Holy Stone HS720R Review: A Few Problems!

[@derekcox6531]

Whenever i see a review of a non DJI drone,I’m reminded of just how good the DJI products really are.

[@DonJoyce]

Thanks, Derek. Very true. They REALLY are, and they keep getting better.

[@nigeljoelrener3793]

Had the DJI avata for a year and still get a rush every time I fly.

[@dennispittsley9718]

I had a holy stone a couple of years ago very unpredictable. I took a chance not knowing about DJI drones, I have never looked back.

[@driewiel]

Depends. DJI doesn't sell $100 drones. Can't compare that. Holy Stone, well that's a bad example.

[@dennispittsley9718]

If a product states it’s able to do something and it doesn’t. I think I’ve been ripped off no matter how much I paid. I still think I got ripped off.

[@HilbreKohnen]

Thanks, Don. My Air 3 and a power line got into a fight yesterday and the power line won easily. So off goes the Air 3 for repair (2 broken arms and mashed up props, the entire repair bill is $140 CDN). My drone company needs at least one more drone quickly, and I had seen ads on Amazon for the HS720R. I'm kinda a DJI fanboy, so I was highly doubtful. You have completely cured me of considering this drone. Btw, I'm also a big DPC fanboy, thanks for all your hard work. Being a programmer myself, I can really appreciate the effort that has gone into it.

[@DonJoyce]

Good call to stick with DJI. Thanks for your support of Drone Pilot Canada!

[@BobHerres]

Excellent review... While I never gave it a lot of thought, I've appreciated the fact that, if I "Let go of the sticks", both of my drones will stop in mid air and hover. Thank you for being so candid.

[@IN10THRC]

When I was teaching my buddy to fly, "let go of the sticks" was the thing I taught him to do in ANY situation where he percieved a loss of control or situational awareness. It works, but it DOES rely on a craft with a sufficiently good ability to stop and hold position. This buys you time to reorient yourself, slow things down, and assess the situation. Worst case, send an RTH command and let the flight safely end. I would not want a drone that cannot reliably do this.

[@JasonCarrara]

Most of the other reviews I was it does exactly that super stable. But a couple of the reviews they didn't fly well. Maybe some bad units out there hopefully I don't get one of those.

[@Highrocker1298]

Thanks for the review, Don. I had been curious about the HS drones. Good call on cutting your session short. Just too many many things going wrong that foreshadow more mishaps as you perform more complex operations. That random drift is very disquieting. I do appreciate my DJI stuff. Have a very good new year!

[@ORGANIZEDCoNfUsioN]

Good review Don. It's clear to see why DJI is the best drone manufacturer out there. Interesting to see the other products. Like # 22!!!

[@DonJoyce]

Thanks, Dave! Yes...and disappointing frankly.

[@brutusleroy8775]

Good to see an honest review. It may have been a one in a thousand bad unit, but good review.

[@davestredulinsky]

Greetings Don. Certainly a few issues. I enjoyed in full to the end. Thank you, my friend.

[@GerardDonnelly-c9n]

I had the same problem and it was happening on every flight. Luckily I'm an electronic engineer and have it fixed. I have photos but cant add them here. The GPS unit is very sensitive to noise from the main PCB and motors. The toilet bowling is worse with higher speed settings. you need to remove the top of the drone. You will see the GPS module is connected to the main PCB via a multi cable connector. Remove the connector the other device on the sponge is the compass. The GPS module is covered with black tape. This has metal in it and is used as a shield. Ensure this is pressed down firmly all round the module. I then had some sticky backed copper so I added another layer of shielding. On top of this. Finally a layer of electrical tape on top to prevent copper shorting off main PCB. Flies on a pin head now. :)

[@DonJoyce]

Wow! Good that you could fix it!

[@winmediacenter]

Did you encounter that problem at least once after a repair?

[@jftman53]

Bueller, where are You?

[@integral32gb]

I don't have copper tape but i do have aluminium tape, is Al as good a shield as Cu? Also sometimes wires act as antennas, could adding a braded steel sheath to the GPS module help?

[@GerardDonnelly-c9n]

@@integral32gb Anything that can cut down the interference from the main PCB is worth a try.

[@ken24nasa]

He didn't do any of the GPS syncing calibration or gimbal calibrations like stated in the book.

[@johnt8998]

With the HS720E you have to do a compass calibration and a gyro calibration before take off. I am not sure if the HS720R is the same, but I would think so.

