new P3A - upgrade FW or not? Use iPad mini or not?

Angus Macsac · Oct 24, 2015

So i have yet to fly my new P3A, pouring rain here.

First I am an experienced P2V+ pilot for 1 1/2 years with tons of experience on that bird in Ontario, Canada.
I just received my new P3A yesterday.

What I have done....
I have unboxed,
charged batteries on bird and RC,
successfully connected iPad mini 1 (16GB no cell data but has wifi) to the RC and bird after installing DJI GO app,
successfully recorded video and stills (just carried the bird around while capturing),
started the bird (no props attached).

Of course the app notifies me that i should upgrade to newest FW (V1.04.001?) but otherwise so far everything seems OK.

Questions/notes:
1) should i upgrade to the new FW? I understand it has all the fun new "Intelligent Flight Modes" but I have yet to learn to fly the P3A as yet and those modes i will not be in need of as yet.
2) Am I good to go using the 1st Gen iPad mini? So far seems to be working although did notice a bit of live feed lag about 1 second, the full HD video recording on the SD card turned out perfect.
3) I used a USB card reader to DL the video files from the micro SD card to my Win 7 Desktop PC.
4) I noticed the MOV files were recorded at 40mbs while MP4 files were recorded at 12mbs.
5) Tried connecting my iPhone 4S but it doesn't seem to work

bobmyers · Oct 24, 2015

Angus Macsac said:
So i have yet to fly my new P3A, pouring rain here.

First I am an experienced P2V+ pilot for 1 1/2 years with tons of experience on that bird in Ontario, Canada.
I just received my new P3A yesterday.

What I have done....
I have unboxed,
charged batteries on bird and RC,
successfully connected iPad mini 1 (16GB no cell data but has wifi) to the RC and bird after installing DJI GO app,
successfully recorded video and stills (just carried the bird around while capturing),
started the bird (no props attached).

Of course the app notifies me that i should upgrade to newest FW (V1.04.001?) but otherwise so far everything seems OK.

Questions/notes:
1) should i upgrade to the new FW? I understand it has all the fun new "Intelligent Flight Modes" but I have yet to learn to fly the P3A as yet and those modes i will not be in need of as yet.
2) Am I good to go using the 1st Gen iPad mini? So far seems to be working although did notice a bit of live feed lag about 1 second, the full HD video recording on the SD card turned out perfect.
3) I used a USB card reader to DL the video files from the micro SD card to my Win 7 Desktop PC.
4) I noticed the MOV files were recorded at 40mbs while MP4 files were recorded at 12mbs.
5) Tried connecting my iPhone 4S but it doesn't seem to work

You are well on the way

I assume that it is on 1.3.2 FW--
App version for IOS should be 2.4.0-- Aircraft Version of FW 1.4.10
Controller Version of FW should be 1.4.30
IOS FW version for Device 9.0.2
I would recommend full upgrades it you are using IOS
Check this post for device recommendations
Recommended devices for P3?

Poundofnuts · Oct 24, 2015

If you're drone is working fine now, DO NOT UPDATE, unless you plan on carrying your drone around on foot and filming like mentioned earlier...lol. You'll most likely also lose the live video feed to your tablet or phone. Read the app reviews for yourself.

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bobmyers · Oct 24, 2015

Poundofnuts said:
If you're drone is working fine now, DO NOT UPDATE, unless you plan on carrying your drone around on foot and filming like mentioned earlier...lol. You'll most likely also lose the live video feed to your tablet or phone. Read the app reviews for yourself.View attachment 34158 View attachment 34159 View attachment 34160 View attachment 34161

Everything has Worked well for me after the updates-- never had an one issue with the latest updates-- with either the IOS FW updates or the Phantom FW updates. They successfully installed and functioned as expected.

Hopefully, those having issues will be able to sort them out soon. Many of the upgrade issues on the P3 have been the result of folks just not knowing how to complete those upgrades correctly. The only trouble I ever had was because I wasn't following the upgrade instructions. That being said, there are other issues that affect the final results-- a shame, because it should be much simpler than some of the reports being posted.

Poundofnuts · Oct 24, 2015

As a former software engineer and hardware engineer, I more than know how to follow instructions and upgrade firmware and software.....as I've literally done it thousands of times. There are also users that having the problem straight out of the box with brand new birds, so I don't see how it could be a "not knowing how to complete upgrades correctly" issue, when it happens to brand new units out of the box that haven't been upgraded. All of this points to the last two versions of the DJI GO app. Some people are having issues and some are not, as you mentioned hopefully we will find a solution soon. I can guarantee you that if I could get my hands on a version of the DJI GO app prior to 2.3, I would have a fix for the issue. 2.2 and before were great. 2.3 and 2.4 caused mass problems with the live video feed.

Pete Leare · Oct 25, 2015

Poundofnuts said:
As a former software engineer and hardware engineer, I more than know how to follow instructions and upgrade firmware and software.....as I've literally done it thousands of times. There are also users that having the problem straight out of the box with brand new birds, so I don't see how it could be a "not knowing how to complete upgrades correctly" issue, when it happens to brand new units out of the box that haven't been upgraded. All of this points to the last two versions of the DJI GO app. Some people are having issues and some are not, as you mentioned hopefully we will find a solution soon. I can guarantee you that if I could get my hands on a version of the DJI GO app prior to 2.3, I would have a fix for the issue. 2.2 and before were great. 2.3 and 2.4 caused mass problems with the live video feed.

