The Autel EVO II V3 is a popular drone, a key workhorse for many organisations and a leading competitor to the DJI Mavic 3. A new firmware update has been issued by Autel – and strongly recommended – in order to stey up to date with global regulations, especially in the UK and EU.
For their users in the region Autel has said: "We strongly recommend that you perform this update to meet the regulation compliance requirement."
While the headline-grabbing feature might be compliance with Remote ID, there are a number of other new features including double-clicking the battery power button to enable pairing mode. This could simplify things in the field.
Other optimizations and improvements include revisions to the no-fly zone function (which, in times past, was something Autel took some pride in not participating in at all), unspecified optimization to the HDMI function, and a fix to a known issue with the GPS updating as well as other known issues.
The specific new firmware editions are:
- Autel Explorer app: v3.1.0.107
- Aircraft: v1.1.78
- Remote Controller: v1.3.9.15
Luckily users of the Autel EVO II v3 won't have to do anything to get hold of the update but follow the prompts for the over-the-air update. Assuming you have version v1.1.56 installed, the drone will be able to manage the update itself via an internet connection – it should go without saying that you should charge your batteries before attempting such an update.
Autel suggests that operators conduct a test flight after any software update.
Autel is one of the best non-DJI drone companies, which has shited from a more consumer offering (with drones like the EVO Lite+) to a more commercial one, centered around drones like this and the EVO MAX 4T which we reviewed recently.
It is encouraging to see it maintain firmware for models like the V3, originally released in 2022.
