Did you try that method? I would expect it to work, although I haven't heard of it being tested.
In perusing the user manual, it says disabling vision systems via the button in the system status bar will put the a/c in ATTI mode. If so, I like that option better as it keeps P, S, and Tripod modes but still enables me to put it in ATTI when I need to.
I'll take a look, but that doesn't sound correct. Just turning off the vision systems shouldn't take it out of P mode.
From the user manual ...
That’s standard behavior for all the DJI aircraft - as it says, it switches to ATTI if vision and GPS is not available. You can turn vision off, but you can’t turn GPS off.
Bummer. I wanted to keep all 3 modes and yet be able to activate ATTI when needed.
Most people seem to feel that tripod is the least needed. You certainly don't need it for SAR operations.