DJI Mavic 4 Pro may get its own cellular dongle… although us Americans will never know

It’s a double whammy, a new product that isn’t available in the US for DJI’s flagship drone that isn’t available in the US. Although for our international friends, this is likely a big win for those who enjoy using such tools.

Argentinian Instagrammer Hornero shared images with DroneDJ of what looks to be a new cellular dongle for the DJI Mavic 4 Pro and the RC Pro 2 controller. These dongles allow either the drone and/or the controller to connect to a 4G/5G connection to fly for as far as that connection remains stable.

Both dongles require an active SIM card inserted into them. Although the primary use case is one dongle in the drone and a WiFi connection on the controller.

This sort of feature, while it has a spot to plug it in, has never been available in the US due to FCC regulations. DJI has also been slow to roll out the product outside of China, but it can recently be found in most nations, outside the US.

That’s not to say you cannot use the Dongle if you can end up getting your hands on it. If you end up with the older DJI Dongle 2, you can insert it into the pre-Mavic 4 Pro drones it’s compatible with; you can use it for updates and general internet-connected features. However, the controller or drone can’t be flown under that connection, only over the FCC-approved radio transmissions.

While the main blame for DJI’s inability to use the cellular dongle is placed on the FCC, it could also be attributed to the fact that DJI is a Chinese company. While you may think the US is harsh on Chinese drones, it’s even harsher on Chinese telecommunication companies. Most Chinese companies attempting to sell phones or cellular modems in the US are outright banned, so a Chinese device that transmits a cellular signal from a Chinese drone was bound to cause problems.

Price and a release date are unknown for the new Dongle 3. The price will likely be similar to or slightly more than the Dongle 2, which was $156.89.

Don’t be too sad about DJI’s Dongle 3 not being available in the US. Even if it were, you would likely not be able to use it effectively, as you would quickly run into visual line-of-sight issues, requiring a set of waivers from the FAA.