Flying in remote areas issues

hoggdoc · Oct 2, 2018

Twice in the last two weeks I have tried to fly my Mavic Pro in areas with no cell service. I had no idea that cell service was necessary but guess it is.

The first time I was in an area with no cell service and when I started the DJI GO 4 app on my iPHone 7 Plus running version 12 of IOS the app needed to sign into DJI's site before opening. With no cell service I was unable to do that so no flying. when I got back home with internet connected I logged into the DJI site through DJI GO4, then quit the app turned off all internet connections to my phone and opened the DJI app again, this time it worked without any issues. I figured I needed to log in that one time on the "new" phone.

I did fly the Mavic last Sunday at a local school field and all was well start to finish with no internet connected to the phone.

Today I was at another remote location trying to video a covered bridge. I had great difficulty getting the video to connect. The Controller and aircraft connected but there was no video. After several tries I got it to work, but as soon as I started to fly it lost video connection. Once again here at home all worked well with or without an internet connect to the phone.

Can anyone shed some light on what is going on. At this point the Mavic is useless are where out of town.

Robert Mitchell · Oct 2, 2018

You don't need cell service to fly unless you need to unlock a NFZ. I've flown all over the US with and without cell connectivity.

Also, cell service has nothing to do with your video feed. Apparently you had something else going on with your device or connection. If you're using certain Android devices, video feed can become unreliable at times, depending on the devices demands at the time of use.

Someone else can possibly help with the potential reasons your device needed to log into DJI for Go4 to work.

Storyline · Oct 3, 2018

I agree with the above and nearly always fly in Aircraft mode so I can't receive any unexpected calls. However I find there are issues when flying without Internet access as I cannot load any mapping despite having many downloaded by the app. This in turn has meant that frequently no new Home Point is set so I have had to manually set one and sometimes I have had problems even doing that. Now with a new app version and new Mavic firmware the Home Point seems to update more often. However now I am starting to use Litchi so have not fully got to know the new app/Mavic firmware fully.

Congoblue · Oct 3, 2018

You have to log into DJI the first time you run Go4 on a new device. So best do this at home the first time where you have internet connection. After that you do not need an internet / cell / wifi connection except as stated above for the maps. You can cache the maps into Go4 beforehand.

beach_Dr · Oct 3, 2018

I have flown without signal/cell reception in remote areas with no problems in video feed etc. I normally fly with radar mode and not map, so map updates not a problem.

Have also flown without a mobile device at all (which I have done on occasion when I forgot my cellphone in car before a hike to waterfalls...) - apart from range restriction and guess work for aiming the camera, also no problems with the actual flying/response of the mavic.

The drop in video feed must be a device problem - check cable? I've had problems with pocket lint in lightning socket causing video disconnect.

The log-in on DJI app will only have to be done once on new mobile device or when connecting new aircraft.

hoggdoc · Oct 3, 2018

OK thanks for all the great responses.

As for the video drop it may very well have been the USB cable I use to connect the controller to the iPhone 7 Plus. It has never failed before, but yesterday on site I did have an issue getting its routing to work. Never thought that might be the problem as it has always worked before.

Someone mentioned downloading maps of the area I was going to fly in before losing internet connectivity. Can someone point me to a YT video or something that shows how to go about doing that.

Someone else mentioned flying in the "radar" mode rather than "map" mode. I have looked through the menus but can't seem to find where you can make that change.

Also without internet connectivity does the flight data still get recorded someplace, if so where and how can it be accessed.

Thanks again for all the great suggestions.

beach_Dr · Oct 3, 2018

Radar mode

Flight record will still be recorded on Go4 without internet, usual place, top right main screen. More in-depth flight data, someone else will have to tell you how to find that on iPhone.

PS are you a pig vet?

Mossiback · Oct 3, 2018

Your problem is probably your cable connection. You do not need an internet connection to fly. I use a tablet in airplane mode without problems. My state map is stored offline in Go 4 so that works also. I understand that the setup for iDevices is different so I can't help with your map.

Bob in Savannah · Oct 3, 2018

ALWAYS fly without cell service. Whatever about maps.. That can be downloaded days ahead of time if you don't know the area. Have full bars with controller connection and full bars with GPS connection and that's ALL I EVER have been concerned about.. Cell service? Lol

conchman · Oct 14, 2018

I have same problem. If I fly without internet my offline map does not even work and home point does not set. Go app takes ages to connect like there is a cable problem. Also get disconnects/app crashes. Not fun.

