DJI Go 4: 4.1.16 (But problem existed with earlier versions too)
Device: Apple iPad Pro 10.5"
iOS version: 10.3.3, 11.0, 11.0.1, 11.0.2, 11.0.3, 11.1


Lots of people have reported this problem before, but DJI doesn't seem to want to address it:
When trying to set the home point to where the display device is, the DJI Go 4 app (4.1.16) fails to set the home point and states that the GPS Signal is Weak.

• It's easy to say that the device is not receiving GPS satellites, but it is!
• It's easy to say "Try moving to another location". I have. We ALL have. It doesn't make any difference.
• It's easy to say "Reinstall the app". I have. We ALL have. It doesn't make any difference.
• It's easy to say "Refresh iOS". I have. Most of us have upgraded iOS at least once. It doesn't make any difference.
  

Google Maps, Wayz, and numerous other ground and aeronautical based mapping apps which rely on GPS signals have no trouble finding my location. Only DJI Go 4 has a problem.

The problem is clearly NOT with the device, or the flying location, it's with the DJI Go 4 app.

Will you, DJI, please look into fixing this? Thank you note advance.

As far as I know, it would be useless to refresh the iOS system for this issue. When the GPS precision is insufficient, GPS signal weak will show on the app when one wants to refresh the current position as the Homepoint. The dot on the map indicates the position of the mobile phone. When the dot is red, the signal is weak. When the dot is blue, the signal is strong and the Home Point can be set.
Please try another mobile device which has GPS module, and enable cellular at that moment and see if it works.
At the same time, I will also report it to the engineers. Thank you for your feedback.

DJI Thor Posted at 2017-11-7 18:46
As far as I know, it would be useless to refresh the iOS system for this issue. When the GPS precision is insufficient, GPS signal weak will show on the app when one wants to refresh the current position as the Homepoint. The dot on the map indicates the position of the mobile phone. When the dot is red, the signal is weak. When the dot is blue, the signal is strong and the Home Point can be set.
Please try another mobile device which has GPS module, and enable cellular at that moment and see if it works.
At the same time, I will also report it to the engineers. Thank you for your feedback.

The home point is blue, in all cases.

The GPS Signal is not weak on the device - as indicated above, all other GPS dependent apps have no trouble finding and maintain my location (I have 2 terrestrial GPS mapping apps, and 3 aeronautical GPS mapping apps, and NONE of them have any issues... Only the DJI Go 4 app has trouble).

Many others have reported the same issue with the DJI Go 4 app.

I'm attaching a screenshot... It's from my GPS diagnostic app. I'm sitting at home, on my couch, not out in the open on the flying field, or on top of a hill (like I was this morning) with a clear view of the sky. As you can see, under the roof of my house, I have GREAT GPS reception. Outside, in the open, it's not going to be worse, it's going to be better.

Jyunte Posted at 2017-11-7 21:11
The home point is blue, in all cases.

The GPS Signal is not weak on the device - as indicated above, all other GPS dependent apps have no trouble finding and maintain my location (I have 2 terrestrial GPS mapping apps, and 3 aeronautical GPS mapping apps, and NONE of them have any issues... Only the DJI Go 4 app has trouble).

Your device use more to get location than just GPS. Just let it use A GPS and Glonass.
That is the only system Dji use for location.
It might be because misleading in location that you get this message.

Jyunte Posted at 2017-11-7 21:11
The home point is blue, in all cases.

The GPS Signal is not weak on the device - as indicated above, all other GPS dependent apps have no trouble finding and maintain my location (I have 2 terrestrial GPS mapping apps, and 3 aeronautical GPS mapping apps, and NONE of them have any issues... Only the DJI Go 4 app has trouble).

I set the home point to the location of the aircraft, seen as the green "H" on the map.
I then REPEATEDLY tried to reset the home point to my location, the Blue Dot on the map.

