Nolimitdrones Overview: Your Drone. This All Changes With NLD
Nolimitdrones Overview: Your Drone. This All Changes With NLD
Thank you for your purchase and or interest in NoLimitDronez software, or NLD for short.
How do I use NLD, where do I start? Is using NLD legal, and will it void my warranty?
First some background info. NLD was created as a response to DJI’s heavy-handed nanny-state as it applies to the locking down of their products.
We at NLD are all drone enthusiasts, just like you are. We want to enjoy our quads that we have paid for and not be bothered by a company that
feels that they know what is best for the use of hardware that we own. We all pay big money for DJI products, and we should be able to modify them
freely, and of course fly them responsibly. The pilot is the one who is in charge of all flights, and the pilot is the ONLY one responsible for the safe
operation of their drone. Not DJI.
Since the creation of NLD, DJI has taken, and continues to take steps in their release of updated firmware to thwart any modding that you can do via
the use of NLD. This is why not all mods, or features of NLD are available on all firmware and all models of DJI drones. This is not easy stuff to pull
off, otherwise there would be a multitude of companies doing this. Always check the Birdmap (https://nolimitdronez.com/birdmap) and use that as a
guide to what you can do and can’t do for each supported bird and firmware versions.
Will NLD void my DJI warranty? We have not had one single user tell us that DJI voided their warranty by the use of NLD. When you have a
warranty issue with your drone, DJI fixes that issue and does not spend the time and energy to figure out what software did what, including any other
3rd party software. Legal? Yes. The drone you bought from DJI is yours. You own it and can modify it all you want to. You are also responsible for
each and every flight you do with it. Not DJI. Make sure you are flying within the laws of your country. That’s all the nanny we have in us. Just don’t
be stupid with the flights of your drone.
Basics –
Every DJI drone has a usb port on it, so that it can be connected to a PC. DJI has their own software to communicate with the drones called DJI
Assistant. This is readily available for download on the DJI site. We created our own software to be able to communicate with the drone and to unlock
and make changes to increase performance, firmware upgrading and downgrading etc. DJI Assistant can only do certain things, and locks the end
user out of doing much with their drone besides upgrading firmware and limited access to firmware downgrading. DJI does not want you changing
YOUR DRONE. This all changes with NLD.
These instructions will get you started getting more out of your bird than you ever thought possible.
Start NLD as administrator and connect your powered on bird.
After NLD detects your aircraft, status info will be shown at the bottom left of the NLD program and you will have access to all of the links listed on
the left side of the screen
Activation
To install and activate NLD with your purchased license key, please do the following:
Before you run any programs, ensure that NLD is allowed through any firewall program and anti-virus programs. You will need a live internet
connection at all times when using NLD.
Download the latest NLD software. https://nolimitdronez.com/downloads/nldapp.zip
Create a folder on your desktop called NLD and unzip or decompress the NLD files into this folder.
Power on your bird and connect to the computer with the data cable supplied by DJI, and right-click on NLDApp.exe in the NLD folder. Run
as Administrator. If NLD needs to communicate with you, you will see messages in the bottom left.
Follow the prompts to activate NLD and enter your activation code you received by email, if you didn’t do so already. You will need 1 activation
key per bird. The Activation key is tied to the serial number of each bird, so you can run NLD from multiple computers, not just one - once
NLD is activated.
Remove NFZ – NFZ removal patch. Checks your firmware to see if it is compatible. Apply the patch, or remove the already applied patch to return
to stock NFZ settings.
DJI GO 4 Patcher – for patching DJI GO to make NLD GO with additional features *not all drones supported
Firmware Manager – where you go to flash firmware. Upgrade, downgrade or re-flash.
Flight Controller:
You can either use the sliders to customize each setting, or go to the bottom of the page and click on the presets for Normal + or Sport +. The
SPEED section sets the max speed when obstacle avoidance is off. Return to Home speed. You can set a faster RTH speed. 13.5 is good. OTHER
is full of check boxes that may or may not be available. This depends on your firmware version. Disable altitude limit and Disable No Fly Zones are
ONLY available on early (old) firmware. Check the birdmap to see what mods your firmware version can do. https://nolimitdronez.com/birdmap
*note*
There are two ways to deal with NFZ. The 1st way is to see what early firmware is required on your bird, flash to that firmware, then use NLD and use
the checkbox to Disable NFZ. What this does is to DISABLE the enforcement of NFZs, but you may still get minimal warnings. If they will show up,
they just won't be enforced and you can take off. This is best used with NLD GO, since we remove the NFZ database in the NLD GO App. You can
use this check box option with any version of GO, Android or iOS, but you will get lots of warnings. If the Remove NFZ patch option is not working
for you, this is your other choice.
