aftermarket batteries for phantom 3

[Phantom fisher]

hi, does anyone have any experience with aftermarket batteries for the phantom 3?

i hear rumours that new firmware may cancel the use of them out but i beleive they are just rumours ive never heard it from anyone reliable?

thanks

 

[suprphreak]

Indeed, new software will prevent use of the battery. Happened to me. Rumour has it the updated battery fixes this (not user upgradeable), but in the end, not sure it is worth the very small price difference.

 

[Digdat0]

you have to use oem batteries, they did block aftermarket batteries in an update. you can also look into a battery mod http://horizonfpvantennas.us/product/phantom-3-power-mod-v3/

 

[DeeX]

The blocked them for good reason lol.
Dont be cheap and buy low budget aftermarket anything.
You have an expensive flying object. Not only do you risk your quad you also risk hurting someone.
Time and time again people come here and get all sad when their quad crashes. Time and time again after market batts or props were used.
Just stick with DJI stuffs so if something does happen, you dont have to worry about it being from a bad after market accessory you bought.

 

[mikesmiley]

The blocked them for good reason lol.

Yeah, to eliminate competition.

 

[mikesmiley]

Time and time again people come here and get all sad when their quad crashes. Time and time again after market batts or props were used.

Time and time again? Can you provide examples?

 

[alokbhargava]

Unfortunately we can't use aftermarket batteries with latest FW

 

[ondesko]

Unfortunately we can't use aftermarket batteries with latest FW

Hmmm I dont understand that.. I have three aftermarket batteries and running the latest FW.. No problems. I live and work in China and trust me they make anything work with anything. Dont ask me how they do it.. dont know.. But I will be really upset if I upgrade to the next FW and the BATT. dont work...

 

[DeeX]

Time and time again? Can you provide examples?

Nah I am too lazy but there are several. Search!
Also food for thought. Look up any report of a cell phone fire that made the news or that was a big internet buzz. I bet its either an aftermarket battery or aftermarket charger.
Fact is aftermarket anything doesn't have to live up to the strict standards a company selling the main product has to.
Whether it be a cell phone or a quad. If DJI or Samsung was selling batteries that were bunk they have much more to lose. An aftermarket battery company most likely sells batteries of all types.
They break or blow up and people just write it off as "I bought a cheap battery".

Im pretty sure its a moot point as of now because you have to use DJI batteries but IMO its was foolish to use anything but DJI in the past.
But then again who am I; just someone that likes to be above approach and think things through as opposed to being impulsive.

 

[Rypper1]

Nah I am too lazy but there are several. Search!
Also food for thought. Look up any report of a cell phone fire that made the news or that was a big internet buzz. I bet its either an aftermarket battery or aftermarket charger.
Fact is aftermarket anything doesn't have to live up to the strict standards a company selling the main product has to.
Whether it be a cell phone or a quad. If DJI or Samsung was selling batteries that were bunk they have much more to lose. An aftermarket battery company most likely sells batteries of all types.
They break or blow up and people just write it off as "I bought a cheap battery".

Im pretty sure its a moot point as of now because you have to use DJI batteries but IMO its was foolish to use anything but DJI in the past.
But then again who am I; just someone that likes to be above approach and think things through as opposed to being impulsive.

I suppose you are also one that never has anything but manufacturer parts put on their vehicle also? Sorry but I aint buying the tale you are telling. Many aftermarket parts are better than original.

 

[Wibble]

DJI don't make their own batteries. Mercedes and Audi don't make brakes or clutches or engine oil.
Aftermarket is often better than original as the other posters have said.
In Europe DJI need to be careful on anti competition laws. Maybe in the US as well. Deliberately blocking companies offering aftermarket stuff is illegal.

 

[Mark The Droner]

To state aftermarket batteries are inferior is simply not true. The truth is, it depends on the battery. Some will be worse, some will be equal, and some will be better. The problem is you can't be sure unless you have experience with that particular battery or you research and read a fair number of good reviews. The other problem is you risk DJI's firmware update will render your aftermarket battery useless.

I have a couple Venom batteries which are wonderful because they include a little screen on them which I love. The screen gives me all sorts of info such as individual cell voltages, cycles, total charge, all sorts of stuff. All I have to do is click the button and read it right off the battery.

What I do find odd is that these aftermarket battery manufacturers and batteries seem to vanish into thin air after a few months. I'm not sure why that is.

Disclaimer: I have a P2V which I keep hoping will crash so I can get a P3 but it never does

 

[Sky Eye Images]

I am officially tired of hearing about aftermarket batteries. Move on, nothing to see here

 

[Mark The Droner]

Then why read and post in a thread titled "aftermarket batteries"?

