far you can push a particular battery to last is totally up to you!
To add to the lifespan of a drone battery, here’s my favorite tip: always know when to fly. Flying in the right conditions is beneficial for your drone in more ways than you can imagine.
It’s pretty obvious that too much humidity isn’t good for the drone (unless it’s waterproof, of course). Similarly, flying during windy days is also not preferable, especially if the winds are above 20 mph. This will create an excessive load on the drone’s battery and will affect its performance in the long run.
Faster battery drains will bring you back to repeated charging/discharging cycles. And this might ultimately leave you with a battery having a super short lifespan overall.
Likewise, if you want to increase the cycles of the battery, make sure you don’t discharge it a lot. The best approach is to go as low as 20 to 30 percent maximum. This way your battery can promise longevity in terms of healthy battery life.
Here’s a table for you to take a quick glance at the battery information of several popular DJI products.
| DJI Battery | Battery Type | Battery Capacity | Battery Life | Life Expectancy |
| Mavic 3 | LiPo 4S | 5000 mAh | 46 minutes | 250-350 cycles |
| Phantom 4 | LiPo 4S | 5870 mAh | 28 minutes | 300-400 cycles |
| Mini 2 | LiPo 2S | 2250 mAh | 31 minutes | 300-400 cycles |
| Mavic Mini | Li-Ion 2S | 2400 mAh | 30 minutes | 150-250 cycles |
| FPV | LiPo 6S | 2000 mAh | 20 minutes | 150-200 cycles |
| Pocket 2 | LiPo | 875 mAh | 140 minutes | 300-400 cycles |
| OM 4 | Li-Ion | 2450 mAh | 15 hours | 250-300 cycles |
If you have already glanced at the table above, it's clear that Mavic 3 excels in the battery life department among drones. Let’s now take a look at it in a bit more detail.
The power-packed Mavic 3 battery can last up to 46 minutes. Its 5000 mAh battery capacity, lightweight design, and 35 percent less drag contribute to longer flight time. However, when the drone is flying in intelligent mode, the overall flight time will be reduced by a few minutes.
This model has definitely shown significant improvement in its battery life as compared to the previous drones of the series.
For instance, the Mavic 2 Pro has a flight time of 34 minutes while the Mavic 2 can stay in the air for up to 31 minutes. Its 46 minutes of battery life per flight is surely an extraordinary feature.
However, that's the ideal limit. It goes without saying that the battery life might vary and your Mavic 3 might not accurately be in the air for 46 minutes.
While you might be able to make the most of your flight time during simple hovering, it might be less in other instances (such as when using intelligent flight modes). That doesn’t necessarily indicate a problem with the battery. It simply means that the drone uses more power when advanced features are used.
Regardless, a drone battery that can last for over half an hour is undoubtedly a winner!
As you probably already know, Phantom 4 is considered one of the best drones when it comes to delivering amazing shooting features. Let’s have a look at its battery performance.
Specifically designed for the Phantom 4 series, this intelligent battery allows a flying time of 28 minutes once fully charged. Thanks to its 5870 mAh LiPo 4S battery, it offers great flight time among other exceptional features. With the right care, you can push its lifespan up to 300-400 cycles.
Allow me to take the opportunity to talk about how different weights may vary your drone’s battery life.
The advertised battery time shortens when additional weight is put on the drone. Let’s say, you need to take night shots and plan on getting some night lights installed on your drone’s body. Keep in mind that this will increase the overall weight (and yes, even the tiny grams matter!). In turn, you might have to let go of a few minutes of the total battery time.
Here’s another outlook - now that you have purchased the almighty Phantom 4, you might also feel the strong need to keep it safe. That’s where most pilots plan to get propeller guards to minimize damage in case of an unfortunate crash.
While that’s definitely a good approach, of course, it will be a factor in a shortened battery life. Mainly because the additional weight will interfere with the lift, thus putting excess strain on the battery.
Before you invest in getting such payloads, do weigh in all the aspects first.
Among the lightest, longest-flying, super popular drones – DJI Mini 2 is truly a wonder. Let me walk you through its phenomenal battery life.
The DJI Mini 2 surprisingly lasts a maximum of 31 minutes per flight even with a capacity of just 2250 mAh. If you don’t discharge it to critical levels and keep it in good shape, the battery can last for around 300-400 charge cycles. Undoubtedly, its battery stands out, even among DJI products.
Remember how I previously mentioned that external factors like strong winds also contribute to battery health degradation. Well, as far as the Mini 2 is concerned, you don’t have to worry about it (at least to some extent!)
That’s because of its wind-resistant features. These help ensure that you don’t lose the precious minutes of your battery life when flying through strong winds.
It’s worth mentioning how a drone that has a battery capacity half of what Phantom 4 offers, ends up delivering a flight time that’s longer than the latter. Of course, Mini 2 lacks some of the advanced features that would’ve actually contributed to draining its battery.