[@Cozydrone]

I can run my dji in the house,have it hover while I am making dinner.i have done it before to test it.very stable😊

[@bretrowlinson]

Thanks for the review. I had some similar experiences with an HS510 (sub 250 model). No remote issues, but had stability and twitchiness issues. Also, could NOT fly in GPS mode, had to use visual stabilization. In GPS mode, it would just drift very badly as if it didn't have GPS lock even though it showed lots of satellites. Also, once in visual mode, had an unrecoverable flyaway which caused a crash, fairly minor damage luckily. After talking to support and getting a replacement drone, with same issue, they thought it might be due to geofencing, but they couldn't give me a definitive answer. I thought I was maybe spoiled by flying DJI's for work, but was definitively not happy or comfortable with it.

[@DonJoyce]

Thanks. Yes, my hope is that they take this kind of review constructively and address these serious design and manufacturing issues in future drones.

[@PinetreeLine]

Great review Don! It’s like a high functioning toy drone in my opinion. Thanks Brother!

[@DonJoyce]

But high-priced as well. If it was cheaper, it might be forgiveable.

[@BrantAerials]

Honest review . . . Thanks Don.

[@DonJoyce]

Thanks, Gary! I really wanted this review to be more positive: the drone had all the right features...but for the price, it was not performing up to snuff.

[@charleshenderson3447]

Thanks for the honest review.

[@nheather]

Was thinking of buying a Holy Stone 720R but have now watched two videos both showing the drone going out of control (toilet bowl) in a live test and review - both times with experienced operators. That is undeniable evidence of an inherent flaw as far as I am concerned and enough to put be off.

[@DonJoyce]

I was very disappointed.

[@JasonCarrara]

I've seen a couple bad reviews on these and then other ones where are they fly absolutely perfect. I just ordered one because I got it for $170 bucks which is obviously a great deal list price is 400 and I don't think I'm going to get a better drone for less than $200 so we'll see how it goes. I do hear the holy Stone has good customer service

[@Taffwildmanofthewoods]

I was looking at buying one of these but it doesn't instill me with confidence. I'd be interested to hear what Holystone had to say about your issues? It looked like both hardware and software problems. Atb Taff.

[@JasonCarrara]

They also say with those you want at least 12 satellites what it looks like you have 19 so that shouldn't be the issue either. Not sure how old this video but it is but I'm wondering if they fix some of that stuff

[@EugenBrinzoiu]

Happy New Year ❤

[@DonJoyce]

And same to you and yours!

[@JasonCarrara]

Just watched another review the first one the guy got had problems crashed on return to home he got a second one flies perfect looks like they just need a little better quality control going out the door but it seems like they're really good about replacing them

[@DonJoyce]

I have zero interest in being a company's free QA service, even if the product is cheap.

[@JasonCarrara]

@@DonJoyce so I figured something out though the reason it goes wonky is when it drops satellite signal. When it has full satellite signal it flies great and most of the fails happen close to the ground in wooded areas. Mine went a little wonky on me too. But I'm thinking if I drop the GPS connection I can gain control and not have to crash it and also if you get it up high enough above the trees and the mountain ridge it seems like it holds that GPS signal and flies just fine. Not justifying these problems just saying there might be a workaround and also I'm sure there is much better drones out there that will not have these problems. Like I said I got my 720r for $170 bucks it is what it is. I think I'm going to give that potensic Adam 3 a shot next for the price

[@stevebannister1494]

Good honest review Don! Drifting like that can be a sign of needing to do an IMU calibration. Does that Drone have that capability? The other issue you noted was a sticking joystick - unacceptable quality. Good example of when to abort a mission vs pressing on. BZ.

[@DonJoyce]

Thanks Steve. Yeah...there was no IMU calibration, just compass.

[@MrAlistairhawk]

I just flew my Holy Stone 720 today for the 8th time. I am very unhappy with this product. It is my first drone, family gave it to me for Christmas. I fully calibrate it, fully charged batteries, in a field, 19 satellites and it drifts like crazy. I can take it up for a couple minutes and then it just goes in circles all by itself, starting small and getting larger and larger circles facing the same direction and I cannot control it. I have to emergency land it every time. I am not sure what is going wrong with it. Any suggestions? Holy Stone has not been any help to me.

[@DonJoyce]

Return it or write it off. Any DJI drone will turn your frown upside down! The Neo is dirt cheap and a lot of fun!

[@Aerosnapper]

Great review - sacrificing your personal comfort for the community good ! How cold were your hands ? Safety first on that drone drift ... just a little disturbing, as you remarked. 'Oh, Oh' is definitely not something you want to hear during a review...! Holy Stone can be credited with bringing more affordable drones to market, but they have an enormous gap to close with the reliability and build quality DJI offers us. I have to say, on the basis of this review, I'd recommend anyone wanting to get into droning buy a pre-owned DJI model if money is tight and they want to 'dip their toes into the waters' of drone flight

[@DonJoyce]

Thanks, Mike! "oh oh" is definitely not a good thing to hear! If this drone was really really cheap, I would have been more forgiving...after all, it does fly, has a stabilized gimbal and ok camera. But at the price....not the right bang for the buck.