I received the Weak GPS Signal error, and the home point was not updated. I then flew back to my location and landed.

As you can see from the satellite map there is nothing blocking a clear view of the sky. It's a hill which is about 100 feet higher than the surrounding area.

[Sorry for the double picture, the forum server kept crashing on posting, and there's no way to delete an image once it has been uploaded]

Have you tried the suggestion about seeing what happens with a different mobile device?

StanfordWebbie Posted at 2017-11-7 22:00
Have you tried the suggestion about seeing what happens with a different mobile device?

I fly with an iPad... That's what I have.
I could try it on my Android phone, but that wouldn't prove anything since they're separate apps on different operating systems.

There are, however, numerous reports of this happening on other devices, from iPhones to iPad's, to Android phones and tablets.

As a test, I fired up the DJI Go 4 app without the controller or the aircraft connected. I was inside my house. I went to the map screen which displayed the map centered on my last home position, out on the flying field. I pressed the button on the map to center the map on my current position. The map centered on my house. This proves that it's not the iPad that's at fault, but the DJI Go 4 app. The GPS signal is good enough to center the map page, but too "Weak" in the "Set Home Point to Controller Location" section of the app.

Jyunte Posted at 2017-11-8 00:33
I fly with an iPad... That's what I have.
I could try it on my Android phone, but that wouldn't prove anything since they're separate apps on different operating systems.

A quick search revealed the following threads on this subject:
https://forum.dji.com/thread-98121-1-1.html
https://forum.dji.com/thread-89659-1-1.html
https://forum.dji.com/thread-100214-1-1.html
https://forum.dji.com/thread-102893-1-1.html
https://forum.dji.com/thread-111966-1-1.html
And my own thread from weeks ago, https://forum.dji.com/thread-112802-1-1.html

There are likely more, but those are the only threads I had the time to read!

Jyunte Posted at 2017-11-8 01:09
A quick search revealed the following threads on this subject:
https://forum.dji.com/thread-98121-1-1.html
https://forum.dji.com/thread-89659-1-1.html

I updated to version 4.1.17, and STILL get the weak GPS signal error. Again, the GPS diagnostics app has no trouble seeing GPS signals, none of the terrestrial or aeronautical mapping apps have trouble seeing my position, and even the DJI Go 4 app can see my position well enough to plot it on the map, just not well enough to set it as the new Home Point for the aircraft.

Come on DJI, how about a fix? How hard can it be? Just copy the code from the section of the app which works, to the section which doesn't!

Jyunte Posted at 2017-11-10 02:00
I updated to version 4.1.17, and STILL get the weak GPS signal error. Again, the GPS diagnostics app has no trouble seeing GPS signals, none of the terrestrial or aeronautical mapping apps have trouble seeing my position, and even the DJI Go 4 app can see my position well enough to plot it on the map, just not well enough to set it as the new Home Point for the aircraft.

Come on DJI, how about a fix? How hard can it be? Just copy the code from the section of the app which works, to the section which doesn't!

Just reply to DJI Thor so its getting the attention it needs.
I do have the same error in open space with plenty of satellites.. but after many retries I seem to be "lucky" enough to update my homepoint

Jyunte Posted at 2017-11-7 21:11
The home point is blue, in all cases.

The GPS Signal is not weak on the device - as indicated above, all other GPS dependent apps have no trouble finding and maintain my location (I have 2 terrestrial GPS mapping apps, and 3 aeronautical GPS mapping apps, and NONE of them have any issues... Only the DJI Go 4 app has trouble).

Does your iPad Pro a WiFi version or it has built-in GPS module? I will forward this to our engineers to have a look on this if it has built-in GPS module.

DJI Thor Posted at 2017-11-10 03:24
Does your iPad Pro a WiFi version or it has built-in GPS module? I will forward this to our engineers to have a look on this if it has built-in GPS module.

It's an iPad Pro 10.5" (2017 version) with cell and wifi (which is why all the other apps have GPS signal.)

