REVIEW – Drones are all the rage today, and they have become significantly more complex and feature-rich. While high-end drones like the DJI Mavic Pro are capable of all sorts of aerobatics and videography, not everyone can afford one, so there is a large and growing market for less expensive drones that are still fun to fly and provide many of the features of their higher-end cousins. One such product is the Eachine E58 RC Pocket Quadcopter Drone. While it is basically a smaller version of the granddaddy Mavic Pro, it is still loaded with features while being significantly more affordable. Let’s check it out! Gadget on!
What is it?
The Eachine E85 Quadcopter Drone is a small, foldable, radio-controlled drone that is styled to be, in appearance and essential functions at least, a miniature version of the larger and much more expensive DJI Mavic Pro drone. So it is basically a drone clone (see what I did there?).
Hardware specs
- 2.4 GHz remote control
- Glass lens FPV (First Person View) camera that can rotate from 0 to 90 degrees downward that includes the following functions:
- 2MP still images camera
- 720p HD video camera
- WiFi control (with app) capable LED lamp with nightlight function
- Gravity sensor
- 6-axis gyroscope
- Headless mode
- One-key takeoff and landing
- Trajectory Flight with mobile phone app
- Three speed modes
- Quadcopter includes 3.7V 500mAh rechargeable Lithium battery
- One-key return
- 360-degree roll
- Micro SD card slot (card not included)
- Controller requires (4) AA batteries (not included)
- Time to full charge = 60-70 minutes
- Flight time = 7-9 minutes
- RC range = 80-100 meters
- Dimensions:
- 27 x 19.5 x 5cm (arms not folded)
- 12.5 x 7.5 x 5cm (arms folded)
What’s in the package?
- 1 x Eachine E58 RC Quadcopter drone
- 1 x Transmitter
- 1 x 3.7V 500mAh Lipo Battery
- 1 x Micro USB Charging Cable
- 4 x Prop Guards
- 4 x Spare Blades (2 sets of 2)
- 1 x Small Screwdriver
- 1 x User Manual
Design and features
My first impression of the E58 was that is was very small and compact when folded down. Smaller than I had imagined, actually, and because of this it seemed very portable and easy to take with you.
In fact, the E58 is small enough to almost fit in the palm of my hand, and is very lightweight. However, even when folded down it actually feels fairly solid, like it isn’t going to just fall apart on you if you bump it against something, the way a lot of drones feel to me. It would be easy enough to place it into a backpack or other bag for transport, but I think it might get banged up quite a bit if it were not put into some type of case first—do a Google search for “E58 drone case” and you may find some good options for this.
After folding out the E58’s four legs, my very next impression was that, in appearance, it is truly a clone of the DJI Mavic Pro quadcopter drone, which is one of the current granddaddies of high-end drones. The E58 is basically a nearly exact copy in appearance but in miniature. I don’t think this is a bad thing at all; I really like the low-profile, futuristic the styling of the Mavic Pro myself, and Eachine did a really solid job of mimicking the Mavic Pro’s Styling for their E58.
Above, another view of the E58 with its “arms” fully extended.
The E58’s four props are each basically hinged twin props. This allows them to be collapsible for transport and storage, but when spinning, centripetal acceleration will cause them to deploy outward, essentially forming a single prop blade at the end of each of the E58’s “arms.”
Each of the props is labeled “A” or “B” and each must be installed on the correct legs of the E58, or the drone will not fly optimally (if at all). In addition, the E58 includes four “bumpers” that can be attached to each leg to protect the props. As a fairly new drone pilot, I installed these on the E58 before I took it out for its first test flight, as seen in the above image. In fact, these bumpers saved the E58 from my flight control learning curve multiple times, as I seemed to repeatedly find items in my yard to collide with.
To me, the “front” of the E58 almost appears to be a “face” as seen above. There are two lights on either side of a grille, with the E58’s camera mounted at the “chin” position.
The E58’s camera is mounted on pivot that, although it does not move side-to-side, can be manually positioned from zero degrees (straight forward) to 90 degrees (straight down) prior to flight, as shown above, and it slides smoothly along its track, not in discreet stopping points. The camera has a glass lens for clarity and friction seems to hold its position in place once set, even during crashes.
Pressing the power button on the top of the E58 turns it on. As seen in the image above, there is a column of three blue LED lights on the top of the E58’s fuselage that to me resemble the logo of the popular game “Destiny.” (Probably a coincidence, but still fun.) In any event, these three LEDs are not battery power level indicators as you might expect; they merely indicate when the E58 is powered on.
As mentioned above, the E58 has a pair of white lights on the front that, when illuminated, appear to almost be headlights, as seen in the image above. Having two headlights on the front can help with visually determining orientation of the E58 in lower-light flying conditions.
In addition to the “headlights” on the front, the rear of the E58 includes a single red light bar that resembled as car’s tail light, as seen in the image above. Again, this light on the rear can help in visually determining the flight orientation of the E58.
Let’s take a look at the underside of the E58. As seen in the image above, a small antenna that resembles a short length of fishing line protrudes from the back end of the drone. Also, you can see some of the electronic innards of the E58, visible through the slats of a grille on its underbelly. There are several sets of grilles and holes around and on the E58’s underside, presumably to allow heat to escape during flight, since I did notice that the E58 gets quite warm after only a few minutes of operation.
Another feature located on the underside of the E58 is the Micro SD card slot, which is spring-loaded so the card “clicks” in place when pressed in and “clicks” back out when pressed again. The E58’s video and still camera can record to this Micro SD card during flight. The drone can record 720p onboard to this card. Note that a Micro SD card is not included, you must supply your own.
The E58 is powered by a single, rechargeable 3.75V battery that slides into a slot in the back of the drone, as seen in the image above.
This battery is charged by simply plugging in the included micro USB cable, as seen in the image above. When charging, a small red LED is illuminated, which turns off when the battery is fully charged, which is typically about an hour if it has been fully drained.
Next, let’s check out the E85’s controller. As seen in the image above, it has two joysticks and multiple buttons that are all used to control various features of the E58 during flight. It resembles the styling of the DJI Mavic Pro drone’s controller as well, which I suspect is not a coincidence.
