Hi Folks,

I wrote in June in the Mavic forum about iOS device overheat, shutting itself down midflight, and received some good suggestions from Fellow Members here on how a Mavic Pro can be recovered from far away with only the flight telemetry shown on the remote controller of the Mavic Pro. Some Fellow Members also suggested innovative ways to avoid overheating the iOS device, including the placing of a freezer pack at the back of iOS device.

Since then, like other parts in the northen hemisphere of the globe, Hong Kong got hotter and hotter. On 6 Aug when flying my Inspire 1 Pro without any freezer pack with me, I encountered 2 times-in-a-row of iOS device overheating, shutting itself down midflight! No video downlink, no flight telemetry. Of course, there was no flight telemetry from Inspire 1 Pro remote controller. Fortunately I was flying the Inspire 1 Pro within sight and successfully brought my Inspire 1 Pro back and landed at the home point. I wondered how I could bring it back if it was not within sight!

I would like to understand from you Folks on whether you encountered any similar situation before, in particular aircraft not within sight. How did you bring back the aircraft to the home point? Which should be the reliable way, e.g. by immediately replacing the overheat iOD device by another iOS device, or by pressing the RTH button on the remote controller? Is there any other better way other than the mentioned 2?

Thanks in advance.

Henry

Hi Henry,
Only had the Inspire 1 go dark for me once that I can remember. Staying clam is the first thing to remember (even flying over water)  I rarely ever use the RTH function but for me this is the time to use it. Once you regain a good reference of the aircraft you can exit from RTH and fly manually.

Keeping my iPad cool is another key, and have the cold towel that uses water vapor to react with the towels chemical build. It really works on the iPad.

Rich

RichJ53 Posted at 2017-8-7 10:14
Hi Henry,
Only had the Inspire 1 go dark for me once that I can remember. Staying clam is the first thing to remember  (even flying over water)  I rarely ever use the RTH function but for me this is the time to use it. Once you regain a good reference of the aircraft you can exit from RTH and fly manually.

Seems necessary for me to practise commanding and exiting RTH by remote controller button only.

I wonder if I should always have the second remote controller with iOS device standing by in "Coach Mode" in these hot moments.

Henry

Henry M.Y. Posted at 2017-8-7 14:41
Seems necessary for me to practise commanding and exiting RTH by remote controller button only.

I wonder if I should always have the second remote controller with iOS device standing by in "Coach Mode" in these hot moments.

I have been using the RTH button on my Mavic, P4P and Spark to show others the accuracy of the function. My Inspire 1 has pretty good accuracy, but the new stuff is much better. I do not think it is necessary to have the back up remote in coach mode (but it could give you comfort) because for me it just doesn't happen very often.

Lots of folks are not happy with the new FW and range, so maybe DJI is working on a fix that will help our range.

Are you using the iPad mini 4?, the new Go 4 App fixed the CPU overload message for me and hope they do the same for the Go App too. Also, the iPad is running cooler after the Apple update 10.3.3  

Rich

RichJ53 Posted at 2017-8-7 14:55
I have been using the RTH button on my Mavic, P4P and Spark to show others the accuracy of the function. Mu Inspire 1 has pretty good accuracy, but the new stuff is much better. I do not think it is necessary to have the back up remote in coach mode (but it could give you comfort) because for me it just doesn't happen very often.

Lots of folks are not happy with the new FW and range, so maybe DJI is working on a fix that will help our range.

iPad Air running iOS 10.3.3 with DJI GO version 3.1.13.

I think the heat of the sun and the dialling up of screen brightness were the major cause of the blackout.

Henry

If this were to happen on, for example the Inspire 2, would it be possible to shut off the RC and allow the Inspire 2 to return to home using GPS if that function was set for when it loses connection to the RC?

Henry M.Y. Posted at 2017-8-7 15:06
iPad Air running iOS 10.3.3 with DJI GO version 3.1.13.

I think the heat of the sun and the dialling up of screen brightness were the major cause of the blackout.

Henry

Are you using a hood? I have the Hoodman setup and it really helps keep the sun off...  I am also running the brightness on near full too.

