Connect ST16 with the Internet

Tiburon · Oct 31, 2016

Hello Everybody,

This is my first post and hence I would like to introduce myself quicky. I live in Switzerland and possess since one month a Typhoon H with RS. So far I am super happy with this Copter as I didn't noticed any alarming behaviour.

The firmware V3.0 that is out now made me investigating the ST16 a little bit deeper and so I've found out that it is possible to connect the controller directly to the internet using the 5GHz WLAN network.
With this I can surf now in the internet. If I would connect the ST16 with my Google account I could also install new apps, read my e-mails and all the things you can do with an ordinary android tablet.

But I am a little bit reluctant to do so as I don't know if there are any implications (apart that installing apps would reduce the memory of the ST16) that might occur.

Has somebody out here any experience in this matter?

Thank you and cheers

Beat

KBflyer · Oct 31, 2016

How to install GOOGLE PLAYSTORE on ST16

BobW55 · Oct 31, 2016

Many have installed Google Play and other APKs with no problems so far..
Me personally, I would NOT do it. The controller can only manage 1 WiFi connection at a time. If you are flying your H, it is using both the 2.4 and the 5.8 WiFi connections.
Do you want to risk a background APK suddenly waking up and stealing the WiFi for normal use?
The ST-16 has a limited amount of memory, I did not check after the last update how much was still free.

Steve Carr · Oct 31, 2016

BobW55 said:
Many have installed Google Play and other APKs with no problems so far..
Me personally, I would NOT do it. The controller can only manage 1 WiFi connection at a time. If you are flying your H, it is using both the 2.4 and the 5.8 WiFi connections.
Do you want to risk a background APK suddenly waking up and stealing the WiFi for normal use?
The ST-16 has a limited amount of memory, I did not check after the last update how much was still free.

I agree. Using a flight controller to cruise the internet could result in some unexpected results. There are a couple of apps developed by members of this forum that seem to run well. I would stick with those and no others until they are proven to be safe.

Tiburon · Nov 1, 2016

I agree with you All. First I had in mind to have some Cloud Clients on the ST16 to upload footage, but thinking it over it doesn't really add value. I still need to get the SD card out of the camera and put it into the ST16. Why not putting it then right away in my laptop where I have all the necessary tools.

Thanks for all you replies

Cheers

whitelaw · Nov 1, 2016

It may help to share an experience I had with the ST16's internal memory. A number of updates ago, I was trying to update the ST16 and followed the process of downloading the update, placing it on a newly formatted SD card and inserting it into the ST16. The update would not take, and I was stumped as to why. Turned out I had used too much of the ST16's internal memory for storage or apps, that there wasn't enough internal memory to install the file for the ST16. Once I cleared some of the files taking up the memory, all was fine.

Drone On · Nov 1, 2016

IMHO. The purpose of the st16 is to fly the H. It wasn't designed to surf the internet, check email, etc. Is there anyone out there who spends $1000 to $2000 on a drone but doesn't own a smart phone or tablet that they need to convert their st16 to surf the web? Hmmm..I'm beginning to think that a lot of the fly aways and issues people have with the H are not all Yuneecs fault..

Wingman · Mar 16, 2018

I was just searching for the same and the easiest way to have internet and yuneec camera on ST16 is to use 3g/4G USB dongle for android. This way your camera will be connected through built in WiFi and you can get maps and live data from the Internet via the dongle and an USB port.

Tuna · Mar 17, 2018

It's worth saying again. The Android installation on the ST-16 is a custom build, and things like the Play Store don't work out of the box. You can 'hack' the controller to make the Play Store work - however this *may* break the Flight Mode app that you rely on to fly the Typhoon H. Flight Mode is the screen you see when you start up the ST-16 to fly, and it uses some Google services to work. So changing the installation on the ST-16 is risky - and will be broken again when / if you do a firmware update. On the whole, it's not worth it.

However, it is possible to install individual apps. As others have mentioned, I publish an app designed specifically for the ST-16 (UAV Toolbox) and it does a lot of the things you might wish to see, such as telemetry summaries, online pilots logs and so on. IT's designed to only run when you need it - and not interrupt your flight with notifications or other background work. That sort of app is safe to install on the ST-16, but I would avoid using ones that need an always on network connection or pop up adverts or notifications - use your phone for those

Wingman · Mar 19, 2018

I did not notice any problems with using Playstore, You just need to connect it with your email account and all work just fine after that. Also no problems with installing some apps. All apps I have work just as you expect them to work on any Android tablet. it is possible there were some problems with this in previous versions of firmware but I got my H520-E90 combo with the latest updates installed for me by an Yuneec distributor.

Tuna · Mar 20, 2018

Wingman said:
I did not notice any problems with using Playstore, You just need to connect it with your email account and all work just fine after that. Also no problems with installing some apps. All apps I have work just as you expect them to work on any Android tablet. it is possible there were some problems with this in previous versions of firmware but I got my H520-E90 combo with the latest updates installed for me by an Yuneec distributor.

The ST-16S that comes with the H520 is not the same as the ST-16 that comes with the Typhoon H. The Android installation is different, and the Playstore may work on it (not something I've directly tested). On the ST-16 that comes with the Typhoon, the version of Android it comes with needs a different installation of the Playstore to work, which may have unexpected side effects.

Wingman · Mar 20, 2018

You are right I have st-16S even though at the top right corner of the tablet screen it says St16. However a sticker located at the bottom says it is St-16s model