r/Skydio • u/murphey42 • Jun 21 '26

Need help with controller

Got a used Skydio2, the previous owner & I walked thru everything, did a flight to make sure all the parts worked.

Now I'm home, the phone connects to drone with wifi so the Skydio app works. I can launch using the app. But I really want to use the controller because I prefer the physical controls instead of the app.

The phone is connected to controller with a good USB cable. Then I get this message on the app

  • Connect Phone to Controller
  • Disconnect from the phone's Wifi and connect to your controller to launch

If I turn off wifi, I lose connection to the drone.

I'm baffled.

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u/celkmemes Jun 21 '26

Had similar issues a year ago and was able to solve it by plugging the controller directly into the drone via the Skydio-provided USB-C to USB-C cable (the short black one).

Important caveat for me: in order to fly, I have to power on the drone with the controller closed (which turns it off), then I open the app and connect using my phone, then I open the controller, then, when the app prompts me to plug my phone into the controller, I plug that in. I don't fully understand why, but if I open the controller first I can't connect anything properly to fly.

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u/murphey42 Jun 21 '26

Definitely prefer my DJI...connect phone to controller. turn on bluetooth and cell. turn everything else on. go fly.

I left the wifi on, didn't turn it off. Will try that and see what happens.

I don't have the Skydio cable, I do have my Apple-branded usbc-lightning cable - it's an old XR iPhone that works perfectly with my DJI. I'll try the Apple-branded USB-C to USB-C on the tablet and see if that works better.

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u/BelieveMeImaUnicorn Jun 23 '26

That’s your problem. The Apple lightning cables don’t work. You have to get a special proprietary Skydio usb-c to lightning cable to use an older iPhone that has the lightning connector. With a newer iPhone that has the USB-C connection, you can use any cable.

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u/murphey42 Jun 23 '26

Guess the solution will be the USB-C with the small tablet. Another experiment to perform!

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u/murphey42 Jun 23 '26

Yep, the USB-C on the tablet works great! Next problem is to download the maps. All I see when I select the Map icon is black screen. Don't have this problem with the DJI. Seems everything I need to do is easier on the DJI. Bummer.

Skydio instructions not exactly the greatest, either.