Retaining Control of our Models & Our Privacy - Mike Mas

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Hello Pilots,

In the past year or so, the overall reliability of flying a DJI drone has changed for the worst. With the implementation of new revisions of “bloated” firmware with “No Fly Zones” massive Geo restrictions and logging of our private data, day to day dependability of our models has vanished. Recent imposed updates have resulted in numerous flying errors, erratic control and has even grounded many pilots.

If you wish to fly a DJI product, you must log in to their servers and agree with DJI’s binding electronic contract. This contract gives them rights to manipulate the flight software in “our privately owned drones” and further allows them to collect and accumulate our flying data which could disclose; where we live, or even worse, who we might fly for and our clients exact location.

For security reasons, I fly two categories of drones. For more important clients, I use both single and quad rotor equipment with communication on propriety military frequencies. For more conventional work, I was using DJI drones, however for past 2 months, all my DJI equipment (P3P’s & Inspire’s) are grounded with the infamous “No Image Transmission” problem. What’s even more strange about this failure is; all three drones developed the same exact problem on the same exact day. The odds of this happening with hardware failure, is like a million to one, which leads me to believe this would have to be generated either through firmware or the App. After numerous post on the DJI site and their tech's this problem has not been answered or resolved.


There is really nothing complicated about controlling a model from the ground. For the past 40 years, the 53-72 mHz link between the pilot and model worked fine for general sport flying and limited aerial applications. In the 80’s, using slow scan amateur frequencies (436 MHz.) for video, I designed the first drone with a 12 foot rotor-span for military use which down-linked two live video signals, one for FPV and a second camera for front line surveillance. As time progressed, I moved to GPS & Application technology, however within a few years, I was forced to stop using DJI equipment on military contracts since their Go App was collecting private data that could be shared to third parties, which would be a violation of my contracts.

Very few Pro pilots will disclose who they fly for, or share client information, however this data is easily accessible from their device which “may” be shared to others. For myself, I would be in breach of “Need To Know” contracts if I flew DJI equipment since collected data “could” provide pin-point locations of where and when I fly, complete with thumbnail images and google data. Aside from DJI having access to this data, our devices could easily be hacked to disclose this information to other parties.

I assure you guys this collected “Data Problem” is the real deal. By the very fact, the military took action to discontinue using all DJI equipment speaks for itself. I’m hearing from my contacts at Martin Marietta / Lockheed there was information and imaging released to third parties on some tests on a laser range which began the investigation.

US Army calls for units to discontinue use of DJI equipment - sUAS News - The Business of Drones

In retrospect, all these imposed data problems and NFZ’s are self-inflicted by the barrage of new owners who fail to follow safety guidelines. On the other hand, pilots who fly safe and responsible, are now being treated like criminals with their flying privileges limited or revoked by App’s, as the result of a few idiots who buy drones and have to do a 5 mile range check or fly 5,000-10,000 feet high, take images of stadiums, metropolitan areas, cruise ships, trains or even take pretty pictures of commercial jets in flight.

Where this whole thing went south is when DJI a private company in China, decided to take it upon themselves to police U.S. airways, not for the sole purpose of safety, but to help secure a place in the US to continue to sell their aircraft. While I understand these “business” motivations, DJI does not have a legal right to police the airways in the US, nor instruct us as pilots where we fly, or how we fly. Nor do they have the right to force us to agree to electronic contracts that “demand" we give up control of our models and our rights to privacy.

If things were not bad enough - recent firmware revisions have all but deteriorated the dependability and safety of our drones. With the massive implementations of NFZ’s, logging of flights and private data, these now “Bloated” App's have reached our personal devices “operating” limitations. Our phones & pads were not designed for this workload which is evident by the App’s garbled operation, loss of video and the devices processor overheating to a point some shut down.

Regretfully, as they keep adding more code, the Apps cannot keep up. DJI’s implication of firmware is unique. Unlike other companies where a team of experts would fly new firmware before it was released to the modelers - DJI’s firmware tech’s have a different plan - they use us to see if it works! They modify current firmware by adding more restrictions, then simply post it on their support site, then force us “Crash Dummies” to use our own equipment at or own expense to refine it. Next thing that happens is; after “xxx” amount of machines hit the ground or fly away, they deny it’s the firmware, then start changing the code again to hopefully fix the problem which may take months.

