Perhaps I'm overlooking something obvious but I couldn't figure out how to bypass the login screen on the DJI Go 4 app (on an iPhone 6S) when I attempted to fly in an area with no cellular coverage.
I drove out to a remote location to shoot a natural formation close to the Grand Canyon but outside of flight restriction zones. When I started up the GO 4 app, it went immediately to a login page. After many frustrated minutes of trying to bypass the screen so I could fly, I finally had to pack up and drive miles on a dirt road back to within cellular coverage so I could login and get past the darn login screen so I could fly.
Anyway, I drove until I found cellular coverage, logged in, then kept the GO 4 app open while driving back to were I wanted to fly. I was then able to fly.


So my question is, how do you bypass DJI's login screen on GO 4 when you're in an area without Internet access, making it impossible to login? I'm concerned this is going to be a repeating issue when there are times I'm 100 miles from Internet access and I can't drive a 200 mile round trip just to login to use GO 4.

Thanks in advance for any expert advice.

Do you login every time you fly?

I thought it was a one off.

I believe what may have happened is your phone has auto updated from the apps store to the new 4.1.0 version of GO4. This requires a once off log in on first launch of the software as has been the subject of many discussions. You should not have any more such issues, to test, exit GO4 and put your phone into airplane mode, then start the program and you should be good to go.

Since updating, I have flown in Airplane mode just to make sure.  You have to login once on Go4.  In your situation, you can also donwload maps ahead of time do no connectivity won't be a problem.

Thank you all for your comments. Per SeaComms' comment, I checked the "About" link in GO 4 and sure enough, it had automatically updated. I'll look into disabling automatic updates as a solution and do manual updates when I'm in range of Internet access and can login so this doesn't happen again.

The above said, DJI should consider adding code to detect that there is no Internet access and defer the login until there is. That, or save a flag that informs GO 4 that the user is registered and need not login again.

DJI Go 4.1.0 requires to login DJI account again after updating, or the camera  interface cannot be entered. We apologize for the inconvenience caused, your suggestion will be forwarded to our engineer, thank you for your feedback and advice very much.

Hank Hancock Posted at 2017-5-30 18:48
Thank you all for your comments. Per SeaComms' comment, I checked the "About" link in GO 4 and sure enough, it had automatically updated. I'll look into disabling automatic updates as a solution and do manual updates when I'm in range of Internet access and can login so this doesn't happen again.

The above said, DJI should consider adding code to detect that there is no Internet access and defer the login until there is. That, or save a flag that informs GO 4 that the user is registered and need not login again.

Is it really possible that not one of all the engineers at DJI has given this some thoughts?

DJI Mindy Posted at 2017-5-30 23:15
DJI Go 4.1.0 requires to login DJI account again after updating, or the camera  interface cannot be entered. We apologize for the inconvenience caused, your suggestion will be forwarded to our engineer, thank you for your feedback and advice very much.

Do you need a permanent internet-connection while flying with DJI GO 4.1.0? Or is it possible to fly once you have logged in? I never testet in areas without cellular coverage, would be good to know.

DJI Mindy Posted at 2017-5-30 23:15
DJI Go 4.1.0 requires to login DJI account again after updating, or the camera  interface cannot be entered. We apologize for the inconvenience caused, your suggestion will be forwarded to our engineer, thank you for your feedback and advice very much.

Thank you Mindy. I think for us pilots who venture into wilderness areas to create short documentaries, it would be great to be able to at least have a button or link on the login screen to bypass it for flight when you're in an area where login is not possible. Thanks for forwarding this issue to your engineers.

patman89 Posted at 2017-5-31 01:10
Do you need a permanent internet-connection while flying with DJI GO 4.1.0? Or is it possible to fly once you have logged in? I never testet in areas without cellular coverage, would be good to know.

My experience was once I was able to find cellular coverage and login, I was able to fly in the remote area where there was no cellular coverage. Added to which I have flown a few times in areas without cellular coverage in the past with no issues. This was the first time I've encountered such an issue and it is confirmed that it was caused by a software update.

It appears that after a GO 4 software update, an initial login is required to "register" the update. After that, no login will be required until the next software update.

But soon perhaps you will have to "pay to play" and a future unilateral update will ask for paid subscriptions and Chinese government approval before you can fly anywhere,  globally?

It may seem far fetched, but it is feeling like it's heading that way.

