Pull_Up said:
Phantompilots user Tahoe_Ed (DJI employee, Forum Support) has publicly stated here and elsewhere that opening up the shell on the aircraft to do routine maintenance or to fit DJI parts sold for end-user installation is NOT a warranty buster in and of itself. Any damage you cause while in there obviously is, but opening it up is good practice for preventative maintenance and flight safety. See post at the bottom of this page:
viewtopic.php?f=27&t=23309&start=40
If the username doesn't already give it away, this is Eric from UAVDirect. Though under a different account, I am routinely on the forums including this one... listening to users' concerns and on-the-lookout for discovered issues and fixes. It probably comes as no surprise that I am in love with this industry, both as a pilot and for my role at UAVD. It isn't very often that I post in many of the discussions, but I do want to address this miscommunication on our part that has come up.
First of all, merely opening the exterior shell on any DJI aircraft is not going to void the manufacturer's warranty. Routine maintenance or replacement of parts that are deemed post-manufacturing date items have no effect on warranty so long as damage was not caused in the process.
Thank you for providing me with an opportunity to clarify this, as questions of warranty on such an emergent technology are quite common. I do not know the context of the email that the user here received, but it is evident that there was a misunderstanding. Being Factory-Authorized from DJI to complete repairs and make issuance of warranty protocol means that we see a lot of aircraft come through our facility for maintenance, repairs, and upgrades. That also means that we follow the same guidelines and repair practices that DJI itself does.
I have seen and worked on plenty of aircraft that have been opened-up, painted, modified... etc, and I assure you that warranty is merited on a lot more than what you might take from this topic.
Our team takes a lot of pride in the services we offer and we always welcome your questions and comments, so please feel free to contact us at any time.