I have a P3P and a P3S. A little over a 100 flights with the exception of one of 5 batteries becoming defective(which DJI replaced) no problems. However given the numerous posted issues of shell cracks not the result of an impact I will not buy a P4P. It appears a known issue which DJI has not corrected. My next drone will likely be a Maverick Pro.
Terrible reviews
- Thread starter bhartwell
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The new units will have their own set of problems. If you’re waiting for a perfect drone, you’ll never buy one. That’s just the nature of mass produced consumer electronics.
Yes that was why I purchased the P4 Adv. Its a major improvement with the new quad and I am quite happy with it especially after buying the new Ipad Air 2. I believe that many complaints DJI pilots are having are because the android reacts negatively to the new DJI software/firmware upgrades. I was having hardly any video downlink problems before the latest DJI upgrades. DJI must be testing mainly with ios rather than android and I wouldn't be surprised if Apple will someday buy them out. BTW I am located in Moncton, NB.
I have a P4P+ ... I love it ... the ONLY issue as of late is the horrible quality of DJI's recent releases of firmware updates. For such an expensive investment in hardware one would expect a very high level of software quality to enable it to fly reliably and safely. Prior to the '602' latest firmware release, the software was pretty good but the recent release was a very sad disappointment and many folks have had MAJOR issues with it after loading ... erratic flying, RF interference, poor video and some have had catastrophic results by crashing their drones when they were running this release ... it is a mess that needs to be fixed and still has not been done ... the problem has existed since June of this year. If you load version '503' of the software you will be OK but the latest version is still not fixed and no one seems to know when it will be.
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I have proof that they do test fly at least some of the aircraft. My new P4P+ has a flight in China November 28 2016. (almost a year before I got it) The flight was two minutes at 13 feet and a distance of 121 feet. The flight was in Shenzhen Shi China.
However I did have update problems right out of the box. Not with the aircraft but the controller. I used the update assistant and the bird updated nicely. The controller kept saying no network available. I kept trying to keep going on the update but nothing I did would make the controller see the network.... I gave up and the next day while reading the manual for the hundredth time it sunk in that I could update the controller via the memory card.... Yes it was there to know the whole time. I saw it. While it still wasn't a slam dunk the first update allowed to get online via the wifi. The second update was painfully slow and I thought for sure it was stuck at 90 something %. There were other issues that were like updates. They were all very slow. Finely.... It seemed ready to go... Nope! IMU error. I calibrated it and the compass again. (I did the compass each of the three times I started to fly)
Then... 10-21-2017... OMG! It flies! I've had a P3S for a year but it took awhile to "Trust It" but it's been flying great ever since.
Dale Smallwood
I personally would buy from Walmart I had problems with one of my drones and exchanging it for another one was no problem you can't beat their return policy and these other companies that go through a third party ,it's going to be more problems then you want to face. I didn't even have my receipt the girl looked it up on the computer after I told her the date I bought it and they immediately offered to return my money or replace the drum
The evidence show they don't inspect them. The crooked camera is an example, reported by many, it's very easy to see when the drone is on during the linking process, a 2 second check. Also the vibrating gimbal, takes about 10 seconds to validate no vibrations during the linking process, no flying required, just twist the drone around at all angles, you'll feel the vibration if there's a problem. These two checks take less than 20 seconds which would have prevented hundreds of returns. It's obvious to me they aren't doing basic outgoing inspection, which is sad. I'm hoping DJI will see this complaint and fix their process.
I would never do a firmware update I have had 5 Phantoms and the one I did the update on never flew again it recognized that there was an airport in my area and shut me down I suppose the old firmware didn't have that on it and the other four are still flying
Most of my Phantoms have a runtime that shows up in China so I'd suppose they do fly them I kind of find it interesting to look at the map where they were flown
The crooked camera was addressed by DJI engineers in a thread on a different forum. It is caused during shipping by a ring that seals the gimbal and during the heating and cooling of shipping causes it to twist the camera. The fix is simple. With the drone off, twist the gimbal to the endpoint by hand opposite the direction it's crooked. Do it a few times. Power up, and it's fixed. This "re-seats" the ring back into place. All five of the P4/ p4p craft I've had, exhibited this issue and all five were fixed using the method above.
