Best Tello WiFi extender

[aro7710]

Anyone know how much power you need to run the repeater? Just got mine. I have a few small power bricks, but not a large capacity one. What would be safe?

 

[Chrislaf]

Any USB power bank should work. Here’s mine

Obviously the higher the capacity, the longer it will last between charges.

Chris

 

[aro7710]

Any USB power bank should work. Here’s mine
View attachment 2610
Obviously the higher the capacity, the longer it will last between charges.

Chris

My only fear is it going out during the flight while I'm up high lol. Probably should invest in a higher capacity just in case.

 

[Chrislaf]

My only fear is it going out during the flight while I'm up high lol. Probably should invest in a higher capacity just in case.

I don’t think the repeater draws much power and should last for all your flights. If you are worried just top up the power bank before you fly or you could buy a power bank that has a built-in charge indicator.

Also, if the repeated dies during a flight, it might just switch to the Tello WiFi. When I get some time, I’ll test this in the confines of my house. I’ll just unplug my repeater and see what happens.

Chris

 

[Chrislaf]

Tried unplugging the repeater while Tello was hovering. It just continued to hover in place for about a minute then descended to about 30cm above the floor. It just stayed there and didn’t land. It did not switch to the Tello’s WiFi, nor could I get it to choose it. I had to plug my repeater back in to get Tello to land.

Maybe carrying a phone charging cable to draw power from phone will work as a backup in case your power brick dies mid flight.

Chris

 

[aro7710]

Tried unplugging the repeater while Tello was hovering. It just continued to hover in place for about a minute then descended to about 30cm above the floor. It just stayed there and didn’t land. It did not switch to the Tello’s WiFi, nor could I get it to choose it. I had to plug my repeater back in to get Tello to land.

Maybe carrying a phone charging cable to draw power from phone will work as a backup in case your power brick dies mid flight.

Chris

Interesting. Thanks for testing that out!

 

[Dragonlord1964]

There are some instructions on the forum, for me the app showed an error (I guess because the Tello has no internet connection) but I was able to ignore that and it connected to the Tello and appeared to work fine, haven't had a chance to test out the range of it yet though from what I heard it's about double.
From memory it goes something like this - you need the Mi Home app, set your location to "Other" or the extender won't show up as a supported device. Power the extender and it should be detected by the app when you try to add it, follow the instructions to set it up, it should ask you what wifi network to use at some point, then it goes through a rather long automatic setup, for me during this part the phone would first connect to the extender, then disconnect from it and connect back to the Tello directly, and then eventually the app would show an error, but the LED on the extender showed that everything was OK (green LED if I remember correctly, means it's connected to the hotspot), so I connected to it manually after all that and it worked. Some people have said you can't use a password but that seems to be false. However, if you change the wifi password in the Tello app while it's connected to the extender it seems to screw things up and some people have had to reset their Tello back to factory settings to be able to connect to it again. I might be forgetting something important, but that's the gist of it.

Hi, I’ve tried to get my xiaomi wifi extender ii to work on both my iPad and iPhone, which I’ve used to fly my tello with by the way, but my extender won’t connect to them. I’ve tried using each of the locations and it still won’t work. I’m in Australia and I used both a power bank and a USB charger but I’ve had no luck. Is there some sort of patch or other suggestion as to how I can get it working.
It shows up on the menu to connect to the wifi, but just won’t connect to the mi app.

 

[grueDrone]

Tello wifi range extender

i just did an indoor test of a wifi+ device talk about it on the above post

 

[GilButler]

I tried to use the Mi Home app, but have been unsuccessful. It requires registration. During completion of registration, I was advised to check my email in box for information to continue. I received nothing and requested a retransmit. Still nothing. I tried repeating the complete process with the same result. I finally started getting messages advising unable to create account - try again later. Next morning I contacted the chat line on their web site. The chat session offered to pass me to an iOS tec if I would give my credit card info. This is getting sketchy, so I cancelled my hardware order. Does anyone know a way around this problem?

 

[iWiFly]

Hello, just got myself a tello. Is there any other wifi extenders suitable for the Tello besides the xiaomi wifi repeater

I have a Xiaomi Mi 2 and I bought the KOBWA extender few days ago.

First, the distance is the same, with no WiFi around, 176 meters the’ve reached both, perfect signal strength, could go further but the forest stopped me.. (iPhone 5s, checked on google maps)

Differences:
1. Size (see the pics attached). I like more the KOBWA one, because it is more massive, and no moving parts next to USB port (sensitive if you wear the Mi in your pocket /slim legs jeans / while playing, see pic).

2. Install: MI more complicated, KOBWA easier, but every time you turn on your Tello again the KOBWA needs to be near to the Tello, 20-30 cm I mean, to start the connection, then it flies away well, just the first minute, the MI does it from distance). MI connects quickly, KOBWA needs up to 60 seconds to connect)

3. Both look as the price does allow, the KOBWA seems cheaper, the MI by the time looks just cheap (white color becomes more yellow, on the sides it looks like it needs some glue), the antennas on KOBWA move as you wish, the MI has the antennas inside. In weight you cannot see a difference. The KOBWA does not have the USB port cover like the MI does!

