Please let me start by asking that this does not become and "Android vs. iPhone" thread.

Thanks..............   


I have an issue when flying my Mavic where my iPhone 6 battery 'appears' to rapidly drain.  I start a flight at 80% battery and by the time I'm half thru the drone battery, I get a LOW POWER Warning on my phone that it's at 20%!!

Then my screen goes blank, so flying FPV would suck at that point!

NOw....when I plug my phone into power, within 1 minute the battery level goes from around 15% right to over 45%.

This tells me that the battery drain indication is false and there is far more battery, though still low, than it showed before shutdown.

Anyone else seen this?

DJI Go 4
iPhone 6
Mavic Pro

Thanks,
Darin

I've had my iPhone 6 drain quickly before, but not as quickly as you describe, and not with that 'false read' issue you saw on charge-up.

Interestingly, on my iPad mini 4 (which should last longer anyway) the battery seems to drain extremely slowly.  Makes me wonder if the LTE chipset in the iPhone is doing something when DJI Go app is on.  These are just what I have observed so far.  Nothing scientific here...

Not to start any iPhone vs Android, but my Android 6.0 gets crazy drain as well. even when the app isn't being use. The only way to stop the drain on the app is to force close for me.

So i guess.. you're no the only one?

Same issue here...only with a 6s iphone . flying my phantom drone would suck the life out of the phone battery.  I even found the display darken a bit.  My 6s was eligible for a battery replacement which I took advantage of within the last week.  I've flown my drone only once since the replacement and it seemed better, but I'd have to fly some more to gauge it better.

Just curious if you're flying in the cold. When I'm outside flying in below freezing temperatures, my iphone 6 battery drops off very quickly and shuts off on it's own. I have been keeping the phone in my jacket while flying in really cold weather and that keeps the battery life up and prevents the shut down. It's pretty scary when the phone drops off while flying!!

try to read out the battery health from the iphone eg with coconut battery app for mac.
abd: do a "calibraition": let iphone run low at bat until it shuts off, then put on power and start charging without interrupt until it reaches 100%
i asume you have bad battery and wrong percentage at the display

cheers
bigcheese

but of course it is sukking like hell... gps active, display active, video active,,, it is worser than having navigation app running airplane mode and lowering brightness can help

Mine is worse than GPS by far.  Google Mapps was always my 'killer app' when it came to killing my battery.  Go is on another level, yet it shouldn't be doing much of anything with GPS unless I'm using a mode that relies on it.

lildevilx Posted at 2016-12-29 12:44
Not to start any iPhone vs Android, but my Android 6.0 gets crazy drain as well. even when the app isn't being use. The only way to stop the drain on the app is to force close for me.

So i guess.. you're no the only one?

I appreciate the Android input!  If I were investigating a bug in software, trying whatever on 2 different platforms is a way to isolate Software vs. Hardware as the issue.

This may be key to pointing at the App if there are more instances of the same thing on Android.  

Thanks!!
Darin

BuzzCut Posted at 2016-12-29 12:38
I've had my iPhone 6 drain quickly before, but not as quickly as you describe, and not with that 'false read' issue you saw on charge-up.

Interestingly, on my iPad mini 4 (which should last longer anyway) the battery seems to drain extremely slowly.  Makes me wonder if the LTE chipset in the iPhone is doing something when DJI Go app is on.  These are just what I have observed so far.  Nothing scientific here...

Someone on the Phantom board mentioned that they get the app booted up and the homepoint set, then they switch their phone to Airplane Mode and simply use the cached maps.....and that THIS is at least a partial solution to the fast drain.

Is there really any reason to stay in LTE mode unless you are live streaming to the web?  Might have some merit.

Thanks,
Darin

fansd96b7034 Posted at 2016-12-29 13:17
Same issue here...only with a 6s iphone . flying my phantom drone would suck the life out of the phone battery.  I even found the display darken a bit.  My 6s was eligible for a battery replacement which I took advantage of within the last week.  I've flown my drone only once since the replacement and it seemed better, but I'd have to fly some more to gauge it better.

Please report back when you have more time with the new battery.

This was reported as a possible solution in the Phantom board.

I mean.....all these phones that are the same age with batteries going bad.....actually sounds pretty plausible.

Thanks,
Darin

kiltedrunner Posted at 2016-12-29 13:27
Just curious if you're flying in the cold. When I'm outside flying in below freezing temperatures, my iphone 6 battery drops off very quickly and shuts off on it's own. I have been keeping the phone in my jacket while flying in really cold weather and that keeps the battery life up and prevents the shut down. It's pretty scary when the phone drops off while flying!!

Funny you should mention this as I did NOT include this in my post!  

I AM!!  And this may be the main clue!  

I say that because I'm certain this happened at least ONCE before updating to iOS 10.2.  I was flying a few days before Christmas and it happened then too.  The temp was more mild during Christmas when I was flying a bunch for family....and it didn't happen to quite the extent.

I'll keep more aware of the temp and how it behaves differently.

Thanks!!

Darin

To boot....I'm pretty much ALWAYS Recording Video while I"m flying, which is CACHING in the Go App as I fly, so there's now 4 main factors......

