I've been flying a DJI Mavic Pro for a little over 7 years with my ipad mini 4 tablet and it has been phenomenal.  Hundreds of successful flights on the original props.  Even to this day, the original Mavic Pro is a fantastic device that has served me very well.


I decided I wanted to upgrade, and the Mini 4 pro looked like a great device.  After purchasing I realized that it doesn't use DJI Go 4, but rather the DJI Fly app which is apparently significantly more CPU intensive.  On the first flight, the DJI Fly app threw a CPU error about 3 minutes in and locked up the app.  Fortunately the drone returned to home, or actually got close to home where I was able to navigate once again for some reason.  I flew the Mavic Pro immediately after without issue.


The ipad mini had over 90% battery, all battery saving features disabled, and I believe there were no other apps running.  It's a 32gb model with 12gb of available memory on OS 15.8.2.  I only use this device to fly the drone, so there really aren't any misc apps on it.  It was not connected to any networks during the flight (wifi or cellular).  It would appear that to get a new ipad (with GPS) with a CPU that was released sometime in the last 2 years is approaching $1000, which is rediculuous.

Does anyone have any tips for using this old ipad mini 4?  Or maybe there is another tablet that I could consider that's at least 8" in screen size and runs buttery smooth with the mini 4 pro drone?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions, and kind regards.

On the first flight, the DJI Fly app threw a CPU error about 3 minutes in and locked up the app.  Fortunately the drone returned to home, or actually got close to home where I was able to navigate once again for some reason
The "some reason" is that your drone flies just fine without the app and losing the app doesn't mean you lose control.
All that's important is the controller and the drone, the app is just a really nice display for the operator.

It would appear that to get a new ipad (with GPS) with a CPU that was released sometime in the last 2 years is approaching $1000, which is rediculuous.
Apple's pricing is steep, but not that steep.
You should be able to pick up an iPad mini 6 for much less than that.

Does anyone have any tips for using this old ipad mini 4?
No ... the Mini 4 was a good tablet when it was released 9 years ago, but it's underpowered and undre-resourced for running modern apps.

Or maybe there is another tablet that I could consider that's at least 8" in screen size and runs buttery smooth with the mini 4 pro drone?
Look at the 2nd hand market for a used mini 6 or there are plenty of good 8" Android tablets to choose.

Labroides Posted at 7-14 19:37
On the first flight, the DJI Fly app threw a CPU error about 3 minutes in and locked up the app.  Fortunately the drone returned to home, or actually got close to home where I was able to navigate once again for some reason
The "some reason" is that your drone flies just fine without the app and losing the app doesn't mean you lose control.
All that's important is the controller and the drone, the app is just a really nice display for the operator.

Yes, I understand.  The 7 years with the Mavic Pro proved that DJI drones can work fine without the app (most of the time), but in this case the system recovered and I was able to land manually.  I can't explain why there were no problems for 3 minutes, then all of a sudden problems the next minute, and then no problems again.

The fact that the entire system worked fine for 80% of the flight has me stumped.  Apparently the ipad mini 4 does in fact work fine, until <something> happens.  I was hoping to suss out what happened and maybe keep using the tablet.

Does anyone else have any suggestions?

Labroides Posted at 7-14 19:37
On the first flight, the DJI Fly app threw a CPU error about 3 minutes in and locked up the app.  Fortunately the drone returned to home, or actually got close to home where I was able to navigate once again for some reason
The "some reason" is that your drone flies just fine without the app and losing the app doesn't mean you lose control.
All that's important is the controller and the drone, the app is just a really nice display for the operator.

Where would I find a webpage where DJI has approved specific tablets for use with their latest DJI Fly app?

KryptoNyte Posted at 7-15 16:02
Yes, I understand.  The 7 years with the Mavic Pro proved that DJI drones can work fine without the app (most of the time), but in this case the system recovered and I was able to land manually.  I can't explain why there were no problems for 3 minutes, then all of a sudden problems the next minute, and then no problems again.

The fact that the entire system worked fine for 80% of the flight has me stumped.  Apparently the ipad mini 4 does in fact work fine, until  happens.  I was hoping to suss out what happened and maybe keep using the tablet.

I was hoping to suss out what happened and maybe keep using the tablet.
What happened is that your old iPad mini 4 from 2015 wasn't up to running the demanding DJI Go Fly app.
It has slow old processer and only 2GB of RAM couldn't keep up and it all became too much running. and the app stopped

Does anyone else have any suggestions?
You already know the solution.

Where would I find a webpage where DJI has approved specific tablets for use with their latest DJI Fly app?
Forget DJI approved.
DJI only ever test a few devices.
There are many as good or better than DJI have on their short list.

Look here to see what's working for other flyers.
https://www.phantomhelp.com/tips/best-tabletsphones-for-dji-go.18

Hi there,

We are truly sorry for the inconvenience you are experiencing.
Yes, DJI Mini 4 Pro only support DJI Fly app. Could you share with us the picture of the error message when you connect your iPad with your DJI Mini 4 Pro? Please take note that DJI Fly for DJI Mini 4 Pro requires iOS 13.0 or above. You can check on the compatibility on the official site.

We are looking forward to your response for further assistance. Thank You

DJI Natalia Posted at 7-15 22:00
Hi there,

We are truly sorry for the inconvenience you are experiencing.

Hi, Natalia,

Thanks for being willing to help with older tablet.  I'll give it another shot this weekend and see if I can reproduce the error and save it.

Labroides Posted at 7-15 16:52
I was hoping to suss out what happened and maybe keep using the tablet.
What happened is that your old iPad mini 4 from 2015 wasn't up to running the demanding DJI Go Fly app.
It has slow old processer and only 2GB of RAM couldn't keep up and it all became too much running. and the app stopped

Thanks for the list.  I just happen to have a 4 year old Galaxy Tab A7 (not the lite model) and it appears from that list that it is the #1 preferred device!

KryptoNyte Posted at 7-16 15:18
Hi, Natalia,

Thanks for being willing to help with older tablet.  I'll give it another shot this weekend and see if I can reproduce the error and save it.

You're welcome, we are looking forward to your response for further assistance. Thank You