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Mavic Air - Weak / Poor IMAGE TRANSMISSION? ( POLL )
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26594 132 2018-3-6
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Kibosh 3
lvl.4
Canada
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It appears that I'm not the only one that's having a problem with poor image transmission. (Go4 app & firmware up-to-date)

The image transmission is so bad that I can't use Sport Mode without it losing live image feed... very scary.
I can even be holding the AIR and just move it quickly in my hand, that's enough for the image to lag behind in a choppy / jumpy manner.

I've tried a few things:
- updated / refresh firmware through DJI Assistant2
- uninstall then reinstall Go4 app
- disconnect then reconnect RC
- tried different wifi channels manually

I have also own a Mavic Pro and two Sparks and don't have any problems like this...
It's such a shame as I preordered this drone from DJI online store (I never preorder anything - I always wait some time to see what happens with the first units... I went against my usual stance on preorders and am now regretting it... lesson learned..)

Anyway, hopefully people use the poll in this thread and it gets DJI's attention that there's something very wrong with some of these units... I wanted so badly to love this product... even went to CES 2018 specifically to see if DJI would announce somthing new... very frustrated..

Thanks for participating, everyone!



Single SelectVote, Total 337 people participate in voting View Poll participants

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37.09% (125)
23.74% (80)
3.56% (12)
35.61% (120)
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2018-3-6
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$gambino$
First Officer
Flight distance : 1563980 ft
United States
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Not me love it stock i was getting great transmission have u tried a custom transmission channel on 2.4 or 5.8? Installed a 4hawks antenna now there is absolutely no lag and flys like my mav pro no lag in hd feed or sport mode
2018-3-6
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hallmark007
Captain
Flight distance : 9812789 ft
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Ireland
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Your implying this is across the board, but that is not the case the bulk of people using MavAir are not having problems with this. I would recommend that you let us know what setup you are using what wavelength in what type of area you are flying in and also post some videos of how bad this really is.
2018-3-7
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alonzowest
lvl.4
Flight distance : 40938 ft
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United States
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are you using your phone, if so make sure you are in airplane mode. it helps alot! also, dont wear smart watchs  while flying!
2018-3-7
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DirkGerrit
First Officer
Flight distance : 276424 ft
Netherlands
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Even when I forgot to unfold the antennas transmission is good
2018-3-7
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$gambino$
First Officer
Flight distance : 1563980 ft
United States
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Yep stock in an urban area I was getting great range... now it's fantastic and so is the image feed
2018-3-7
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Wyke
Second Officer
Flight distance : 33166 ft
United Kingdom
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I don’t think regretting your pre-order stance is going to help. I preordered and am very happy. If you’ve a duff one then go down usual channels
2018-3-8
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hallmark007
Captain
Flight distance : 9812789 ft
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Ireland
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Putting your phone in airplane mode is essential, I have tried both ways and transmission and interference is rough without being in airplane mode.
2018-3-8
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Split-Second
lvl.3
Belgium
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hallmark007 Posted at 2018-3-8 10:14
Putting your phone in airplane mode is essential, I have tried both ways and transmission and interference is rough without being in airplane mode.

Do I still have a map in the bottom left corner when in Airplane Mode ? Or is it just blank ?
2018-3-9
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hallmark007
Captain
Flight distance : 9812789 ft
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Ireland
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Split-Second Posted at 2018-3-9 01:05
Do I still have a map in the bottom left corner when in Airplane Mode ? Or is it just blank ?

No you still have a map and radar.
2018-3-9
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Auspete
Second Officer
Flight distance : 6939 ft
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Australia
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Mavic Air with iPhone is fine. Mavic Air with Crystalsky  (to internal memory) is unusable
2018-3-9
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Matthew Chirico
Captain
Flight distance : 769160 ft
United States
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so based on comments...JUST going into airplane mode will fix this? OR will changing something in the settings help? I'm having a bad experience with this when I fly barely 200 ft away
2018-3-9
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lannes
Captain
Flight distance : 4465 ft
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Australia
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What phone or tablet are you using ?
2018-3-9
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lannes
Captain
Flight distance : 4465 ft
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Australia
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Matthew Chirico Posted at 2018-3-9 13:02
so based on comments...JUST going into airplane mode will fix this? OR will changing something in the settings help? I'm having a bad experience with this when I fly barely 200 ft away