[@DonnellEagle]

Make the best of what you can afford. 😊

[@JasonCarrara]

I've been flying mine without GPS because it toilet bowls a lot. Had a fly off they replaced it. Same issue. Flies pretty good even in some wind without GPS. Only paid 170 for mine so it's whatever but if I paid the original $400 asking price or something I definitely be sending so it's whatever but if I paid the original $400 asking price or something I definitely be wanting my money back

[@IN10THRC]

If you say "I'm sorry" THIS many times for something you need not apologize for, you might be Canadian... LOL Seriously though, it looks like your review was well-founded, and you probably just saved a bunch of people some hard earned cash- and although I personally was not in the market for one, I still appreciate it. BTW, my wife bought me a DPAC shirt for Christmas and I would like to thank you again for all you do for the community.

[@DonJoyce]

Lol...sorry about apologizing!

[@IN10THRC]

@@DonJoyce I'm sorry for bringing it up... ;)

[@jftman53]

Was there more than the twirling involved in both GPS and compass calibration?

[@DonJoyce]

There is no GPS calibration other than waiting for satellite acquisition. Compass calibration is via rotations. Gyro calibration involves a simple stick move.

[@Nikonik66]

I have never heard of the legal requirement to wave 👋 at a drone. Were you joking? Or is that really a thing?

[@DonJoyce]

LOL. Funniest comment ever! Yes, I was just joking. It's only in Don's Rules!

[@Nikonik66]

@DonJoyce LOL. You had me going. You are my go to guy for all things drone and legality, so I had to make sure. 😊

[@paulinegovaert9034]

Thank you for the review. IMHO HS drones are only good for practice in a WIDE area. I have a HS260 non gps, this drone is a challenge, drifting all over the map, keeps you on your toes! Also I have a couple of mini's for indoors, same thing drifting! NOT for beginners. As I said they are only for practice, and as you say for a bit more $ get a good DJI.

[@the1andonly]

This drone is not worth the price!. My first drone was a Holy Stone and it seemed really nice. But the experience trying to control it as a complete beginner was quite an adventure. Problem is, they market this for beginners and a lot of beginners will blame themselves for the poor performance of the drone. Mine actually flew away, but I was partially at fault (flying with near dead battery). Your video will hopefully prevent some beginners from wasting their money on this. Great job!

[@DonJoyce]

To be clear, this drone was packed with features, but the unstable flight and issues like the joystick were a turn off. If it was really cheap, I would have considered it pretty good...but not at this price point.

[@SpeedsterIG]

That's what you get without any downward TOF ("time of flight") sensors and camera(s). The drone has to rely only on its inertia sensor and GPS. But with this comes a big caveat: GPS position deviates over time, even if you have perfect view to the hemispere, this comes from how GPS works. GPS has the biggest deviations in Z-axis (up/down). As a result you get the drone floating around in X, Y and Z which may even lead to an unintentional landing or collision with obstacles. The DJI drones have both downward cameras and distance sensors, this is how they are able to stand still, especially within only a few meters above ground. The measure their elevation above ground with TOF and the horizontal position with their camera(s). You pay more, you get more.

[@Destin65]

HS720R has optical flow sensors and downward facing camera, the pilot in the video just didn't know how to use them. Also, if you notice how confidently he took it up to altitude before bringing it back down to act scared of it at altitudes when all drones switch from GPS to Optical Flow control. Optical flow is what lands it, GPS will destroy it because GPS is never more accurate than 3 feet and sometimes that 3 feet is underground. ;-)

[@cdarw]

I just cancelled my order. Many thanks!

[@DonJoyce]

Ok.

[@Ozkar2023]

Mine tried to fly away back to china is the one with the screen on the controller 720g the return home was the only way to override the software glitch ,it landed but then after that i crashed because of the same problem it goes sideways and backwards at full speed,the propellers still good but the gimbal stopped working , i looked inside it has a connection of hair thin wires instead of cables or a ribbon, one of them is cut ,how? I don't know, when outside there's no damage. another time it toilet bowl so big it went around me and when i landed it wouldn't turn off the rear motors so it flipped...im actually afraid to fly it now because the last time i calibrate and press the auto take off and it went up to 6 feet instead of 3 feet and went left i had to land it

[@massiegeorge]

Same exact thing happened with my 720G.

[@CreativelyJeff]

Hey Don, Is this drone RID compliant out of the box or do I need to register it to a separate module?

[@DonJoyce]

I don't know if it is RID compliant. It doesn't apply in Canada, so I didn't check. And I have gifted the drone already.