Jyunte Posted at 2017-11-10 13:22
It's an iPad Pro 10.5" (2017 version) with cell and wifi (which is why all the other apps have GPS signal.)

Hi, I got news from our engineers. Here's what they said: refreshing the current position as the Homepoint requires a high demand of the GPS signal for an iOS system or it might cause a big difference to the position, so even the other apps can use the navigating function, it might not be able to set the RC position as the Homepoint. If it is possible, you can provide us with a video of the operating procedure and the environment around. Thanks for your understanding.

DJI Thor Posted at 2017-11-14 03:05
Hi, I got news from our engineers. Here's what they said: refreshing the current position as the Homepoint requires a high demand of the GPS signal for an iOS system or it might cause a big difference to the position, so even the other apps can use the navigating function, it might not be able to set the RC position as the Homepoint. If it is possible, you can provide us with a video of the operating procedure and the environment around. Thanks for your understanding.

I'm not sure how a video will help you... Since you already know the error message we all receive (your engineers programmed it, after all!). But if it's really necessary, I'll use the iPad's screen capture to show you.

I've attached some photos I took yesterday of the flying site. It's the top of a hill, 200ft higher than anything else within a mile of this location. I've circled the RC position in green. It happens everywhere I fly... On the beach with a clear view of the sky above and the ocean in front; on a large field with 3 full sized soccer fields around me and a clear view of the sky; at various R/C flying sites with lots of space around me and a clear view of the sky.
Ignore my other mapping apps for a moment... DJI Go 4 is able to find my location, but it just won't set the Home Point to my location!

This has been a problem not just on Go4, but the prior Go3 app.  I tested Follow Me with both and had the same results.  Then, a while back I came across either a forum post, or a video (I can't remember which one) that explained the way around this was to connect a bluetooth GPS receiver to your mobile device.  I haven't shelled out the $$ for one yet, but I think that just might do the trick.
This is the one the guy was using:

Bad Elf 2200 GPS Pro

But I also found these:
Dual Electronics XGPS150A Multipurpose Universal Bluetooth GPS Receiver
Dual Electronics XGPS160 Multipurpose Universal 5 Device Bluetooth GPS Receiver
Garmin GLO Portable GPS and GLONASS Receiver

Jyunte Posted at 2017-11-14 11:46
I'm not sure how a video will help you... Since you already know the error message we all receive (your engineers programmed it, after all!). But if it's really necessary, I'll use the iPad's screen capture to show you.

I've attached some photos I took yesterday of the flying site. It's the top of a hill, 200ft higher than anything else within a mile of this location. I've circled the RC position in green. It happens everywhere I fly... On the beach with a clear view of the sky above and the ocean in front; on a large field with 3 full sized soccer fields around me and a clear view of the sky; at various R/C flying sites with lots of space around me and a clear view of the sky.

I must say, that is the most peculiar airfield I have ever seen.  Is that a model aircraft field?

JustViewerFun Posted at 2017-11-14 22:47
I must say, that is the most peculiar airfield I have ever seen.  Is that a model aircraft field?

Yes! It's an R/C airfield on top of a hill. It's used regularly by hill soaring gliders, FPV aircraft, racing quads and small fixed wing aircraft. Landing fixed wing aircraft is a skill, since the final approach is over the top of the hill, and the runway slopes down hill! It's one of the few places in the area where you can legally fly!

Jyunte Posted at 2017-11-14 11:46
I'm not sure how a video will help you... Since you already know the error message we all receive (your engineers programmed it, after all!). But if it's really necessary, I'll use the iPad's screen capture to show you.

I've attached some photos I took yesterday of the flying site. It's the top of a hill, 200ft higher than anything else within a mile of this location. I've circled the RC position in green. It happens everywhere I fly... On the beach with a clear view of the sky above and the ocean in front; on a large field with 3 full sized soccer fields around me and a clear view of the sky; at various R/C flying sites with lots of space around me and a clear view of the sky.