The controller has two collapsible “antennae,” that appear to be for styling purposes only and not for any sort of actual function. In addition, the controller has a hidden tray that slides out from the bottom and can be used to mount a smartphone (more on this below).
The controller’s smartphone tray held a phone as large as an iPhone 6 Plus, as shown above; however, this seemed to be putting quite a bit of strain on the tray and I wouldn’t recommend placing a phone quite this wide here.
The E58’s controller is powered by three (3) AA batteries, which are not included. However, a small screwdriver is included, which facilitates removal of the tiny screw that holds the battery cover in place, as seen in the image above. Just be sure not to lose that screw, or you’ll be screwed (pun intended).
Sliding the On/Off switch in the center of the E58’s controller powers it on, which is indicated by the illumination of a small blue LED, as seen in the image above. As with the E58 drone itself, this LED appears to be in a bank of four that would seem to indicate the controller battery’s power level, but this does not seem to actually be the case; only the second LED from left is ever illuminated and this did not ever seem to change no matter the controller’s remaining power level.
Let’s take a look at the controls, starting with the front face of the controller. The left joystick controls the throttle; forward on the stick is increased throttle, backward on the stick is decreased throttle. Letting go of the stick allows it to center itself. Pushing the stick right or left will rotate or “yaw” the drone about its vertical center axis in that direction. Pushing the right joystick up or down controls the forward and reverse motion of the drone, while pushing the right side stick right or left “slides” the drone laterally in that direction. One other feature of the joysticks is that the E58 can be calibrated by pushing both joysticks down and to the right.
The arrow buttons in the upper left and upper right of the controller are the fine tuning left and right controls. The hollow up and down arrow buttons to the left of the on/off switch are the one-touch launch and one touch land buttons. The one-touch launch button starts the motors and immediately launches the drone into the air, while the one-touch land button brings the drone down to the ground fairly gently, then kills the motors. The solid up and down arrow buttons to the right of the on/off switch are the fine tuning forward and backward controls.
Next let’s look at the four buttons on top of the controller, as seen in the image above. Starting from the left side, the button in the upper left, farthest from the front of the controller, operates the “Headless Mode” (a short press) and One-Key Return (a longer press). The Headless Mode essentially make the drone fly as if the controller is its reference point; I found this mode to be difficult to adjust to. The One-Key Return was a bit dodgy. Because this is a lower-end drone without the GPS capability of the higher-end drones, this “return” function does not work as well as you might expect. It basically turns the drone around to a heading that is pointing toward you, but you have to actually fly it back to your location yourself; it does not fly itself to you. The button in the lower left, closest to the front of the controller, is the Photo/Video button, though this button never did seem to work; I had to control the still and video camera features with the app on an iPhone (see more on this below). Moving to the right side, the button in the upper right, farthest from the front of the controller, operates the “360 Flip” (a short press) and Emergency Stop (a longer press). The 360 Flip is fun; you press the button, then press the right joystick left or right to force the ED58 to flip in that direction. Also, be very careful with the Emergency Stop—it kills all of the motors immediately and the drone drops to the ground like a rock, which could be very damaging if the drone is at high altitude and drops onto a hard surface (fortunately I only tried the E58 on grass). The button in the lower right, closest to the front of the controller, is the Speed Switch. This cycles the drone from 30% to 60% to 100% then back to 30% speed level with each press. As a neophyte drone pilot, I kept the E58 in 30% most of the time while I acclimated to the controls, but I can tell you that the 60% and 100% speed rate settings are quite fast and experienced pilots will really like them.
Next, I tried controlling the E58 via app. Eachine recommends an app called “JY UFO” which I downloaded for free from the iOS App Store. Since the E85 has WiFi capability and essentially projects a mini Wi-Fi hotspot, I followed the instructions on the app and connected the drone to the iPhone by going to Setting on the iPhone, then Wi-Fi, then selected a signal called “WiFi-720P-DA616D,” seen above. This essentially connected the iPhone to the E58 just as if it were a WiFi router; however, this is really only a link between the E58 and my iPhone, with no actual internet access and no data roaming, so you don’t need to be in range of an actual WiFi router to make this work. I then re-launched the JY UFO app and started playing around with the controls.
The above image depicts what I saw on the JY UFO app. The background of the app is what the E58’s camera is “seeing” at any given moment. The left and right joysticks, as well as other controls, are simulated on the app’s screen. In addition, the app allows the E58 to be controlled in gyro mode, which bypassed the simulated joysticks on the screen and lets you control the flight attitude of the E58 by tilting and tipping it. However, I found this to be quite challenging (I probably need a lot more practice on this). Yet another method of controlling the E58 with the app is “Mission Planner” mode, in which you trace a trajectory on the app’s screen, then the app directs the E58 to fly in that trajectory. I didn’t find this mode of controlling to be all that accurate or useful.
Of particular interest is that, as mentioned above, I could only control the still and video recording features using the app, not the controller. Using the JY UFO app allowed me to record both images and video in 1280×720 resolution; the still images were stored in my iPhone’s Photos, while the video was stored on the Micro SD card. The images had a bit of a “fisheye” effect, but the video footage did not. Although I found the E58’s dedicated controller a but easier to learn, I liked having the flexibility to control it with the app instead; this way, if I wanted to leave the controller behind to save space, I always have my phone with me as a controller.
I flew it over my roof a bit. I could envision using the E58 to check out how clogged my gutters are getting, or even to check for shingle damage after a severe storm; however, the resolution does not lend itself to a great deal of detail.
I even followed one of my pugs around the yard with it. (FYI, she didn’t seem to pay much attention, unless I flew really close to her.) I didn’t have the opportunity to fly the E58 in elevated wind conditions, but I did have a few breeze gusts here and there, and it stayed surprisingly stable in these conditions.
I was able to get about 8-10 minutes of flight time before the E58’s battery was drained, which it indicated by blinking its lights just before it fully died. However, you could purchase multiple batteries and swap them out for longer flight sessions.
What I like
- Very portable: small, compact size and lightweight
- Styled like the DJI Mavic Pro Quadcopter Drone
- Stable–can basically hover if you can get it set up right, which is great for photos and videos
- Fairly easy to fly once you get the hang of it (but I still need some practice!)