Recently, some options to downgrade on the support page have vanished to make way for a new crusade which forces users to upgrade to new firmware which offers DJI more control of our drones with less options for pilots to retain control of their model and our privacy. Making matters worse, in the near future we’ll lose our ability to even choose our own device. Future drones will contain DJI’s own proprietary devices with their own software. These new “Locked Systems” are now surfacing on the Phantom 4 Pro + models. The new Crystal-sky Monitor / App device will be DJI’s answer to their total control of our models.

Limiting our control of our drones is not the answer to prevent unsafe flying. The only way to reduce improper use of drones, is for modelers themselves to work together with social media as a team to police our own airways. This combined US agency guidelines and enforcement is our only hope.

While I’ll be the first to congratulate DJI on their sophisticated platforms which has placed them first in the drone industry, they continue to be in last place when it comes to customer relations and service after the sale. Regardless of DJI’s massive revenue, they continue to refuse to spend the funds needed to support their products. For DJI to survive, these problems will have to be addressed. In addition, they will need to re-think their App policies to restore the pilots ability to fly his own machine, and forfeit binding contracts that may jeopardize our privacy.

In Closing - We’re all presently in a transition period, floating around in this “Firmware Bubble” as the DJI’s Tech’s attempt to figure how to align the codes “Zero’s and Ones” so their firmware will take piloting out of our hands and in theirs!

Best Regards - Mike Mas

www.rotory.com



 
Last edited:
I "Align the zeros and one's" by using Litchi and firewalled DJI go 2.9.1. As well as knowing what the right things to do in life are. I am not responsible for the idiots, only my own actions. Yes, incidents are eroding our enjoyment of this fantastic sport so just do what you know is right and fly till they "Pry it from your cold dead hands"...
 
Hello Pilots,

In the past year or so, the overall reliability of flying a DJI drone has changed for the worst. With the implementation of new revisions of “bloated” firmware with “No Fly Zones” massive Geo restrictions and logging of our private data, day to day dependability of our models has vanished. Recent imposed updates have resulted in numerous flying errors, erratic control and has even grounded many pilots.

If you wish to fly a DJI product, you must log in to their servers and agree with DJI’s binding electronic contract. This contract gives them rights to manipulate the flight software in “our privately owned drones” and further allows them to collect and accumulate our flying data which could disclose; where we live, or even worse, who we might fly for and our clients exact location.

For security reasons, I fly two categories of drones. For more important clients, I use both single and quad rotor equipment with communication on propriety military frequencies. For more conventional work, I was using DJI drones, however for past 2 months, all my DJI equipment (P3P’s & Inspire’s) are grounded with the infamous “No Image Transmission” problem. What’s even more strange about this failure is; three drones developed the same exact problem on the same exact day, which leads me to believe its software generated. After numerous post on the DJI site, this problem has not been addressed or resolved. What’s really strange is all three drones failed the same exact day. The odds of this happening with hardware failure, is like a million to one, which leads me to believe this would have to be generated either through firmware or the App.


There is really nothing complicated about controlling a model from the ground. For the past 40 years, the 53-72 mHz link between the pilot and model worked fine for general sport flying and limited aerial applications. In the 80’s, using slow scan amateur frequencies (436 MHz.) for video, I designed the first drone with a 12 foot rotor-span for military use which down-linked two live video signals, one for FPV and a second camera for front line surveillance. As time progressed, I moved to GPS & Application technology, however within a few years, I was forced to stop using DJI equipment on military contracts since their Go App was collecting private data that could be shared to third parties, which would be a violation of my contracts.

Very few Pro pilots will disclose who they fly for, or share client information, however this data is easily accessible from their device which “may” be shared to others. For myself, I would be in breach of “Need To Know” contracts if I flew DJI equipment since collected data “could” provide pin-point locations of where and when I fly, complete with thumbnail images and google data. Aside from DJI having access to this data, our devices could easily be hacked to disclose this information to other parties.

