Samsung Tablet and Controller do not see each other?

DrKnome · Oct 3, 2021

So ... I nearly always fly my Skydio2 using the controller. I have had no problem connecting the controller to the phone using 3 different phones. I can also connect it to Galaxy Tab S3 (this belongs to my work, so I don't want to rely on that).

I own a cheap Samsung Tablet for reading, etc. (Galaxy Tab A7 Lite) and tried to connect it to the controller to no avail. I have tried 5 different USB cables. I connect the controller, the app says to turn off wifi and connect cable between phone and controller, The light on the back by the connector lights up, but the app is still waiting for me to "connect phone to controller." I have tried looking at the developer/USB settings to no avail.

Any advice before I contact tech support? It is not a deal breaker, but this tablet is a rather ideal small size and I would like to be able to use it with the Skydio if possible. I bought a small tablet adapter that fits it well.

frankbonatelli · Oct 4, 2021

The light on the rear beside the usb C port indicates charging from or too the device (not 100% sure of which direction when connected to a device)
The first thing im wondering when you say it wont connect is if the device (your tablet) has the usb port connection set to charging only. My china brand cheepo is set to MTP only for all connections. Maybe this could be something to look at.

hawg_ryder · Nov 24, 2021

DrKnome said:
So ... I nearly always fly my Skydio2 using the controller. I have had no problem connecting the controller to the phone using 3 different phones. I can also connect it to Galaxy Tab S3 (this belongs to my work, so I don't want to rely on that).

I own a cheap Samsung Tablet for reading, etc. (Galaxy Tab A7 Lite) and tried to connect it to the controller to no avail. I have tried 5 different USB cables. I connect the controller, the app says to turn off wifi and connect cable between phone and controller, The light on the back by the connector lights up, but the app is still waiting for me to "connect phone to controller." I have tried looking at the developer/USB settings to no avail.

Any advice before I contact tech support? It is not a deal breaker, but this tablet is a rather ideal small size and I would like to be able to use it with the Skydio if possible. I bought a small tablet adapter that fits it well.

I just purchased a Tab A7 Lite with 64 gb of ram and am having the similar problem... Controller by itself connects to the S2, but when I plug in the tablet I get a must use WIFI to connect... as soon as it connects via WIFI I get a connect the tablet to controller and turn off WIFI... which starts the process all over again... Have you gotten yours working or any feedback on the problem? Thanks

Update: I have tried to connect my Galaxy Tab S4 running Android 10 also without success. I can connect the tablets (S4 and A7 Lite) without the controller and they work. When I originally received the S2 (Nov. 2020) I flew it with my Samsung S8 phone using Android 10 both with and w/o the controller. I then started using an old Ipad Mini-2 tablet with a Dirty J Designs adaptor with the controller... I bought the A7 Lite to replace the Ipad because of more memory and larger screen (much smaller bezel) faster processor etc... The next thing I tried was using my Samsung S21 Ultra phone and once again I'm able to fly it with and w/o the controller. This phone has Android 12
I've contacted Skydio support both by phone and email, but so far no response other than an auto email noting they'd received my email and would be in touch (Nov. 23) I called again yesterday and left another message... It's very frustrating since my previous experience with Skydio support had been very positive... I have until the end of Dec. to return the tablet and get my money back so I'm hoping to get a response/solution soon.
It should also be noted that I can't find anything in the manuals specifically indicating there could be a problem using some manufacturer's tablets. The only thing I can find is that it must be Android 9 or above OS. I have also compared settings on the S21 Ultra and the two tablets trying to discern some obvious difference but haven't been able to come up with anything as of yet. I've also hard reset the controller, the S2, and uninstalled/reinstalled the Skydio app without any success. For now I'm back to flying the with the Ipad mini-2. I'll post anything I get from Skydio if and when...

