No compass on iPad mini

[Tweeter]

Just bought a WiFi only iPad mini to fly my Air 2 and all is well with it except for the orientation icon at the bottom. It stays red and I am guessing it is because the Mini does not have a built in compass like the iPhone 8 does that I was using previously. So I know I can use the map to check orientation but I miss the icon. Is there any way to get it back? Maybe download a compass app? Does anyone else have any experience with this? Thanks in advance for any insight into this situation.

 

[HoosierFlyer]

Search. Topic has been beaten to death. There needs to be a sticky or put in an FAQ about this.

 

[bmwbob]

No GPS chip in WiFi iPad. No compass!

 

[Sjkieffer]

Just bought a WiFi only iPad mini to fly my Air 2 and all is well with it except for the orientation icon at the bottom. It stays red and I am guessing it is because the Mini does not have a built in compass like the iPhone 8 does that I was using previously. So I know I can use the map to check orientation but I miss the icon. Is there any way to get it back? Maybe download a compass app? Does anyone else have any experience with this? Thanks in advance for any insight into this situation.

I recently returned my wifi only ipad mini 5 for a wifi + cellular ipad mini 5 for this very reason. You can get a renewed one for 50 dollars more than a new wifi only. Also, avoid those cases with the magnetic front flap as that will interfere with the compass.

 

[Meta4]

No GPS chip in WiFi iPad. No compass!

No GPS in a wifi only iPad, but it does have a compass sensor.

 

[Sheppie]

Just bought a WiFi only iPad mini to fly my Air 2 and all is well with it except for the orientation icon at the bottom. It stays red and I am guessing it is because the Mini does not have a built in compass like the iPhone 8 does that I was using previously. So I know I can use the map to check orientation but I miss the icon. Is there any way to get it back? Maybe download a compass app? Does anyone else have any experience with this? Thanks in advance for any insight into this situation.

I am using a Ipad Mini 5 wifi only and downloaded Compass X app which made everything work. Just was not sure of the accuracy. I bought a Garmin Glo 2 over the weekend and now it is dead on.