I think I got Dji’s attention about the firmware issues

[DroneJI]

With all the complaints I have read about the Firmware killing the Video Down Link And Dji not fixing it I think I finally got through to someone at the company that’s going to fix my drone free! I will keep you updated on this! I know Dji is difficult to navigate there support when it comes to this issue! I don’t know if it’s intentional? I hope not but I just received a message that shines a positive light on the matter I think it’s because I showed them something that a unnamed government agency is getting prepared to take action against them! They know how there support has treated my inquiries up until now basically telling me I have to pay to have it fixed even though it was there official firmware that caused the issue. I’m going to leave this post alone for now until I find out the outcome hopefully it will be positive for everyone affected by this I will have ask the administrator what I’m allowed to post when the outcome is final I don’t want to post something that he doesn’t want that could start a issue with Dji. Stay tuned

 

[quaddamage]

Sound interesting.

I remember someone posting in the past that he got this specific repair for free. But - even though the drone was working before FW update - Dji service also replaced motors and other parts, so he did received an invoice anyway.

 

[Odogster]

Wow you must have a super secret government agency connection, how can you find out such top secret stuff? Sound like we have a corporate super spy on our hands.

 

[LuvMyTJ]

Wow you must have a super secret government agency connection, how can you find out such top secret stuff? Sound like we have a corporate super spy on our hands.

Please keep post on topic and useful. Your post, dripping with sarcasm, was not useful.

To everyone - let's not turn this thread into a fight. The OP has presented you with what he is doing and he will post back when he has more to report.

 

[solentlife]

My P3P bricked when changing FW. DJI service informed me about the costs and I was nice ... agreed to pay for what was believed to be users fault. DJI agreed to repair free of charge the board failure.

Final outcome ? No bill to me at all. Not even shipping. Communications were good, I was confused at first as I never detected any user damage - but in all - it turned out good.

Interesting bit though - when they sent it back to me - it had the older FW installed that I wanted !!

Nigel

 

[msinger]

So others can get up to speed, here's the original post where you explained the issue in more detail:

Professional - Just got a P3 Pro it needs help

 

[JoBe]

So others can get up to speed, here's the original post where you explained the issue in more detail:

BATTERIES

this one confused me since i dont see that @DroneJI had a battery issue? it looks like he bought a second hand p3p that wasn't working when he got it.

@DroneJI is this the issue that you are talking about in this new thread?

Professional - Just got a P3 Pro it needs help

 

[DroneJI]

I’m not sure if Dji is going to keep their end of the deal they just changed up on me and saying that they want to inspect the drone for any crashes or damage that includes damage that could not possibly cause the board to fail the way it did. I did tell them that it has a new shell because it had developed stress cracks at the motors. But now they said any damage will cause them to charge me for anything wrong with it? I don’t know if the various people responded to the emails are reading all the Messages? I may just buy a camera and switch to Autel they seem to have drones equivalent or better? than Dji since they are about to release a Mavic like drone. I will probably send the P3P in but if they don’t do the right thing I will let the AG handle it and drop Dji like a bad habit and never go back. Dji is starting to get some serious competition even giants fall sometimes.

 

[Texas Gonzo]

They desperately NEED competition. They've been resting on their (not there, or they're, Aghs!) laurels for far too long imho... blaming their faulty firmware upgrades on user errors, crashes, etc. They've done everything possible to avoid actual blame on their part when a perfectly functioning craft suddenly bricks due to firmware not being up to par. Think about it... if they did admit fault, it would open up one gigunda can of worms for the company that they couldn't possibly put the lid back on.
I'm of the mindset that if it isn't broke, don't mess with it. I'm still on firmware from last October, same with the version of GO... and my P3S flies just fine. TBH, I still prefer my Spark though, which is also running on the last firmware that was actually forced last fall. The "firmware update required" banners might get annoying, but atleast I know both my craft will light up and fly when I break them out.
If the worst thing I have to do is restart the apps a time or two to get video running lag free, it's a small price to pay vs staring at a very expensive trot line weight. Should one decide to run away, I'll just cash in the insurance policy and be done with DJI.

 

[Viewfinder]

I am desperate to find an alternative to DJI - I have missed too many filming opportunities because the thing won't fly at a moment's notice because it demands an update, which then goes pear-shaped. I can still get some money for my P3A and want to cash in while it is still possible. I know this is a DJI forum - but PLEASE would someone suggest an alternative type of drone. All I want is to make Youtube videos of our family boat. That's all. Perhaps links to another site would be allowed by the moderators?

 

[msinger]

I have missed too many filming opportunities because the thing won't fly at a moment's notice because it demands an update

Updates are optional. You can ignore them if you don't want to install them.

 

[ARM]

I am desperate to find an alternative to DJI - I have missed too many filming opportunities because the thing won't fly at a moment's notice because it demands an update, which then goes pear-shaped. I can still get some money for my P3A and want to cash in while it is still possible. I know this is a DJI forum - but PLEASE would someone suggest an alternative type of drone. All I want is to make Youtube videos of our family boat. That's all. Perhaps links to another site would be allowed by the moderators?

have you looked at Autell drones?

 

[quaddamage]

Updates are optional. You can ignore them if you don't want to install them.

Actually, not all of them are easy to ignore. Dji forces updates sometimes.

If you've stumbled upon the update screen which won't allow you to fly unless you update, there is a document which describes how do remove it without updating:
DJI forces us to take the GO update v3.1.3 [Android].