I mainly want to know if I need to get a new battery or update to a newer iPhone.

If this ISN'T an issue to anyone on an iPhone 7, then I "HAVE NO CHOICE" but to update my phone!  ;)

Thanks,
Darin

If you're not eligible for upgrade yet then buying an iPad mini 4 WiFi will be a more cost-effective option.  And the battery will last longer than any new phone.
Oh, and the larger screen is a real benefit.

Seems like another similar post on this same subject. Could be related to bad batteries in the iPhone 6S  ??
I did a test with my iPhone 7 using both Go Apps with no issues
other links:
http://forum.dji.com/thread-77650-1-1.html
http://forum.dji.com/forum.php?m ... tid=75065#pid597251

Rich

I've had the same issues with my iPhone 6 Plus and Mavic in cold temps.
I like the suggestion about going to Airplane mode. Makes sense.

I was in Airplane mode today and it dropped from 50% to 10% instantly.  It WAS a Cold day, but 39 degrees is a sauna compared to last week!!

It was 1% by the time I got to the house and to a charger.......I plugged it in and it jumped to 42%......CRAZY!

I'm ordering batteries for mine and my wife's.  Same iPhone 6 with different apps.....she says she has seen similar oddities with the phantom power drop.

Thanks,
Darin

DGHockeytown Posted at 2016-12-29 16:28
Funny you should mention this as I did NOT include this in my post!  

I AM!!  And this may be the main clue!  

Yep I noticed this as well. I can fly at 85% in the cold. 15 minutes into the fly the phone goes black and restarts with a please charge me warning. If I stop flying and put my phone in my pocket... Restart it 5 minutes later I am at 65%.

Seems like this is a bunch of issues together. Cold sensitive iPhones, an app that sucks life out of batteries, and older phones.

ryannewell Posted at 2017-1-3 13:47
Yep I noticed this as well. I can fly at 85% in the cold. 15 minutes into the fly the phone goes black and restarts with a please charge me warning. If I stop flying and put my phone in my pocket... Restart it 5 minutes later I am at 65%.

Seems like this is a bunch of issues together. Cold sensitive iPhones, an app that sucks life out of batteries, and older phones.

I just ordered new batteries for me and my wife.

We both have the iPhone 6.  She has identical behaviors with her phone and absolutely does not use the DJI Go app...........

Simple process of elimination puts this one squarely on Hardware or a 'Common' App between us.

They get here on Friday.  I'll report back after testing.  

Thanks,
Darin

DGHockeytown Posted at 2016-12-29 16:26
Please report back when you have more time with the new battery.

This was reported as a possible solution in the Phantom board.

Since having the battery replaced in my 6S iphone...I've flown several times now and find that having the battery replaced has helped a lot...both in typical daily usage, and especially flying my drone.

BTW, I changed my username since my original post in which I'm responding to.

RichJ53 Posted at 2016-12-29 18:06
Seems like another similar post on this same subject. Could be related to bad batteries in the iPhone 6S  ??
I did a test with my iPhone 7 using both Go Apps with no issues
other links:

That's good to know as the IPhone 7 and 7 plus is not on the supported devices list.

The Rev Posted at 2017-1-5 14:36
That's good to know as the IPhone 7 and 7 plus is not on the supported devices list.

DJI has not updated their list of equipment yet. I am sure these will make the list soon.

I have had no problems whatsoever

All the best
Rich

M K ULTRA Posted at 2017-1-5 14:12
Since having the battery replaced in my 6S iphone...I've flown several times now and find that having the battery replaced has helped a lot...both in typical daily usage, and especially flying my drone.

BTW, I changed my username since my original post in which I'm responding to.

Glad you got things working again with the new battery!

Thanks for reporting back
Rich

Did you guys know about the iPhone battery "secret recall". They've been pretty quiet about it but my phone is crap too.
http://appleinsider.com/articles ... nexpected-shutdowns

After i replaced a new battery on my iphone 6. I can fly 3 batterys from 90% to 3x%.

I've got the same thing with my iPhone 6 plus.  Today I started with 85% phone battery and after 5 minutes of flying, my phone suddenly shut off mid flight. When I rebooted the phone, my battery indicated 40%.  When I plugged it back into a charger, it immediately registered 75% battery.   

I saw the battery percentage jump with an iPhone 5s which has been used daily and was new on release. Maybe a little TLC and new battery are the cheapest way forward.

Well.....New battery with a fresh cycle overnight.........

I intentionally went out and flew at 44% on my phone.

6 minutes into the flight my phone simply shut off!!!  

I landed, went inside and plugged my phone and it booted to 39% battery.

EXACTLY the same issue!

Now one factor still.......I'm flying in Michigan and its in the Teens today, so Extreme Cold may still be a cause.... but I'm pretty disappointed in either event!

Thanks
Darin

DGHockeytown Posted at 2017-1-8 14:32
Well.....New battery with a fresh cycle overnight.........

