DJI Drone Update Restricts Flight Inside Washington DC

Supposing you've got a DJI Drone in your possession and you planned on flying it inside the Washington DC downtown area, you may want to rethink your plans. A "mandatory" firmware update has been issued by the company to all DJI drones, one that restricts the craft from flying inside a 15.5-mile radius of the downtown DC area. Previous updates to the drone restricted it from flying anywhere near a major airport. It knows where it is, after all – don't you dare try to trick it.

It's a futuristic time for drones everywhere. Just this month we saw a drone land inside the main grounds of the White House, and now we're seeing DJI restrict drone flights anywhere near the property.

Are the two events related?

Absolutely 100% yes.

The image you're seeing here was captured by the US Secret Service and shows the DJI Phantom copter that landed at the White House after its owner decided to fly whilst drunk. As it was stated earlier this week: you can't just land a drone at the white house and expect no consequences.

The FAA bans unmanned flight within the city and DJI has issued a firmware update that makes certain of it.

Don't fly drones near a stadium, either, while your'e at it.