Flying in remote areas issues

[conchman]

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.

I understand that, but for some reason the problems (home point not setting, long connection to RC, and go4 crashes while flying) only occur when I dont have internet.

 

[DanMan32]

If Wi-Fi/cell data is on and can't get a signal, it might eat resources. Usually that would only be the battery though.
Being in airplane mode would actually help, not hurt, other than not having any map details (roads, lakes, etc). Airplane mode reduces resource load on the device.

How are you determining home point is not recorded?
Post a txt log of when it supposedly did not record home point.

 

[Meta4]

I understand that, but for some reason the problems (home point not setting, long connection to RC, and go4 crashes while flying) only occur when I dont have internet.

There's a word for that ... Coincidence
The things you mention are not affected by the presence or absence of internet data.

If you have GPS, your Mavic will automatically record a home point, whether you are aware of it or not.
Your recorded flight data would confirm that.

 

[Storyline]

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.

I hope conchman does not mind me jumping in on a post addressed to him but I get similar behaviour but without the slow/crashing app problems. We share the no offline map and no Home Point. The offline map problem is an Android issue imo.

As to the Home Point I hope Meta4 is right. All below is offline behaviour .....

I always wait until I get a good few satellites (12+) which can take a minute or so. Sometimes the green HP is displayed on the app and sometimes not sometimes accompanied by audio confirmation and sometimes not, even when set. If not set it does not matter how long I wait. Even when I go and force it to set a new Home Point it will not at these times.

What I have not yet tried is to tell the Mavic to go home when there is no Home Point set - will try in next couple of days.

 

[conchman]

If Wi-Fi/cell data is on and can't get a signal, it might eat resources. Usually that would only be the battery though.
Being in airplane mode would actually help, not hurt, other than not having any map details (roads, lakes, etc). Airplane mode reduces resource load on the device.

How are you determining home point is not recorded?
Post a txt log of when it supposedly did not record home point.

Well I don't get the Home Point recorded message, my map box is completely black with no green H visible, there is no red arrow that shows the AC in the map box, and there is no track line recorded, so basically its a black box that stays black. All it says is "MapBox" or whatever name of map provider is. It does have some symbols on top right but they don't do anything when I click on them. I have also tried to manually set the HP by swiping the screen left to right, or right to left, I cant remember, (which brings up brightness and HP options), but nothing happens. I guess I could test it to see if she comes home on a RTH while in one of these situations, to see if the HP is actually recorded. I can confirm I always fly in GPS mode and have at least 9 satellites reception.

On a related note, I tested my Nvidea Shield tablet with same drone and turned off the wifi (it has no SIM card), after loading the map offline and that seemed to work. I did the same with phone, turned off wifi and turned my SIM card to a provider that I don't have (was too lazy to take SIM card out), and it would not load offline map. So it seems its an issue isolated to my phone and or the go4 app on it. I run the same versions on both devices.

I appreciate all the comments and advice here, by the way.

At least now I know I can use my tablet offline.

 

[Meta4]

As to the Home Point I hope Meta4 is right. All below is offline behaviour .....

I always wait until I get a good few satellites (12+) which can take a minute or so. Sometimes the green HP is displayed on the app and sometimes not sometimes accompanied by audio confirmation and sometimes not, even when set. If not set it does not matter how long I wait. Even when I go and force it to set a new Home Point it will not at these times.

What I have not yet tried is to tell the Mavic to go home when there is no Home Point set - will try in next couple of days.

No need to hope, because I am correct.
As soon as your Phantom gets a good GPS position fix, the Phantom automatically records a home point - that's how it works.
The simple test to confirm is ......
Before it gets GPS, you'll see the distance on screen shows N/A.
When it gets GPS, the Distance N/A changes to a number and it should be a very small number because it's the distance to the recorded home point.

I guess I could test it to see if she comes home on a RTH while in one of these situations, to see if the HP is actually recorded.

If you have a distance showing, you have a home point and that's where RTH will come back to, even if you haven't heard a home point recorded message..

