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Operating range and WiFi issues

Joined
Apr 18, 2017
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VIE Vienna, Austria
I want to see the impact of different versions of the breezeCamApp in different versions of firmware in my breeze. Setting is a sony XperiaZ C6603 with android Lollipop 5.1.1. Firmware in the breeze is FCV 1.1.3 ESC 1.0.3 and CAM 1.0.0. Flight is controlled with the original gamesir controller in pilot mode.
My test is really straightforward: Start the breeze, let it climb and see at what height the transmitted video becomes jerky. I also wanted to see if the breeze is controllable when the videostream is broken or distorted. Furthermore I wanted to see the effects of the edimax range extender.

Findings:
  1. With any version of the breezeCamApp (Versions 1.1.2Build3, 1.1.6, 1.1.9 and 1.2.9.) the drone would climb up to +/- 30 m before the video became jerky. Still the flight of the drone could be controlled.
  2. Even with the edimax extender only 30 meter could be reached. So using the extender did NOT improve the video.
  3. Finding 1 and 2 indicate that the loss of video is more related to the version of the CAM (in this case 1.0.0) rather than wifi signal strength.
  4. Binding the breeze with the smartphone did work in each and every test. Only band 1 (the lower four channels of the 5GHz range) were used. Blinking green light in front leg after 15 seconds of solid red.
Conclusion:
The version of the CAM firmware does not only decide what Band in the 5GHz range is used but also seems to have some impact on the transmitted video. Tests with other versions of the firmware could corroborate these findings.
 
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Firmware ....35_F.bin gives you cam version 1.0.2(F) and an operating range of 80 meters up to geofence. This is true for all tested versions of the breezeCamApp going from 1.1.2build3 to 1.2.9. I had a few glitches with 1.1.2build3 and versions 1.1.9 onwards pestered me with warnings of being close to a NFZ. so 1.1.6 worked best for me.
It seems remarkable that the CAM version of the firmware has a great impact on the wifi range. IMO there are some (lots of) bugs with the timing in the transmission. I suspect this because when I fly away the video transmission gets garbled at a distance of about 30 meters. Video is back to normal at 35 meters. This distance coincides with the limitations of CAM 1.0.0(F) where the max distance was around 30 meters.
CAM version 1.0.2 still operates in the lower band of the 5GHz range on channels 36 to 48. The starting sequence on the left leg is: solid red for 15 secs and blinking green immediately afterwards. Then you can bind the breeze to the phone.
Another finding was, that the edimax did not improve the transmission in any significant way. The glitches at the 30 meter distance persisted, hence my suspicion about timing bugs in the software. Obviously my Sony Experia C6603 has enough power for sening and receiving.
 
Hallo Breeze fans,
The Comfast Dual 2,4GHZ \ 5,8GHZ extender transmitter CF-WR371AC with a powerbank works with my Yuneec Breeze 4K hier in Holland and so I expect that it wil work hier in europe .
I configured the Comfast with a laptop on 192.168.10.1 to my router in house and changed the wifi settings from China to The Netherlands or another country like Germany,Canada, USA what ever country and changed the Channel to "Auto (DFS).
Wat I did is later I see in different smartfones the wifi connection from your house router ,use that to connect and then go to the browser on your smartphone and make a connection with 192.168.1.0 log in with admin, go to advanced and select your Yuneec Breeze 4k and connect.
Later you wil see for example "Breeze_92049D-plus. Once the comfast is configuerd it stays there.

I have tested the Yuneec Breeze 4K outside with my Samsung s6 edge and has a mutch better wifi connection right up to my geofence of 80 meters high but the video and foto's is lagging a bit, but up to 60 meters works pretty goed for video/foto's and wifi very goed.

Follow Me is still a problem not working goed but on a samsung S5 works very goed also on my iphone 5 very goed. Samsung s4 follow me does not work.

The Comfast CF-WR371AC works for me so I take no responsability if you can't get it working !!!! For about €16 euro on internet is very cheap to try this.

20170531_201339.jpg 20170615_162858.jpg

Have a happy Yuneec Breeze.
Roberto
 
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Hello.

Sorry for bringing up a (really) old thread, but I have a couple of questions about this same issue about Wifi range.

Yesterday I finally took my new Breeze outdoors to test it, and I've got a great fly and photos, but I got a bit scared when taking a few panoramas of my town, because the wifi got disconnected due to range (I guess). Breeze hoovered for about 1 minute and then it started the automated RTH procedure. As soon as it got a bit closer I managed to reconnect the wifi and land it safely.

Nevertheless, the drone was just at about 28-30 meters high (about 95 feet), straight above my head. It was well within the advertised range of 80-100m control range, so I was not expecting any troubles with range at this point.

