iPhone WiFi Interference Question

[dan.utinske]

I use a iPad Mini 4 when flying my Mavic Pro and recently ran into an issue. Seems as the drone took off and established a hover @ 4' I got a "serious WiFi signal interference" message. Since my iPad Mini is strictly WiFi and I had it turned off and connected through the RC I was surprised by the warning. As I took the drone up to 30 to set home point the warning went away. This happened every flight and thinking back on it the only possible interference I could think of may have been coming from my iPhone XR in my cargo pants pocket. I will turn the iPhone off next time out and see if maybe that had been the cause. Has anyone experienced a similar problem? Flight was normal with RTH only an inch off actual take off point each time.

 

[Meta4]

the only possible interference I could think of may have been coming from my iPhone XR in my cargo pants pocket.

Interference is common and normal in urban areas, near houses etc.
It's no big deal.
A phone isn't going to cause any significant interference.

Flight was normal with RTH only an inch off actual take off point each time.

Even strong interference wouldn't have any effect on where your drone lands.

 

[crazeuk]

What where your surroundings?
As before on urban areas its expected.

I have even noticed it in built up industrial areas as they have powerful routers.

The other thing is powerlines.

Outside of that, don't stand in the midst of them and as you go up they have less impact

 

[Dave Maine]

WiFi signals degrade by a factor squared from a normal antenna. This is true for all WiFi including occusync and other enhanced WiFi protocols. As you fly away from the controller, your control and video downlink signals are falling off exponentially, and the interference from sources you are approaching are increasing exponentially.

This is a fundamental law of physics, and will not change in our lifetimes, or ever. All WiFi problems need to be approached with this fundamental concept firmly in mind. No manufacturer including DJI has any control over this, and no technical solution.

 

[dan.utinske]

What where your surroundings?
As before on urban areas its expected.

I have even noticed it in built up industrial areas as they have powerful routers.

The other thing is powerlines.

Outside of that, don't stand in the midst of them and as you go up they have less impact

Surroundings are residential, underground wires and I was at edge of driveway, near street. The warning disappeared as soon as the drone was above my head each time. Never seen the problem before. We do have tall towers (radio & TV) @ a mile away but even flying within 1/4 mile never had any interference and this identified as WiFi. I will try launching across the street should it happen again.