Yes, I have tried it with just the phone, it calibrates. Do a flight, come back and change battery, then get the compass error again. It will calibrate every time, just doesn't keep calibration.
Just got a Spark Fly More for my birthday. Love it so far, just having problems with the RC connecting to the Spark whenever I start it up. I have to go thru the procedure to link the RC and Spark everytime, and it seems my Spark is always asking for compass calibration.