Hi, i got a drone for Christmas, just a cheap one £75, im new to drones but this thing has a mind of its own, when it behaves and takes of normal i move it forwards then when i try bacwards it doesnt respond well then when i leg go of everything it starts to move on its own then it just crashes, most the time when i press the take off botton it goes up a metre then kites sideways and crashes, and the footages is terrible too,
Anyway im thinking of trying again, but i only want to spend about £250, on a used drone off ebay or market place maybe,
So what would you recommend i buy, cheers
Get a Mini 3 that will do what you ask of it
The Mini 3 Pro is not being sold new any more and goes for around £300 on eBay, a little over your budget…
I found out the hard way about cheapo drones as well, Stu. In order to fly to a bearing, hover steadily, and respond properly to the controls, a drone needs to have gps positioning with several satellites locked on, manual stick controls graduated so that you can fly and manoevre at any speed you want, and good connectivity between the drone and the RC; wi-fi is not good enough! In order to take acceptable video or still images, it needs to have a 3-axis gimbal that can respond to changes in pitch and attitude in real time, and a camera that can manage 4K video; 720p is a joke! And you can’t do that for £75, even secondhand.
But, the good news is that for £250 you will be able to buy a NEW DJI Mini 4K drone that will do all of the above, reliably and easily. It will fly in winds of up to Beaufort Force 5 (‘level 5’ in drone-marketingspeak), 24mph/32kph, the batteries last for 31 minutes, it weighs 249g which puts it in the least restricted class, able to fly near buildings and over people (but not crowds). I have one and am v. happy with it!
DJI will sell you a NEW ‘Neo’ drone, which can fly without an RC pr a phone, for £169, or the more recent Neo 2 with obstacle avoidance for £209. Neos are even lighter than the Mini series and the original Neo can only manage Force 4, 18mph, winds. I’m not being paid to promote DJI, but they are by a large margin the biggest supplier of hobby drones in the world, and for good reason; they are very good quality! Their after-sales/customer care is excellent, and their ‘Care Refresh’ (an additional warranty replacement service) has a very good reputation and is excellent value for money. Buy one tonight and you’ll be practice-flying it on Friday, weather permitting, they deliver fast, and, unlike your present toy drone, will do pretty much what you tell it to!
The prices I’ve quoted are currently available on Amazon. The Neos can be flown ‘out of the box’ in pre-programmed press-button modes, and will require you to spend extra on controllers and an on’-board RC teansmitter for the Neo 2. Personally, I would advise avoiding the secondhand market which can be a bit dodgy (though the secondand section on this site is reliable). For your own protection, at least assume that a listing which does not specify that the drone is ‘unbound’ is for a ‘bound*’ drone, which will require you to request the original owned to unbind it for you, if you can find him! I always regard this as an indication that the drone is stolen. Spending more than your budget will enable you to buy drones with more features and better quality cameras, or ‘Fly More’ budles which usually include 2spare batteries, some accessories, and a compartmentalised bag for it all.
The decision is yours, of course, and will depend on what you want to use the drone for and how you intend to fly it. Check out the Drone Code rules and the weight restrictions on the CAA website, as these may have some bearing on your final choice. Good luck!
*DJI drones are registered with the company by the purchaser and ‘bound’ to his/her DJI account. A drone bound to someone else’s account cannot be re-registered by a new owner without the old account being closed, and you will be unable to update software, purchase ‘Care Refresh’, and other issues. Avoid.
I bought a mini 2 se as my first drone ( don’t think it’s available anymore, Mini 4k is its successor , and more capable). A great little affordable drone, has no obstacle avoidance so you learn how to fly it without relying on all the fancy technology that might just let you down. Other than that it is a fantastic little drone, great to learn on and if bitten by the bug a decent stepping stone to more advanced kit.
I had one like that. Light as a feather, No GPS, and had a ‘trim Button’ to adjust its hover and keep it from drifting.
It wasn’t good at all, but it got me hooked on the hobby.
Get a used DJI mini for 250 quid easy and you’ll be hooked too. 
This is the problem you get with budget drones. The price reflects its performance and quality. Basically you get what you pay for. If you want performance and quality you are going to have to pay around £300+ I’m afraid. Anything below and you will be having similar issues, guaranteed video issues. Good Video quality is based on cost. Save up for awhile until you can get a decent one or you will have 2 drones that you aren’t happy with and then need to buy another. The Potensic Atom is a lot of drone you very little money. Half the cost of its DJI equivalent.
Good luck.
If you’re patient, the Potensic Atom 2 Fly More combo (drone, controller, 3 batteries, charging dock, bag, spare propellers) drops to around - or even under - £200 every few months brand new. The Atom 2 is comparable to the cheaper end of the DJI Mini series.
Flying any of the drones mentioned above will be a completely different experience to your 70 quid drone. They’ll hover in place without input and go where you want them to go. The camera footage, even at the cheaper end, will be pretty decent to fabulous depending on drone and lighting conditions.
These are all designed to fly outside, with satellite fix for stability. They’d be harder to control indoors.
Enjoy your drone when you get it. I’ve loved having mine since I bought it a few months ago.
I’ve bought a couple of second hand drones from CEX, they have always been in great condition. Well worth checking out, the mini 3 pro was the last one I bought
Which make/model of drone is it?
Hey Stu,
It’s a common trap for newcomers, not just in the drone world; buying cheap leads to buying twice. In this case, it sounds like your drone might just need it’s IMU (inertial measurement unit) calibrating - if it supports such a process.
I’m guessing you didn’t buy the drone to master piloting in attitude mode (full manual control). You’ll likely want something with GPS, to take care of most of the troubles your facing. As some of the chaps above have already covered, the Mini 4k is likely the best drone available within your budget, though with the rules changing again in 2028 it’ll likely only give around 2 years of good service before you might want to consider replacing it.
Wipkviey b15 quadcoopter
It was a Christmas present, but i know what your saying, cheers
Hi Stu, I would try returning your existing one to get the extra £75 to add to your budget! As people have said DJI are the best drones available but come at a premium, I just saw the 4k is available NEW on Amazon for £269 or £309 with 2 batteries (always worth Having a spare) the rules have changed this month but make sure (if you haven’t already) to go on the CAA website and get your operator ID (compulsory) and Flyer ID (if you want to gain some confidence). The operator ID is free and renewed every year and the flyer ID I think costs around £10 and last for 5 years, short very easy to answer multi choice questions and helps make you a better operator. Good luck and keep us posted buddy
Mini 4k mini 3 just what you need to start with I’ve been there with a cheap drone when I started out not good
@Rob50 Both are mandatory now in the UK.
Thanks ive done all the required licenses. Cheers
Useful information, thanks for your time.
Big plus I find with DJI is the great support and friendly advice on sites like this from other DJI fliers.
Buy a Mini 2 4K with the full complement of batteries. There’s nothing worse than just one battery on a good flying day. Get a demo flight first, and when you want to move on sell the drone to the next person in line.