Thanks for your sending back, this makes a big help for me to have the engineers to confirm again. I will come back here once I hear from our engineers. Appreciate your patience.

Jyunte Posted at 2017-11-14 23:13
Yes! It's an R/C airfield on top of a hill. It's used regularly by hill soaring gliders, FPV aircraft, racing quads and small fixed wing aircraft. Landing fixed wing aircraft is a skill, since the final approach is over the top of the hill, and the runway slopes down hill! It's one of the few places in the area where you can legally fly!

Hi Jyunte, for this issue, our engineers have done the full test on it, and here the conclusion: dear customer, to ensure the flight safety, DJI GO/DJI GO 4 demands a high accuracy to mobile device GPS. It wouldn't be allowed to use it when the accuracy difference is larger than 10 meters. Other apps might not have the accuracy requirement for GPS, thus there might have a big difference of the location info between the app and actual place.

... then why does the app turn the location point blue and not leave it red?

DJI "engineers" (code monkeys) need to face up to the fact that DJI Go is broken in this area, one way or another, and that it should be changed to better reflect reality.

I always look at: https://www.uavforecast.com/#/ before I fly

OK today is not a good day to fly BUT look at the column Est. Sats Locked. If I were to attempt to fly when Est. Sats Locked was in the Red region (please ignore Wind etc.) I would get a LOW SAT signal. I have concluded it is not the DJI App, it is the number of 'lockable Satellites' visible at the time. SATS only lock when they are above about 15 degrees above the horizon, the GPS unit ignores those below that line. I have tested this several times and concluded that this is why you get LOW SAT signal. It is NOT signal strength, it is the NUMBER of Lockable SATS. It doesn't matter how far you are out in the open, if there are insufficient satellites in the sky you will get a Low Sat error. Use the APP https://www.uavforecast.com/#/ (available for IOS & Andriod) to check before flying as part of your pre-flight checks.
Those are my findings and I accept the fact that others may disagree...

Colin G4GBP Posted at 2017-12-7 01:23
I always look at: https://www.uavforecast.com/#/ before I fly
[view_image]
OK today is not a good day to fly BUT look at the column Est. Sats Locked. If I were to attempt to fly when Est. Sats Locked was in the Red region (please ignore Wind etc.) I would get a LOW SAT signal. I have concluded it is not the DJI App, it is the number of 'lockable Satellites' visible at the time. SATS only lock when they are above about 15 degrees above the horizon, the GPS unit ignores those below that line. I have tested this several times and concluded that this is why you get LOW SAT signal. It is NOT signal strength, it is the NUMBER of Lockable SATS. It doesn't matter how far you are out in the open, if there are insufficient satellites in the sky you will get a Low Sat error. Use the APP https://www.uavforecast.com/#/ (available for IOS & Andriod) to check before flying as part of your pre-flight checks.

Thanks, an interesting app. But I'm not convinced. In that location, you're rarely, it ever, going to see fewer than 15 satellites. I can go to the GPS screen in my car and see the number of satellites in view and those locked. I'm more inclined to believe the DJI engineers... But even their explanation makes little sense, as I CAN set my home point to my iPad's location sometimes, if I repeatedly mash the button - and not other times, when standing in the exact same location.

DJI Thor,
I get the weak gps warning only when trying to use follow me mode.  I have no problems updating my home point.  I've called the support department several times and they go through the typical trouble shooting steps then request I send it in and it has been easier to exchange it at best buy (4 times) with no change in results.  I'm using a samsung note 8 and i've also tried a note 3 with the same results.  Any suggestions you may have to resolve the issue would be appreciated.

djiuser_87laNDY8Luq4 Posted at 2018-2-5 21:53
DJI Thor,
I get the weak gps warning only when trying to use follow me mode.  I have no problems updating my home point.  I've called the support department several times and they go through the typical trouble shooting steps then request I send it in and it has been easier to exchange it at best buy (4 times) with no change in results.  I'm using a samsung note 8 and i've also tried a note 3 with the same results.  Any suggestions you may have to resolve the issue would be appreciated.

