Flying the DJI Mavic Pro with Smartphone WIFI

The DJI Mavic can be flown with either the controller or using your smartphone. In this blog post we'll focus on how to setup the Mavic using your smartphone and what differences there are compared to using the standard controller. 

How to Connect your Smartphone to The DJI Mavic using WiFi

Before turning on the Mavic, slide the Control Mode switch to WiFi. You will find this switch on the bottom right hand side of the aicraft under a grey plastic cover. If you slide the switch from RC to WiFi whilst the aircraft is already on, you will have to turn the aircraft off then on again. Now turn on the aircraft then also turn on the WiFi  on your mobile. In your smartphone WiFi settings menu, you should be able to see your Mavics SSID. When you select the Mavic network, it will ask you for a password. You can find this password on the sticker on the front, right arm of the aircraft. Once you are connected, your phone may display a message saying 'no internet connection'. This is normal and is not an issue.   Once you're connected to the WiFi, open up the DJI Go app as normal. You should be able to see your settings and live view as normal. If you want, you can change the SSID name and password via the WiFi tab in the DJI Go app settings. If you want to reset it, press and hold the linking button for 5 seconds.

How to Fly the Mavic Using your Smartphone

The primary way to control the Mavic using your phone is by using the artificial sticks in the app. These only appear when you hold your fingers/thumbs on the screen. The CSC start up and shut down procedure does not work in WiFi mode. You have to use the Auto Take off and Auto Land feature, accessible by tapping the icon on the left hand side of the app. If you don't want to fly the Mavic manually, you can use the TapFly, Active Track or Gesture functions by tapping on the drone icon on the left hand side.

Flying Limitations using WiFi mode

When using a smartphone, the Mavic operates on a WiFi connection. This limits the maximum distance to 80 meters and maximum altitude to 50 meters. The speed of the drone is reduced significantly when controlling it with your phone and sport mode has been disabled so unfortunately you can't get around the speed limitation. Surprisingly, the video feed is not any worse when using WiFi versus using the controller which uses DJIs new OcuSync technology.

WiFi Settings in the DJI Go App

There is a new WiFi tab in the DJI Go app settings. On here you can see what channels are beings used and you also have the option of choosing what frequency band you want to operate on (2.4G, 5G or Dual). The reason there is an option for you to choose what frequency band you operate on is because not all phones support 5Ghz. If your phone does support 5Ghz, i'd recommend selecting Dual. This will allow your phone to choose whatever channel is clearest at the time, reducing the chance of interference.

DJI Mavic Failsafe when using your Phone

If your phone battery dies or your app crashes or if you lose wifi connection, the Mavic will automatically return to home.

Conclusion

In short, using your smartphone instead of the controller doesn't add to the experience.  A lot of the flight mode features are disabled and the lack of speed you can get with it when flying manually is frustratingly slow. I do however see it being helpful if you only want to take a selfie or want to setup the active track feature - then you only have to use your phone instead of setting up then putting away the controller. See the Mavic Pro on our website here, if you have a question on the Mavic, ask away!