How to Charge DJI Mavic 3 Battery [FAST]?

DJI Mavic 3 is currently the most sophisticated and feature-packed consumer drone released by DJI in Nov 2021. Apart from its magnificent camera system, and omnidirectional collision sensors the most impressive feature is its long battery life.

The new and improved intelligent battery system offers 46 minutes of time in the air. Batteries are costly and if maintained properly, they can last for quite some time. The most important aspect of battery maintenance is knowing how to charge and discharge your battery. So, how to charge DJI Mavic 3 battery the right way?

The DJI Mavic 3 battery can be charged by one of the following methods:

• Sequential charging via a two-way charging hub. The charging hub can charge 3 batteries at a time.
• Direct charging via drone using USB-C via DJI provided adaptor.
• Using a compatible 3rd-party charging hub.

Let’s discuss all the 3 charging methods in detail so that you are ready to get the best out of your new Mavic 3 batteries.

What kind of Battery system Mavic 3 has?

Like all previous DJI drones, the Mavic 3 uses a proprietary battery system called Intelligent Flight Battery. The Mavic 3 battery uses Lithium Polymer (LiPo) cells in 4S configuration.

The below table summarises Mavic 3 battery specs.

The Mavic 3 battery is an intelligent flight battery which essentially means it has an integrated internal circuit that regulates and ensures the proper functioning of the battery over its life span.

It keeps track of the state of charge, cycle count, voltage levels etc and also takes care of battery storage for a long time by gradually discharging it (more on this below)

Mavic 3 Battery charging

As is the case with any battery, charging and discharging greatly affect how long will the battery last and perform as expected. I have destroyed my fair share of batteries by using the wrong charging gear or the wrong charging method.

To get the best out of your battery, always use the manufacture supplied or recommended charger and cables. If not, you may either face slow charging or in extreme cases can ruin your battery for good.

Let’s discuss all three charging methods one by one.

Charging via drone

If you got the normal version of Mavic 3, you will only get one battery and no two-way charging hub. In such a case, you can charge your battery by putting it inside the drone and plugging in the USB-C.

Follow the below steps to correctly charge your battery via the drone.

• Put your battery inside the drone battery compartment and make sure it is secure inside.
• On top of the battery compartment, you will see a small rubber cover that hides the USB-C port and the SD card slot. Open the rubber cover.
• Plug in your 65W DJI charger that came with your Mavic 3 and connects the USB-C connector to the port.
• Turn on the switch and check the battery LEDs on the front. Once the battery starts charging, the LED will start flashing from left to right.
• Wait for the LED to stop flashing when the battery reaches its fully charged state. If you start with an empty battery, the DJI charger takes 1 hour and 35 minutes to fully charge the battery.

Although DJI provided charger only provides up to 65W of power for charging the battery, the battery supports charging with up to 88W of power.

PRO TIP: You can use any high power PD/PPS supported charger to charge your battery more quickly. If you get (or already have) a 100W charger, you can use it to charge your battery in less than an hour. This trick only works with the drone charging and not with the charging hub.

Charging via a two-way charging hub

If you have got the FlyMore Combo, you will have two additional intelligent flight batteries and a two-way charging hub. Even if you have the simple version of Mavic 3, you can order the charging hub from the DJI official amazon store (link to order)

The two way charging hub is great when it comes to charging all 3 batteries together overnight for an early morning flight session. You can use the DJI provided charger or any other charger that can provide 65W power to charge the batteries.

Follow the following step by step process to set up your batteries for sequential charging using the two-way charging hub.

• Connect your two-way charging hub to any power outlet using the DJI provided charger.
• Make sure the hub is placed on a flat hard surface with sufficient ventilation to disperse heat during the long charging process. Don’t put the hub on top of an insulating material like a blanket.
• Put the batteries inside each charging compartment and push them slightly till you hear a slight click sound. That means the batteries are properly fitted in.
• Turn on the switch and see the LEDs flashing on all three batteries for a few seconds before one of the batteries starts charging.
• Leave the batteries overnight for a full charge.

The two-way charging hub charges the batteries in sequence. When you first turn on the hub, it checks the charge level (SoC) in all 3 batteries and sees which on has the most charge and which one has the least. It then starts with the battery that has the most level of charge and the first charge it to full before jumping to the next battery.

Charging via 3rd-Party Chargers

If you have lost your original DJI charging hub or don’t have access to it, you can also use third-party charging hubs that offer additional features on top of the official DJI charging hub.

The process of charging with these third-party chargers is the same as the original DJI charger. You have to insert the batteries in the charging slot and let the charger do its sequential charging till they are fully charged.

I would recommend this charger from Amazon if you don’t have your DJI official charging hub.

Do the Mavic 3 Batteries auto discharge?

As we discussed that correct charging is essential for the life of your Mavic 3 batteries, the discharge process is also very important.

If you store any LiPo battery at fully charged or fully discharged for a long time, it is going to be ruined. fully charged batteries swell and burst while fully discharged batteries never pick up charge again.

Since the DJI Intelligent flight battery is really intelligent, it has a built-in safety system to take care of the auto discharge process. Here is how it works.

• When you store a fully charged battery for more than 3 days, the intelligent safety system reduces the charge level to 96%. This prevents the battery from swelling.
• If the battery is still unused after 9 days have passed, the intelligent safety feature will kick in again and further drain the battery to 60%. In this state, the battery will remain for a good few months.
• If the battery is still not used for a few months, the safety system will gain kick in and the battery will go to hibernation mode.

Some people have difficulty waking up the battery from hibernation mode. This was a problem with a lot of DJI Mavic Air batteries not charging after a long shipping time because they were in a hibernation state.

How to charge DJI Mavic 3 battery – Conclusion

Correctly charging your Mavic 3 batteries is very important to prolong the life span of each battery. You can use the three methods to charge your batteries safely and properly. You can either use your drone to charge your battery or use DJI official two-way charging hub or any compatible third-party charger for this purpose.