How to Check and Install Firmware Updates on the DJI Neo 2
Peter Leslie
21 May 2026
The firmware update path on the DJI Neo 2 sits in DJI Fly, in the About category of the Settings panel, on the Aircraft Firmware row. DJI Fly polls for new builds in the background and surfaces an Update Available button beside the current version when there is one to install. Most drone pilots reach for the update before a long-planned shoot, after a stretch of odd glitches that point at an old build, or because DJI has pushed a release that touches a regulatory limit they need to stay current with.
The install on the DJI Neo 2 runs for about 10 minutes once Update is tapped, with the gimbal going limp, the status LED flickering through unusual patterns, and the drone rebooting itself partway through — all of which is normal. The two prep jobs are charging the battery above 50 percent and getting a steady internet connection on the phone running DJI Fly. Skip either and the install will refuse to start or stall midway.
Quick guide
To update the DJI Neo 2 firmware, go to DJI Fly → Camera View → Settings → About → Aircraft Firmware → Update Available → Update. Charge the battery above 50 percent first and allow about 10 minutes for the install. Do not unplug, power off, or pick the drone up while the progress bar is running.
Step-by-step: How to Check and Install Firmware Updates 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.
Charge the DJI Neo 2 Intelligent Flight Battery above 50 percent
Top the battery up to above 50 percent before you tap Update. DJI sets a hard minimum of 20 percent for the install to even start, but the full process runs around 10 minutes, and a half-charged pack is the comfortable margin for that window. The Battery Level LEDs on the side of the pack show the current charge with a single press of the power button.
Power on the drone and the remote controller and wait for the link to settle
Power the DJI Neo 2 on, switch the remote controller on, and wait for the link icon in DJI Fly to settle into the connected state. The Aircraft Firmware row only renders inside DJI Fly once the drone and the controller are paired and linked — DJI Fly cannot push a firmware build to a drone it cannot see.
Launch DJI Fly and drop into the DJI Neo 2 camera view
Open DJI Fly on the phone and tap Go Fly to enter the camera view. The live feed from the drone fills the screen with the shooting controls stacked down the right-hand edge — this is the screen the Settings panel slides in over.
Tap the three-dot icon at the top right to open the Settings panel
Find the three-dot icon 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 of the panel.
Tap the About category at the bottom of the Settings list
Read down the category list on the left of the Settings panel until About sits at the foot of the list. Tap About and the right-hand side of the panel switches across to the About screen with the device identifiers, the firmware versions, and the storage rows.
Read the Aircraft Firmware row to see the current version and any pending update
Scroll the About screen until the Aircraft Firmware row comes into view. The currently installed version sits to the right of the label. When DJI Fly has fetched a newer build from the server, an Update Available button appears alongside the version — that is the cue that there is a firmware install waiting to be tapped through.
Tap Update Available to open the release notes panel
Tap the Update Available button next to the Aircraft Firmware version. DJI Fly slides a release notes panel in over the screen with a short summary of what the build changes, the file size of the update, and an Update button at the foot of the panel. Skim the notes for any flagged behaviour changes before you commit.
Tap Update to fire the download and start the install
Tap the Update button at the foot of the release notes panel to begin. DJI Fly downloads the firmware file to the phone first, then transfers it across the link to the DJI Neo 2, then writes it onto the drone. An internet connection on the phone is mandatory for the whole download phase — the install phase runs offline once the file is on the drone.
Leave the DJI Neo 2 alone for the full 10 minute install
Allow about 10 minutes for the firmware to download, transfer, and install. The gimbal will go limp, the front status LED will run through unusual blink patterns, and the drone will reboot itself at least once during the install. None of that is a fault. Do not unplug the cable if charging, do not power the drone or controller off, and do not pick the drone up while the progress bar is running.
Confirm the new firmware version on the Aircraft Firmware row
Once the install completes, DJI Fly returns to the About screen and the Aircraft Firmware row now shows the new version with the Update Available button gone. A short user feedback prompt may slide in asking how the install went — fill it in or dismiss it, then close the Settings panel and the DJI Neo 2 is on the latest build and ready to fly.
