B777 international first officer reported the entire crew had issues with their ipad usability and a...

Narrative:

Subject: ipad operational issueson [our international round-trip flight]; the entire crew experienced numerous operational failure issues with the ipad; specifically with the following:problem: pushing updates without pilot consent at down line stations that have limited wifi or internet connection corrupts the current good data and renders the entire push updated area to completely fail in a variety of ways. It is better to keep old data available for reference rather than lose all the data in its entirety. For example the captain's update started on push back rendering his ipad partially updated resulting in its complete failure for the remainder of the flight.solution: have all updates pushed but not automatically updated. Give the pilot the choice of updating now or later in order to preserve data availability down line.problem: drift down chart resolution issues prevented some ipads from rendering the drift down chart legibly.solution: rework in higher graphical detail all drift down charts.problem: jepp pro locks up and requires precious minutes to re-align. This happened on taxi out; and during critical phase of flight over mountainous terrain. Totally unacceptable!solution: work out issue with vendor. In the meantime provide complete sets of paper enroute hi/lo charts especially for [international] flights and polar routes.problem: ipad battery life is limited. For example started out with 100% charge and had to refer to the ipad jepp pro maps constantly for firs etc. 1/3rd way through flight was down to 17% battery power. The need to refer to ipad content during critical enroute phases of flight renders this short battery life unacceptable.solution: immediately provide pilot flight stations with electrical outlet power up capability.problem: suction cup cockpit ipad holder failures occur due the cumbersome; complexity of the holder design.solution: provide a simple work bench clip that can securely hold the ipad easily to the window slider clipboard.conclusion: while demonstrating potential; the current ipad operation for ultra-long range international flights is less than ideal and appears to have been implemented without proper line pilot input.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: B777 international First Officer reported the entire crew had issues with their iPad usability and availability for the long-range transoceanic round trip.

Narrative: Subject: iPad Operational IssuesOn [our international round-trip flight]; the entire crew experienced numerous operational failure issues with the iPad; specifically with the following:Problem: Pushing updates without pilot consent at down line stations that have limited WiFi or internet connection corrupts the current good data and renders the entire push updated area to completely fail in a variety of ways. It is better to keep old data available for reference rather than lose all the data in its entirety. For example the Captain's update started on push back rendering his iPad partially updated resulting in its complete failure for the remainder of the flight.Solution: Have all updates pushed but NOT automatically updated. Give the pilot the choice of updating now or later in order to preserve data availability down line.Problem: Drift down chart resolution issues prevented some iPads from rendering the drift down chart legibly.Solution: Rework in higher graphical detail all drift down charts.Problem: Jepp Pro locks up and requires precious minutes to re-align. This happened on taxi out; and during critical phase of flight over mountainous terrain. Totally unacceptable!Solution: Work out issue with vendor. In the meantime provide complete sets of paper enroute hi/lo charts especially for [international] flights and polar routes.Problem: iPad battery life is limited. For example started out with 100% charge and had to refer to the iPad Jepp Pro maps constantly for FIRs etc. 1/3rd way through flight was down to 17% battery power. The need to refer to iPad content during critical enroute phases of flight renders this short battery life unacceptable.Solution: Immediately provide pilot flight stations with electrical outlet power up capability.Problem: Suction cup cockpit iPad holder failures occur due the cumbersome; complexity of the holder design.Solution: Provide a simple work bench clip that can securely hold the iPad easily to the window slider clipboard.Conclusion: While demonstrating potential; the current iPad operation for ultra-long range international flights is less than ideal and appears to have been implemented without proper line pilot input.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.

Attributes
ACN	1328492
Time
Date	201601
Local Time Of Day	1801-2400
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZZ.Airport
State Reference	FO
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Night
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	B777-200
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Cruise
Route In Use	Oceanic
Flight Plan	IFR
Component
Aircraft Component	Tablet
Person 1
Function	Pilot Not Flying First Officer
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 102 Flight Crew Total 18226 Flight Crew Type 5284
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe

B777 international first officer reported the entire crew had issues with their ipad usability and availability for the long-range transoceanic round trip.