Peter Galbavy Posted at 2017-5-31 06:54
But soon perhaps you will have to "pay to play" and a future unilateral update will ask for paid subscriptions and Chinese government approval before you can fly anywhere,  globally?

It may seem far fetched, but it is feeling like it's heading that way.

Reminds me of the PKD short story "Ubik" where the down and out protagonist has to feed his apartment's appliances and doors coins to get them to work.

Not something likely to happen to our Mavics, as no one will want to buy them.

Ironically, I had to abbreviate the short story author's name to post this because his last name rhymes with "pick" and triggered the forums bad word filter. ;)

Hank Hancock Posted at 2017-5-31 06:47
My experience was once I was able to find cellular coverage and login, I was able to fly in the remote area where there was no cellular coverage. Added to which I have flown a few times in areas without cellular coverage in the past with no issues. This was the first time I've encountered such an issue and it is confirmed that it was caused by a software update.

It appears that after a GO 4 software update, an initial login is required to "register" the update. After that, no login will be required until the next software update.

I've never flown without airplane mode engaged and this was never a problem. As a fact - after updating to 4.1 I did check whether there was a firmware update and therefore the app could connect to the Internet - but I was not asked to login, it did this by itself somehow. Therefore - no need for an Internet connection at all when flying.

Hank Hancock Posted at 2017-5-31 06:47
My experience was once I was able to find cellular coverage and login, I was able to fly in the remote area where there was no cellular coverage. Added to which I have flown a few times in areas without cellular coverage in the past with no issues. This was the first time I've encountered such an issue and it is confirmed that it was caused by a software update.

It appears that after a GO 4 software update, an initial login is required to "register" the update. After that, no login will be required until the next software update.

There will be updating list and tips on each updating, you can check in APP Store. The DJI account need only be login for the first time after updating. But thank you for your kind suggestion anyway, we will feedback to our engineer to improve our APP.

Swedrone Posted at 2017-5-31 00:58
Is it really possible that not one of all the engineers at DJI has given this some thoughts?

The sad thing is I have realized there are very few people without a smart phone or internet service but we exist.  I researched this drone to ensure cellular or internet service was not a requirement for flight.  It looks as if the product base is changing without the full support of the infrastructure.

Since update I have to login everytime to access app. Wasn't a problem before. Uninstalled, reinstalled after reboot no joy.

Running on android Samsung 6.

DJI Mindy Posted at 2017-5-30 23:15
DJI Go 4.1.0 requires to login DJI account again after updating, or the camera  interface cannot be entered. We apologize for the inconvenience caused, your suggestion will be forwarded to our engineer, thank you for your feedback and advice very much.

Hello, I believe I have  a similar situation after accidental logging off from my user account on GL300E controller of Phantom 4 Pro. Now the controller only shows me the sign in screen while signing in fails reporting that network is not available. I suppose Wi-Fi settings were lost as well, although loosing them by logging off is hardly expected. In the result I cannot sign in to my account due to missing internet connection and I cannot fix the connection since I can only see the sign in prompt screen. Without suppositions about the need of fixing Wi-Fi settings, the question can be generalized like "what to do if the controller only prompts for signing into the user account and there is no Internet connection for whatever reason?". Are there any suggestions?
Thank you in advance

Remote is connected with device running DJI Go App... app uses Wi-Fi of device to connect to the internet... Must be easy to check if device has in ternet connection or not.

I almost never have internet or cell access where i fly.  I do always make sure I am logged in and check that everything works after updating DJI GO4 or the firmware. There is no need for internet to fly.

Mari Posted at 2017-9-6 12:36
Remote is connected with device running DJI Go App... app uses Wi-Fi of device to connect to the internet... Must be easy to check if device has in ternet connection or not.

For the first time I connected to Wi-Fi in using a supposed way, before creating the DJI user account, etc. Upgraded the firmware to the latest one. When playing with the UI I accidentally tipped something called like "sign out" and since that I can only see the sign in prompt that fails complaining missing network, while I cannot get anywhere from that sign in the subsequent error report with a back arrow bringing back to the sign in. With a phone app it would not prevent one from using the rest of the phone functionality, including internet-related settings but I do not know I can get out from the sign in screen in case of GL300E. Loosing Wi-Fi settings is just a supposition , while loosing them by logging off from the user account is not expected, I would say. The real question is "how to get out from the sign in screen if signing in does not work for whatever reason?" or even simpler: "how to bypass the sign in screen?".

