change in Autel Explorer map quality

[DRS]

My Fellow Autel Explorer users,

I have been flying my Autel Evo II since late 2020. For the first 1 1/2 years or so the quality of the map image in the Explorer Mission was very crisp and sharp. Then there was an obvious change much for the worse leaving mission planning not as precise as I had grown accustomed to. I have contacted Autel on multiple occasions and they fail to acknowledge that there has been a change. I live in Kerrville Texas, a relatively small rural town not far from San Antonio. I can provide examples of the issue in the form of screenshots that make the quality difference very obvious.

Has anyone else experienced this problem or know of a solution? (I first realized the change AFTER a firmware update (not sure of the update number).

Thank you for any suggestions or help.
DRS

 

[moodman]

My Fellow Autel Explorer users,

I have been flying my Autel Evo II since late 2020. For the first 1 1/2 years or so the quality of the map image in the Explorer Mission was very crisp and sharp. Then there was an obvious change much for the worse leaving mission planning not as precise as I had grown accustomed to. I have contacted Autel on multiple occasions and they fail to acknowledge that there has been a change. I live in Kerrville Texas, a relatively small rural town not far from San Antonio. I can provide examples of the issue in the form of screenshots that make the quality difference very obvious.

Has anyone else experienced this problem or know of a solution? (I first realized the change AFTER a firmware update (not sure of the update number).

Thank you for any suggestions or help.
DRS

Online maps are typically rendered in several qualities, depending on the zoom level. No doubt Autel has purchased the rights to whoever their map supplier is (Google maybe) at a certain resolution. My best guess is that Autel decided they were paying too much for the finely detailed map versions they put in their app and downgraded to a coarser map for their customers.
The only other explanation might be that (I know for me at least) that the resolution of an area depends on pre-caching the map area you are going to be flying in at the most zoomed in resolution. So what you have to do is zoom in as close as you can at your house using high speed internet to get that cached data loaded into Explorer prior to flying the mission. Then, when out in the field, the finely detailed map data is pulling from the memory on your controller. Whatever zoom levels you pre-loaded would be the ones you would see in the field. If you don't preload them, then don't expect to be able to zoom in when flying.

 

[Limewood]

My Fellow Autel Explorer users,

I have been flying my Autel Evo II since late 2020. For the first 1 1/2 years or so the quality of the map image in the Explorer Mission was very crisp and sharp. Then there was an obvious change much for the worse leaving mission planning not as precise as I had grown accustomed to. I have contacted Autel on multiple occasions and they fail to acknowledge that there has been a change. I live in Kerrville Texas, a relatively small rural town not far from San Antonio. I can provide examples of the issue in the form of screenshots that make the quality difference very obvious.

Has anyone else experienced this problem or know of a solution? (I first realized the change AFTER a firmware update (not sure of the update number).

Thank you for any suggestions or help.
DRS

Autel gets their maps from Mapbox. Clarity is one thing. But you should try planning missions with clouds overlaying the map area you are trying to fly. Autel must have purchased the low quality plan.