Several times I noticed red square sign instead of compass during flights

[Ben Anderson]

Pappy (above) said that he gets the red device message when he turns off "location," which turns off the GPS. On my OnePlus 7, turning off "location" turns off the GPS, but the compass and other phone sensors still work. As you have experienced, it is possible that DJI Fly on the iPad or other device without GPS, assumes it is at the Home point and then the compass indicates the direction of the home point in relation to the location of the drone.

However, if I were to move away from Home point with a non-GPS device, which I sometimes do for better reception or active track, then the indicator would no longer accurately indicate the proper orientation of the device.

Anyway, I will test this next time I fly. I'll try turning location off before connecting and I'll try turning it off after connecting to see what happens to the direction indicatior. I don't have an iPad to test.

 

[GadgetGuy]

Pappy (above) said that he gets the red device message when he turns off "location," which turns off the GPS. On my OnePlus 7, turning off "location" turns off the GPS, but the compass and other phone sensors still work. As you have experienced, it is possible that DJI Fly on the iPad or other device without GPS, assumes it is at the Home point and then the compass indicates the direction of the home point in relation to the location of the drone.

However, if I were to move away from Home point with a non-GPS device, which I sometimes do for better reception or active track, then the indicator would no longer accurately indicate the proper orientation of the device.

Anyway, I will test this next time I fly. I'll try turning location off before connecting and I'll try turning it off after connecting to see what happens to the direction indicatior. I don't have an iPad to test.

All I can say is that the orientation has always worked correctly on every wifi iPad with every DJI drone and with every DJI app. The Fly app is no different. Only issue is if the iPad compass goes wonky and needs recalibration. I have never used Android, so I only know about wifi only iPads. Even if you move away from your Home Point, you can't move far enough away to affect the orientation at a long distance away, which is the only time the orientation really matters. Insisting that GPS in the tablet is required for orientation to work correctly simply isn't true. It has always worked correctly without without GPS in the device. What it needs is a properly working compass in the tablet.