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4 drones in 5 months
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2703 43 2017-7-9
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sd603
lvl.3
Flight distance : 274465 ft
United States
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3 have been replaced under warranty / manufacturer defect.  Number 4 is sitting at the bottom of a lake after it crashed today.  Yes, I updated firmware -- mutiple times.  Yes, I checked wind speed before I flew.  Yes I made sure I had good GPS lock.  

Has anyone else had such a bad experience with the P4P?...

Also, this is the first one I could not retrieve.  How do you start a DJI case when there is no drone to return?  When you go into repair there is no option to say you are not returning anything...
2017-7-9
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gabriel.magana
lvl.1
Flight distance : 177254 ft
United States
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Oh, wow, sorry to read. Never heard of someone with such bad luck. Where did your drone decide to take a swim?/  I had weird behavior in New Zealand, nothing out of the ordinary since that trip (I'm based in Arizona, USA).
2017-7-9
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sd603
lvl.3
Flight distance : 274465 ft
United States
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At my lake house in Plymouth MA USA.  In about 15' of
water...
2017-7-9
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Eric13
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This is the 2nd thread today telling us about a fatal drop.
It's getting scary with all the reports, not only in this forum.

I'm considering to not read here for a while. I won't be relaxed anymore when flying ;-)
http://forum.dji.com/thread-103883-1-1.html
2017-7-9
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Labroides
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The first thing to do is to look into the recorded flight data to possibly get some idea of what happened.
Go to http://www.phantomhelp.com/LogViewer/Upload/
Follow the instructions to upload your flight record.
Come back and post a link to the report it provides.

Then if it looks like it might be a warranty claim, you upload your flight data to DJI by clicking on the cloud icon on the flight records page in the app.
Then go to DJI online support and start a chat with their people to get things started.
2017-7-9
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sd603
lvl.3
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2017-7-9
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sd603
lvl.3
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I chatted with DJI and started the process --- AGAIN...

BTW -- DJI support is not what I would expect for a premium product.  Its about a 4 week turnaround for me on east coast of US.  My drone(s) have spent more time back and forth than in my possession...
2017-7-9
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DJI Mindy
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sd603 Posted at 2017-7-9 18:07
I chatted with DJI and started the process --- AGAIN...

BTW -- DJI support is not what I would expect for a premium product.  Its about a 4 week turnaround for me on east coast of US.  My drone(s) have spent more time back and forth than in my possession...

We are sorry to hear the crash accident, we have professional data analysis who will help to figure out what happened during flight, if it't malfunction in warranty, your lost part will be compensated according to DJI After-Sales Policy, we will take care of it if you have provided the necessary info, please leave me with the case number, I will keep an eye on it.
2017-7-9
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DJI Mindy
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Eric13 Posted at 2017-7-9 14:25
This is the 2nd thread today telling us about a fatal drop.
It's getting scary with all the reports, not only in this forum.

Crash accident may be caused by various reasons, it must be analyzed by our data analysis team firstly, if it's a factory defect in warranty, we will take charge of it according to After-Sales Policy, no worries.
2017-7-9
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ezDrew
lvl.4
Flight distance : 195151 ft

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Eric13 Posted at 2017-7-9 14:25
This is the 2nd thread today telling us about a fatal drop.
It's getting scary with all the reports, not only in this forum.

Only people who crash post it on the forums immediately, while the other "hundred thousand" fly without problems in a given week... Not many who own a dji drone posts about their good experiences. I've had two drones for 2 years with no problems. I did crash into the ground pretty bad once, which was completely my fault, but my p4p didn't suffer any damage from it. They are actually pretty solid built machines in my experience.
2017-7-9
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DJI Mindy
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ezDrew Posted at 2017-7-9 18:47
Only people who crash post it on the forums immediately, while the other "hundred thousand" fly without problems in a given week... Not many who own a dji drone posts about their good experiences. I've had two drones for 2 years with no problems. I did crash into the ground pretty bad once, which was completely my fault, but my p4p didn't suffer any damage from it. They are actually pretty solid built machines in my experience.

