Does the Samsung Galaxy Tablet A 7" Work With the Mavic Pro Controller?

CC Rider · Jan 10, 2017

Still waiting for my Mavic to arrive, should be any day now, and I'm trying to have everything ready in time for its arrival. I've gotten a lift kit for the drone for added protection as it does sit low to the ground, and I got some prop bumper guards coming as I will be flying indoors and also around trees, tall grasses, etc.

My question is I have an iPhone 6s Plus with plenty of memory for the Mavic's controller purposes. However, the idea of a larger display is appealing. I know nothing about Android-based tablets. Would I be going in the right direction getting the 7" Samsung described in this post's title or should I consider another option? Will it fit properly in the controller and would I need a different cable connection setup?

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Darkback2 · Jan 10, 2017

So I was considering getting some sort of tablet because my Samsung galaxy s5 won't let me run the mavic if I have more than one type of software installed (not running) at the same time. SO...I considered getting some sort of tablet so I could also have the benefit of a bigger screen.

While I found a way to make the tablet fit, what I ran into is that without an internet connection and or data plan, then I won't be able to log in to check off when I have contacted local towers, and I won't have access to the map feature which is the whole reason why I need more than one program installed. (I am hoping to use it for mapping as well as AP.)

SO...if that isn't an issue for you, you should be able to make an android device work.

Best of luck...

DB

Tas47 · Jan 17, 2017

CC Rider said:
My question is I have an iPhone 6s Plus with plenty of memory for the Mavic's controller purposes. However, the idea of a larger display is appealing. I know nothing about Android-based tablets. Would I be going in the right direction getting the 7" Samsung described in this post's title or should I consider another option? Will it fit properly in the controller and would I need a different cable connection setup?

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

I've just started using a Galaxy Tab A 7 (SM-T280) with my Mavic and it works fine...but:
DJI Go 4 doesn't connect successfully, in fact in my case the app opened a window saying that DJI Go (3.1.1) should be used on this device.
You need to ensure that you close all background apps before connecting to the rc.
I installed App Manager III which allows you to move (some) apps to an external SD card which frees up some of the limited memory.
The tab doesn't have the brightest screen, so some sort of sun shade is necessary. I use DJI's sun shield.
Otherwise the tab fits into the rc's arms, isn't too heavy and connected to the bottom RC USB port with a 25cm USB cable gives you a fairly neat set up.

CC Rider · Jan 17, 2017

Thanks for the feedback. I'm still unsure which way to go, as one of the things I like about the Mavic is its incredible portability and the idea of flying with a phone-sized controller. However, I also know seeing more is better, so I am thinking about going the tablet route.

I just got an email this morning that my Mavic Pro will be arriving at my home this Friday, just in time for the weekend. I've been inhaling and living on all things Mavic since before I ordered the aircraft on 1/5/17. Reading everything I can get my hands on about it, watching all of the videos I can, especially the tutorial-oriented vids, and am obviously anxious to get it in my hands. I'm gonna ease into the Mavic, but I think I'll be taking it up this weekend. Be hard not to.

Touroulis · Jan 19, 2017

I encountered some issues (glitchy screen while flying and disconnections) with the 7'' Samsung tablet (Samsung Galaxy Tablet A6 2016), but only on the DJI GO app 4. Try the GO app 3. Also, close all open apps and "don't cache locally". Hope this helps.

CC Rider · Jan 19, 2017

Thanks for the input. My Mavic just arrived today, so I guess I'll be using my iPhone for its first flight. But a tablet is more appealing. I appreciate your help.

Mike austin · Feb 13, 2017

CC Rider said:
Thanks for the input. My Mavic just arrived today, so I guess I'll be using my iPhone for its first flight. But a tablet is more appealing. I appreciate your help.

Hi, I have just perchad a Mavic and a Samsung S2 Galaxy Tablet Which fits great but will not work with the dji go app so be carefull, Mike.

