Your GoPro does not turn on automatically because you upgraded it to 4.0. Root cause is that GoPro decided to break the compatibility with the 4.0 release. You can blame GoPro but not 3DR for that.Every time I do an update with Solo more problems are created, and reading the problems with the GPS. I have paid a lot for this drone, and yet I have to pay again to fix another problem.
The documentation is crap, the latest software was deemed to be important. Do the the people at 3DR do any testing, I'm not an expert, but within 10 minutes on the latest software, the video preview is cropped and the GoPro will not power on.
All I want is a drone without major issues, Why must the users be beta testers. All I have to say is that the Solo is a poorly produced product.
There is a simple workaround- just turn it on manually. Not a big deal.
The new shield is not a must to fly Solo very successfully. However you can improve the GPS with it. 3DR has a well functioning support to resolve your shipment problem. Shipment worked well for everybody else, so they eventually will get it to you, too.
And finally, yes there is a lot of testing going on, a group of 100+ Solo users participate in beta testing. I spent about 1-2 hours a week up in the air over the past 3 months. What has been released by 3DR went through our hands.
For sure we may not have found every possible issue. So when you discover a defect, please formally describe the symptoms and the steps to reproduce and send it to 3DR support and post it here.