Can anyone point me to instructions that will allow me to install Aloft and B4Ufly on my Smart Controller?
I recently acquired a Smart Controller to use with my Mini 2, replacing my Mini 2 controller and iPhone 8.  The Smart Controller does many things much better than the iPhone.  But I have always used Aloft and B4Ufly apps from my phone and it seems like I should be able to install these apps on the android based Smart Controller.  
So far, I have not been able to find a way to do that.  The error messages indicate that Google does not recognize my Smart Controller as a device on my Google account so it will not allow me to install these apps from the Google Play store.  On the internet, I found tutorials that describe how to download apc files and place them directly on my Smart Controller, and when I follow these instructions, an icon is installed for both apps.  But the apps still do not launch or work.  

So can anyone point me to instructions that will allow me to install Aloft and B4Ufly on my Smart Controller?
Also, I sent email to DJI support asking about this but have not yet received any response.

Hello, jmgolio. Sorry for your inconvenience. DJI Smart Controller supports downloading third-party applications.
You may try to download the APP in two ways:
1. Search the App from the App Store or on the internet and download it. The APP which needs to pay can not be installed.
2. Import the APK file into your Smart controller. You can use an SD card or a data line. The file can be installed normally only if the Smart Controller can recognize it.
3. Please use the inbuilt Browser to download or install APK files by using a micro SD card for the first time.
Please kindly know that DJI is not responsible for the associated authorities and information security concerning third-party applications and would not offer relative technical supports to their compatibility. If there are issues after installing third-party applications, please try to deload the APP or reset it.

DJI Wanda Posted at 8-31 20:03
Hello, jmgolio. Sorry for your inconvenience. DJI Smart Controller supports downloading third-party applications.
You may try to download the APP in two ways:
1. Search the App from the App Store or on the internet and download it. The APP which needs to pay can not be installed.

I find this confusing.  Isn't the APP store only for IoS devices?  Wouldn't I have to get the app from Google Play?  The problem I had when I used Google Play to download the apk file - first onto a disk, then copied to the Smart Controller - is that Google did not recognize my device as part of my Google account.  I was able to display the app icon, but it would not actually work.  If someone has ever actually accomplished this, it seems like reasonably detailed instructions would be available somewhere.  Your statement, "Import the apk file into your Smart controller", might be accurate, but it doesn't provide the kind of step by step, click by click instruction that is actually required to execute such a task.  Similarly, the statement, "Please use the inbuilt Browser to download or install apk files by using a micro SD card for the first time."  is not detailed enough for me to understand how that is accomplished.

DJI Wanda Posted at 8-31 20:03
Hello, jmgolio. Sorry for your inconvenience. DJI Smart Controller supports downloading third-party applications.
You may try to download the APP in two ways:
1. Search the App from the App Store or on the internet and download it. The APP which needs to pay can not be installed.

Here is the problem I am having with the Smart Controller and Google Play.  The instructions I find on the internet about how to register my Smart Controller in Google Play are consistent and say:

How to Add a Device
1. Launch the Settings app on your Android, Chromebook, or iOS device.
2. Next, you need to select Accounts (Users and Accounts on some devices).
3. Next, choose Add.
4. Tap on Google Services and enter your verification method if prompted.

The problem is with step 3.  The Smart Controller is not providing me an option to add.  I see no way to do this.

For example



or with these search terms on YouTube ...

frankymusik Posted at 9-8 23:45
For example

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_swJvznW68&t=60s

Thanks for the link.  Do you know anyone who has actually used this successfully?  I actually found this same url previously when I was searching for a way to load Aloft and B4Ufly onto my Smart Controller.  But the first step deletes all personal data from the controller, then there are several required app downloads before you ever get to a point where you could use the Smart Controller as an Android tablet.  

The other factors that made me reluctant to try to follow this is that the video is done without voice instructions and simply shows dozens of screen dumps in rapid fire succession.  Converting this You Tube video to actual step-by-step instructions that someone could follow while doing these operations will not be trivial.  

Since I already tried several prescriptions available on the internet that did not work, I am skeptical of trying something so involved without some confirmation that it has worked for someone in the past.

Thanks.

frankymusik Posted at 9-8 23:45
For example

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_swJvznW68&t=60s

Here's an update.  I did get Aloft and B4Ufly apps installed.  They kind of work now - good enough for my requirements.  There are still some unexpected glitches, but I can apply for LAANC authorization.  Since I live in controlled airspace about 4 miles from an airport, I have to make these requests anytime I fly from my house or neighborhood.  