I assure you guys this collected “Data Problem” is the real deal. By the very fact, the military took action to discontinue using all DJI equipment speaks for itself. I’m hearing from my contacts at Martin Marietta / Lockheed there was information and imaging released to third parties on some tests on a laser range which began the investigation.

US Army calls for units to discontinue use of DJI equipment - sUAS News - The Business of Drones

In retrospect, all these imposed data problems and NFZ’s are self-inflicted by the barrage of new owners who fail to follow safety guidelines. On the other hand, pilots who fly safe and responsible, are now being treated like criminals with their flying privileges limited or revoked by App’s, as the result of a few idiots who buy drones and have to do a 5 mile range check or fly 5,000-10,000 feet high, take images of stadiums, metropolitan areas, cruise ships, trains or even take pretty pictures of commercial jets in flight.

Where this whole thing went south is when DJI a private company in China, decided to take it upon themselves to police U.S. airways, not for the sole purpose of safety, but to help secure a place in the US to continue to sell their aircraft. While I understand these “business” motivations, DJI does not have a legal right to police the airways in the US, nor instruct us as pilots where we fly, or how we fly. Nor do they have the right to force us to agree to electronic contracts that “demand" we give up control of our models and our rights to privacy.

If things were not bad enough - recent firmware revisions have all but deteriorated the dependability and safety of our drones. With the massive implementations of NFZ’s, logging of flights and private data, these now “Bloated” App's have reached our personal devices “operating” limitations. Our phones & pads were not designed for this workload which is evident by the App’s garbled operation, loss of video and the devices processor overheating to a point some shut down.

Regretfully, as they keep adding more code, the Apps cannot keep up. DJI’s implication of firmware is unique. Unlike other companies where a team of experts would fly new firmware before it was released to the modelers - DJI’s firmware tech’s have a different plan - they use us to see if it works! They modify current firmware by adding more restrictions, then simply post it on their support site, then force us “Crash Dummies” to use our own equipment at or own expense to refine it. Next thing that happens is; after “xxx” amount of machines hit the ground or fly away, they deny it’s the firmware, then start changing the code again to hopefully fix the problem which may take months.

Recently, some options to downgrade on the support page have vanished to make way for a new crusade which forces users to upgrade to new firmware which offers DJI more control of our drones with less options for pilots to retain control of their model and our privacy. Making matters worse, in the near future we’ll lose our ability to even choose our own device. Future drones will contain DJI’s own proprietary devices with their own software. These new “Locked Systems” are now surfacing on the Phantom 4 Pro + models. The new Crystal-sky Monitor / App device will be DJI’s answer to their total control of our models.

Limiting our control of our drones is not the answer to prevent unsafe flying. The only way to reduce improper use of drones, is for modelers themselves to work together with social media as a team to police our own airways. This combined US agency guidelines and enforcement is our only hope.

While I’ll be the first to congratulate DJI on their sophisticated platforms which has placed them first in the drone industry, they continue to be in last place when it comes to customer relations and service after the sale. Regardless of DJI’s massive revenue, they continue to refuse to spend the funds needed to support their products. For DJI to survive, these problems will have to be addressed. In addition, they will need to re-think their App policies to restore the pilots ability to fly his own machine, and forfeit binding contracts that may jeopardize our privacy.

In Closing - We’re all presently in a transition period, floating around in this “Firmware Bubble” as the DJI’s Tech’s attempt to figure how to align the codes “Zero’s and Ones” so their firmware will take piloting out of our hand and in theirs!

Best Regards - Mike Mas


Only a man with your experience and knowledge so well validates the point so well. Yes, you are absolutely right. We need a person as you to lead the fight.
 
and logging of our private data, day to day dependability of our models has vanished.

Very few Pro pilots will disclose who they fly for, or share client information, however this data is easily accessible from their device which “may” be shared to others. For myself, I would be in breach of “Need To Know” contracts if I flew DJI equipment since collected data “could” provide pin-point locations of where and when I fly, complete with thumbnail images and google data. Aside from DJI having access to this data, our devices could easily be hacked to disclose this information to other parties.

