Returned my DJI Vision+ for repair, my experience so far

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I just wanted to share my experience with returning my PV+ for repairs and how stressful it has been so far. I won't name the store I bought it from until the matter is resolved.

A bit of history, I got my PV+ around May 1st, noticed that I was not getting any FPV feed at all on it. My initial experience with DJI is detailed here: viewtopic.php?f=27&t=14765

What is not mentioned is that on May 27th I sent a final email to DJI telling them I wanted to return the unit for servicing (I have a ticket # for that request, if anyone at DJI is interested). That email never got a reply.

Seeing that, I wrote to the point of sale (POS? That doesn't sound right ;) ). I included the thread here and my exchanges with the staff at DJI as evidence that the unit was broken to begin with and the only reason I had been holding off to return it is that I was told it could be a firmware issue that was being worked on. Something that appeared (still does) much less likely.

PoS responded quickly, in about 24 hours, with an RMA, which was very reassuring to me (even though their website claims a 1-3 hour wait time on inquiries, 24 hours is quite reasonable). So I shipped the unit to them.

On the 20th of June the carrier attempted delivery, but there was nobody to receive it. So it was held at the carrier's office. I wrote PoS to let them know it had been delivered and give them the tracking number in case the carrier did not leave a little card thing. No response. Waited 2 days and wrote another message, still no response. It took a full week for the carrier status to change to "Delivered", and still complete silence from the PoS.

Five days after delivery I sent PoS an email just requesting the status on my RMA. It has now been two days since that message, and still not a single piece of feedback from them, since the first message I sent them, on June 20th.

I just called them up and there was no answer, so I left a message on their answering machine. Let's see how that goes.

I'm aware that this is a hobby industry and I can't expect the RMA process to be as well-oiled and straightforward as with consumer goods (My Dell laptop broke under warranty once, I was 3 days without it, including shipping to them, repairs and return). What I think I should be entitled to, though, is more than complete silence for weeks.

I'll update this thread as the situation develops. Thanks for reading and take good care of your Phantoms y'guys. I'm jealous of all of you with working ones right about now. Cheers!
 
So is this a well-known, reputable dealer? No answer or response when you try to call? Is their website still online, assuming they have one? If its a small shop, perhaps they shut down for a couple of weeks for vacation?
 
Website is online. I sent them the unit the day after they issued an RMA. If there was a chance they might be on vacation that info would've been nice to have as they issued the RMA. I would've hold on to the unit until they returned.
 
I hope everything works out well for you. I just went through the repair process with an authorized dealer myself but my experience has been the exact opposite of yours. I hope this isn't hijacking your thread but I wanted to share my experience for anyone considering purchasing the vision + and looking for a reputable vendor with good after-sale support. Couldn't find this information when I was shopping for mine on this site. I happened to get lucky by ordering from Dave's Discount Motors (DDM) online. When my camera/gimbal assembly was broken after a crash that I thought was no fault of my own (propeller flew off while hovering 50 feet above the ground), which occurred 1 week after getting my vision +, I e-mailed DDM and told them my story. I have a lot of experience with RC (though mainly terrestrial with Losi, Mugen, Traxxas, Castle, Tekin) so I'm familiar with the ease and/or difficulties of obtaining warranty/repair service. This was my first foray into hobby-grade RC aviation and didn't know what to expect when my vision + crashed. I have to say that Steve and Brad at DDM treated me with the utmost respect from the first time I contacted them. They were honest from the beginning about being uncertain how my warranty claim would turn out but they said they would go up to bat for me with DJI. They contacted the Hong Kong office and a few days later notified me to send the broken camera/gimbal to their shop in Utah. It took over a month because DJI wasn't providing any of their dealers replacement parts because as I'm sure everyone here would agree, all they care about is making the sale. I contacted DDM multiple times throughout that month waiting period and they always answered my e-mails promptly and were always courteous and helpful. When they finally received the camera/gimbal assemblies, DDM sent me a replacement and happily informed me that it was covered under warranty at no cost to me. I was elated because reading all the horror stories on this site, I was expecting to most likely pay for the replacement myself or maybe a small discount at best. Had they been unable to convince DJI to repair my vision+ under warranty, I would still whole-heartedly recommend DDM because of their outstanding post-sale service/support. We don't have any hobby shops where I live at in Hawaii so I buy all my RC equipment online. People approach me almost everyday (tourists and locals alike) while I'm flying fascinated with this vision+ and ask me where they can get one and I always tell them never to buy directly from DJI and I steer them to Dave's Discount Motors based on my experience.
 
Lucky for you! In this country there are only two authorised dealers, not much room to shop around.
 
Hi Oulette,

Been reading a bit about all your problems since buying your phantom. It's really unfortunate that you've had such bad luck and poor service. May I ask where you are from and what dealer you purchased from?
 
Been reading a bit about all your problems since buying your phantom. It's really unfortunate that you've had such bad luck and poor service. May I ask where you are from and what dealer you purchased from?

I respect the OP's integrity by not naming names.
I respect the OP's integrity by posting a clear explanation of his problem, communications and results-to-date.
He is doing the right thing. He is dealing with an "authorized dealer".
Co-incidentally, I have experienced a similar lack of "advertised response time" (on unrelated matters), from one of two authorized dealers, in my country.

In fairness, I did order my Phantom V2+ from a Canadian dealer - and it arrived exactly on the 18 days it was promised.
But after my Visa card was processed for my initial order, other email questions still remain unanswered.
Is this a common experience???

