TelloNO — an open-source Tello controller app, built from scratch (no GStreamer, no closed SDKs)
The official Tello app hasn't been meaningfully updated in years and barely works on newer Android — so I built my own from scratch: TelloNO.
It's a clean, dark-themed FPV controller for the Ryze Tello. No GStreamer, no closed SDKs — video decoding is straight Android MediaCodec (H.264), so it's low-latency and lightweight.
Features:
- Full-screen FPV video, auto-starts on connect
- Dual joystick touch controls (cyan glow, 20Hz RC loop)
- Bluetooth gamepad support (8BitDo / standard XInput)
- Photo capture + real MP4 recording (proper MediaMuxer output)
- LOW/MED/HIGH speed modes
- Safety arm — Start button arms the drone, so you can't kill props mid-flight by accident
- Low battery warning (vibration + HUD alert at ≤20%)
- On-screen and gamepad flip controls
- Immersive mode — screen stays on, no accidental taps while flying
There's also a Python companion script if you'd rather fly from a laptop with a gamepad.
Built and tested on GrapheneOS (Pixel 8a, Android 16) — should run on standard Android 8+ too, just haven't had other hardware to test on yet, so bug reports from other devices are very welcome.
Fully open source (MIT): https://github.com/Monks103/TelloNO
Screenshots/video in the repo. Would love feedback, bug reports, or PRs if anyone wants to contribute.