ezDrew, I appreciate your response and I agree with you, very few customers would share their good experience on the Forum. But we also appreciate those customers who post the bad experience here, it's very important for us to know our defections and keep improving. DJI will be responsible for all the malfunctions under warranty and keep moving to provide more good products and customer service.
Thank you for your support to us and wish you keep enjoy flying.
2017-7-9
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Dobmatt
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DJI Mindy Posted at 2017-7-9 19:51
ezDrew, I appreciate your response and I agree with you, very few customers would share their good experience on the Forum. But we also appreciate those customers who post the bad experience here, it's very important for us to know our defections and keep improving. DJI will be responsible for all the malfunctions under warranty and keep moving to provide more good products and customer service.
Thank you for your support to us and wish you keep enjoy flying.

Mindy, since you're here ... Today my 3rd aircraft (P4P+) restricted the flight to 30m radius with ALL GOOD TO GO on status page. Everything up to date, no warnings on start up. What is going on with all my drones?
2017-7-9
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PandaFlyingcat
Second Officer
Flight distance : 2014111 ft
China
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DJI Mindy Posted at 2017-7-9 19:51
ezDrew, I appreciate your response and I agree with you, very few customers would share their good experience on the Forum. But we also appreciate those customers who post the bad experience here, it's very important for us to know our defections and keep improving. DJI will be responsible for all the malfunctions under warranty and keep moving to provide more good products and customer service.
Thank you for your support to us and wish you keep enjoy flying.

really mindy?
whenever we try to reach DJI and get an answer to any problem we got absolute silence. or answer which only make the frustration bigger. like my still broken battery i purchased with the brand new p4A+ and dji said "its totally fine just use it" i send it to DJI 2 times.
even i get warning messages in flight that the 1 battery cell is damaged DO NOT USE AND GET REPLACEMENT FROM DJI... (this message popped up INSIDE DJI STORE! and they said it will be replaced. later i got the broken battery back second time unrepaired! "DJI will be responsible for all the malfunctions under warranty and keep  moving to provide more good products and customer service" - what the heck DJI? i have even no words for this  O_o) its like i punch somebody in the face and then say it doesnt happen and that i always act very responsible forwards other people and would never beat them.

i dont envy your job here in the forum and understand it must be frustrating on your side too. but it seems DJI only answers randomly in rare cases. i would open a new topic and post my problems there...again. but we all know how that ends later right? no answer from DJI and getting bashed by people who have no problem with their drones, claiming its all users fault. *sigh*

BTW: i share my good experience here in forum often enough. but the whole DJI experience is getting terrible over last months and nobody from DJI seem to give a damn about it. thats what many people here cant understand and where all the anger come from
2017-7-9
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isaacchu
lvl.4
Hong Kong
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It should not be that bad for DJI product. There was a manufacturer defect of my P3P. But DJI provided a good customer support service and I received the repaired P3P in a short period of time and no problem after that.  To me, DJI product is the most stable platform in the market.
2017-7-9
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Mr Pete
lvl.1
Flight distance : 404219 ft
United Kingdom
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I too am on my 3rd phantom 4 due to erratic f
2017-7-10
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Mr Pete
lvl.1
Flight distance : 404219 ft
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i too am on my 3rd phantom 4 due to erratic flight, losing height, gaining height with no hands on the controls, I am now in the process of saving enough cash to upgrade to the p4 pro as the one I've got doesn't hold steady flight 40% of the time. I've done all the usual upgrades and calibrations to no avail. Poor quality from such an expensive piece of kit.
2017-7-10
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DJI Mindy
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PandaFlyingcat Posted at 2017-7-9 21:29
really mindy?
whenever we try to reach DJI and get an answer to any problem we got absolute silence. or answer which only make the frustration bigger. like my still broken battery i purchased with the brand new p4A+ and dji said "its totally fine just use it" i send it to DJI 2 times.
even i get warning messages in flight that the 1 battery cell is damaged DO NOT USE AND GET REPLACEMENT FROM DJI... (this message popped up INSIDE DJI STORE! and they said it will be replaced. later i got the broken battery back second time unrepaired! "DJI will be responsible for all the malfunctions under warranty and keep  moving to provide more good products and customer service" - what the heck DJI? i have even no words for this  O_o) its like i punch somebody in the face and then say it doesnt happen and that i always act very responsible forwards other people and would never beat them.