This issue had been forgotten by DJI. Just another broken thing they don't care about.

Jyunte Posted at 2018-2-5 22:05
This issue had been forgotten by DJI. Just another broken thing they don't care about.

I think the only way to truely test is to check with another iOS user at the same time at your same location.

On IOS on the developer side of things when an app requests an update to the GPS location it returns a location and an margin of error. My understanding from whats been said by the engineers is that if the possible amount possible error is greater than 10m the code will ignore the request.

What I would suggest is that you borrow another iPad or iOS device and in the same spot see if you can replicate the issue? My guess is that your device gps is reporting a larger margin of error.

Mobile device compass and GPS chipsets are small and known to drift and increase in errors over time. Google maps and other GPS location apps use apx locations with the added data of thousands of other reference points of data to help locate you, DJI doesn't have that luxury.

I possibly think its not a DJI app error.

nottuppaware Posted at 2018-2-5 22:14
I think the only way to truely test is to check with another iOS user at the same time at your same location.

On IOS on the developer side of things when an app requests an update to the GPS location it returns a location and an margin of error. My understanding from whats been said by the engineers is that if the possible amount possible error is greater than 10m the code will ignore the request.

As asked in post #20, above, "... then why does the app turn the location point blue and not leave it red?"

The blue dot icon, according to DJI Thor, means the location is accurate. If it's red, it's inaccurate. I've NEVER seen it red. The app is broken.

Jyunte Posted at 2018-2-5 22:19
As asked in post #20, above, "... then why does the app turn the location point blue and not leave it red?"

The blue dot icon, according to DJI Thor, means the location is accurate. If it's red, it's inaccurate. I've NEVER seen it red. The app is broken.

So the logical thing to prove that its the app is to rule out the device, standard scientific reasoning.
I say that because I have the same iPad and an iPhone and they dont show the same problem.

nottuppaware Posted at 2018-2-5 22:27
So the logical thing to prove that its the app is to rule out the device, standard scientific reasoning.
I say that because I have the same iPad and an iPhone and they dont show the same problem.

DJI Thor reported that the app won't allow the home point to be set when the error is >10m. I have an app which shows me what the error is. If the error is too large, then the dot icon should be red, as the engineers say it should. But it isn't, it's blue, and the GPS error is less than 10m (I posted a screenshot from inside my house, and the gps error was, you guessed it, 10m). When outside, with a clear view of the sky it's much less than 10m. Either way, the app doesn't do what the engineers say it should do.

I’m using a iPad mini 4 no cell with the Mavic Pro and having a lot of issues with gps..
Have cache maps, and bought a Garmin glo and in most occasions the Mavic will not take off hence weake signal...Melbourne Australia
Most of the times it switches to ATTI mode even when beginner mode is clearly activated.
Have rest all devices and re installed app many times with no progress in device..

The problem with iOS is that it provides location to all apps via API and as soon as it gets 4 or 5 satellites locked it reports to apps that location is correct with quite high confidence (this is the light blue circle around the blue dot). I has situations that on all kind of maps my iOS device was showing location with high confidence (small light blue circle) but it was incorrect and constantly moving around. So I guess that DJI requires to iOS catch certain number of satellites (which gives confidence od less than 10m) and in many situations it does not happen as iOS is already "happy" with signal it acquired.
You can't access GPS module directly in any iOS app - you have to rely on API provided by the system.
Of course if you seen on the map that the location is indeed correct - there should be an option in DJGO app to confirm it and send to aircraft.

Br, Pawel.

I use my iPhone for geocaching and it seems like it hardly ever gets better than 33ft accuracy, close enough for geosenses to kick in and make the find, but apparently not enough to make DJI's engineers feel safe enough. There's an old Follow Me thread that posits issues with iPhones using the AT&T chipset.