Bob in Savannah · Oct 14, 2018

conchman said:
I have same problem. If I fly without internet my offline map does not even work and home point does not set. Go app takes ages to connect like there is a cable problem. Also get disconnects/app crashes. Not fun.

That's funny. I have NO problem getting home point set. I'd be scared to fly without having it set. But I definitely do not use cell service . I have a mini iPad 4 wifi only.

DanMan32 · Oct 14, 2018

No problems here with home point without internet. Might not have map details but home point definitely works. My phone/tablets have GPS though.

Storyline · Oct 19, 2018

conchman said:
I have same problem. If I fly without internet my offline map does not even work and home point does not set. Go app takes ages to connect like there is a cable problem. Also get disconnects/app crashes. Not fun.

There is obviously something going wrong. How long have you had your Mavic ? There is a site where you can find the manufacturing date. It says it is not secure but I can't see what they can do with a Mavic Serial number - just do not put your bank details in by mistake !

DJI SERIAL DECODER

I have not complained to DJI yet as I am trying to work out exactly when and when not does a Home Point get recorded. I know it doesn't offline but sometimes even online mine does not set. There must be a pattern but I have not worked it out yet.

As to the others who can download maps I guess you are all on ios devices. Although I get the prompt on Android and it appears to be downloading them they are nowhere to be found. It is a widely known problem that started with an app update some time ago and has never been fixed

Storyline · Oct 19, 2018

OJsakila said:
ALWAYS fly without cell service. Whatever about maps.. That can be downloaded days ahead of time if you don't know the area. Have full bars with controller connection and full bars with GPS connection and that's ALL I EVER have been concerned about.. Cell service? Lol

You are obviously using an Ios device. You may not need cell service as you have the maps cached but are you never concerned that when you do go online that Apple might be spying on you ?

Just kidding

Bob in Savannah · Oct 19, 2018

Storyline said:
You are obviously using an Ios device. You may not need cell service as you have the maps cached but are you never concerned that when you do go online that Apple might be spying on you ?

Just kidding

That's exactly why I cover the camera up when I "surfing" in the evenings... Hee..

ac0j · Oct 19, 2018

conchman said:
I have same problem. If I fly without internet my offline map does not even work and home point does not set. Go app takes ages to connect like there is a cable problem. Also get disconnects/app crashes. Not fun.

To you AND the OP.
Go 4 connection problems and video problems have NOTHING to do with internet connections.
Make sure the cable between the RC and phone is a GOOD one. Not a $5 gas station cord.
Second, about 2 times a year, I have to take a toothpick, or some other pointy NON METALIC iten and clean pocket lint out of the bottom of the charge port. This is true one both android and iphone. The lint goes in there while in your pocket, and every time you plug in a cord, it gets packed into the bottom of the hole. The first thing to go for some reason is the data, then it starts being finicky to even charge it.

Meta4 · Oct 19, 2018

conchman said:
I have same problem. If I fly without internet my offline map does not even work and home point does not set. Go app takes ages to connect like there is a cable problem. Also get disconnects/app crashes. Not fun.

Not having internet won't have any effect on any of those things.
If your Mavic is in GPS mode, you have a recorded homepoint even if you don't know it.

conchman · Oct 19, 2018

ac0j said:
To you AND the OP.
Go 4 connection problems and video problems have NOTHING to do with internet connections.
Make sure the cable between the RC and phone is a GOOD one. Not a $5 gas station cord.
Second, about 2 times a year, I have to take a toothpick, or some other pointy NON METALIC iten and clean pocket lint out of the bottom of the charge port. This is true one both android and iphone. The lint goes in there while in your pocket, and every time you plug in a cord, it gets packed into the bottom of the hole. The first thing to go for some reason is the data, then it starts being finicky to even charge it.

Well it's kind of weird that all those problems only happen when I dont have internet. And it's doing this on 2 different MP's. I have to do more testing via elimination and isolate the problem.

ac0j · Oct 19, 2018

conchman said:
Well it's kind of weird that all those problems only happen when I dont have internet. And it's doing this on 2 different MP's. I have to do more testing via elimination and isolate the problem.

What you are describing is almost always a problem with the device, device setup, or device connection to the RC

Meta4 · Oct 19, 2018

conchman said:
Well it's kind of weird that all those problems only happen when I dont have internet. And it's doing this on 2 different MP's. I have to do more testing via elimination and isolate the problem.

Internet/no internet makes no difference because the app doesn't need or use internet connection for anything related to flying.
It can use internet data for downloading maps, updating software or live streaming but not for any normal flying.