What’s the difference between the Disable No Fly Zones and the Remove NFZ patch? The check box TURNS OFF enforcement of NFZ and is only
available on early firmware, while the Remove NFZ patch, removes the NFZ data from the bird, but NFZ is still turned on. For the best success,
always start your flight in this order:
1. RC on 2. Turn on bird and let it connect to RC 3. Connect device running GO to RC
Parameters – This area is for searching parameters and setting them manually. Advanced users only.
FCC / Signal Boost – FCC is a higher output for RC power than CE mode. You can change your RC to the higher output here. You must have a
supported bird and be on compatible firmware.. Connect your bird and Enable FCC Mode to change from CE to FCC. Once changed, you can leave
it, or if you want even more power, you can Enable Signal Boost, along with FCC mode for the highest power output possible. *CAUTION* This will
run your RC at max power, creating quite a bit of heat on the RF chips. You risk burning out your RC by doing this, so enable the Signal Boost mode
at your own risk. FCC mode is fully supported by the RC and will NOT overheat your RC at all. FCC mode has the possibility of increasing your
distance for flying reception, but every flight area is different, but this change should help you with better reception.
If you are already in a FCC country, (like the USA) you do not need to enable FCC mode. It is already on and determined by GPS location. If your
bird is NOT COMPATIBLE, use the DJI GO 4 Patcher instead to enable FCC mode using the NLD GO APP.
Remove NFZ – This is for removing the NFZ data from the bird by applying the patch if your bird is on compatible firmware. You will not be able to
apply the patch if you are not on the correct firmware version. If you want to remove the applied patch, you can do that and return the bird to stock
NFZ settings. Once applied, do not upgrade or downgrade your bird, or you will lose the patch and have stock NFZ data. Also, once applied, if you
get a message in GO to update your Fly Safe Database, do not do so. This will override the patch. Remember that NFZ is still active and enforceable
even after running this patch. If you use Stock GO, there are ways that DJI can override this patch and you will still not be able to take off. Best
results are with using NLD GO 4.1.22, or Spark owners wanting to use OTG, with NLD GO 4.1.14. Both NLD versions have had the NFZ database
removed from them. Mavic 2 users can only use stock GO, iOS or Android. AWAYS start your bird in this order: RCBird (establish connection)
then connect device with GO.
DJI GO 4 Patcher (Android only) You can patch DJI go to NLD GO, and add some cool features to GO, like FCC mode by default, not having to login
with your real DJI account, removing links to DJI, removing the NFZ database from GO along with other options. The latest version of DJI GO that
you can patch is 4.1.22. This version does not support the Air, or the M2 line, so for those birds you will use the stock version of GO, either iOS of
Android. Spark users who want to use OTG, will patch 4.1.14, since DJI crippled OTG support in 4.1.22. To patch a version of GO that we support,
click on the drop down box on the left side of the screen and select the GO version you want to patch. Click on download and save this file to your
desktop, or to the NLD folder you created. Click on the box on the right side of the screen and select an output folder where you want the new NLD
DJI GO4 App to be stored. Use the same location as where you downloaded the unpatched GO file. Once that is done, click APPLY PATCH at the
bottom of the screen and the DJI App will now be patched and converted into the modified NLD-DJI-GO4 App. Be patient. Depending on your internet
connection, this may take a while. Once that is done, transfer that file to your device via a USB cable hooked between the phone & the computer.
Use the “My Files” app on the phone to locate the APK file and click on it to install it in the phone. Note you have to allow unknown apps to be installed
in the settings on your device. If you have issues with the .apk not wanting to install, download ES file explorer from the Google playstore and use
that. Current Mavic 2 owners will use Stock GO, either iOS or Android for their birds. We recommend flying in airplane mode, and caching your maps
before you fly. Either download offline HERE maps, or open GO on your device, go to the map and scroll around your flying area before you fly.
Firmware Manager - To Downgrade, Update or Refresh the aircraft firmware just click on the version that you want to upgrade/downgrade to or
refresh. NLD will download the firmware requested, transfer it to the bird and start the flashing procedure. This takes approximately 15-20 minutes.
All the flashing is being done by DJI code on the bird itself. NLD will ensure that the firmware is actual DJI Stock firmware by MD5 checking, and then
start the firmware flashing. BE PATIENT. NLD will provide you status updates for each module being flashed. Pay attention to the NLD status
messages. NLD will tell you when the firmware flash has been completed. If you are unsure if the flashing procedure is complete or not, or you think
the firmware is “stuck” let the bird sit for a few minutes, at least 10. If nothing changes, go ahead and restart your bird, but don’t touch NLD. NLD will
continue the firmware flash from where it left off. If, after doing this it still appears that the bird is not flashing, turn on your RC and see if it connects
to your bird. If it does, the bird is not doing any firmware flashing and you will need to start all over again. Power off the bird, close NLD, restart the
PC, run NLD, connect the bird and try again. Once successfully completed, turn off your bird, close NLD, and choose re-flash to flash a 2nd time for
error checking. The 2nd flash should be much faster to complete. NLD will always show you the current firmware version on your bird. The other way
to check if you are using a stock version of GO is to go to the about page and check the firmware version listed there.
