Hello everyone,

I'm completely new to the drone world. I never owned one before but have decided to buy a Mavic Pro Drone. I live in Greenland and nature here is astonishing. I would like to do some aerial photography here.

Internet is extremely expensive in Greenland. I have only a mobile 4G internet subscription with 5GB data per month.

Is it then still possible for me to buy and own a drone? Or are the firmware updates so large that 5GB data won't cut it?

Have a great day.

Best to use a solid WiFi connection if you can - 5GB will be enough but you may find limited data remaining

I am sure you have also internet access with computers. You can do the updates with DJI Assistant then.

Wachtberger Posted at 2018-3-28 03:40
I am sure you have also internet access with computers. You can do the updates with DJI Assistant then.

I have at my office but most websites are blocked and one cannot download files.

Serra Nova Posted at 2018-3-28 04:31
I have at my office but most websites are blocked and one cannot download files.

That's bad indeed. Internet Café maybe?

Wachtberger Posted at 2018-3-28 06:54
That's bad indeed. Internet Café maybe?

I thought that but it seems to have the internet in Greenland is a luxury for some reason.

5GB per month is not very much, between normal usage, and updates to Cellphone's OS and Apps.
Any idea how many GBs per month you now use?

As for drone firmware updates, there are updates for controller, and GO4 app.  Along with any App database updates you would use for checking flight conditions and No-Fly Zones.
And on occasion failed updates or re-updates, for unknown reason(s); resulting in a duplicated download.

If you want to upload any photos or videos, you are going to use up even more of your data plan.

A CW Posted at 2018-3-28 07:06
I thought that but it seems to have the internet in Greenland is a luxury for some reason.

Wonder if Satellite Internet service is available in Greenland and if so, cost per month and per GB?
Worst part of Satellite is, long delays.  250 Millisecond Up, 250 Millisecond Down, plus normal ping times to get to and from website.
Could be cheaper to pay for another 5GBs of cellphone data per month.

HedgeTrimmer Posted at 2018-3-28 07:36
5GB per month is not very much, between normal usage, and updates to Cellphone's OS and Apps.
Any idea how many GBs per month you now use?

This month I used 6,8GB and had to buy 2 extra GB's which costs 8,3 dollars per GB.

Can't I get my photos and vids from the SD-card inside the drone?

I am driving around the world and have the same issue with data.  I have suggest that we should be able to download updates to our phones when we can get wifi and load it to the drone and rc later.  Unfortunately software engineers all believe everyone has access to high speed internet! The good news is most of the updates are around 250 mb and you don't have to update all the time.  Good luck, you should get great imagery in Greenland.

Serra Nova Posted at 2018-3-28 07:48
This month I used 6,8GB and had to buy 2 extra GB's which costs 8,3 dollars per GB.

Can't I get my photos and vids from the SD-card inside the drone?

Of course you get them from the SD card. We are concerned about how we are going to get to see them! :-)

Wachtberger Posted at 2018-3-28 06:54
That's bad indeed. Internet Café maybe?

This does not exist here. The only buildings here are 2 supermarkets, a school, hospital and some other small stuff. No shops, restaurants, cinemas, clothing stores etc.

A CW Posted at 2018-3-28 07:06
I thought that but it seems to have the internet in Greenland is a luxury for some reason.

It is a luxury. Years ago it was even more expensive than now. A monthly broadband subscription now costs 199 dollars. Previously there was a data cap on 50GB but thats removed now. Price is still the same.

The price is that high due to our country being larger than China but we live only 55.000 people here who got to pay for it all. Greenland is one big rock and we have to lay sea cabels and blow through kilometers of solid rock. Also 80% of the population is poor.

Serra Nova Posted at 2018-3-28 07:54
This does not exist here. The only buildings here are 2 supermarkets, a school, hospital and some other small stuff. No shops, restaurants, cinemas, clothing stores etc.

Sounds like a quite remote place. How often per month does the ferry come? ;-) Sorry for the joke, must be beautiful nature though!

Wachtberger Posted at 2018-3-28 07:56
Sounds like a quite remote place. How often per month does the ferry come? ;-) Sorry for the joke, must be beautiful nature though!

Hehe. We have an airport too. Forgot to mention that. If you dont have a boat here you are pretty much stranded.

But yes the nature is absolutely breathtaking. You can catch salmon with your hands some places. Last year I climbed a 570 m mountain which took me 10,5 hours straight. Gonna do it again this year thats why I need to the drone to film me.

Serra Nova Posted at 2018-3-28 07:59
Hehe. We have an airport too. Forgot to mention that. If you dont have a boat here you are pretty much stranded.

But yes the nature is absolutely breathtaking. You can catch salmon with your hands some places. Last year I climbed a 570 m mountain which took me 10,5 hours straight. Gonna do it again this year thats why I need to the drone to film me.

I hope that at least once per month you can share some beautiful footage with us!

Wachtberger Posted at 2018-3-28 07:52
Of course you get them from the SD card. We are concerned about how we are going to get to see them! :-)

Oh If you like I can sent you some pics from here.

Serra Nova Posted at 2018-3-28 08:03
Oh If you like I can sent you some pics from here.

Post them here in the forum please! Just start a new thread "Where my Mavic will fly", this way all here can enjoy them.

