GET OUT OF JAIL FREE - WARRANTY CLAUSE - FAKE ANALYSIS

[sumnerwolf]

Ok, so DJI have fobbed me of with an untrue analysis that has been diverted to show that it is not covered under their warranty - I owned a DJI Phantom 4 - I took it out walking for the first time I noticed it starting to drift, I pressed Return to Home, the Phantom 4 Slowed down Turned and moved forwards towards me, told me that the forward sensor had stopped working and then disconnected from the controller never to be seen again. DJI Gave two Points that showed the Phantom 4 Drifting and concluded that it was blown away - NO DJI THAT IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH!!!!!

no mention of the facts as I stated above, I have the Flight Log To Prove it and everything the Phantom 4 is supposed to do just didn't happen.

1) return to home - - That didnt happen.
2) Nearly 5000m Range - 1480m @ 208m Height - well within advertised capabilities - did I mention that I was in the middle of nowhere so no signal interference
3) smart return to home, means that it will avoid obstacles in its path - hows that supposed to work if the fault shows that they stopped working.
4) Speed capabilities 45 miles Per Hour - That means that it can handle 45 miles per hour winds again well within its advertised capabilities.

The analysis showed that from one point to another with no movement of the controller that it was moving and as such it was blown away - do not fly in strong winds is in the warranty, but what constitutes strong wind?? there was nearly no wind when i set it off, it hit some wind whilst in the air but nothing that it was not able to
cope with.

I have read that this is not out of the ordinary for DJI - One guy had it where his drone (with witnesses) dropped from the sky, but because it landed in water DJI do not cover for water damage, so not covered under warranty.

I AM JUST SO ******* FRUSTRATED!!!! I Will be paying for the Finance for this drone, because I wanted to buy the best - for the next 2 years - I now have nothing to show for it! and alls I get from DJI is sorry but **** You!!!! - We will just make up an analysis so we don't have to do anything.

I Cant escalate my issue as there is no escalation procedure, any further contact goes back to DJI support who did the analysis.

 

[msinger]

Want a second opinion? Post up your flight log here and we'll take a look. You can upload it here.

 

[sumnerwolf]

First Potos are from the flight log showing that othe Phantom was Drifting - The Second two show that the Phantom (after pressing RTH) slows right down, turns and then moves forward towards me, but this was ignored.

It Was Drifting so that means wind - YESSS we have a Get Out of jail Free Clause for that, Just put is under that, Phew That was a close one -" We all Have to Follow the Warranty, Its not about sending it further up, the manager or even the Boss it doesnt matter". - Quote from the email that I got.

 

[msinger]

Is that your entire log?

Phantom Log Viewer - PhantomHelp.com

 

[sumnerwolf]

Uploaded 2 - - First was the wrong one - Added to this is also the correct one - interestingly the log shows that just before it disconnected from the controller, the down link was restored...lol

 

[msinger]

Phantom Log Viewer - PhantomHelp.com

 

[sumnerwolf]

That's the one???!!!!

 

[V tail]

Uploaded 2 - - First was the wrong one - Added to this is also the correct one - interestingly the log shows that just before it disconnected from the controller, the down link was restored...lol

Please cue the Benny Hill music....

 

[msinger]

Here are some things I noticed from your flight log:

• You took off with a battery that was only 68% charged
  
• You waited to initiate RTH until the battery was 59% charged at ~3.6V (it's best to be on the ground at 3.3V)
• Your Phantom was 4,535 feet from the home point when RTH was initiated
• It's apparent that the wind was very strong since your Phantom was only traveling at 2 MPH near the end of the flight log

A lot of pilot mistakes were made here. I don't know if it's fair to blame DJI on this one.

 

[Rocktopper]

A technical term from my days in the Army is BOHICA.

Bend over, here it comes again!

Ben thar, dun dat, got no t-shart!

 

[kirk2579]

First Potos are from the flight log showing that othe Phantom was Drifting - The Second two show that the Phantom (after pressing RTH) slows right down, turns and then moves forward towards me, but this was ignored.

It Was Drifting so that means wind - YESSS we have a Get Out of jail Free Clause for that, Just put is under that, Phew That was a close one -" We all Have to Follow the Warranty, Its not about sending it further up, the manager or even the Boss it doesnt matter". - Quote from the email that I got.

I see you mention using RTH--( why folks do this I never understand, but that's me)
did you read in the manual that once in RTH mode the SPEED of flight is limited to far less than max speeds?

please post the logs from your device to phantom help for real , factual, analysis!--edit--I see you did

good luck!