I should make it more clear that the malfunction will need to be evaluated by our repair team.
I'm sorry for the unpleasant experience about the battery, would you please provide me the case number so that I can look into the damage assessment of the battery.
Please keep me updated here, I will reply as soon as possible, thanks.
2017-7-10
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DJI Mindy
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Dobmatt Posted at 2017-7-9 21:12
Mindy, since you're here ... Today my 3rd aircraft (P4P+) restricted the flight to 30m radius with ALL GOOD TO GO on status page. Everything up to date, no warnings on start up. What is going on with all my drones?

I'm so sorry to hear that. But I don't think it's the drone's issue. Have you reinstalled the APP? You need to log in your DJI account and keep it.
2017-7-10
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DJI Mindy
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Mr Pete Posted at 2017-7-10 00:14
i too am on my 3rd phantom 4 due to erratic flight, losing height, gaining height with no hands on the controls, I am now in the process of saving enough cash to upgrade to the p4 pro as the one I've got doesn't hold steady flight 40% of the time. I've done all the usual upgrades and calibrations to no avail. Poor quality from such an expensive piece of kit.

Pete, you mean the drone drifts a lot, right? This issue usually happens in low altitude or high altitude?
If in low altitude, please make sure the vision system works fine.
In high altitude, please make sure the GPS signal is strong. IMU must be calibrated.
Besides, the compass calibration is very essential when you fly in different places.
Please let us know if the problem still persists.
2017-7-10
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sd603
lvl.3
Flight distance : 274465 ft
United States
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DJI Mindy, here is the case number CAS-781332-B2L1X1
2017-7-10
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sd603
lvl.3
Flight distance : 274465 ft
United States
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Here are the logs http://www.phantomhelp.com/LogViewer/70184T9T3CUX3JTKO8HC/
2017-7-10
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sd603
lvl.3
Flight distance : 274465 ft
United States
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DJI Mindy Posted at 2017-7-9 19:51
ezDrew, I appreciate your response and I agree with you, very few customers would share their good experience on the Forum. But we also appreciate those customers who post the bad experience here, it's very important for us to know our defections and keep improving. DJI will be responsible for all the malfunctions under warranty and keep moving to provide more good products and customer service.
Thank you for your support to us and wish you keep enjoy flying.

My good experience is when the drone is working.  It is a wonderful machine with cutting edge technology.  But 4 drones in 5 months?  

Also, customer service is understaffed -- it regularly takes 1+ hrs to get through on the phone.  Emails are never answered.  Turnaround on my first defective replacement was 5 weeks (2 weeks for shipping).
2017-7-10
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Labroides
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sd603 Posted at 2017-7-10 02:23
Here are the logs http://www.phantomhelp.com/LogViewer/70184T9T3CUX3JTKO8HC/

That's an interesting flight record.
There's no sign of the usual obvious causes of problems.
The battery is fine and the Phantom is cruising along at 79 feet, responding normally to joystick input.
From 0:42.7 the Phantom starts to spin and tumble as it falls although the joysticks are centred.
A few seconds later the GPS Position NoMatch messages are a common false alarm and can probably be be ignored.
The compass error and speed error messages can be attributed to the spinning and falling.

This looks a lot like a genuine hardware problem was the cause.
I would recommend uploading your flight record to DJI by clicking on the cloud icon on the flight record page in the app.
Then go to DJI online support, start a chat with their people and get things started.
Good luck with it.
2017-7-10
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sd603
lvl.3
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Thanks Labroids.  I uploaded the logs to the cloud right after the incident.  Unfortunately I've gotten very good at filing claims with DJI.  Every log of every crash (this and the 3 previous) where inconclusive.  DJI ruled the first 3 manufacturer defect and replaced the drones.  I trust they will come to the same conclusion here...