Just my thoughts,
Cheers,

PS: 1
Regardless of e-mails, voice-mails, web-contacts, etc., a business should have all bases covered when being away for a holiday. The customer should always be in the know.
 
I agree with the Holiday statement. I returned my Phantom the day after receiving my RMA. If the dealer was going to be on holidays, he should've mentioned it with the RMA, or on its website/twitter/facebook page. I would've held on to my unit for a few weeks. It was still working in every way except the live feed which was defective. For the record, there is still no feedback from the dealer, I still have no idea of the status of my unit. Last bit of information I have is a scanned signature on the carrier's website. The Dealer's Facebook page now has recent posts, I am reading on Twitter from customers that units from that dealer are shipping. Increasingly annoyed at the situation.
 
I've received my P2V+ on friday. After a hour I've realised that I have the same issue what many of owners have : no live view - feed.
( Tested it on a Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9, Android 4.0.4 rooted )
I've installed the older version of Vision App ( 1.38 ) and the live view works fine - just it doesn't support the camera tilt )

I was so unhappy. I've went home, and - just for fun - I've install the latest Vision App in my TV BOX !! ( it's an Android Box from China,
Android 4.2... ) and surprised, the app working fine ! ( my tv box : http://www.rikomagic.com/en/product/sho ... id_20.html )

Hmmm... start to thinking....

Today I went to my office, and I've found an "old" Samsung S (i9000) phone, what not used. I've upgraded the Android firmware
to 4.2.1 (it's an unofficial firmware - but who care) + I made the root, and then I've installed the latest Vision App.

And it's works !

I have only suggestion : don't give up. I think, it's not based on, what kind of mobile/tablet do you have, it's based on, what kind of
Android version / Android ROM / Root - you have. However in the support page DJI wrote the minimum Android version is 4.0.4 or
higher, my feel - it's not true. You need minimum 4.2 !

I hope it helps to You.
 
I buy lots of stuff online, unfortunately in this day and age, margins are so slim, there is no time or $ for customer support. It's that simple. It's a dog eat dog world out there now.


Everyone wants treated like royalty, yet you call call around and want to price shop to save 10 cents. Welcome to the internet!
 
I think there's a very wide margin between being treated like royalty and being left in the dark for three weeks.

For the record, I finally heard from the store. I left a public message on their facebook page. Nothing dramatic or aggressive. Just saying I had sent a few messages and wanted an update on them. I at least got confirmation that they had received the drone, and that I would hear from them in a few days. So, progress.
 
geosky said:
Been reading a bit about all your problems since buying your phantom. It's really unfortunate that you've had such bad luck and poor service. May I ask where you are from and what dealer you purchased from?

I respect the OP's integrity by not naming names.
I respect the OP's integrity by posting a clear explanation of his problem, communications and results-to-date.
He is doing the right thing. He is dealing with an "authorized dealer".
Co-incidentally, I have experienced a similar lack of "advertised response time" (on unrelated matters), from one of two authorized dealers, in my country.

In fairness, I did order my Phantom V2+ from a Canadian dealer - and it arrived exactly on the 18 days it was promised.
But after my Visa card was processed for my initial order, other email questions still remain unanswered.
Is this a common experience???

Just my thoughts,
Cheers,

PS: 1
Regardless of e-mails, voice-mails, web-contacts, etc., a business should have all bases covered when being away for a holiday. The customer should always be in the know.

Absolutely not nor should it be. I buy all my stuff from B&H in New York and have had fantastic service. I had a issue on one of the Phantoms and it was replaced within a week.

Even if you are able to get something a little cheaper, I would highly recommend purchasing from one of the dealers like DDM or B&H. I think you would see a vast difference in support.
 
So I've just received my repaired Phantom and so the situation has been resolved. Here are a few dates and stats:
1- Drone was mailed on June 16th, arrived at the destination on the 20th (4 days)
2- Drone remained in the post office purgatory until June 26th (6 days, 10 total). Meaning they tried to deliver it, but there was nobody to receive it, so they kept it at the post office for 6 days until someone from the store picked it up.
3- Received my first communication from the vendor about the return on July 15th (19 days, 29 total). Basically just a confirmation that they had the drone.
4- Received an actual status report on the return on July 23rd (8 days, 37 total)
5- Received a notice that the unit had been fixed on July 24th (1 day, 38 total)
6- Drone was shipped back on the 25th (1 day, 39 total)
7- Drone was received on the 29th (4 day, 43 total).

Ordeal lasted 43 days, of which 8 days were due to shipping.

A few comments:
My biggest gripe with this experience is that I heard nothing from the vendor for 25 days from the time it was delivered (or attempted to be delivered). So any type of concern I had as to whether the drone wasn't stolen (maybe some crook managed to fool the post office or something similar) or that the RMA was proceeding without issue and so forth were not addressed. Complete silence for 25 days, with me sending messages every few days and at every major milestone (like during the week it spent at the post office). It took a public post on their facebook page to even get a reaction. I hate having to do that, I know the vendors don't like it so overall it just adds a touch of bitter to the whole thing.

After the repairs, vendor tried to charge me for return shipment, but didn't argue when I copy/pasted their own return policy as an answer (it clearly states that if the repairs are under warranty, so is the shipping). It was a little irk to end this.

The Phantom appears 100% functional. The broken part has been replaced and is working great. No time to fly it until tomorrow but everything looks good. I don't want to grief the vendor or anything. Just keeping you guys posted and maybe if you're going through a long period of silence like I have, maybe this'll help you sleep better :)

Can't wait to fly with FPV, at long last! Cheers!
 

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