Edit: all five of my drones also had a short flight in china in the DAT. So did my mavic and inspire 2.
I saw that too in RC Groups, I just don't buy it. Seems VERY far fetched. As protected as these craft are in the Styrofoam boxes, it's extremely unlikely a twisting force strong enough could occur to twist the gimbal with heating and cooling. That's almost laughable IMO. And physically twisting it fix it? That's a pretty bizarre prescription to resolve, for such a delicate device.
Here's another reason I don't believe it. DJI recently repaired my P4P for a bad gimbal in Cerritos, CA. When they replaced the gimbal/camera assembly they didn't bother to check it being straight before shipping it to me, just like the factory! When I got it back the camera was crooked! I live only 30mi from DJI Cerritos, UPS ground is overnight shipping. There's no way the "heat up >cool down story" could apply to my experience. That's why I don't believe that RC Groups explanation, at all. That's BS IMO. This is a process problem, a training problem, a quality consistency problem.
I fixed my crooked camera with a dual axis gimbal calibration (that process isn't covered in the manual). I didn't have to man-handle the gimbal and twist into place. It's been fine ever since.
Don't get me wrong, I love DJI products, always have. It's just frustrating they don't see the virtue in a thorough outgoing inspection process to mitigate unnecessary warranty returns.
Meta4
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The P4 pro sensor is 4 times larger than the sensor in a P3 or P4.
As well as that it has a real aperture and a real shutter.
It's a huge improvement photographically.
It worked on 5 of 5 drones for me. Whatever the cause, the fix does work in most cases. The fix is so quick and easy I see this as a very minor issue.
All they said was it takes a heating, cooling. No jarring motion at all. It’s a thin rubber ring from what I understand. So even an overnight shipment could cause it. Those warehouses aren’t temperature controlled. I left it in my car overnight once and even that was enough to skew it. The twist fix worked in that case as well.
That's another reason I didn't believe that heat/cold theory. I've never had mine skew from exposure to heat, and I leave my drone in the car during the summer all the time, without RC,flight batteries & iPad. I know my car gets super hot in the summer, but I've never had my gimbal magically twist itself. If you've actually had it happen from heat, that's the first time I've heard that from a pilot. I wonder if anyone else has had this happen. If yes, I'll change my opinion, but I'm still in disbelief. I just find it hard to believe, that with nothing exerting any pressure on the gimbal,that it can turn all by itself, just from heat. Hope they fix that ghost in the P5.
In Wisconsin we might get bigger temp swings. 30-40 degrees is not uncommon.That's another reason I didn't believe that heat/cold theory. I've never had mine skew from exposure to heat, and I leave my drone in the car during the summer all the time, without RC,flight batteries & iPad. I know my car gets super hot in the summer, but I've never had my gimbal magically twist itself. If you've actually had it happen from heat, that's the first time I've heard that from a pilot. I wonder if anyone else has had this happen. If yes, I'll change my opinion, but I'm still in disbelief. I just find it hard to believe, that with nothing exerting any pressure on the gimbal,that it can turn all by itself, just from heat. Hope they fix that ghost in the P5.
But hey agree to disagree my friend!
I agree 100 % with you John, after the nasty crash my drone suffered from a prop that broke, I specifically asked DJI to test the replacement before shipping it back as it still had the original camera and gimbal just a different body. DJI assured me they would. However, upon receipt of the craft, all it showed for the latest flights was that fateful day she went down.
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Have been operating my P4P+ for a few months now. The only issue has been with the Here maps not working in my region but this has now been fixed via a DJI update. I make a point of regularly using the machine in all modes both for testing and keeping on top of user skills....great machine...no problems here...highly recommended
Got two defective ones from Amazon. Both refunded. Then bought from B&H and it has been perfect. You'lllove it. Note: I have a P4 Standard also.
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