I assure you guys this collected “Data Problem” is the real deal. By the very fact, the military took action to discontinue using all DJI equipment speaks for itself. I’m hearing from my contacts at Martin Marietta / Lockheed there was information and imaging released to third parties on some tests on a laser range which began the investigation.

US Army calls for units to discontinue use of DJI equipment - sUAS News - The Business of Drones
Despite your assurances, I am very skeptical that there is any collected data problem.
First, look at a DJI flight record and you'll see no personal information.
Here's one I've just been working on to find out what went wrong with someone's flight:
DJI Flight Log Viewer - PhantomHelp.com
What information of any importance can you find there?
Second, DJI don't get to see any of that data unless you choose to share it with them.

The military want 100% cybersecurity certainty but that should make no difference to civilian pilots.
The army will probably get DJI to sort out their sloppy programming or go elsewhere and get a custom solution costing 40 times more.
 
Despite your assurances, I am very skeptical that there is any collected data problem.
First, look at a DJI flight record and you'll see no personal information.
Here's one I've just been working on to find out what went wrong with someone's flight:
DJI Flight Log Viewer - PhantomHelp.com
What information of any importance can you find there?
Second, DJI don't get to see any of that data unless you choose to share it with them.

The military want 100% cybersecurity certainty but that should make no difference to civilian pilots.
The army will probably get DJI to sort out their sloppy programming or go elsewhere and get a custom solution costing 40 times more.
Very respectfully, I believe he has more knowledge on this subject than all the staff on this forum put together.
 
Very respectfully, I believe he has more knowledge on this subject than all the staff on this forum put together.
Mr Rootman, thankyou for your very respectful opinion.
I still stick with what I said in post #4 above.

What he's suggesting is very appealing to the crowd that are always looking for something negative about DJI but I can't see how it's possible.
It doesn't make any sense from two perspectives.
How can DJI get hold of your flight data unless you give it to them?
Why would they go to all the trouble of doing that? What's in it for them?
 
I agreed with Meta4... the go app is the only thing that collect data information when you logon to the account and sync to the DJI servers. Beyond that, flying over a public park or the mountains... what kind of sensitive information they can get?
 
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I guess you guys forgot about the ill-fated DJI+ Discover app. People were finding their homes listed as popular places to fly even when they'd never synced a single flight. :eek:

More recently, packet captures have shown data being harvested for each flight regardless of sync state. Not full flight data but data all the same.
 
I guess you guys forgot about the ill-fated DJI+ Discover app. People were finding their homes listed as popular places to fly even when they'd never synced a single flight.
The DJI Discover app was over a year ago and it doesn't seem to have lasted very long.
It's not available any more.
I remember seeing a couple of places I had flown (and synched) appearing there but other locations I had not synched did not appear.
More recently, packet captures have shown data being harvested for each flight regardless of sync state. Not full flight data but data all the same.
If it's not flight data, then what could it be?
Despite some pretty crazy allegations on this topic, I still haven't seen anyone provide evidence that DJI is taking anyone's data and I can't see how they could siphon mine or why they would want to.
 
The DJI+ Discover app was using data harvested from flights using the Go app. Unsynched data was removed from the app after users complained. But the data had clearly already been harvested.

As for what the Go and Go4 apps collect, I dont have the full schema handy but it's a bunch of identifiers, date, time, location, duration, min/max flight info and a long list of other items.
 
Do you have a reference for that Ian?

Somewhere but I honestly don't have the wherewithal to go searching for it. I'd suggest asking the guys who are doing the reverse engineering that is not allowed on this site. If I recall correctly, one of them re-posted the schema on Slack or RCG.
 
