Lost Signal

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I keep losing the image on my Phantom 4. Everything is up to date... firmware, app, etc. I'm also losing signal at about 1,200 feet.

Here's what it looks like on my phone:

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.

Look at it about 1:15.

ANY help would be GREATLY appreciated.
 
Last edited:
Could be the device you are using not being able to process whatever your video settings are and any other apps that may be running in the background. I'd try making sure the latter is not the case, custom select an interference free channel, lower the transmission bit rate to 4 and maybe try filming in a lower resolution. The footage on your microSD card is probably all good.
 
Could be the device you are using not being able to process whatever your video settings are and any other apps that may be running in the background. I'd try making sure the latter is not the case, custom select an interference free channel, lower the transmission bit rate to 4 and maybe try filming in a lower resolution. The footage on your microSD card is probably all good.

I have a Samsung S7... their latest device till this past week when the S8 was just announced. I've tried it with two other different devices... an older
Samsung tablet and my wife's Note 5. I've also also tried a custom channel. I've also calibrated the IMU. I've been on the phone twice with DJI

Video on the microSD is fine... Just on the receiver end.

Another problem that makes me think something is wrong with the Phantom... I'm also losing signal at about 1,200 feet. Losing video (CONSTANTLY) and signal?
 
I have trouble too with my P3A.
I lose broadcast TV lately as well as my dad 1 mile away from where I live. This time of the year my favorite FM radio station gets clobbered by by another station at least 75 miles north of me.
So there could be lots of interference everywhere.
Video lag though is probably with the app.
 
Would an iPad make any difference?
If you can get your hands on one that is suitable to run the app to try and see if that can give you a better image up to your max range. 1200 feet is not much chop, maybe try another area to rule out inteference (as DanMan mentioned).
 
The area you are flying in is urban, with lots of potential sources of interference. Also, there are plenty of trees -- do you have actual LOS, or is the aircraft obscured from visibility by trees, houses, etc.? At 1200' distance in an environment like that -- assuming you're down there in the neighborhoods somewhere, not on a distant undeveloped hill or something -- then there are natural and artificial obstacles between you and the aircraft. A house between you and the AC will attenuate the signal dramatically -- try flying inside some time.

In my opinion I wouldn't read any more into this than "need to check it under ideal conditions". Drive out to undeveloped rural countryside where you can fly it for several miles with guaranteed LOS for the radio signals. Do your range test in those conditions.
 
Ok... took it to an area where I could fly LOS with minimal RF interference. I also borrowed a friends Apple iPad Air 2.

I took it out around 1,500 feet. Never lost signal. So, I guess it was interference. I also ordered a set of the parabolic antennas off of Amazon... just for good measure.

It also didn't drop a frame on the iPad. I have a Samsung S7 Edge... It's only about a year old! It should process fine. It's their latest phone!... at least it was till they announced the S8 a week ago. So, off to eBay I go....
 
Ok... took it to an area where I could fly LOS with minimal RF interference. I also borrowed a friends Apple iPad Air 2.

I took it out around 1,500 feet. Never lost signal. So, I guess it was interference. I also ordered a set of the parabolic antennas off of Amazon... just for good measure.

It also didn't drop a frame on the iPad. I have a Samsung S7 Edge... It's only about a year old! It should process fine. It's their latest phone!... at least it was till they announced the S8 a week ago. So, off to eBay I go....
Good news, without sounding like an Apple fanboy, I used to use a Samsung something or other and always had an issue with it. Thankfully someone stole it when I left it unattended for 10 seconds, I bought an iPhone 6+ and have never looked back.
 
Good news, without sounding like an Apple fanboy, I used to use a Samsung something or other and always had an issue with it. Thankfully someone stole it when I left it unattended for 10 seconds, I bought an iPhone 6+ and have never looked back.

Not an Apple fanboy either... always came off as a little to cultish to me.

At least I found out before I sent it to DJI and I found a used Apple iPad Air 2 on eBay for $300.
 
The chief issue is the app was developed on iOS and then ported over to Android. The fundamental app structure, resource allocation, app multitasking behavior, etc. is incompatibly different between the two platforms.

One of the biggest differences from a developer's standpoint is multitasking on Android, not really there on iOS... what this results in is implementation/programming decisions on iOS that assume full control of resources (so things like catching various events and saving state, for example are not necessary), where this is not the case on Android. Grafting these things into an existing app can be done, and done well, but it takes strong Android programming skills and expertise in platform differences.

I suspect DJI simply doesn't make the necessary investment. Ideally, you'd have two completely separate code bases developed from the ground up, implementing features in parallel and only reusing code where it's completely platform independent (and there'd be A LOT of that in an app like this).

Finally, the Android world is much more hardware diverse with manufacturer's customized flavors of Android, so it's not nearly as straightforward to test and ensure support. This is an advantage Apple has always enjoyed with most of their products, and it's a very successful business strategy -- as long as you can keep producing exceptional products.

