Some honest feedback needed please

mblann1960 · Feb 12, 2018

I really am interested in purchasing a DJI Spark. The biggest concern I have right now is that I'm a Galaxy S8 user. Are there any other Galaxy users out there that will respond with your experience with your Spark? I've read lots of reviews and watched lots of youtube videos. To be honest, I'm confused. Is there or is there not support for the android? Should I or should I not purchase this drone? I really would love to get one. I've actually had it in my cart on Amazon and backed out due to fear of compatibility issues and hearing stories about fly-aways. Any input is greatly appreciated.

Mark

PenguinMan · Feb 12, 2018

Hey, I have a Samsung Galaxy S6 and it works fine is easy to setup and use. I can't see any problem with a newer Samsung. The only issue I currently have is getting some decent distance with the live video feed which connects using WiFi. But for a newer phone I would guess the WiFi quality and distance would probably be greater.

But if you want that greater distance going with the Mavic Pro would be a great shout, a friend of mine has one and the distance it goes in comparison to the spark is insane, I kind of wish the Spark wasn't a WiFi drone but hey I got it for fun and making a few videos and its perfect for that.

I bought my Spark at Christmas and played around with it every day for about a week when I may or may not have crashed it into a wall. It came back from repair yesterday and I'm loving it again, honestly I think you would too.

However if I knew about the Mavic Air release I probably would have waited saved a bit and gone for that despite the price jump.

I don't have any regrets though and I don't think you would either.

mblann1960 · Feb 12, 2018

PenguinMan said:
Hey, I have a Samsung Galaxy S6 and it works fine is easy to setup and use. I can't see any problem with a newer Samsung. The only issue I currently have is getting some decent distance with the live video feed which connects using WiFi. But for a newer phone I would guess the WiFi quality and distance would probably be greater.

But if you want that greater distance going with the Mavic Pro would be a great shout, a friend of mine has one and the distance it goes in comparison to the spark is insane, I kind of wish the Spark wasn't a WiFi drone but hey I got it for fun and making a few videos and its perfect for that.

I bought my Spark at Christmas and played around with it every day for about a week when I may or may not have crashed it into a wall. It came back from repair yesterday and I'm loving it again, honestly I think you would too.

However if I knew about the Mavic Air release I probably would have waited saved a bit and gone for that despite the price jump.

I don't have any regrets though and I don't think you would either.

Thanks for the reply
So, do you use your phone with the controller? Any disconnect issues? I'm not really needing it for any great distances. Maybe a few hundred yards, or does it keep WiFi that far?

PenguinMan · Feb 12, 2018

mblann1960 said:
Thanks for the reply
So, do you use your phone with the controller? Any disconnect issues? I'm not really needing it for any great distances. Maybe a few hundred yards, or does it keep WiFi that far?

No worries. Yes I do use my phone in conjunction with the controller (definitely recommend getting the controller) I have not had any disconnecting issues at all.

Sometimes when I'm looking at the phone screen I get sort of a laggy live feed of the drone and get the message weak video transmission but this does not effect the drones maneuverability or the video that it is recording either. This usually happens around the 70-80m distance in average weather conditions. It bumps up a bit further when the sun gods are smiling down on me.

You can fly the drone via line of sight a lot further though (max distance I've gone before is 269m) you just might not know what the camera is pointing at.

Droggy · Feb 12, 2018

I have
an s7 edge and no problems with my drone. I use the OTG cable and an older version of the app. No issues, have flown 2.5km away from me untill I had signal and video issues.

PenguinMan · Feb 12, 2018

Droggy said:
I have
an s7 edge and no problems with my drone. I use the OTG cable and an older version of the app. No issues, have flown 2.5km away from me untill I had signal and video issues.

was that with your live video feed? Because that is a massive jump up from what i'm getting if so.

Droggy · Feb 12, 2018

Live feed, goos line of sight. I'm also in Canada so not restricted

PenguinMan · Feb 12, 2018

Droggy said:
Live feed, goos line of sight. I'm also in Canada so not restricted

That's crazy I've just took mine out n I completely lost signal at 270m which is plenty far enough for me but the live feed was terrible n almost unusable.

Any tips? I was in airplane mode WiFi was on 5.8ghz and I'm on an island with 5 people n 3 small houses close by.

DroneDan · Feb 12, 2018

I have an S8 and use it via WiFi with the controller (a must have for real control). OTG doesn't give AC readings so i dont recommend. Regular 1800m flights but gets hard to keep LOS past that. Have been 2700m with a spotter before disconnect. Do get silly "weak signal" warnings from 5m up - very randomly so have come to ignore. Had mine 2 months and have 159 flights as so addictive. Saving all my coins for a Mavic pro for distance. If you are into the video editing and have 4k tv/computer (and not worried about distance) then maybe a Mavic Air would suit best. I have no regrets (or envy for the MA) as the Spark is a great little drone that doesn't seem to upset the paranoid as much as the larger drones.
Love my Spark.
Good Luck

ery887 · Feb 12, 2018

PenguinMan said:
Hey, I have a Samsung Galaxy S6 and it works fine is easy to setup and use. I can't see any problem with a newer Samsung. The only issue I currently have is getting some decent distance with the live video feed which connects using WiFi. But for a newer phone I would guess the WiFi quality and distance would probably be greater.

