Less than a week ago I got my first drone, which is a DJI Spark. When I say first, I mean, prior to opening the box it came in, the closest I had gotten to even seeing a drone in real life was through a glass case in a store.  Anyway, since that time, I have been reading as much as I can and only taking very close-to-me flights. My first couple flights, even though close, were very disappointing as I received almost non-stop “Aircraft Disconnected” error messages at the top left portion of my display, the video was choppy with lag times of roughly about 1.5sec, control response was lagged and by the time I figured out how to get drone off the ground the battery was almost always 25% depleted. With all of this going wrong on only day 2, I seriously contemplated the return of the drone and to be honest I am still on the fence with its return. However, yesterday I made a few changes and it appears that things have improved. But when I begin to think about the amount of time I’ve invested and the money that I have spent to get to this point, I have to admit that this really is ridiculous for what appears to be a limited ability drone. So, I try and not think about that.

  

Anyway, I have tried to recant as best as I could how I have gotten to where I am now. If you would, please let me know what you think, where your think that I should have gone a different route and what you think I can do in the future to improve my overall experience.

  

Beginning on Sunday evening when I opened the box, the following is many of the key issues and fixes that I have encountered during my 5 day quest for flight.

  

First on the list is how I struggled with trying to update the FW on my batteries, RC and also downloading and installing the flight restriction update. The battery issue I solved by downloading DJI Assistant 2 and linking the Spark to my laptop via the data cable. To get to this point I have 2-3 hrs invested and I am very frustrated by the time I am done. For those of you who know what DJI Assistant 2 is, using this program to perform this update sounds like a simple fix. But then again, anything you know how to do is simple. But when you don’t even know what DJI Assistant 2 is, that it even exists or even know what it does, it is hard not to think that you have just wasted 2-3hrs of your life that you will never get back.     Moving on...... For the RC I had to download and use a prior version of DJI GO 4  (4.5.1) which I found on a forum https://www.apkmirror.com/apk/dji-technology-co-ltd/dji-go-4/dji-go-4-4-1-5-release/. This was another 1-2 hrs of research and discovery. For the flight restriction update, I think that I used the older DJI Update 4.5.1 but then again it could have been the DJI Assistant 2. To be honest, I researched so many things that night that I could not really be sure which program I used. Regardless, this took another hour to figure out and after 4-6 total hours alltogether of researching and updating FW, it's was disheartening that I still haven’t even hovered my drone yet.

  

How I would describe my 1st few flights – In just a few words, choppy, video lag and “Aircraft Disconnected” error messages. Research for answers for improvement in control and real-time video begin and I discover that my issue may now be that my Spark doesn’t play well with my Samsung phone or that my phone is just overloaded and can’t handle the data load. The phone I was using was a Samsung S7 which is loaded down with apps. So, I thought that a dedicated display device might fix the issue.  So, needing a new tablet anyway, I went and bought a new Samsung Tab A (Apple at this time was out of the question as I have always been an Android user from day one and I wanted desperately to stick with android). Unfortunately, that didn’t work at all, and if and when you could make out the video on it, it was 3-5 seconds in lag (it goes without saying that flying without visual contact with the drone using the Samsung tablet was out of the question). My next thought was to use an OTG cable which I ordered and am still awaiting delivery but now I read that the use of it will void warranty with the Spark. So... back to the drawing board I go.

  

So now having to maybe admit that the Samsung incompatibility thing could be a reality, I am forced to try an Apple device. To avoid wasting even more money on another device that might not work, I try my work phone which is an Apple 5s. It turns out that the 5s has good video clarity, the control function with the Spark RC is responsive but the downside is that the screen is just too small. Because the performance of an Apple device is undeniable in that the lag is almost gone (.25 sec), I get no more “Aircraft Disconnected” messages and I am able to fly the Spark via video view only, the search for a compatible Apple device with a larger display begins. An hour more worth of research leads me to consider the purchase of an ipad mini 2, which from what I can tell, people seem to be having great success. Not wanting to pay full premium for a device which I will only use with my Spark, I find a used device on Craigslist for $85 which I will pick up tomorrow.

  

And that is where I am today. As things progress, I will update the thread. Until then, please let me know what you think. I would like to hear the good and the bad and I am not easily offended, so please don’t shy away from being direct with your responses. BTW, direct doesn’t mean rude.