2017-7-10
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racer888
lvl.4
Flight distance : 99970 ft
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sd603 Posted at 2017-7-9 12:52
At my lake house in Plymouth MA USA.  In about 15' of
water...

Why in only 15 feet of water you can you not retrieve it? You are in an area with lots of SCUBA divers or certainly one of you friends is a diver? Call one of the local dive shops and they will know of guys who can do it for you.
2017-7-10
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sd603
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racer888 Posted at 2017-7-10 05:03
Why in only 15 feet of water you can you not retrieve it? You are in an area with lots of SCUBA divers or certainly one of you friends is a diver? Call one of the local dive shops and they will know of guys who can do it for you.

I may give it a go.  However, it is now junk so I'm not sure the point...
2017-7-10
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Dobmatt
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DJI Mindy Posted at 2017-7-10 01:02
I'm so sorry to hear that. But I don't think it's the drone's issue. Have you reinstalled the APP? You need to log in your DJI account and keep it.

Mindy, thank you for response. What do you mean "reinstall the APP"? This is P4P+, I don't even know how to reinstall the Go 4 app on this device ... I'm logged to my DJI account all the time ... The start-up procedure goes normally, FW and app version checked with DJI server OK, aircraft status OK with no warnings other than this senseless "Strong interferences detected"... but limited to 30m radius slow flying ...
2017-7-10
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PandaFlyingcat
Second Officer
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China
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DJI Mindy Posted at 2017-7-10 00:57
I should make it more clear that the malfunction will need to be evaluated by our repair team.
I'm sorry for the unpleasant experience about the battery, would you please provide me the case number so that I can look into the damage assessment of the battery.
Please keep me updated here, I will reply as soon as possible, thanks.

thanks for answer mindy. suddenly all my problems are solved. the damaged battery i just throw in the trash where it belongs since djis repairteam im shenzhen near my home was unable to admit the battery was faulty after they checked it 2 times and one time confirmed by DJI store that the battery is really damaged.  
i already bought a new one on my own money and also solved all other problems i ever had with my p4.
i just came back from a testflight and be very satisfied! i will NEVER EVER turn on the wifi in my plus screen anymore. no more forced updates. no more locked motors or crazy noflyzones for no reason in my whole city in future. everything is perfect now and i will just enjoy the experience like i should for the money i paid. have a wonderful day mindy. drone on!

2017-7-10
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KM5RG-Robert
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sd603 Posted at 2017-7-10 05:30
I may give it a go.  However, it is now junk so I'm not sure the point...

The point would be the onboard logs and any recorded video/photos would still be retrievable. The sd cards seem to be quite water resistant.
2017-7-10
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racer888
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sd603 Posted at 2017-7-10 05:30
I may give it a go.  However, it is now junk so I'm not sure the point...

Many usable parts that would still be good and may have some resale value.
2017-7-10
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Maritimer
lvl.4
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Canada
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Dobmatt Posted at 2017-7-10 08:15
Mindy, thank you for response. What do you mean "reinstall the APP"? This is P4P+, I don't even know how to reinstall the Go 4 app on this device ... I'm logged to my DJI account all the time ... The start-up procedure goes normally, FW and app version checked with DJI server OK, aircraft status OK with no warnings other than this senseless "Strong interferences detected"... but limited to 30m radius slow flying ...

Uninstall APP then re install it is how you re install it. Then sign in with your account
2017-7-10
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Labroides
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racer888 Posted at 2017-7-10 13:00
Many usable parts that would still be good and may have some resale value.

After a millisecond in salt water, anything electronic is worthless.
A little later corrosion is affecting any steel screws and fittings.
About all that could be salvaged and reused would be the SD card and the props.
2017-7-10
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DJI Mindy
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Dobmatt Posted at 2017-7-10 08:15
Mindy, thank you for response. What do you mean "reinstall the APP"? This is P4P+, I don't even know how to reinstall the Go 4 app on this device ... I'm logged to my DJI account all the time ... The start-up procedure goes normally, FW and app version checked with DJI server OK, aircraft status OK with no warnings other than this senseless "Strong interferences detected"... but limited to 30m radius slow flying ...