 

[Trackman1]

Starting in DJI GO APP version 2.61 DJI changed the software to recognize and disable motor start if non DJI battery was detected.
Then the Non-DJI battery makers did something to counter DJI's move. What has happened after that I am not sure.
Your best bet is to be aware of what has happened and to check the feed backs on the sites selling them. Pay attention to dates.

Also if you are still in warranty period, it might be best to stay with DJI battery. As they are not likely to cover a crash with non--DJI battery.

 

[tcope]

For me, it's 100% not worth it. There are too many issues with non-OEM batteries and too little of a gain. It's highly likely that DJI would not honor their warranty for any loss if an OEM battery was not being used. DJI has made an effort to not allow people to use them by adding this to the firmware so I'd suspect they would keep that same frame of mind when it comes to the warranty. DJI has also added a ton of safe guards that rely on the battery being in next to perfect condition. Lastly, the price difference is just not that great.

If I were to hang myself over a 1000' cliff I'd spend the extra $30 on the best rope I could find. Same with a $1000 Phantom. I have 4 batteries and they should last the life of the drone.

 

[DeeX]

I suppose you are also one that never has anything but manufacturer parts put on their vehicle also? Sorry but I aint buying the tale you are telling. Many aftermarket parts are better than original.

Yes but most car enthusiasts suggest buying good batteries, good tires, and good breaks. I would chalk that up under this same situation. Your comment isn't apples to apples here. There are known good car batteries, known good brakes, and known good tires. If that was the same about electronics batteries for drones and phones I wouldn't have made a comment. Simply put a large percentage of after market consumer electronics batteries are cheaply made. Why risk your $1000 drone or your $700 phone? I guess that's on you. I personally would never cheap out like that. I would rather have 2 real DJI batteries then 5 knock offs. Piece of mind I guess. Plus if it fails I can push for a warranty of that's the issue. If I have knock offs DJI can just see the serial in the logs and blame the aftermarket battery.

Sent from my SM-N910T using Tapatalk

 

[mikesmiley]

Nah I am too lazy but there are several. Search!

Are there several, or is it time and time again? I'm confused, as you made it seem like there had been an epidemic of aftermarket battery related crashes, which was something I'd not heard of.

 

[Vertigo]

Im about to order a few clone batteries from banggood, half the price of DJI's. The app detection issue is supposedly solved, but may return on a future update. I'll report back when I get them.

As for why take the chance; the prices DJI charges are simply ridiculous, an original battery costs over €150 here. A similar sized and specced 5200 4S battery (lipo only) costs about 1/4th that on hobbyking, and Ive used them plenty, also on craft that cost a lot more than a phantom, and they work just fine. Granted, DJI puts some additional electronics in there (that Id rather not have to pay for and or carry its extra weight), but that doesnt justify the price.

The clones could cut corners, they arent very accountable, thats true, but even at half DJI's price they have ample profit margin that they dont need to. I wouldnt even be surprised at all if they are the exact same batteries that DJI sells, from the exact same factory, just put in different cardboard boxes and not flashed with DJI's ID or serial numbers (something they fixed now i suspect, to circumvent their detection by software). This happens all the time in China, where the factories produce more than the OEM ordered and sell them in to a grey channel.

So I'll take my chances and I'll just keep an eye on the voltages. After all, more than one phantom pilot lost their drone when it fell out of the sky with empty original batteries misreporting capacity.

 

[Rypper1]

Yes but most car enthusiasts suggest buying good batteries, good tires, and good breaks. I would chalk that up under this same situation. Your comment isn't apples to apples here. There are known good car batteries, known good brakes, and known good tires. If that was the same about electronics batteries for drones and phones I wouldn't have made a comment. Simply put a large percentage of after market consumer electronics batteries are cheaply made. Why risk your $1000 drone or your $700 phone? I guess that's on you. I personally would never cheap out like that. I would rather have 2 real DJI batteries then 5 knock offs. Piece of mind I guess. Plus if it fails I can push for a warranty of that's the issue. If I have knock offs DJI can just see the serial in the logs and blame the aftermarket battery.

Sent from my SM-N910T using Tapatalk

So my comment isn't apples to apples. But you made the statement "Fact is aftermarket anything doesn't have to live up to the strict standards a company selling the main product has to." That is a pretty broad "fact" and what my comment was in reference to.

If you read through all the posts from the OP, you would see that he is saying that he has done his research and would be willing to take the risk of using an aftermarket battery. I know this topic has gotten pretty far off center, but I believe the problem the OP has is the manner in which DJI initiated this change.