Ok, so like many other I'm anxious to see all features working on my Phantom 3 and the companion Pilot App.
I'm an android convert (different story) but have had several IOS and other Apple products within reach.

Being that I've been using Android (SM-T320; Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4) I've used both version of the App that are out there, 1.0.11 (in the Play Store) and 1.10 (from DJI's site).

My findings is that from a performance perspective these pretty much behave the same:
1.10 Pros: it has Director option on the main screen (buggy); The Help (support) screen has a dropdown so you can tailor for Inspire 1 or Phantom (similar to IOS).
1.10 Cons: Still missing simulator, All audio feedback/callouts from the apps are stripped out; Not even low battey alarms! (only the controller sound).
The log listing under 1.10 apparently has issues presenting flights recorded under 1.0.11; even if these had been uploaded to the cloud. Also, has issues playing back the flights telemetry.

My personal gripe on IOS App version is that it uses IOS Maps instead of Google Maps. Those maps aren't as acurate as the Google version. At least for my area!!

So - After this comparison; I've decided to get my wifes iPad Air2 and test the Pilot App there. Huge different in performance right off the bat!
Loaded much quicker and noticed a significant reduction in lag from the live video feed. Not that the android feed was terrible; but this was much smoother. Also IOS had more features like Youtube live stream and controls feedback graphics displayed when playing back your flights! Cool...

So checked all my settings, confirmed everything was fine and took off with automatic feature. Beautiful!

Allowed for the drone to hover a few minutes; double checked my settings; adjusted camera exposure. Now I took off to 125ft @ ~340 ft distance.

After hovering up there for a little while I notice the iPad status bar turned red and started flashing. Read the message and stated "Compass Error". Well, needless to say I'm in panic mode! Right after reading the message I heard a voice on the iPad state 'Atti Mode'. What???? I have not set Atti mode at all! I figured since it had issues with the compass it switched to Atti Automatically??  So now, I check it looks stable up there; but the controls are responding in an Atti mode fashion... Not fun, when not planned and addrenaline pumping thru!

I went ahead and press the RTH button once (lightly on the controller) heard a beep. Then double checked my controller to make sure it was in P mode, and it was. Looked at the Status message again - and it's Green and "GPS - Safe to Fly" message is there! What the heck?

The drone is stable again and holding his position. I went ahead and circled around a couple of time and brought it in successfully.

I've haven't experienced this issues on the Android device. Should I be concern or chalk this one as a fluke and go for another iPad controlled ride???
(Have had the drone for a week now and about 12 flights completed) and I'm still flying my Phantom 1; every now and then

I think you mix a lot of things and you should read the manual again.
P-Mode has 3 sub-modes : P-GPS, P-Opti and P-Atti. So, even if you don't put the flight mode switch to the middle position (A), the aircraft is able to switch by itself to one of the 3 sub P modes in case of problems. This should have been the same flying it without a tablet connected to the RC.
Using Android or iOS doesn't change anything : this is not the tablet which gives the instruction to the quad to switch from one mode to another (fortunately) and this happening after switching from one tablet to another is pure coincidence.
Apart from being able to change some settings, in flight or not, the tablet is nothing more than a "dashboard" : all settings (RTH height, max distance, exp, gain, ...) are stored in the quad and effective even if you fly without a tablet... And this is why the quad has to be powered on to use the simulator.

Like said above, I think you need to read the manual a little I think..

That to one side, did you do a compass calibration and if so what kind of location was it in ( wide open field, urban area, city ). Normally compass errors seem to happen when a calibration is done and the aircraft "saves" a bad baseline. So when you take off whatever forces that was acting on the P3 compass when you did calibration changed enough for it to throw a warning.

Always do a calibratin in an area that has the least ammount of metal objects near the Phantom as possible. This includes your phone and the P3 Contoller, keys, belt buckle, re-bat in the ground, manhone covers, power pylons, you get the picture . This way the P3 will get a proper baseline on the ground that does not change much once its high up in the air.

Most of the time this compass error never happens but when it does I think its down to a bad calibration. Although not 100% accurate, I use an app on my phone called Multi Measures 2 that shows you the chnaged in magnetic field.. I place it where I will calibrate the P3 and move around/up and down a bit to see if the reading changes a lot. You would be suprised how high a reading on concrete with re-bar is

You can now buy the official DJI Hardshell Backpack

Remember to buy extra propellers and one or two spare batteries to keep you flying

www.Phantom-Guide.co.uk - The Ultimate Phantom 3 Resource

sploodge Posted at 2015-6-6 18:05
Like said above, I think you need to read the manual a little I think..

That to one side, did you d ...

Went back to the P3P manual and read the flight mode section again - carefully. Guess I'm still not absolutely clear on what's going on.

In P-GPS mode, my switch is on "P" on the controller and we'll assume I have a good strong GPS signal. I currently have VPS disabled - turned off. Therefore, I'm using only GPS (and maybe barometric) to maintain position. My P3P should hover in one position, maintaining both altitude and geo coordinates.

Now let's say I lose GPS - signals get very weak or disappear. Since my VPS is turned off, can I assume my P3P *must* switch to ATTI since OPTI cannot work without the VPS.

If VPS is enabled, the P-OPTI mode could be engaged.

So, since VPS is turned off, when GPS goes away, I'm forced into P-ATTI. Hopefully, the barometric system can maintain my altitude, but if I'm in heavy wind, it could blow my P3P all over the place. Even if it can use the barometric system to maintain the altitude, it no longer has the ability to maintain its position.

In your opinion, do I have all that correct?

As an aside, I went down to the park one day and switched to the "F" position - after having read the IOC section very carefully. Until POI comes along I guess the F-mode works nicely for flying a straight line and keeping the camera focused on a specific subject.

@Ulysse and @sploodge, thank you for the advise. I did reviewed the manual as advised and I do have a much better understanding of the sub-modes within P-mode. Good advise!
It does make me nervous that if the Compass fails - you are pretty much SOL (Solo). But I guess that's the trade off. It would be nice if they had a backup compass or something.... LOL

aburkefl@gmail. Posted at 2015-6-6 19:12
Went back to the P3P manual and read the flight mode section again - carefully. Guess I'm still not ...

Correct.
And to add something, Atti mode is pretty much the same as P-Atti : Atti is your decision and P-Atti is the quad decision.