I intentionally went out and flew at 44% on my phone.

dude, it's totally your iphone. I just ended up selling mine and buying a ipad mini 4 LTE and now I don't have to worry about a faulty battery. I wouldn't risk putting the bird up with a faulty phone but that's just me.
I barely used my actual phone and I also have a business phone so that might be another reason I was able to ditch the iphone. If you do a google search about the batteries... soo many people are complaining about the same cold weather issues. good luck.
Cheers.

I'm not giving up just yet.  I've been braving cold that is painful to my bare hands after a 7 minute flight.  I'm going to retest on a day that's in the 40's before I call this one a bad phone issue.

Even the Apple site says 32F and below is "Too Cold" for the battery.

After that it's going to be a new phone.  

I will again report back.

Thanks,
Darin

Mate the same happens to me, I have to literally have 2 iphone with me when I go flying to make sure I dont run out of battery :/

stratosHD Posted at 2017-1-8 17:10
Mate the same happens to me, I have to literally have 2 iphone with me when I go flying to make sure I dont run out of battery :/

Temperature can't be an issue for you since it's Summer Down Under, right?

Have you ever replaced the battery in your iPhone?

Can I ask if you are on OS 10.2 or OS 9.whatever still?

I can't pinpoint if it happened before the OS update or not.  I think it did.

Thanks for the feedback.  Every little clue helps.  

Darin

DGHockeytown Posted at 2017-1-8 17:07
I'm not giving up just yet.  I've been braving cold that is painful to my bare hands after a 7 minute flight.  I'm going to retest on a day that's in the 40's before I call this one a bad phone issue.

Even the Apple site says 32F and below is "Too Cold" for the battery.

I know you're trying to figure out the battery drain issue - but I have resorted to keeping my jacket open and holding my phone just inside the zipper to keep it warm enough here in Canada where it's bloody cold right now. That seems to fix the battery drain issue every time.

I reset my iPhone 5s back to factory and cleared all data too, now my phone lasts for at least four batteries and still has power for the rest of my time outside. I have kept the phone purposefully clean too so I'm not tempted to play games before I fly and kill that battery!

Yeah I have the same problem. I always carry 2 iphones fully charged to go flying.
However I think its a bit excessive the battery usage.

It think issues lies on the video caching , telemetry and video transmission.
But I can be completely wrong.

Have you guys tried airplane mode on your phone when you fly?

Hey guys. Any updates of fix? I thought it was the cold but I just tested again indoors (18 Celsius) and it didnt last 10 min. It has happended in both DJI Go 4 and DJI Go, while using my Mavic and using my Osmo Mobile. What I just noticed is that when I plug a battery pack to my phone it will say it is charging, but when I open the DJI Go app, not only will it show it is not charging, it will start saying the battery is draining (even when the battery pack is still plugged)
If I close the app and go to my home screen, then the battery shows as charging.
This is definitly an issue with the DJI GO App. What other explanation.

Can you guys try the same thing and report your finding?

DJI, come on!!! One of the moderators was active at the very beginning of this thread, but suddenly stopped helping. Why is that?

fansb27e5e1f Posted at 2017-1-28 21:42
Hey guys. Any updates of fix? I thought it was the cold but I just tested again indoors (18 Celsius) and it didnt last 10 min. It has happended in both DJI Go 4 and DJI Go, while using my Mavic and using my Osmo Mobile. What I just noticed is that when I plug a battery pack to my phone it will say it is charging, but when I open the DJI Go app, not only will it show it is not charging, it will start saying the battery is draining (even when the battery pack is still plugged)
If I close the app and go to my home screen, then the battery shows as charging.
This is definitly an issue with the DJI GO App. What other explanation.

It's bad (I have an iPHone 6) butt shouldn't be that bad. If it went from a full charge to low indoors, it may be a faulty battery on the iPhone. That said, I started a thread on solving this very problem some weeks ago and have been exploring this issue. Using the tips, I can now fly three to four Mavic flights at 30 to 40 F with more than 20% left on my iPhone. Before, that it was one or two at the most..

Here's the iPhone tips thread:

http://forum.dji.com/thread-79717-1-1.html

I have also had same issue with my very first flight with Mavic which obviously worried me and I flapped a bit - went from 100% to 10% in under 5 mins.  Managed to get drone back and land safely - luckily being 1st flight it was only 150 metres away.  Cycled power on phone without charging and it read 83%.  Spoke to Apple support and completed diagnostics with no issues.  She suggested turning off all background updates.  I will try again when I get a chance as away with work for 3 weeks.

If I go into flight mode on phone, how do i get the maps / gps functionality on iphone to show map on screen ?

What precious little time I flew it for I loved it and cannot wait to get back home.


Iphone 6plus
Mavic
DJI Go 4

I had similar issues with the 6s plus mine went from 100% to 4-8% after 3 batteries back to back - I opened a case with DJI and requested their R&D to comment on those battery stats - lets be honest, they recommend the phone so from that perspective I believe their have tested the impact of flying with that phone and its impact on the battery as in contrary the remote is not charging the phone - I want to know what their stats revealed with regards to how long you should be able to use the phone which makes them believe its recommended and so fit for purpose ... I strongly doubt that a phone that only lasts 1 or 2 battery packs should be considered fit for purpose without caveating it in the documentation ... still waiting for feedback though ....