But for anyone who needs a drone with satisfactory features and an excellent battery life, Mini 2 is definitely the safest bet out there.
Next up is a comparatively earlier, but still one of the finest versions of the DJI Mavic series, the Mavic Mini. Let’s take a look at what it has to offer in terms of battery life.
With a quoted life of 30 minutes for each flight, Mavic Mini comes with a 2400 mAh Li-Ion 2S battery. It lasts anywhere around 150 to 250 charge cycles according to customer reports. In other words, it offers a battery lifespan of over a year.
A super important tip is to fully charge the drone immediately before the flight. The sooner you get the battery from being charged and into the drone before eventually in the air, the more you can make out of your flight time. That’s because the battery will go straight to fly the drone instead of losing its charge as it waits around otherwise.
While both LiPo and Li-Ion batteries are great at doing what they do, Li-Ion is obviously not as popular for manufacturers. This is primarily because LiPo batteries do not heat up as quickly as Li-Ion batteries, which makes for easier product designing and more safety.
DJI FPV is truly a sensation in the FPV world – thanks to its mind-blowing flying features and unbridled speed. Here’s how it is in terms of its battery life.
DJI FPV drone batteries can last for approximately 20 minutes. It comes with a 2000 mAh LiPo 6S battery which has a lifespan of almost 200 cycles. The flight time mostly depends on how speedily the drone flies. The higher the speed, the faster the battery life drains.
On the contrary, it is pretty obvious that the steadier the drone, the less the battery will drain. When flying at full turbo in sport mode, you will have to let go of a few minutes from the total flight time.
However, if you want to make the most of the flight time, bring down the speed and fly it in steady motions. The flight time in this way will be almost as good as it is during the hover mode.
Pocket 2, the upgraded version of the original Osmo Pocket, is a go-to option for vloggers and casual filmmakers. The sequel is almost identical to the original, except for a few minor refinements here and there. Let's have a glance at its battery life.
Pocket 2 has a battery life of up to 2 hours and 20 minutes per charge. That’s if you are shooting at 1080p. However, once you bump up the resolution and framerate, there may be a noticeable drop in battery time. It has a battery capacity of 875 mAh and offers around 300-400 charge cycles.
The Osmo series does have one drawback. Once you max out the shooting settings, you will begin to notice signs of an overheating battery. And if it gets super hot, the device shuts off on its own even before the battery drains out.
The battery is non-removable. This means you don’t have the option of keeping multiple batteries and replacing them during longer sessions.
That said, you can keep a USB C-standard charger with you if you plan on having an elaborate shooting plan. Luckily, you can still record while the battery charges.
One of the most amazing mobile gimbals out there, OM 4 is an absolute delight for smartphone filmmakers. Here’s what you should know about its battery life.
The OM 4 batteries have an unbelievably long 15-hour battery life. With just 2450 mAh capacity, it provides a mind-blowing battery time which actually tracks well with the claim. Despite such a long flight time per charge, you will rarely face overheating during your shoots.
OM 4 can also act as a power bank and charge other devices. If you are charging another device from the gimbal, that's when your battery will drain a bit quicker than normal.
Like Osmo Pocket 2, it also has a non-removable battery. But the good thing about it is that it can easily last during all-day shoots.
Some people like to point out that 15 hours doesn't really sum up an entire day. And of course, that’s true. But the idea is that you really won’t be using the gimbal throughout your day; there will be a lot of starts and stops along the way. In fact, when used wisely, the battery can last even longer than a day.
If you are planning to store DJI batteries for a long period, this section will be helpful for you.
DJI batteries can last for upwards of 5 years when stored the right way. This means keeping your batteries at 40-60% (the ideal storage power), not storing them over the long term fully charged, and cycling them every two to three months without fail.
In case you’re not sure what cycling the battery means, here’s what you need to know.
Basically, it is a maintenance practice where you charge, discharge, and then charge your battery every three months. This is to keep the battery running even when it hasn’t been used to fly a drone in a long time.
Start off by fully charging your battery to 100% and then leave it for 24 hours. Next, install the battery in the aircraft and then leave it there till the power remains at 20%. Leave the battery again for six hours before fully charging it once again.
If you store your battery at less than 10%, your battery will over-discharge. This is super damaging to the battery cells. In some instances, you might also end up with a brick-dead battery.
I believe this is one of the most essential things you need to do in order to keep your battery healthy.
I’m willing to bet that you’ve now gathered almost everything there is to know about a DJI drone battery’s lifespan. Allow me to conclude it all for you.
The lifespan of a DJI drone battery can range anywhere between two to four years, depending on how carefully you have been using the batteries throughout. A battery that’s kept running will end up having a longer lifespan as compared to the one that’s simply being stored up for a long time.
All in all, it’s true – DJI drone batteries are pretty high maintenance. But considering how much you can end up saving in replacement costs, your efforts are bound to be worth it in the end!
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