Serra Nova Posted at 2018-3-28 07:48
This month I used 6,8GB and had to buy 2 extra GB's which costs 8,3 dollars per GB.

Can't I get my photos and vids from the SD-card inside the drone?

Any chance your cellphone service (or possible competitor) offers a breakpoint or sweet spot for per month data usage?

In case of my Cellphone provider, the first few GBs are expensive.  But once you crossover to 10GBs of usage, the price per GB starts dropping.  The price drops occur at 5GB intervals, up to 40GBs per month.  After that, the price jumps up for some reason.  

Yes, you can get your photos and vids from the SD-card inside the drone.  I was thinking about you wanting to share you photos and vids with family and friends.  Which can be done via DVD and postal mail, but is often done via websites - thus upload of data.

Serra Nova Posted at 2018-3-28 07:56
It is a luxury. Years ago it was even more expensive than now. A monthly broadband subscription now costs 199 dollars. Previously there was a data cap on 50GB but thats removed now. Price is still the same.

The price is that high due to our country being larger than China but we live only 55.000 people here who got to pay for it all. Greenland is one big rock and we have to lay sea cabels and blow through kilometers of solid rock. Also 80% of the population is poor.

"A monthly broadband subscription now costs 199 dollars. Previously there  was a data cap on 50GB but thats removed now. Price is still the same."

I think if it were me, I would see if a good neighbor would share the connection.  Have to be a little careful about over use, less ISP gets wise.

Out of curosity, what sort of Upload and Download speeds (Megabits per second) do you get for 199 dollars?

For satellite, here it is about $170 a month for 50GB plan, with 15 Mbps down and 4 Mbps up.  Actual speeds closer to 12 to 18 Mbps down and 1 to 4 Mbps up.  $10 extra if you want Persitant IP address.  Similar to static IP address, excpet it requires a router capable of using a paid for DNS service.

Firmware updates are about 200 MB, I think the real problem will be when you want to upload those magnificent 4K footages.

Wachtberger Posted at 2018-3-28 08:09
Post them here in the forum please! Just start a new thread "Where my Mavic will fly", this way all here can enjoy them.

I will do that

Serra Nova Posted at 2018-3-28 09:35
I will do that

Looking forward to it!

HedgeTrimmer Posted at 2018-3-28 08:20
Any chance your cellphone service (or possible competitor) offers a breakpoint or sweet spot for per month data usage?

In case of my Cellphone provider, the first few GBs are expensive.  But once you crossover to 10GBs of usage, the price per GB starts dropping.  The price drops occur at 5GB intervals, up to 40GBs per month.  After that, the price jumps up for some reason.  

I think I can upload them on my work computer. At least I hope to do so

There is no sweet spot here unfortunately the prices per GB is the same everytime one upgrades.

HedgeTrimmer Posted at 2018-3-28 08:38
"A monthly broadband subscription now costs 199 dollars. Previously there  was a data cap on 50GB but thats removed now. Price is still the same."

I think if it were me, I would see if a good neighbor would share the connection.  Have to be a little careful about over use, less ISP gets wise.

When there was a data limit on GB the speed was 4mb download (in actuality 2 mb download) and 1 mb upload.

Now its 30mb download but in actuality 5-10 mb download. Problem is that there are daily 5-10 disconnects on the broadband. Sometimes the internet is down for longer time. For example last friday the internet were down entire weekend and most of monday. I work in a Hospital and it was critical for us regarding medicin lists for patients, journals etc.

V_kingo Posted at 2018-3-28 09:11
Firmware updates are about 200 MB, I think the real problem will be when you want to upload those magnificent 4K footages.

Yes you are right. I might be able to do it on my work computer but it will take all day just to upload one picture. Youtube vids can only be played in 360p if I'm lucky.

Serra Nova Posted at 2018-3-28 07:56
It is a luxury. Years ago it was even more expensive than now. A monthly broadband subscription now costs 199 dollars. Previously there was a data cap on 50GB but thats removed now. Price is still the same.

The price is that high due to our country being larger than China but we live only 55.000 people here who got to pay for it all. Greenland is one big rock and we have to lay sea cabels and blow through kilometers of solid rock. Also 80% of the population is poor.

Wow - that is expensive! I pay £20 per month for unlimited data with BT broadband and £20 per month with O2 for 10GB per month on my iPhone 7 plus. $199 for 5GB at home is obscene. Though I appreciate the size of the population explains why - we have 9,000,000 in my city alone (London) - guess there are some benefits to living in this metropolis

Hi Serra, so sorry to hear the difficulties in using the network in Greenland, however, the network on a computer is needed, if you failed to update the firmware via the DJI GO4 app, then it is recommended to try the DJI assistant 2 on a computer, sometimes, you also need to export some useful data via DJI assistant 2. So there will be a lot inconvenient for you if you only able to use the mobile network. Thanks!

Serra Nova Posted at 2018-3-28 09:48
Yes you are right. I might be able to do it on my work computer but it will take all day just to upload one picture. Youtube vids can only be played in 360p if I'm lucky.

You don't have to update anything else than the fly safe database. The firmware should work without update. Most, if not all latest updates have been more toward Mavic Air.  I have downgraded to 4.1.0100 and app to 4.18 and it works perfectly fine. Just bee sure to log in to the app when you have internet connection.