First off, posting in the correct area of these forums will help with getting more informed answers. There is a dedicated area for the Smart Controller, that might be a better choice than FPV where you are now!
Second off, you are wasting your time expecting DJI to help with adding 3rd party apps, not within their responsibility at all.
Third, If you want a detailed "step by step" just google it...This has been addressed in various Youtube videos and discussions with great detail and if you didn't see the one that broke it down enough yet, keep looking, it is there.
Fourth, just forget about installing the Playstore and all the extra crap that goes with it it'll just slow the Smart Controller down, just sideload the apps you want ( you will learn what that means during your research)

I didn't want to put any extras on my SC.  I just use Aloft and B4Ufly on my phone.  Let me know if you get help too

I don't want other apps on my SC.  I just use Aloft and B4Ufly on my phone.  Because once in the field with the SC you have to have internet or a hotspot.  I guess why do you want the app on there taking up more memory?

jmb63 Posted at 9-28 17:50
First off, posting in the correct area of these forums will help with getting more informed answers. There is a dedicated area for the Smart Controller, that might be a better choice than FPV where you are now!
Second off, you are wasting your time expecting DJI to help with adding 3rd party apps, not within their responsibility at all.
Third, If you want a detailed "step by step" just google it...This has been addressed in various Youtube videos and discussions with great detail and if you didn't see the one that broke it down enough yet, keep looking, it is there.

I must apologize for causing you so much grief.  I assure you it was not my intention.  I normally try to do my own research for answers and only resort to these forums when I have failed to find the answers I'm looking for through other means.  In the past, when I've done that, I've always found the board to be genuinely helpful and friendly.  There have not been very many answers I have sought here, but until this one, I've always managed to get good advice and instruction.  And the experts who have helped have always been very generous and welcoming.  You might have missed the point that I did search for answers to this issue for several hours over several days and found only instructions that simply did not work, or worse, actually caused issues I then had to fix.  It was the general lack of good instructions and bad advice on the internet that led me here.  

I acknowledge that I am not very familiar with the structure of this site or the boards that would have been more suited to my question.  I made an attempt to find the right board, but I guess I failed.  Again, I apologize for the grief this mistake cost you.  It was not my intention and I am truly sorry.  One of the other times I was seeking an answer on this site, I posted on the wrong board initially, and after a kind poster suggested a different board, I simply corrected my error.  I would do that with this post, but I have finally found my solution, so am no longer seeking this information.  If there is some way to delete my posts here or this entire thread, it will not offend or bother me.
I had no expectation that DJI would solve this problem for me, but I did think that perhaps among the expert knowledge base out there, that someone else had run across this and did know of a solution.  I guess I also thought that if that were true, they might be willing to share with someone less knowledgeable than themselves.  

Hope my post did not frustrate you too much and thank-you for responding.

scubaAnn Posted at 9-28 17:54
I didn't want to put any extras on my SC.  I just use Aloft and B4Ufly on my phone.  Let me know if you get help too

Thanks.  When I transitioned from my iPhone to my Smart Controller, I hoped to make the transition as transparent as possible - which means I wanted to get all the apps I use for drone flying moved from my iPhone to my new controller.  Since I live in controlled air space, I have to request clearance to fly any time I fly from home.  It's not a big deal, but because the clearance typically comes in a matter of seconds after I submit, I usually simply walked outside and made the request while I was setting up.  So, prior to getting Aloft and B4Ufly on my smart controller, I had to take the iPhone with me too.  Like I said, it's not a big deal . . . just a convenience.  I do have these programs on my Smart Controller now.  I would happily explain how I finally succeeded in accomplishing this, but I'm not sure I know.  I simply kept doing searches on google and trying whatever I found.  All of the sites I tried for a couple of days led to dead ends or disasters which I then had to back out of . . . until I got to a video that got the job done.   So I am happy with the end results.  My Smart Controller now has both programs installed and working.  Although I have a technical background (PhD and professor of Electrical Engineering), I am not an android programmer, so most of the YouTube instruction sounded almost like gibberish to me.  I was simply playing a YouTube video until the screen changed, then pausing and going back and forth until I figured out what step had been taken.  Then I would take that step on my controller and start the YouTube video again for a second or two until the next screen change.  It took a long time to try dozens of different sets of YouTube instructions.  The process of getting this installed on the Smart Controller was fairly involved and complex for me.  But I am not recommending this to anyone else unless they do love android programming.  I think your solution is a good one.

