I am new to drones and currently have a very basic Le Idea 10 which I used to learn the basics of droning. I am looking to purchase an Xiaomi X8 SE or maybe a Mavic Mini, the question I have is this:-
Do I need a phone that has 802.11 ac 5g wifi capability or because both these drones connect to the controller via a cable is a non 5g wifi phone ok?
If I do need a 5g capable phone can anyone recommend a reasonably priced make and model that has 802.11 ac wifi capability.
Hi Paul.
You don’t need 5g. Most modern phones will do the job. With the mavic mini you download the app then connect the phone to the controller.
I can’t advise on the Xiaomi, but I think that the mini may have less features than you will want. And you would soon outgrow it so to speak.
Maybe consider a 2nd hand mavic pro.
Thanks for a quick response and good advice, it would rather spend my money on the drone rather then some of it on a 5g phone obviously.
I really do like the spec’s on the Xiaomi so I am leaning towards that at the moment although still deciding on where to purchase from as i have read lots of bad reviews about Bangood and Gearbest so maybe Drones Direct is where I may have to go but cost is more there obviously. Good idea about considering a second hand Mavic Pro…I will give that some pondering time.
The Mini I think has 2.4/5g in the UK market. No idea about the Xiaomi.
I got a Visuo xs812 as a practice drone and that needed 5g specifically so check the spec for the Xiaomi to see whether it requires 5g only. I was loathe to use my iPhone 7 for drone activity and it is a tad small for the job anyway so I sourced a Sony Xperia L1 which is absolutely fine if a little slow booting up and can also use with my Anafi or indeed with others. You can set it up for exclusive use for droning by removing/switching off all the stuff you don’t need. The downside of most Androids though is the auto phone charging when connected to the controller.
I got the L1 phone from a local “pawn” (not porn) shop of which there are many where I live e.g. Cash Converters! You can often get a very recent 2nd hand good quality phone with warranty and security check from these sort of places. I think I paid about £75 for a virtually new phone. Additional expense but at least for I me feel more comfortable with a purpose drone only phone.
Thanks John…I didnt think about the second hand option for the phone but it’s a good way of not spending to much.
I think the Xiaomi is only 5g but it does connect to the phone by cable so maybe it doesnt need to use the wifi…I have just put the question to Drones Direct as they sell the Xiaomi
Thanks Callum, logically I thought that would be the case but good to get it confirmed. Many thanks…now I just have to decide between the Xiaomi or the Mini
@PaulF
Hi
I will have a second hand Mavic Pro for sale by about the end of next week once I get the second hand M2P I bought today. It will come with 2 extra batteries, a set of 6 lens filters, extra props, leg extenders, an eva case for the drone, and a hard case that it all goes in, plus a few other odds and ends. I’ll be looking for £600 or there abouts for it
I can’t comment about Drones Direct but I would stay well clear of Gearbest. I ordered from them once, and once only. I ordered a £200 item that was DOA. They would not refund my money but instead tried to offer me £10 in store credit as compensation. As I’d payed by PayPal it was PayPal who refunded me and told me not to return the DOA item. I think GB are on their way out. Their store front is very depleted compared to a few years ago and they’ve not been active in the RCGroups Gearbest support thread for at least the last six months.
I’ve used Banggood quite a bit with only one minor issue that was resolved quickly. I wouldn’t advise buying a DJI product from them as I believe DJI will only honour the warranty in the country it was sold.
5GHz WiFi was a big issue for Android EU users when the Spark was released. The Spark was only equipped with four 5GHz WiFi channels that were not available for use in Europe on Android phones and DJI didn’t support the use of an OTG connection for the Spark at that time. This meant that to connect an Android device to the Spark controller the user had to use 2.4GHz and use the much shorter range 5.8GHz@25milliwatts for the controller to Spark connection. After about six months of protest in the Spark support forum DJI enabled OTG connection but still claimed they didn’t officially support it. You shouldn’t have any such issues with the Mavic Mini as that has a cabled connection for both Android and iOS built into the controller.