Have you tried 5.8ghz frequencies
2018-3-9
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Bekaru MP UAV
Captain
Flight distance : 15513100 ft
South Africa
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i have that same problem with my mavic pro - even if i hold it in my hand a turn the drone the picture lags. Making my problem so much more frustrating is that it is never consistent. Sometimes will be fine for a while - then for no explained or understandable reason the image blurr starts. Often it will be there at the start of my flight and then disappear for a while but almost always on and off again and mostly when my drone is close to me.
2018-3-9
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Matthew Chirico
Captain
Flight distance : 769160 ft
United States
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lannes Posted at 2018-3-9 16:38
Have you tried 5.8ghz frequencies

I flew a bunch this weekend and airplane DEFINITELY helps...I'll try that as well!
2018-3-12
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RichInGa
Second Officer
Flight distance : 449344 ft
United States
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If you're having issues, contact support -- what you described doesn't match what I see on my mavic air.  MAYBE if I am in a really congested area, then it will not give me great signal, but only at a distance.  hope this helps
2018-3-12
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Bigplumbs
Captain
Flight distance : 620164 ft
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United Kingdom
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What are you using as the screen device. Some devices simply don't have the processing power or have too many applications running for it to work well. See if you can find someone with an Ipad Mini 3 or 4 which will test if the drone transmission is good or not.]

The Ipad Mini 3 or 4 is by far the best screen device for this drone. Also make sure all other devices you have near you or on you are switched to Airplane mode or off

Dennis
2018-3-12
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DJI P5
lvl.4
Flight distance : 59610 ft
Singapore
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Mine can't fly more than 200m it will lost signal and most of the times  less 100m are with poor video transmission
2018-3-15
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DJI P5
lvl.4
Flight distance : 59610 ft
Singapore
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The poor signal is because of using enhanced WiFi
2018-3-15
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$gambino$
First Officer
Flight distance : 1563980 ft
United States
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I wouldnt say that bigplumbs....wait till summer hits and u get the dreaded "cpu overloaded slowing device down " error on that ipad. My s8+ has been flawless
2018-3-19
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djiuser_W42hqt5KmM1l
New
Flight distance : 1575 ft
Hong Kong
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Yes, I've flown it twice - once in Sai Kung (rural area Hong Kong) and once in Philippines (Anilao - rural, some resorts).  in both cases I couldnt get much past 600m without completely losing transmission signal

[Edit] - Just saw some replies.  I've tried with iPhone 6s and with iPad Mini 4, is the Airplane mode the issue here?  Seems odd.  I have seen some answers relating to switching frequency, is this an option in Go app?

Matt
2018-3-20
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djiuser_eSP63Yx7FSmZ
lvl.1
United States
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Mine does this too... I have tried all the things you tried and still can't fly past 200meters
2018-3-20
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Raini
lvl.1
Flight distance : 135689 ft
Germany
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Same me. Mine can't fly more than 200m it will lost signal and most of the times  less 100m are with poor video transmission.
Then, more and less the 10. flight, i have lost mine over the jungle, for ever. :-(
Hope DJI will offer a replacement drone for not the full prize.. :-/
In future, i would not fligh away more than 200m...
2018-3-21
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Bill-Fly
lvl.4
Flight distance : 70722 ft
United States
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For me..when I use a tablet I get a terable range and connection, but when I use an old cell phone that I no longer use for cell service I get 6500 ft with no problems.TRY A DIFFERENT DEVISE.
2018-3-21
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Nibes
lvl.1
Flight distance : 20938 ft
Angola
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I have the exact same problem... 10 flights, only one I was able to reach 890meters in distance... and never more than 100m high...

The other flights I lost connection before 100m in distance.  Is that normal ?

It's secure to change from 2.4 ghz to 5.8 ghz ?