- Fairly robust to crashes despite having a fragile look and feel
What needs to be improved
- Camera/video button on controller appears to be non-functional; these functions can only be controlled when using the smartphone app
- The instruction book is very difficult to understand due to the broken English translation (presumably from Chinese)
Final thoughts
EACHINE E58 RC Pocket Quadcopter Drone is a small, lightweight, miniature drone that has a lot of features, is fairly easy to learn and quite fun to fly once you get the hang of it. It can also record some decent photos and videos and has multiple options for controlling it. Considering what you actually get with this drone and its “fun factor,” I think it is a pretty decent value for its price of $75.99.
Update 6/26/20
I had fun with this little drone for a while, but I think it is a bit overpriced for its quality level.
Price: currently $64.99
Where to buy: Can be purchased directly from Eachine, from Amazon
Source: The product sample for this review was provided by Eachine.
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Very good report, concise and easy read. I have a problem of not finding this “WiFi-720P-DA616D” on my Iphone. the “JY Ufo” part is OK, all I see is my phones WIFY browser connection. What am I doing wrong?
The Real Person!
The Real Person!
“WiFi-720P-DA616D” is the name of the WiFi signal coming from the drone that I saw listed in my iPhone’s list of available WiFi signals. I guessed that this one was correct because it included “720P” which is the resolution of the drone’s video camera. The signal name associated with your drone may be different.
Excellent review.
In my situation I get the ssid:
YD-1080-UFO-z2b1eab.
After connecting and starting the app: JY-UFO, I press play but the camara image is not showing.
There is also a lock that in not unlocking. This problem is frequently mention but no solution is offered.
Any ideas how to tackle this issue?
Many Thanks
Marcos
I’m having the same exact problem
Hello Andy. Thank you for this amazing review (I have read and watched so many)
First I’ve only noticed two parts that could be improved.
1) your presentation of the 4 ‘buttons’ you state being on top of the controller when they actually at the ‘front’ of it near the start of the antennas.
The other thing is only a typo I think you have ‘but’ instead of ‘bit’ this is above your second pic where you are in it. If you search “But” it’ll show it to you too in red! 🙂
This out of the way, the rest is so good and informative. Many thanx. I just had my drown for less than one week I fly it in a restricted part of the house and also in my backyard at less than 2m in height. Crushed it quite a few times. I’m not sure these guards are very effective though as they don’t protect all around the propellers and most of the time these will do a little of tree or furniture trimming! I had to do a bit of filling on the dented blades. Also they often come off regardless how hard I pushed them in? As for the two little legs they came off also many times and now have one less. I was not game to glue them, not sure why though. I took the lot off and hope for the best.
I’d love to try the headless mode but will go to a park on a windless day. You did not seem enchanted by the efficiency of this mode and hope you’re wrong as I am hopeless to fly it toward me! it keeps on drifting in most directions and I am at the stage where i only correct it and this is for the time being enough and good fun for me. I only manage to get only one full round crash free but this is why I fly it low to learn to control it although there are more obstacles at that height!
I have two main problems with this drone.
1) the camera won’t come on my phone although my(or the) wi fi discover the drone but no camera showing on the apps (2 of them)?
2) My micro SD seems far two small to fit in that slot, I tried and it stays far in but lose?
I hope you don’t mind my 2 ‘errors pointing’ it’s only intended to let you know about them – I’m sure you’d find more in my own writing! Thanx again.
In my E58, the SD card slot was displaced, so the card could not be inserted. I found the SD card PCB was loose. So the entire thing had to be taken apart.
There was nothing to hold down the back end of the PCB, so it would not stay in line with the slot in the outer casing.
I glued a tiny piece of plastic above the back end of the PCB to hold it down in place. Now it stays there, and I can correctly insert the SD card.
This is probably your problem.
I’m a total novice to drones.
I bought one Of these for about $35 from Banggood and they are now offered with much better image/camera quality but I bought the same unit as reviewed here, 720.
I’ve ordered a Much more expensive drone and I did not want to learn on and crash it as many times as o have me E58.
It’s like a timex watch: Takes a licking and keeps on ticking.
The advantage to headless mods is if you’re unable to fly it by seeing image broadcast to your phone, it causes the drone to be “oriented” the same direction as you are with the controller.
If you want the drone to go left or right or come towards you, u push the joystick in the direction u want even if drone is sideways or pointed away from you so for beginners it’s VERY easy to learn to fly in headless mode.
This is a very lightweight drone and so any wind will give u trouble.
It has 3 speeds.
I think 30%,60% & 100% of speed.
I normally fly in 30% as a novice HOWEVER if any wind, I have to increase to 100% or it WILL blow away and when out of range of controller, it lands wherever it is including over water or tall trees.
100% will allow you to fly against a light wind.
I’m having a ball with it and for $35 it’s worth it.
Also for either $12 or $17, you can buy ALL FOUR arms with motors to replace any or all that you’ve broken while “learning”.
The above review by Andy was very well done and presented.
Where can I buy parts. I need 2 propeller arms
Try Ali at this link
US $2.75 5％ Off | Eachine E58 WIFI FPV RC Quadcopter axle arm spare part drone, professional and easy to install, with motor&propeller supplies
https://a.aliexpress.com/_mMrdOxD
i looked at the website, a little confusing, do all 4 arms come with the order?
Ebay or Aliexpress: just search for Eachine E58
Andy, good job! The pigeon English instructions are not only difficult to understand but far from useful to learn the system. Your review has jump started me on getting some air time. Thanks for the good presentation
The Real Person!
The Real Person!
Thank you for the kind works, Jerry. I’m glad this review could help you!
How do the prop bumpers attach?
The Real Person!
The Real Person!
I was able to slide the bumpers on from the underside of the arms, but you might also be able to carefully slide them on from the front as well.
Thxs Andy…. my problem was I didn’t realize that you had to squeeze the plastic posts into the holes on the bottom of the arms. Didn’t want to take a chance of breaking something and again no obvious instructions.
I’ve tried charging the battery the red light goes on for about 15 seconds and then shuts off which I assume it means that it’s fully charged but when I plug it in to the drone the drone will not turn on. Any thoughts?