 

[DanMan32]

Well I don't get the Home Point recorded message, my map box is completely black with no green H visible, there is no red arrow that shows the AC in the map box, and there is no track line recorded, so basically its a black box that stays black. All it says is "MapBox" or whatever name of map provider is. It does have some symbols on top right but they don't do anything when I click on them. I have also tried to manually set the HP by swiping the screen left to right, or right to left, I cant remember, (which brings up brightness and HP options), but nothing happens. I guess I could test it to see if she comes home on a RTH while in one of these situations, to see if the HP is actually recorded. I can confirm I always fly in GPS mode and have at least 9 satellites reception.

On a related note, I tested my Nvidea Shield tablet with same drone and turned off the wifi (it has no SIM card), after loading the map offline and that seemed to work. I did the same with phone, turned off wifi and turned my SIM card to a provider that I don't have (was too lazy to take SIM card out), and it would not load offline map. So it seems its an issue isolated to my phone and or the go4 app on it. I run the same versions on both devices.

I appreciate all the comments and advice here, by the way.

At least now I know I can use my tablet offline.

Based on your description of black box and so forth, that sounds like a connection failure between the app and the RC or failure of the app itself. When I don't have internet and map details, map is white. Radar would show location relative to you. Almost all Androids have GPS, so radar should have that reference. Are you getting live video feed? If not, then definitely RC to app connection problem.

 

[conchman]

Based on your description of black box and so forth, that sounds like a connection failure between the app and the RC or failure of the app itself. When I don't have internet and map details, map is white. Radar would show location relative to you. Almost all Androids have GPS, so radar should have that reference. Are you getting live video feed? If not, then definitely RC to app connection problem.

When I get the black box, I have live video feed, which did get disconnected on two of the occasions while flying "offline" and no HP recorded. One time I had no visual on the AC, but was able to bring it home by going up on RC until I saw AC against skyline, allowing me LOS and RC only to bring it back. For some reason, no internet means black box and no HP set for me, unless HP is set without the message and green H, as the other poster said.

 

[Meta4]

When I get the black box, I have live video feed, which did get disconnected on two of the occasions while flying "offline" and no HP recorded. One time I had no visual on the AC, but was able to bring it home by going up on RC until I saw AC against skyline, allowing me LOS and RC only to bring it back. For some reason, no internet means black box and no HP set for me, unless HP is set without the message and green H, as the other poster said.

Unless you are flying in a cave or somewhere that completely blocks satellite signals, or you have a non-functioning GPS receiver, it's impossible for you to fly without having recorded a home point.
And I'm sure you'd have noticed and mentioned it if you had to fly in atti without the benefit of GPS.
Go back and read post #26
And if you still don't believe me, post your recorded flight data from a flight where you believe the home point wasn't recorded adn I'll show you proof that it was.

 

[Storyline]

.....
On a related note, I tested my Nvidea Shield tablet with same drone and turned off the wifi (it has no SIM card), after loading the map offline and that seemed to work. .....
.....

Hi - can you clarify what happened exactly please ?

Did you have the controller and Mavic connected and then the map loaded when you had WiFi and then you turned the WiFi off ?
or
Did you use the 'Offline Map' part of the app and then downloaded it for use later ?

Cheers
Paul

 

[conchman]

Hi - can you clarify what happened exactly please ?

Did you have the controller and Mavic connected and then the map loaded when you had WiFi and then you turned the WiFi off ?
or
Did you use the 'Offline Map' part of the app and then downloaded it for use later ?

Cheers
Paul

The original problem is: I download the offline map while online, then go to the place that I downloaded but where I have no data/internet, and the map box is completely black with no green HP and no red AC symbol and no track lines where I fly. Sometimes, I get app crashes when I fly like this (never get them when I am online).

Now I was just thinking, do I have to manually load the map before I fly? Because I was assuming it loads offline maps automatically like googlemaps does when I am in the offline area. Maybe it's a stupid little mistake like that?

It seems my Nvidea Shield tab opens the offline map area automatically, without internet, but just tested this once.

The device with the offline problems is a Samsung 9+.