 

[msinger]

Actually, not all of them are easy to ignore. Dji forces updates sometimes.

Forced updates are very rare. @Viewfinder mentioned missing "many filming opportunities", so I'm assuming we are not talking about that edge case.

 

[Paul Wingfield]

With all the complaints I have read about the Firmware killing the Video Down Link And Dji not fixing it I think I finally got through to someone at the company that’s going to fix my drone free! I will keep you updated on this! I know Dji is difficult to navigate there support when it comes to this issue! I don’t know if it’s intentional? I hope not but I just received a message that shines a positive light on the matter I think it’s because I showed them something that a unnamed government agency is getting prepared to take action against them! They know how there support has treated my inquiries up until now basically telling me I have to pay to have it fixed even though it was there official firmware that caused the issue. I’m going to leave this post alone for now until I find out the outcome hopefully it will be positive for everyone affected by this I will have ask the administrator what I’m allowed to post when the outcome is final I don’t want to post something that he doesn’t want that could start a issue with Dji. Stay tuned

I had trouble with mine on a software update. However, because I had added a gimbal guard, DJI said it upset the software so I had to pay for a completely new camera.
I simply don't believe their explanation and know for a fact that it was a lie, but I had no choice if I wanted to fly it again so I paid.

 

[DroneJI]

I had trouble with mine on a software update. However, because I had added a gimbal guard, DJI said it upset the software so I had to pay for a completely new camera.
I simply don't believe their explanation and know for a fact that it was a lie, but I had no choice if I wanted to fly it again so I paid.

That’s exactly what I’m afraid of because my drone has a new shell and they will blame that as the cause just to get out of it.

 

[DroneJI]

They desperately NEED competition. They've been resting on their (not there, or they're, Aghs!) laurels for far too long imho... blaming their faulty firmware upgrades on user errors, crashes, etc. They've done everything possible to avoid actual blame on their part when a perfectly functioning craft suddenly bricks due to firmware not being up to par. Think about it... if they did admit fault, it would open up one gigunda can of worms for the company that they couldn't possibly put the lid back on.
I'm of the mindset that if it isn't broke, don't mess with it. I'm still on firmware from last October, same with the version of GO... and my P3S flies just fine. TBH, I still prefer my Spark though, which is also running on the last firmware that was actually forced last fall. The "firmware update required" banners might get annoying, but atleast I know both my craft will light up and fly when I break them out.
If the worst thing I have to do is restart the apps a time or two to get video running lag free, it's a small price to pay vs staring at a very expensive trot line weight. Should one decide to run away, I'll just cash in the insurance policy and be done with DJI.

Yeah if this goes bad I’m done with them I’m actually afraid to ever update my Mavic Pro Platinum because of this. I am seriously looking at Autel I’m trying to find people that own both Dji and Autel to find out if (Autel) is on par with Dji.

 

[Meta4]

I may just buy a camera and switch to Autel they seem to have drones equivalent or better? than Dji since they are about to release a Mavic like drone. Dji is starting to get some serious competition even giants fall sometimes.

I am desperate to find an alternative to DJI
.. I know this is a DJI forum - but PLEASE would someone suggest an alternative type of drone.

have you looked at Autell drones?

I am seriously looking at Autel I’m trying to find people that own both Dji and Autel to find out if (Autel) is on par with Dji.

There is no other drone maker currently selling a competitive drone.
The market belongs to DJI because there aren't any other products that come close with performance or features.

To suggest that Autel are equivalent or better than DJI isn't accurate.
The only drone they have sold so far was a copy of the P3 standard, which they have discontinued.
They never produced anything to compete with the P3 pro or P4 series.
They have announced a number of other products that they never released and have announced a drone in the Mavic class but as it hasn't been released and no date announced, for now it's just a dream.

 

[quaddamage]

To suggest that Autel are equivalent or better than DJI isn't accurate.

Agreed. Other companies lack the velocity Dji has. Just look at the past:
GoPro announced their Karma drone. They were building a hype, investing in marketing etc. Then Dji announced, and soon after released, the Mavic. In third of the time GoPro needed to develop their product, Dji did it. There were some technical issues with early models, and their support barely knew what Mavic is when you called them - but in the end it does not matter. They were first. When Karma hit the market (with similar technical issues btw.), their product was already obsolete. Now GoPro got rid of their drone subdivision completely.

The situation will likely repeat itself with Autel EVO. They are also teasing the drone, investing in marketing. Rumours say they're going to release it in Q4 2018. I'm pretty sure that Dji will soon announce, and release, a product which will outclass Autel before it arrives.

(Some people suggested that Dji isn't really developing the products that fast, but they have a bunch of them ready, and are just waiting for competition to make a move, and react on it with throwing one of the already designed models to production. I'm not sure if competition is really that much behind.)

 

[Paul Wingfield]

That’s exactly what I’m afraid of because my drone has a new shell and they will blame that as the cause just to get out of it.

I still have my Phantom 3 Advanced and was going to upgrade it to a Mavic but because of their poor customer service, I bought a Xiaomi Mi 4k instead. I am so impressed with it too. It flies in gusty conditions that my Phantom can't cope with, the picture quality is better than my Phantom, the radio signal is stronger than my Phantom and it flies for longer on one battery. Not only that, I bought the handheld attachment for the camera that turns it into an "Osmo" for just £50. I haven't looked back and now have my Phantom up for sale.