Oldest supported iphone/ipad mini, or cheapest android phone that doesn’t cause “cpu overload”.

Ben_McPhee · Oct 21, 2022

My iPhone 7 Plus is too old to reliably use with the Mavic 3 I want to use it with (always gave me the “cpu overload” error with my old Air 2 on the DJI fly app).

Won’t by upgrading my phone until next September, and I don’t have an iPad either.

I do need an iPad and did consider a mini for several of my use cases (drones, reading, really flying, and more), but overall I think the 12.9” ticks more boxes for me now. I might get an 11” iPad Pro, but it’s still a maybe for now, and I need to get flying the drone asap.

So just wondering:
1. Is there an older iPad mini that won’t give me the cpu overload error? (As Old/cheap as possible without being useless as an iPad).

2. Is there a cheap android phone that is good enough just to use almost exclusively as a drone screen? (Don’t care if it’s outdated or low spec, as long as it’s very cheap and won’t cause errors when flying).

3. Is there a workaround for my iPhone 7 Plus and a Mavic 3? (Never had much chance to troubleshoot. The drone was faulty and had to be returned).

GadgetGuy · Oct 21, 2022

Ben_McPhee said:
My iPhone 7 Plus is too old to reliably use with the Mavic 3 I want to use it with (always gave me the “cpu overload” error with my old Air 2 on the DJI fly app).

Won’t by upgrading my phone until next September, and I don’t have an iPad either.

I do need an iPad and did consider a mini for several of my use cases (drones, reading, really flying, and more), but overall I think the 12.9” ticks more boxes for me now. I might get an 11” iPad Pro, but it’s still a maybe for now, and I need to get flying the drone asap.

So just wondering:
1. Is there an older iPad mini that won’t give me the cpu overload error? (As Old/cheap as possible without being useless as an iPad).

2. Is there a cheap android phone that is good enough just to use almost exclusively as a drone screen? (Don’t care if it’s outdated or low spec, as long as it’s very cheap and won’t cause errors when flying).

3. Is there a workaround for my iPhone 7 Plus and a Mavic 3? (Never had much chance to troubleshoot. The drone was faulty and had to be returned).

Just get the DJI RC instead! $309.

Meta4 · Oct 21, 2022

Ben_McPhee said:
(Don’t care if it’s outdated or low spec, as long as it’s very cheap and won’t cause errors when flying).

The DJI app is quite demanding.
It's not going to run satisfactorily on a low spec device.

Ben_McPhee · Oct 21, 2022

Is that $309 USD? Thanks for the tip.

Dosing realise that was an option?! Thought it was just for the mini pro for now? (Or at least not the Mavic 3. I thought they were pushing us to the $1500 pro controller for that drone?)

Aside from the screen, does it add any functionality? (Better occusync etc).

Definitely it’s on my radar now, thanks.

But I really dislike the idea of spending $300 on a controller that only does that when it could be put towards an iPad mini that does so many other things I need it to do.

Plus, DJI brings out “pro controllers” all the time and promise it’s the last one you’ll ever need. So you would expect that by buying in to it you have a pro controller for “life”. But they don’t support them for their next Gen of drones. Same for goggles.

That’s why I resisted the cine combo so much. I want Pro-Res, but to get it I am forced to get the $1500 (Aussie) controller as well. It sucks.

It’s unnecessary for it to work correctly so it’s just a cash grab. That’s an iPad or an iPhone I can’t buy).

Why can’t I have a cine drone for $1200 less and not have to use that controller? Or at least they could bundle it with the $309 controller you speak of…

Ben_McPhee · Oct 21, 2022

Meta4 said:
The DJI app is quite demanding.
It's not going to run satisfactorily on a low spec device.

Yeah, that’s what I found. The 7 plus was “supported” (so was the 6 and 6s I believe), so I thought I was safe. But I barely made it through. Constant freezes. A few crashes. And that cpu error before I even took off or hit record.

I just thought maybe there was a way to reduce the feed quality or turn off features or so something to squeeze a little more out of it?

In a pinch… what about a 3rd party app? “Litmo” is it?

GadgetGuy · Oct 21, 2022

Ben_McPhee said:
Is that $309 USD? Thanks for the tip.

Dosing realise that was an option?! Thought it was just for the mini pro for now? (Or at least not the Mavic 3. I thought they were pushing us to the $1500 pro controller for that drone?)

Aside from the screen, does it add any functionality? (Better occusync etc).

Definitely it’s on my radar now, thanks. But I really dislike the idea of spending $300 on a controller that only does that when it could be put towards an iPad mini that does so many other things I need it to do.

Plus, DJI brings out “pro controllers” all the time and promise it’s the last one you’ll ever need. So you would expect that by buying in to it you have a pro controller for “life”. But they don’t support them for their next Gen of drones. Same for goggles.

That’s why I resisted the cine combo so much. I want Pro-Res, but to get it I am forced to get the $1500 (Aussie) controller as well. It sucks. It’s unnecessary for it to work correctly so it’s just a cash grab. That’s an iPad or an iPhone I can’t buy).

Why can’t I have a cine drone for $1200 less and not have to use that controller? Or at least they could bundle it with the $309 controller you speak of…

Yes.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09ZP3GZSN/

DJI RC adds all the functionality missing from the RC-N1.
Second scroll wheel, C1 and C2 buttons, in a 700 nit display.
Also compatible with the Mini 3 Pro.
Any iPad would still have to be used with the dumbed down RC-N1 controller.
This is the cheapest RC DJI has ever offered with an FPV screen at $309 USD.
The superior RC Pro goes for $1200 USD!

Johnmcl7 · Oct 21, 2022

Ben_McPhee said:
Yeah, that’s what I found. The 7 plus was “supported” (so was the 6 and 6s I believe), so I thought I was safe. But I barely made it through. Constant freezes. A few crashes. And that cpu error before I even took off or hit record.

I just thought maybe there was a way to reduce the feed quality or turn off features or so something to squeeze a little more out of it?

In a pinch… what about a 3rd party app? “Litmo” is it?

DJI haven't released the SDK for the Mavic 3 yet so third party applications like Litchi are not currently compatible.

PHZ · Oct 21, 2022

I use an iPad 5th Gen (pretty old now) and an iPhone 6s (really old). I get these messages, too. Before every flying session, I do a hard restart of the unit. While doing this hold down your buttons until the apple logo appears the second time. Then let go of your buttons. This has cleared the memory and scratch files from all apps.
Once the device restarts, only open the DJI app and fly. This greatly reduces that nastygram you are getting. (Are DJI and Apple in cahoots with each other?!)

mobilehomer · Oct 21, 2022

Here, a cheap Samsung that will work for a long time to come.

Samsung Galaxy S9 (Fully Unlocked) (S&D) - $99.99 - Free shipping for Prime members

Samsung Galaxy S9 (Fully Unlocked) (S&D)

electronics.woot.com

Bob in Savannah · Oct 21, 2022

This is a double edged sword of a question. Why would you be looking for cheap (possibly inferior and handicapping) devices to use when you have the TOP of the line ($2k+) M3?
Save your duckets, keep the drone grounded and buy what you're supposed to have. humph.

The above posted and suggested Samsung tablet is perfect.

I wouldn't risk using some antiquated nonsense.

Capt KO · Oct 22, 2022

Check the specs of the device for 2.0 Ghz cpu or above to run FLY app. Higher the better. iPad mini 5 is 2.49 but the mini 4 only 1.5 (but still runs GO 4). Only drawback is needing a shield in sun. I use a mini 5 and Samsung A53 for FLY and GO 4 apps.