I'm in Europe (Spain), yet I'm using the Breeze with the american stock firmware (V0.1.37_A, Camera Version 2.0.4). As far as I know, this firmware uses the high frequency 5.8Ghz band (channels 150-160). At first I tried to connect with an Android and a Windows Phone devices without success, but finally my iPhone 6s Plus connected without any issue.
But maybe in Europe there is some kind of Power Output limit on those 5.8Ghz channels? Maybe the iPhone have that limits baked in, and that would explain the shorter range?

I've downloaded the uncompressed firmware.bin file from airborne folder (which, for what I know, is the V0.1.35_F european firmware with Camera Version 1.0.2) and the latest european V0.1.47_F firmware available on the OTA server for the Breeze Cam app, (with Camera Version 2.0.15). Yet I've not been brave enough to flash them, as my Breeze seems to be working ok now (besides the above range issue, that is).

Anyone can report if the wifi control range improves with either of those _F firmwares compared to V0.1.37_A in Europe?
Also, is there any known drawback of V0.1.35_F or V0.1.47_F vs the US stock V0.1.37_A firmware?


Thank you in advance :)

J
 
Last edited:
Firmware ....35_F.bin gives you cam version 1.0.2(F) and an operating range of 80 meters up to geofence. This is true for all tested versions of the breezeCamApp going from 1.1.2build3 to 1.2.9.

Hello @airborne . After reading again your second post I'm a bit confused (sorry english is not my primary languaje so I might have misunderstood it).

But... From your original mail I understand that with the Stock firmware your range was limited at about 30m, while using 35_F.bin firmware with cam version 1.0.2(F) gave you enough control range to reach the 80m geofence limit?

Regards

J
 
The uncompressed firmware.bin gives you cam 1.0.0 and is in all other aspects similar (but not identical) to firmware..35(F). The main disadvantage of all early European firmwares - up to 39(F) - is unsatisfactory performance of video transmission and they also seem to have frequent lags that make it impossible to take photos. Nevertheless controlling the Breeze to the max. distance was possible in most combinations of firmware and App version on the Android phone. IIRC at the time of my posting in April last year the most prominent problem was the quality of transmitted video. Reaching the geofence was seemingly possible in most cases.

Now for the hard part: Yuneec decided to move from the 5.1 GHz channels to the 5.8 GHz channels later in 2017. For the European versions of the firmware it meant to deal with avoiding the weather radar and intelligent control of the power output at the antenna. This lead to prolonged waiting untill the Breeze and the phone paired especially in combination with Android phones. Since that change to the higher channels reports about WiFi issues in Europe increased noticeably whereas the complaints regarding video lags or video issues in general subsided.

What others (in Europe) did:
  • To get rid of NFZ limitations use the Android APP Versions before 1.1.9. Downside is that Follow-Me does not work reliably.
  • To stick with the lower band (5.1 GHz) use firmwares up to ...39(F). Downside may be with the transmission of video.
  • To have the Breeze connect in 15 seconds to the smartphone use American firmwares. No known downsides to me as I have not investigated into this matter.
So in a nutshell: Flightcontrol of the breeze has to be seen seperated from issues with the transmission of video. European firmwares after ...39(F) need up to 120 seconds to establish the WiFi link to a smartphone. The operating range of WiFi up to geofence limits can be established in both frequencies (5.1 and 5.8 GHz). Still lost connections do occur. The lower band gives the impression of being a little more reliable. A repeater does help anyway.

Remeber: You always can revert to prior firmwares with firmware.bin. So feel free to experiment to find your best suiting combination of firmware and App.
 
The uncompressed firmware.bin gives you cam 1.0.0 and is in all other aspects similar (but not identical) to firmware..35(F). The main disadvantage of all early European firmwares - up to 39(F) - is unsatisfactory performance of video transmission and they also seem to have frequent lags that make it impossible to take photos. Nevertheless controlling the Breeze to the max. distance was possible in most combinations of firmware and App version on the Android phone. IIRC at the time of my posting in April last year the most prominent problem was the quality of transmitted video. Reaching the geofence was seemingly possible in most cases.

Now for the hard part: Yuneec decided to move from the 5.1 GHz channels to the 5.8 GHz channels later in 2017. For the European versions of the firmware it meant to deal with avoiding the weather radar and intelligent control of the power output at the antenna. This lead to prolonged waiting untill the Breeze and the phone paired especially in combination with Android phones. Since that change to the higher channels reports about WiFi issues in Europe increased noticeably whereas the complaints regarding video lags or video issues in general subsided.