Do you know if the battery once installed is totally flush with the back of the body or does it stick out a tad?
The Real Person!
The Real Person!
I believe it sticks out a tad. If you look as this image from above, you will see what I mean (this view is from the underside of the drone and the battery opening is at the top of the image):
https://c.the-gadgeteer.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/E58drone_16.jpg
I pushed the battery in gently until I felt a bit of a “click” which indicated that it was fully seated in the body of the drone.
The battery projects less than 1mm.
I had similar problem, until I press/hold the power button for on and off. Manual is all but useless.
I’m having a problem getting the camera to work. And having a problem with the jy ufo app. It doesn’t start my drone. Do I need an SD card for it to work with that app. The drone works fine with remote but can’t get camera or controls working on app.
I have lost the paper with the bar code on, now I can’t load and usethe camera. Do you have a copy you can send me. (Android)
Thank you.
M Green (UK)
I think the bar code is just a shortcut to the app, I just down loaded the “JY UFO” app from Google Play Store and it seem to work OK.
The Real Person!
The Real Person!
I think Martin is correct.
I downloaded app and I can’t see picture?
Any suggestions ?
Im a total novice first drone ,can you please tell me what SD card to buy ,I have SD cards but none of them fit the drone help .
Hi Mike you need a micro SD card, you can purchase them with the full sized SD card adaptor, I use the Kingston 64GB class 10 one for less than £10 on Amazon, hope this helps.
The Real Person!
The Real Person!
Martin is 100% correct. Th E58 drone uses Micro SD cards, not standard-sized SD cards.
You use a 64GB card. How many minutes does this card record? Does the drone take bigger cards as well (for example 128GB)?
may be much too late….And if you do not really have the exact E58, like I have the Drone X pro you won’t be able to use a SD card as that space is not fitted to have one! But the footage will go into your phone. No such a luck if you’re only using the controller like I do as I was not able to use my phone longer than 10 15 seconds and did not care about video.
I did not know I’d already posted on this review! Since, I am or rather was until 3 days ago having fun with it second instance as they replaced it after I hassled them about some mal function
But yes, “any wind” was a challenge and needed 100% power.
This was fun.
But a few things I noticed
1) 100% is very fast especially with the wind. (actually I’m here today to try to know what speed it can reach but think it would be much faster than Hussain Bolt!
2) This toy is very small and so hard to see properly as such front and back look the same so if you accelerate in the wrong direction…! (i had spots of paint at the front but still not good enough to see in the distance. For me being on the centre of a sport ground was about the maximum range and visibility from one goal post to the other! That’s how I lost it 3 days ago.
3) be careful when insetting the battery – easy to do it the wrong way but quite difficult to get it out!
4) this thing is very ‘clingy’ …Quite a few times I could not believe how it came back to me and had to avoid it!
5) on acceleration it may get very close to the ground – let go of the lever and it’ll pick up height almost straight away
6) Take notice of the wind direction and allow for it to stay on course where you want it.
7) I had to fiddle a lot with the apps available for them before finding one that would work and the seller finally asked me to try the FVP Camera (wiht a little red drone icon) That is the only one who worked for me.
This review is very factual (Thanks again Andy) I read other that put it down so harshly but it was mainly because some sellers exaggerated it performances so much. However if one use logic for such a price you should not expect beyond reason.
I would not dare going over my house with it unless it would be an exceptional calm day. And yes the camera resolution is way too bad to see anything really worthwhile. But it’s a great little toy to play with…like a kite without a string!
Thanks for the well written manual, which is lacking with the product. I got this very first drone for Christmas. It’s a good introduction to the technology. I will add this link to my favourites!
I need to spend more time flying and trying things. So far it’s been a tough little drone given my bumps and crashes. I always use the prop guards. I tried a couple flips in doors but crashed it quite violently. Drone was in a stationary flight; I suspect it woulddo better while in a good forward motion.
Again, thank you for the great writeup!
The Real Person!
The Real Person!
Henri, thank you for the kinds words and I am happy that this review was helpful to you. To be fair, our reviews here at The Gadgeteer are typically not intended to be so much as a manual, but a way of highlighting a product’s specs, features, functions and performance so as to give readers an idea of what a product is like. Some reviews are written in more or less detail depending on the product and the writing style and preference of the reviewer, and and the ones written in more detail can indeed seem like a product manual, though that is not our intent. However, we are certainly happy when our reviews are useful to our readers, since that’s why we’re here!
Thanks for stopping in, reading our posts, and taking the time to comment!
You could add that the PDF MANUAL is available:
https://www.eachine.com/download.html
Just put E58 in the search box, and you can get the PDF English Manual, which covers the basics ok.
I’ve read that to take photos or videos require you to use both of the upper left buttons of the controller at the same time; i.e. the Photo/Video AND the Headless/Return buttons. However, I haven’t figured out the right combo to make it work.
Besides the manual having the normal broken English in it, the writing is very small for my old eyes and required a magnifying glass several times, plus it’s not clear which button they are talking about for the top buttons. The manual just points to the top of the controller, but you can’t tell whether it’s the forward or back button. I had to use try & error to figure it out. I wish I’d seen your review first and it would have helped!
The Real Person!
The Real Person!
Larry, thanks for your feedback and glad that our review could help you.
PDF MANUAL
https://www.eachine.com/download.html
Just put E58 in the search box, and you can get the PDF English Manual, which covers the basics ok.
On your computer screen, you can zoom to the necessary visibility.
I’m having a problem inserting the micro sd card.
it almost appears that the card slot is not in proper
alignment with the bodywork of the aircraft. I tried
to insert but it wont go and I’m not going to force it.
The Real Person!
The Real Person!
Jeff, did you try flipping it over? Not sure what the problem would be other than this. The micro SD card that I used fit into the slot, but I did have to apply a bit of force to overcome some initial resistance in order to click it in place, but I tried to do so VERY carefully.
Andy,
Thanks for your help. I figured out the issue with the micro SD card port. My E58 was a knock-off, therefore did not have an actual card slot. Again, Thanks
I have the same problem with the sd card. My E58 is sold as drone x pro and it seems that there is also no sd slot. I wanted to use the card because my camera is not communicating with the app, hoping that it would solve that problem.