 

[DanMan32]

How is anything supposed to retrieve a map without any internet?
Maps can be downloaded when you're online, and depending on the app, still be available when you're offline.

I've heard of the Go app misbehaving or crashing when online, but is more stable offline, but not the other way around.

I don't think being online/offline is your problem, at least not directly. Perhaps something on the device like a background app eating up resources trying to get cell/wifi.
Also check any apps/settings that is supposed to improve battery life. They likely will throttle app resources in an attempt to save battery usage, and such actions can cause app or even device instability.

 

[Storyline]

.....
Now I was just thinking, do I have to manually load the map before I fly? Because I was assuming it loads offline maps automatically like googlemaps does when I am in the offline area. Maybe it's a stupid little mistake like that?

It seems my Nvidea Shield tab opens the offline map area automatically, without internet, but just tested this once.
.....

This is what I understand the system is or what I experience.

Offline Maps - There are two ways you are supposed to be able to do this.

1. Open the Go4 app, make sure your aircraft picture is shown on screen and press the three hamburger lines top right which bring up a menu. One of the items is "Offline Map". Select it and navigate to the area you plan to fly in and press 'Download'. You are asked to give a name to this map and then you will see a %age download progress on the screen. It all appears to be working perfectly and when it is complete you will see an icon which looks like a folded book with a pencil top right. If you press this it will bring up a list which contains the map you have just downloaded together with any others you have done in the past.

Sounds great doesn't it - you can plan your flights in advance from your armchair or if you are going on holiday somewhere remote you can get all the mapping done before you go. The problem is, that for me at least, and for many Android users it is all just a cruel illusion as the maps just do not exist on your device anywhere. I asked about this a few months ago and someone who seemed to be knowledgeable said that it used to work but got broken on a app update and has never been fixed. I believe that some, if not all, ios users do not have this problem.

2. You are on location and you have wifi/data access to the web and so the map will load. You then go into Aircraft mode to maximise your device's resources/can't receive calls and the map will still be available as long as you do not reboot your device.

As far as I know, these are the only two ways to have the map displayed.

As regards your app instability, I think DanMan32 is correct when he says it is unlikely to have anything to do with being online/offline. I also think he might be onto something when he mentions battery monitoring as there are various apps that use the promise of optimising battery life to entice the user to use them. More often than not they are a pita and should be avoided imo. Cleanmaster is a example but there are much worse.

Maybe you should uninstall Go4 and then reinstall. Also, go through your list of apps and look for any of these optimisation tools and check on Google as to how useful they are and if in doubt delete them.

This is quite a good guide on how to install Go4 on Android - it is written for the Phantom but I used it ok.
Install DJI GO on an Android Tablet or Phone (Step-by-Step Guide) - Phantom Help

Hope this helps
Paul

 

[conchman]

This is what I understand the system is or what I experience.

Offline Maps - There are two ways you are supposed to be able to do this.

1. Open the Go4 app, make sure your aircraft picture is shown on screen and press the three hamburger lines top right which bring up a menu. One of the items is "Offline Map". Select it and navigate to the area you plan to fly in and press 'Download'. You are asked to give a name to this map and then you will see a %age download progress on the screen. It all appears to be working perfectly and when it is complete you will see an icon which looks like a folded book with a pencil top right. If you press this it will bring up a list which contains the map you have just downloaded together with any others you have done in the past.

Sounds great doesn't it - you can plan your flights in advance from your armchair or if you are going on holiday somewhere remote you can get all the mapping done before you go. The problem is, that for me at least, and for many Android users it is all just a cruel illusion as the maps just do not exist on your device anywhere. I asked about this a few months ago and someone who seemed to be knowledgeable said that it used to work but got broken on a app update and has never been fixed. I believe that some, if not all, ios users do not have this problem.

2. You are on location and you have wifi/data access to the web and so the map will load. You then go into Aircraft mode to maximise your device's resources/can't receive calls and the map will still be available as long as you do not reboot your device.

As far as I know, these are the only two ways to have the map displayed.

