iOS App Version 4.9.0

Tried to run 4.9 today on iOS with an iPad Mini 5 and was unsuccessful. If I wanted to take 2 hours it probably could have gotten it to work, but I’m through wasting time on this app for now. On top of trying to use a standard nadir flight which was just slow I needed to run a linear mission and it was completely unusable. Pretty much the same as the experience with 4.8.

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Hi Michael. It sounds like you may have had a bad experience with limited connectivity - sorry this didn’t work for you. As I mentioned on the other thread, we’re investing in improving offline access - stay tuned.

All app market based apps like the linear flight app require an active connection. We are planning an app replacement that brings linear planning into the native flight planing interface. This could be as soon as Q4 2020.

That’s great and I know you guys will get it figured out, but I have never had any issues of this nature until the new UI and with these last two versions it’s to the point that I will just have to wait for future updates before I try again.

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I have major issues also. Please see my other post. All kinds off issues. We should not need an internet connection. I prefer to turn everything off to keep my devices from overheating. FL sun and your app do not go well together. The app seems too bloated…been running Map Pilot without any overheating or crazy issues. Their app size is about a 1/5 of DD and I can run offline.

  1. App regularly does not show altitude, speed, distance, gimbal pitch, etc. It freezes and does not update.
  2. When flying multiple missions in queue, it would be nice if the app would create a new folder for each mission. It is impossible to tell where one missions stops and a new one starts on the memory card.
  3. Very sluggish.
  4. Missions do not sync from desktop unless you sign out and back in.
  5. Test picture always fails first attempt. Click retry, it then works fine.
  6. App does not check the DJI “style” setting. Noticed it does no auto switch back to normal.
  7. No offline terrain awareness
  8. Cannot format memory card from app
  9. Battery swap took me to another country and lost map
  10. Overall slow server response even from PC

Running iOS 13.6 and drone deploy 4.9. So, the only thing I do like is the desktop and app eventually sync when you sign out and back in. Trying to end on one positive note

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I agree that we should be able to run with no connectivity and I am working with them directly to try and figure this out. The app used to run fine then it developed to where I had to turn off WiFi on the iPad even though it wasn’t connected to any WiFi source. Now it seems that I need to use WiFi to hotspot to my phone in addition to the data that is on the iPad in order to get anywhere. I failed to put on my shade and cooling case yesterday at 90F and the iPad locked me out after about 20 minutes.

  1. I had this problem about 3 versions ago, but have not seen it since.
  2. When you say multiple missions are you talking about separate flights on the same site? Or individual site moving forward? I find it pretty easy to look for the ground checkshots and videos/aerials that I take in between mapping flights. That said I think this would be a good Feature Request. It’s definitely not something that I want, but would be a good option.
  3. Totally! As stated above I think it is primarily associated with the connectivity issues the have come up recently.
  4. Consistent problem and again connectivity related.
  5. Are you flying a P4P V2? I have seen a few comments recently on this. I fly V1 and V2’s and personally have not seen this yet.
  6. By style you mean the camera configuration in DJI that you are toggling the DJI control in the DroneDeploy Advanced Settings?
  7. Yep! If we can fix connectivity issues and acquire true caching I think this could be solved. There are a few apps that I have used that truly cache the surface to the device. It take sup space, but it is still necessary.
  8. Check. Good Feature Request. Make sure to enter these so we can get some user feedback.
  9. Never seen it, but uh oh. I wonder if it stems from the same problem of multiple battery missions not showing the entire path until you swap batteries?
  10. For us servers have been fine for uploading and viewing the data, but GCP tagging has been pretty inconsistent. This is being worked on in the background.

@MichaelL To answer your questions:

  1. Adding missions to the flight queue…no way to distinguish between them. It does not create a “test” image. It just starts the next mission. Almost impossible to find when you have 1000 images

3+4. Not a connectivity issue for me…it is a server/cloud issue.

  1. Yes, P4Pv2

  2. Style, as in color setting (normal, dlog, true color, etc) Whatever it was left in your last DJI Go flight…it just stays.

  3. Need offline for everything…ridiculous to need a connection when out in the field. I turn it all off to keep from overheating which is especially needed with this app!

  4. Already did, as did someone else (a year or so ago if I remember correctly). Doesn’t appear they care about it from the comment made.

  5. On no…batteries were swapped and it was resuming/already flying the mission…

  6. I think some of the above stem from issues on their end.

I did use MME today to test it again. Not one issue. Did what is was supposed to do and landed. Doesn’t lag behind. App is fairly small.

I tried DD again and the app runs all my devices so hot, it is crazy. This time it actually worked, but after yesterday I do not trust it. (iPad Pro and iPhone 7+)

Pix4D is the best app for creating a mission, interface is easy and very responsive, but no cloud backup and cannot rename default missions. It will download missions for offline use. Huge plus.

MME works the best in the field and has offline downloading. I guess I keep falling back to it.

I like the desktop feature in DD. If they would fix their app and cloud it would be good. Make mission creating more like Pix4D. The software (app and pc based) is far from optimized and is bloated and unresponsive. Would really like to switch over to DD because it is so much easier to create missions from the PC, but until they can produce a reliable app, it is of no use to me.

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Next post is additional perspective from @MikeS that I have moved.