Rich

paraviz02 Posted at 2017-8-7 16:02
If this were to happen on, for example the Inspire 2, would it be possible to shut off the RC and allow the Inspire 2 to return to home using GPS if that function was set for when it loses connection to the RC?

If the Inspire 2 looses contact with the RC, then it will act on the RTH setting in the App (user options). You do not need to turn off the Remote for this to happen. I have read in the forum that some have turned off the remote and restarted it to try to regain connection. I am not sure how that would help you with totally disconnected situation. I would think that if your loose the connection, that it will reconnect once the signal is reestablished.

Maybe others could chime in on your question too.  It you loose the device (blackout or lockup) the remote is still functioning but you do not have visual HD link anymore. Restarting the device could help in this case.
unless it is overheated and this is what Henry and I were discussing.
Rich

I think it's time for me to consider a Hoodman hood to keep sun radiation away.

Henry

People also are suggesting to get Ipad pro 2 which has more powerful cpu and thus less chance of overheating. While this seems to be ios issue, the other route is to get a android 6 tablet. I have an ASUS ZENPAD S3 10. I have not had any issue since I have it for 2 months. Never have a crash on DJI Go nor lossing connection wtih AC. Before that, I had many crashes during flight with my Android 7 Moto Z phone.

RichJ53 Posted at 2017-8-7 16:23
If the Inspire 2 looses contact with the RC, then it will act on the RTH setting in the App (user options). You do not need to turn off the Remote for this to happen. I have read in the forum that some have turned off the remote and restarted it to try to regain connection. I am not sure how that would help you with totally disconnected situation. I would think that if your loose the connection, that it will reconnect once the signal is reestablished.

Maybe others could chime in on your question too.  It you loose the device (blackout or lockup) the remote is still functioning but you do not have visual HD link anymore. Restarting the device could help in this case.

Gotcha.

So let's say, worst case possible scenario, Inspire 2 (when set to RTH) would always begin coming back towards the GPS home location ... And at any point where the RC is able to re-establish connection, I could then regain control and continue on as usual.

Essentially, this may have happened many times and I would have never known about it, correct?

I1 pro does not have obstacle avoidance on RTH, so it will still bear a chance of running into a building on return path.

Henry M.Y. Posted at 2017-8-7 15:06
iPad Air running iOS 10.3.3 with DJI GO version 3.1.13.

I think the heat of the sun and the dialling up of screen brightness were the major cause of the blackout.

Its recommended that one use no less than an Air2 when running GO, certainly the higher levels of Go won't run on anything less than an A8 processor. An iPad Air has an A7 processor on board.

Other than that, overheating will occur if you are out in the sun with any unit that is not a white one. Even then, when the ambient temperature is > 30C, you run a risk of overheating.

I've had a grey iPad Air 2 shut down on me within 5 minutes of flying an Inspire 2 out in the hot sun at ~ 31C. I turned it off and used an iPhone to bring the bird home. It wasn't too far away and within line of sight.

paraviz02 Posted at 2017-8-7 17:57
Gotcha.

So let's say, worst case possible scenario, Inspire 2 (when set to RTH) would always begin coming back towards the GPS home location ... And at any point where the RC is able to re-establish connection, I could then regain control and continue on as usual.

Please keep in mind this requires good GPS with lots of satellites and home lock confirmed on take off. Minimum of 7-8 sat's I believe.  The Inspire 2 has OA that is setup in the App which could help you avoid obstacles on the way back, but you should always set the altitude above the known obstacles at your flying location before flight.
If you loose signal the Inspire 2 will do what it is programed to do.   (based on your settings in the Go 4 App)  
>Return To Home point
>Auto land
>Hover in place

Yes, once the connection is reestablished you can cancel the RTH at anytime.  You can also control the yaw and flight path while it is returning if you need to.

This is something you can practice, buy taking the Inspire 2 away from you at least 60 meters and tap and hold the RTH button on the remote. to cancel you can tap and hold in the same way. If the App is functioning correctly you can also hit the red X to cancel the RTH.

I do not know about you, but I would know if the Inspire 2 is not responding to my controls. The App will talk to you and say returning home plus beep beep beep.  So pretty hard not to know this is happening.

