Litchi IOS With Mini2

Hillbilly1236 · Mar 21, 2022

I was all excited to find that Litchi released their new app for IOS and it supports the Mini2. I've been waiting for this for a year but my excitement quickly changed to disappointment. I downloaded the app to my IPad Mini5 and ran outside to give it a go only to find out that the Active Track does not function very well and looses track of the object very quickly, which happened to be me just walking. It lost track of me within 30 ft and I tried it several times with similar results. So I decided to try Follow Me but that was even worse because my IPad does not have gps and according to the App it is required. I thought it would just follow the controller but apparently not. So then I downloaded the app to my old IPhone 6S and went to try that out but my batteries were all low and now I have them charging. Not having a good day.

I wasn't aware that my device required GPS and I bought the darn thing just to use with the drone. Now I have to use my old phone and that sucks after using my old Ipad Air and then the IPad Mini5, both of which have much larger screens. Seems like I am going backwards.

Hillbilly1236 · Mar 21, 2022

Well it gets worse. I tried the app with the Iphone and it worked about the same with the Tracking mode but in the Follow Me mode it was all over the place. As soon as I engaged the drone it would start to rotate randomly and when I started to move it came flying at me and flew right past me about 6M then turned and faced at right angles to me. I'm afraid to use the App after this.

I must be missing something. I've seen a few YT videos where people are having success with the Follow Me function but similar results I am experiencing, with the Tracking function.

Anyone have any ideas?

ThatBeardedDroneGuy · Mar 21, 2022

I was excited when I first heard of Litchi. Then I saw this. I was hoping to use it for an upcoming trip to Hawaii but it has me rethinking the Air 2S.

wsteele · Mar 22, 2022

I've successfully flown waypoints with Litchi and my Mini 2 several times since DJI released the SDK, but I have not tried the follow me mode so I can't comment with authority. Litchi is releasing bug fixes and enhancements to Beta almost daily so you may not want to give up on them yet.

As an alternative, you may want to try the Maven app. I've flown the beta of that app successfully and it's gotten rave reviews by others on the forum for it's various modes including follow me. Maven implemented virtual joysticks before Litchi and may be ahead of other apps in their implementation.

Hillbilly1236 · Mar 22, 2022

I'm pretty sure it is something with my settings because of the YT videos I've seen using Litchi with the Mini 2. They all seem to have no issues with the Follow Me function but definitely with the Tracking function. I now know I can't use my IPad Mini 5 (due to lack of GPS) but I should be able use my IPhone 6S, with GPS, even though I am in an area without cel service. Maybe it's simply a setting I am missing.

I will look into the Maven app and thanks for that.

ThatBeardedDroneGuy · Mar 22, 2022

Maven does look promising, and is a bit cheaper.

Hillbilly1236 · Mar 22, 2022

Cheaper doesn't matter to me, since I already bought the LitchI app, lol but I also just bought the Maven app. Litchi was $40 CAD and Maven was $28 CAD after taxes. I haven't had a chance to try Maven yet, it's been raining all day and tomorrow I am heading out of town. So I won't be able to try Maven for a few days but will certainly report back after I try it.

pinzmann · Mar 22, 2022

I’ve successfully used follow me mode with my iPad mini 5 although it does have the gps in it. As far as the drone flying around you when you start the mode, I think that’s because of a feature where you can control what position it will follow from. I think the default is a north heading. There’s a slider control that you can adjust to position the drone in any clock position around you. There’s also sliders for adjusting the distance and height. At first I made my adjustments pretty liberal so I didn’t run into anything.actually there’s quite a few adjustments to make.
I haven’t tried the active track yet .

Hillbilly1236 · Mar 22, 2022

I'm glad you are having success with it. That's why I think there must be some setting I am missing that is causing my issues. The problem I am experiencing is not when I engage the Follow Me function. When it is first engaged the drone stays stationary but slowly rotates. When I rotate it back to face me and then start to move it takes off and seems to be out of control. So far I have tried some different settings but none of the ones I tried fixed the issue. I am aware of the distance and height settings as well as the direction settings and have tried some different ones. I will need to try a few more times with different settings before I give up.

However I now have the Maven app and will give that a try before I go back to Litchi.

EyesWideShut · Mar 23, 2022

Hillbilly1236 said:
I'm glad you are having success with it. That's why I think there must be some setting I am missing that is causing my issues. The problem I am experiencing is not when I engage the Follow Me function. When it is first engaged the drone stays stationary but slowly rotates. When I rotate it back to face me and then start to move it takes off and seems to be out of control. So far I have tried some different settings but none of the ones I tried fixed the issue. I am aware of the distance and height settings as well as the direction settings and have tried some different ones. I will need to try a few more times with different settings before I give up.

However I now have the Maven app and will give that a try before I go back to Litchi.

It may be that the Mini2 doesn't know in what direction/position to engage the "follow" until you start to move in a direction then it moves toward that position that has been set as per @pinzmann. I suggest you get out in an open area where you can be more relaxed and not concerned with trees and the surroundings and able to wait for the Mini to figure out what direction you are starting to move and if it has to suddenly change position to get out in front of you, beside or behind you to order to "follow".

Hillbilly1236 · Mar 23, 2022

I agree! I need to get into a more open area where I don't need to worry about it hitting things. Then I can have more room to experiment with the settings to see if I can find the one that is causing me this concern. I have not seen any negative reviews about the Follow Me function with Litchi, only the tracking one. So it must be something I am doing. I just need more room to play and will do that when the weather allows. I will also try the Maven App. I just hope my old IPhone 6S has enough power to run these apps. My old IPad Air did not and that was the reason for getting the IPad Mini 5. Now I wish I got it with cel capabilities,

Hillbilly1236 · Mar 30, 2022

Update! I changed the course setting from "course" to north and the Follow Me function worked fine, with the drone further away from me than the last time I tried it. I believe the problem was the "course" setting. The instruction manual states that it only works if the subject is moving faster than 1M / sec and I may not have been moving that fast when I was walking. It might also be that the drone was too close but I have not tried that yet.

Next time out I will try the Follow Me mode with the drone closer and then give Maven a try to see which one works better.