That said, I stubbornly stick to an Android tablet because I simply can't stand iOS, it's limitations, and all the control Apple exercises over it's customers. When I was an Apple customer for a few years, I felt like a serf. Never again.
 
The chief issue is the app was developed on iOS and then ported over to Android. The fundamental app structure, resource allocation, app multitasking behavior, etc. is incompatibly different between the two platforms.

One of the biggest differences from a developer's standpoint is multitasking on Android, not really there on iOS... what this results in is implementation/programming decisions on iOS that assume full control of resources (so things like catching various events and saving state, for example are not necessary), where this is not the case on Android. Grafting these things into an existing app can be done, and done well, but it takes strong Android programming skills and expertise in platform differences.

I suspect DJI simply doesn't make the necessary investment. Ideally, you'd have two completely separate code bases developed from the ground up, implementing features in parallel and only reusing code where it's completely platform independent (and there'd be A LOT of that in an app like this).

Finally, the Android world is much more hardware diverse with manufacturer's customized flavors of Android, so it's not nearly as straightforward to test and ensure support. This is an advantage Apple has always enjoyed with most of their products, and it's a very successful business strategy -- as long as you can keep producing exceptional products.

That said, I stubbornly stick to an Android tablet because I simply can't stand iOS, it's limitations, and all the control Apple exercises over it's customers. When I was an Apple customer for a few years, I felt like a serf. Never again.
Without getting into a pi##ing competition regarding what is the better platform, I've always felt that if I'm throwing a lot of rods at this particular hobby/pursuit/obsession I am prepared to defer to the device that is giving people the least amount of grief. Sure I have issues occasionally with my iPhone but that is nothing compared to some of the tales of woe I read in this forum relating to android issues and certainly some of the choices are just never going to work due to compatibility challenges, but I would be launching my android device from a cannon if I had to spend that much time just getting my app to fire up.
Regardless of the device that I use, I just want it to work first time every time as I just want to fly, not interested in all the crap that are features on the phone or tablet, just fly and not sit there sweating as my pride and joy wanders off somewhere due to a glitch in the device doing its own thing or having a lie down.
Right, finished now and going to fly......
 
@tevek , I can't argue with anything you said. I cripple myself because of my dislike for Apple products and the behavior of the company. For a dedicated application like this, none of that matters one whit.

It's a purely emotional thing. I don't like Apple. I find iOS annoyingly childish in its approach to UI. But I also recognize this is more me than anything else -- I'm an engineer by training, have developed for both platforms, much prefer what I can do with Android so I just don't want to have anything to do with iOS devices.

"Better" is not a simple issue. iPads are clearly a better platform for DJI GO [4] and other DJI applications. Android can be cleaned up to work well with Litchi, and before the most recent releases DJI GO [4] as well. However, this requires rooting, removing bloatware, and then tuning the operating environment a little to optimize for the DJI apps. Not something most people know how, nor want, to do.
 
@tevek , I can't argue with anything you said. I cripple myself because of my dislike for Apple products and the behavior of the company. For a dedicated application like this, none of that matters one whit.

It's a purely emotional thing. I don't like Apple. I find iOS annoyingly childish in its approach to UI. But I also recognize this is more me than anything else -- I'm an engineer by training, have developed for both platforms, much prefer what I can do with Android so I just don't want to have anything to do with iOS devices.

"Better" is not a simple issue. iPads are clearly a better platform for DJI GO [4] and other DJI applications. Android can be cleaned up to work well with Litchi, and before the most recent releases DJI GO [4] as well. However, this requires rooting, removing bloatware, and then tuning the operating environment a little to optimize for the DJI apps. Not something most people know how, nor want, to do.
Well I'm certainly not in your league given your background, mine is in underground mining from a maintenance perspective and I learnt the hard way trying to modify applications both hardware and software to keep critical machinery going. Without sounding like a prat, I lose my rag when a product isn't performing to within its design parameters and time spent fault finding a dumb issue due to 'jury rigging' a process is very expensive in downtime and lost opportunities.
On the other hand, you are in a fairly small crowd of people with the knowledge to work through device issues, I would prefer to kick it 50 mtrs into a stiff breeze and pick up the points (Australian footy lexicon).
 
Ok then....

Not an Apple fan either (HATED Steve Jobs) but by Thursday, I'll be the owner of an iPad Air 2. I flew my P4 for about 20 minutes with one yesterday and it didn't drop a frame.

iPad Air 2 a good choice?
 
Ok then....

Not an Apple fan either (HATED Steve Jobs) but by Thursday, I'll be the owner of an iPad Air 2. I flew my P4 for about 20 minutes with one yesterday and it didn't drop a frame.

iPad Air 2 a good choice?
The iPad Air 2 is on the list of recommended dji app devices. GPS is optional which isn't a problem unless you use the follow me mode or want to reset your home point somewhere else when moving.
 

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