What others (in Europe) did:
  • To get rid of NFZ limitations use the Android APP Versions before 1.1.9. Downside is that Follow-Me does not work reliably.
  • To stick with the lower band (5.1 GHz) use firmwares up to ...39(F). Downside may be with the transmission of video.
  • To have the Breeze connect in 15 seconds to the smartphone use American firmwares. No known downsides to me as I have not investigated into this matter.
So in a nutshell: Flightcontrol of the breeze has to be seen seperated from issues with the transmission of video. European firmwares after ...39(F) need up to 120 seconds to establish the WiFi link to a smartphone. The operating range of WiFi up to geofence limits can be established in both frequencies (5.1 and 5.8 GHz). Still lost connections do occur. The lower band gives the impression of being a little more reliable. A repeater does help anyway.

Remeber: You always can revert to prior firmwares with firmware.bin. So feel free to experiment to find your best suiting combination of firmware and App.
Awesome explanation, thanks!

I'm using a non-jailbroken iOS device, not Android, which effectively locks me with the latest version of the Breeze Cam app (1.1.0.3 for iOS).

Right now I have installed the American stock firmware (37_A, latest for that region according to http://www.yuneec.com/breezeota ) with camera firmware 2.0.04 . This makes pairing almost instant indeed, video quality is almost perfect, but wifi range is limited to about 30m vertically or 40-50m horizontally (less than half the advertised limit, which is pretty disappointing). Video feeedback and control range/connection are lost almost at the same time (a couple of meters or so at most).

Maybe I will try the next weekend to install another one, and test the wifi range, in case this improves the wifi control range.

Just out of curiosity @airborne. You are from europe too, so what is your current Breeze firmware setup? What is your Breeze control range? (without any extender device i mean)

Regards

Jorge


P.S. I've noticed too that after switching off the Breeze, I have to wait about 10-15 minutes before powering it up again, or else the Wifi won't enter into "pairing mode". I've read somewhere else in the forums that this may be in fact a hardware issue due to overheating of the wifi module, @DoomMeister was sure this was due to a poor thermal bonding applied to the heat spreader, so he even sent his Breeze to Yuneec support for repairing; I understand Firmware should have nothing to do with this.
 
Hola Jorge,
(my Spanish is limited to this greeting - and only because I have read Hemingway's "For Whom the Bell Tolls")

ok, I am from Vienna in Austria. Breeze One is with latest firmware (...47F) and Android App. She runs with a Sony XPeria Z3 D6603. Breeze Two is controlled by a Sony Xperia Z C6603 and runs on firmware.bin and the current App. Breeze Two is mainly for experimenting with repeaters.

Tip for possibly improving your range of WiFi: If you have your phone with some kind of protective cover try to remove it. Also it might be worth a try to find the location of the antenna in your iPhone. Do not cover this area with your hand.

Your range issue might be the result of US-firmware speaking to an EU-phone. It can be that your Breeze and your phone negotiate in your setup only at low TX-power from your phone - it's just a guess. You might try a EU firmware as you can always revert to your US FW.

I can confirm that Breeze One and Breeze Two likewise reach the geofence (80/100m) with almost no loss of flight control. Video is jerky and lags a lot in Breeze Two.

RE your thermal problem. I can confirm that my two Breezes are also prone to thermal overload. If I do not want to wait 10 or so minutes I give them a good blow (no pun intended) through the holes on the belly after removing the battery. Please report back if Yuneec had a fix for your Breeze.

Greetings
Peter
 
Hola Jorge,
(my Spanish is limited to this greeting - and only because I have read Hemingway's "For Whom the Bell Tolls")

ok, I am from Vienna in Austria. Breeze One is with latest firmware (...47F) and Android App. She runs with a Sony XPeria Z3 D6603. Breeze Two is controlled by a Sony Xperia Z C6603 and runs on firmware.bin and the current App. Breeze Two is mainly for experimenting with repeaters.

Tip for possibly improving your range of WiFi: If you have your phone with some kind of protective cover try to remove it. Also it might be worth a try to find the location of the antenna in your iPhone. Do not cover this area with your hand.

Your range issue might be the result of US-firmware speaking to an EU-phone. It can be that your Breeze and your phone negotiate in your setup only at low TX-power from your phone - it's just a guess. You might try a EU firmware as you can always revert to your US FW.

I can confirm that Breeze One and Breeze Two likewise reach the geofence (80/100m) with almost no loss of flight control. Video is jerky and lags a lot in Breeze Two.

RE your thermal problem. I can confirm that my two Breezes are also prone to thermal overload. If I do not want to wait 10 or so minutes I give them a good blow (no pun intended) through the holes on the belly after removing the battery. Please report back if Yuneec had a fix for your Breeze.