But if you want that greater distance going with the Mavic Pro would be a great shout, a friend of mine has one and the distance it goes in comparison to the spark is insane, I kind of wish the Spark wasn't a WiFi drone but hey I got it for fun and making a few videos and its perfect for that.

I bought my Spark at Christmas and played around with it every day for about a week when I may or may not have crashed it into a wall. It came back from repair yesterday and I'm loving it again, honestly I think you would too.

However if I knew about the Mavic Air release I probably would have waited saved a bit and gone for that despite the price jump.

I don't have any regrets though and I don't think you would either.

There is mods apps.apk for Android user to enable fcc and full support otg Security Check Required

Droggy · Feb 13, 2018

Was using the parabolic on this flight, little choppy video the last 100m

PenguinMan · Feb 13, 2018

ery887 said:
There is mods apps.apk for Android user to enable fcc and full support otg Security Check Required View attachment 3521

Cheers so much, just got FCC on my spark and i'm looking forward to trying it out tomorrow morning to see the difference.

ery887 · Feb 13, 2018

PenguinMan said:
Cheers so much, just got FCC on my spark and i'm looking forward to trying it out tomorrow morning to see the difference.

Gd luck

craig Dixon · Feb 13, 2018

PenguinMan said:
Hey, I have a Samsung Galaxy S6 and it works fine is easy to setup and use. I can't see any problem with a newer Samsung. The only issue I currently have is getting some decent distance with the live video feed which connects using WiFi. But for a newer phone I would guess the WiFi quality and distance would probably be greater.

But if you want that greater distance going with the Mavic Pro would be a great shout, a friend of mine has one and the distance it goes in comparison to the spark is insane, I kind of wish the Spark wasn't a WiFi drone but hey I got it for fun and making a few videos and its perfect for that.

I bought my Spark at Christmas and played around with it every day for about a week when I may or may not have crashed it into a wall. It came back from repair yesterday and I'm loving it again, honestly I think you would too.

However if I knew about the Mavic Air release I probably would have waited saved a bit and gone for that despite the price jump.

I don't have any regrets though and I don't think you would either.

My Sparky works exactly like yours on a Samsung Note 5 using Wifi from phone to remote.....
I would love to try otg distance once it is fixed for telemetry if ever.

Teq · Feb 13, 2018

If you are using the controller then the video feed is not using WiFi straight to the phone from the drone.
Definitely get the controller.
Range tip: need to be up around 75m for max range. Try to get more altitude.
Fly aways: always secure battery, have a gps fix, make sure you have no compass or imu calibration errors. Do not take any shortcuts. Start each flight by going straight up about 30m to help vision system learn the home point.

Sparkster · Feb 13, 2018

I'm still enthusiastic about my Spark. I've had it since October. I was using it with the RC with the OTG cable to my Samsung Galaxy j7 phone but had too many issues. I have instead moved everything over to my iPadAir and OTG which is working flawlessly. Frustrated though that I couldn't continue using my Galaxy[emoji850]

MASERONE · Feb 13, 2018

HELLO MARK .... I'm absolutely satisfied with my spark flight in Italy as a smartphone I use a Chinese cell I have the cable without parabras I reached the 2 km never had a problem using fcc for greater distance. someone in this forum has talked bad about spark and I think it's not right to co-opt other members to avoid buying. if his spark came out bad he addresses adji for problem does not have to say that all the spark does not go well. you buy it and you'll see you feel good. mavic air is out but the price difference is too high to change for me the spark is fine

craig Dixon · Feb 13, 2018

MASERONE said:
HELLO MARK .... I'm absolutely satisfied with my spark flight in Italy as a smartphone I use a Chinese cell I have the cable without parabras I reached the 2 km never had a problem using fcc for greater distance. someone in this forum has talked bad about spark and I think it's not right to co-opt other members to avoid buying. if his spark came out bad he addresses adji for problem does not have to say that all the spark does not go well. you buy it and you'll see you feel good. mavic air is out but the price difference is too high to change for me the spark is fine

I Agree ...Spark for the money is fantastic and i use it more the my P3

PenguinMan · Feb 13, 2018

craig Dixon said:
My Sparky works exactly like yours on a Samsung Note 5 using Wifi from phone to remote.....
I would love to try otg distance once it is fixed for telemetry if ever.

Try looking up the FCC mod, I haven't tried it yet but I'm ready for a test after I finish work today. I've heard the OTG isn't really supported on newest update.