The Real Person!
The Real Person!
It sounds like there are some knock-offs of this product out there that do not include an actual SD card slot.
I’ve seen other reviews that say the version with std. 480p do not have a slot. Dunno for sure as mine was ordered with 720p for $$.
The Real Person!
The Real Person!
Jeff, glad that I could be of help.
In my E58, the SD card slot was displaced, so the card could not be inserted. I found the SD card holder PCB was loose. So the entire thing had to be taken apart.
There was nothing to hold down the back end of the SD PCB, so it would not stay in line with the slot in the outer casing.
I glued a tiny piece of plastic above the back end of the PCB to hold it down in place. Now it stays there, and I can correctly insert the SD card.
This is probably your problem.
Great review, much better then the chinglish manual. One issue I do have is using the supplied controller. is it possible to save the trim settings as on 1st take-off it reverses at such a rate I cannot trim it before it piles into something!
The Real Person!
The Real Person!
Andy, I’m not aware of such a feature, but it would definitely be handy, as I have a similar issue with the one I reviewed.
Hi Andy – great review. I just got this little beast from Amazon.
I am unable to power up the a/c from the controller. Just to be sure, I don’t need to use a cell phone and the JY UFO app to take flight, correct? This should operate just like a regular r/c drone, etc… I’ve powered up the handset, then the drone; and vise versa, with no luck. Aside from sending it back, do you have any suggestions?
Thanks
Thom Ream
Drone Pilot Wannabe
aka “Crash and Burn”…
The Real Person!
The Real Person!
Crash and Burn (great callsign BTW), I believe you are correct–you should not NEED a phone & app to fly the drone, you should be able to control it with the controller by itself.
I don’t have any suggestions beyond what you have already tried, other than perhaps pulling out the batteries from each device, then re-inserting them, and also ensuring the batteries have been fully charged.
It’s a scam.simple as that.im so mad they without my permission took way over what one of these was worth.i was charged 133$ then for no reason they decided to charge a fee 98$ .for a pos.im so upset and sure they take muy comment down for telling in them and how there robbing people.im so upset they ruined Christmas for my children I only live on a small income and I called and emailed and they did not care not at all blamed it on a company that don’t even exist! It the same from x pro same drone just different name to scale people.im so upset I’m done ordering online.they ruined it for me and my family too.
My 2 bobs worth,i bought my drone x pro over a year ago,took a couple dozen flights and crashes to tame it.
Like breaking in a horse.lol.
I put it away for a couple months at a time then find it again.
This drone works damn fine, does everything its sposed to.
I paid about a hundred bucks then sent for two 850ma batteries.
Best flight time now.
Yes,anything stronger than a light breeze will send it anywhere.
I’m ready to press the land button.
Photos and vid only work on the app same problem but is no problem.
I got a good one.
Ordered a spare set of blades with the drone origionally.
I dont use the guards as do affect flight i recon.
Origional blades still on but chunks out of them.
A bit more experience i will fit the new blades.
Nice easy to learn on drone that handles a lot of crashes and still flying.
Ps, i just use controller mostly.
Hello Andy,
I got all the knowledge I needed to fly the Eachine e58 from the web after reading excellent reviews like yours. The so-called user manual is a bad joke and is not worth the paper it is printed on. I am in correspondence with eBay from where I bought my drone as nowhere did a read on their website that it was necessary to control the drone from a smart phone or tablet, after installing the appropriate app, before it is possible to use the camera in the drone. This is clearly misleading and I wonder whether any of your reviewers feel that they have also been mislead into believing that one of the buttons on the controller does in fact activate the camera. I would welcome any feedback from you. In the meantime thanks for an excellent and very helpful review.
Best Regards
Barrie Durrent
The Real Person!
The Real Person!
Thank you for the kind words, Barry. I agree with all of your comments and sentiments, especially that it is quite misleading that the camera can be activated via the controller.
Hello Andy,
Further to my recent comments regarding the e58 camera, today I had a major “incident”. I had just managed to get the e58 to hover, indoors, with only a slight drifting. Whilst hovering the drone sudden veered off to the right and landed with one propeller spinning at full power. The only way I could stop the propeller was to remove the drone battery. If I replaced the battery the propeller would start again. I am beginning to lose interest and heart!
The Real Person!
The Real Person!
I can empathize, Barrie. I don’t have a lot of drone experience, but I have found this one to be a lot more touchy than I am comfortable with.
Hello Andy,
Now on my third and last e58. First one stopped working after a short time, second gained height and flew away never to be seen again. Third one was clearly a fake looked used and the documentation with it was worst than the original if that was possible. There was no sim card holder in the drone and no wireless card so the camera did not work. Could not insert the battery so took it apart and found that the internal battery connection was loose. Sorted that out and the thing does fly but apart from that it is absolute crap after a strong email to the supplier they refunded the purchase price and gave me the drone. It seems that the UK is flooded with cheap copies of cheap drones so I would warn potential buyers of the e58 to beware or better still save your cash and buy something better.
Hi Barrie,
I had the same thing happen, just sitting in a hover then getting a mind all its own and wildly taking off almost hitting me in the face. Seems to be a problem for others.
I returned it for a refund. This problem is what bodily damage lawsuits are made of.
I bought one and received it 2 days ago. What bothers me is that the one I received have a SD card slot but there are nothing in the slot to receive the card.Nomal receivers take the card and it clicks in.Wat can I do rectify this. I bought te drone from Hypersteck
The Real Person!
The Real Person!
Piet, I don’t think I can help you here. The E58 drone that I received definitely had a mechanism for “clicking” the micro SD card into and out of the slot. I did push it in very carefully to ensure that I didn’t damage the card or the slot, but it definitely clicked in.
You may want to contact either where you bought it from or Eachine to ask for help.
Yup, looks like I got a knock off as well, tried loading in a micro sd card, no click, it just slides in, no internals in the slot. Apart from that, I can take pictures on the phone app, and the camera is pretty good. For $68 AU I’ve wasted a lot more money than that on stupider things (my ex springs to mind). As an entry level drone for an entry level pilot it will hopefully keep me entertained on my walks around the local football oval during “The Great Isolation”. Be Safe All – Hilly
In my E58, the SD card slot was displaced, so the card could not be inserted. I found the SD card holder PCB was loose. So the entire thing had to be taken apart.