I know it will sound quite ambitious. I have been involved in things I can't talk about.
By the time we figure out things with our small minds, the damage has already been done. If we could figure things out when they are happening, we would never be fooled. That is not the case.
People in positions that know, can't revile everything they know. DJI makes a lot of smoke, I sure there is a fire.
I can't contribute anymore to this topic, but agree with Mike Mas. We give up too much when we sign their agreement so we can fly OUR PHANTOMS! It's my phantom. It's my car, not Ford's. It's my ......... not theirs. Just obey the laws and let our government enforce them!
 
We give up too much when we sign their agreement so we can fly OUR PHANTOMS!
I know what in my flight records and how even if DJI have them, there's nothing at all I would need to worry about.
How do you deal with your mobile phone, your computer, your credit cards etc, etc that are actually leaking a torrent of real personal information every day?
I just can't see how DJI could be a problem for regular users.
 
I know what in my flight records and how even if DJI have them, there's nothing at all I would need to worry about.
How do you deal with your mobile phone, your computer, your credit cards etc, etc that are actually leaking a torrent of real personal information every day?
I just can't see how DJI could be a problem for regualr users.
I think the same way, we have more privacy concerns with anything to do with credit card or bank account online and yet, just with a flying toy some people think is a privacy menace of data leak.
 
Here's some good reading concerning what's going on behind our App concerning collection of private data.

Enjoy - Mike Mas

Earlier this month the US Army ordered all of its formations to stop using DJI products, including drones and apps, citing unspecified "cyber vulnerabilities".

It is not difficult to draw a line between the remote update facilities uncovered by users cracking into DJI's software and the US Army's decision, though at the time the American military declined to reveal further details and DJI's public position was that it had no idea what upset the Pentagon.

DJI representatives did not respond to our request to explain the JSPatch/Tinker situation, having said only that they needed to talk to the company's "overseas technical team" first. DJI is a Chinese firm, though it has extensive consumer-facing operations in the West.

However, the company did announce it is launching a "local data mode" that "stops internet traffic to and from its flight control apps". This, DJI said in a statement, "will stop [apps] sending or receiving any data over the internet, giving customers enhanced assurances about the privacy of data generated during their flights."

Local data mode appears to be similar to enabling flight mode on a mobile phone: the firm says its use will block all updates to maps, geofencing information, new flight restrictions and other software updates.

This is a clear response to the US Army ban on all DJI equipment, presumably in the hope that stopping the drones and their associated apps phoning home to China (pictures and videos can be synced with DJI's Flickr-style drone photo-sharing website) will soothe the US military's concerns.
 
Here's some good reading concerning what's going on behind our App concerning collection of private data.

Enjoy - Mike Mas

Earlier this month the US Army ordered all of its formations to stop using DJI products, including drones and apps, citing unspecified "cyber vulnerabilities".

It is not difficult to draw a line between the remote update facilities uncovered by users cracking into DJI's software and the US Army's decision, though at the time the American military declined to reveal further details and DJI's public position was that it had no idea what upset the Pentagon.

DJI representatives did not respond to our request to explain the JSPatch/Tinker situation, having said only that they needed to talk to the company's "overseas technical team" first. DJI is a Chinese firm, though it has extensive consumer-facing operations in the West.

However, the company did announce it is launching a "local data mode" that "stops internet traffic to and from its flight control apps". This, DJI said in a statement, "will stop [apps] sending or receiving any data over the internet, giving customers enhanced assurances about the privacy of data generated during their flights."

Local data mode appears to be similar to enabling flight mode on a mobile phone: the firm says its use will block all updates to maps, geofencing information, new flight restrictions and other software updates.

This is a clear response to the US Army ban on all DJI equipment, presumably in the hope that stopping the drones and their associated apps phoning home to China (pictures and videos can be synced with DJI's Flickr-style drone photo-sharing website) will soothe the US military's concerns.

Actually the army was very late to the game here - other agencies took these steps over a year ago and negotiations have been going on with DJI since then.
 
If you'd like to see all the connections DJI go wants to initiate install: No root firewall from play store and just watch it rack up the queries. (Even when it's not open)..
 
While we all appreciate DJI's Agenda - of what they think is best for us as private citizens, we, or at least I, do not need a private company based in China who's sole interest is revenue, dictate where and how I fly my own model here in the US.