Rich

DTK Posted at 2017-8-7 16:43
People also are suggesting to get Ipad pro 2 which has more powerful cpu and thus less chance of overheating. While this seems to be ios issue, the other route is to get a android 6 tablet. I have an ASUS ZENPAD S3 10. I have not had any issue since I have it for 2 months. Never have a crash on DJI Go nor lossing connection wtih AC. Before that, I had many crashes during flight with my Android 7 Moto Z phone.

I have the new iPad Pro 10.5 but have not used it much yet. Yes it is very fast and works like a charm, but so does my mini 4 which my hoodman fits   The CPU is very nice on the new Pro device and I will be switching over once I get the new hoodman.

Rich

Henry M.Y. Posted at 2017-8-7 16:29
I think it's time for me to consider a Hoodman hood to keep sun radiation away.

Henry

I really like my Hoodman that I use with my mini 4....  If you get the new iPad Pro 10.5 , it takes a special size
and are not in the ads yet. you have to ask for them.
Rich

Henry, sorry to hear that. There is a new feature in APP that it can detect the usage of the CPU for the mobile device. This prompt will pop out when the CPU of the mobile device is fully loaded.
It is recommended to prevent the mobile device from direct sunlight with a sunshade or monitor hood when the mobile device is used in summer. Otherwise, the mobile device may warn up and the CPU may underclock or be fully loaded, which affects flying experiences.
We have the Hood for sale in our online store: http://store.dji.com/product/ins ... om=search-result-v2
http://store.dji.com/product/ins ... om=search-result-v2
In addition, iOS DJI GO V3.1.14 will be released recently, CPU overloaded which is easily to pop up will be much improved, please update on time.

DJI Mindy Posted at 2017-8-7 22:26
Henry, sorry to hear that. There is a new feature in APP that it can detect the usage of the CPU for the mobile device. This prompt will pop out when the CPU of the mobile device is fully loaded.
It is recommended to prevent the mobile device from direct sunlight with a sunshade or monitor hood when the mobile device is used in summer. Otherwise, the mobile device may warn up and the CPU may underclock or be fully loaded, which affects flying experiences.
We have the Hood for sale in our online store: http://store.dji.com/product/inspire1-phantom-3-remote-controller-monitor-hood-smartphones?from=search-result-v2

Thank you, Mindy.

I have a set of DJI hood for tablet with me but it was just large enough for iPad Mini 2. It is difficult for me to ascertain accurate focus of the X5 with the small screen of iPad Mini 2.

As suggested by Rich, I tend to opt for Hoodman hood for iPad Air in order to reduce the factor of the sun causing device overheating in summer.

About the coming iOS DJI GO App version 3.1.14, I trust it will be enhanced by DJI with regarding to the frequent popping up of CPU overloaded warnings we currently facing. However, I do not expect it will reduce its processing demands from iOS device, otherwise user experience of the GO App will definitely be impaired, which is not the way DJI programmers go.

Thanks for your care anyway.

Henry

RichJ53 Posted at 2017-8-7 21:42
I really like my Hoodman that I use with my mini 4....  If you get the new iPad Pro 10.5 , it takes a special size
and are not in the ads yet. you have to ask for them.
Rich

Hi Rich,

Did you experience any hard time adjusting your pupils with the use of Hoodman hood? What I mean is when you frequently change your view from watching the aircraft in the bright sky and watching the dialled down screen through the Hoodman hood.

Just want to make sure everything will work before pulling the trigger to buy.

Henry

RichJ53 Posted at 2017-8-7 21:30
Please keep in mind this requires good GPS with lots of satellites and home lock confirmed on take off. Minimum of 7-8 sat's I believe.  The Inspire 2 has OA that is setup in the App which could help you avoid obstacles on the way back, but you should always set the altitude above the known obstacles at your flying location before flight.
If you loose signal the Inspire 2 will do what it is programed to do.   (based on your settings in the Go 4 App)  
>Return To Home point

I had the RC lose connection with the I2 recently.  I had the RTH set to "Hover in Place" and lucky for me it was within sight and sat there while I restarted the RC unit.  The iPad Air 2 and GO 4 was fine, but the RC lost the connection (Green power/connection LED on RC went out, and iPad camera screen went dark.).

