Device not charging via controller? Should it?

[scarlett1]

Can anyone please enlighten me?

I have recently bought a P3PRO. Just updated all firmwares, apps, etc, including my iPhone 5S. Now the 5S doesn't charge from the controller USB though all else seems to be okay. Maybe I'm imagining things but I'm sure it charged before? I've not flown it yet as I want all to be correctly set up to minimise any flight issues. Seems poor if I have to be restricted by the battery life of my iPhone device?

 

[tyknows]

Wish it would, but it doesn't! It may say it's charging for a second, right after you plug in, but then it will stop.

 

[scarlett1]

Thanks for the reply. That's ridiculous!!! Guess I dreamt this simple and sensible facility?!

So flight plans are massively restricted by the battery life of, say, an iPhone or iPad? They're battery life is rubbish at the best of times!

What best solutions do you lot of more experienced pilots advise?

 

[rockydog]

IOS devices don't charge from the controller. (Android devices do, I'm fairly sure.) An iPad Mini will give you plenty of flight time without worrying.

 

[WilliamM]

Thanks for the reply. That's ridiculous!!! Guess I dreamt this simple and sensible facility?!

So flight plans are massively restricted by the battery life of, say, an iPhone or iPad? They're battery life is rubbish at the best of times!

What best solutions do you lot of more experienced pilots advise?

If it's fully charged before going out, not sure why it would be an issue? How many drone batteries do you own? I have used a few different devices to fly with, and as I have the P3S that doesn't plug in and can't be charged via the RC. I have never had a device power down because of it's battery getting too low. And that's with using two drone batteries, and sometimes even a external battery added. So that's about 40 to 50 mins for flight time and my tablet or cell would still have over 50% left.

 

[BigAl07]

I have (11) batteries and if I go out with a fully charged Tx and iPad Mini2 I have yet to need to swap to an alternative device. I flew almost (other than battery swaps etc) non-stop a week or so ago over a structure fire. We flew all 11 batteries and was ready to go up for more when the weather turned bad.

With that being said I do have the same aps on my iPhone just in case and I have the ability to charge them in the field if the need arises.

 

[Philltayl]

Thanks for the reply. That's ridiculous!!! Guess I dreamt this simple and sensible facility?!

So flight plans are massively restricted by the battery life of, say, an iPhone or iPad? They're battery life is rubbish at the best of times!

What best solutions do you lot of more experienced pilots advise?

Throw the crApple away and buy a decent device.....

 

[tyknows]

Thanks for the reply. That's ridiculous!!! Guess I dreamt this simple and sensible facility?!

So flight plans are massively restricted by the battery life of, say, an iPhone or iPad? They're battery life is rubbish at the best of times!

What best solutions do you lot of more experienced pilots advise?

An iPhone 5S is going to strain pretty hard when droning, so you're going to drain battery at a faster-than-normal rate (there's lots of hardware in the phone working away when you use the DJI GO App and 5S hardware is a little bit underpowered for the task). You can try a battery pack added on to extend life if it's an issue or once you get out and have home point established and are ready to fly, flip to Airplane Mode on the iPhone. That helps. Also, you can turn off hardware decoding and/or video caching in the App. Close other open Apps as well. I've found the App drains the battery quicker than normal, but the amount it drains is not entirely accurate. If I restart the phone after a battery-draining flight, the remaining battery percentage usually jumps up from what it was after the flight. Similar thing happens if I plug in and charge for a minute after flying - the charge percentage jumps up pretty fast, so some of the battery drain is not entirely accurate (in my experience).

 

[RodPad]

iPhone 5small, I would have a headache after one battery.

Rod