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Coupla Newbie Questions...

Plainsman

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Joined
Oct 10, 2019
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Location
High plains
My Mavic Air arrived y'day and I am still studying the manual and waiting for the weather to get a bit more bearable for both me and it. Nice thing about High Plains weather is if you wait a few minutes it will change— but this time of year usually for the worse.

My questions... I will fly the drone, eventually, with my iPhone, BUT -- it is in an Otterbox case (the thin one with protective glass. While it will sort of fit in the clamp-arms the connection cord will not connect because the case does not allow it to firmly contact the 'phone connection. I'd hate to have to take the 'phone out of the Otterbox, so is there a cord with a longer connector tip that will reach into the box and make contact? (I doubt it but thought it worth a try.)

Second question, Can I fly the drone with just the controller (no phone) without "registering" it for phone control? Just fire it up and use the sticks on the controller?

Thanks for any help.

PS... I registered it with the FAA last night. Easy process. And wallet only $5 lighter. I guess that's fair for three years.)
 
Hi Plainsman! Welcome to the forum. The answer to both of your questions is, Yes. In fact, when it comes to cables, it's way better to grab a cable with a full size USB A to Lightning cable that will plug into the bottom of your remote down by the arms that hold the phone. That port provides a more reliable connection than the Micro USB port on the top left of the controller anyway. Just grab one that can fit through your Otterbox and you're good to go.

And, yes, you can totally fly with no screen attached to your remote at all. It's a bit trickier, because you can't see what your drone is seeing. But you can take off, fly around, land, control the gimbal and take pictures and videos all with the sticks, buttons and dials on your remote. I've had to do it before when my phone had a dead battery or when I had no signal and the DJI app wanted me to sign in. Anyway, I hope that helps. Happy flying!
 
Hi Plainsman! Welcome to the forum. The answer to both of your questions is, Yes. In fact, when it comes to cables, it's way better to grab a cable with a full size USB A to Lightning cable that will plug into the bottom of your remote down by the arms that hold the phone. That port provides a more reliable connection than the Micro USB port on the top left of the controller anyway. Just grab one that can fit through your Otterbox and you're good to go.

And, yes, you can totally fly with no screen attached to your remote at all. It's a bit trickier, because you can't see what your drone is seeing. But you can take off, fly around, land, control the gimbal and take pictures and videos all with the sticks, buttons and dials on your remote. I've had to do it before when my phone had a dead battery or when I had no signal and the DJI app wanted me to sign in. Anyway, I hope that helps. Happy flying!
Need balls of steel to do that... :)
 
Your height and distance will be limited without the phone, but that is probably a good thing.
 
Thanks for your help, everybody. It's much appreciated. Today I got the bird updated and ready to go, linked to the RC and iPhone, updated, and responding vigorously— which I doubt I would have been able to accomplish without the help I got here. T'row it's supposed to get warmer and maybe I can get outside and try 'er out.
 
My Mavic Air arrived y'day and I am still studying the manual and waiting for the weather to get a bit more bearable for both me and it. Nice thing about High Plains weather is if you wait a few minutes it will change— but this time of year usually for the worse.

My questions... I will fly the drone, eventually, with my iPhone, BUT -- it is in an Otterbox case (the thin one with protective glass. While it will sort of fit in the clamp-arms the connection cord will not connect because the case does not allow it to firmly contact the 'phone connection. I'd hate to have to take the 'phone out of the Otterbox, so is there a cord with a longer connector tip that will reach into the box and make contact?
I too ran into this same scenario with my iPhone 7plus. I hated to keep taking it out of the protective case just to get it to fit.

I ended up purchasing this phone holder that fits into the arms of the Mavic Pro and then you put the phone in the holder. The holder can also be turned so your phone sits sideways.

I absolutely love this setup! You will have to buy a slightly longer cable to reach your phone.

Happy flying ?
 

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Thanks for the solution recommendation, Tkoglin. It looks like the holder will only hold the 'Phone in vertical position. Is that true?
 

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