DJI Mavic Air 2 Rear Arm Repair Guide

[@BrianBlakley]

Thank you for this video. A tree jumped out in the middle of my flight path, resulting in the a broken right rear arm on my DJI Air 2S. After seeing your video my response was "good guide, looks easy, I can do that". For anybody reading this that has an Air 2S (and not an Air 2, which this video is based upon), be sure to read on. For the most part it was easy. Getting the front cowl (nosepiece) off was a little bit of a struggle because I was afraid I was going to break it. Like most things with lots of tabs, as you move on to another set of tabs the ones you just got loose want to snap back together again. To prevent this I cut up a plastic soda bottle and made little tabs I could stick into the gaps as I unsnapped an area. This prevented that area from snapping back together again as I proceeded. It was still a little bit of a fight, but it helped a lot. One area that added *a lot* of extra work for me on the Air 2S (that isn't an issue on the Air 2) is the fact that the right rear arm contains the ADS-B antenna on the Air 2S. I don't know where the ADS-B antenna is on the Air 2, but it's not in the right rear arm. 🙂 Unfortunately the routing of this antenna wire is a bit challenging. What I ended up doing was removing the 4 screws from the bottom circuit board, and the 2 screws from the vision sensors so I could lift the rear of the circuit board enough to get the old antenna cable out and route the new antenna cable in. The fact that this cable has a connector on the end means you need a bit of a gap to get it through. Those that tackle this on an Air 2S will see what I mean. Word to the wise, take several pictures of the routing of the blue ADS-B antenna wire so you can make sure you route the new one the same way. The blue wire on my replacement arm might have been slightly longer than the original, and I had no problem with it reaching the connector with a little slack to spare. As @Daniel noted here earlier, the two screws on the bottom, under the cover, at the back - that hold the top shell to the bottom shell, are in deep wells. Because my small torx drivers used bits, as opposed to being dedicated drivers with slender shafts, my disassembly originally came to an abrupt halt at that point. I found a perfect driver set on Amazon with a partial description of "TECKMAN 10 in 1 Torx Screwdriver Set with T3 T4 T5 T6 T8 T10". These drivers are great because the shafts are slender through their entire length. This makes it easy to sneak down into the deep holes in the back for those two screws, but it's also alleviated the concerns that I had about being able to drive some of the other close-quarters screws in straight on reassembly. One note, if you're lifting the bottom circuit board it's possible you'll accidentally unsnap one of the little FFC (flat, flexible cable) connectors. One mine the one on the right side of the board (the left side of the aircraft since it's upside down) came unsnapped. I noticed it and re-snapped it. That might also be an indication that there's no slack at all in that FFC and I should have detached it preventatively instead of lifting on the board and straining it. Everything went back together uneventfully. I soldered the wires onto the board in a different order than you did - out of personal preference to do the wires closest to the arm first - fearing that attaching the longer wires first might be partly in the way of placing the others. I hope these notes help someone who might be doing an Air 2S instead of an Air 2. If I ever need to do this arm again for some reason maybe I'll make a video. But I hope I learned my lesson about these trees jumping out and won't have to do this particular repair again. Thanks again for making this video. It's appreciated.

[@GoProGoSlow]

Thank you for taking the time to write all this! Does it matter what kind of soldering kit you have? I have never soldered before so there will definitely be some videos in my future.

[@swallowtailpictures]

Thanks so much. I have to replace the left rear arm on my Air 2S. Any issues you think I should be aware of? Thanks so much for the information you provided here.\

[@Techie_Justin]

Must of been the same tree I just hit.

[@janihook686]

Thanks for this video! I had a broken rear arm rotating axis part. Ordered new one from Ebay and I was able to replace it by myself because of this video 👍👍👍 Thanks once again 🙌

[@HyperFliteDrones]

Great to hear!