I'm sorry that I didn't read your message clearly, how about other drones? Do they work after reinstalling the APP and then login the DJI account again?
For Phantom 4+, could you happen to export the data for us to analyze? Please run the DJI Assistant 2, and then click the 'data upload' on the left side, select the data and save it to local, send us the data.
I apologize for the trouble caused, appreciate your time.
2017-7-10
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DJI Mindy
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sd603 Posted at 2017-7-10 02:31
My good experience is when the drone is working.  It is a wonderful machine with cutting edge technology.  But 4 drones in 5 months?  

Also, customer service is understaffed -- it regularly takes 1+ hrs to get through on the phone.  Emails are never answered.  Turnaround on my first defective replacement was 5 weeks (2 weeks for shipping).

I understand your frustration, you have our sincere apologize, our data analysis team is analyzing your flight record, we will have someone to contact you once it's done, appreciate your patience.
2017-7-11
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racer888
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Labroides Posted at 2017-7-10 15:22
After a millisecond in salt water, anything electronic is worthless.
A little later corrosion is affecting any steel screws and fittings.
About all that could be salvaged and reused would be the SD card and the props.

When he said "lake" I assumed it was fresh water, but of course the longer it sits in any water the more it becomes useless. But I wouldn't think fresh water would hurt the plastic parts like the hull, props and other small plastic parts.
2017-7-11
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Compo777
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Flight distance : 735509 ft
United Kingdom
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My p4p did exactly same and suffered fatal drop from 70 feet and was destroyed when it hit the ground. Thankfully DJI were great and after I sent it off to be evaluated it was found out that the drone was at fault. I never actually found out what the fault was but it was replaced for a brand new one . From sending it off I had a new one on my doorstep within 2 weeks. Still very cautious to take it out again as I'm hearing too much about fatal drops on the forums at the moment .
2017-7-11
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Labroides
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Compo777 Posted at 2017-7-11 06:01
My p4p did exactly same and suffered fatal drop from 70 feet and was destroyed when it hit the ground. Thankfully DJI were great and after I sent it off to be evaluated it was found out that the drone was at fault. I never actually found out what the fault was but it was replaced for a brand new one . From sending it off I had a new one on my doorstep within 2 weeks. Still very cautious to take it out again as I'm hearing too much about fatal drops on the forums at the moment .

"Still very cautious to take it out again as I'm hearing too much about fatal drops on the forums at the moment . "

Out of the hundreds of thousands of Phantoms out there, how many have you heard of?
And what were the causes of the incidents?
2017-7-11
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sd603
lvl.3
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Labroides Posted at 2017-7-11 06:35
"Still very cautious to take it out again as I'm hearing too much about fatal drops on the forums at the moment . "

Out of the hundreds of thousands of Phantoms out there, how many have you heard of?

Well I have had 4 "fatal drops" myself...
2017-7-11
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sd603
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Flight distance : 274465 ft
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DJI Mindy,

I was told by support via chat that evaluation of my logs would take a couple of days.  It has been 5 days, can you please follow-up?

Again, case number CAS-781332-B2L1X1
2017-7-14
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DJI Natalia
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sd603 Posted at 2017-7-14 09:21
DJI Mindy,

I was told by support via chat that evaluation of my logs would take a couple of days.  It has been 5 days, can you please follow-up?

I double checked the case, the engineers checked the data you provided, while we need more info to figure out what happened.
Please help us export the info needed below:
1. The cached video when it happened.
2. All the flight records.
Here is the instructions to get the files:
1. Please connect the RC to PC with USB cable, you will see two icons for removable disks, which cannot be accessed to.
2. Please slide the screen from top to bottom on RC, you will see "USB connected", click on it, then click on the "arrow" icon in the left bottom side--Open USB storage device--Confirm.
3.Now you can access to the removable disks,  flight logs are saved here: DJI\dji.pilot.pad\FlightRecord  and cached video are saved here: DJI/dji.pilot.pad/DJI_RECORD

Please upload the file to Dropbox and provide me the link so I can forward it to engineers directly, thanks.
2017-7-14
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