I have a Phantom 2 vision Plus.
Am told by DJI technician that I should be able to see wifi connection by turning on both transmitter and wifi extender.  He says I shouldn't have to turn on the aircraft in order to see the wifi signal on my iPhone.  Does that sound right?
Right now I have to turn on the bird in order to receive wifi signal.

He is correct to a point. You can see it in the wifi settings and it will show up for a few minutes and if it doesn't connect to Phantom it may drop out. Have seen it do this on numerous occasions. Normally when you first turn on the wifi it show in in a minute or two then if it connects to the bird it stays active if it doesn't it can drop off line. Does the same as if the bird goes out of wifi range and drops wifi signal.

roy@mcscomputer Posted at 2015-11-23 04:34
He is correct to a point. You can see it in the wifi settings and it will show up for a few minutes  ...

Thank you.  Your response explains a lot.  I actually did see the Phantom wifi pop up on my wifi settings list of options but only for a few seconds.