  

Lastly, any links to web sites, helpful hints, tips and tricks or threads would be greatly appreciated.

  

  

Thank you in advance for your help and advice,

  

Tom

Sorry to hear that, for your Samsung S7, have you tried to reinstall the APP, then run the APP when your phone is in the airplane mode?

DJI Diana Posted at 2017-9-24 20:19
Sorry to hear that, for your Samsung S7, have you tried to reinstall the APP, then run the APP when your phone is in the airplane mode?

Diana,

Thank you for the response. In answer to your question, I had tried removing and re-uploading DJI GO 4 a number of times and I have even tried restarting my device.
On the plus side, my remaining prior stated issues seem to be solved by the use of an Apple device. I wish that this was not the case and I do read that others have had success with Android but to me it is just not worth the risk or the effort that it takes. I am sure that other questions will arise as I become more familiar with my drone, but until then I am enjoying my Spark.

Again, thank you for you help and advice,
Tom

Tom39 Posted at 2017-9-26 18:46
Diana,

Thank you for the response. In answer to your question, I had tried removing and re-uploading DJI GO 4 a number of times and I have even tried restarting my device.

You are welcome, should you have any further questions, please feel free to post them on this forum, lots of members here are willing to help.

A lot of this sounds familiar, I had to mess around for 5 hours+ to make my daughter's Spark flyable and it still has a lot of issues connecting everything up before each flight. Her phone is a Google Pixel.

I think you have found what most who are not familiar with drones have found. It can be very frustrating when your beginning with this technology, setting up can be easy for some and quite difficult for others, and a lot of different factors can cause this to happen, yes your phone being so loaded with apps can cause difficulties, having to set up assistant2 downloading firmware for craft batteries etc all take time and can take much longer depending on what equipment you using to download/upload.
For me setting up my spark was simple I just did it through my app no assistant, but I have done this numerous times so has become second nature at this stage.

You said you made some changes and things were working better, this is the way things will be for all new users, plenty of reading watching all the tutorials you tube videos and just asking questions on forums like this will help you greatly.

It might take a couple of weeks to get to where your happy flying but it’s worth taking the time to set up and learn to fly correctly. In no time you will forget about all the hassle it took to set up. Although I still remember spending hours setting up my first VCR , new technology can be quick to set up but it takes time and patience to get it right. If you put that time in then you will be rewarded.

Good luck and if you need any technical or other help don’t hesitate to ask.

Thanks for sharing your story.  I have summarized that anyone with an Android based device are experience various level of issues with connections, stability, latencies ... ETC.

I have been flying my spark via an iPhone6s since day one without any issues.  I had one lost connection and it was due to the proximity to electrical wires.  But my spark did a RTM as per design; waited 20seconds and it started the RTH at which point I regained connection and pulled it way from the wires (too close).

you can't go wrong with an iPad Mini 2 so long as it has cellular.

Good luck in your flights.

I was fortunate that I didn't have difficult setup issues, but I did learn the importance of preparation and study as my first drone (a P3S) took a beating (entirely my responsibility).

Given that I'm a classic early adopter, I've resigned myself to the growing pains of new technologies.  In the case of the spark, even though it's billed as a drone for beginners, the pilot still plays a tremendous role in the overall performance of the system.

You have experienced the pains in the early stages (and hopefully those are a thing of the past).  If you take things slow and careful (don't throw it into sport mode right away, for example), then you'll have "taken your first steps into a larger universe".

There's a lot of help and advice to be had here in the forums.  And given that we are here to help:  Are there any current questions or concerns or troubles you are having right now?

no problem from iphone 6s and galaxy s6 android 7.0(2 crash with 4.1.3 and 4.1.5 old version)

Sparky_17 Posted at 2017-9-27 08:22
Thanks for sharing your story.  I have summarized that anyone with an Android based device are experience various level of issues with connections, stability, latencies ... ETC.

I have been flying my spark via an iPhone6s since day one without any issues.  I had one lost connection and it was due to the proximity to electrical wires.  But my spark did a RTM as per design; waited 20seconds and it started the RTH at which point I regained connection and pulled it way from the wires (too close).

I don’t think you need cellular?