What happens if a drone loses signal with the controller?
I have a Holy Stone HS720E GPS drone and I got a bit adventurous flying it farther than usual. Mid-flight I started worrying: what would actually happen if the signal dropped? Would it just fall out of the sky? Fly away and never come back? I want to understand what the drone does in a signal loss situation so I can be prepared and configure it correctly.
5 Answers
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SafetyFirstPilot
Best Answer
GPS drones have built-in failsafe behavior specifically for signal loss. The HS720E will not fall from the sky -- here is exactly what happens:
GPS drone failsafe options
Most GPS drones including the HS720E offer these failsafe modes (set in the app before flying):
- Return to Home (RTH) -- default: The drone rises to your pre-set RTH altitude, then autonomously flies back to the GPS coordinate where it took off (the home point), and lands. This is the safest option in most situations.
- Hover: The drone holds its current GPS position and waits for the signal to reconnect. Useful in open areas where you expect signal to recover quickly.
- Land: The drone descends and lands at its current location immediately. Risky if it is over water or an obstacle.
How to configure for safety
Before every flight in a new area:
- Set RTH altitude higher than any obstacle between the drone and you. Trees, buildings, power lines -- identify the tallest thing in the area and add 20 feet of margin. If the tallest thing is 50 feet, set RTH to 70+ feet.
- Confirm the home point is set: After power-on and GPS lock, the home point is recorded. Verify in the app that it shows your current location correctly before takeoff.
- Do not move after takeoff unless your drone supports pilot-following RTH: The home point is where you were standing when GPS locked and you took off, not where you are now.
Testing RTH deliberately
I strongly recommend testing the RTH function intentionally at a familiar location early in your ownership. Fly 50-100 feet away, press the RTH button, and observe the complete return sequence. Knowing how it behaves removes the fear of it happening accidentally.
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HobbyistHank
The RTH altitude setting is the most important safety configuration and the one beginners most often overlook. I want to make sure this is completely clear:
When your drone triggers RTH (whether by signal loss, battery warning, or your manual press of the RTH button), the drone will:
- Rise to the RTH altitude you have set
- Then fly horizontally toward the home point
- Descend and land at the home point
The danger: If your RTH altitude is set to 30 feet and there is a 40-foot tree between the drone and home, the drone will fly directly into that tree during step 2. The drone does not know the tree is there -- it just flies at whatever altitude you told it to use.
The fix: Always set RTH altitude to at least 10-20 feet above the tallest obstacle within your flying area. Scout the area when you arrive, identify the tallest tree or structure, and set RTH accordingly. I keep mine at 80 feet as a default and adjust down in open fields.
GearReviewer_Tom
On the technical side: the home point is the GPS coordinate recorded when the drone first achieves a stable GPS lock after power-on. Most drones indicate when the home point is set via the app or a controller beep/light pattern.
Important nuance: if you power on your drone indoors or in a location with weak GPS signal, the home point may not set correctly or may not set at all. Always power on in an open area with a clear view of the sky, wait for the GPS lock indicator, and confirm the home point appears correctly in the app before taking off.
If the home point is not set when signal is lost, the RTH function cannot work because the drone does not know where home is. Depending on the drone model, it will either hover in place or begin landing. This is why GPS lock confirmation before takeoff is a non-negotiable pre-flight step.
CasualFlyer_Lisa
Real-world experience: I had my HS720E trigger RTH when I walked behind a metal storage building and hit a dead zone. Here is exactly what happened:
- Controller showed signal lost warning
- Drone immediately began rising to my set RTH altitude (I had 60 feet set)
- Once at 60 feet, it began flying toward the home point
- It descended and landed approximately 3 feet from where I had taken off
- Total time from signal loss to landing: about 90 seconds
The whole thing worked perfectly and I was genuinely impressed. The key was that I had set the RTH altitude correctly (60 feet was comfortably above the building), and I had tested RTH manually once before so I was not panicking when it actually triggered. Test your RTH on purpose before you need it in real life.
DroneInspector_Pro
Worth explaining what non-GPS toy drones do in signal loss, since this is one of the strongest arguments for buying a GPS drone for outdoor use:
Non-GPS drones (like the DEERC D20 Mini, Snaptain S5C) use barometric pressure for altitude hold only. They have no idea where they are in horizontal space. When signal is lost, they will hover briefly using the barometer, then begin a slow descent and land wherever the wind has drifted them. If the signal was lost 100 feet away and there is a light breeze, the drone may land in a tree, on a roof, or in a neighboring yard. There is no return-to-home capability.
GPS drones know exactly where they are and exactly where home is. They can navigate back autonomously. This is a fundamental safety difference, not just a feature difference. If you plan to fly outdoors beyond your immediate yard, a GPS drone with RTH is strongly recommended. For a look at the best GPS options in the entry-level market, see our guide to the best drones under $200 with GPS.