As regards your app instability, I think DanMan32 is correct when he says it is unlikely to have anything to do with being online/offline. I also think he might be onto something when he mentions battery monitoring as there are various apps that use the promise of optimising battery life to entice the user to use them. More often than not they are a pita and should be avoided imo. Cleanmaster is a example but there are much worse.

Maybe you should uninstall Go4 and then reinstall. Also, go through your list of apps and look for any of these optimisation tools and check on Google as to how useful they are and if in doubt delete them.

This is quite a good guide on how to install Go4 on Android - it is written for the Phantom but I used it ok.
Install DJI GO on an Android Tablet or Phone (Step-by-Step Guide) - Phantom Help

Hope this helps
Paul

I think I have option #1 working on my Nvidea tablet, which runs on Android. But I need to test more because maybe the map was cached from when I was online, even though I turned off wifi for the flight. (Basically did your option #2).

I should have rebooted the device and turned wifi off immediately, to see if it really works.

Will do more testing.

Thanks everybody for your input.

 

[Storyline]

I think I have option #1 working on my Nvidea tablet, which runs on Android. But I need to test more because maybe the map was cached from when I was online, even though I turned off wifi for the flight. (Basically did your option #2).

I should have rebooted the device and turned wifi off immediately, to see if it really works.

Will do more testing.

Thanks everybody for your input.

You are lucky if you can use Offline maps - are you on an old version of the app ?

 

[Storyline]

No need to hope, because I am correct.
.....
.....

I am not disagreeing with you but what makes me doubt I am always recording a Home Point is that sometimes I get the green HP mark on the map but often there is nothing displayed. Normally you expect a program or app would always behave the same way but yet Go4 does not seem to be consistent. There must be a reason for this but I just cannot work it out. I will have a look at the log files and see what they say.

The question to which I don't know the answer to is whether you can have a Home Point recorded and yet it is not shown on the screen ?

 

[Meta4]

I am not disagreeing with you but what makes me doubt I am always recording a Home Point is that sometimes I get the green HP mark on the map but often there is nothing displayed.

It's impossible to fly in P-GPS mode without the Mavic recording a home point.
As soon as your Mavic gets a good GPS position fix it will always record that as a home point.

The question to which I don't know the answer to is whether you can have a Home Point recorded and yet it is not shown on the screen ?

I think I've answered that but if you want confirmation, it only takes a minute to upload your txt file to DJI Flight Log Viewer - Phantom Help
Then come back and post a link to the report it gives you and I'll show you where it's recording a home point.

 

[Mossiback]

...The question to which I don't know the answer to is whether you can have a Home Point recorded and yet it is not shown on the screen ?

This is easy to test, and should be tested so you know your system is functioning as it should. Take off as normal. If you do not get a "home point recorded" message or are unsure about it, set it manually. Fly about 100' out and lower than your set RTH height and activate RTH and see how it reacts. You can always press the cancel button if it does not go as planned.

 

[Storyline]

This is easy to test, and should be tested so you know your system is functioning as it should. Take off as normal. If you do not get a "home point recorded" message or are unsure about it, set it manually. Fly about 100' out and lower than your set RTH height and activate RTH and see how it reacts. You can always press the cancel button if it does not go as planned.

Thanks Mossiback
Yes, that is exactly what I plan to do next time I can fly with some decent air room. I have tried setting a manual Home Point several times but very rarely get audible confirmation or the green icon. I have tried most things on the Mavic now but never pressed the RTH button. I am not looking forward to pressing it as it feels like giving over control which is stupid because all the time it is the IMU that is doing the flying.

I also plan to look at the logs as Meta4 suggests.

 

[Meta4]

I have tried most things on the Mavic now but never pressed the RTH button. I am not looking forward to pressing it as it feels like giving over control

RTH is a very reliable piece of programming and one of the most important aspects of flying to understand properly.
I'd also suggest taking some time to read the RTH section of the manual and experiment with RTH to get a feel for how it works, how to initiate it and how to cancel it.

Many drones have been lost because their owners did not understand RTH or did not know how to initiate it.
The day you need RTH is the worst possible day to start learning about it.