DrKnome · Nov 30, 2021

I have not tried lately (and am out of town). The one thing I have not yet tried is changing the USB mode -- there is a Media Transfer Protocol (MTP) and a Picture Transfer Protocol (PTP). As far as I can tell, the only easy way to do this is to plug it into a Win PC and there is a prompt to select it. I've had other Android devices where this can be selected on the device itself, but I don't see that option on the A7. I will likely attempt this next weekend.

IronSKy1 · Dec 2, 2021

I have the same tablet and the same problem however, my Parrot Anafi's work fine with it. I have a S7 seems to work with everything I try no problems (just rather big and heavy). Very strange be nice if we can find a fix

Trailryder42 · Dec 6, 2021

On your Android phone, do you have Developer Options enabled? If so, go in there and look for "Default USB Configuration".

See if "charge phone only" is set.

hawg_ryder · Dec 6, 2021

Trailryder42 said:
On your Android phone, do you have Developer Options enabled? If so, go in there and look for "Default USB Configuration".

See if "charge phone only" is set.

I did enable the Developer options, and it is configured to work with other devices... When I plug it into my computer I can access the tablet w/o any problems, transfer files etc... Thanks

IronSKy1 · Dec 8, 2021

I was able to get my Samsung SM T920 to work fine now.
1-Make sure SM T920 is set to wifi off
2-Turn on S2
3-A dialog will appear asking to turn wi fi
4-Turn on wifi on dialog
5-Connect should be autotomatic

hawg_ryder · Dec 8, 2021

IronSKy1 said:
I was able to get my Samsung SM T920 to work fine now.
1-Make sure SM T920 is set to wifi off
2-Turn on S2
3-A dialog will appear asking to turn wi fi
4-Turn on wifi on dialog
5-Connect should be autotomatic

I can get both of my tablets to connect to the S2 and can fly it using the tablet. When I try to use the controller with either of the Samsung tablets it's no joy... Works with my S21 Ultra phone, and worked with my old S8... For the time being I've gone back to my old Ipad Mini 2 tablet... It also works fine with the controller... I just checked my email and finally got a response from Skydio support indicating they are looking into the problem... So, I'll post whatever they come up with... Thanks

DrKnome · Feb 5, 2022

Update: I have gone back and forth (very slow and frustrating) with Skydio support on this. I've had it all work on a Galaxy Tab S3 and well as an older Galaxy S6 phone. But not the Samsung Galaxy Tab A7. This is too bad -- I think it's size is perfect (not too big, but bigger than a phone) for operating. Anyone have success w a Samsung Galaxy Note? Here is the most recent response I received from Skydio:

Hi - Your support ticket with Skydio (104715) has been updated. To add additional comments, just reply to this email. Please note that we have a high volume of tickets at this time and are working to reduce any delays in our response. Thanks for your patience.

Gota (Skydio)
Feb 4, 2022, 3:28 PM PST
Hi Robert,

Thank you for your patience while we were looking into this issue. We have discovered that, unfortunately, this is most likely a device compatibility issue we are encountering. There are a few devices that are still not fully compatible. All we can do at the moment is continue to work with Samsung on this and hope we can resolve the compatibility differences in the near future. I have logged your case with this issue so that when we have updates we may reach back out to you and let you know, as they become available. I know this isn't the news you were hoping for, but I do hope you have a great weekend of fun flying.

Thanks again and please let us know if you have any questions.

JoeydDetroit · Feb 21, 2022

DrKnome said:
As far as I can tell, the only easy way to do this is to plug it into a Win PC and there is a prompt to select it. I've had other Android devices where this can be selected on the device itself, but I don't see that option on the A7

I just tried it. On the A7 when you plug the controller in, you swipe down to expand the notifications and the USB mode selection choice is at the very bottom, partially off screen from the widow it appears in. you have to tap the little arrow to expand that, then drag back up so it's in the window and "tab to show more options" is there. Sadly it will have USB controlled by:
x Other device
O This tablet
and below tat are other choices but all greyed out when connected to the controller and it won't let you change "controlled by" to this tablet unless you're connected to PC, under PC connection the "This Tablet" option is available and so are the below choices.

