What would be the main purpose of cellular on iPad or iPhone?

[Sitka78]

I am just a little confused about having cellular service on iPads or iPhones. Would it only be useful for live streaming to social media sites, or are there other advantages or disadvantages to having it? I realize that one doesn't need to to fly successfully but what good would it do to have it? Is it worth the extra expense?

 

[BossBob]

Pretty obvious on an iPhone, cellular gets you phone calls and internet. On an iPad gets you internet services.
For a DJI drone, an iPad with cellular also has a gps chip. That gives you gps position for your controller. This means that you can update your homepoint on the move and also use one of the follow me modes that follows the R/C rather than following an optically recognised object such as a person or vehicle.
Believe it or not, on an iPad mini 4, I fly in airplane mode on, that is with cellular and Wi-Fi turned off. Stops DJI from trying to update firmware, NFZ or app while I’m flying my drone. And I don’t accept their updates when I’m not flying either!

 

[GlynH]

As I understand it the Cellular version of the iPad is the only one that has GPS built-in unless things have changed in the last few years.

It wasn't until some time after I bought my very first iPad 2 with Cellular that I found out it had GPS where the non-Cellular version didn't.

It was only by luck I went for the Cellular version and I would have been very upset shelling out the cash for the non-Cellular only to find I didn't have GPS.

Not sure if that's still the case as I haven't ever seen this specifically advertised but then again I haven't looked in years!

Hope that helps?

-=Glyn=-

 

[Dougcjohn]

As I understand it the Cellular version of the iPad is the only one that has GPS built-in unless things have changed in the last few years.

It wasn't until some time after I bought my very first iPad 2 with Cellular that I found out it had GPS where the non-Cellular version didn't.

It was only by luck I went for the Cellular version and I would have been very upset shelling out the cash for the non-Cellular only to find I didn't have GPS.

Not sure if that's still the case as I haven't ever seen this specifically advertised but then again I haven't looked in years!

Hope that helps?

-=Glyn=-

I believe you’re still correct, to my understanding the cellular board included the GPS chipset and antenna at top shared by both. So weather Cellular on or not, the GPS chipset remained operational.

 

[Former Member]

If you can afford the extra line which usually costs $25 a month, I find its worth it.

 

[Ranger]

Just getting started here, but I bought an iPad mini 4 w/cellular because I want to travel some distance to a location and then check for any nearby airports, TFRs or NFZs (I don't carry a smartphone). GPS is a welcome bonus. I'm beginning to use a hiking app and was pleased to learn it works even with cellular turned off.

 

[BossBob]

Why would you hike to a location and then check for NFZ’s? Why not check before you go and save yourself a wasted trip or if going anyway, save weight by not taking the drone and paraphernalia that goes with it?

 

[Grumpy D]

GPS

 

[Ranger]

Why would you hike to a location and then check for NFZ’s? Why not check before you go and save yourself a wasted trip or if going anyway, save weight by not taking the drone and paraphernalia that goes with it?

Sorry, should have said hiking and flying are separate activities. I plan to drive to shoot photos from the drone. Once I set out on a photo trip, my plans can change. On longer trips it may be that I get new ideas of where to fly, and I like the ability to check while away from home. Agreed, it's simpler to check in advance when I can (which will be often while I learn). I like your idea of flying in airplane mode. As a new pilot I need as few distractions as possible.

 

[DeeRose]

I am just a little confused about having cellular service on iPads or iPhones. Would it only be useful for live streaming to social media sites, or are there other advantages or disadvantages to having it? I realize that one doesn't need to to fly successfully but what good would it do to have it? Is it worth the extra expense?

One disadvantage to not having gps is that the radar in the lower left of the screen doesn't work. I use the radar to help me get home while out flying in the countryside. I started out with the regular controller and an ipad but ended up upgrading to the smart controller. With the sc, I don't need a cellular connection and I can output hdmi to a field monitor so that others can ride along on the flight. Only drawback is the price.

 

[msinger]

One disadvantage to not having gps is that the radar in the lower left of the screen doesn't work

The attitude indicator doesn't use GPS on the mobile device, so it should work whether or not the mobile device contains a GPS receiver.

What didn't seem to work for you?

 

[msinger]

Is it worth the extra expense?

It's not worth activating the cellular service unless you need to use any of the features above that require connecting to the Internet. If you just need to do something quick like download the maps or unlock a GEO zone, you could set up a hotspot on your phone and connect your iPad (or whatever you're using to fly) to that Wi-Fi network.

 

[PHZ]

I use an iPhone (with GPS), and a non-cellular iPad. I hotspot them together and it works perfectly for downloading location maps, etc. such as Litchi. You may have to increase your data usage on your cell phone.

 

[Meta4]

One disadvantage to not having gps is that the radar in the lower left of the screen doesn't work. I use the radar to help me get home while out flying in the countryside.

All the radar display needs is the drone's location and homepoint location, which it gets from the drone's GPS, and compass data from the tablet's compass to know which way you are facing.
It should work just fine with a non-GPS tablet.

 

[DeeRose]

The attitude indicator doesn't use GPS on the mobile device, so it should work whether or not the mobile device contains a GPS receiver.

What didn't seem to work for you?

The north indicator didn't work on the radar circle. Kept pointing north regardless of where I stood. I suppose I could have lived without the true north indicator and just use attitude but I was also having other issues with my cell phone being outdated. Just a lot of issues and devices not being up to date so I switched up to the smart controller.

 

[Meta4]

The north indicator didn't work on the radar circle. Kept pointing north regardless of where I stood. I suppose I could have lived without the true north indicator and just use attitude but I was also having other issues with my cell phone being outdated. Just a lot of issues and devices not being up to date so I switched up to the smart controller.

That's an issue with calibration of the compass in the tablet (not the drone) and calibrating that should have corrected it.

 

[Dougcjohn]

The north indicator didn't work on the radar circle. Kept pointing north regardless of where I stood. I suppose I could have lived without the true north indicator and just use attitude but I was also having other issues with my cell phone being outdated. Just a lot of issues and devices not being up to date so I switched up to the smart controller.

Sounds like your device was having issues to correct... but you solution sounds great!

How do you like the Smart Controller? Speaking of which, curios if similar to the DJI CrystalSky Tablets being a "controlled environment" Android system? Do you have access or have preinstalled the Google Play Store? The DJI CrystalSky does not allow Google Play Store apps. We've found several of the same Apps on the Amazon App Store and CrystalSky does allow installation of the Amazon App Store.

 

[msinger]

The north indicator didn't work on the radar circle. Kept pointing north regardless of where I stood. I suppose I could have lived without the true north indicator and just use attitude but I was also having other issues with my cell phone being outdated. Just a lot of issues and devices not being up to date so I switched up to the smart controller.

I agree with @Meta4. Calibrating the compass on the mobile device should fix that issue.