There was nothing to hold down the back end of the PCB, so it would not stay in line with the slot in the outer casing.
I glued a tiny piece of plastic above the back end of the PCB to hold it down in place. Now it stays there, and I can correctly insert the SD card.
This is probably your problem.
Very concise and clear review. It helped me a lot. Thank you for sharing your experience with this drone.
As I am a rookie drone pilot, have already been able to have some bumps and crashes. The last one, was hard enough to break one of the blade propeller.
Looking for it online left me very confused with the “As” and “Bs”, as there are A1, B1, B2, A3, B4.
Do you have any tip on the correct set of props blade to buy?
I will appreciate your comments on those differences.
The Real Person!
The Real Person!
Apologies, Rafic — I do not have this info. I have not attempted to purchase prop blades. You may want to contact Eachine.
Many sets of arms, blades, rotors, on Ebay and AliExpress.
Hi Andy,
I’ve had my E58 for a while now and although I realise it is comparatively cheap, it is good for the price. My only problem is that although I can record video to my iPhone, whatever I do, it will not record to the SD card. When trying to, I get a flashing red dot on the phone screen but if I take the SD card out, I get a flashing timer instead of the red dot. SD card in or out, it still only records to the iPhone. I have tried different cards but still not recording.
Any ideas?
Thanks,
John
UK
The Real Person!
The Real Person!
I’ve not experienced this myself. My only suggestion would be to investigate if your micro SD card is somehow “locked” and prevented from writing to it, or if it perhaps needs to be formatted in some way.
Other than those two suggestions, I would suggest contacting EACHINE’s tech support.
My Eachine e58 quadcopter looses flight after about 1 foot off the ground as if the landing arrow were stuck. What can I do to fix this situation? Thank you Gale,
The Real Person!
The Real Person!
Gale, I’ve not experienced quite this situation myself, but it sounds like perhaps your drone may need to be recalibrated per the instruction manual. If that doesn’t help, I would suggest contacting EACHINE’s technical support.
Andy, thanks for your comments. It looks fun to fly. I have purchased 1 which was bad out of box. Only blue lights come on inside unit. They have since shipped me a 2nd and I now have similar problem it cuts off and on with only blue lights in belly of machine. Any ideas??
The Real Person!
The Real Person!
Sorry, Joe, I have no suggestions for you. Based on the comments so far, I am starting to think that this product may be of lower quality than I initially thought.
I realize that for the money you can’t expect much, but this is a total rip-off. Out from the box, charged batteries and this thing can’t be controlled, does what it wants, have followed all of the calibrating steps and so forth, biggest scam…. By the way, I’m saying all this and I’m an experienced RC aircraft flier and have flown other drones, this takes the cake!
The Real Person!
The Real Person!
Unfortunately, I have to agree with you on this. I’m not the best drone pilot, but this one is quite unstable all on its own.
Andy you are a lifesaver! I was pulling my hair out trying to make any sense of the manual. Outstanding job in putting the entire information of the product in an easy straightforward description with pictures. Eachine owes you big! Thank you again. Jeff
The Real Person!
The Real Person!
I’m happy that this review could be of some help to you, Jeff. Thanks for stopping by The Gadgeteer and for your kind words.
Hi Andy,
Thanks for your description of the product and how to set it. I go as far as founding the WiFi that will make go. However the manual states that once connected I should view what ever the camera is pointing to. Well I have nothing and no matter what I tried the controllers will not make the machine go.
Any help?
I tried to contact the factory but it will not take any writing on the screen????
The Real Person!
The Real Person!
I don’t think I can help on this; I did not experience the issue you are describing.
For those of you that need to have new propeller blades. My machine has the B1, B2 Etc molded on the blade close to the pivot point. Facing the drone the front left has two B1, the front right two A1, the back left two A1 and the back right two B1. I hope this help.
Juan
Another way may be to look inside the pivot area of the blade arms at the wires going to the motors. On mine blade arms with red wires use letter “A” blades, and those with white wires use letter “B” blades. Good luck.
Dear Andy Found your most effective review on the web. My children bought me the E58 for Father’s Day and today I tentatively took it out for an initial drive. I used the ‘One Button’ Take Off’ and went forward about 20 yards, left and right a bit using the toggles. I then decided to use the ‘One Key Landing’ Button to land, I glanced down to do this, then looked up and noticed that the drone had disappeared! I assumed that it had cut its engine and landed in the tall grass 20 yards from me. After 3 hours searching the drone remains lost. Do you know what actions the drone takes when this button is pressed? The gobble gook manual talks about landing relating to barometric pressure etc. We live at 1000 feet. I noted your comment about the ‘One Return’ button and it coming back towards you. Is this the same button? However, in my case I never saw the drone returning. Most grateful for any advice you can give me Thank you. William (UK)
Thank you so much i purchase this unit 3 months ago but it has been sitting in my closet collecting dust. The reason is i could not get past the Manual written in broken English.
PDF MANUAL
https://www.eachine.com/download.html
Just put E58 in the search box, and you can get the PDF English Manual, which covers the basics ok.
I have two of the “Collapsible Quadrocopter 2.4GHZ” —they came in little leather cases—-that I cannot get the camera to come on with both of them!!!! The op manual is terrible and I could find anyone on YouTube for a fix.
Can anyone give me some direction on getting the cameras to work??? thanks Dan
Im sorry to hear the issues that some of you have been having. Mine came and worked great! No issues. I did contact the company for a coupke of questions i had, and they’ve always responded within 24 hours. (They are in Singapore and I’m in America). This is my first drone and its been a joy to fly, and I found your article very informative. Thank you! I also like that parts are easy to find and cheap. New motors; new blades, guards and landing pads; complete arms and of course higher capacity batteries (up to 1200 mah!)
I purchased the E58 and recently received it. I have a Motorola Droid Z and unable to connect to drone’s wifi. I have disabled mobile service, used airplane mode, disabled “Avoid bad connections” and still get “Connected-no internet” for that specific link.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!