[@gaiadi0z]

Man! Everything was going smoothly for me untill those final two screws that are deep in there to take off the cover. My bits wouldnt go in that deep and now i have to wait cause everything is closed for thanksgiving. Awesome tutorial!

[@johntomik4632]

Just ran into that myself lol. Almost there lol!!

[@cameronorth1]

Same! Where did you buy the right driver? Or what width is the shank?

[@Glenn-Reviews]

Hi. Fantastic video. Thanks to you I was able to repair my drone that had a broken arm axel. Instead of a big bill it cost me % euros for the part!!! Thanks so much. Good job

[@ccow11]

Just finished this repair and it went super straight forward. Excellent tutorial.

[@connor2296]

Where did you buy the replacement arm

[@ccow11]

@@connor2296 cloud city drones

[@MBauer-op6vx]

Thank you SO much for this! Although my solders don’t look nearly as well as yours, off of this tutorial, I easily replaced my right rear broken arm! She’s up in the air and good as new! Thank you!!!

[@HyperFliteDrones]

Good to hear !

[@BigDShakes21Gators]

Solid video bubba …. Completely appreciate it… helped replace my rear arm … cheers mate

[@willieleniek]

I gave this a like because you didn't cut away when removing the nose plate.

[@johntomik4632]

Yea! I was about to grab my grinder 😂

[@JPMachine]

I completed this repair on my air 2S. The only difference is the addition of antenna cables. Just loosen the bottom board enough to feed the antenna cable through the back. There is a sticky pad on the very back of the bottom board, it is NOT a ribbon cable so just pry it off the board. When removing the front nose cover and top shell, use those cheap prybars you get with iPhone battery kits and you won’t damage any plastic.

[@krazyjayro]

This was very helpful! Thank you for taking the time to make videos like to share! I appreciate you!

[@oscarkaeiln]

Great video. Saved my drone. Thank you!!

[@alexanderzappe6498]

Your Video saved me 180€. Thank you for your Vid!

[@cameronorth1]

Great video, but my torque driver isn't narrow enough to fit down to the 1.5mm screws under the cover at the rear. How narrow is it so I can try and buy the right sized driver

[@clementlo586]

Best video instruction.

[@berndsangmeister]

Thanks a lot - very good video! Without your hints I wouldn't have been able to replace my broken arm. I was pretty scared to take the nose and top cover off. Needs a bit of force there.

[@udi.]

Really helped me! great tutorial! thanks :)

[@arkadiuszstankiewicz6358]

So hard job 😱 Bad in your mind and hands looks easy Many thanks for video 👌

[@boominrick1987]

thanks for the vid. helped me out big time

[@HyperFliteDrones]

No problem

[@tlfilms207]

Can i just cut the wires and solder those together instead of unsoldering it from the mother board?

[@johntomik4632]

I was thinking the same lol😅

[@eduardongc]

Hello, very good video, I have a big doubt, I want to know if you know where exactly the compass is located in the Mavic Air 2, I had a similar doubt with the compass of the Mavic Air v1 and after investigating more than 6 I was able to confirm that it was located in the main board, that is, it is integrated with the board. Do you know if the same thing happens with the Mavic Air 2 version? Thank you

[@HyperFliteDrones]

It’s integrated in the GPS boardx

[@eduardongc]

Hello, excellent video, can you confirm where exactly the compass is located? Thanks

[@ktn088]

Great Video, it looks easier now :D can you tell me where you get the parts?

[@wild_n_3]

What do you do if very first 2 screws rusty and thread is gone any other techniques we can apply ?

[@HyperFliteDrones]

You need a small grinder to turn them into a flat head which is easier to unscrew. You can also warm up the screw with a solder iron.

[@kwesiglover964]

Great video boss, can you drop a link to where you bought the replacement arm from? Also is possible to replace the gimbal entirely without an error code? Thanks

[@HyperFliteDrones]

Replacement arms are on Amazon. There is a way to replace gimbal without the error but it requires programming skills.