Peter's tip
Run firmware updates the day before a shoot, never the morning of one. The install itself is reliable, but the release notes occasionally flag a behaviour change — a tightened altitude limit, a tweaked RTH default, a new pre-flight prompt — that I would rather walk through on the desk than discover in a field with a client waiting. If you own more than one battery, swap each pack through after the update finishes so the bundled battery firmware lands on every cell on every pack you fly.
Frequently asked questions
What battery level does the DJI Neo 2 need for a firmware update?
DJI sets a hard floor of 20 percent for the update to begin, but the install itself runs for around 10 minutes, so anything under half charge cuts the safety margin too fine. The cleaner rule is to top the Intelligent Flight Battery up above 50 percent before tapping Update. A charged battery on the drone also keeps the controller side from interrupting the transfer if either device goes into a low-power warning state mid-install.
How long does the DJI Neo 2 firmware update take?
Around 10 minutes from the moment the download starts to the moment the new version shows up on the About screen. The first stretch is the download to the phone, the middle stretch transfers the file across the link to the drone, and the final stretch is the install plus a reboot. Update sizes vary by release — the one in the source video for this guide ran 600 megabytes.
Why does the gimbal go limp during the DJI Neo 2 firmware update?
That is normal and expected behaviour during the install phase. Firmware updates touch the gimbal motor controllers and the flight controller, and the drone parks those subsystems while their firmware is being rewritten. The gimbal limpness, the unusual status LED blink pattern, and the mid-install reboot are all part of the same update sequence — none of them mean the update has failed.
Do I need to update the DJI Neo 2 battery firmware separately?
No. Battery firmware is bundled inside the DJI Neo 2 aircraft firmware package, so the Aircraft Firmware update covers the battery in the same pass. The one detail to manage manually is to run the update with every battery you own fitted in turn — DJI advises pulling each pack through the update so the whole fleet stays on the same build.
Can I update the DJI Neo 2 firmware without the remote controller?
Yes, but you need DJI Assistant 2 on a computer rather than DJI Fly on a phone. Plug the drone into the computer with the USB-C cable, log in to DJI Assistant 2, select the drone in the device list, and click Firmware Update on the left-hand side to step through the process. The over-the-air path inside DJI Fly only runs once the drone and the remote controller are linked.
What if the DJI Neo 2 firmware update fails partway through?
Leave the drone and the controller powered on, sit out the timeout, then try the update again from the same Aircraft Firmware row in DJI Fly. The drone is designed to retry a failed install cleanly, and a half-installed update is not a bricked drone — the firmware loader on the airframe holds the previous build in place until the new one writes successfully. If two attempts in a row fail in DJI Fly, switch to DJI Assistant 2 on a computer over USB-C — the wired path is the canonical recovery route.
How do I see what changed in the DJI Neo 2 firmware update?
DJI Fly slides a short release notes panel in when you tap Update Available, and the longer version of the same notes lives on the official downloads page for the DJI Neo 2. The downloads page is the source of truth for what each firmware build changed — handy if you want to know whether a flagged release adds a feature, fixes a bug, or quietly tightens a flight limit.
A firmware update on the DJI Neo 2 is one tap once you know the row, and one of the cleanest ways to keep the drone flying the way DJI intends it to. The discipline is the prep — charge the battery, give the phone a steady internet connection, leave the drone alone while the progress bar runs, then swap each battery through after the install so the bundled battery firmware lands on every pack.
If you are weighing up whether a flagged release is worth installing before a job, drop the build number 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, Release Notes, firmware history) · The canonical source of firmware release notes, the 20 percent minimum battery rule, the roughly 10 minute install window, and the bundled battery firmware behaviour.
- DJI Neo 2 — Specifications (UK) · Intelligent Flight Battery capacity and pairing details relevant to a clean firmware install across multiple packs.
- DJI Fly — App download and release notes · The app that surfaces the Aircraft Firmware row, the Update Available button, and the release notes panel. 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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