 

[elarryland]

First of all sorry for your loss, in the future keep calm and think it out, with the wind direction I would have immediately drove to Jubilee cave and try to establish connection to locate the craft, possibly even as far as stainforth considering the wind direction. Possibly at 2 mile an hour travel it may actually be close to where you took off

 

[Meta4]

I have the Flight Log To Prove it and everything the Phantom 4 is supposed to do just didn't happen.
1) return to home - - That didn't happen

1. RTH didn't happen?
Your Phantom was in RTH and trying to get back home but the flight data indicate it was making very slow progress (2-3mph) against a stiff wind

4) Speed capabilities 45 miles Per Hour - That means that it can handle 45 miles per hour winds again well within its advertised capabilities.

Your Phantom can make 45 mph (in Sport mode and in still air).
But you have to consider the effect of wind.
If you tried to fly in sport mode against a 45 mph wind the Phantom would go nowhere - It's like swimming against the current.
And in RTH, your Phantom will not make 45MPH. RTH will make around 22mph (in still air)

.... but what constitutes strong wind?? there was nearly no wind when i set it off, it hit some wind whilst in the air but nothing that it was not able to cope with.

Your Phantom was nearly 700 feet up in an airstream considerably faster than what you may have experienced on the ground.
The wind aloft is always stronger and leaving the Phantom up high makes it difficult to get home against a strong wind.
Flying away downwind in strong wind conditions is a good way to come home without your drone.
Fly away upwind and it's going to be an easy return trip.

As mentioned previously by Msinger, starting a flight with a partially discharged battery is never a good idea.

I have read that this is not out of the ordinary for DJI - One guy had it where his drone (with witnesses) dropped from the sky, but because it landed in water DJI do not cover for water damage, so not covered under warranty.

As we see here, it pays to look beyond what you might initially read in a forum post.
I've seen DJI replace a Phantom that fell into salt water and was not recovered.
The loss of that Phantom was due to a malfunction which was clearly shown in the flight data.

 

[Loz]

Meta4 if I may, your very last sentence is ambiguous - which Phantom you referring to? - this incident or the one that fell into salt water? Important as it reads you are offering a diagnosis of possibly this accident cause.

 

[Meta4]

Meta4 if I may, your very last sentence is ambiguous - which Phantom you referring to, this incident or the one that fell into salt water? Important as it reads you are offering a diagnosis of cause?

Fixed .. thanks

 

[With The Birds]

1. RTH didn't happen?
Your Phantom was in RTH and trying to get back home but the flight data indicate it was making very slow progress (2-3mph) against a stiff wind

Your Phantom can make 45 mph (in Sport mode and in still air).
But you have to consider the effect of wind.
If you tried to fly in sport mode against a 45 mph wind the Phantom would go nowhere - It's like swimming against the current.
And in RTH, your Phantom will not make 45MPH. RTH will make around 22mph (in still air)

Your Phantom was nearly 700 feet up in an airstream considerably faster than what you may have experienced on the ground.
The wind aloft is always stronger and leaving the Phantom up high makes it difficult to get home against a strong wind.
Flying away downwind in strong wind conditions is a good way to come home without your drone.
Fly away upwind and it's going to be an easy return trip.

As mentioned previously by Msinger, starting a flight with a partially discharged battery is never a good idea.

As we see here, it pays to look beyond what you might initially read in a forum post.
I've seen DJI replace a Phantom that fell into salt water and was not recovered.
The loss of that Phantom was due to a malfunction which was clearly shown in the flight data.

Meta I'm hoping you can help me with an outstanding question on my to find out list. You mention RTH is 22mph in still air. It may well be. To the extent it is however it seems DJI could make an improvement to the firmware that might avert some of these unfortunate outcomes. Flying with the wind we can often achieve ground speeds as depicted in the telemetry as significantky exceeding the advertised specs of the AC. This is, presumably, because leaning on the elevator will cause the AC to assume maximum allowable pitch angle. Why then can't the AC simply apply greater pitch in RTH to maintain a ground speed of 22mph (assuming the prevailing wind allows for it). We know the flight controller is able to determine ground speed as it is reported in the APP, in fact we see it here with therecorded speed being well below 22mph. Might this be because the prevailing wind was within 2mph of the maximum AC spec?

 

[microlinux]

Some thoughts for any new flyers reading this, such as myself. Flying that far and high is an enormous risk. Just because you can do something doesn't mean you should. I'm very cognizant of the fact that I am flying around an $800 disaster waiting to happen. I don't let it out of my sight and keep very close tabs on the wind (bearing in mind the only wind conditions I truly know are at ground level near me). I find RTH mostly handy for when I lose sight of my A/C - and in those cases, I only use it for a short distance until I pick up the A/C again and it's oriented towards home.

That's not to say it's wrong to push the limits (within the boundaries of applicable regulations) - but you have to accept responsibility for the dangers of your choices. A warranty is not an insurance policy. Which is why I have an insurance policy, I assume a crash is inevitable . . .