I was screwed by this same terrible design decision this weekend.  Drove 4 hours out into the wilderness to take some drone videos.. launched my DJI app to find that it had autoupdated on its own and no longer cached my credentials.  Would NOT let me fly without logging into my account, which of course is impossible with no internet connection in the wild. Could not film, had to drive home.

The worst part?  When I launched the app, I could briefly see the video from the drone on my phone before it locked me out.  So I know it was not a technical issue at all, it was just DJI attempting to assert control over the hardware I own for no reason (or no good reason).

I should NEVER ever ever ever ever need DJI's permission to fly the drone that I own.  I am currently researching a replacement drone that doesn't have this problem so I can offload my Phantom on some other sucker.

You simply can't bypass it... sorry to tell you...

That's really sucks!!! Can't fly without login and can't login from iPhone 7+ login screen grey out!!!

So, from reading this thread it seems that some people have had no problem flying after just one login and some people have to login every time? I had this problem in Mongolia (no internet) and I was able to see the camera screen for 1 second before it reverted to the login screen. I got lucky and was able to put my finger on the camera screen before it changed and was able to fly. I am now home with internet and faced with this update dilemma. I don't get that flash of the camera screen any more. Has anyone had any other experience with this? Anything changed?

Swedrone Posted at 2017-5-31 00:58
Is it really possible that not one of all the engineers at DJI has given this some thoughts?

I appears maybe they've given it some thought...but no action .  It would seem that many of these issues are 5 min fixes.  We still have the RTH 'beep', no slider yet to turn that off or down...another 5 min fix that would make things sooooo much better...

fans3cba95ac Posted at 2017-11-6 05:31
So, from reading this thread it seems that some people have had no problem flying after just one login and some people have to login every time? I had this problem in Mongolia (no internet) and I was able to see the camera screen for 1 second before it reverted to the login screen. I got lucky and was able to put my finger on the camera screen before it changed and was able to fly. I am now home with internet and faced with this update dilemma. I don't get that flash of the camera screen any more. Has anyone had any other experience with this? Anything changed?

Hi, I got exactly the same problem. Did You find any solution about this Your post?

"Hello, I believe I have  a similar situation after accidental logging off from my user account on GL300E controller of Phantom 4 Pro. Now the controller only shows me the sign in screen while signing in fails reporting that network is not available. I suppose Wi-Fi settings were lost as well, although loosing them by logging off is hardly expected. In the result I cannot sign in to my account due to missing internet connection and I cannot fix the connection since I can only see the sign in prompt screen. Without suppositions about the need of fixing Wi-Fi settings, the question can be generalized like "what to do if the controller only prompts for signing into the user account and there is no Internet connection for whatever reason?". Are there any suggestions?"

dalom Posted at 2017-11-16 07:19
Hi, I got exactly the same problem. Did You find any solution about this Your post?

"Hello, I believe I have  a similar situation after accidental logging off from my user account on GL300E controller of Phantom 4 Pro. Now the controller only shows me the sign in screen while signing in fails reporting that network is not available. I suppose Wi-Fi settings were lost as well, although loosing them by logging off is hardly expected. In the result I cannot sign in to my account due to missing internet connection and I cannot fix the connection since I can only see the sign in prompt screen. Without suppositions about the need of fixing Wi-Fi settings, the question can be generalized like "what to do if the controller only prompts for signing into the user account and there is no Internet connection for whatever reason?". Are there any suggestions?"

You just swipe down from the top, click the setting gear wheel and select Wifi from the settings.
In here you can connect to a Wifi network that is not with SSID hidden.

DJI Mindy Posted at 2017-5-30 23:15
DJI Go 4.1.0 requires to login DJI account again after updating, or the camera  interface cannot be entered. We apologize for the inconvenience caused, your suggestion will be forwarded to our engineer, thank you for your feedback and advice very much.

we had a forced update while setting up to fly only the 5th time . the remote now wont connect to the phantom 4 pink light is stuck on and no support because its not office hours. so no flying in the holidays so disappointed hope the remote hasn't been damaged by the dowload disaster! whens the download later button?

how do you return the remote to pre download state? how do you refresh re set the update so it actually works I have gone through the process a dozen times  it downloads and refreshes all the lights are doing what they are expected to , it then asks me to re boot the remote then PINK LIght  and no  connection is made to the drone Im so fed up with it ! so disapointing!