Thanks
2018-3-21
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gcomfx
lvl.3
Flight distance : 119613 ft
United States
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I'm having trouble with weak signal issues as well.  iPhone 8+ (256) always on airplane mode.  The problem seemed to really get worse with the last firmware update.  I'm testing an iPad Air now.  I've always used AUTO mode for the Wifi.  I'll try to test manual settings with it as well.
2018-4-24
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Parik
lvl.4
Flight distance : 1643773 ft
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Finland
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I got my MA three days back. On Friday on maiden flight everything went fine. I was loving my new MA, on Saturday i installed new firmware update. I got no image transmission problem, but i thought it is may be some radom. Then today i got it twice. On anroid as well as on ipad. This is scary. I thought i could fly more than 300m. But now i dont have that confidence. If this will continue i am going to ask for replacement from my local shop.
2018-5-20
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HereForTheBeer
Captain
Flight distance : 5381368 ft
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United States
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I hope this gets resolved rapidly!  I’mLooking to buy a Mavic Air  probably next month  when I’m going on vacation (unless someone grabs that week on my vacation home and rents it out) And I will be comparing it with my Mavic Pro..  probably... maybe.. most likely..
2018-5-20
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Danger Lampost
Second Officer

United States
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I always restart my phone before flying, to minimize the number of other mobile apps that are running in the background. I know you can do this on Android by killing your background apps, but I prefer the clean reboot and then wait a few minutes for the phone to settle done. If one of your mobile apps decides its time to update something, that could well mess up the video quality on your phone / device because your device is doing too many things at once.

I also put my phone into Airplane mode not only so that I don't get any calls while flying, but also to minimize the stuff that other apps might do in the background that would cause issues.

Can you post a screen snapshot of your Wi-Fi screen near where you're having this issue? You may find some clues there.
2018-5-20
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robinlee
lvl.1
United Kingdom
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I thought the MA using WiFi as signal?
2018-5-21
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HoosierT
lvl.1
Flight distance : 93219 ft
United States
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I have the same issue with my Air for sure. I even exchanged for a new one ensuring the production month was different hoping a different production lot might solve the issue. No change for me. Using 5.8 ghz set manually for best channel choice, as well as using airplane mode does help, but I still lose transmission at ~1000-1500 ft regardless of elevation. I have the same results whether I use an iPad Air, 2017 Ipad, or an iPhone X. I have a Raptor SR coming int he mail today so I'm hoping that solves my issue, otherwise I just can't build any trust and confidence in this drone.
2018-5-21
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EdisonW1979
First Officer
Flight distance : 1535679 ft
Canada
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All this talk about putting devices onto Airplane mode, or killing background apps on iOS is making me laugh, as this is meaningless...

Cellular transmissions occur on completely different frequencies and have no bearing on the efficiency of Wi-Fi transmissions, which the MA uses. Even the ambient EMI caused by the smartphones' cellular radio isn't enough to impact the Wi-Fi transmissions of the MA and it's RC. Cellular transmissions become much more impactful when you fly the MA (or any drone for that matter) close to cellular transmission towers and power transmission lines, as those emit FAR GREATER EMI that can ruin the transmission between an MA and the RC.

Smart watches / health trackers like Apple Watch or Fitbit might cause issues with MA's 2.4GHz band, as those devices operate on 2.4GHz Bluetooth and are known for causing some minor issues, but when my MA had firmware .0300 I always used my Apple Watch S3 along with my iPhone X with all radios on, and never had a image transmission or range issue.

Also with iOS, unlike Android, iOS will suspend all apps that are in the task switcher, so you could be running a dozen apps and the phone won't be taxed at all. Only apps I would close, as they can perform background updates by default, are social media apps like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, and texting / IM / video conferencing apps like Skype and Telegram. The old notion of having to force close apps on iOS is completely FALSE. Android devices needs to do this as the OS is much worse at handling background apps and memory management.

Bottom line, I flew my MA with an iPhone X and Apple Watch S3 with all radios on, never closed any apps, never did anything special, and it flew beautifully, and never had signal transmission or range issues, whilst on FW .0300. Now with .0400, even my iPad Pro 10.5 Wi-Fi only model, when I use it without my iPhone X cellular link, even to test, the MA can't go more than 150m before video feed starts to degrade, and a bit more distance than that, I often lose signal all together.

This is a FW .0400 issue, not your devices or radios, and we need to let DJI put out a fix for this.
2018-6-2
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EdisonW1979
First Officer
Flight distance : 1535679 ft
Canada
Offline

Just took my MA out for a quick test flight, and as it hovered 10ft away from me, the signal kept cutting in and out, with repeated Strong Interference warnings popping up... This is all happening since .0400 firmware, and I'm so fed up with this! I have ZERO confidence in this drone now!