When connected to controller the USB is used for: choices are greyed out and set to Transfer files
Other choices would be "USB tethering", "MIDI", "Transferring Images" and "Charge only".
For further clarification, before going to that 2nd menu on the bottom of the notifications page it says USB charging OTHER device, tap here for more options. So when you connect the controller to the A7, the controller get charged by the tablet. and you can't change any of this.
Skydio's software team really really needs to step up and figure this out.

JoeydDetroit · Feb 21, 2022

hawg_ryder said:
I flew it with my Samsung S8 phone using Android 10 both with and w/o the controller.

the S8 has according to Samsungs info,

USB connector (USB type-C)
Micro USB connector
I've Never see this on any device? Both kinds of USB?
Which connector did you use to connect your controller?
I have a theory that micro USB is OK but USB-C is the part that the controller is incompatible with. can anyone confirm or contradict this?

JoeydDetroit · Feb 22, 2022

I just had the pleasure of trying a Sunshine T1 running android 11 with a Micro USB connector;
It no work either.
I regret deleting it from my old LG phone because it worked with that one.

JoeydDetroit · Feb 22, 2022

How about a known compatibility list, a list of devices that have been tested either by Skydio or users and known to be compatible with the controller?

JoeydDetroit · Feb 22, 2022

The best solution: Skydio develop their own unique controller that has it's own built in 8 inch monitor and connects to Skydio2 using their own choice of unlicensed RF spectrum in the public domain using proven video transfer and telemetry control technologies.

Add HDMI and USB-C for streaming and recording purposes, and for synching to the drone.

Wait they've already got that: The X2e/d.
Just make a version of that controller that works with the S2

Saladshooter · Feb 23, 2022

JoeydDetroit said:
The best solution: Skydio develop their own unique controller that has it's own built in 8 inch monitor and connects to Skydio2 using their own choice of unlicensed RF spectrum in the public domain using proven video transfer and telemetry control technologies.

Add HDMI and USB-C for streaming and recording purposes, and for synching to the drone.

Wait they've already got that: The X2e/d.
Just make a version of that controller that works with the S2

The screen controller now works with the Skydio 2..... but because it is aimed at the enterprise market its $4500.

JoeydDetroit · Feb 23, 2022

Saladshooter said:
The screen controller now works with the Skydio 2..... but because it is aimed at the enterprise market its $4500.

Maybe the could make a version with scaled down functionality just for the S2?

JoeydDetroit · Feb 23, 2022

Take the guts from a parrot controller, put them in an enterprise controller, get the screen from a cheap cellphone that will fit the hole, pipe the video from the WiFi receiver to the screen, blam problem solved cheaply. Siphon off a copy of the video stream and send it to a uSD card file system from an S2 and to an HDMI output for recording or streaming.

aberk · Mar 29, 2022

This is frustrating to read. I just picked up an A7 lite for many of the same reasons mentioned here. Maybe when they update them to Android 12 in June something will change. I have no issues using my S22 other than the controller mount covers the power button.

LivinLarge · Mar 31, 2022

DrKnome said:
So ... I nearly always fly my Skydio2 using the controller. I have had no problem connecting the controller to the phone using 3 different phones. I can also connect it to Galaxy Tab S3 (this belongs to my work, so I don't want to rely on that).

I own a cheap Samsung Tablet for reading, etc. (Galaxy Tab A7 Lite) and tried to connect it to the controller to no avail. I have tried 5 different USB cables. I connect the controller, the app says to turn off wifi and connect cable between phone and controller, The light on the back by the connector lights up, but the app is still waiting for me to "connect phone to controller." I have tried looking at the developer/USB settings to no avail.

Any advice before I contact tech support? It is not a deal breaker, but this tablet is a rather ideal small size and I would like to be able to use it with the Skydio if possible. I bought a small tablet adapter that fits it well.

I have the s5e 64 gb tablet and it works great.You might shop for a refurb of this one at a good price.