3dr Solo app on IOS not recognizing that there's a wireless connection active

[CS70]

Hi there,

feeling a bit stupid but totally stuck with a Solo. I read past threads but no wiser. Here's the situation:

1. Got a Solo drone from a friend, who hadn't used it for a year or so.
2. I downloaded the 3DR Solo app for IOS and attempted to connect the phone to the controller's wireless.
3. The phone is a iPhone XR
4. My friend had set up a password on the connection but he couldn't remember it, so I did a factory reset of the controller. So far so good.
5. After the factory reset, the controller's wireless is back to default and I can connect with the default "sololink" password.
6. I noticed that when I do, the 3DR Solo recognizes this (a notification to switch back to the app appears on the phone).
7. However, the controller is stuck in "pre-flight update required" (as, I understand, is expected after a factory reset)
8. I don't know how to get it out of that mode, so I watched the first video in the app which says to make an update first thing.
9. I noticed the app says "software update available"
10. I switched the phone back to my "regular" connection so that it can access the internet to download the update.
11. However, the app does not recognize that the phone is connected to the internet and never moves from the "Connect to Wi-Fi with a fast internet connection" screen.
12. During all these steps, the done was mostly off (I think I tried at least once with the drone on but made no difference)

I have tried various combinations (turning the phone off and on , disabling the mobile connection, putting in airplane mode and then reactivating the phone radios again) to no avail. Since my router supports both 5G and 2.4G wifi, I tried both.

I am very familiar with networking and IT fields, and there's nothing special on the phone (it is a company phone, so there's a Google policy on it to be able to access company channels, but it shouldn't have anything to do with the basic iOS wireless connection).

I am perfectly aware of the difference between the closed wifi link between phone and controller (I see many people don't understand that in other threads, leading to confusion about the irrelevant "No Internet Connection" warning when the phone is linked to the controller)... my problem is that the help video says to connect to a wifi or a fast mobile data network to download the update from the app, but the app does not recognize that there is a connection (or that a new one is established), no matter what.

At that stage, since the phone app is supposed to be going on the internet and not to talk with the controller, the fact that controller or the drone are on or off shouldn't really anything to do with it.

No internet, no update download. No update download (I guess) no enabling the controller.

Anyone has any suggestion? Is the app so broken now that it does not recognized that an internet connection is present?

Thanks!

 

[Mike Boland]

It seems Apples latest iOS versions have broken the 3DR app as far as wifi goes.
Had a similar issue that my iPad running the latest iPadOS would do the same as you are seeing.
In desperation I grabbed my old reliable iPhone6+ and it worked.

At this stage I would suggest moving away from the old 3DR firmware and moving up to OpenSolo4
I am an Apple user (no Androids tolerated here) and have had good success with the SidePilot app.
A little buggy but it gets the job done.

 

[Joe Horn]

For the record, the 3DR iOS Solo app *does* work with the latest version of iOS (13.4.1). I use an iPad Mini 4 (wifi only), with iOS 13.4.1 on it, and the old 3DR Solo app flies my Solo just fine. Therefore, any problems you're seeing are due to other causes.

In my experience, the initial setup (with preflight update) is always confusing, requiring flipping back and forth several times between connecting to the Internet and connecting to the Solo. One step that many people miss, resulting in total frustration, is the "reset Solo" step near the end of the process (it's in the Solo manual). Good luck to you!

 

[Mahyar K]

I am having the exact same problem as CS70 posted above and have spent days trying to get through it. I have tried both my iPhone X and an iPad mini wifi only.

Joe: You mentioned the reset solo near the end but when I go through the manual on the factory reset process, it talks about resetting the solo, the controller and then pairing them. As for the networks, it really just talks about connecting to the sololink wifi and launching the app.

Could you please elaborate on the portion you are referring to?

With many thanks.

 

[Joe Horn]

Joe: You mentioned the reset solo near the end but when I go through the manual on the factory reset process, it talks about resetting the solo, the controller and then pairing them. As for the networks, it really just talks about connecting to the sololink wifi and launching the app.

Could you please elaborate on the portion you are referring to?
With many thanks.

In the Solo manual, section 10.7 ("Factory Reset"), page 78-79, the steps are:
Step 1: Reset the Vehicle
Step 2: Reset the Controller
Step 3: Reboot Solo and the Controller <-- the step that people often miss is in here
Step 4: Pair Solo and the Controller
Step 5: Update your system

For your convenience, here is the manual's text surrounding Step 3:

As the vehicle reset nears completion, the lights under the arms change between many different colors, followed
by a sequence of beeps. When the lights stop changing color, the reset is complete. Upon completion, the lights
freeze on their current colors, so they might all be the same or different colors.

Step 3: Reboot Solo and the Controller

While rebooting, Solo emits its regular startup tones. The lights underneath Solo’s arms also light up green and
change to white in the front and red in the back. If you do not hear and see these signals, then reboot Solo again.
If the lights change colors now, then the vehicle is still resetting. Let Solo finish resetting and then reboot Solo
again once the lights stop changing colors.

