Very buggy first flight, issues with bluetooth controller on iOS

[jdb]

Hi folks,

I just bought a Tello drone with the goal of using it with a PS4 controller (and later a custom-built controller). I ran into a number of issues, and I'm wondering if these are all par for the course, or if I maybe have a defective drone or should try a different phone/tablet/app.

I'm using the official TELLO app on iOS (iPhone X), and tested the drone indoors on a fully charged battery. All testing was in "slow" mode. Here's what I observed:

1. Wifi connection was unreliable both in iOS and in the app. My phone got kicked off the Tello wifi network multiple times for no apparent reason, and the app didn't seem to detect when I re-connected, so I had to restart the app each time.
2. I got a motor failure message a couple of times in the app— this seemed to go away when the wifi connected, but I'm not sure if they were related.
3. After two brief flights (30 s total), with the app open and the drone sitting on the coffee table, I got a "overheated" error message in the app and the drone shut itself off.
4. After this, the Tello network showed up as a garbled string of characters and I couldn't connect to it even after reboot. Removing and reinserting the battery restored the original SSID.
5. With the PS4 controller connected to the phone (I confirmed it was working with the GamePad Tester app), no controller showed up in the Bluetooth controller settings in the app.
6. However, the PS4 controller did successfully control the drone, briefly. Despite not showing up in settings, I was able to take off with R2+△ and control roll&pitch with the joystick, but while applying mild throttle, the drone stopped responding and got stuck against the ceiling.
7. At this point, I used the "takeoff/landing" icon in the app to try to land the drone, which seemed to succeed, but then the drone stopped about a foot off the ground, and after that just kept hovering (unresponsive to both the app and the PS4 controller). At this point I shut the drone off by flipping it over and called it a day.
8. Since we're here... is there a community guide for best practices on bridging your drone wifi to the internet? Ideally I'd like to be able to use the Tello EDU SDK from a Raspberry Pi that's also connected to other devices on my home wifi. This way I could skip the app altogether.

If there weren't such a large and active community, this is the point where I'd give up on the Tello and try another drone. But many of you seem to have a pretty good experience with it, so I'm going to do what I can to troubleshoot. Any pointers on any of the behaviors I saw this morning? And should I be able to remap controller functions in the official TELLO iOS app, or is that feature only in the "Tello FPV" Android app?

Thanks for any help!

 

[tellocuco]

Hi, thansk for all the clear explanations of what happend to you but I still have a question.

Did you disable the auto connection between your phone and your home wifi?

 

[jdb]

Thanks @tellocuco, good thought! I will "forget" my home network next time, and perhaps that will resolve some of these issues.

Any insights on the PS4 controller issues?

 

[tellocuco]

I couldn't tell as I neither have an Iphone or a Ps4 controler.

Did you try on the Volatello app (there is a demo version to check your set up)? Looks like Gamesir and Ryze had an agreement to come up with one controler so maybe others are restricted from the official App.

That's just my thoughts, not based on anything really.

cheers

 

[jdb]

Thanks! As far as I can tell the Volatello app is just for Android, so maybe I'll have to get my hands on an Android device.

I'm happy to report that it performed much better on a second test. Still a bit painful to get a stable wifi connection, but once it was connected I was able to fly it with the PS4 controller no problem. (I'm concluding that the official app just doesn't let you remap controls?)

Still getting the overheating error when it sits for a bit though.

 

[tellocuco]

True, I always forget about that.

yeah I guess the Tello doesn't handle very well to stay sitting on a table, I experimented this overheating problem few times, specially after a flight.

I had to reset the Xiaomi repeater last time, took about10min because the repeater being the repeater... and it did not overheat at all (didn't fly prior reset).

 

[chord8]

Hi folks,

I just bought a Tello drone with the goal of using it with a PS4 controller (and later a custom-built controller). I ran into a number of issues, and I'm wondering if these are all par for the course, or if I maybe have a defective drone or should try a different phone/tablet/app.