[@freedomin4low344]

I had to mine on some really fine loose dirt and now the rear arms feel ever so slightly gritty when I fold and unfold - I think some dust got between the arm and the darker gray plastic part of the rotating axis. Is there enough slack in those wires that I could just separate the arm enough to blow the dust out, or am I gonna have to go through this entire process just to clean it?

[@HyperFliteDrones]

There is not very much slack because of the antenna wire.

[@smartdavid4229]

Hi, sir, can i do replacement of the arms of dji air 2 to dji air2s? I want to add air 2 arms to air 2s. are they same?

[@HyperFliteDrones]

They are not the same

[@smartdavid4229]

@@HyperFliteDrones So, I can not replace the dji air 2 arms to dji air 2s ? so sad, in my local, there have only air 2 arms, there has no air 2s arms.

[@yaqoobalattar7228]

thanks

[@carlosortca]

10:48 what is that piece called? please

[@HyperFliteDrones]

Mavic Air 2 rear arm axis

[@doughoegner]

I would never be able to keep track of all those small screws and remember where they go!

[@bvill6749]

may I ask where you got the tool bits needed to fix this? I own an Air 2S

[@HyperFliteDrones]

You can buy it on Amazon or send the drone in for repair.

[@bvill6749]

@@HyperFliteDrones is there one you recommended? I bought mine from Amazon and I was able to take out the first few screws and the bit was done for…. Waste of money

[@manuelteran26]

Size of tool that you use to remove the screws?

[@magicvines3d832]

Mavic air 2 has two antennas inside front legs. Which antenna is receiving and which is transmitting? Thanks.

[@HyperFliteDrones]

Hello, both of the antennas transmit signal from the motherboard. In the video you can see where the cables connect to the motherboard. One cable is shorter and one is longer so that you plug the antennas in the right spot. Thanks

[@driz3463]

great tutorial, unfortunately my soldering skills aren't as great though and I screwed it up!

[@hawkeyehelivideo527]

Well done - thanks!

[@saviodangelo7281]

Good Job. Thanks.

[@maastudiototanabk]

Thank you sir

[@freakdud3]

My motor is seized it wasn’t spinning when I got it out of the bag, it won’t rotate freely but is receiving power. Also all of the lights are the exact same as yours.

[@surfsantodomingo]

Nice video! One question. How many watts its your welding tool? I have to do the same surgery in my mavic one haha. Thanks in advance :)

[@HyperFliteDrones]

I’m not sure on the power output but my solder station was turned up at about 850F

[@fabianrob]

60watts. Solder iron is good

[@Wakapauly]

I would have used the plastic separator in my kit rather than a flathead. Metal on plastic and applied force always risks damage.

[@HyperFliteDrones]

Using plastic tools usually doesn’t work. All of my plastic tools have warped from the pressure needed.

[@routegaming6926]

Can anyone write down what bits you need for this repair?

[@jaquito57running32]

Is this the same for a magic air 2s

[@HyperFliteDrones]

It’s similar

[@mariacarpenter3287]

Where can I purchase an arm that is legit and reliable?

[@cayeto]

Gracias.

[@bb19963]

Can I send my drone in for repair to you? - Ben

[@HyperFliteDrones]

Yes Please email me [e-mail]

[@brightypg3d988]

Crashed my mavic 3 and air 2s at the same time and was pretty damn sad but then i remembered of the dji care and i got it and now i got the mavic air 2s back but my mavic 3 had more problems i hope i get it😢😢😢

[@HyperFliteDrones]

Did you have DJI care in the mavic 3?

[@brightypg3d988]

@@HyperFliteDrones yes i had it but they said its gonna take longer to ship back:(

[@henriklauridsen9686]

Great video thanks, but your music ...

[@isekai123]

I'm having a hard time finding the parts...

[@HyperFliteDrones]

Hello, are you in the United States?

[@isekai123]

@@HyperFliteDrones no, I live in France

[@vyanhtonnu9545]

Ok