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MJX Bugs 4w drone review
updated for 2021
What you'll learn in this review
The MJX Bugs 4w is a relatively new drone on the market and you're certainly looking to see if it's the best in its price category.
This review will follow every possible question you may have along with detailes about specs like:
- GPS
- Battery life, range
- Accessories
- Best places to buy it from
- Comparison table with 3 other drones
And a lot more (including footage).
Table of Contents
The MJX Bugs 4w is the first foldable drone from MJX and comes with a TON of great features and a 2k camera, all under $200!
The controller is way more compact and does look like the Mavic one, but that’s not a bad thing.
Brushless motors, flight modes and a camera that can swivel up and down from the remote, this quadcopter is what the MJX Bugs 5w should have been all along.
As a side-note, I reviewed the Bugs B20 from MJX and it has Electronically Stabilized Image.
The camera is still not that great, as it doesn’t come with any stabilization.
MJX Bugs 4w Specs and Features (vs competition)
Battery Life
The 3400mAh battery allows you to stay in the air for well over 20 minutes, believe it or not.
What’s most unique about this quadcopter is the double battery charging system.
Not only can you charge 2 batteries at the same time, there’s also LED screens on the sides showing when the batteries are charging, that turn off if it’s not charging.
There are also accessories that you can buy with this drone already, like additional spare batteries and a bag.
Range (Flight Distance)
The range of the actual drone is much more than the 300m I specified here.
That's why you'll probably see online that it can go up to 1km... and that's kinda true.
The drone itself can go up to 600 or more meters, but the viasual range ends at about 300m.
Does it come back after losing signal?
YES
The MJX BUgs 4w does return at the starting point by itself after it disconnects from the transmitter.
Not only that, you can also call it back by the press of a button (RTH).
Does it return on low battery?
YES
It does automatically come back to the starting point after it reaches about 15 percent battery or so.
You can cancel this process, but it will limit you by geofencing to go further than 20m (sometimes it doesn't work).
Max height and flight laws
The maximum height allowed to fly in the USA is 400feet which is just over 120m.
The Bugs 5w can go over 100m but no more than 150m, so you're right in that range.
Will the drone come back after reaching the Max altitude?
The drone is set to stop at the maximum altitude of 120 m so it won’t come back down, it will just stop.
There’s also another limitation…
Drone alternatives compared
I made the comparison table bellow to show the main features of the similarly priced competitors on the market.
The main competitor is the JJRC X11, as it's basically the same exact drone (that's why I didn't put the Bugs 4w too).
Both have the exact same specs and even use the same app.
So you should simply see which one is less expensive and buy that!
In my experience the JJRC X11 is way less expensive, and I recommend you get that instead.
JJRC X11 Camera specs and quality
The camera can be rotated 90 degrees from the transmitter and actually records in 2k 20fps.
The camera quality isn’t the greatest, even in 2k resolution it doesn’t look much better than what you can achieve with other similarly priced models from MJX.
It has vibration dampeners for removing the jello effect, but no actual camera stabilization involved, like a gimbal or EIS.
A slight disadvantage is that the camera records in 20fps, which is not as smooth as I would have liked it.
Is the footage stabilized in any way?
No , it's not stabilized by default.
Although the manufacturer says it's stabilized on the up and down axis.
However...
It does come with vibration dampeners and the image is wide enough so you can actually stabilize it in post production.
How good is the footage and photos?
It takes photos in the same resolution as the actual video, and it looks like they are basically screenshots of the footage itself.
t's better if you check the footage by yourself watching the video review bellow.
Can the camera be upgraded?
Besides the ability to add an action camera at the bottom (yes, it's strong enough for that) there aren't any upgradeable official parts.
What smartphones work with it?
Short answer: any phone that supports 5g 802.11 ac wifi.
All the iphones have this frequency and usually newer android phones, but there are meny exceptions.
