More than a month after Google’s most significant phone upgrade hit the market, DJI’s mobile application necessary to fly its most popular consumer drones is yet to support the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro smartphones.
When Pixel users try to get their DJI drones off the ground, instead of getting the video feed, the DJI Fly app on their new Google phones shows them only a black screen.
This incompatibility between the Pixel phones and DJI drones has left several Mavic Mini, Mavic Air 2, Mini 2, DJI FPV, Air 2S, Mini SE, and Mavic 3 users grounded. Drone operators have inundated DJI online support forums and social media with complaints, but it appears a resolution is not coming any time soon – especially since even Pixel 5 is not “officially supported” by the world’s largest drone manufacturer.
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“DJI Fly is the only app I use which has had issues with Android 12 and now the Pixel 6 specifically. Ridiculous for a company that claims to have an ‘unparalleled commitment to R&D, a culture of constant innovation’,” a user points out on the official DJI Forum.
Cameron B, a DroneDJ reader from Seattle, adds:
How crazy is it that DJI doesn’t support Google’s flagship phone running its flagship OS? I feel that’s absolutely nuts! Imagine if they didn’t support the iPhone 13… it would be a mutiny!
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DJI representatives, meanwhile, are urging drone operators to use a different mobile device for emergency flight missions. As a moderator explains in the DJI Forum:
Upon checking the said mobile device (Google Pixel 6 Pro) that you are using on the DJI Fly application, I am sorry to say that the said mobile device is not recommended for the said DJI application. We would suggest using a recommended mobile device for the DJI Fly application for compatibility and reliability purposes. There is a possibility that the Google Pixel 6 Pro will be able to work on the DJI Fly application. But since it’s not yet optimized with the said DJI application, we cannot guarantee if it will work all the time and if it will be able to run all the functions of the DJI Fly application while using it.
Unsurprisingly, this response is not sitting well with users.
From the same DJI Forum thread:
What sort of an answer is ‘use another phone’? Unlike some others, I only have one phone and I can’t just ‘buy’ another because it’s very expensive to do so. I really hope you guys are giving this some serious effort to get it fixed!
Twitter user Josh Dunn writes in agreement, “Support for the Pixel 6 Pro needs to be addressed sooner than later. Defaulting to the answer of needing to use an approved device is not acceptable for one of the biggest flagship phones of the year.”
Incidentally, the problem is not limited to the DJI Fly app. Other DJI apps including GO 4, Mimo, and DJI Store are also reportedly crashing immediately upon installing on the Pixel 6 devices.
But, for now, this is all DJI has to say:
Having confirmed with our designated teams, the surging incompatibility issues of Pixel 6 or Pixel 6 Pro have been noticed. We will pay attention to it and strive to resolve it as soon as possible. Please wait patiently and thanks for your understanding. If it bothers you a lot, we would recommend you borrow or use another compatible mobile device.
That’s disappointing and we sincerely hope DJI can come up with a resolution sooner rather than later.
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