So let me tell you a story...a Phantom story.

[pomonabill220]

Seems like Amazon is becoming more and more like Ebay... corrupt sellers, site managers that don't care, bad customer support.... too bad because they USED to be at the other end of the scale from Ebay..
So sorry to hear of all the crap that you are going through! Hope it get settled down soon.

 

[Ghost696]

Have you considered taking up fishing?

Jim
WA5TEF

Hahaha...nope! Target shooting yes!

 

[CameraMan65]

Hahaha...nope! Target shooting yes!

As long as your targets aren't drones...

 

[DCATALO]

Hello sir! I must say that I do feel better about my story now that I heard yours. The only thing I can say is that you do know( well you definitely do now) that you can buy from DJI.com? I only buy drones from the manufacturer. Makes it as easy as it will be to fix any problems , considering that they make them hence it would be easier to get a new one the 1st time. But hey...... I'm no rocket scientist.....lol..... I would send you mine to fly but you have really bad luck and mine would probably disappear. And there's no reason both of us should be in pain right? Right!!! Good luck with your endeavors

 

[Ghost696]

As long as your targets aren't drones...

LOL...NEVER!

 

[AirMan05446]

Maybe the Universe is trying to tell you something.

 

[Dan Lee]

Maybe I got lucky but my first bird was refurbished direct from DJI. It's been flawless so far with many flights. According to DJI they DO refurbish the drone. If you read at the bottom they say the product is checked out and any defect or problems are corrected.

DJI Refurbish

 

[Ghost696]

Maybe the Universe is trying to tell you something.

I'm into all that so I think your on to something...BTW love the black cat avatar!

 

[Ghost696]

Maybe I got lucky but my first bird was refurbished direct from DJI. It's been flawless so far with many flights. According to DJI they DO refurbish the drone. If you read at the bottom they say the product is checked out and any defect or problems are corrected.

DJI Refurbish

Yeah I really wish I would have just kept that very first one I bought off Amazon. It was the from DJI store and refurb was like new aside from missing a couple caps on the legs. It probably would have worked fine too. Like AirMan said its probably the universe against me.

 

[PaulNH]

Just know one thing....if you send in your A/C to DJI.... chances are pretty good you'll get a refurb back. Ask me how I know.... still waiting since April 19th for my P3 Std... I sent it in because a motor was whistling very loudly.That's all....nothing else wrong. I sent it in out of concern. At the end of May DJI sent man e-mail saying it was fixed... and it was shipped. I checked the serial numbers, in the e-mails, and they were mine. HOWEVER on June 1st the drone arrived and I found that they sent me a refurbished A/C that whistled louder than the one I sent in... when it hoovered one side was lower than the other... that lower side motor seemed to struggle ....and it would drop in attitude from 6' down to 1' then up to 8 feet...with no wind and without me touching the controls. It was terrible and not safe. (forgot to mention the rubber vibration dampener was off when it arrived as was the gimbal guard. I sent it back, and they promptly sent it right back to me... I again sent it back.... and as of 07-14-17 I was notified that it was repaired. Still hasn't shipped... that A/C has more air time for repairs than of flying... meanwhile my warranty is quickly expiring. I purchased it just after christmas 2016, never flew it until March (to be honest I was intimidated so I bought a cheaper drone to learn to fly in Atti Mode).... I have counted 25 flights on my A/C..... I returned it in the same box, new condition, that it arrived in. I carry it in a foam case. The dud they sent me was in a beat up, taped box that should have been thrown out. So, just because it's coming from DJI don't expect the same one. Best of luck to you !!!! (I knew it was going to be a long haul waiting for them (thanks to blogs) so I purchased a Phantom 4 Pro and have been loving that ... (until the last upgrade...ugh)

 

[macoman]

That's why I will never going to expend money in a brand new DJI drone, i may purchase a refurbished one in the future but have my phantom 3 standard and I love it. 22 flights and still rock solid. But the DJI support scare the hell out of me. Learning all these issue people receiving refurbished ones that was worse that they sent. I don't trust DJI support or their warranty.

 

[Ghost696]

Well...I know DJI can make a good product. I have owned a few Inspires too. T601's ran fine no issues, Mavic Pro runs fine no issues so I know they can do it. So far from my experience with Phantoms they seem to be all over the place with quality issues and stress cracks. If I were DJI VIP I think would dump the dated 4 design altogether with the new 5 model.

