I have an iPhone7+ with no SIM card, plan to use it with Mavic Mini controller.  It has 256GB and runs fine using WIFI.

Is there any need at all to have cellular service while using it to fly the Mavic Mini?  I could tether via hotspot to my cell phone which is the smaller iPhone7 if internet connectivity is needed.

Do I need to download any maps first, if so where from?

Thanks,
Bob

no need at all.  I have a dedicated iphone 6S with no SIM.    I connecte to wifi to download the app and updates, but in the field i’m in airplane mode.

I don’t download the maps, so I just get a blank screen in the map view, but that’s fine with me....i only use it to fly home using the compass

You don’t need cell connection or internet to fly a drone just your app and your good .
5 years flying dji drones used maps once you can download and cache

Hello and good day Bob. Thank you for reaching out and for the inquiry. You can fly your DJI Drone without internet or cellular connection. Generally, I would recommend to put the mobile in flight mode or airplane mode. Have a safe and happy flying always.

May I kindly ask you to please explain how to cache maps for offline usage in the DJI Fly App?
Is this even somehow possible?
I haven't found any such option so far.
Thank you.

DJI Stephen Posted at 12-1 14:00
Hello and good day Bob. Thank you for reaching out and for the inquiry. You can fly your DJI Drone without internet or cellular connection. Generally, I would recommend to put the mobile in flight mode or airplane mode. Have a safe and happy flying always.

I received my Mini today and was reading the owners manual.  On page 34 it states that "Mobile cellular data is required when using DJI Fly"  This is in conflict with your answer.  I purchased a used iPhone7 with no SIM just for the controller.  I have only tried a hover so far indoors, works fine.  Please comment on the statement in the Owners Manual.
Thanks,
Bob

AE1M Posted at 12-9 12:22
I received my Mini today and was reading the owners manual.  On page 34 it states that "Mobile cellular data is required when using DJI Fly"  This is in conflict with your answer.  I purchased a used iPhone7 with no SIM just for the controller.  I have only tried a hover so far indoors, works fine.  Please comment on the statement in the Owners Manual.
Thanks,
Bob

You don't need to have cellular service to fly. I have made several flights in airplane mode so I won't be bothered with texts and phone calls. I also use an iPad Air 2 without cellular service and it works fine as well. You should be good.

I thought so, wonder why the Owners Manual says this.  It even says you should also ignore calls when flying!

Owner's Manual?  What is this owner's manual you speak of?

Using an LG G6 (on supported list) dedicated. DJI fly only no oddball apps no sim etc. Beware of updates etc make sure to check with wifi before going to fly. If the app hangs loading restart the phone.

I fly with a galaxy 7 active (no cell service) or an iPad Air (series3 WiFi only) tethered to a Verizon ellipses Jetpack. Both work for flying and maps. Since my iPad has no gps the orientation icon in the bottom center of the Fly app doesn’t work properly when using my home WiFi in the back yard. If tethering to the jetpack it shares its gps location. I have better results with DJI Fly and the orientation icon works properly with both devices. The app currently does not support caching maps. With warning and restrictions baked into the application not having a map could impede normal operations.   I assumed this is why the manual says that it requires a phone with mobile data.

I live 6 miles from an airport and have had one occasion when my bird would not launch. The app told me I was in restricted airspace.  After a few moments my location updated in the app and I could launch.

AE1M Posted at 12-9 14:09
I thought so, wonder why the Owners Manual says this.  It even says you should also ignore calls when flying!

This puzzled me a lot at the beggining too.
I had only 8 GPS lock the other day and noticed I didnt had airplane mode on, turn it on and it went straight from 8 to 12 GPS locked, not sure if it was a pure coincidence but it seems to have an effect in the phone.

Sigmo Posted at 12-9 14:14
Owner's Manual?  What is this owner's manual you speak of?

The Mavic Mini manual.  It’s online  and I downloaded the PDF

Madperk Posted at 12-9 15:13
I fly with a galaxy 7 active (no cell service) or an iPad Air (series3 WiFi only) tethered to a Verizon ellipses Jetpack. Both work for flying and maps. Since my iPad has no gps the orientation icon in the bottom center of the Fly app doesn’t work properly when using my home WiFi in the back yard. If tethering to the jetpack it shares its gps location. I have better results with DJI Fly and the orientation icon works properly with both devices. The app currently does not support caching maps. With warning and restrictions baked into the application not having a map could impede normal operations.   I assumed this is why the manual says that it requires a phone with mobile data.

I live 6 miles from an airport and have had one occasion when my bird would not launch. The app told me I was in restricted airspace.  After a few moments my location updated in the app and I could launch.

I didnt think the drone makes use of the GPS from the phone at all.  I assumed all GPS required data comes from the internal GPS on the drone.

Am I wrong?

Bob

I asked that very question a few weeks ago, this is the response I received...