I'm using the official TELLO app on iOS (iPhone X), and tested the drone indoors on a fully charged battery. All testing was in "slow" mode. Here's what I observed:

1. Wifi connection was unreliable both in iOS and in the app. My phone got kicked off the Tello wifi network multiple times for no apparent reason, and the app didn't seem to detect when I re-connected, so I had to restart the app each time.
2. I got a motor failure message a couple of times in the app— this seemed to go away when the wifi connected, but I'm not sure if they were related.
3. After two brief flights (30 s total), with the app open and the drone sitting on the coffee table, I got a "overheated" error message in the app and the drone shut itself off.
4. After this, the Tello network showed up as a garbled string of characters and I couldn't connect to it even after reboot. Removing and reinserting the battery restored the original SSID.
5. With the PS4 controller connected to the phone (I confirmed it was working with the GamePad Tester app), no controller showed up in the Bluetooth controller settings in the app.
6. However, the PS4 controller did successfully control the drone, briefly. Despite not showing up in settings, I was able to take off with R2+△ and control roll&pitch with the joystick, but while applying mild throttle, the drone stopped responding and got stuck against the ceiling.
7. At this point, I used the "takeoff/landing" icon in the app to try to land the drone, which seemed to succeed, but then the drone stopped about a foot off the ground, and after that just kept hovering (unresponsive to both the app and the PS4 controller). At this point I shut the drone off by flipping it over and called it a day.
8. Since we're here... is there a community guide for best practices on bridging your drone wifi to the internet? Ideally I'd like to be able to use the Tello EDU SDK from a Raspberry Pi that's also connected to other devices on my home wifi. This way I could skip the app altogether.

If there weren't such a large and active community, this is the point where I'd give up on the Tello and try another drone. But many of you seem to have a pretty good experience with it, so I'm going to do what I can to troubleshoot. Any pointers on any of the behaviors I saw this morning? And should I be able to remap controller functions in the official TELLO iOS app, or is that feature only in the "Tello FPV" Android app?

Thanks for any help!

hi...

Click off "Auto Join" on your home network WIFI
And try TelloFpv for iPhone... Very stable & responsive..

 

[chord8]

hi...

Click off "Auto Join" on your home network WIFI
And try TelloFpv for iPhone... Very stable & responsive..

 

[chord8]

Thanks! As far as I can tell the Volatello app is just for Android, so maybe I'll have to get my hands on an Android device.

I'm happy to report that it performed much better on a second test. Still a bit painful to get a stable wifi connection, but once it was connected I was able to fly it with the PS4 controller no problem. (I'm concluding that the official app just doesn't let you remap controls?)

Still getting the overheating error when it sits for a bit though.

I am beta testing the Volatello app for IOS & it should be released soon,,!

 

[volate!lo]

it was released 4 weeks ago...

 

[chord8]

Thanks! As far as I can tell the Volatello app is just for Android, so maybe I'll have to get my hands on an Android device.

I'm happy to report that it performed much better on a second test. Still a bit painful to get a stable wifi connection, but once it was connected I was able to fly it with the PS4 controller no problem. (I'm concluding that the official app just doesn't let you remap controls?)

Still getting the overheating error when it sits for a bit though.

hi.. Volatello app is available for iPhone & works very well

 

[AIDrone]

Hi,
If you like you can check out Ai Drone Software for FREE, you can now fly your Tello drone from your Windows & MacOS laptops. The application is tested with Xbox, Logitech, PS4,5 & Redgear pro controllers. It has AI features like Human Detection, Object Detection, Voice Control, Flight planner etc.

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You can download the software for FREE (limited offer) using this LINK, after signing up.

Let me know if you have questions.

 

[chord8]

it was released 4 weeks ago...

hi Volatello,,,
I am giving my Tello to my wife. Can I transfer ownership of my TelloFpv for Android to her iPhone...?
If not, can I remove and keep my TelloFpv for Android before I sell the Android 'phone..?

 

[volate!lo]

Apple and Google don't support any license sharing so transfer isn't possible.
The license will stay forever with your Google account, you can delete and reinstall on another phone anytime as long as it's the same Google account.

You can also install and use it on other family phones belonging to the same Google family library.