NLD FCC mode and other options
Not all options in NLD are available for all birds on all firmware versions in NLD.
Go to the birdmap to see what mods are available for your bird and on what firmware you need to be on. https://nolimitdronez.com/birdmap
Why does it say FCC mode is available for the Spark, M1 pro/platinum, P4 line and I2, but the FCC patch says that it is incompatible?
Currently the FCC patch is only for the M2 birds. To enable FCC mode on the other models, you MUST be using NLD GO app for Android. This forces
FCC mode on as long as you use the app. The FCC patch is a new way to force FCC mode on the bird itself, and we will release a compatible patch
for the other birds as soon as its ready.
What about the RC boost mode on the FCC patch page? It is listed but I can't access it?
It will be available in the future, when it is ready for release. However, in NLD GO 4.1.22 you can enable Boost mode for the P4line and the Mavic 1
line.
Why is the NLD GO Patcher not available for the M2? It's greyed out.
This is due to our NLD GO app not being compatible with the M2. You will use the same GO (stock version) you are using now with the M2. Either
Android or iOS version.
What about the other options in NLD that are there, but I can't activate them?
They are greyed out because they either are not available for your model, or your model on the firmware you are on. Remember that not all options
are available on all birds on all firmware. DJI takes steps in every firmware release to stop YOU from modding, so we are constantly making
adjustments - so that means you may have to downgrade your firmware to get the mod you want to use to work for your bird.
How to setup NLD GO 4.1.22:
NLD GO 4.1.22 has some new features that normal GO does not have, such as:
-Display of AGL height over changing terrain-
*this is a feature that will give you real time, actual Above Ground Level height while you are flying, based on GPS position data.
-ability to switch between HERE maps and Google maps
-RC boost mode for the P4 birds and Mavic Pro/Platinum birds
-32 channel mode for the P4 birds
-Force of FCC mode for all compatible birds(on by default)
-NLD GO 4.1.22 is for Mavic Pro/Platinum, Spark, P4 and P4P models.
To enable displaying of AGL height over changing terrain, for this function to work correctly for NLD GO 4.1.22 - you will need to do a couple of things:
(this is using GPS satellite terrain data information and is more accurate than the default way altitude is computed in GO.)
* Go to https://urs.earthdata.nasa.gov/ and sign up for an account
* Go to http://dwtkns.com/srtm30m/ and download up to 4 "tiles" for your flying area and save them to your device you use with GO
* Install NLD GO 4.1.22.You will need to copy these "tiles" to a your device in the DJI\srtm_data folder. Leave them zipped, so they would look like
N21W172.SRTMGL1.hgt.zip and so on.
* Copy and paste the names of these files into a .json file installed on your device. (Due to the different data sets, we can't do this for your area)
* Go to /DJI/og_settings and edit the dtm.settings.json file. This will be easier to do on your PC. Open this file with the editor of your choice, or you
can use Notepad. It will look like this:
{"m_AlgoChoice":3,"m_AlgoParams":[30.0,5.0,15.0,3.0,50.0,20.0,3500.0],"m_AltitudeOffset":0.0,"m_DTM_tiles_paths":["/mnt/sdcard/DJI/srtm_data/
N21W158.SRTMGL1.hgt.zip","/mnt/sdcard/DJI/srtm_data /N21W159.SRTMGL1.hgt.zip"],"m_DoLogging":false}
* Replace the names of the files currently in RED with the names of your files (“tiles”). Only replace the names of the two that are there and leave the
rest of the text alone. So for my example, I will only have one to replace, so the result after editing will be:
{"m_AlgoChoice":3,"m_AlgoParams":[30.0,5.0,15.0,3.0,50.0,20.0,3500.0],"m_AltitudeOffset":0.0,"m_DTM_tiles_paths":["/mnt/sdcard/DJI/srtm_data/
N21W172.SRTMGL1.hgt.zip"],"m_DoLogging":false}
* Save your changes and transfer back to your device, replacing the one that is currently there. (/DJI/og_settings/dtm_settings.json) Keep a backup
of the original. All you want to do is replace N21W158.SRTMGL1.hgt.zip and or N21W159.SRTMGL1.hgt.zip with the name of your tiles for your
area. Make changes to this file as you fly in different areas that need different tiles. Check the map here: http://dwtkns.com/srtm30m/ You can have
up to 4 tiles listed at a time in this file.
* If you don't have any tiles loaded you will see QFE instead of DTM. Otherwise AGL will be displayed up to about 14m/46ft, then switches to DTM
* You can save all your tiles for different areas in the DJI\srtm folder and then you just need to change the dtm.settings.json file for each flying area.
