First off, I'm new to the drone world so be gentle!! I am going back to the Amazon jungle in a few months and I was wondering if the DJI Phantom 3 will fly without any kind of signal. There is zero cell service where I'm going. It is a 7 day canoe trip to get to the village I'm visiting. I want to take some aerial pics and vids this time but I need to know if it will work before packing the extra weight. I've heard wifi and gps is needed. Even the satellite phone I have doesn't work there, so.... any advice or suggestions? sidenote: the villagers have never seen anything like this. Seeing themselves in the viewfinder of a basic digital camera blows their minds. They are literally some of the last unreached peoples.

You do not need the internet or cell service to fly the phantom.  You do need to make sure you have signed into your account with DJI before you go and then check to make sure you are not restricted in height or distance before you go.
Remember you will need to charge your batteries and either have a way to download the photos and videos or have a very large SD card (64GB).  
The trip sounds interesting, be sure and post some of your photos when you return.

Once you activated and signed in on DJI with your account you don´t need the internet connection to fly your Phantom. WD9EON is right. The SD card must be a very fast one.

I fly mainly a p4p so its much the same. Once you have set up the system and its various components you do not need an internet or external cellular connection. The iPad I use has no Cellular capability, and where I mostly fly there is certainly no accessible WIFI. Neither is my iPad GPS capable without WIFI. The GPS is carried out by the ac itself and feeds the controller with information. A few months ago
I did over 30 flights on Malta without once having a WIFI or cellular link.

You should have no problems with GPS, it is a global system and covers the entire world. I thing your primary problem might be ensuring the natives don’t get the idea that the p3 is edible. Also remember that the high trees with dense and often wet foliage is going to play havoc with your signal strength and range, let alone “line of sight”.

As stated, WiFi isd not necessary, but GPS is. Fortunately, GPS works all over the world, including the Amazon. But it can be affected by thick trees and foliage, so you need to have a clear view of the sky. As per other recommendations, I would take extra batteries, extra SD cards and also a car battery charger in case you cannot gets mains power to charge the batteries.

Hi again AmazonMan,

WD9EON has made a good point (2#) about storage, I think he is still somewhat conservative. It depends on your film settings but high quality means lots of data and the ability to copy and/or transfer such. Her is what I take with me on a hunting trip.

I know its overkill, but not a lot.

(Mark the Droner)   Wow.....that video just brought a big smile to my face like the kids in the video!!! Cool Stuff!!!!

Cool vid, that's how I excited I got when I flew my Phantom series copter for 1st time.

The above discussion make sense. Please make sure you have logged in DJI GO and keep the status. Also, the dense forest may block the GPS signal, take care when the drone enter ATTI mode.

If your a beginner to flying the drone, test fly and practice well before you go. Avoid trees , and fly above them. Take off and home point well away from trees, and RTH well above treeline.
As stated above, dense foliage from overhead canopy can obscure the signal from gps, and the controller signal as well.
Enjoy your trip.

Thank you all for the helpful info. I will have a few extra batteries with me and I don't plan on flying out of my line of sight. And don't worry, the natives won't try to eat it! The Matses people are very friendly once they realize you are not there to take their land.

Just make sure they don't eat you, lol

ALABAMA Posted at 2017-11-14 05:13
Just make sure they don't eat you, lol

Wonder if the battery's could over heat in that jungle environment very easy.

Ok... I didn't read the posts, but responded... I fly P3S... No wifi needed. Turn on rc transmitter, then aircraft battery... hear the beeps. Goto your smartphone device wifi menu... connect to it. after connection is made open the DJIGO app. find your craft and go....

Mark The Droner Posted at 2017-11-13 14:49
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edgv7UH_LxY

Mark......i see the name on the video and wondered IF thats you in the video

Zippo43 Posted at 2017-11-14 17:51
Mark......i see the name on the video and wondered IF thats you in the video

Haha ... Nope.  Never been to Africa...