Reset your WiFi worked for me so idk
Isn’t “Connected, no Internet” correct? You aren’t supposed to have internet.
I think that the Wifi unit in the drone imitates a Wifi router, but only connects to the drone controller app that you are using. The phone will say “no internet” because it is not connecting to the internet.
Thank you for the help o got so confused on how to get the battery to charge when reading the instructions so thankyou
Is there ANY video that shows how to get the 2 dimension code off the paper and onto wherever it goes to download the APP?? Seriously, I have watched like 8 videos and NO ONE tells how to get it. I photographed it, but how do you connect to the APP site?
I want to use the copter, but can’t get to #2 in flying.
Go to the App Store and download a “QR Code” reader app. This app will read the QR code in the manual and you can download the controller/viewer app.
Or just go to the app store and search for “JY UFO” or “Eachine TEC”.
Or there may be other drone controller apps that will work.
I have a E58 with a sd slot and have a 64gb card installed but it appears that something is being recorded but when I try to read the card in my Mac or Win7 laptop it says the file is empty. My card says it is formatted “ExFat”.
Did you have to format your sd card before you used it? If so which format?
It will record video and stills to my iPhone.
The JY UFO app shows a counter running when I record video with the sd card in so it’s going somewhere.
The E58 is a fun little drone except it doesn’t like any wind!
Great indoors.
I just bought a Bugs 2SE for outdoors.
Chances are the E58 does not support ExFAT.
I would suggest to retry recording after formatting as FAT32.
HTH
I got both a 1gb and a 64gb micro sd card to work in my E58 after formatting as “FAT(nn)” on my iMac.
Somehow the computer decided which number to use as “NN” above.
Thanks for the comments to help with this.
Now to try the the sd cards in my new as yet unflown Bugs 2SE.
Try formatting the card in your computer to “FAT32”.
I read a review on one site that said maximum capacity for the SD card is 32Gb.
I tried to insert a Micro SD card and it disappeared, with no resistance, into the slot. Had to use a dental pick to get it back out. Wondered if need a Mine SD Card?
You can use your Micro SD card by inserting it into an SD-to-MicroSD adapter.
Such adapter takes the form of a standard SD card and has a small slot on top to insert a Micro SD card.
SD cards are often called “TF” cards which stands for “TransFlash”. That may help you searching for an adapter.
HTH
In my E58, the SD card slot was displaced, so the card could not be inserted. I found the SD card holder PCB was loose. So the entire thing had to be taken apart.
There was nothing to hold down the back end of the PCB, so it would not stay in line with the slot in the outer casing.
I glued a tiny piece of plastic above the back end of the PCB to hold it down in place. Now it stays there, and I can correctly insert the SD card.
This is probably your problem.
First it is a nice little drone, but the author said it is a small version of the DJI Mavic Pro, INCORRECT. Flight time is 1/3 that of the Mavic, control distance is not even 1/10 that of the Mavic and there are NO collusion system. That being said if that doesn’t matter to you, you will enjoy it.
It is a piece of junk!!
The provided battery cannot be charged at all and seems dead.
The USB terminal that fits into the battery port for charging does not seat correctly.
No memory card provided.
The instructions are written by a non english speaking person and
translated by a six year old in hieroglyphics!
Again, scammers focusing on money.
No one to contact to have it returned for land fill.
Just got one of these E58 for Christmas, I have had a lot of small toy drones in the last 5 years
Some at 5 years ago where in the $250 dollar range like the traxis
Its amazing that at $59 this drone is light years ahead, And I guess all the practice on the older toy drones with no flying telemetrics sure made it easy to fly this one.
It flys easy with the controller, but the camera video is just ok, not great. You must use the app to use camera for video and the SD card must be FAT32.
For 59.00 I absolutely cannot complain.
And YES this is a TOY drone only. It does some super querky stuff sometimes..Some of these comments are frustrating as they are trying to compare this TOY drone to a professional drone…LOL
Connected the Drone properly and everything even got the app but no camera visibility. It still shows when the camera is off. any help on this would be grateful.
Cheers.
What is wrong with my battery? I’ve been charging the battery and the red light is on, but after an hour the light is still on and won’t switch off…please tell me what to do or if it is normal for a 1st time charge?
Thank you, Deon.
I have the same problem Deon. Hope someone has an answer that will help.
A couple of common problems when charging any device especially with usb micro and mini cables and suggested solutions you may have tried already. There are three components: battery, usb cable (with connectors), power source. Any may be a problem when working as a team as there may be incompatible issues and/or mechanical/electrical failures. It is wise to use a power source capable of an output of at least 0.5 amp. Less may be unable to push the charge into the battery for lack of a better term. Unfortunately, this device does not come with such an AC 120 power adapter (too cheap), so be sure your source is adequate and working (does it charge another device OK?). Next the cable and connectors. Again, try several that you know to be working well with other devices. The small connectors needs to go in with some force and not be loose once inserted. The small connectors are notoriously poor quality so easily wear out or get damaged through attempts to insert them incorrectly. On to the battery. There is a red light that should appear on the battery during charging. Sadly, when charged it goes off rather than turn green. So, not charging and fully charged give the same info – very unhelpful. Finally, when inserted be sure to move the left stick on the controller up then down before attempting an automatic lift off. For this and other tips the various videos are way better than trying to comprehend the manual. It’s been decades since I’ve seen a manual this poorly written/translated. It’s almost like sabotage.
Thank you so much for this. I was struggling just to find out how to charge the battery. And I didn’t see where the micro card could be inserted until I read this. I was getting nowhere with the manual so your review is much appreciated. I’m looking forward to testing it out now that I have more info.
PDF MANUAL
https://www.eachine.com/download.html
Just put E58 in the search box, and you can get the PDF English Manual, which covers the basics ok.
A flimsy piece of rubbish that fell apart at first use. Don’t buy one.
Well, so far mine works very well (as well as and in some ways better a different one costing twice as much for my 1st son, except for the above mentioned video button function on the controller), so I got a second one for my 2nd son in Canada.
