Barnstormer wrote:Just got off the phone with Apple. They have confirmed what I reported and have begun working on a software update to fix the problem. No information on how long this will take.

Well done, sir.

Any updates? @Barnstormer or anyone else using the Mini 5?

So I emailed ForeFlight about issues with the mini5. They said there IS a problem with the mini5 GPS reliability. They said Apple is working on the problem so I would stay away for now. My mini4 works beautifully and ForeFlight said the mini4 has had zero problems.

Got out flying with the new mini 5. Couldn't get it to act up at all. Worked flawlessly even in airplane mode or out of cell service.

This was in southern BC. Have to see if that changes when I go north of 60 here in a few days.

Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk

Dclings wrote:Got out flying with the new mini 5. Couldn't get it to act up at all. Worked flawlessly even in airplane mode or out of cell service.

This was in southern BC. Have to see if that changes when I go north of 60 here in a few days.

Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk

That's good to hear! Were you running on the internal GPS?

kevbot wrote:

Dclings wrote:Got out flying with the new mini 5. Couldn't get it to act up at all. Worked flawlessly even in airplane mode or out of cell service.

This was in southern BC. Have to see if that changes when I go north of 60 here in a few days.

Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk

That's good to hear! Were you running on the internal GPS?

I was using the internal sensors

Dclings wrote:

kevbot wrote:

Dclings wrote:Got out flying with the new mini 5. Couldn't get it to act up at all. Worked flawlessly even in airplane mode or out of cell service.

This was in southern BC. Have to see if that changes when I go north of 60 here in a few days.

Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk

That's good to hear! Were you running on the internal GPS?

I was using the internal sensors

Thanks for the report!

So I'm in the process of flying the 185 back to Alaska. I'm using my iPad mini 4. I'm currently in New Mexico.

I did bring my iPad mini 5 down with me in case they release a software update while I'm traveling. I did decide to take the mini 5 on a two hour road trip today (it failed the same in Alaska). It worked fine. So far Apple hasn't released any software update nor have I seen any carrier updates. So this may very well be an Alaska only problem- I'm sure we will never know.

I'll test it from time to time on my flight up and see if I can determine where it fails (assuming Apple doesn't release a patch in the mean time).

iOS 12.3 was released today. I updated the iPad Mini 5, and took it flying. Instead of a GPS accuracy of 165m which won't show the ownship, the accuracy ranged between 16m and 35m (most of the time). An improvement but I pulled the 5 while flying and replaced it with my 4 and the GPS accuracy ranged from 4m to 10m. So Apple has improved the 5, but it still isn't up to par with the 4 or with the iPhone. I'll call them tomorrow and let them know. Here is one of the places I flew to today.

At least it takes good pictures, wow

I know you've done enough debugging to show that the iPad is at fault, but what other GPS devices do you have on board?

I noticed after I installed the Garmin G5 in my airplane that it was killing the reception on my XGPS. I found if I booted up the XGPS then immediately placed it near the back window instead of the dash reception was perfect again.

I wonder if the mini 5 is just more sensitive to interference. I would try a fresh boot up with any other devices on airplane mode and see if that changes anything.

Just got off the phone with Apple, the engineers will look into it- again. Also notified Foreflight what I found.

The only other GPS device I have in the SQ-2 is the GPS Antenna for the Dynon Skyview, and it's located behind me up against the green house glass, a good distance from the panel. I did turn off the inReach just in case, but no difference there.

Picture was taken with my iPhone X. An even more stunning one and my favorite from yesterday.

Do they know if its a software thing or a hardware thing yet?

Software can improve in time, but hardware is of course different.

I just got a mini 5 256gb with cellular, hence my concern. I wanted internal GPS though I may still use an external one. I went for the 256gb model since I wanted maps, charts, etc., and wanted room for pictures and videos for when I do drone work.

I would be kinda bummed if it was a hardware problem.

Oh, and Barnstormer those are awesome pictures! I'm really itching to head north at some point.

On a somewhat related note, I hear the next big iOS update will give us a true "dark mode". That will sure help nighttime operations. I also just prefer dark mode all the time.

Tracking this discussion. Thanks for the reports. Please let us know how things progress.
Johnny

I've been flying with the mini 5 for a month now and haven't had any problems. Accuracy is typically 3-5m. It can be a bit slow acquiring the signal initially but once acquired it's fine.

I went from a Mini pad 2 to mini pad 5 recently. The biggest difference I can tell w/ Foreflight, Garmin Pilot and FlyQ EFB is it is "snappier" and the extra Ram is nice. The screen is better but the readability is more a function of the app than the screen in my opinion.

As DeltaRomeo said get a Bluetooth GPS no matter if you have broadband or not. I have been using a Garmin Glow for years because, not to put too fine a point on it, the included GPS in Apple and Android units suck.

Garmin Glo ( and probably Bad Elf ) access both the USA and Russian GLONASS GPS satellite swarm.
See: https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/p/645104#overview

[quote="TomD"Garmin Glo ( and probably Bad Elf ) access both the USA and Russian GLONASS GPS satellite swarm.
See: https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/p/645104#overview[/quote]
As does the built-in GPS receiver in the iPad Mini 2 (and beyond) and iPhone 5s (and beyond)...

In fact, the iPhone 8 (and newer) also can utilize the European and Japanese satellite systems.

IMHO, the primary reason to use an external GPS for aircraft navigation is that their antennas are far better optimized for such usage than the one in the iPhone / iPad, where priority for most efficient antenna location is given to Wi-Fi and 4G/3G antennas... The GPS antenna is a much lower priority for placement within the limited space.

I used an iPad Mini 4 for five years or so, as primary navigation in a Cub, using only the on-board GPS sensor. Never had a problem of any sort with it, located on my knee. Same goes for my Cessna, with the iPad in same place, but no skylight.

If an external GPS provides better accuracy, I can't imagine that I'd be able to notice.....that iPad shows me right on the center line of the runway, when my eyeball says that's where I am. Anything more precise would be irrelevant.

MTV

MTV is right as usual.

Update: Apple just released another iOS update- 12.3.1

I took it flying yesterday in the 185 on the iPad mini 5 alongside 12.2 on the iPad mini 4. The 5's accuracy was usually no more than a meter or two different than the 4 (and sometimes the same), and for the first time the 5 never lost its position. It was only an hour long flight, and only in the 185, but perhaps Apple has fixed the problem.

I'll take it flying in the SQ2 in the next day or two, and on a flight to Fairbanks and back in the 185 later in the week. Those should provide a reasonable test.

Took the 5 flying in the SQ2. Accuracy about 250 feet off (altitude and horizontal). Being a VFR pilot I was considering living with it. But 30 minutes later I glance down and it's showing a GPS ground speed of 25 mph. Swapped the 5 for my 4 and everything was back to normal.

I surrender. I'm done wasting my time testing the 5 and working with Apple hoping for a resolution. I'll be sticking with the 4.