If you want to check your phone compatibility, go on GSM arena, search for your brand and then look in the specs if it has 802.11 ac wifi (the AC part is important).
And no, it's not Air Conditioner.
Parts and accessories
What accessories you NEED and where to get them from
All the accessories that work with the JJRC X11 also work with the MJX Bugs 4w.
They are the usual stuff like spare batteries, a few models of cases and multi chargers.
Spare Battery
You need at least one of these, as you might find yourself not having enough time in the air.
A good carrying case
This is a great way to carry this quad around, with a few spare batteries also.
Props and other spares
If you don't want to wait up to 2 hours at a time for one battery to charge, why not do a few more in paralel.
Design and Unboxing
The package is quite complete, depending on what you get and how much you're willing to pay for it.
The most unique feature is probably the dual battery charger.
You can charge 2 batteries at a time with 2 micro USB c cables.
- Battery (multiple, depending on the package)
- Double charger (with micro usb C)
- Screwdriver
- Remote
- Spare props
- Removable sticks
- Drone
- Phone holder
Transmitter And Mobile App
The controller is a much welcomed change from the original bugs series transmitters that were pretty big in size.
This one is about the same size and look as a DJI Mavic one.
It shows distance, battery life, height, signal strength directly on the LCD screen on it. That’s really helpful in moments when you lose video signal and want to see if the drone comes back to you. The remote controller has a range of 1km, even though the FPV is at about 300m.
You can also
- take photos and video by the press of a button
- lock/unlock the motors
- a scroll wheel for changing camera angle
- change the speed rate (up to 40km/hour)
- turn GPS on or off
App, camera settings and flight modes.
There are ultrasonic sensors underneath the drone, so it’s going to fly very stable when it’s closer to the ground.
It also has an added optical flow camera for additional flight stabilization.
The flight modes this drone comes are pretty standard:
- circle around
- follow me
- waypoints
- return to home by button
- RTH on low battery
The waypoints flight mode actualy works, unlike many chinese drones these days.
The point of interest flight mode is not extremely precise, but does work as intended.
JJRC X11 Price, Manual and Instructions
How do you connect to the app (wifi)
The connection to the app should be simple.
The app for this drone is called JJRC X app and you can download it from both playstore and itunes.
The MJX Bugs 4w app also works (called mjx bugs GO).
You must make sure your phone can connect to the wifi of the drone. The smartphone needs to support 802.11ac wifi. Check this online by searching "your phone brand 802.11ac" and you'll find out.
Then search for the wifi and enter the app and you should see the image.
How to calibrate the GPS before flight
It's important to know that before every flight you need to do the "GPS calibration dance".
After you bind the transmitter to the quadcopter you need to do the following:
- Rotate the quad 3 times clockwise (while parallel to the ground)
- And 3 times while the camera faces down(perpendicular to ground)
- Do it until the lights aren't blinking anymore
Remote instructions
How do you unlock the motors?
By pressing the red button and keeping it pressed for a second
How to bind the drone to the transmitter?
If the drone hasn't been bound yet you can do this by pressing the red button and holding it.
Then press the on button at the same time.
How to change the camera angle?
You do that by the conveniently placed scroll wheel on the top right side.
How to turn the GPS on or off?
There's a button on the right side. The drone will fly faster in non GPS mode.
Is this drone worth the price?
ABSOLUTELY
I don't really think you can get better for under $150.
All the specs, the flight stability, modular camera that even comes with the ability to stabilize video (to some extent) make it a great choice.
Having GPS for return to home and flight stability is also a great feature for beginners to have.
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Where to buy it from?
This time, if you're not in much of a hurry I drecommend buying from banggood if you don't want spare accessories.
If you want spare batteries, case and so on, check out Geekbuying.com
Paul Posea
Hi, I'm a long-time drone reviewer and I hope my articles and comparisons on this site as well as Dronesgator's youtube channel are of as much help as possible.
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