I don't know how it would respond to a RC restart or if it would respond with "Setting Home Position" to a new waypoint where it was currently hovering in the air when it shut down, rather than coming back to the original home starting point waypooint?  Would a reboot of the RC create a new "Home Point" in the air in a RTH scenario?  Dunno.

Fwiw, I'm not trusting this I2 stuff with the new and latest firmware at all.  Lack of rollback is bad too.

Henry M.Y. Posted at 2017-8-8 06:11
Hi Rich,

Did you experience any hard time adjusting your pupils with the use of Hoodman hood? What I mean is when you frequently change your view from watching the aircraft in the bright sky and watching the dialled down screen through the Hoodman hood.

Hi Henry,

I guess everyone will be different as far as your eyes adjusting to the darkness of the hood. I find it takes a few seconds after watching the Inspire 1 in bright sunlight when looking under the hood. For me it is not bad, but I do not stare at the sun before glancing down and usually find some shade to stand in (not always).

Set up your shot can take some time and I find it easy to rest my forehead on the top of the hood  (as long as it is not action shots). Not as immersive as goggles but you can see the screen very nicely.

All the best
Rich

fansa84fe8a4 Posted at 2017-8-8 07:21
I had the RC lose connection with the I2 recently.  I had the RTH set to "Hover in Place" and lucky for me it was within sight and sat there while I restarted the RC unit.  The iPad Air 2 and GO 4 was fine, but the RC lost the connection (Green power/connection LED on RC went out, and iPad camera screen went dark.).

I don't know how it would respond to a RC restart or if it would respond with "Setting Home Position" to a new waypoint where it was currently hovering in the air when it shut down, rather than coming back to the original home starting point waypooint?  Would a reboot of the RC create a new "Home Point" in the air in a RTH scenario?  Dunno.

Based on your information the Inspire 2 did what it was designed to do. Hovering in place was the last command. Turning off the RC did not change the result in this case.  
this is hypothetical
If you had the RTH programmed it would have come back to the recorded home point. turning off the RC, then turning it back on should not cause a problem (but I am not sure).  Of course in a prefect world with all the DJI hardware / software working correctly.

I am running the latest FW and so far everything is fine. IMO,  I prefer the RTH function over using the hovering place option just in case it is over water or will not reconnect.
After flying the Inspire 1 and now the Inspire 2 for over 2 years... I can say the reliability has been fantastic.  Try not to worry and enjoy flying your Inspire 2. DJI will continue to improve and hopefully we will have some new FW soon.  

Rich

RichJ53 Posted at 2017-8-7 21:30
Please keep in mind this requires good GPS with lots of satellites and home lock confirmed on take off. Minimum of 7-8 sat's I believe.  The Inspire 2 has OA that is setup in the App which could help you avoid obstacles on the way back, but you should always set the altitude above the known obstacles at your flying location before flight.
If you loose signal the Inspire 2 will do what it is programed to do.   (based on your settings in the Go 4 App)  
>Return To Home point

Rich, thanks so much for your input.

We will be practicing RTH protocols this weekend ... Definitely looking forward to it!

The funny thing is, I would really like to practice any type of OA or RTH (with OA), but I am definitely a little scared to test the limits of the aircraft due to the investment we've made. I'm sure DJI has made the RTH and OA function quite reliable, so will put my trust in them!

Sometimes I wish I had a huge warehouse that I could fit with obstacles (thin, large, small, moving, etc.) for testing to see how the Inspire 2 reacts to those things.

Call me paranoid, but I always prefer my own hands to anything autonomous. (Yea, probably won't be flying in one of those pilotless passenger jets or driverless cars any time soon ... Ha ha ha!)

paraviz02 Posted at 2017-8-8 12:42
Rich, thanks so much for your input.

We will be practicing RTH protocols this weekend ... Definitely looking forward to it!

I have been reading some of your other posts. Please see the antenna information and video on your other thread.

I would do another IMU and compass calibration just to make sure you have everything in order ..


Rich

Henry M.Y. Posted at 2017-8-8 05:59
Thank you, Mindy.

