No control or telemetry without internet - Evo2Pro v1 + Autel Explorer on Android

[theflyingbrick]

Hi.

Recently i encountered very disturbing behaviour with Autel Explorer (hereinafter referred to as AE) - it appears to be occasionally unusable without an internet connection.

I discovered it when i attempted to fly after a longer pause. App displayed only picture from the camera, but no telemetry or control from applicaton. At that particular point i was just blaming it on a recent AE version upgrade that i didn't test-fly after installing. However later tests with another android device with older version of AE showed the same symptoms.

Further tests showed that it happens only after a certain pause in usage and when the android device has no available internet connection (or if the network is restricted for AE). If the internet connection is present and the full working connection between the app and the controller has, at least once, been established then from that point forward it works for an unknown while even without the internet. Also it will work on other android devices for that unknown period.

Tried to remove and reinstall the application while having the issue. Same result.

AE Downgrade. Same result.

However during this time, when the app is misbehaving, the drone itself is operational using the remote only. Not very comfy to use, though.

To be 100% sure that it's the internet i replicated the issue by terminating all networks (Wifi, LTE) on the phone and connecting it to the controller after couple of days of not using the drone. Picture came on, no telemetry. As soon as i restored the LTE connection AE was fully operational within few seconds. After that everything worked on all android devices with or without internet - no problem.

The app and the drone are at the most recent versions (2.7.25, 1.1.8.0).

Has anyone else experienced the same issue? Or is anyone willing to test this and see if they will have a similar result?

 

[gschulzuio]

Interesting behavior, I normally fly with phone in airplane mode (e.g. no wifi, cell, etc) and have not seen what you are describing. Flew yesterday with similar setup (e.g. v1 EVO II, android+app, iirc same fw/sw), no internet during flights, no issues like you describe. Have you checked you logs to see what they might show (e.g. signal loss, or other issues)? Also check your cables are connected good between controller and app device.

 

[Fox Fader]

Sub'd

 

[aebiv]

I can't say I've seen similar behavior, although I am using iOS instead of Android.

I'm going to attempt to duplicate it though with an Android tablet I have and will report back.

 

[theflyingbrick]

Interesting behavior, I normally fly with phone in airplane mode (e.g. no wifi, cell, etc) and have not seen what you are describing. Flew yesterday with similar setup (e.g. v1 EVO II, android+app, iirc same fw/sw), no internet during flights, no issues like you describe. Have you checked you logs to see what they might show (e.g. signal loss, or other issues)? Also check your cables are connected good between controller and app device.

It's definitely not the cable, as it would not be consistent with the case when situation resolves itself as soon as i allow it to access internet (without touching the cable).

However further testing showed some inconsistencies with the previous time.

First of all i tried to start it in airplane mode after a pause. It worked without any problems. However once i switched it off, but restricted the internet it started to malfunction again. Afterwards it didn't matter anymore - despite deleting the app data and starting fresh, restarting the controller, restarting the aircraft, clearing appdata and restarting all three of them it still wouldn't work. But to my surprise it continued to work okay with the other tablet in airplane mode. Last time i tried it did not work on both of them until the internet was present for a while.

And as it was the last time - once i disabled the airplane mode on the primary device (and let the explorer connect to internet) everything went back to normal.

Logs show nothing useful. There is this:

2022-01-07 13:29:36  :  AUTEL_USB   usb device:0
2022-01-07 13:29:36  :  AUTEL_USB   Can not found usb devices!

but it is also present when the connection is working okay. Rest is related to camera and also present all the time whether all is working or not.

I'll wait a few days and try again.

 

[gschulzuio]

It's definitely not the cable, as it would not be consistent with the case when situation resolves itself as soon as i allow it to access internet (without touching the cable).

However further testing showed some inconsistencies with the previous time.

First of all i tried to start it in airplane mode after a pause. It worked without any problems. However once i switched it off, but restricted the internet it started to malfunction again. Afterwards it didn't matter anymore - despite deleting the app data and starting fresh, restarting the controller, restarting the aircraft, clearing appdata and restarting all three of them it still wouldn't work. But to my surprise it continued to work okay with the other tablet in airplane mode. Last time i tried it did not work on both of them until the internet was present for a while.

And as it was the last time - once i disabled the airplane mode on the primary device (and let the explorer connect to internet) everything went back to normal.

Logs show nothing useful. There is this:

2022-01-07 13:29:36  :  AUTEL_USB   usb device:0
2022-01-07 13:29:36  :  AUTEL_USB   Can not found usb devices!

but it is also present when the connection is working okay. Rest is related to camera and also present all the time whether all is working or not.

I'll wait a few days and try again.

Hmm, have you tried disable, then re-enable developer option and usb debug settings, its a long shot however have seen stranger things.

Also, when you saw it work vs not work, same or diff android device and what version?

The more I think about what you are seeing, is it is kind of similar to livedeck behavior (granted w/o the being connected or disconnected to internet). What I mean is that livedeck when connected to an AE/App and device will show what the aircraft camera sees, plus some of what you would normally see on AE/App however w/o telemetry info. Per the note about what android version and device above, noticed something with livedeck and AE/app 1.1.8x is that on one android device I could get livedeck and app to display more info, vs if I switched to a different android device/AE/app (same AE/app version).

Instead of having to wait to fly, what happens when you setup aircraft/drone inside away from metal (take props off ), and see what happens as you try different things?

 

[theflyingbrick]

Hmm, have you tried disable, then re-enable developer option and usb debug settings, its a long shot however have seen stranger things.

Yes. This was one of the first things i tried. No difference.

Also, when you saw it work vs not work, same or diff android device and what version?

Same explorer software, different androids (different manufacturers). But I had experienced the problem also on both.

The more I think about what you are seeing, is it is kind of similar to livedeck behavior (granted w/o the being connected or disconnected to internet). What I mean is that livedeck when connected to an AE/App and device will show what the aircraft camera sees, plus some of what you would normally see on AE/App however w/o telemetry info. Per the note about what android version and device above, noticed something with livedeck and AE/app 1.1.8x is that on one android device I could get livedeck and app to display more info, vs if I switched to a different android device/AE/app (same AE/app version).

Instead of having to wait to fly, what happens when you setup aircraft/drone inside away from metal (take props off ), and see what happens as you try different things?

No experience with livedeck so can't comment.

And about trying different things - i can still fly, no need to wait for it. I don't need the phone for that, controller is still operational. It's just telemetry and controlling via phone that doesn't work.

 

[Brock Inspector]

Where did you source your versions of AE v1.1.80 from and firmware v2.7.25 from? How did you install the firmware update (over-the-air, or downloaded .bin file dragged to a MicroSD then installed in the Evo2?)

 

[theflyingbrick]

Where did you source your versions of AE v1.1.80 from and firmware v2.7.25 from? How did you install the firmware update (over-the-air, or downloaded .bin file dragged to a MicroSD then installed in the Evo2?)

Play store and OTA.

 

[Brock Inspector]

Play store and OTA.

Strongly recommend that you reinstall the FW using .bin file download, drag it to the root section of a MicroSD, then install in the drone, and power it up while the controller (without a device connected) is switched on. Can't be certain this will fix it, but OTA firmware upgrades gone sideways are the root of a great many problems that get resolved with the .bin reinstall. Good luck!

 

[GeoDrone SRL]

I have a E2P as a back-up drone to some others and it flies 1 time maybe in a month...Always with a tablet that have no internet connection...
Never experienced this...and that drone have "seen" the internet 2 months ago maybe....
As Brock says, try a forced firmware with the BIN on microSD Card.