How Long Does Mavic Air 2s Battery Last? (What To Expect!)

Are you getting low flight time with your Mavic Air 2S Battery? Or maybe, you are simply curious to know about the battery life.

Continue reading till the end as I walk you through the battery life you should expect in real life conditions, the factors that can affect it, and other helpful information.

Here’s How Long A Mavic Air 2S Battery Lasts:

Although the Mavic Air 2S battery is said to give you a 31 minutes flight time, in reality, it offers less. On average, you get 20-25 minutes of flight time depending on the power consumption, which is affected by factors like wind, drone weight, humidity, and altitude.

Here’s a video in which the video host did an actual flight time test of DJI Air 2S. 

The host demonstrates how he hovered the drone and flew it around on a windless day to test the battery. (Spoiler alert) The approximate battery flight time he got was about 25 minutes, with an additional 2 minutes remaining. Watch the video to learn more.

Another YouTuber compared the DJI Air 2S with Mini 2 flight time and battery life test. He did different tests in different conditions and at different battery levels. The battery time he got for Air 2s was ranging from 23 min 50 sec to 21 min 55 sec

So what really affects the flight time of a battery in a drone? Let’s see!

Factors That Affect The Battery Life Of Mavic Air 2S

#1. Wind

Flying against the wind can reduce the potential battery life of your Mavic Air 2S. 

The drone will work hard to cope with the air resistance, so the battery will be consumed faster. Thus, it will affect battery life.

Related article: Flight controller not getting power from the battery?

On the official website, DJI has highlighted that the Max flight time for Air 2S is around 31 minutes, and the Max hovering time is about 30 minutes. But for both, they mention “no wind.”

In reality, though, you can’t always fly drones in a less windy atmosphere. So you have to naturally set lower expectations considering the variation of real-life flight conditions.

#2. Drone Weight

Another factor is drone weight. The heavier the drone is, the more power it would take to keep the drone in the air and fly it around.

Also, if you attach an additional payload, be ready to expect a lower battery lifespan. Long story short, the more the load is, the more power will be consumed, and thus the battery will drain faster.

#3. Humidity

Now, this is quite an interesting factor. The humidity of the atmosphere can also affect flight time.

The fact is a water molecule is lighter than either an oxygen molecule or a nitrogen molecule. 

Molecules:Molecular Weight:
Water (H2O)18
Nitrogen (N2)28
Oxygen (O2)32
Table of molecular weight of water, nitrogen, and oxygen

Dry air mostly has nitrogen and oxygen molecules (which, as we can see, are heavier than water molecules).

So when we make the air moist by adding water molecules to it, the heavier molecules are swapped with the lighter molecules. Hence, moist air becomes lighter than dry air at the same temperature and pressure.

And humidity is nothing but the amount of water vapor in the air. Turns out, the drone’s propellers become less efficient in terms of lift in humid conditions. 

The motor tends to work harder, which further strains the battery resulting in a shorter flight time.

#4. Altitude

Altitude can also impact your flight time from the Mavic Air 2s. This is because as the altitude increases, the air pressure decreases.

And as the air pressure decreases, it becomes harder for the drone propellers to generate enough lift. Therefore, putting strain on the battery and reducing its power.

Also Read: Do Racing Drones Have Altitude Hold?

How Long Does A Drone Battery Usually Last?

Here’s a chart to give you a rough idea of how long drone batteries typically last.

Battery Life:Drone Type:
5-10 MinutesLow-Quality Drones
15-20 MinutesMid-Range Drones
20-30 MinutesProfessional Level Drones
Table showing the average battery lifespan of different quality drones

Since Mavic Air 2s Batteries seem to last 20-25 minutes, we can say that they are in the range of professional-level drones.

Why Is Your Mavic Air 2S Battery Not Lasting Longer?

If you are getting somewhere around 20-25 minutes and above with Mavic Air 2S battery, everything is good, as that’s what you would typically get in real-life conditions. But what if, let’s say, you only get around 10 minutes of battery life? That could be a concern, so let’s deal with it!

If your Mavic Air 2s battery does not last longer, you may have to consider the following:

#1. Not Operating In The Right Way

Are you operating the Mavic Air 2s in the correct mode? and with appropriate settings? 

Generally speaking, the battery tends to deplete quicker when you fly a DJI drone in Sports mode. The sport mode allows the drone to be more responsive on the stick controls. 

Even with a slight movement with stick controls, you can get a significant flight direction shift compared to other standard flight modes. 

Moreover, your drone will be faster. And since the motors will work without any speed limiters in this mode and operate at increased rotations, the battery will deplete quicker. 

So, in short, you need to check whether or not you are operating your Mavic Air 2s in the correct mode.

Please note that the DJI Air 2s uses a Lithium-ion battery. And lithium-ion batteries are known to self-discharge when you keep them in an inactive condition to protect the battery’s health. (Storing the battery at full charge can damage it).

However, letting the charge levels become too low is also not good. 

Now, in the Mavic 2 Intelligent flight battery, the auto-discharge is automatically stopped when the battery discharge level becomes too low while it’s inactive.

But still, when you fully charge the battery and then let it sit, you are not using a battery in a fully charged state by the time you use it for the flight. So usually, charging the battery just before flying is recommended to ensure you are using a fully charged battery.

You may also need to consider the factors like wind, weight, humidity, and altitude for estimating the battery life of Mavic air 2S.

Check out my article: Mavic Pro won’t connect to the controller?

#2. Problems With The Battery

Your battery could be the problem if all the settings and modes are set perfectly, and you are running everything properly but you still face issues.

You may have received a faulty battery that cannot hold the charge for a long time and discharges quickly. You should consider this point, especially when you get a new battery and still suffer from low battery life.

Reach out to the DJI support and seek help from them about the issue. 

#3. It’s Time To Upgrade

If your battery is quite old, then the case could be the opposite, where you need to replace the battery.

If its time to replace your battery, you can purchase one here on Amazon

What Is The Lifespan Of Mavic Air 2S Battery?

Lithium-ion batteries are used in the DJI Air 2S. And like any other battery, lithium-ion batteries also tend to lose some of their capacity with time.

Typically, the Mavic 2 Batteries last for around 200 charge cycles. Since the Mavic Air 2S uses the same battery as the Air 2, we can assume that the Mavic Air 2S also has the same battery lifespan.

The 200 charge cycle limit simply means you can only charge and discharge the battery 200 times. After that, the battery won’t be able to hold the charge.

Final Thoughts

In short, the Mavic Air 2S battery is supposed to give 31 minutes of flight time on paper. But in real-life conditions, you can only expect 20-25 minutes based on factors like wind, drone weight, humidity, and altitude.

So that’s it! I hope this guide has answered all your questions. I also recommend to you some more drone-related resources below:

Paul Good

This awesome hobby has something for everyone, whether you like to build your RC from scratch and keep modifying till you've got it to just how you want it, to track racing. You might be out with a boat, or perfecting your skills with a plane. Are you taking some cool pics with your drone? I'm sure my site will help you on your journey.

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