After you reboot the controller, it displays the Preflight Update or Waiting for Solo screen.

Hope that helps!

 

[Mahyar K]

Thank you so much. I will try this tomorrow and let you know.

 

[CS70]

It seems Apples latest iOS versions have broken the 3DR app as far as wifi goes.
Had a similar issue that my iPad running the latest iPadOS would do the same as you are seeing.
In desperation I grabbed my old reliable iPhone6+ and it worked.

At this stage I would suggest moving away from the old 3DR firmware and moving up to OpenSolo4
I am an Apple user (no Androids tolerated here) and have had good success with the SidePilot app.
A little buggy but it gets the job done.

Thanks Mike, will try that one. It seems like a great piece of hardware so I hope I can make it work. I'll read about openSolo and SidePilot.

In the Solo manual, section 10.7 ("Factory Reset"), page 78-79, the steps are:
Step 1: Reset the Vehicle
Step 2: Reset the Controller
Step 3: Reboot Solo and the Controller <-- the step that people often miss is in here
Step 4: Pair Solo and the Controller
Step 5: Update your system

Thanks Joe - I tried with several Apple devices with the same results.

And I don't understand how anything concerning the drone and the controller can have an impact on the app not recognizing that my iPhone is connected to my home WiFi. By definition, at that stage the app is detached from both drone and controller so in no case can detect their state.

But perhaps it keeps the state from the last time it saw both..it would be a quite strange design choice, but worse things have been made in software

I have reset only the controller, not the veichle - can that mean something?

 

[Axis1]

Joined this forum solely for the same issue as CS70. Using an Ipad Pro. Has anybody found anymore information about Apple compatibility? If no one has made it any further, I'll shoot 3DR a call and follow up monday.

 

[just_bruce]

Joined this forum solely for the same issue as CS70. Using an Ipad Pro. Has anybody found anymore information about Apple compatibility? If no one has made it any further, I'll shoot 3DR a call and follow up monday.

You're unlikely to get anyone on the phone as they are defunct as a drone manufacturer.

 

[CS70]

Havent managed to get around yet to try. My plan is to go to my friend (where I saw the application working) and try the update with him.
Might be he has an older phone (or an Android one).

 

[Axis1]

You're unlikely to get anyone on the phone as they are defunct as a drone manufacturer.

That is good to know...strange though my company has some kind of contract with them. I guess monday should be interesting...

 

[master24ro]

Same problem here like CS70, any ideas?

 

[CHRIS FERRETT]

Hi there,

feeling a bit stupid but totally stuck with a Solo. I read past threads but no wiser. Here's the situation:

1. Got a Solo drone from a friend, who hadn't used it for a year or so.
2. I downloaded the 3DR Solo app for IOS and attempted to connect the phone to the controller's wireless.
3. The phone is a iPhone XR
4. My friend had set up a password on the connection but he couldn't remember it, so I did a factory reset of the controller. So far so good.
5. After the factory reset, the controller's wireless is back to default and I can connect with the default "sololink" password.
6. I noticed that when I do, the 3DR Solo recognizes this (a notification to switch back to the app appears on the phone).
7. However, the controller is stuck in "pre-flight update required" (as, I understand, is expected after a factory reset)
8. I don't know how to get it out of that mode, so I watched the first video in the app which says to make an update first thing.
9. I noticed the app says "software update available"
10. I switched the phone back to my "regular" connection so that it can access the internet to download the update.
11. However, the app does not recognize that the phone is connected to the internet and never moves from the "Connect to Wi-Fi with a fast internet connection" screen.
12. During all these steps, the done was mostly off (I think I tried at least once with the drone on but made no difference)

I have tried various combinations (turning the phone off and on , disabling the mobile connection, putting in airplane mode and then reactivating the phone radios again) to no avail. Since my router supports both 5G and 2.4G wifi, I tried both.

I am very familiar with networking and IT fields, and there's nothing special on the phone (it is a company phone, so there's a Google policy on it to be able to access company channels, but it shouldn't have anything to do with the basic iOS wireless connection).

I am perfectly aware of the difference between the closed wifi link between phone and controller (I see many people don't understand that in other threads, leading to confusion about the irrelevant "No Internet Connection" warning when the phone is linked to the controller)... my problem is that the help video says to connect to a wifi or a fast mobile data network to download the update from the app, but the app does not recognize that there is a connection (or that a new one is established), no matter what.

At that stage, since the phone app is supposed to be going on the internet and not to talk with the controller, the fact that controller or the drone are on or off shouldn't really anything to do with it.

No internet, no update download. No update download (I guess) no enabling the controller.

Anyone has any suggestion? Is the app so broken now that it does not recognized that an internet connection is present?

Thanks!

Hi seem to be a dulicate of your experience, done all the same things spent hours , multiple phones and bought another drone in the end, but would like to get this 3dr going as I would not sell on unless it was working fine, unlike what was sold to me.