A factory reset reverts any electronic device to its initial stage when it was first turned on. You might be familiar with factory resetting your mobile phone before selling or if it is not performing as expected.
In this article, we are going to discuss how to reset DJI Mini 2 drone and its controller in a step-by-step manner.
What is Factory Reset?
Factory reset is a functionality built into almost all electronic devices to revert them back to an initial stage.
When you factory reset a smart device, all its custom settings, changes, stored data and cache is wiped clean and the device goes back to its factory default settings like when it was brand new.
Factory reset is necessary for a lot of reasons. For example:
- You messed up some critical settings that you shouldn’t have, and now your device is stuck.
- You installed an app that is not compatible with your device system and now it has rendered your device useless.
- You want to sell your device to someone else and want to delete your personal data completely.
All these reasons also apply to your DJI Mini 2 drone and controller since both are smart devices. If your drone or remote controller is misbehaving, a factory reset might be your last resort.
Can you factory reset DJI Mini 2 drone?
Now you know what a factory reset is and why you need it, can you factory reset your DJI Mini 2 drone?
On most devices, you can easily factory reset them by pushing a combination of a few buttons. But that’s not the case with the DJI Mini 2 (or any other newer DJI drones)
To reset your DJI Mini 2, you will have to connect it to your computer, install DJI Assistant, and REFRESH your firmware.
That will revert your drone to the factory setting. Let’s go step-by-step and see how to do this.
Factory reset DJI Mini 2 using DJI Assistant
DJI Assistant is a computer program that you can install on your PC or Mac, and it helps you update or refresh your drone’s firmware. To do this, follow the below step-by-step process.
STEP-1: Download DJI Assistant from the official DJI website. Here is the direct link
Once downloaded, double click and install it on your system. I will ask for some permission that you should grant, and it will be installed with no issues.
STEP-2: Connect your Mini 2 to the DJI Assistant. Once the program is installed, double-click opens it. It will ask you to connect your drone via USB.
Turn your drone ON and connect the cable. You will see your drone model number (Mini 2) will pop up on the screen. Click on it.
STEP-3: Go to “Firmware Update” on the left-hand panel, and you will see all the firmware available for your Mini 2. If your drone is already on the latest firmware, you will see a “REFRESH” button in front of it.
Click the “REFRESH” button, and your drone’s firmware will be reinstalled, and all the settings will be reverted back to factory default.
Once the process is done, your drone will restart, and you can disconnect the drone from the computer.
You can use the same process to reset DJI Mini 3 Pro and other high-end DJI drones like the DJI Air 2.
Do you need to reset Mini 2 before selling?
One of the reasons you might be looking for Mini 2 factory reset is that you are selling it.
As we are used to factory reset our smartphones before selling, you might be thinking if you need to do the same with your Mini 2 drone.
The answer is No. You don’t need to factory reset your DJI Mini 2 or reinstall the firmware before you sell it.
But there are some steps you should go through before you can safely sell your Mini 2 to the new owner.
- Remove any and all third-party accessories like a strobe light, stickers, and registration numbers (or in my case my phone number) from the drone.
- Remove your microSD card from your Mini 2. That will remove your personal data.
- Next, go to your DJI Fly App > Profile > Device Management. Click on your device and then click “Remove device from Account“
- Follow through the steps on the App and once you are through, you will get a confirmation that the drone has been unbound from your account.
Once the sd card is removed and the device is unlinked from your DJI account, you are ready to hand over your Mini 2 to the new owner.
How to reset DJI Mini 2 Controller?
DJI Mini 2 is compatible with two different controllers.
One is a standard DJI controller that comes with the drone and has no screen on it. The other one is DJI Smart Controller which has a built-in screen on it.
Depending upon which controller you own, you can follow the below steps to reinitialise or factory reset it.
Standard Controller
If you have the standard controller, you can reinitialise the firmware using the DJI Assistant. Again, just like the drone, there is no key combination factory reset process for the controller either.
The process of reinitialising or refreshing the controller firmware is the same as for the drone.
- Download DJI Assistant for Mini 2 from the official DJI website.
- Install the software and open it on your PC.
- Turn ON your RC and plug in the USB cable and wait for the program to recognize it.
- Click on the Firmware Update on the left-hand panel and “Refresh” the firmware.
Once done, your RC will be reinitialised and will be just like new.
Smart Controller
Unlike your standard controller, a smart controller is basically an android device integrated with the controller.
To factory reset the smart controller, you can follow the same process as you have been following for any android smartphone with a few additional steps.
- Power on the smart controller.
- Launch the DJI GO 4 app & locate the button title “me” to go to your profile.
- In the upper right corner, you will see a gear icon. Press it and then clear cache from the menu.
- Now press sign out at the bottom.
- Go to the main screen by double-clicking the function button in the upper left corner.
- Now go to settings.
- Scroll all the way down to the bottom and press Factory Data Reset.
- Confirm the reset.
Just like any android device, your smart controller with restart and will be wiped as new.
I hope this short guide will help you factory reset your DJI Mini 2 drone and its controller. If you face any issues, you can post them in the comments below and I will reply back with a solution.