I have a set of DJI hood for tablet with me but it was just large enough for iPad Mini 2. It is difficult for me to ascertain accurate focus of the X5 with the small screen of iPad Mini 2.

New APP has been released, you are welcome to update at your most convenience.
Thanks for your suggestion, we will keep improving our product to make your experience with us better.

Henry M.Y. Posted at 2017-8-8 06:11
Hi Rich,

Did you experience any hard time adjusting your pupils with the use of Hoodman hood? What I mean is when you frequently change your view from watching the aircraft in the bright sky and watching the dialled down screen through the Hoodman hood.

the hoodman is great, there is very little effect when looking at the craft and back in the hood to the screen, however there will come a point in which taking your eyes off the moving AC for an instant and you will loose LOS and in my experience not recover it again. It has happened to me using and not using the hood. In particular in the summer months the sun is directly above making for an evenly lit sky which of late has become brighter, it you have any kind of haze which at least in the east coast of the US is common due to humidity, the craft being white will disappear in the haze. I can go maybe 2500 ft in the hazy summer sky, then it's bye bye birdie. I have lost video beyond this distance but was just cautious enough to head back and not complete loose signal, but it is scary.

Henry M.Y. Posted at 2017-8-7 15:06
iPad Air running iOS 10.3.3 with DJI GO version 3.1.13.

I think the heat of the sun and the dialling up of screen brightness were the major cause of the blackout.

I use an iPad mini 4, and live in Florida. The heat and humidity here right now is unbearable, and I have yet to have my iPad overheat. I do use a Hoodman over the top of my iPad to keep sunlight off the screen, maybe this helps. I also have an otterbox cover on my iPad. I think the older versions probably struggle with processor speed, and that causes them to overheat.

Ups_Jeff Posted at 2017-8-13 12:28
I use an iPad mini 4, and live in Florida. The heat and humidity here right now is unbearable, and I have yet to have my iPad overheat. I do use a Hoodman over the top of my iPad to keep sunlight off the screen, maybe this helps. I also have an otterbox cover on my iPad. I think the older versions probably struggle with processor speed, and that causes them to overheat.

You are very lucky! We just bought an iPad mini 4 and it only takes about 1-2 minutes of flight for the performance issues to render our flight experience worthless.

And we always fly from the shade, so there is no direct sunlight making CPU heat even worse.

I really wish I could go back to older versions of DJI firmware and software. It is very frustrating.

paraviz02 Posted at 2017-8-13 13:12
You are very lucky! We just bought an iPad mini 4 and it only takes about 1-2 minutes of flight for the performance issues to render our flight experience worthless.

And we always fly from the shade, so there is no direct sunlight making CPU heat even worse.

I wonder why it happens to your iPad and not mine? I mean, the moist heat doesn't get much worse than here. I have no idea about how an iPad would work in dry heat. I also, always close out anything running in the background.

Ups_Jeff Posted at 2017-8-13 15:46
I wonder why it happens to your iPad and not mine? I mean, the moist heat doesn't get much worse than here. I have no idea about how an iPad would work in dry heat. I also, always close out anything running in the background.

good point, I am out west in the very hot (heat wave) 98 - 115*F these past few weeks. It is dry heat maybe 20 - 28% on average. I believe the hoodman helps and the fact I find shade whenever I can too. Cleaning the cache and not having any other programs running helps. Make sure you keep the Bluetooth and Wi-Fi turned off if you are not using it.

Also, Dr. Jon was reporting some Wi-Fi / Bluetooth interference from his Mercedes car while out on location. I am wondering if this could be causing some of the reported problems?

Rich

I don't have any idea & experience regarding iOS heating, yes it could be a very dangerous situation for the human body because of electronic waves not good for health, I have an iPad because I'm an eCommerce web developer by profession.

mixchief Posted at 2017-8-13 12:09
the hoodman is great, there is very little effect when looking at the craft and back in the hood to the screen, however there will come a point in which taking your eyes off the moving AC for an instant and you will loose LOS and in my experience not recover it again. It has happened to me using and not using the hood. In particular in the summer months the sun is directly above making for an evenly lit sky which of late has become brighter, it you have any kind of haze which at least in the east coast of the US is common due to humidity, the craft being white will disappear in the haze. I can go maybe 2500 ft in the hazy summer sky, then it's bye bye birdie. I have lost video beyond this distance but was just cautious enough to head back and not complete loose signal, but it is scary.