I have flown R/C helicopters and drones possible longer than any other pilot in the US and have done so without the intervention of any private companies. Futaba and JR have millions of sets flying, many, many more models than DJI, and they don’t impose and force us to fly in a manner they feel is best for them, nor demand us to agree to binding contracts which force us to give up our privacy.

DJI’s recent firmware limitations are only in place to secure their continued sales of drones in the US. Their firmware restrictions automatically assume we're all criminals and flying illegally. In retrospect, while we can break the law with automobiles, bikes and guns, those manufactures don't automatically limit our use, speed or how far a bullet will travel.

Let's set the record straight - DJI could care less about it’s customers, to DJI, we’re just a dollar bill and our only identity is our RPV’s, Vin number. DJI has proven this fact, thousands and thousands of of times by their horrendous firmware failures which has grounded countless pilots combined with their embarrassing “service after the sale” policies. Making matters worse, they enjoy the title for perhaps the worst sub-standard repair service in the entire R/C industry. Regardless of DJI’s ever increasing revenues the won’t spend a “Dime” to improve their service or fix the their broken equipment or improve their customer relations.

The other day I was reading a post where one of DJI’s customers was yelling mad because it took DJI 64 days to repair his equipment and another user jumped in there and shared documents where he was still waiting after 5 months to have his fixed properly.

If all this was not bad enough - DJI’s 5,966 Word “Imposed Agreement” which we all have to agree to if we wish to fly our “Own” equipment speaks for itself with language such as outlined below - this in itself makes a broad statement of DJI’s lack of trust and respect for its U.S. customers to include DJI's disrespect for our legal system, judges and jury.

”These Terms provide that all disputes between you and DJI will be resolved by BINDING ARBITRATION. YOU AGREE TO GIVE UP YOUR RIGHT TO GO TO COURT to assert or defend your rights under these Terms, except for matters that may be taken to small claims court. Your rights will be determined by a NEUTRAL ARBITRATOR and NOT a judge or jury, and your claims cannot be brought as a class action.”

This is unlike anything this industry has seen before and has to be corrected!

Regards - Mike Mas

www.rotory.com
 
Hello Pilots,

In the past year or so, the overall reliability of flying a DJI drone has changed for the worst. With the implementation of new revisions of “bloated” firmware with “No Fly Zones” massive Geo restrictions and logging of our private data, day to day dependability of our models has vanished. Recent imposed updates have resulted in numerous flying errors, erratic control and has even grounded many pilots.

If you wish to fly a DJI product, you must log in to their servers and agree with DJI’s binding electronic contract. This contract gives them rights to manipulate the flight software in “our privately owned drones” and further allows them to collect and accumulate our flying data which could disclose; where we live, or even worse, who we might fly for and our clients exact location.

For security reasons, I fly two categories of drones. For more important clients, I use both single and quad rotor equipment with communication on propriety military frequencies. For more conventional work, I was using DJI drones, however for past 2 months, all my DJI equipment (P3P’s & Inspire’s) are grounded with the infamous “No Image Transmission” problem. What’s even more strange about this failure is; all three drones developed the same exact problem on the same exact day. The odds of this happening with hardware failure, is like a million to one, which leads me to believe this would have to be generated either through firmware or the App. After numerous post on the DJI site and their tech's this problem has not been answered or resolved.


There is really nothing complicated about controlling a model from the ground. For the past 40 years, the 53-72 mHz link between the pilot and model worked fine for general sport flying and limited aerial applications. In the 80’s, using slow scan amateur frequencies (436 MHz.) for video, I designed the first drone with a 12 foot rotor-span for military use which down-linked two live video signals, one for FPV and a second camera for front line surveillance. As time progressed, I moved to GPS & Application technology, however within a few years, I was forced to stop using DJI equipment on military contracts since their Go App was collecting private data that could be shared to third parties, which would be a violation of my contracts.

