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

Overview

DJI GO is a resource hungry application, so it's best to ensure your Apple tablet or phone is set up properly and optimized for speed. Follow the tips below to configure your Apple device and install DJI GO.

Note: The screenshots found below were taken on an iPhone 7 running iOS 11.2.6. Depending on the version of iOS that's installed on your mobile device, your screens might look a little bit different.

Increase the Speed of Your Apple 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) Install the current version of iOS

Install the current version of iOS on your mobile to ensure you're able to take advantage of the latest iOS performance tweaks.

Follow these steps to check if an iOS update is available:

Tap the Settings icon on the Home screen to open the iOS Settings
Tap General in the Settings menu
Tap Software Update to see if an iOS update is available

2) Free Up Storage Space

Verify that you have at least 1GB of free storage space available. If your mobile device is low on storage space, you can free up more space by uninstalling apps you no longer use, deleting unwanted photos/videos, deleting old text messages, and/or deleting old voicemail messages.

You can find the amount of storage space you currently have available in the following section of the iOS Settings:

3) Reduce User Interface Animation

By disabling unnecessary display animations, you'll be able to decrease the time it takes to navigate through the apps, windows, and menus on your mobile device and decrease the processing power needed to make those transitions.

Follow these steps to enable the Reduce Motion feature:

Tap the Settings icon on the Home screen to open the iOS Settings
Tap General --> Accessibility in the Settings menu
Tap Reduce Motion to enable the Reduce Motion feature

4) Disable Automatic Downloads

By default, your mobile device will automatically download purchases you make in the iTunes Store, App Store, and iBooks Stores and download updates for currently installed apps. You can free up resources on your mobile device by preventing these downloads from occurring in the background. When disabled, you'll still be able to manually download these files/apps when you're ready to do so.

Follow these steps to disable all automatic downloads updates:

Tap the Settings icon on the Home screen to open the iOS Settings
Tap iTunes & App Store in the Settings menu
Deselect the items you don't want to automatically download in the background

5) Prevent Apps from Refreshing While Running in the Background

The Background App Refresh feature lets background apps run periodically so they can update their content. This background activity uses additional resources and data.

Follow these steps to prevent apps from refreshing in the background:

Tap the Settings icon on the Home screen to open the iOS Settings
Tap General --> Background App Refresh in the Settings menu
Scroll down through the list of installed apps and tap the toggle button to disable background refreshing for the apps you don't want to allow to update while you're not actively using them

6) Prevent Background Apps from Retrieving Your Location

The Location Services feature allows apps to use information from cellular, Wi-Fi, GPS, and Bluetooth to determine your approximate location. By default, many apps are allowed to access this data when they are running in the background. This background activity uses additional resources and data.

Follow these steps to adjust the Location Services settings:

Tap the Settings icon on the Home screen to open the iOS Settings
Tap Privacy --> Location Services in the Settings menu
Tap each installed app and set the Allow Location Access setting to While Using the App or Never (if you don't ever want the app to retrieve your location)

Installing DJI GO on an Apple Tablet or Phone

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

1) Install Current Version of DJI GO

Install the latest version of DJI GO from the iOS App Store. If flying a Phantom 3, you should install DJI GO (version 3). If flying a Phantom 4, Mavic, or Spark, you should install DJI GO 4 (version 4).

Note: While it's not an easy process, it is possible to install older versions of DJI GO. Check out this guide for instructions.

2) Configure These Settings to Improve DJI GO Performance

Set the Image Transmission Settings setting to Normal 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 During Video Shooting 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).
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.
Enable the Enable Hardware Decoding to allow the mobile device's GPU to be used when decoding the video stream (as opposed to the slower method of decoding via software).
Note: This setting only needs to be configured if you're using DJI GO 3.

Do These Things Before Every Flight

1) Close Down All Running Apps

Before starting DJI GO, double tap the Home button to display a list of running apps. Swipe up on each app you'd like to shut down.

Note: If you're using the iPhone X, you can shut down running apps like this.

2) Free Up RAM

You can boost the performance of your mobile device by freeing up all available RAM. While this can be accomplished by restarting your mobile device, it can also be done without a restart by following these steps:

Press and hold the sleep/wake button on the side (or top) of your mobile device until you see the "slide to power off" screen
Press and hold the Home button until the Home screen returns

Note: If you're using the iPhone X, you can free up all available RAM like this.

3) 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 Apple mobile devices.

4) Enable Airplane Mode

Swipe up from the bottom 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.

Note: If enabling airplane mode does not automatically disable Wi-Fi, you can disable it by tapping the Wi-Fi button.

Airplane mode and/or Wi-Fi can also be enabled or disabled in the following section of the iOS Settings:

5) Maximize Screen Brightness

When flying outdoors, it'll be easiest to your mobile device screen when the brightness is on the maximum setting. Swipe up from the bottom of your mobile device screen and slide the brightness slider to the top to maximize the screen brightness.

The screen brightness can also be adjusted in the following section of the iOS Settings:

6) 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).

You can also adjust the volume by swiping up from the bottom of your mobile device and sliding the volume slider to the top.

The volume can also be adjusted in the following section of the iOS Settings:

7) Remove Mobile Device from Case

If it's hot outside, it's best to remove your mobile device from its case (if it's in one). Your mobile device might generate a lot of heat while you're flying, so you want to make sure it's well ventilated. If your mobile device overheats, DJI GO might be sluggish, it might crash, or your mobile device might shut down.

Your Turn

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