Hi, thank you for posting your inquiry for the DJI Mavic Mini. For the cellular data indicated on the page 34 of the DJI Mavic Mini manual, you can use data or wifi for updating and logging in to your DJI account. Once all needed updates are complete and you are logged to your DJI account on your DJI Fly application, you can fly the drone without using your cellular or Wifi services. If you have further queries feel free to DJI Forum. Thank you.

https://forum.dji.com/forum.php? ... 849&pid=2002555

AE1M Posted at 12-9 12:22
I received my Mini today and was reading the owners manual.  On page 34 it states that "Mobile cellular data is required when using DJI Fly"  This is in conflict with your answer.  I purchased a used iPhone7 with no SIM just for the controller.  I have only tried a hover so far indoors, works fine.  Please comment on the statement in the Owners Manual.
Thanks,
Bob

I read as well but it's not correct. You need an internet connection (data or wifi) the first time you switch on your machine for registration purposes. Afterward it's not necessary anymore.

As for maps caching, I think you just have to open googlemaps on your cellphone in the area where you intend to fly, and you should have the map available (some features, at least)

AE1M Posted at 12-9 12:22
I received my Mini today and was reading the owners manual.  On page 34 it states that "Mobile cellular data is required when using DJI Fly"  This is in conflict with your answer.  I purchased a used iPhone7 with no SIM just for the controller.  I have only tried a hover so far indoors, works fine.  Please comment on the statement in the Owners Manual.
Thanks,
Bob

Thank you for the reply Bob. JodyB is correct as stated on post #7. You will only need mobile cellular data or WiFi when downloading the DJI Fly application and when updating the DJI Fly application. During the actual flight of your DJI Mavic Mini it is recommended to put your mobile device to airplane mode to minimize interference from calls and text. Thank you.

per DJI Support

Can you fly Mavic mini without cell service?
Yes, you may use only the remote controller of the DJI Mavic Mini when flying the drone. It will fly just fine without a mobile device attached, but you won't have access to the intelligent flight modes though as they need the DJI Fly application

Forgive me is this was already answered here.....but will the return-to-home still work if your device has no cell service?

HappyDBri Posted at 4-7 05:29
Forgive me is this was already answered here.....but will the return-to-home still work if your device has no cell service?

Return to Home relies on GPS signal, no need for cell service.

HappyDBri Posted at 4-7 05:29
Forgive me is this was already answered here.....but will the return-to-home still work if your device has no cell service?

RTH works without even having a phone working.

Madperk Posted at 2019-12-9 15:13
I fly with a galaxy 7 active (no cell service) or an iPad Air (series3 WiFi only) tethered to a Verizon ellipses Jetpack. Both work for flying and maps. Since my iPad has no gps the orientation icon in the bottom center of the Fly app doesn’t work properly when using my home WiFi in the back yard. If tethering to the jetpack it shares its gps location. I have better results with DJI Fly and the orientation icon works properly with both devices. The app currently does not support caching maps. With warning and restrictions baked into the application not having a map could impede normal operations.   I assumed this is why the manual says that it requires a phone with mobile data.

I live 6 miles from an airport and have had one occasion when my bird would not launch. The app told me I was in restricted airspace.  After a few moments my location updated in the app and I could launch.

I have a Galaxy s7 active phone with cell service but the the go fly app hangs and doesn't complete loading. The phone is not on the list for the latest app version. I tried downloading an older app that the phone was listed on but it turned out to be the latest one! I also have a Galaxy tab A that the app seems to run fine on. Does anyone have an idea why the s7 hangs? I do not yet have the Mavic minni but want to buy one but will not until I can at least get the app to run on my phone.
Thanks

AE1M Posted at 2019-12-9 14:09
I thought so, wonder why the Owners Manual says this.  It even says you should also ignore calls when flying!

I don't know if you have an answer to your question but us novices should stick together. Your question about the instruction manual that says you need an internet connection to use dji fly is correct.  You have I believe misinterpreted dji fly as being the flying of your aircraft, dji fly is an app and to use it you have to have an internet connection.  You do not have to be connected to fly your aircraft. I hope this solved your inquiry.

staticchaser Posted at 4-12 09:25
I have a Galaxy s7 active phone with cell service but the the go fly app hangs and doesn't complete loading. The phone is not on the list for the latest app version. I tried downloading an older app that the phone was listed on but it turned out to be the latest one! I also have a Galaxy tab A that the app seems to run fine on. Does anyone have an idea why the s7 hangs? I do not yet have the Mavic minni but want to buy one but will not until I can at least get the app to run on my phone.
Thanks

Since this was posted in 2019 I'm sure you have solved this issue but I recently had the same problem so for the individuals who might alsobe in this situation  I will offer a solution.  The app in my case shows the continuation prompt off the screen and I had to reduce my screen from 100% to 80%. This is something dji should have addressed long ago.