How to switch between Google Maps and HERE maps upon restarting NLD GO 4.1.22:
Here is what you need to do on your device:
Go to internal storage and look for the /DJI/og_settings folder.
Unzip useGoogleMap.zip and copy the useGoogleMap file into /DJI/og_settings folder, or you can make your own file named useGoogleMap and
place it there. DO NOT make useGoogleMap.txt file and use that. It will not work. You need to remove the .txt and save it only as useGoogleMap.
Run GO. You should have Google Maps working.
If you want to switch back to HERE maps, just rename that file. As a suggestion, you could name it HuseGoogleMap.
Here is how to enable boosted RC for Mavic (1.5w output) and 32 channel mode for P4.
It's configured from the /DJI/og_settings/datalink.settings.json on your device with NLD GO 4.1.22 installed.
Edit the datalink.settings.json file with a text editor, find the variable called "boost" and change this from false to true to enable the 1.5W boost feature
to get even more range than FCC mode. Do the same for the 32Channels and change false to true. Save the file. Boost has been tested and working
on Mavic, and 32 channel tested and working on P4P. NOTE! This feature runs the RF chips at their max voltages and as such generates a LOT
more heat. It isn’t advisable to use this mode in very hot climates as the small internal cooling fan may not be able to cope with the extra heat. Run
this boost mode at your own risk! You could burn out your RF chips if the chips overheat.
*the file attached has boost mode enabled. Save this to /DJI/og_settings/ on your device
Watch this great video on how to patch your own NLD GO 4.1.22:
https://youtu.be/PDI9NgHFNmk
Using a user supplied firmware file...why would you want to do this?
DJI always is changing firmware, adding new features - but mostly adding security and patching holes to stop you from modding your birds.
NLD is always figuring out ways to get around these security patches, so you CAN mod your bird.
What exactly is mixed module firmware or cherry picked firmware? Go here and read: https://dji.retroroms.info/howto/modulemix
The DJI firmware is made up of individual firmware modules for the various hardware components on your bird, such as Camera module, ESC
modules, sensor modules etc. This is combined into one single firmware file. When you upgrade or downgrade your firmware, the flashing code on
the drone will check each module and flash it to match the firmware you are trying to flash to.
Not all modules have version changes in each firmware-flashing module. Sometimes they may be the same version. If this is the case, OR if the
module is not in the firmware file, the flashing code will SKIP that module and not throw any error. Cool huh?!
As new firmware came out, DJI added more fixes to the firmware modules and more features, like panorama mode etc.
If you upgrade to 01.04.0300 for the Mavic or 01.00.0900 for the Spark, you lose the ability to disable NFZ and Altitude. But if you are using NLD, you
can use our NLD NFZ removal patch, and that is a different way to deal with NFZ, but the NFZ detection is still active and could be overridden by the
GO app, IF you are using a stock app, Android or iOS. If you are using the NLD GO app for Android, we have removed the NFZ data from that, so
the app has nothing to override because it has no NFZ data.
How does mixed modules come into play?
Since we know that the firmware file is made up of modules, and we know in the example of the Mavic and Spark that 01.03.0700 and 01.00.0300
can do all mods, why don't we take out these modules from the more recent firmware, like 01.04.0300 and 01.00.0900, so that the firmware flashing
SKIPS the already flashed flight controller module, but updates all the rest? Do you see it? What you end up with is all the firmware modules are
upgraded on your bird, EXCEPT the flight controller module, (since you deleted it from the .bin file, AND the bird already has the older version) so
that you can continue to mod your bird, just like you were still on 01.03.0700 or 01.00.0300!
NLD now supports you uploading your own firmware, so this is now possible. Make 100% sure you know what you are doing. If not done right, you
can brick your bird. This means ONLY getting firmware that you have made yourself and know what you are doing, or from a trusted source.
The same goes for the Spark using the spark firmware versions.
What about NLD, will it now detect that I have mixed firmware and make all the options available for the flight controller version that is actually on the
bird? Yes and No. Your firmware version will be detected as the LAST version you flashed with.
For example. Your bird is on firmware 01.03.0700 and you flash to mixed module 01.04.0300. Your firmware will be detected as 01.04.0300. Lets
say you go the opposite route, and are already on 01.04.0300 Stock, but want to have all mods available, so you flash mixed module 01.03.0700.
Your firmware will be detected as 01.03.0700 version.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5hW7b8MzH7ptRjVxOdMGTnLW1qWGwSQg&app=desktop
Unpatched GO links:
4.1.22 - http://www.openpilotlegacy.org/dji.go.v4-4.1.22-3028592-noseceo.apk
4.1.14 - http://www.openpilotlegacy.org/dji.go.v4_4.1.14-1027326-noSecNeo.apk