The software is very sluggish and unresponsive. Needs a huge overhaul. Too bloated and runs devices over operating temperatures when outside in an actual working environment. Yes, I have done everything to keep them cool (removed case, airplane mode which causes another slew of issues, out of direct sunlight, etc.) Only thing that works is being in AC which obviously isn’t a safe solution. Even when the device is cool, everything is always so sluggish.

When creating missions, the map should real-time adjust when changing settings as it does with Pix4D and even Map Pilot.

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I had some time to test DD versus map pilot again today (iOS acquisition apps). DroneDeploy captures images in 4:3 and adds +1 sharpness. Map pilot captures images in 3:2 and no other adjustments. I thought this was interesting. I’ll have to try uploading both data sets and see if there is a difference.

Again, DD was not displaying telemetry data and test image failed. I landed the drone, took back off and everything worked normally. Definitely not reliable. Map pilot has not given me any issues yet. Their interface could use some help, but at least it actually works and can operate offline which is the HUGE benefit.

Device gets hot on both, but a very noticeable increase when using DroneDeploy.

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Great reports!

There has always been some debate on shooting native 3:2 vs. 4:3. In our testing I found that 3:2 is a waste of data and in some instances can actually hurt the photogrammetry. Particularly as altitude increases. Reason being is that the further you get away from the focal point the more distortion there is, the angle of attack is increased and the more out of focus the subject is. If you look at an image calibration report you can see visually the amount of distortion that occurs across a frame. Because lenses are circular your best focus is basically rectangular in the frame so going to a wider frame really doesn’t help high-resolution accurate capture.

As for adding sharpness I have found that it really doesn’t make much of a difference in the end result. It helps when the native images are not as sharp as they should be. Actually adding sharpness can sometimes better the edges of macro detail.

I was thinking the same thing in regards to 4:3. Thanks for the enlightenment on the sharpness increase. I guess DD has a reason for doing it? I hope they fix these issues soon and add the offline map and terrain use! Fingers crossed

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I’m fairly certain that sdk apps, including DD, do not have access to changing how images are written to the sd card. Not much DD, or any other dev can do about that.

As a workaround, you can look for a break in creation time (on Windows, select “View > Details” and it will display the time of each capture. Or, between missions, (if on the ground) hold your hand over the camera and snap an image. It will write a black (blank) image that is easy to pick up in a thumbnail view.

If you land between missions it should be taking a checkshot, but if you are in the air and going to fly consecutive missions why not just cause the sequence and take a normal aerial of a landmark…

It would not be hard to write a program to automatically separate the photos from different missions based upon the time stamps. There will be a larger time gap between the missions that can be used as a separator and the mission photos will be at fairly regular intervals which will help group them. Not something I can fit into my schedule now but later in the fall I would have time if it is still of interest.

Regards,
Terry.

That is very nice of you to offer. I don’t think that would work. There are already large gaps when switching to opposite grid and to perimeter flight. The gap between the queued missions is actually usually less than that. Good though though. They could easily have it take a picture at horizon level and then start the next mission.

@MichaelL No, not landing. Using their queued feature. It doesn’t land, it just starts flying the next mission(s) automatically. That is one way to do it…pausing the mission and manually taking a horizon shot. I fly multiple missions at the same site. A nadir and an enhanced/orbits for modeling. I’m scared to touch it when it is actually working. The app NEVER seems to work right. I don’t want to add more headaches to the equation

That is what I understood and only referenced landing because that is what Dave eluded to. My suggestion is what I do, but only if I am running concurrent missions that have similar images. Otherwise I just let it run. I have not had any issues with pause/resume and it can be really handy if you know you are going to need to capture a specific aerial or a 360 pano in a specific spot that would be more efficient to capture as the drone travels along its mapping path than coming back to it later. I usually plan and sequence my flights so that they are ending and beginning as close to each other as possible even when that means I need to rotate (reverse) the path 180 degrees.

I typically do mapping nadirs, mapping obliques, aerials and 360 pano and end with a video so it seems pretty easy to me to decipher what is what. I usually download my data the same day though so the missions are still fresh in my mind. Although I do have a photographic memory, lol.

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Excellent feedback all - thank you for sharing. We are committed to resolving these issues and offering the best flight experience.

A few notes:

  1. Telemetry sometimes not showing has been fixed in an upcoming version and will be released soon

  2. Dave is correct that DJI SDK does not offer access to foldering. To solve this, we’ve recently improved mobile upload to automagically sort multiple plan uploads after mission completion. I recommend giving it a try.

  3. We’ll be releasing performance improvements iteratively over the course of Q3. We’re tracking this closely.

We appreciate your patience. For subscription holders, feel free to connect with our support and success teams.

Thank you.

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Thanks @Andrew_Fraser!

With respect @Andrew_Fraser, we’ve been hearing about performance updates for the past 6-7 months, but things seem to have gone backwards. Many are finding it completely unusable now, whilst others like me are simply afraid to move on from what they have.

On the basis it has been demonstrated by some that V3 still works perfectly well with the latest drones, devices and their firmware, what’s the chance of making V3 available in the interim?

Even v4.6 is working fine on my 7th Gen 10.2. Going backwards is subjective when you consider the enhancements and bloat that have been introduced. Stop the bloat and bring on caching and we might be surprised.