I was at DJI and they told me not to update firmware!
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I've had DJI drones for years now and have always been able to ignore update messages. I have never been forced to update or not fly. Never.
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To keep from trashing up the thread, i won't quote the previous post in reference here...
That's hardly a fair comparison. Had your company shipped those motherboards WITHOUT flashing them to be win2k compliant, requiring the end consumer to do so on their own before they could even turn on their "brand new" pc for the first time (the way dji does most of their products)... THAT would be a fair comparison.
I worked for Minolta and Canon as a field tech for over 15 years myself. We were always having to flash one component or another, but always to correct actual issues with whatever product. Not once did we deliver 100% non-functional equipment and tell the customer to fix it themselves... or we would do it, but only if they paid. You have to remember, those that understand the flash process are a very small percentage of the population (<10%, but growing thanks to forums like this!).
When my perfectly functional P3S STOPS being functional, then I'll upgrade. Until then, it's all good, so why tempt the tech gods in the meantime? Keep in mind, there are numerous threads discussing how fw upgrades grounded previously functional UAV's. Do what you want with yours, and I'll do the same
And yes, obviously these things are nothing but tiny computers that beat the air into submission. I miss the "good ol days" of building and flying what I built... without the need for computer controlled flight assistance. But then again, I have the skills to homebrew my own designs, which most people don't. Now that computers have taken things over the UAV world, skills are no longer a requirement for anyone to "fly". Just throw enough money at it and voila... which is why we suddenly have new regulations heaped upon us because the end users don't have any skills, knowledge, or respect for the hobby in comparison to those of us that grew up in it.
FWIW, I'm 50, and been into model aircraft since I was 10, but with guidance from pilots with years of experience. Before all these self-flying UAV's hit the market, most of us had respect for the aircraft we spent hours and hours and hours building, along with the airspace and our neighbors, etc.
Again, just sayin'... and happy flying all !
That's hardly a fair comparison. Had your company shipped those motherboards WITHOUT flashing them to be win2k compliant, requiring the end consumer to do so on their own before they could even turn on their "brand new" pc for the first time (the way dji does most of their products)... THAT would be a fair comparison.
I worked for Minolta and Canon as a field tech for over 15 years myself. We were always having to flash one component or another, but always to correct actual issues with whatever product. Not once did we deliver 100% non-functional equipment and tell the customer to fix it themselves... or we would do it, but only if they paid. You have to remember, those that understand the flash process are a very small percentage of the population (<10%, but growing thanks to forums like this!).
When my perfectly functional P3S STOPS being functional, then I'll upgrade. Until then, it's all good, so why tempt the tech gods in the meantime? Keep in mind, there are numerous threads discussing how fw upgrades grounded previously functional UAV's. Do what you want with yours, and I'll do the same
And yes, obviously these things are nothing but tiny computers that beat the air into submission. I miss the "good ol days" of building and flying what I built... without the need for computer controlled flight assistance. But then again, I have the skills to homebrew my own designs, which most people don't. Now that computers have taken things over the UAV world, skills are no longer a requirement for anyone to "fly". Just throw enough money at it and voila... which is why we suddenly have new regulations heaped upon us because the end users don't have any skills, knowledge, or respect for the hobby in comparison to those of us that grew up in it.
FWIW, I'm 50, and been into model aircraft since I was 10, but with guidance from pilots with years of experience. Before all these self-flying UAV's hit the market, most of us had respect for the aircraft we spent hours and hours and hours building, along with the airspace and our neighbors, etc.
Again, just sayin'... and happy flying all !
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You must not have a Spark then... 'cause they did have an update in 2017 that would ground you if you didn't apply it before a certain time (September l, if memory serves). Atleast that's the warning i got when I unboxed mine.
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You must not have a Spark then... 'cause they did have an update in 2017 that would ground you if you didn't apply it before a certain time (September l, if memory serves). Atleast that's the warning i got when I unboxed mine.
I don't. And a single-case incident (anecdotal evidence) still doesn't support the suggestion that this is common with most DJI products.
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I had to stop reading right there (bolded text). Hyperbole just turns me off.