And so here's the funny part... I went to put Wi-Fi into Custom mode, and saw multiple channels were showing no interference, mostly in the 5.8GHz band, so I switched to three different channels; 149. 153, 157 if I remember them correctly. On each change, the drone IMMEDIATELY began to show HIGH interference levels on that channel, and neighbouring channels! EVERY channel I switched to spontaneously developed high signal noise upon changing to that channel!

After landing, I took out my MacBook Pro and scanned using a proper Wi-Fi scanning application to see what was in the area... NOTHING even CLOSE to what the drone was registering!

This never occurred on .0300, and even though this is an urban area, interference in the area, to this magnitude, doesn't happen over night.

I've uploaded the basic log to PhantomHelp and posted the link below.

DJI, this is DEPLORABLE!!! People have spent upwards of $1500 and more with accessories for this drone, and it's turned into a completely useless toy with almost no range, this is UNACCEPTABLE!!! It's been MORE THAN a MONTH since you broke the MA, keep this up and I'm considering a class-action...

PhantomHelp Log
2018-6-4
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TZero
Second Officer
Flight distance : 547618 ft
Brazil
Offline

I really am also negatively surprised with DJI.
I also got out of heaven (firmw 0300) to hell (0400) and practically no flight for a month.

What makes me more upset is that it was only the DJI release the rollback to version 0300, even if warning of risks or release a Beta.

Only MAVIC AIR has this nonsense of not being able to return firmware.
I usually say that worse than a bad attitude is to take time to fix.
2018-6-4
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Neal McGuire
lvl.1

United States
Offline

We tried to use one of our spare cells and had this issue. That phone was a Motorola Play G4.  It was choppy and very close to unusable. I switch to my Galaxy S7 active and the problem went away instantly. (same exact place, same exact flying conditions, flew within 1 minute of using the other phone) I was able to reproduce this effect.

I also found that airplane mode does help.

What also help is following the start up steps exactly. That includes plugging in the phone.
Exactly as in the following:

First screen: unfold the MA.

Second screen:
1) Start the MA, wait for the beeps  
2) Start the RC

Third Screen: plug the phone into the RC

This appears to result in a quick connection between the MA and the RC. Not sure why.
2018-6-4
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AlphaFlightNW
First Officer
Flight distance : 784265 ft
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United States
Offline

I have only really had a bad experience in some parts of the city where there are huge offices or ridiculous amounts of wifi. Always check before you fly the signal strength because it can cost a drone. I was fortunate enough to have had a not too windy day when I was flying and the video signal dropped as it was 400 feet above me in downtown with buildings all around. Luckily, the orientation was easy to detect and it was within line of sight which brought it safely back. Did get a photo of the space needle without flying in any parks, which is a plus as well since Seattle is a bit silly about that.
2018-6-4
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PCA
lvl.1
Flight distance : 21942 ft
Philippines
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Ok I went out and got a iPhone 6s Plus 128gig. Replaced my cables with bellin and still have terrible video. My new phone only has the DJI app. All other apps are not working. My phone dose not have a sim in it.
This sucks.
I have tried 2.4 and 5.8, no change.
Just flew today and now it’s bounced in hover from ground to 10 m to ground up and down. Had a hell of a time getting it to land.
2018-6-14
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Kattephet
lvl.1
Offline

Same problem here.

I really cant understand how come device so expensive (for me it was cost over 1000 pounds) can be so bad in quality and service? If I could go back in time I would NOT buy mavic again. Im really disappointed about that product, where ever I go there are always some issues after a while (aircraft disconnected, Ultra sensor error, and now again - bad transmission quality), and I only have it for not even 2 months!?! Ridicules.

About problem with transmission...

It started yesterday after some small update has been done on my phone (DJI PRO 4 app installed something), couldn't even fly for 20 meters. I reinstalled everything - firmware, app on phone, Ive tried different settings, nothing helps, and please dont tell me to try with another phone cause I don't have another one! I have my Samsung Galaxy S8 and so far it was okey to fly on it, it is brand new phone (bought it about 3 months ago).

Would be nice if somebody from Mavic service could reply here and tell us what is going on, and what they are doing about it, otherwise the only thing we can do is to wait. Sad.
2018-6-14
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Squashpile
Second Officer
Flight distance : 214019 ft
United States
Offline

I use one of the cheapest Android phones you can get with no issues. Huawei Honor 7x. Under $200 works great.
2018-6-20
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