Greetings
Peter
Hi again!

I've updated the drone to the latest Euro firmware (.47_F) and so far so good. Binding times aren't significantly higher than with the US firmware (10-15 seconds to get the cyan light on the front arm light, and just 2-3 seconds for pairing with the iPhone), and connection/video seems stable.
My first indoor flight has been pretty smooth.

I'll take the Breeze outside this weekend for a few shots. Hopefully the control range are better now.

Thanks for your help!

J

P.S. Is there any way of knowingthe wifi signal strength during flight? I've seen some screen caps of the Breeze Cam app with a wifi meter (like here https://www.yuneec.com/assets/images/d/breeze-app-screenshot-gallery-8480aa7d.jpg ) but that icon is nowhere to be found in the iOS app. Maybe it's something only available on the Android app?
 
Hi again!

I've updated the drone to the latest Euro firmware (.47_F) and so far so good. Binding times aren't significantly higher than with the US firmware (10-15 seconds to get the cyan light on the front arm light, and just 2-3 seconds for pairing with the iPhone), and connection/video seems stable.
My first indoor flight has been pretty smooth.

I'll take the Breeze outside this weekend for a few shots. Hopefully the control range are better now.

Thanks for your help!

J

P.S. Is there any way of knowingthe wifi signal strength during flight? I've seen some screen caps of the Breeze Cam app with a wifi meter (like here https://www.yuneec.com/assets/images/d/breeze-app-screenshot-gallery-8480aa7d.jpg ) but that icon is nowhere to be found in the iOS app. Maybe it's something only available on the Android app?

AFAIK Cyan light is the indoor frequencies, they bind first if indoors, for outdoor conditions you normally have to wait for the green light. At least that's the Android way of things. Have not so much knowledge with IOS. Therefore I am clueless regarding the WiFi Meter.

Greetings
 
2A8016C9-8E15-4DC3-9BE8-F2C84151858F.jpeg The iOS version of Breeze Cam does not have the WiFi signal strength meter (ice cream cone), but the Android version does as shown above. It can be misleading as the image above demonstrates, because it shows the signal strength of the WiFi the device is connected to even if it’s not the Breeze.
 
View attachment 9621 The iOS version of Breeze Cam does not have the WiFi signal strength meter (ice cream cone), but the Android version does as shown above. It can be misleading as the image above demonstrates, because it shows the signal strength of the WiFi the device is connected to even if it’s not the Breeze.
Thanks for the reply.

So it seems its and android-only feature. :(

It would be great to know during the actual flight the wifi signal strength, so you know when you are starting to get too far. I know other apps under iOS are able to show the wifi signal 'cone', so Apple is indeed offering that information though its dev APIs. Maybe if someone at Yuneec is reading this can take notes for a future update release of the iOS Cam App... :)

Regards

J
 
@airborne: Where can I get the latest Euro firmware (.47_F)?
I've bought mine in the US last week, and since I#ve returned to Germany, I cannot connect to the Breeze anymore, also my wifi finder doesnt see any WIFI signal comming from the Breeze......
 
Here you can always download the three latest official firmwares (_A for America, _F Europe and Australia, _K for Asia and Pacific region):
http://www.yuneec.com/breezeota

To switch between different "branches" you need to use first the uncompressed .bin firmware provided by @airborne , then flash the desired one using the regular procedure.

Regards

L
 
OK, thanks, but how do I get the first uncompressed version? Do you have a link for me?
I downloaded it from here: firmware.bin

Steps are simple:
1.- Switch on the Breeze. Don't connect to Wifi. Just plug the Breeze with the USB cable to a PC.
2.- You should see the Breeze as a "Mass Storage Device". Just copy the firmware.bin into the root folder of that unit.
3.- As soon as you disconnect the USB cable from the Breeze, the light in the front arm will blink purple and the firmware "downgrade" will be automatic.
4.- After the light stops blinking, just switch the Breeze off. Your Breeze will now have a (pretty old) European firmware.
5.- You should now be able to connect to the Breeze as usual. If you want to get the latest Europe firmware, just start the Breeze Cam App, and it should prompt you to update to the latest EU firmware. Proceed as usual, no need to manually download anything for this.

Regards

L
 
now was able to get a connection to the breeze, but now I cannot control anything, I see a video feed, but slightly delayed.
I Cannot take off for some reason, and dont have the feeling the latest firmware is loading.....
Not sure if I can just dump the 47 bin file in root, and hope for it to upgrade?
Sorry for being such a noob on this, I normally fly large RC planes, and this is my first attempt to flying a camera drone....
 
Once connected to the Breeze, can you check in the Breeze Cam App the version of the installed components? ("About" section of the left menu bar)
 

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