Clarification on iPad Mini 4 one more time

[Kenneth Coe]

I thought I had this clear in my mind, but now I need to ask a question. We currently use a Samsung Tab A 10 inch tablet for our control device with our Mavic Pro. Works fine except that we cannot control the gimbal from the tablet. The autofocus takes charge and you cannot ever see the blue indicator. DJI says to get something from the authorized list. So we tried the wife's iPhone 6S+, and it does indeed work fine on that.

We are now thinking of buying an iPad Mini 4, wi-fi only, but this is where I'm unsure. I am told that the Wi-Fi only model has no GPS capability because that is handled by the Cellular chip. So let's say I have no GPS capability in the mini 4. If I'm flying, say, 1000 or so feet from home point, and I lose sight of the bird, I would normally maximize the map and then rotate the bird so that the arrow points toward the home point. I would then simply fly it back close enough to establish good eye contact again.

Finally, the question: Will that work if I have no GPS in the tablet? I was told that, without GPS, the tablet wouldn't know where it was, so it would not properly display the bird's indicator in relation to home point (since the tablet wouldn't know where it was). This is a go or no-go question for me. I definitely want the tablet to be able to help me navigate back. But the cellular capability is not just a few bucks more; it's a LOT more.

Certainly I can move the drone and see if the numbers go up or down, but that's shaky and time-consuming. Like the numbers would go down if I was flying at an angle towards home, but if my battery is low, I want to fly directly back. And yes, I know RTH will still work, and I will do that in a pinch, but I'm still learning to fully trust it enough to use it if I've lost sight of the drone. (It's never failed yet, but I'm still in test mode on that.)

Thanks in advance to one of you folks that fly with a Mini 4 Wi-Fi only.

 

[Ynksfan27]

I have the Mavic 2 Zoom and use an iPad Mini 4 with WiFi only and it works just fine. From what I have gathered on this forum, it only affects the maps and the follow me feature. You can load maps before you go out or connect the iPad to a mifi while you are out. The AC has GPS so it will still be able to record its home point.

 

[Mr. Salty]

I was told that, without GPS, the tablet wouldn't know where it was, so it would not properly display the bird's indicator in relation to home point (since the tablet wouldn't know where it was).

You were told wrong. The Mavic won't know where the controller is, but it will know where the home point is because it's set by the GPS in the Mavic, not the control device.

So the Mavic knows where it is and where the home point is. As long as you don't move far from the home point, like you're on a moving boat for example, you'll be fine without GPS in the control device.

 

[MountainMan2017]

I use a iPad mini 4 WiFi version. If your away from a WiFi area to pre load maps you can always use your cell phone as a hot spot and load maps from that connection. And if you use follow me mode or modes where you home is set to follow control rather then the spot it took off from . Then you’ll need to set hot spot up for sure. I always set my home at place I take off from. So no need to do anything other then load up maps and go fly.

 

[Kenneth Coe]

I have the Mavic 2 Zoom and use an iPad Mini 4 with WiFi only and it works just fine. From what I have gathered on this forum, it only affects the maps and the follow me feature. You can load maps before you go out or connect the iPad to a mifi while you are out. The AC has GPS so it will still be able to record its home point.

Thanks to both of you for replying so quickly. So if I'm understanding you correctly, even with wi-fi only, I will still see the AC "arrow indicator" and the home point on the tablet, and I can simply rotate the bird until the arrow points to the HP and then fly it home. Again, thanks.

 

[Ynksfan27]

Thanks to both of you for replying so quickly. So if I'm understanding you correctly, even with wi-fi only, I will still see the AC "arrow indicator" and the home point on the tablet, and I can simply rotate the bird until the arrow points to the HP and then fly it home. Again, thanks.

That is correct.

