Well this evenings attempt at a flight has been a disaster.  A worse disaster than last night when I went down to the beach to catch the sunset and has a no signal message in the app meaning I couldnt record anything.  When I got home yesterday I fiddled around, reinstalled the app, reset the Phantom etc and the camera feed returned.
Today I checked it before I left and the camera feed appeared fine.  Got to the beach in time for the sunset, powered up the Phantom 3 Standard, had a camera feed but the gimbal wasnt straight (another issues that has been happening).  To remedy this I usually reboot the phantom at which point the gimbal starts up and often sets itself level.  This time however I was back to no camera feed and the message 'gimbal disconnected'.  Just like last night nothing would bring it back.  So I admitted defeat and decided to fly the drone around for a bit just to make the journey worthwhile.  Thats when another common problem hit and my iPhone turned off even though it had full charge!  Upon trying to reboot the phone it was showing the no charge image.  As you can imagine, at thatr point I headed back to the car.  As usual after a few minutes the phone booted back up with loads of battery left.  I see lots of other users are complaining about this too in the reviews of the DJI Go app.

So, Im returning the Phantom 3 to Amazon.  This isnt fun and certainly not fun when you consider the cost.  I may get a replacement but Im considering a break for now and maybe taking a look at the Phantom 4.

UPDATE:  As usual Amazon were fantastic and are processing a refund due to a defective camera/gimbal.  Just reordered at £130 cheaper

It sounds very much like you have an iPhone 6S, is that correct?

If so, these have been known to cause issues when used with the Phantom. You would be better off with an iPad Mini 2.

Geebax Posted at 2016-2-24 22:33
It sounds very much like you have an iPhone 6S, is that correct?

If so, these have been known to ca ...

Yes iPhone 6S.  Although Id be hesitant to blame the phone as this behaviour has only ever happened with the DJI Go app.  Sounds like they need to test their software for compatibility issues.

Data Ghost Posted at 2016-2-25 20:09
Yes iPhone 6S.  Although Id be hesitant to blame the phone as this behaviour has only ever happene ...

Yes, but you could also say it only happens with the 6S. I have an Air 2 and it does not happen to it, and a friend has an iPad Mini 2 and he does not have the problem either. The Go App is a very processor intensive application because of the amount of work it has to do, and for some reason the 6S thinks it is being drained faster than it actually is. If you shut down the Go App and disconnect it from the RC unit, it will come back to near normal battery level indication.

Geebax Posted at 2016-2-25 09:27
Yes, but you could also say it only happens with the 6S. I have an Air 2 and it does not happen to ...

I suppose you could look at it either way.  At the end of the day the app makes a particular model of phone act erratically.  I don't know what the answer is here aside from your suggestion of using an iPad.  I have both the Air and the Mini but they are a lot bigger and I have nothing to attach them to the RC at this time.  I guess I could sit down and rest the iPad on my lap for now - bit of a pain if I have to suddenly go running after the Phantom though

Data Ghost Posted at 2016-2-25 11:33
I suppose you could look at it either way.  At the end of the day the app makes a particular model ...

I bought a secondhand Galaxy S4 phone, no sim, just for the P3S - works spot on and never misses a beat.

Maybe you should get a different device for your Phantom.

Data Ghost Posted at 2016-2-25 22:33
I suppose you could look at it either way.  At the end of the day the app makes a particular model ...

From what you say I am guessing you have a P3 Standard? Unfortunately the RC does not have a bracket to take a tablet. I don't know why?

Data Ghost Posted at 2016-2-25 03:09
Yes iPhone 6S.  Although Id be hesitant to blame the phone as this behaviour has only ever happene ...

What were the temps?  If it was below 24 degrees F you can be sure the iPhone contributed to the issue.   Iphone's and some other smart phones do not handle cold well, especially outside the safety of pockets etc.   Google IPhone cold rapid battery drain.   I have a 6S plus had 100% charge took it out in 10F weather and after five minutes said battery was dead.   Warmed up inside for 10 minutes, hit power button and back on at 97%, recreated the again without the DJIgo app even running.

If you google around, People have done tests to see at what temp different smartphones fail,  and they were reliably able to make the iPhone battery appear drained when exposing it to temps below 24*.  These tests were general cold weather tests and were not related to DJIgo app,  but I believe shows there existing issue with the iPhone, that may or may not be exaggerated by the intensive processing that the GO app requires.


edit:  I also tried the mini 2,  which held up longer but also would crash in extreme cold. Plus common sense tells me an ipad with  Larger screen (light source)  Larger batter (power source) probably will retain its heat longer than a small device.



Not to sound like a jerk,  but you can't really fault DJI for this happening if it happens when you are operating outside of the stated safe operating temp by DJI (Not saying you were but I have a hunch based on my own experiences.)

Aircraft


Weight (including battery and propellers)
1280 g

Diagonal size (including propellers)
590 mm

Max Ascent Speed
5 m/s

Max Descent Speed
3 m/s

Hover Accuracy
•Vertical: +/- 0.1 m (when Vision Positioning is active) or +/- 0.5 m
•Horizontal: +/- 1.5 m


Max Speed
16 m/s (ATTI mode, no wind)

Max Service Ceiling Above Sea Level
6000 m (Default altitude limit: 120 m above takeoff point)

Operating Temperature
0°C to 40°C

GPS Mode
GPS/GLONASS

ryan209 Posted at 2016-2-25 21:54
What were the temps?  If it was below 24 degrees F you can be sure the iPhone contributed to the i ...

Hi There,

You are not being a jerk at all, and you have told me something I wasn't aware of.  Both times this happened it has been very cold so it looks like you have answered my question.  Appreciate the info.

Also my replacement Phantom 3 Standard has arrived today so Im looking forward to testing it all out.

Data Ghost Posted at 2016-2-26 22:13
Hi There,

You are not being a jerk at all, and you have told me something I wasn't aware of.  Bot ...

Awesome, yea the first time it happened it freaked me out, (and bummed me out I couldn't fly) which led me to a little web research.  The only reason i was really even flying in low temps was, I had just recently got the P3P and still wanted to fly it every second.   I still love the phantom, but am just less likely to feel like freezing while i fly.  The temps here have been warmer the last couple weeks like 50F and I haven't had any issues with the 6S plus or the mini.
Good luck!

ryan209 Posted at 2016-2-26 14:50
Awesome, yea the first time it happened it freaked me out, (and bummed me out I couldn't fly) which ...

Same here, my desire to fly means Ive been going out in cold temps just to get some flight time in!  Thanks for your help its good to understand why odd things such as this happen.