[@svsalserenity4375]

I have a brand new Splashdrone 3+ from Swellpro that I have never flown if you would like to review it .

[@dennispittsley9718]

I remember when I finally gave up on my holystone drone and it flew into oblivion and I was set free from that nightmare.

[@michaeldanforth3059]

No doubt, I started with holy stone drones and I don’t recommend them. DJI is the drone I highly recommend to any new drone pilots. It is a very polished experience. Cameras are great and transmission is Second to none

[@DonJoyce]

They certainly hold the gold standard!

[@jeffhdpd782]

I regret having bought one last week. just about everytime it goes up it goes nuts and crashes and i cant stop it. all the scrapes damage everything was not done by me. it did it to itself. WISH i had gone with a dji. would have been worth the extra

[@DonJoyce]

Yep. Unfortunate. You may wish to contact Holy Stone support...

[@nightlightabcd]

Having the HS360S, I was hoping for better, new and improved, with the HS720G with the three axis stabilized gimbal. The controller does not seem to be of the quality of the 360S controller and not as stable as the 360S. It seems that most reviews of the HS720G do not give it high marks. Disappointing, being that I was ready to buy one. The HS's one battery isn't helping!

[@DonJoyce]

Go for a DJI and be done with the toys.

[@nightlightabcd]

@@DonJoyce But I really like HS! DJI is too expensive for my wants and needs.

[@clydemurray4050]

I’m not in the market for a new drone, but I think this is one I would avoid

[@DonJoyce]

Fair.

[@jdmforever5583]

For that price you're better off with the the Potensic atom 3- axis gimbal 4K

[@DonJoyce]

Correct, or a DJI.

[@Tom-xp7dl]

Why is holy stone still in business? The should be named holy SHI....holy crap. You had a better time with that drone than most people have had. And since that company will not take that drone off the market and apparently not doing any firmware updates to remedy this terrible drone, it makes me wonder why would anyone trust ANY HolyStone products. Thank you for an honest review, but I think it will be the DJI mini2 se for me.

[@jerrychisholm8565]

He’s not complaining holy stone is a terrible drone , I’ve had 2 and been through the same issues

[@bigbobno11]

i HAVE OWNED THEM ALL BUT THIS ONE I WOULD MISS THE TELEMETRY OF THE OLD REMOTE AND THE LANDING LIGHT ON THE BOTTOM UNFORTUNATELY I HAVE ALL BAD LUCK WITH THIS I HAD 2 FLY AWAY AND NEVER BE SEEN AGAIN AND ONE WAS GLICHY BUT I DO LIKE THEM THEY DO NOT FEEL LIKE A TOY !! "" KEEP IT CLOSE "" !

[@DonJoyce]

Thanks.

[@yanonoache8444]

Compas calibration at first, secondly wait satellite detection

[@DonJoyce]

Did that...twice.

[@tonyleos6633]

You bever calibrated the GYRO...Thats the left stick....pull down and pull left..it will stabilize. Always calibrate every flight, but the CAMERA is aweful....the colors are nice and can be adjusted its just not even close to 4k.

[@DonJoyce]

Maybe.

[@chrisstephens5189]

I can hear the wind in the cameras speaker which will account for the drifting and oscillation. I can also see that the reviewer is using his thumbs on the joystick which is not nominal for control. You should use your thumb and forefinger on each joystick to provide better control. I do not believe that this review is very accurate.

[@DonJoyce]

Hilarious! You can measure the wind by mic noise better than I can with an anemometer...as stated in the video?!? There was virtually no wind and yet this drone drifted terribly.

[@ailtoncorreia5628]

I had the same issue with another Holy Stone model and returned it before crashing. Even with a bunch of satellites and a calibrated compass, the drone was flying in circles. Another issue was the camera. That was not a 4K camera at all.

[@DonJoyce]

Yeah.

[@williamtice681]

You just got a dud! Mine works fantastic!

[@northwoodmediaworks]

Hard to beat DJI products....

[@DonJoyce]

Very true! Thanks for watching, R!

[@martingruffalump5484]

Another reviewer i respect getting a dodgy 720R - 🤔🤨🙄

[@DonJoyce]

Yeah. Dodgy indeed.

[@driewiel]

Holy Stone are just overpriced copies. Sometimes they make them look a little bit different. Still nicked other brands.

[@Learn2Canoedotca]

Based on your experience alone the sale and use of this drone should be banned by TC. An immediate recall of all sold should be implemented. Please notify Transport Canada; time to do some real work.

[@mattalford3932]

Does it toilet bowl? Why, yes. Yes, it does, lol.

[@richardhykes6939]

Good try

[@DonJoyce]

Thanks