Very few Pro pilots will disclose who they fly for, or share client information, however this data is easily accessible from their device which “may” be shared to others. For myself, I would be in breach of “Need To Know” contracts if I flew DJI equipment since collected data “could” provide pin-point locations of where and when I fly, complete with thumbnail images and google data. Aside from DJI having access to this data, our devices could easily be hacked to disclose this information to other parties.

I assure you guys this collected “Data Problem” is the real deal. By the very fact, the military took action to discontinue using all DJI equipment speaks for itself. I’m hearing from my contacts at Martin Marietta / Lockheed there was information and imaging released to third parties on some tests on a laser range which began the investigation.

US Army calls for units to discontinue use of DJI equipment - sUAS News - The Business of Drones

In retrospect, all these imposed data problems and NFZ’s are self-inflicted by the barrage of new owners who fail to follow safety guidelines. On the other hand, pilots who fly safe and responsible, are now being treated like criminals with their flying privileges limited or revoked by App’s, as the result of a few idiots who buy drones and have to do a 5 mile range check or fly 5,000-10,000 feet high, take images of stadiums, metropolitan areas, cruise ships, trains or even take pretty pictures of commercial jets in flight.

Where this whole thing went south is when DJI a private company in China, decided to take it upon themselves to police U.S. airways, not for the sole purpose of safety, but to help secure a place in the US to continue to sell their aircraft. While I understand these “business” motivations, DJI does not have a legal right to police the airways in the US, nor instruct us as pilots where we fly, or how we fly. Nor do they have the right to force us to agree to electronic contracts that “demand" we give up control of our models and our rights to privacy.

If things were not bad enough - recent firmware revisions have all but deteriorated the dependability and safety of our drones. With the massive implementations of NFZ’s, logging of flights and private data, these now “Bloated” App's have reached our personal devices “operating” limitations. Our phones & pads were not designed for this workload which is evident by the App’s garbled operation, loss of video and the devices processor overheating to a point some shut down.

Regretfully, as they keep adding more code, the Apps cannot keep up. DJI’s implication of firmware is unique. Unlike other companies where a team of experts would fly new firmware before it was released to the modelers - DJI’s firmware tech’s have a different plan - they use us to see if it works! They modify current firmware by adding more restrictions, then simply post it on their support site, then force us “Crash Dummies” to use our own equipment at or own expense to refine it. Next thing that happens is; after “xxx” amount of machines hit the ground or fly away, they deny it’s the firmware, then start changing the code again to hopefully fix the problem which may take months.

Recently, some options to downgrade on the support page have vanished to make way for a new crusade which forces users to upgrade to new firmware which offers DJI more control of our drones with less options for pilots to retain control of their model and our privacy. Making matters worse, in the near future we’ll lose our ability to even choose our own device. Future drones will contain DJI’s own proprietary devices with their own software. These new “Locked Systems” are now surfacing on the Phantom 4 Pro + models. The new Crystal-sky Monitor / App device will be DJI’s answer to their total control of our models.

Limiting our control of our drones is not the answer to prevent unsafe flying. The only way to reduce improper use of drones, is for modelers themselves to work together with social media as a team to police our own airways. This combined US agency guidelines and enforcement is our only hope.

While I’ll be the first to congratulate DJI on their sophisticated platforms which has placed them first in the drone industry, they continue to be in last place when it comes to customer relations and service after the sale. Regardless of DJI’s massive revenue, they continue to refuse to spend the funds needed to support their products. For DJI to survive, these problems will have to be addressed. In addition, they will need to re-think their App policies to restore the pilots ability to fly his own machine, and forfeit binding contracts that may jeopardize our privacy.

In Closing - We’re all presently in a transition period, floating around in this “Firmware Bubble” as the DJI’s Tech’s attempt to figure how to align the codes “Zero’s and Ones” so their firmware will take piloting out of our hands and in theirs!

Best Regards - Mike Mas

www.rotory.com



Very well written and great points. If they continue to restrict our flying, I for one will have to stop using DJI products and go to the competition. I still have that right at this time. Be careful DJI. The free market place can take down even the giants if you produce too many restrictions. When they become less desirable, we don't have to buy your products and probably won't. In my opinion, DJI is in the fire pit now.
 

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