iPad Compass

[Mori55]

I have iPad mini. It works fine. I have no cellular or hotspot. Actually the home point arrow is more accurate than my iPhone X. I don’t even have a SIM card in it.
The only thing i do is download a map of the area I fly.

 

[Mori55]

This is what happened to me. The location was way off and I just flew off. No idea where I was.

I thought all the location data had nothing to do with what device I was using and all of this was in the drone.

I generally fly in the same spot but i did this at a new area and it was completely off.

I am used to race quads, wings and freestyle so I didnt freak out but it was not what i expected.

On the mini.

 

[Mori55]

This is what happened to me. The location was way off and I just flew off. No idea where I was.

I thought all the location data had nothing to do with what device I was using and all of this was in the drone.

I generally fly in the same spot but i did this at a new area and it was completely off.

I am used to race quads, wings and freestyle so I didnt freak out but it was not what i expected.

On my mo I iPad it works fine. It returns to home everything , I have no cell service or hotspot. Just download a map of your area. I never turn off WiFi or anything.

 

[Slats!]

Its an older IPAD with no cell.

It downloaded the app fine and seemed to work fine on the bench but at the field the arrow home is just flashing red.

Calibrating the gps was just a gong show as well.

I tried downloading some more maps. I would nuy the gps but I am thinking a new tablet is what is going yo come hahah

 

[BillySteph]

Its an older IPAD with no cell.

It downloaded the app fine and seemed to work fine on the bench but at the field the arrow home is just flashing red.

Calibrating the gps was just a gong show as well.

I tried downloading some more maps. I would nuy the gps but I am thinking a new tablet is what is going yo come hahah

i would just buy another iPad with cellular but this one is just a year or so old. The gps device seems like it may work better than what would be built in to the iPad anyway. The device is small. I am just going to Velcro it to the holder for the iPad.

 

[Slats!]

i would just buy another iPad with cellular but this one is just a year or so old. The gps device seems like it may work better than what would be built in to the iPad anyway. The device is small. I am just going to Velcro it to the holder for the iPad.

I would definatly do that if the tablet was decent. Pains me buying an IPAD I am Android but I have to say I think the DJI and some of the other video editing apps are just better on IOS.

 

[Mori55]

i would just buy another iPad with cellular but this one is just a year or so old. The gps device seems like it may work better than what would be built in to the iPad anyway. The device is small. I am just going to Velcro it to the holder for the iPad.

You don’t need cellular my iPad works fine
without it. Did you download a map of your area ? I run a mini iPad for and it works perfect. There is no compass calibration. So my mini is basically a WiFi one. The drone has it own gps. It doesn’t use yours.

 

[Mori55]

Its an older IPAD with no cell.

It downloaded the app fine and seemed to work fine on the bench but at the field the arrow home is just flashing red.

Calibrating the gps was just a gong show as well.

I tried downloading some more maps. I would nuy the gps but I am thinking a new tablet is what is going yo come hahah

What model iPad is it ? Plenty of guys in

Will the aircraft orientation indicator work correctly WITHOUT gps? I am confused on this issue.

I will say it was my experience the Find My Drone function will not function without gps. The map showed where the drone was but when I moved it was not indicated on the screen. Turning around did make the direction swing (compass was working) but there was no way to track my progress towards it without gps.

I believe with a wifi only ipad using a phone as hotspot to access its gps would be necessary for Find My Drone.

I use a WiFi only iPad mini and my locator icon works fine. Sometimes it off a little. It’s actually worse using my iPhone and that has everything. I thing the locator is buggy and needs a fix.
You would think the phone is better.
The icon locator get more accurate as I go higher.

 

[lannes]

What model iPad is it ? Plenty of guys in
I use a WiFi only iPad mini and my locator icon works fine. Sometimes it off a little. It’s actually worse using my iPhone and that has everything. I thing the locator is buggy and needs a fix.
You would think the phone is better.
The icon locator get more accurate as I go higher.

I find the locator is more accurate at times (still not reliable to fly by) if I put the Ipad mini 4 upside down e.g. home button and lighting connector is on the right.
You'll need a longer cable to reach

There is some magnetic interference coming from the right hand side of the controller that effects the Ipad's magnetometer, when this moves away towards the left top by reversing the Mini position the interference is lessened. Might be the same sort of issue for the Iphone or it could the compass calibration is turned off.

You can easily test this with a metal detector app

‎Metal Detector

‎A best Metal Detector in App Store since 2012 Simple and intuitive interface, and this absolutely free! It's not fake app, it's real metal detector, but work with only magnetic metal (such as steel, iron, etc.) Best sensitivity near the camera on your iOS Device. Tip: Shake for calibration

apps.apple.com

With the Ipad in portrait mode (with the home button) at the bottom and the app sensitivity set to 50%
Just touch the top right hand corner of the Ipad on the side (just above the volume buttons) to the left joystick and the reading is around 27,
If you now touch the right hand joystick the reading is off the charts, this is even with the joystick unscrewed

So there is definitely a stronger magnetic field on the right hand side of the controller that may be affecting the AC orientation plot

 

[Mori55]

You just download a map of your area before you fly. Everything works fine.

