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Need input...can I get an old used phone to fly with Tello?

voodoo

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So I have a Samsung S8+ and Gamesir T1D controller, and they work great to fly the Tello. But I really got the Tello for my daughter to fly, and I'd like to fly my Spark while she flies the Tello so I need my phone.

Just want to make sure I'm thinking this through, but I don't need a cell plan to use the phone to connect to Tello. So if I buy a used Android phone, unlocked and without a cell carrier, shouldn't that work to pair with the Tello and Gamesir controller so she can fly it with the controller and a screen?

I didn't want to buy a used phone and then find out that it HAS to be with a carrier for even basic functionality. I don't think that's the case but just checking.
 
Yes you can. You do not need the cell plan, in fact it's recommend you put the phone in airplane mode and turning on the wifi when flying the Tello to keep the connection as clean as possible. Just make sure it has a new enough version of Android.

mikeg
 
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Yes you can. You do not need the cell plan, in fact it's recommend you put the phone in airplane mode and turning on the wifi when flying the Tello to keep the connection as clean as possible. Just make sure it has a new enough version of Android.

mikeg

Awesome, thx! Keeping an eye out on Ebay for phones on the "approved" Tello list.
 
I use the Wunderphone & GameSir T1d. Wunderphone works great, looks good & was cheap when they first came out. Worth checking out. Lots of info on Mavic Pilot .
 
If you are into VR FPV look out for one with a decent screen resolution. S6 for example.
Otherwise an old S4 is good enough. If it should just be a dedicated flight controller you can get one with a bad IMEI or SIM card slot for next to nothing.
 
If you have a tablet lying around, you can give your daughter or use it yourself for flying. I use my cellphone for the Tello and my Tab S4 for my Phantom.
 
Was considering this, but maybe with an iOS device. Video does not function properly when using my Moto G5 Plus. It records black and white with green lines through it. And there's terrible interference when I use the T1D controller. But everything works flawlessly when I tested out using my iPad. I just don't want to lug something that big around with me.
 
I'm surprised Ryze pushes the BT controller when it does cause interference. It seems that everyone who has experience suggests going with a wired controller.

Mikeg
Ryze never intended for you to go 150+ meters out. It always was intended as a little drone which you could fly in your living room and take selfies for your social media. We just took it to the next level.
 
Ryze never intended for you to go 150+ meters out. It always was intended as a little drone which you could fly in your living room and take selfies for your social media. We just took it to the next level.
Thats one way to look at it.
My guess is they have a problem in internal communication and corporate culture. To me it looks like the Ryze hardware and firmware groups talk more with folks at DJI than with the Ryze App developers. And maybe their App developers don't talk to Ryze's drone groups.
And having spent my life in large companies I would not be surprised to learn that strategic alliances like the one with Gamesir are made at a level that doesn't talk to either of these groups - by folks that don't understand any of the implications.
 
What Ryze developers should do is allow all types of controllers to work with their app. If it connects to the phone, then it should work fine, even if it's via OTG. I personally not interested in purchasing anything from Gamesir, so I have to work around with my limitations.
 
For what I remember, in the beginning the T1s was announced as preferred controller, then after some time unspecified "problems" were mentioned and T1d appeared. This article show some of the early confusion.
 

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