B777-200
Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 102; Flight Crew Total 18226; Flight Crew Type 5284
Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe
General None Reported / Taken
Aircraft
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.
B777 international First Officer reported the entire crew had issues with their iPad usability and availability for the long-range transoceanic round trip.