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Explanation of WiFi

SkyHiBaby

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Hello All,

I'm pretty confused about 2.4 WiFi, 802.11ac WiFi, 5G, etc... Does the Anafi use 2.4ghz or 5ghz, or both? I plan on getting an Anafi and using it with a tablet but I'm not sure what I should be looking for in a tablet as far as WiFi signal is concerned. Can someone give me a brief explanation? If you have the most advanced one (5ghz) will it cover the older (2.4ghz) WiFi versions? Thanks for any help everyone.
 
anafi can use either 5 or 2.4, defaults to 2.4 which has greater range than 5, but 5 can be useful in congested areas like cities where a lot of other 2.4 devices exist and might interfere.

802.11abcgn(ac)etc are a bunch of standards that will dictate what wireless frequency gets used, but you can pretty much ignore that anyway. AC is the newest if you were curious.

While you can use a tablet with wifi direct to the drone, almost all of the time you’ll want to plug the tablet into the controller, turn on airplane mode on the tablet, and rely on the wifi built into the controller instead. The controller has a good directional antenna, meaning it works better when you face it towards the drone.

With the controller you get much better range, and the physical sticks and buttons on the controller make it much easier to navigate by feeling the controller, leaving you able to keep your eyes on the drone instead of on the screen.
 
OK, To make this as simple as possible, If you are using the controller to fly the Anafi, you do not need a WIFI connection to the drone ( all communication to the drone is done through the controller) and the phone, which is connected to the controller with a cable, is basically just an interface/view screen. The controller itself does not have any GPS... that is handled by the drone and phone so location/GPS on the phone/device should be left on.
It is recommended that you put the phone in "airplane mode" (WIFI, Cell Data, and Bluetooth OFF) to eliminate any interference from a WIFI /Bluetooth signal from the phone affecting that controller to drone link............That includes Bluetooth enabled "smartwatches"
Now, if you are controlling the Anafi with just the phone..... you will need to have the WIFI on (the phone) and then connect to the Anafi's WIFI ( the password should be on a label in the Anafi's case)just as if you were connecting to a WIFI hotspot somewhere or at home. It does NOT need internet access, just a wireless connection to the drone, so disregard anything that is advising about no internet connection.
As far as which "bands" the Anafi uses, it uses both 2.4 and 5 and will automatically select the band and channel based on the "congestion" on the channels. You can select a band/channel manually through the app's settings to force it to hold a certain channel based on your location.
 
Interesting comment about range of controller vs phone. I DO want to use the phone only connection, normally only for Follow Me, but sometimes for other uses, and I wondered if anyone has quantified the difference. I've gotten up to 1.5 miles with the controller and I doubt I would ever go beyond that.
 
Interesting comment about range of controller vs phone. I DO want to use the phone only connection, normally only for Follow Me, but sometimes for other uses, and I wondered if anyone has quantified the difference. I've gotten up to 1.5 miles with the controller and I doubt I would ever go beyond that.
The range would likely vary wildly from phone to phone. So if you intend to use the phone only mode and are curious about range I would suggest you need to try it with your specific device... I wouldn't expect much myself, few hundred metres at most I suspect.
 
That sounds about right. I will do some tests in benign terrain. I hate having a loss of signal, even if the Anafi does what it's supposed to.
 
Loss of signal is especially bad in a follow me context, where you’ve moved a distance away from the launch point, the drone looses you for a few seconds then zips back to the launch area - if you don’t reconnect right away, you have to run back to get the drone.

The controller is unlikely to crash, unlike the phone app. If you app or phone crashes while using the controller, anafi stays connected and you can hover in standby while getting your phone back, or landing there while getting things sorted out.
 
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Thank you all for prompt responses. This has been quite informative for a newb like me. I have only owned toy grade drones and a lot of those seem to depend more on phone apps which is what threw me off. The Anafi would be the first "high-end real" drone I've ever used. So, since tablet is basically just a viewing monitor does it matter whether its android or iOS? Again, thanks in advance.
 
anafi can use either 5 or 2.4, defaults to 2.4 which has greater range than 5, but 5 can be useful in congested areas like cities where a lot of other 2.4 devices exist and might interfere.

802.11abcgn(ac)etc are a bunch of standards that will dictate what wireless frequency gets used, but you can pretty much ignore that anyway. AC is the newest if you were curious.

While you can use a tablet with wifi direct to the drone, almost all of the time you’ll want to plug the tablet into the controller, turn on airplane mode on the tablet, and rely on the wifi built into the controller instead. The controller has a good directional antenna, meaning it works better when you face it towards the drone.

With the controller you get much better range, and the physical sticks and buttons on the controller make it much easier to navigate by feeling the controller, leaving you able to keep your eyes on the drone instead of on the screen.
I just bought an Anafi (few weeks) and I have a lot of troubles of connectivity. When I'm flying, I lose the connexion really quickly... sometime 100m, sometimes 15m.... it depend of the location but I never flew more than 200/300m. (distance) I tried to change the channel (2.4GHZ to 5 ghz) but the option 5ghz isn't available on FF6 (I'm living in Israel). Do you have some tips to reactivate it? In the code of the app maybe?
 
If you are using Android, you could try using the modified FF6 to give you all channels, FCC over CE mode, that should let you use 5Ghz. Everything you need to know is on the thread below:

 
@d95gas, thank you for that !
Finally, I used " fake gps" and I located myself in France then the 5ghz get back...and I flew here ^^.
Simple and efficient...
thank for your help !
 

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