Install DJI GO on an Android Tablet or Phone (Step-by-Step Guide)

Overview

DJI GO is a resource hungry application, so it's best to ensure your Android tablet or phone is set up properly and optimized for speed. While it helps to use one of the commonly used Android tablets or phones (see this list), the Android mobile device you own might work just fine if configured properly. Follow the tips below to configure your Android device and install DJI GO.

Note: The screenshots found below were taken on an Huawei Ascend XT2. Depending on the version of Android OS that's installed on your mobile device or the skin the manufacturer installed, your screens might look a little bit different.

Increase the Speed of Your Android Tablet or Phone

Before installing DJI GO, follow these steps to increase the performance of your mobile device and ensure all available resources are accessible:

1) Remove the Mobile Device SIM Card

If your mobile device has a SIM card installed and you're not planning on activating the cellular service, you can remove the SIM card to prevent the mobile device from attempting to access it. Make sure your mobile device is powered off before attempting to remove the SIM card (so you don't damage it).

Note: If you're not sure how to remove the SIM card, see your mobile device's instruction manual or look for instructions in these Google search results.

2) Enable Developer Mode

You can access hidden settings on your mobile device by enabling developer mode. These hidden settings can be used to fine tune the way your mobile device works.

Follow these steps to enable developer mode:

Tap the launcher button on the home screen and tap Settings to open the Android device settings
Tap About device/phone/tablet in the Settings menu
Tap the build number 7 times

Once enabled, you'll see a new Developer options item in the Settings.

3) Turn Off Animation Settings

By disabling the display animations, you'll be able to decrease the time it takes to navigate through the apps, windows, and menus on your mobile device.

Follow these steps to disable all display animations:

Tap the launcher button on the home screen and tap Settings to open the Android device settings
Tap Developer options in the Settings menu
Set the following options to Animation off:

4) Enable Unknown Sources

By default, you'll only be able to install apps from the Google Play Store. By enabling the unknown sources setting, you'll also be able to install apps by downloading and opening an APK file. This is handy when you need to install an old version of an app (or install apps that aren't available in the Google Play Store).

Follow these steps to allow apps to be installed from unknown sources:

Tap the launcher button on the home screen and tap Settings to open the Android device settings
Tap Security & privacy --> Additional settings in the Settings menu
Tap the Unknown sources setting to enable it

Note: You can download old APK files for DJI GO, DJI GO 4, and other apps from websites like APKPure and APKMirror. Old versions of DJI GO (version 3) can be downloaded here. Old versions of DJI GO 4 can be downloaded here.

5) Disable App Auto Updates

By default, the Google Play Store is setup to automatically install updates for your installed apps. You can free up resources on your mobile device by disabling this background activity. Also, it'll allow you to manually choose when and which apps you'd like to update (which is handy in cases where you want to run an older version of an app).

Follow these steps to disable Google Play Store auto updates:

Tap the launcher button on the home screen and tap Play Store to open the Google Play Store app
Tap the menu at the top, left of the Google Play Store app
Tap Settings
Tap Auto-update apps and select Do not auto-update apps

6) Uninstall or Disable Unused Apps

Out of the box, your mobile device will likely be packed with apps that you aren't ever going to use. You can uninstall or disable those apps to free up storage space and resources on your mobile device.

Follow these steps to uninstall or disable an app:

Tap the launcher button on the home screen and tap Settings
Tap Apps in the Settings menu
Scroll down through the list of installed apps until you find the app you'd like to remove or disable
Tap the Uninstall or Disable button
Note: Some of the apps are system apps and cannot be uninstalled (unless you root your mobile device). If an app cannot be uninstalled, you'll see a Disable button instead of an Uninstall button.

7) Disable App Notifications

By default, apps you install will be setup to display notifications when certain events occurs (like when a new app update is available). You can disable some or all of those notifications for each app individually.

Follow these steps to adjust the notifications for an app:

Tap the launcher button on the home screen and tap Settings
Tap Notifications & status bar or Sound & notification in the Settings menu
Tap Notifications management or App notifications
Note: The names of these menu items might be a little bit different depending on which mobile device you're using.
Scroll down through the list of installed apps until you find the app you'd like to edit
Disable the Allow notifications setting or turn off the notifications you'd like to ignore (if the different types of notifications are listed separately)

8) Increase Display Sleep Time

By default, the screen of your mobile device will shut off pretty quickly in order to conserve battery power when your mobile device is idle. If that becomes counterproductive, you can increase the idle time so you don't have to keep pressing the power button to turn the screen back on after the idle time has been reached.

Follow these steps to adjust the display sleep time:

Tap the launcher button on the home screen and tap Settings
Tap Display in the Settings menu
Tap the Sleep setting and choose the time period you'd like your mobile device to wait before turning off the screen

Installing DJI GO on an Android Tablet or Phone

Follow these steps to install and configure DJI GO on an Android tablet or phone:

1) Install Current Version of DJI GO

Note: This step should be completed even if you want to use an old version of DJI GO. If you skip this step and jump right to installing the old version of DJI GO, you might find that it does not function as expected.