Personally: both do the same job for you, no visible difference in use, just another company: like if you have a samsung or an iPhone, different platforms, you can call with both

Still have to try both how they differ through the walls, the KOBWA promises better wall penetrating, but I am not sure if it is so.

 

[Guorium]

I have a Xiaomi Mi 2 and I bought the KOBWA extender few days ago.

First, the distance is the same, with no WiFi around, 176 meters the’ve reached both, perfect signal strength, could go further but the forest stopped me.. (iPhone 5s, checked on google maps)

Differences:
1. Size (see the pics attached). I like more the KOBWA one, because it is more massive, and no moving parts next to USB port (sensitive if you wear the Mi in your pocket /slim legs jeans / while playing, see pic).

2. Install: MI more complicated, KOBWA easier, but every time you turn on your Tello again the KOBWA needs to be near to the Tello, 20-30 cm I mean, to start the connection, then it flies away well, just the first minute, the MI does it from distance). MI connects quickly, KOBWA needs up to 60 seconds to connect)

3. Both look as the price does allow, the KOBWA seems cheaper, the MI by the time looks just cheap (white color becomes more yellow, on the sides it looks like it needs some glue), the antennas on KOBWA move as you wish, the MI has the antennas inside. In weight you cannot see a difference. The KOBWA does not have the USB port cover like the MI does!

Personally: both do the same job for you, no visible difference in use, just another company: like if you have a samsung or an iPhone, different platforms, you can call with both

Still have to try both how they differ through the walls, the KOBWA promises better wall penetrating, but I am not sure if it is so.

Thank you for providing input on the two repeaters. I had different experiences than you. Let me explain.

I bought Wifi+ repeater which is identical to kobwa by the looks. I also have a xiaomi 2.

Xiaomi started to have lower recpetion at 150m mark when wifi+ has full signal. At 150m there are pretty dense wifi population because is next to residential village. No wifi near me. Probably wifi+ can do longer range than xiaomi but I could not confirm due to the buildings blocking my path. @raulvolador did post his finding on much greater range in urban setting though.

Wifi+ just looks cheaper in terms of build. Xiaomi has better build and it did not turn yellow for me after extensive use outisde. The sides are tight and do not need glue...

Wifi+ seems to achieve the first connection a bit slower than xiaomi but the reconnection performance is comparable to xiaomi. Xiaomi regains control at 18s and video feed at 21s. Wifi+ regains both at 20s. According to my indoor test.

 

[volate!lo]

Thank you for providing input on the two repeaters. I had different experiences than you. Let me explain.

I bought Wifi+ repeater which is identical to kobwa by the looks. I also have a xiaomi 2.

Xiaomi started to have lower recpetion at 150m mark when wifi+ has full signal. At 150m there are pretty dense wifi population because is next to residential village. No wifi near me. Probably wifi+ can do longer range than xiaomi but I could not confirm due to the buildings blocking my path. @raulvolador did post his finding on much greater range in urban setting though.

Wifi+ just looks cheaper in terms of build. Xiaomi has better build and it did not turn yellow for me after extensive use outisde. The sides are tight and do not need glue...

Wifi+ seems to achieve the first connection a bit slower than xiaomi but the reconnection performance is comparable to xiaomi. Xiaomi regains control at 18s and video feed at 21s. Wifi+ regains both at 20s. According to my indoor test.

That matches my experience.

When i unboxed the Kobwa i thought: wow that feels cheap. Xiaomi 2 feels like the usual Xiaomi: not perfect but solid quality

performance seems to be on par from first tests, and usability is far superior with easy web configuration. Looking away the form factor i prefer the xiaomi , also like the rotating USB over rotating just the antenna.

 

[Guorium]

That matches my experience.

When i unboxed the Kobwa i thought: wow that feels cheap. Xiaomi 2 feels like the usual Xiaomi: not perfect but solid quality

performance seems to be on par from first tests, and usability is far superior with easy web configuration. Looking away the form factor i prefer the xiaomi , also like the rotating USB over rotating just the antenna.

My rotating usb is already abit lose around the neutral position. Thanfully I never use that position in practice.

You had a box with ur kobwa!? Mine came in a plastic zipper bag with supplier’s brand name printed on it... My xiaomi 2 i got from a mi store came in a plastic zipper bag too... I have a mi store in my city and they are about to open up a second one near my work.

 

[volate!lo]

Yes, the Kobwa came with a white / blue cardboard box with Wifi +s printed on. Nowhere does it say Kobwa of course but I used the same Amazon marketplace vendor as Raul so should have a similar device.
Still haven't found the time & weather window to fully test outside. At least it keeps settings so far, which is a huge bonus!