 

[Meta4]

it seems DJI could make an improvement to the firmware that might avert some of these unfortunate outcomes.
... Why then can't the AC simply apply greater pitch in RTH to maintain a ground speed of 22mph (assuming the prevailing wind allows for it). We know the flight controller is able to determine ground speed as it is reported in the APP, in fact we see it here with the recorded speed being well below 22mph. Might this be because the prevailing wind was within 2mph of the maximum AC spec?

Why DJI chose to program RTH flight slower than regular flying is one of the unsolved mysteries of dronedom.
I've never heard a satisfactory explanation.

Unfortunately the flight data stops just after the Phantom has begun to make headway towards the home point.
Despite only flying at 11 mph, it took 8.5 secs and 107 feet to come to a stop.
The Phantom begins to accelerate but the data stops 2.3 seconds later.
We can't really tell the strength of the wind because we don't know what speed it might have attained but can compare this acceleration with what the Phantom did at the start of the flight
RTH acceleration 0-2.7 mph in 2.3 secs
Start of flight - 0-11mph in 2.3 secs

 

[tevek]

Some thoughts for any new flyers reading this, such as myself. Flying that far and high is an enormous risk. Just because you can do something doesn't mean you should. I'm very cognizant of the fact that I am flying around an $800 disaster waiting to happen. I don't let it out of my sight and keep very close tabs on the wind (bearing in mind the only wind conditions I truly know are at ground level near me). I find RTH mostly handy for when I lose sight of my A/C - and in those cases, I only use it for a short distance until I pick up the A/C again and it's oriented towards home.

That's not to say it's wrong to push the limits (within the boundaries of applicable regulations) - but you have to accept responsibility for the dangers of your choices. A warranty is not an insurance policy. Which is why I have an insurance policy, I assume a crash is inevitable . . .

Sorry, I beg to differ. Flying high and at a reasonable distance is not an issue if you have prepared for the flight and are comfortable with your settings and your ability. Checking the wind can be done by either using one of the many wind predicting apps out there or simply taking the quad up, switch to atti mode and observe any drifting and fly accordingly. I suspect that this may not have been the case in the OPs instance and having a crack at DJI is probably not the solution. It is impossible for me to keep VLOS as my take off point is at the base of 30 mtr trees, but I am confident through experience and being conservative and have never had an issue that wasn't through my own act or omission. I don't intend to crash my investment, much the same as I don't intend to bin my superbike at the racetrack. Same methodical approach to preparing for both my hobbies applies.

 

[JALEX]

Ok, so DJI have fobbed me of with an untrue analysis that has been diverted to show that it is not covered under their warranty - I owned a DJI Phantom 4 - I took it out walking for the first time I noticed it starting to drift, I pressed Return to Home, the Phantom 4 Slowed down Turned and moved forwards towards me, told me that the forward sensor had stopped working and then disconnected from the controller never to be seen again. DJI Gave two Points that showed the Phantom 4 Drifting and concluded that it was blown away - NO DJI THAT IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH!!!!!

no mention of the facts as I stated above, I have the Flight Log To Prove it and everything the Phantom 4 is supposed to do just didn't happen.

1) return to home - - That didnt happen.
2) Nearly 5000m Range - 1480m @ 208m Height - well within advertised capabilities - did I mention that I was in the middle of nowhere so no signal interference
3) smart return to home, means that it will avoid obstacles in its path - hows that supposed to work if the fault shows that they stopped working.
4) Speed capabilities 45 miles Per Hour - That means that it can handle 45 miles per hour winds again well within its advertised capabilities.

The analysis showed that from one point to another with no movement of the controller that it was moving and as such it was blown away - do not fly in strong winds is in the warranty, but what constitutes strong wind?? there was nearly no wind when i set it off, it hit some wind whilst in the air but nothing that it was not able to
cope with.

I have read that this is not out of the ordinary for DJI - One guy had it where his drone (with witnesses) dropped from the sky, but because it landed in water DJI do not cover for water damage, so not covered under warranty.

I AM JUST SO ******* FRUSTRATED!!!! I Will be paying for the Finance for this drone, because I wanted to buy the best - for the next 2 years - I now have nothing to show for it! and alls I get from DJI is sorry but **** You!!!! - We will just make up an analysis so we don't have to do anything.

I Cant escalate my issue as there is no escalation procedure, any further contact goes back to DJI support who did the analysis.

Sorry to hear your happen, I am agree DJI is like that , we hope new competitors with stable drones comes up to the market.
I have P4P I can't fly since I brought, because DJI Go does not support new Androids, what a pity thing !! DJI suggested me to buy an iPad or iPhone, funny beside the cost of my drone plus their suggestions? That's crazy Chinese DJI stuff style .