Chrislain · Jan 3, 2018

Hi i need a help. I have the Samsung Tab A SMT280. At the beginning the tablet worked fine but since 1 month there is many disconnections and lost video signal. Do you have a solution to fix it. There is impossible to back the DJI GO 3 app when I try DJI app told me that I should use the 4th version. Thank you

Tas47 · Jan 3, 2018

Chrislain said:
I have the Samsung Tab A SMT280. At the beginning the tablet worked fine but since 1 month there is many disconnections and lost video signal. Do you have a solution to fix it.

Other than making sure that all background apps are stopped and using 'Airplane' mode you can try changing a few settings like turning off video caching in the app and changing the video decoder to 'hardware' in camera settings, but don't be surprised if that doesn't work.
The Tab A lacks the resources to run Go 4 reliably.

Mossiback · Jan 3, 2018

Chrislain said:
...I have the Samsung Tab A SMT280. At the beginning the tablet worked fine but since 1 month there is many disconnections and lost video signal. Do you have a solution to fix it...

I had the same situation you have; it used to work and then connection problems and pixelated video. I had become a victim of an un-asked for Go 4 update to version 4.1.18. I rolled it back to 4.1.15 and it works better than ever. I deleted un-needed apps and pictures/videos to free up some RAM, turn on airplane mode, cache off, and all other apps closed. I also turned off automatic updates in the app store. My startup routine used to be to start the RC, Mavic, wait until it was connected, then restart the Tab A. Since the 4.1.15 install it just works like it should, no matter what the startup order without having to restart the Tab A.

I think clearing up RAM and turning off caching are the major reasons Go 4 starts and connects quicker. I had not noticed that the storage was maxed out by old videos. You can have it cache to the micro SD card but that requires extra processing that my weak Tab A could do without.

Simmo · Jan 3, 2018

On a Samsung Galaxy Tab A 6 (2016) No go.

Mossiback · Jan 3, 2018

Mine works perfect. What Go 4 version are you using?

Simmo · Jan 3, 2018

As in the title .22
But .18 didnt work, rolled back to .15 which used to work, now that doesn't either.
Litchi and Drone harmony are fine.

Chrislain · Jan 5, 2018

Hi Mossiback. Thank you so much for your answer and the time you take for help me. I have done all the instructions that you Mentioned but there is no improvement. I have always lost signal message and disconnections. I used the version 4.1.15 as you said but nothing. Do you think that I need to roll back for DJI go version 3 ?

Mossiback · Jan 5, 2018

I am not sure but I think the problem is not the app but rather the connection between the MP and RC. The only way I could replicate your video was to turn off the MP while connected to the RC. Perhaps you could try re-linking the RC and the MP.

Simmo · Jan 5, 2018

The thing is though @Mossiback the telemetry still works, its just the video disconnecting. As I have said before, Litchi and Drone Harmony are faultless. The Tab A has been faultless upto when they released .18.

Mossiback · Jan 5, 2018

Simmo said:
The thing is though @Mossiback the telemetry still works, its just the video disconnecting. As I have said before, Litchi and Drone Harmony are faultless. The Tab A has been faultless upto when they released .18.

I don't know what to say. .18 ruined my video and caused disconnects but reverting to .15 fixed it. To sum up, my Tab A works great with Go 4 version 4.1.15, RC and MP on version 01.04.0000. I have caching turned off, close all other apps, cleaned up my RAM, and run in airplane mode.

Simmo · Jan 5, 2018

Can you try .22?

Chrislain · Jan 8, 2018

@Simmo May be we have to reinstall the old version that worked before the problem happens, I remember that I had no problem until the end of October 2007. I will try this option. I will give you the result.
Thanks

Simmo · Jan 8, 2018

Chrislain said:
@Simmo May be we have to reinstall the old version that worked before the problem happens, I remember that I had no problem until the end of October 2007. I will try this option. I will give you the result.
Thanks

Thanks Bud, yeah, you are probably correct, I could go back maybe and DJI Go4 would work...
But why???
I miss out on the new functionality that I want!
I dont get it, nearly everything I want works with Litchi......I just want the app that is SUPPOSED TO WORK with my Mavic, to simply WORK...