How to Format Storage on the DJI Neo 2
Peter Leslie
21 May 2026
If the DJI Neo 2 internal storage is full, throwing write errors mid-flight, or simply needs a clean slate before a new shoot, the control to wipe it sits inside DJI Fly. Format Storage erases every photo and every video the drone is holding in one pass — there is no second confirmation, no recycle bin, and no rollback once you tap through.
Most drone pilots reach for this when the internal storage fills up faster than expected, or when they want to start a job with a known empty drive so any clip captured belongs to the shoot in front of them. Either way, the path is the same on the DJI Neo 2: open Settings, tap into About, find Format Storage, and confirm.
Quick guide
To format storage on the DJI Neo 2, go to DJI Fly → Camera View → Settings → About → Format Storage → Confirm. The action wipes every photo and video on the drone's internal storage and cannot be undone — export anything you want to keep first.
Step-by-step: How to Format Storage on the DJI Neo 2
Follow these top to bottom the first time, and you will know the path off by heart the second time.
Export any footage you want to keep off the DJI Neo 2 first
Plug the drone into a computer with the USB-C cable and copy the photos and videos off the internal storage, or pull individual clips down through the DJI Fly album. Once the format runs, the files are gone — this single step is the difference between a routine wipe and a lost shoot.
Open DJI Fly and drop into the DJI Neo 2 camera view
With the DJI Neo 2 powered on and the remote controller connected, launch DJI Fly and tap Go Fly to enter the camera view. The live feed from the drone fills the screen with the shooting controls stacked in a column down the right-hand edge.
Tap the three-dot icon at the top right to open the Settings panel
Find the three-dot icon sitting at the top right of the camera view. Tap it once and the DJI Fly Settings panel slides in over the live feed, with the category list arranged down the left-hand side.
Tap the About category at the bottom of the Settings left-hand list
Read down the category list on the left of the Settings panel until the About category is in view at the foot of the list. Tap About and the right-hand side of the panel switches across to the About screen.
Scroll the About screen down to the Format Storage row
Inside the About screen, scroll past the device name, firmware version, and serial-number rows until the Format Storage row comes into view. The current internal storage usage prints to the right of the row label, so you can sanity check what is about to be wiped.
Tap Format Storage and read the warning dialogue carefully
Tap the Format Storage row to fire the action. A confirmation dialogue covers the panel warning that every photo and video on the DJI Neo 2 internal storage will be erased and that the action cannot be undone. Read it through — the dialogue is the last point at which you can back out.
Tap Confirm to start the format on the DJI Neo 2 internal storage
Tap Confirm on the dialogue to begin. A progress indicator appears on the panel as the drone clears the internal storage. The whole pass takes a handful of seconds — keep the drone still and the connection to the remote controller solid while it runs.
Check the storage readout on the About screen to confirm the format worked
Wait for the progress indicator to clear and the About screen to settle. The usage figure next to the Format Storage row now shows the full capacity free again — that readout is your confirmation the format completed before you launch the next flight.
Peter's tip
I treat the format as a pre-flight checklist item, not an end-of-shoot one. Files come off the drone the moment I am back at the desk, but the actual Format Storage tap waits until the next time I open DJI Fly with the drone connected and ready to fly. That way I am sat in front of the drone, with my battery in, and any half-finished export from the previous job has had every chance to finish before I wipe the source.
Frequently asked questions
Does formatting the DJI Neo 2 delete all my photos and videos?
Yes. Format Storage wipes every photo and video held on the DJI Neo 2 internal storage in one pass. The action cannot be undone from inside DJI Fly — once the confirmation dialogue is accepted, the files are gone. Always pull the footage off the drone to a phone or a computer before you run the format.
How long does the DJI Neo 2 format take?
A few seconds. The DJI Neo 2 internal storage is small relative to a microSD card, and the format completes almost as fast as the confirmation dialogue closes. If the progress indicator hangs for more than thirty seconds, restart DJI Fly and try the format again — a stalled format usually points at a connection drop rather than a storage fault.
Can I recover photos from the DJI Neo 2 after a format?
Not from inside DJI Fly. A handful of desktop recovery tools can sometimes pull deleted files back from a recently formatted internal storage chip, but the success rate is low and any new footage captured after the format overwrites the recoverable blocks. Treat the format as final and back the footage up before you run it.
How do I export footage from the DJI Neo 2 before formatting?
Two routes. The fastest is to plug the drone into a computer with the USB-C cable and copy the files off directly — the drone does not need to be powered on to expose the internal storage as a drive. The other route is the DJI Fly album, where individual clips and photos can be downloaded to the phone over the connection between the drone and the remote controller.
How much internal storage does the DJI Neo 2 have?
The DJI Neo 2 ships with a fixed internal storage chip and no microSD slot, so the capacity is whatever DJI built into the airframe. The About screen prints the current free space and total capacity next to the Format Storage row — check the live readout there rather than relying on a number from memory, because the exact figure is the one DJI guarantees for your specific unit.
Should I format the DJI Neo 2 storage regularly?
Yes, periodically. A clean format every few weeks keeps the internal storage tidy, clears any orphaned files left behind by interrupted recordings, and reduces the chance of a write error mid-flight. The discipline is to export the footage as soon as a session is over, then format before the next flight so the drone goes out with a known empty drive.
Will formatting the DJI Neo 2 reset my flight settings?
No. Format Storage only affects the internal storage holding photos and videos. Flight settings, RTH altitude, max distance, gimbal calibration, and the rest of the DJI Fly configuration are stored separately and survive the format untouched. The only thing the format wipes is media.
What if the Format Storage option is greyed out on the DJI Neo 2?
The drone is either not connected to DJI Fly or the camera is mid-write. Check the top of the camera view for the connection bar — if the link to the drone has dropped, the About screen still loads but storage actions are locked. Stop any active recording, wait for the camera indicator to go idle, and the Format Storage row becomes tappable again.
A clean Format Storage pass on the DJI Neo 2 is one of the cheapest reliability moves there is. It costs a few taps and a few seconds, and it removes a whole category of write errors and capacity warnings from the next flight before they have a chance to show up on the live feed.
If you are not sure whether to format before or after a particular shoot, drop the details to peter@hiredronepilot.uk and I will come back to you directly. The video version of this walkthrough is on YouTube and the comments are open.
References
Primary source material for this article is the official DJI Neo 2 documentation and DJI Fly. External links open in a new tab.
- DJI Neo 2 — Downloads (User Manual, Quick Start Guide, firmware notes) · Internal storage behaviour, exporting photos and videos, and where the device information sits inside DJI Fly.
- DJI Neo 2 — Specifications (UK) · Internal storage capacity and supported video and photo formats.
- DJI Fly — App download and release notes · The app where the Settings panel, About screen, and Format Storage row all live. Release notes record any layout changes between app versions.
Peter Leslie
Founder & GVC Drone Pilot
Peter is the founder of HireDronePilot. With thousands of logged commercial flight hours, he writes about drone technology, commercial surveying tactics, and UK aviation compliance.
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