Concerned about android phone battery life

[MattH]

I am mostly sold on the idea of getting a mavic, but before I do, I'd like to hear from some of you who use android phones for display. I've been flying multirotors for a couple years, but they've all been homemade models. I don't really have time to source, build, troubleshoot, repair like I used to, so I'm looking for something that just works. My major hang up on DJI in general is the lack of a dedicated screen for viewing and I've read some people having issues on android with force closes during flights.

I have a Moto X Pure. I have downloaded and installed the DJI GO 4 app just to test it out and I noticed right away it was using a significant percentage of my battery without even really using it. I know there are things I can do to limit the app's battery usage while in standby, and that's fine. But how much juice will it use up with the screen on full brightness and connected to the controller?

Say I get home after work and my battery is down to 60% just from normal usage, can I even get a full battery worth of flight time on the remaining 40%? 2 batteries? I just want to hear what others experiences are with this and how they manage it. I know I'm probably nit picking and I can just charge my phone if I know I'm going to fly or get a battery pack to keep with me, but I like being able to go all day on my phone without charging.

I also thought I read somewhere that android phones will actually draw a charge from the mavic remote, can someone confirm? I realize that probably just means the phone will die less during the flight and not actually charge as you will be using more mAH than the remote is providing.

TLDR: What is your overall experience using android been like? How much battery percentage are you using on your android phone on average per mavic battery? What alternative apps do you like better than the DJI GO 4?

Sorry for rambling...

 

[4wd]

I think the charge drawn from controller is rather inconsequential.
I would expect the battery level to go down in full use not much quicker than your test just running the app.
My Samsung S5 has a fairly big battery and will lose about 10% during a flight an associated mucking about with settings beforehand.
It's not terribly serious if the phone did shut down you can still RTH or continue cautiously if in good sight.
Only the initial settings check - if required - need the app.

 

[Kilrah]

The phone will draw some power from the remote so should discharge less quickly than standalone.

Like many I use a device that is not my main phone for use with my DJI things. It's a Huawei Mate 8 which has a huge battery so even when I disable charging from the controller I only get about 15-20% use per Mavic battery.

 

[Anthony]

I am using a Samsung S6 and have 3 Mavic batteries and have no issue at all.

 

[No1much]

I am mostly sold on the idea of getting a mavic, but before I do, I'd like to hear from some of you who use android phones for display. I've been flying multirotors for a couple years, but they've all been homemade models. I don't really have time to source, build, troubleshoot, repair like I used to, so I'm looking for something that just works. My major hang up on DJI in general is the lack of a dedicated screen for viewing and I've read some people having issues on android with force closes during flights.

I have a Moto X Pure. I have downloaded and installed the DJI GO 4 app just to test it out and I noticed right away it was using a significant percentage of my battery without even really using it. I know there are things I can do to limit the app's battery usage while in standby, and that's fine. But how much juice will it use up with the screen on full brightness and connected to the controller?

Say I get home after work and my battery is down to 60% just from normal usage, can I even get a full battery worth of flight time on the remaining 40%? 2 batteries? I just want to hear what others experiences are with this and how they manage it. I know I'm probably nit picking and I can just charge my phone if I know I'm going to fly or get a battery pack to keep with me, but I like being able to go all day on my phone without charging.

I also thought I read somewhere that android phones will actually draw a charge from the mavic remote, can someone confirm? I realize that probably just means the phone will die less during the flight and not actually charge as you will be using more mAH than the remote is providing.

TLDR: What is your overall experience using android been like? How much battery percentage are you using on your android phone on average per mavic battery? What alternative apps do you like better than the DJI GO 4?

Sorry for rambling...

My experience is that before I installed DJI GO 4, my phone uses maybe 30% of its battery in 6 hours on an average weekday for me. When I installed DJI GO 4, my battery burned through an extra 20% in that time even if I never flew my drone.

My "fix" for this: Any time I'm not actually about to fly the drone, I open my Galaxy Note 4's Settings app, select "Applications," select "Application Manager," and then select DJI GO 4. I tap "Force Stop" and after that, my battery life returns to normal.
The next time I connect my phone to my controller, it'll still start Go 4 automatically, but meanwhile I get to keep my phone's battery life.
An average 18-to-22-minute flight for me takes around 30% of my phone's battery life with Go.

I've had better luck with Litchi in terms of battery life.
But that's just my own personal experience, and others may vary.

 

[MattH]

Thanks for the input guys. I have an old galaxy s4 I could always use if needed I suppose.

An average 18-to-22-minute flight for me takes around 30% of my phone's battery life with Go.

This is what concerns me, that is alot of battery used up for 1 flight. Unfortunately there isn't anything that touches the mavic in terms of portability, range, and other things. There just isn't a competitor right now. I'm waiting for spring to purchase so I'm just keeping an eye things right now and collecting information.

Also, where in Illinois are you? I'm in central, work in Springfield.

 

[Robert Mitchell]

I am using a Galaxy S4, with Go4. The phone actually winds up with more charge after a session. As for draining the controller, it is minimal.

Everything works well and you'll be glad you got the Mavic.

 

[No1much]

I am using a Galaxy S4, with Go4. The phone actually winds up with more charge after a session. As for draining the controller, it is minimal.

Everything works well and you'll be glad you got the Mavic.

That's really handy- my Note 4 has Android 6.0.1... I wonder if that contributes to whether the controller charges it or not- mine doesn't get charged by the controller when I plug it in.

As for "You'll be glad when you get it": heck yes. It's a very nice drone, though admittedly the only one I've ever had other than a toy miniquad and a microquad, so of course I love this thing.