 

[Brokenarrow]

I have iPad mini. It works fine. I have no cellular or hotspot. Actually the home point arrow is more accurate than my iPhone X. I don’t even have a SIM card in it.
The only thing i do is download a map of the area I fly.

Hi, how did you download a map into the DJI Fly app? Thanks

 

[BillySteph]

Well, after buying the iPad holder and a GPS receiver. I sat here looking at all this, figured up my cost and just sent it all back to Amazon. For 100$ more I just purchased an ipad mini 4 with cellular service that of-course has gps built in it.

 

[raymacke]

I use a wifi only iPad mini and my locator icon works fine.

Have you done a true test of Find My Drone on wifi only ipad? If you haven't, please do me a favor and try it. I could not get it to work nor can I figure out how it could. But I could be wrong and wanting to know for sure.

Just fly the MM out 100 ft and land it. Then activate FMD and turn and walk AWAY from the drone. See if the indicator shows you no moving away. Not that you have turned away (compass response) but actual movement away from the MM.

 

[sar104]

Have you done a true test of Find My Drone on wifi only ipad? If you haven't, please do me a favor and try it. I could not get it to work nor can I figure out how it could. But I could be wrong and wanting to know for sure.

Just fly the MM out 100 ft and land it. Then activate FMD and turn and walk AWAY from the drone. See if the indicator shows you no moving away. Not that you have turned away (compass response) but actual movement away from the MM.

A wifi-only iPad is not going to be able to do this because it has no GPS receiver. It doesn't know where it is. You can fix that by pairing it with a Bluetooth-enabled GPS receiver, such as a Bad Elf.

 

[raymacke]

A wifi-only iPad is not going to be able to do this because it has no GPS receiver. It doesn't know where it is. You can fix that by pairing it with a Bluetooth-enabled GPS receiver, such as a Bad Elf.

Yea, I know that and you know that but went potential pilots ask if they need a cell ipad they often are told "NO, wifi only works great!" Then when they get one they are extremely disappointed when it doesn't. Don't ask how I know that.

I understand more experienced pilots may not be all that concerned with the lack of FMD but as a new flyer I think they should. Particularly, with the MM less than stellar strong wind performance.

 

[sar104]

Yea, I know that and you know that but went potential pilots ask if they need a cell ipad they often are told "NO, wifi only works great!" Then when they get one they are extremely disappointed when it doesn't. Don't ask how I know that.

I understand more experienced pilots may not be all that concerned with the lack of FMD but as a new flyer I think they should. Particularly, with the MM less than stellar strong wind performance.

Agreed - that is a valuable clarification that is sometimes not mentioned.

 

[gb160]

If you want Find My Drone to work I believe you do.

Im just reading up on the thread and I find it quite worrying as my last few flights have been just using an iPad wifi, and wasn't aware of any of this...I'll definitely be looking into getting a tablet with gps/cellualar.

Quick question, if the iPad wifi was tethered (iPhone as wifi hotspot) to my phone (which has gps/cellular) make any difference when flying? I know it should get all the map data, but will it make 'find my drone' work ?

 

[raymacke]

In the short time I had a wifi only iPad I didn't manage to get it to work with the tethering/hotspot BUT I was totally new to any apple products and just may have not been configuring it correctly. I asked about the success of others but never received a confirmation. If it were me I would simply try it and see if it works. There are mixed claims about having the wifi running on your phone while using the Fly app. Some say it isn't a good idea and others say they do it all the time with no problems. Some state their range is longer with wifi off but still others say there is no difference. So the posted info seems to run the gambit.

I will say I do not believe I have read where a Mini was crashed or lost because of wifi being on. So again if I were you I would give it a try. Be cautious at first and see if all seems well. Hopefully, it will work out and would surely be a lot cheaper than buying a different iPad.

When the wifi only unit didn't work for me I sent it back and bought a "refurbished" wifi/cell model from eBay but found the battery would only run it for about 45 minutes before it went dead. I sent it back and ordered an official factory refurb from Apple that included a new battery and warranty. The downside was $339! I didn't realize when I bought the Mavic Mini in December I would have to spend almost as much for a display device as the drone. But as they say, we have to pay for our pleasures.......

 

[CarstenB]

I didn't realize when I bought the Mavic Mini in December I would have to spend almost as much for a display device as the drone. But as they say, we have to pay for our pleasures.......

you don't "have" to. I use an iPhone 5S to fly the Mini and it works without any issues - and it being small is a not an issue but a welcome feature for me. I bought that phone 2 years or so ago for $35 i think and it's still the only mobile phone i own.

 

[raymacke]

you don't "have" to.

But 68 year old eyes need a larger than a 4" screen!