Hi Maxchief,

Yes, bringing back an Inspire 1 from such a long distant away without any video downlink nor any flight telemetry must be scary!

In one of my cases I referred in Post #1, my Inspire 1 Pro was about 2,400 ft away when my iPad Air completely shut itself down because of the overheat. With only 30% juice left, I could not hesitate for any other option but to merely rely on my last glance of screen just before it died to guess the approximate orientation of my Inspire 1 Pro, so that subsequent RC sticks commands could be boldly applied in order to bring my Inspire 1 back home. At such a distant, there was nothing but a faint white dot on green mountain background available for me to notice my Inspire 1 Pro was still airborne! If the background were a bright sky with white clouds or haze, my only option would be pressing the RTH button. Taking time for me to swap another iOS device in would have been too risky to me, given the limited juice then remained.

Lesson learned. I will never let the iOS device overheat again, by whatever means e.g. using a Hoodman hood, keep it under shade, and etc.

Henry

If it is so critical in such a situation, one should not fly with such device. It is just too risky to even contemplate.

I carry an Nvidia Shield k1 with me at all times. iPad mini 4 overheats in Florida on me quite often. Ice pack in a cooler bag is the simple solution. I haven't found any other ideas... .turn off hardware decoding?  

The iPad mini 4 overheats and gets the CPU overload message . I have not experienced either of these problems with the Nvidia Shield k1 and therefore bring both with me when I fly the Inspire 1 Pro.
I use the simple white sunshade but of course the heat and humidity have are unbearable for humans let alone the iPad CPU.
I've resorted to ice packs and later in the day.
This is a bit of a problem as more people are "home" and come over to complain.
It's adding insult to injury.
(FAA Certified)

MedicFL1 Posted at 2017-8-17 14:34
The iPad mini 4 overheats and gets the CPU overload message . I have not experienced either of these problems with the Nvidia Shield k1 and therefore bring both with me when I fly the Inspire 1 Pro.
I use the simple white sunshade but of course the heat and humidity have are unbearable for humans let alone the iPad CPU.
I've resorted to ice packs and later in the day.

Yea same here. Try to fly only after about 5p, since the iPad overheats and all video and RC feed is garbage. But the neighbors don't seem to get it either ...

I remember in the heat of June, I used to be able to fly no problem at all hours of the day, with any device. Now it's like I'm dealing with a frail old man who can't do anything.

yes it is very nice.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Elvui

As everyone knows you can fly your drone without the IPad. You can fly it like any RC aircraft. Because you don't get any telemetry, I don't advise doing that but it will fly just fine. Like someone said; don't panic if the IPad dies, make sure you fly line of sight and you are aware of the UAV directional attitude at all times. You can put a good strobe light on the front of the bird pointing forward. I use a red strobe because of the factory red lights on the drone tells me where the front of the aircraft is. If you lose orientation; stop flying and slowly yaw the UAV around until you see the red strobe. Then push the right stick forward and it should be lined up to come home. If it is really bright outside you may not clearly see the strobe so you can use a pair of good binoculars to check orientation. Obviously, you can not fly only using the binoculars but there is no problem using them for this situation. The main thing you need to do is keep the glass of the iPad out of the sun and turn it off between flights. A hood is a good option or just find some shade. Also, check your case if you use one. Some cases are really tight and don't let a lot of air circulate around the device. I would be cautious about getting moisture around the IPad. If you put something cold on it then you will cause condensation to form. I've used the Mini 4 for several years and haven't had a problem in over year with overheating. IOS and DJI software has probably helped make things run cooler. I've included some info on a hood that I use. Hope this helps some.

Hi Henry,

A lot way to cool down your device here is 1 essential tips to cool down a hot smartphone. Avoid playing games. Games, and mainly graphically progressive games, tax the CPU, which heats up the device.

Don't leave it in a car. Temperatures can rise in parked cars quite rapidly. Take the iPhone with you when parked