DJI drones will no longer enforce a geofenced No Fly Zone system. If an operator chooses to fly their DJI drone into restricted airspace, they will receive a warning, but they will not be diverted away by an automated system.
DJI introduced its geofencing system in 2013 to “help operators understand their local flight environment, and to make smart, educated decisions about when and where to fly their drones.” The geofence was never an FAA requirement, and other drone brands do not utilize a geofencing system—DJI simply believed that No Fly Zones were a good idea during the early days of consumer drone hobbyism.
Geofencing may have provided some self-assurance to customers at a time when drone regulations were somewhat informal, and DJI may have avoided bad press by keeping its drones out of restricted airspace (although the geofence failed to keep a DJI Phantom from crashing into the White House lawn in 2015).
By removing its geofence and implementing a simple warning system based on FAA data, DJI is “placing control back in the hands of the drone operators, in line with regulatory principles of the operator bearing final responsibility.” So, if you choose to fly your DJI drone over the White House, you’ll be told that you’re entering an “enhanced warning zone,” but it’s up to the authorities to stop you. DJI has washed its hands of the matter.
To say that this move will increase drone safety or legal compliance is a stretch of the imagination. DJI makes up about 70% of the U.S. consumer drone market, meaning that the majority of U.S. drone operators now have the ability to violate regulation without any immediate, practical hurdles. The FAA’s Remote ID system makes it easy for authorities to identify operators who break the law and should, in theory, discourage operators from entering restricted space. However, the threat of legal action is only effective when people are concerned about being punished—some people are unconcerned by such things. And, as we learned earlier this week, drones that weigh less than 250 grams are not required to use Remote ID—one such drone grounded a fire-fighting plane in California.
On the other hand, geofencing has long been an annoyance for customers who, for one reason or another, are allowed to enter restricted airspace. Licensed operators who receive permission to enter restricted airspace occasionally encounter problems with DJI’s geofencing system, which can lead to expensive flight delays and other problems. The U.S military buys plenty of DJI drones and has no use for geofencing, so it benefits from this change. Plus, the old No Fly Zone system poses some potential for liability—if the system malfunctions and contributes to an accident, for example, DJI could be held partially accountable.
I should ponit out that DJI has a fairly contentious relationship with the U.S. government. DJI faced scrutiny from U.S. Customs and was targeted by the Countering CCP Drones Act in 2024, opening the door to a potential ban. The kerfuffle with U.S. Customs seems to be resolved, and Congress shot down the CPP Drones Act, but we’re still knee-deep in an era of paranoia, espionage, and Sinophobia. DJI will continue to face scrutiny from lawmakers, and the now-removed geofencing feature may provide fodder for such scrutiny, whether it’s justified or not.
To disable geofencing on your DJI drone, open your flight app and click “Update” on the FlySafe pop-up notification.
Source: DJI