jmgolio Posted at 10-1 11:07
Thanks.  When I transitioned from my iPhone to my Smart Controller, I hoped to make the transition as transparent as possible - which means I wanted to get all the apps I use for drone flying moved from my iPhone to my new controller.  Since I live in controlled air space, I have to request clearance to fly any time I fly from home.  It's not a big deal, but because the clearance typically comes in a matter of seconds after I submit, I usually simply walked outside and made the request while I was setting up.  So, prior to getting Aloft and B4Ufly on my smart controller, I had to take the iPhone with me too.  Like I said, it's not a big deal . . . just a convenience.  I do have these programs on my Smart Controller now.  I would happily explain how I finally succeeded in accomplishing this, but I'm not sure I know.  I simply kept doing searches on google and trying whatever I found.  All of the sites I tried for a couple of days led to dead ends or disasters which I then had to back out of . . . until I got to a video that got the job done.   So I am happy with the end results.  My Smart Controller now has both programs installed and working.  Although I have a technical background (PhD and professor of Electrical Engineering), I am not an android programmer, so most of the YouTube instruction sounded almost like gibberish to me.  I was simply playing a YouTube video until the screen changed, then pausing and going back and forth until I figured out what step had been taken.  Then I would take that step on my controller and start the YouTube video again for a second or two until the next screen change.  It took a long time to try dozens of different sets of YouTube instructions.  The process of getting this installed on the Smart Controller was fairly involved and complex for me.  But I am not recommending this to anyone else unless they do love android programming.  I think your solution is a good one.

Okay, that sounds like a nightmare.  When I travelled and was in a spot where I unlocked the GeoFencing zones on DJI and got clearance.  The Aloft app was so easy.  It was once I took my SC to the site.  If I hadn't done it just the right way (when I had WiFi), it wouldn't let me take off.  So frustrating since I didn't have a hotspot.   

Great ambition!

jmgolio Posted at 10-1 09:58
I must apologize for causing you so much grief.  I assure you it was not my intention.  I normally try to do my own research for answers and only resort to these forums when I have failed to find the answers I'm looking for through other means.  In the past, when I've done that, I've always found the board to be genuinely helpful and friendly.  There have not been very many answers I have sought here, but until this one, I've always managed to get good advice and instruction.  And the experts who have helped have always been very generous and welcoming.  You might have missed the point that I did search for answers to this issue for several hours over several days and found only instructions that simply did not work, or worse, actually caused issues I then had to fix.  It was the general lack of good instructions and bad advice on the internet that led me here.  

I acknowledge that I am not very familiar with the structure of this site or the boards that would have been more suited to my question.  I made an attempt to find the right board, but I guess I failed.  Again, I apologize for the grief this mistake cost you.  It was not my intention and I am truly sorry.  One of the other times I was seeking an answer on this site, I posted on the wrong board initially, and after a kind poster suggested a different board, I simply corrected my error.  I would do that with this post, but I have finally found my solution, so am no longer seeking this information.  If there is some way to delete my posts here or this entire thread, it will not offend or bother me.

Absolutely not frustrating or bothersome to me at all...I was just trying to suggest a way to get more info...I am glad you reached a solution

jmgolio Posted at 2021-9-1 08:21
I find this confusing.  Isn't the APP store only for IoS devices?  Wouldn't I have to get the app from Google Play?  The problem I had when I used Google Play to download the apk file - first onto a disk, then copied to the Smart Controller - is that Google did not recognize my device as part of my Google account.  I was able to display the app icon, but it would not actually work.  If someone has ever actually accomplished this, it seems like reasonably detailed instructions would be available somewhere.  Your statement, "Import the apk file into your Smart controller", might be accurate, but it doesn't provide the kind of step by step, click by click instruction that is actually required to execute such a task.  Similarly, the statement, "Please use the inbuilt Browser to download or install apk files by using a micro SD card for the first time."  is not detailed enough for me to understand how that is accomplished.

Everything  useful learning to enhance  our piloting  is confusing from downloading 3rd party apps,using microphone  to use voice over on our video's  to this geofencing and utilizing  set wpts,all major  brain damage

Need speed reading capabilities  to get anything out of this video,such a waste