GPS is detect by Drone itself or You enable GPS on phone and set home point to follow the phone in DJI APP.

The Weakness of GPS signal, normally is cause by whether  like thick cloud, raining or interference from surrounding.

More Satellite you detected and using, more accurate it detect your location. Normally when u up to 20M above, it will detect more satellite.  Set your correct home point from DJI App and check the map before fly away or moving.

Desmond Phee Posted at 2018-2-22 20:46
GPS is detect by Drone itself or You enable GPS on phone and set home point to follow the phone in DJI APP.

The Weakness of GPS signal, normally is cause by whether  like thick cloud, raining or interference from surrounding.

That's not what we're taking about here.

The DJI Go 4 app allow you to set the home point to where the controller is, rather than where the aircraft is. For example, you take off from Position 1, fly to another place and land. When you take off again, your home point is reset to wherever the aircraft took off from. You can go into the app and set the home point to YOUR location, so if you press the RTH button, it'll come back to you, rather than where the drone landed earlier.

The problem is, it doesn't work on iOS devices, and gives a "Weak GPS Signal" error. It doesn't matter how high the aircraft is, because it's using the GPS in the iOS device, not the aircraft. Weather and clouds do not really affect GPS reception.

You can see I’m tracking 17 satellites and have full gps signal. You can also see that I have the weak GPS signal error when I tried to set my homepoint to my controller.  

This needs resolved for what I do with the drones for work.

fans74300c19 Posted at 2018-6-2 16:44
You can see I’m tracking 17 satellites and have full gps signal. You can also see that I have the weak GPS signal error when I tried to set my homepoint to my controller.  

This needs resolved for what I do with the drones for work.

What device do you use?

fans74300c19 Posted at 2018-6-2 16:44
You can see I’m tracking 17 satellites and have full gps signal. You can also see that I have the weak GPS signal error when I tried to set my homepoint to my controller.  

This needs resolved for what I do with the drones for work.

You don’t have 17 satellites on your phone, those satellites refer to your drone receiver. You need to go get your phone checked, so not dji’s fault for this one.

hallmark007 Posted at 2018-6-2 17:34
You don’t have 17 satellites on your phone, those satellites refer to your drone receiver. You need to go get your phone checked, so not dji’s fault for this one.

Good catch!  

Hallmark, that was what I inferred.  The GoApp won’t care how many satellites my iPads have since the interface is with the controller and drone.

I had two drones side by side yesterday. One with an iPad Mini 4 (that I bought yesterday for the new P4PV2.0) and an iPad 2 for a P4.  

I haven’t had the GPS signal too weak issue on my P4 set up until yesterday.

I even flew the drones up 80’ ish to allow satellites closer to the horizon to be tracked and used to get full bars.  

So, again, 17 satellites, full GPS reception, but signal too weak.

The interface devise is simply an interface.

If the GPS signal on the interface display says the signal is full, then how can the signal be too weak?  The interface display on the GoApp should give me flight information, it’s not giving me static information about my iPads. Therefore, when I say the system is tracking 17 satellites and has a full gps signal, yet tells me the signal is too weak, then there is something wrong with the app software.

I agree with the original person posting.

And like I said, I’ve flown around my house numerous times with my P4, and have never had this issue. Not even on cloudy days.

fans74300c19 Posted at 2018-6-3 04:50
If the GPS signal on the interface display says the signal is full, then how can the signal be too weak?  The interface display on the GoApp should give me flight information, it’s not giving me static information about my iPads. Therefore, when I say the system is tracking 17 satellites and has a full gps signal, yet tells me the signal is too weak, then there is something wrong with the app software.

I agree with the original person posting.

If you use iPad air WiFi it don't have GPS. What you see on Go app is GPS on drone not your device.
To set home point to device it has to have decent GPS inside.