HOW TO: Optimize Apple device for the best DJI GO app performance

When you say things that are NOT true that's a TRUE refection of who you really are.
Everything I said above is true. I'm not sure how I could make it any clearer for you.
 
We all have our quirks. My wife says I can be very **** at times even though I don't remember asking her. Personally I find 99.99% of everything I have read here informative, educational, and at times entertaining. Were it not for the things I have read and learned here I would still be trying to get either my ancient iPad mini or worse my Kindle Fire to work. I about pulled all my hair out trying to fix something that wouldn't work no matter how many times I tweaked it. Now I know better. Thanks to what I have learned here I have an order in for a new iPad Air 2 in the 64mb configuration and have complete confidence I will be able to set it up it correctly with the information I have read here. Thanks to one and all for taking the time to educate a stubborn old goat like me.
As that gentleman from Boerne, Texas mentioned a few post back, all of you are a valuable asset to our community of fellow fliers. Keep those thoughts and ideas coming.
Again, THANK'S to everyone here for your contributions on this post and for helping me! I truly appreciate it.
 
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I believe I've tried everything but my iPad 2 Wi-Fi will not give me access to the "Camera" screen. Frustrating. I had hoped to use the Simulator on the larger screen.
 
Hamguy, the iPad 2 is too slow to run the DJI GO app. You can find a compatible device here.
 
Closing all apps and restarting the iPad before I leave to go fly is the biggest thing for me. After that I cache the maps I want to use and flip to airplane mode.

Great guide, btw.
I don't understand about flipping to Airplane Mode. When I do that, I lose the link between the Phantom and the controller .... because you're shutting off the wifi. Please explain.
 
If you want to fly in airplane mode, then turn Wi-Fi back on after flipping to airplane mode.
 
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Yes, the Mini 1 [which is not retina] ... however, I have the same problem with the iPad which has the retina screen. But not, strange enough, with the iPhone 6 Plus. It works fine with the iPhone, although it sure drains the battery on the phone fast.

I'm a bit confused on which iPad is which. I have the Ipad Mini 2 and it works great. If your iPad isn't an Air I don't think it's supposed to work. Certainly not the Mini 1. Here's THE list:

  • iOS: iPhone 5s, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPad Air, iPad Air Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad mini 2, iPad mini 2 Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad Air 2, iPad Air 2 Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad mini 3, and iPad mini 3 Wi-Fi + Cellular. This app is optimized for iPhone 5s, iPhone 6, and iPhone 6 Plus.
 
iPad Air 2 - good choice it will work great without noticeable lag.. Perfect for this application.


Phantom 3 Pro / iPad Air 2
 
If you want to fly in airplane mode, then turn Wi-Fi back on after flipping to airplane mode.
But I thought Airplane Mode disabled all WIFI .... I still don't get it. I must be denser than lead.
 
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OK, so you're telling me when you go to airplane mode, you're turning off all WIFI, but then when you turn wifi back on, only WIFI you were previously connected to comes back on ... this is still not making any sense to me. I thought when the Airplane mode was activated, it killed ALL WIFI.

What Phantom do you have? (This is in the Pro/Ad area and those don't use wifi.)

S
 
But I thought Airplane Mode disabled all WIFI .... I still don't get it. I must be denser than lead.
Wi-Fi is automatically turned off when you turn on airplane mode. You can turn Wi-Fi back on though without turning off airplane mode.
 
Bill Hower, no worries. These tips apply to the Standard too. Some P3A/P3P owners keep their Wi-Fi enabled too so they can tether it to their phone to use the Internet connection.
 
Here are some tips to help ensure the DJI GO app is able to run as smoothly as possible on your Apple device:

1) In the iOS Settings, turn on Airplane Mode if you do not need to access the Internet to download maps or stream to YouTube. If you're using a phone, this will also ensure that you're not interrupted by a phone call and/or text message as you're flying.

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2) In the "General" --> "Usage" section of the iOS Settings, verify that you have at least 1GB of storage space available. If you're low on available storage space, uninstall apps that you're no longer using and/or remove all unneeded photos/videos from your device.

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3) Shut down all apps that you're not actively using. To close running apps, double tap the Apple Home button and touch and flick the apps you'd like to close toward the top of the screen. Keep in mind that apps will always be running in the background after launched until you manually close them or restart your Apple device.



4) In the "General" --> "Background App Refresh" section of the iOS Settings, turn off the Background App Refresh feature. This will ensure that any running apps are not doing unnecessary work as you're flying in the DJI Pilot application.

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5) In the "General Settings" section of the DJI GO app, enable the "Enable Hardware Decode" setting. This will allow the Apple device's GPU to be used to decode the video stream -- as opposed to the slower method of decoding via software.

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6) In the "General Settings" section of the DJI GO app, enable the "Cache Map in the Background" setting. This setting must also be enabled before you're able to cache maps if you normally fly when disconnected from the Internet.

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7) In the "General Settings" section of the DJI GO app, set the "Video Cache" setting to "Disabled" if you are not planning on using the DJI GO Director feature to create videos from your recorded video clips.

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8) If it's hot outside, it's best to remove your iPad from its case (if it's in one). It'll generate a lot of heat while you're flying, so you want to make sure it's well ventilated.


Got any other tips to add? Please share them below :)
Thanks for this. Very helpful.
 
Here are the recommended devices.

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Sent from my iPad using PhantomPilots mobile app
 
Thanks for this thread everyone. I picked up an iPad mini 2 and used all the tips from here. So far so good all appears to be running great with no noticeable lag. Here's my question driven purely out of curiosity. Can someone explain to me why turning on airplane mode works on a wifi only iPad mini 2? I'm flying a standard so I need to use the wifi for video downlink. I tested with airplane mode off and after a few minutes stated getting screen freezing and lag. With airplane mode on no problems at all. I just don't understand what exactly airplane mode is doing if I have to turn the wifi back on anyway. What other signals are being turned off from a wifi only model? Anyone? Any ideas?
 
Airplane mode would turn off cellular, wifi, and Bluetooth. Since you have wifi-only iPad, cellular is not applicable here. But while in airplane mode, you still can turn on wifi and Bluetooth [emoji1]
 

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