 

[old man mavic]

Thanks to both of you for replying so quickly. So if I'm understanding you correctly, even with wi-fi only, I will still see the AC "arrow indicator" and the home point on the tablet, and I can simply rotate the bird until the arrow points to the HP and then fly it home. Again, thanks.

that is correct no need to switch to map on full screen just rotate in the thumbnail view till the drone is facing home point and fly back towards home the camera view will give you an idea of your location on the way back i always do it this way if i have lost orientation of my position then you can carry on with your flight when you see the drone my android does not have gps and i have never had any problems flying of course if there is a wifi source then i get the full map display

 

[Kenneth Coe]

Once again, my thanks to everyone on this. As long as I can work this way on either the full map or thumbnail (I also generally do it that way), I don't care about seeing a map. As a matter of fact, I don't know for certain than our Samsung Tab A has GPS! I assumed that it did, but we may be working from cached maps. Of course, flying from our backyard (which we do a lot), the tablet is connected to the router in the house, so no issue anyway. We will consider getting a mini 4. I don't like Apple, but it does appear that the GO 4 software runs better on it.

 

[old man mavic]

Once again, my thanks to everyone on this. As long as I can work this way on either the full map or thumbnail (I also generally do it that way), I don't care about seeing a map. As a matter of fact, I don't know for certain than our Samsung Tab A has GPS! I assumed that it did, but we may be working from cached maps. Of course, flying from our backyard (which we do a lot), the tablet is connected to the router in the house, so no issue anyway. We will consider getting a mini 4. I don't like Apple, but it does appear that the GO 4 software runs better on it.

thanks for your reply as reguards to apple there are many posts that say the DJI drones work better with IOS but there are equally many posts that have trouble with apple products lost connection app freezes etc as there are with android devices i use the huawei mediapad t3 running snapdragon 425 and use a 64gig sd card to store my flights on before i down load to my pc i have never had any problems with it and found the best thing to do before i used it was to disable all the apps that are not required for flying and i only use it for my drones i also fly my phantom 3s on it useing the earlier go4 app with no issues

 

[JLambert]

I use a Samsung A 10 inch tablet T580 and have no issue panning the gimbal and I am able to autofocus as well. The blue dot comes up after an extended touch.

 

[Kenneth Coe]

I use a Samsung A 10 inch tablet T580 and have no issue panning the gimbal and I am able to autofocus as well. The blue dot comes up after an extended touch.

I have actually seen this kinda sorta work on this tablet, but not lately. When we touch the screen, GO 4 instantly pops up the green box for focus (and it DOES focus), but the blue indicator never comes up. There are touch settings on the Samsung and I may try varying those. This is the only issue we have with the tablet and I really don't want to drop $300 for an iTab if I don't have to.

 

[JLambert]

I would make sure everything is updated. I have run mine both from the plug on the side of the remote and on the USB plug on the bottom. I do always put it in developer mode and turn off the battery charging, change the USB function to the line item directly below that.

 

[Canuk]

Over 90% of my flying is in dead zones with no cell service . So when I’m flying and checking things out and it’s time to come back a quick look at the radar bullseye will get me pointed to home plate .

. On my iPad I have map and radar but on my old dinosaur telephone I only have one or the other . I like the radar thing as it always lets me know if the bird is fighting wind . Stop flying and a quick peek let’s you know if your unit is leaning into any wind . Very very helpful

 

[RadioFlyerMan]

All previous posts address the issue of getting home, mini’s, etc. and you should not get confused where you’re at. But here’s a last ditch, and kinda unnecessary approach...

Turn on Home Lock, and pull down on the right stick. No matter which direction your drone is pointing, it will come home. Fun!

 

[Kenneth Coe]

If anyone is still following this thread and has the problem with gimbal control, I wanted to update that we HAVE fixed this. I went into settings (on the tablet), then apps, then selected the GO4 app. Just off the top of my head, I decided to clear the cache (the cache for that specific app). That immediately fixed the problem! Who would have thought that?

HOWEVER, a VERY IMPORTANT NOTE: When you clear the cache, one of the things that is cleared is the user ID and Password for the GO4 app. Do NOT go out into the field and decide to clear the cache unless you have an internet connection. You will have to log into the app again, and you can't do that without an internet connection. Clear the cache at home or somewhere where you are connected, complete the login, close the app and open it again to confirm that the user credentials are cached before you go out to the field.