DJI GO is no longer available in the Google Play app store, so you'll need to sideload it. If flying a Phantom 3, you should install the current DJI GO APK. If flying a Phantom 4, Mavic, or Spark, you should install the current DJI GO 4 APK.

2) Run DJI GO

Start DJI GO to allow it to initialize and download any needed resources.

3) Downgrade DJI GO

Note: This step is only necessary if you're running an old/slow mobile device that is not able to run the current version of DJI GO. Skip this step if you'd like to use the current version of DJI GO.

Follow these steps to downgrade DJI GO to an older version:

Tap the launcher button on the home screen and tap Settings
Tap Apps in the Settings menu
Tap DJI GO or DJI GO 4 in the list of installed apps
Tap the Uninstall button to uninstall DJI GO
Download the DJI GO APK for the version of DJI GO you'd like to use from APKPure or APKMirror. Old versions of DJI GO (version 3) can be downloaded here. Old versions of DJI GO 4 (version 4) can be downloaded here.
Use the file manager app on your mobile device (or install File Manager from the Google Play Store) to locate the downloaded APK file and tap it to install it
Start DJI GO to allow it to initialize and download any needed resources

Note: DJI GO 4.2.16 is currently a stable version that runs well on most Android devices.

3) Configure These Settings to Improve DJI GO Performance

Set the Image Transmission Mode setting to Regular Mode to allow the live video feed to be transmitted in lower quality (allowing for a smoother live video feed).
Note: This setting might not be available depending on which DJI drone you're flying.
Disable the Cache Locally When Recording setting. With this setting disabled, DJI GO will not save a low quality version of the recorded video on your mobile device (which will allow DJI GO to run more efficiently).
Note: If you're flying a DJI Spark, this setting will be named Cache to SD Card.
If you were previously caching the recorded video locally, then clear the video cache to free up storage space on your mobile device.
Disable the Calibrate Map Coordinates (For China Mainland) setting if you're not flying in China.
Use the Offline Map feature to download and store the DJI GO maps locally on your mobile device for the locations where you fly. That'll ensure the maps are always available during times when your mobile device is not connected to the Internet.
Note: The Offline Map feature is not available in some versions of DJI GO (like DJI GO 4.1.18). If you're using a version of DJI GO that does not include the Offline Map feature, then install an older version of DJI GO (like DJI GO 4.1.15), cache the maps with the Offline Map feature, and then reinstall the newer version of DJI GO you were previously using. If you know you're using a version of DJI GO that includes this feature and it's not displaying in the menu shown in the above screenshot, then try restarting DJI GO.

Do These Things Before Every Flight

1) Close Down All Running Apps

Before starting DJI GO, tap the square button at the bottom of the screen to view a list of running apps and click the trashcan button to shut down all running apps (or swipe right or left to close each app one-by-one).

2) Disable Screen Recorder

Unless you're sure your mobile device will perform well while running both DJI GO and a screen recorder, you should not record the screen while flying. If having a screen recording of your flight is a must-have, then make sure you choose one of the more powerful Android mobile devices.

3) Enable Airplane Mode

Swipe down from the top of your mobile device screen and enable airplane mode. That will allow you to easily disable all wireless connections (Bluetooth, Cellular Service, and Wi-Fi) while flying. If your flight requires Wi-Fi, you can turn on Wi-Fi separately after enabling airplane mode.

4) Maximize Screen Brightness

When flying outdoors, it'll be easiest to your mobile device screen when the brightness is on the maximum setting. Swipe down from the top of your mobile device screen, uncheck the "Auto" checkbox (if visible), and slide the brightness slider to the far right to maximize the screen brightness.

5) Turn Up the Volume

Turn the volume up using the volume button on the right side of your mobile device. This will ensure that you won't miss important events that occur in DJI GO (like when the home point is marked).

6) Configure USB Port Settings

If your mobile device is connected to the remote controller via a USB cable, you should choose the following selections after connecting the USB cable to your mobile device:

Note: If you're prompted to choose an app for the USB device (as shown in the above screenshot), you should tap Just Once after choosing the DJI GO app if you're ever going to be using your mobile device to fly with other apps (like Litchi).

Note: You cannot use a "charge only" USB cable with DJI GO. If using a charge only USB cable, DJI GO will not be able to connect to your remote controller.

7) Exiting DJI GO

Once DJI GO is up and running in the camera view, the triangle, circle, and square navigation buttons will no longer be visible. Since you'll be holding your mobile device sideways, you'll need to swipe from the right edge of the screen to reveal those buttons. Those buttons can be used to navigate back to the Android home screen or shut down DJI GO.

Your Turn

Got a helpful tip for optimizing Android mobile devices or have a question about something mentioned above? Please comment below.