Chris
Those motherboards were sold to the public also. We just got them directly from Intel at the wholesale price because we were a system builder. The hobbyist who just wanted to build their own computer would have had to deal with that also. My point is, that it's not unusual when dealing with sophisticated cutting edge equipment to have to deal with updates. How many times did you have to update that Blu-Ray player early on just to get it to play a particular movie.To keep from trashing up the thread, i won't quote the previous post in reference here...
That's hardly a fair comparison. Had your company shipped those motherboards WITHOUT flashing them to be win2k compliant, requiring the end consumer to do so on their own before they could even turn on their "brand new" pc for the first time (the way dji does most of their products)... THAT would be a fair comparison.
I worked for Minolta and Canon as a field tech for over 15 years myself. We were always having to flash one component or another, but always to correct actual issues with whatever product. Not once did we deliver 100% non-functional equipment and tell the customer to fix it themselves... or we would do it, but only if they paid. You have to remember, those that understand the flash process are a very small percentage of the population (<10%, but growing thanks to forums like this!).
When my perfectly functional P3S STOPS being functional, then I'll upgrade. Until then, it's all good, so why tempt the tech gods in the meantime? Keep in mind, there are numerous threads discussing how fw upgrades grounded previously functional UAV's. Do what you want with yours, and I'll do the same
And yes, obviously these things are nothing but tiny computers that beat the air into submission. I miss the "good ol days" of building and flying what I built... without the need for computer controlled flight assistance. But then again, I have the skills to homebrew my own designs, which most people don't. Now that computers have taken things over the UAV world, skills are no longer a requirement for anyone to "fly". Just throw enough money at it and voila... which is why we suddenly have new regulations heaped upon us because the end users don't have any skills, knowledge, or respect for the hobby in comparison to those of us that grew up in it.
FWIW, I'm 50, and been into model aircraft since I was 10, but with guidance from pilots with years of experience. Before all these self-flying UAV's hit the market, most of us had respect for the aircraft we spent hours and hours and hours building, along with the airspace and our neighbors, etc.
Again, just sayin'... and happy flying all !
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Just for the record, my iPhone X needed to be updated immediately after unpacking and before first use. That was also true of my laptop ... AND by the way, a car. Welcome to the world that is no longer static. Phone and tablet apps get updated everyday. I do agree that there are some things you should probably not buy if you don't have or want to develop the skill set of updating.
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From the time of manufacture to the time of sale there may be several versions of software and firmware updates that are released. The update won't happen while the bird is on a cargo ship crossing the ocean or sitting in a warehouse.
msinger
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Good point. It's not uncommon for DJI to release important firmware fixes early on, so it's a good idea to update the firmware when purchasing a drone that has been released within a couple of months.
I will add gaming consoles and smart TVs to the list while we're at it. It's a digital age where pretty much anything and everything needs updates. Annoying, sometimes. Helpful, sometimes as well.
Just wait until your car gets bricked by a firmware upload.
"Last update may have bricked my car" UPDATE [Tesla refunded me] • r/teslamotors
"Last update may have bricked my car" UPDATE [Tesla refunded me] • r/teslamotors
I don't see enough info on how this Tesla got bricked. Was it something the owner did wrong? Couldn't the owner take it to the dealership to have it updated? If so, if it got bricked, it would be the responsibility of the dealership. Firmware updates on an electric cars are uncharted territory but reinforces the point that everything needs to be updated these days.
Whether your car gets bricked or your drone gets bricked, you potentially pay in time, effort, etc. My P3A got bricked by an update. DJI handled it, but I was out of a drone for two weeks. Tesla handled this, but it left the owner without a car until it was fixed.
I've been in I.T. for three decades. I'm no stranger to seeing stuff computers and other gadgets bricked by firmware updates, and otherwise seeing things borked when firmware and microcode mismatches cause issues.
Some PC motherboard manufacturers got smart and built recovery modes into their products so you could back out to the last firmware. DJI has a mode to go back to factory firmware but amazingly, it sometimes fails! Designers need to do better. This isn't acceptable.
I've been in I.T. for three decades. I'm no stranger to seeing stuff computers and other gadgets bricked by firmware updates, and otherwise seeing things borked when firmware and microcode mismatches cause issues.
Some PC motherboard manufacturers got smart and built recovery modes into their products so you could back out to the last firmware. DJI has a mode to go back to factory firmware but amazingly, it sometimes fails! Designers need to do better. This isn't acceptable.
msinger
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