I can't see how 2.3 and 2.4 have caused the problem or we'd all be having them. I like most others have the latest go app and iOS 9.02 without any video or RC issue whatsoever. I suggest looking elsewhere for your issue and not blaming the app. I think it's fine

Poundofnuts · Oct 25, 2015

Pete Leare said:
I can't see how 2.3 and 2.4 have caused the problem or we'd all be having them. I like most others have the latest go app and iOS 9.02 without any video or RC issue whatsoever. I suggest looking elsewhere for your issue and not blaming the app. I think it's fine

My bird, along with dozens of other's birds worked fine until the last two DJI GO app updates....that's the only thing that changed and that's why we are blaming the app. Go read the apple App Store reviews for yourself if you need proof. Numbers don't lie son.

Poundofnuts · Oct 25, 2015

Here, take a look for yourself. This is not a user problem or user error, it's a widespread software problem.

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Pete Leare · Oct 25, 2015

Poundofnuts said:
My bird, along with dozens of other's birds worked fine until the last two DJI GO app updates....that's the only thing that changed and that's why we are blaming the app. Go read the apple App Store reviews for yourself if you need proof. Numbers don't lie son.

First of all I'm not your son. Obviously being an expert, you didn't just update the app, you deleted it first, then re-booted your iOS device, then re-installed it from scratch just like you're supposed to do right?
Your negative comments about the app are making others worried about updating, when the vast majority are doing just fine. You have other issues than the app or ALL of us using iOS devices would be in the same boat as you.

Mordor · Oct 25, 2015

No problems in updating, except.......the update sucks.
I was fine on the original 1.1.9, and when update to last 1.4, discovery that the drone drifts...

Of course, just me and other users, with this problem, not all. So my advice is just try and see what happens.
Important* - Make a IMU after each update

Poundofnuts · Oct 25, 2015

Pete Leare said:
First of all I'm not your son. Obviously being an expert, you didn't just update the app, you deleted it first, then re-booted your iOS device, then re-installed it from scratch just like you're supposed to do right?
Your negative comments about the app are making others worried about updating, when the vast majority are doing just fine. You have other issues than the app or ALL of us using iOS devices would be in the same boat as you.

Fist of all, if you were my son I'd teach you some respect. Secondly, the new version of DJI GO is causing problems. It's the common link all of us are having except a few, such as yourself. Yes, my comments along with many others are negative about the app because it caused negative problems. DJI needs to test their apps better before rolling out. Their roll outs remind of Microsoft's in the late 90's, they way they would break more than they would fix.

My negative comments are hopefully keeping others birds working, by informing them not to update. If they take your advice and update, there's a really good chance that they will end up with no live video feed just like myself and dozens of others that have updated. So pat yourself on the back when others update at your advice and break their live video feed.

Pete Leare · Oct 25, 2015

Before you lose your pound of nuts, we are tying to help you and others.
Let's start with this; we are using the same app correct? We are also using the same iOS version correct? If the app was faulty then presumably we would both have the same problem correct?
I just flew today with the latest P3 FW, the latest app, the latest iOS version and took some awesome video without lag, breakups, or any other problems. When you finally find the setting that you haven't set correctly, please be an adult and post it so others can benefit

Poundofnuts · Oct 25, 2015

Pete Leare said:
Before you lose your pound of nuts, we are tying to help you and others.
Let's start with this; we are using the same app correct? We are also using the same iOS version correct? If the app was faulty then presumably we would both have the same problem correct?
I just flew today with the latest P3 FW, the latest app, the latest iOS version and took some awesome video without lag, breakups, or any other problems. When you finally find the setting that you haven't set correctly, please be an adult and post it so others can benefit

Trust me genius, it's not a setting that's incorrect. It could be something as simple as circuit board chip being slightly different from your version to mine that allows yours to play well with the new software and mine to kill the video feed. DJI doesn't always announce the slight production differences in components of each phantom, and believe me there are slight differences, not just updated motors or sd cards. My point is, there is something different in our birds, otherwise they would both be working fine, or have the issue at the same time. The fact that I'm not the only one, and dozens of other people are having the same problem as me, points to a problem with the latest software compatibility issues. Sooner or later we'll figure it out, and the most likely fix will be a software update.

Pete Leare · Oct 26, 2015

Still trying to help you... Is it the app or iOS in your opinion? (Maybe both eh?) Anyway, saw this post that may help if it's iOS. Worth a try?
IOS 8.4.1 any way we can still downgrade? Pls help!! | DJI Phantom Forum

Angus Macsac · Oct 26, 2015

looks like a can of worms opened up here regardingnupdates to FW 1.4.3 etc.

But, second part of question still not really answered and i guess I'm looking for others input from personal experience using Pad mini 1st generation? Anyone?

Pete Leare · Oct 26, 2015

If I'm not mistaken, the iPad mini 1 is not compatible with the app and is on the list of incompatible devices. Mini 2 and beyond seem to be okay. (I use a mini 2 and it works fine).

Angus Macsac · Oct 26, 2015

Pete Leare said:
If I'm not mistaken, the iPad mini 1 is not compatible with the app and is on the list of incompatible devices. Mini 2 and beyond seem to be okay. (I use a mini 2 and it works fine).

Well, again, i am using the iPad mini 1st gen and it seems to b working fine. Anyone else using a Pd mini 1st gen?!