Where is the Administrator with a answer or at least some excuse or apology?

Yes, I have the same problem. I have been trying for 6 hours now. I have tried a functioning WiFi connection, a working Cell connection and a Cat5 high-speed connection and still get the "CHECK YOUR NETWORK CONNECTION" crud from DJI's Go 4 App.

VaBarefootBoy Posted at 2017-12-25 17:55
Where is the Administrator with a answer or at least some excuse or apology?

Yes, I have the same problem. I have been trying for 6 hours now. I have tried a functioning WiFi connection, a working Cell connection and a Cat5 high-speed connection and still get the "CHECK YOUR NETWORK CONNECTION" crud from DJI's Go 4 App.

We sincerely apologize for the trouble that has been caused in the last few hours, we have got the server fixed, could you please try to sign in again? If there is any problem, please keep me updated any time, thank you.

fans63708cf9 Posted at 2017-12-23 20:00
we had a forced update while setting up to fly only the 5th time . the remote now wont connect to the phantom 4 pink light is stuck on and no support because its not office hours. so no flying in the holidays so disappointed hope the remote hasn't been damaged by the dowload disaster! whens the download later button?

how do you return the remote to pre download state? how do you refresh re set the update so it actually works I have gone through the process a dozen times  it downloads and refreshes all the lights are doing what they are expected to , it then asks me to re boot the remote then PINK LIght  and no  connection is made to the drone Im so fed up with it ! so disapointing!

We apologize for the lack of support because of holiday.
Just to verify, does the issue happen after firmware updating?
Please try to reset the RC: keep pressing C1+C2+Shutter button, and turn off and turn on the RC at the same time. After resetting, the indicator of the remote controller should be red. Then please link to the aircraft again.
Please let me know if the problem persists, thank you.

The problem is not that their servers went down. The real problem is the completely artificial, made up requirement to login! DJI obviously cares far more about collecting your data and regulating what you do with your property than about the customer.

Are you renting the drone from them? No? You bought it? Then they have no right to remotely regulate what you do with it or when you can use it. Do you have to login to your car to drive it? Does your car refuse to let you drive it on certain roads? No? According to DJI's made up rules, it should.

DJI Mindy Posted at 2017-12-25 23:45
We sincerely apologize for the trouble that has been caused in the last few hours, we have got the server fixed, could you please try to sign in again? If there is any problem, please keep me updated any time, thank you.

Please justify, with specific reasons, why forcing the user to login, even though it has absolutely nothing to do with the drone's ability to fly, is worth creating scenarios where customers waste hours of their time, only to be blocked from using a product they own. I dare you, or anyone from DJI, to even attempt justify that.

DJI Mindy Posted at 2017-5-30 23:15
DJI Go 4.1.0 requires to login DJI account again after updating, or the camera  interface cannot be entered. We apologize for the inconvenience caused, your suggestion will be forwarded to our engineer, thank you for your feedback and advice very much.

I can not log in anywhere! Which has rendered my drone useless. What should I do?

smooth1 Posted at 2017-12-26 06:13
I can not log in anywhere! Which has rendered my drone useless. What should I do?

There was a server problem yesterday but we have got it fixed. Is there any error message when you login?

DJI Mindy Posted at 2017-12-27 05:20
There was a server problem yesterday but we have got it fixed. Is there any error message when you login?

I have a phantom 4. The controller has a built in screen.  The DJI app is asking me to sign in.  I try and it says there is no internet connection.  Well, I have on on my laptop.

So I cant log in and I cant check internet connection on the DJI controller.

Can you please help me fix this?

I use the Phantom 4 almost daily

For some reason when I go out of the camera view mode to the DJI settings, it logs me out and I cant sign back in.

Maybe ask in the Phantom forum... This Forum is for Mavics and we use phones or tablets that connect to the net.
No idea how a P4 works...

djiuser_zzebudf Posted at 2018-1-20 21:29
I have a phantom 4. The controller has a built in screen.  The DJI app is asking me to sign in.  I try and it says there is no internet connection.  Well, I have on on my laptop.

So I cant log in and I cant check internet connection on the DJI controller.

Have a look at this Thread, there may be some useful information there regarding the internet connection for your device.