A factory refurb never scares me too much as it really been checked out for the most part. They got sloppy by not putting the landing gear caps on the one I bought and returned but anyways I would still by a refurb on a good price deal.

DJI just needs to come together on their CS and QC levels.

 

[macoman]

I agreed with you ghost... the thing that I don't get is that the owner or CEO of DJI is a fan of Apple and is even trying to mimic Apple boxes in their products but lack enormously the Apple support quality. He needs to learn a lot in that area. Matter of fact, he should even get in touch if he can with Tim Cook, to see how Apple handles the support and get the knowledge he need to implement it.

 

[PaulNH]

Well...I know DJI can make a good product. I have owned a few Inspires too. T601's ran fine no issues, Mavic Pro runs fine no issues so I know they can do it. So far from my experience with Phantoms they seem to be all over the place with quality issues and stress cracks. If I were DJI VIP I think would dump the dated 4 design altogether with the new 5 model.

A factory refurb never scares me too much as it really been checked out for the most part. They got sloppy by not putting the landing gear caps on the one I bought and returned but anyways I would still by a refurb on a good price deal.

DJI just needs to come together on their CS and QC levels.

I finally got wise.... when I purchased my Phantom 4 Pro... I knew they would NEVER get another drone from me. I bought State Farm Ins. for 60 bucks a year. You have a fly away, out into the ocean... no problem.... smash into the ground... no problems... they simply cut you a check and you get a NEW replacement. That's service.... that's what I want... Can you imagine bringing you car to the garage because you think something might be wrong. Not sure but you want it covered under the Warranty..... you only drive it 25 times and never ever have an issue. (Mine never touched the ground, I always hand caught it) .... so they drive around another care and say, "here you go"... it drives terrible, has more noise than your old one. I suspect they simply take the very best sent to them and re-sell them.... leaving you with someone elses headaches. I have no proof ...but I find it very suspicious that they can't find MY Original A/C but they can keep sending me the exact same lemon with the exact same issues.... Who knows.... third time might be a charm...... but I doubt it. I've lost faith with them and their support on line who appear eager to help in print....... it looks good to other readers...but in the end your still on your own.

 

[Slipstrm]

happy flying, just don't update the firmware or you're screwed.

 

[Ghost696]

Well, because of all the issues I had with buying a good P4P I'm happy to say I have been flying my new Typhoon H w/RS and very much enjoying it! It's a very cool and stable system from my experience so far and glad I ended up with it. My Mavic is solid and always a blast to fly too. So I'm good for now.

 

[bad karma]

I bought both my P4+ and Mavic also an Osmo from Ebay sellers. All were new in the box. Flawless transactions from sellers with more than 500 100% sales reputations. Maybe try that? I'll look for a good price but I'll also pay a few more dollars to deal with someone who's not a scam artist, criminal, or criminally insane person. They are out there.

 

[ripratt]

I got my Phantom 4 Pro+ as a birthday gift from my boys but they bought it straight from DJI because they knew it would be exactly what they ordered. The manufacturer is usually going to give you the best service because it's their own product and their lively-hood, not just something they hope to make a buck on.

If I was to buy from someone other than DJI, I would check out all the better known drone pilots on the internet and see where they get their stuff from. If they get good service, chances are I would too. If they wouldn't recommend a certain dealer, I would stay clear of them too.

Just my 2 cent worth but because I live in Canada, it's only worth about 1 cent.

 

[Skott2]

I bought a P4 refurb from New Egg and it doesn’t seem as stable as my P3A. It’s a bit jittery and won’t hold position very well. I’ve done compass calibration and checked it out in DJI assistant, which it seems okay.
Any suggestions?
Thank you-

 

[svjobeth]

I know this is an old thread, but for someone who happens to be considering a Phantom or any other drone, DJI or otherwise, and stumbles across this tale of woe as I did this evening, take heart. There are good vendors out there.

I purchased my P4P+ brand new, along with a few accessories, from B&H Photo and Video. I've purchased other accessories from reliable vendors such as Polar Pro and Carolina Dronz. I've even purchased a few things from Amazon. Aside from USPS delivery screw ups on one or two of the Amazon items, there have been no issues whatsoever with any of my purchases.