Hello - I am new to this drone world. I am looking at buying a Phantom 3e to take arial photos of properties I own. (and watch the workers - work - or not work. If I have wifi at my base where I would be taking off from and there is no wifi after .5km - will the connection from my phone to the P3e stay intact?

Also - if there is no wifi, but there is cell service - can i send video data that way?

Another ??? - If there is no wifi and no cell service - is there a way to record in the camera unit itself? - Can I set the camera to look straight down and record data on the camera then download data to a usb or directly to a mac?

If I use a Samsung as the phone - will the data be able to download to a mac - or must I use an Iphone so the data is compatable?

Is the P3e waterproof - if it falls in the ocean - will it be ruined?

Thank you all for help in advance.

You do not need any outside or external wifi to fly your P3.  The controller talks to the aircraft with its own wifi, and video comes down from the aircraft to the remote then to your ipad/phone, etc. monitor.  It is best to download the video directly from the camera sd card to your PC.  And finally, being a new drone pilot, avoid flying around trees or over water until you get very comfortable controlling it.  Trees and ocean have claimed many a drone.  Some have recovered from a fresh water dunk, but salt water damage is nasty.  Good flying.

The Phantom does not need wifi or cell service to work properly.
You could use it in the middle of the Sahara desert.
Your photos and videos get saved to a micro SD card and you can copy them to any computer using a $3 microSD to USB connecter.

Like most electronic devices, it would be ruined if it fell into sea water.
Check the range of the drone before you buy.
If you are asking about the P3 Standard, it's range is limited compared to the more expensive models that use Lightbridge for control.

There is no such thing as a P3e.  Maybe you mean P3SE?