What does the speed selection icon on the app screen mean. 30, 60, 100%, it’s located right above the 360% icon. cant find an explanation for any of them in the manual. Thanks
That’s your percentage of “Full” speed.
When you turn it on it is at about 30% of its speed so that it is easier for a beginner to learn with. Once you become a better pilot and or get into some wind, you may need to push the button to increase speed to 60 or 100%. I am not that good of a pilot yet but I often in Texas have to put it at 100% or the drone cannot fly back to me against the wind
Andy, I turn on the controller and the drone, it does it’s beeping and quick light flashing. but then the lights [red and blue] simply pulse continuously and i get no response from the unit. tried syncing and all that but nothing still. is this simply, hopefully, a bad lipo that needs to be replaced?
Turn on drone first, then controller.. Push left stick fully forward then fully back.. all lights then should not be flashing but steady.. Take off by pressing “one key take off” (key with up arrow next to throttle control)..!
I can’t seem to get my dronexp to fly straight up ,when it starts it moves hard to the left and crashes ,what am I doing wrong
PDF MANUAL
https://www.eachine.com/download.html
Just put E58 in the search box, and you can get the PDF English Manual, which covers the basics ok.
You need to trim the flight after switching on and connecting. Auto take-off to hover, then trim the left/right and forward/back buttons until stable.
I’ve had a few drones and this is the most flimsy piece of garbage I’ve ever owned. I have had problems with every part from the battery to the propellers to the way it flies. I would not recommend this for a quarter of the price.
Mine was working fine then towards the end of my run, the left rear rotor wouldn’t spin enough to take off. Thought it was low battery so charged. Go agIain and same thing. Think that rotor is biffed though it does turn at times. What can I try?
Spare motors are available cheaply on Ebay and Aliexpress.
I bought one for about $35 from Banggood to learn on as I have never flown a quad before. They now have at least two steps up in optical quality but I bought the one you reviewed here as I wanted a simple trainer.
The Z 58 will take a lot of abuse in all of the parts are cheaply available on the Internet and there is now a 1200 mA battery that is available for a longer flight time.
I think for the dollar they are a heck of a value and this was an excellent review that you presented.
I saw several commenters saying that they downloaded JY UFO and connected but couldn’t see the camera image or control the drone. I got the same thing BUT I realised that there is a new app (mentioned in the manual): Eachine FPV. Using the new app everything works!
i have 480p version on e58 drone and i replaced a new reciever board after assemble it i can’t bind the drone betweed controller how is it?
Thanks very much for this review.
I have just been given a very similar drone as a Christmas present and could not understand the badly translated manual!
Your review made it all make sense.
Not really a reply rather an update…
I have had this drone for a few weeks now had plenty of troubles to get an app to use the camera But “FVP Camera” ended up working? Too windy to have a chance to use it seriously though.
Amazing what this little thing can take in terms of crashes! I lost the legs used toothpicks for a while then gave up changing them. Would need a new brain to fly backward still managed it a little. Makes a very good vacuum cleaner indoor…will find dirt where you did not know you had it. Watch out for loose papers about! and in the front yard I fly low because of the wind sometimes it wants freedom and shoots through, other time it gets aggressive and once went for my left ear! could make a decent edge trimmer or lawnmower too!
But it’s a lot of fun!
Definitely with wind you need speed 2 or 3 else it can’t be controlled. Mine is not an E58 but a quad pro I think and as such is does not take an SD card although there is slot under like the others but no SD fitting in it! (took me a while to get this from the seller, I can’t speak Chinese!) Although it will record video/photos on your mobile. And you can turn your mobile App on but fly with the controller just press ‘Record’ on your phone, i have not tried the drone button to do this. Anyway it worked as i got a glimpse of myself juggling flying and phone. I’m quite happy just flying for the time been.
Yes despite trimming and ‘calibration’ ! I find it quite unpredictable!
I think I have got a very good battery (2.2 WH?) I’m pretty sure I get at least 10 mins for each flight (make sure I let it cool dwn b4 recharging. (I also think if I recharge it directly from a power board it is faster than from the pc with multi usbs?)
Last thing: I’m still using the same blades and found that using one of those nail filling spongy boards does restore dents in them quite well (mainly when flying indoor!)
Well I’m not sure when I’ll go for my pilot’s licence but I feel the Covid will be over by then !
More from me… Suddenly the drone is not taking off! Leaning diagonally on one propeller, all spinning but no go. What a shame I was starting to enjoy this little thing. Only 3 weeks, I don’t want it to become a money pit …. I removed the propeller unit saw little dirt but nothing visually wrong. With only one plastic cog in good condition.
I can start it, calibrate it and if I hold it in my hand, all seem to spin ok (that is ‘taking off’ whilst holding it). Mystery!
In my E58, the SD card slot was displaced, so the card could not be inserted. I found the SD card holder PCB was loose. So the entire thing had to be taken apart.
There was nothing to hold down the back end of the PCB, so it would not stay in line with the slot in the outer casing.
I glued a tiny piece of plastic above the back end of the PCB to hold it down in place. Now it stays there, and I can correctly insert the SD card.
This may be your problem.
are u sure your drone takes sd card…being 2021 i guess you’ve got the answer! But mine not exactly e58 but so similar is not designed to have one although the slot is there.
I had E58 Drone with SD Card. Still have it but altitude hold has failed. I presently am flying E58 Drone without a camera.
You can download the English manual from the manufacturer:
https://www.eachine.com/download.html
and just put E58 in the search box.
(It seems OK, possibly a later and better edition to the manuals other people have seen.)
In my E58, the camera does not adjust 90°.
The camera angle adjustment is only 35°.
The camera will not point straight ahead or straight down.
So have I got a fake ? Please would you confirm that your review model E58 is different to my E58 ?
Many thanks for your help !
Thanks for the excellent description of this, especially the part where you showed the 4 buttons on top of controller and which does what. The manual I got does not ever show the controller from the top and which button does what was hart to determine.
– Has anyont written their own note, manual, list of components, etc. who would be interested in sharing their findings to other users?
– I am interested in anyone who has worked on repair of altitude hold or gps. I have replaced broken arms due to crashes. Parts are readily available; I’ve found it less expensive to buy all four (4) so might have are you are looking for.