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Production Hold on Batteries
4854 31 2015-5-17
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Mistician
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I ordered a couple TB-48 batteries from my local dealer (Multicopter Warehouse - CO) a week ago with an assurance that they would arrive by this weekend. I'll be spending two weeks at an alpine lake in California and would have loved some extra flying time to get as many shots as possible. Unfortunately, when I called the store to check on whether they had arrived I was met with some disappointment. My dealer informed me that DJI had sent an official message to its network of dealers announcing a production hold on all TB-48 batteries. They quoted the recent rise in power drops and shortages as the cause and cancelled all shipments for the forseeable future until the issues have been resolved.
I wanted to check whether any other users had heard anything about this production hold, or whether DJI had released any information about it. I check this forum daily but I suppose it's possible I could have missed this significant anouncement.

I did not ask about TB-47s so I can't say whether there are any shipping or production delays in that area. I'm glad DJI is taking actions to address these malfunctions but I hope they are able to solve the issues without too long of a delay.

At this point I'd say temporarily shelving the TB-48s would be the best bet, at least until DJI releases an official statement or fix.

What does everyone else think?
2015-5-17
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nilsblix
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I am not going to shelv any battery before asked to do so by DJI. Should I listen to all presented on multiple forums I would never fly at all.
2015-5-17
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DJK
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I think that they are doing due diligence until a root cause analysis is done.
2015-5-17
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Mistician
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nilsblix@gmail. Posted at 2015-5-18 04:52
I am not going to shelv any battery before asked to do so by DJI. Should I listen to all presented o ...

Hey, nilsblix. I'm not suggesting you needlessly shelve anything. I'm simply advocating the idea that if DJI has officially recognized a problem, it would be best to wait for an upgrade or fix to the issue. I don't want anyone to suffer any losses because they weren't aware of an existing malfunction in the batteries. You're free to use yours as you like, I just want to share the information I was presented with.
Hope it all goes well for you!
2015-5-17
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Mistician
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Mowog2 Posted at 2015-5-18 04:55
It would typical of DJI to say nothing if there was an issue.

Thanks Mowog, I'm glad I wasn't the only one who hadn't heard anything about this. I would hope DJI would release some sort of statement after recognizing such a significant issue but I know they held their tongues even after discovering the recent remote power issues, at least until the new firmware was released with a fix for it...
2015-5-17
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Mistician
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DJK Posted at 2015-5-18 04:57
I think that they are doing due diligence until a root cause analysis is done.

I agree, I just wish their decision came with an official announcement to their clientele. Ignorance can be dangerous with our birds, especially with potential power failures while flying.
2015-5-17
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kirk.pleasant
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I have 4 TB 48's. One of them has had a sudden power drop. I found 1 cell that was bad.
http://forum.dji.com/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=12015
Now I have another tone that has a cell with much less voltage. So 50% of my TB48's are now paperweights.
My opinion is that they should sort out the problem before they sell anymore of them.

Cheers
2015-5-17
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DJK
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Mistician Posted at 2015-5-18 05:11
I agree, I just wish their decision came with an official announcement to their clientele. Ignoran ...

I was just commenting on another post where the battery bricked during an update, and the user unplugged the controller to reset it. Then the battery did not know the charge level and there was essentially a jump in level during use.

We really don't have objective evidence to know if these problems are the battery or the user.

Equipment fails for 4 main reasons...

1 Design
2 Operation
3 Maintenance
4 Procurement
2015-5-17
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nilsblix
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Mistician Posted at 2015-5-18 05:05
Hey, nilsblix. I'm not suggesting you needlessly shelve anything. I'm simply advocating the idea t ...

No of course you do not suggesting me to shelve - but you ask what others think and I answered what I am thinking.
2015-5-17
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Mistician
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kirk.pleasant Posted at 2015-5-18 05:19
I have 4 TB 48's. One of them has had a sudden power drop. I found 1 cell that was bad.
http://forum ...

I'm sorry to hear it, Kirk. Those batteries aren't cheap. I'm right there with you though, continuing to sell products with known defects is dangerous.
2015-5-17
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Mistician
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DJK Posted at 2015-5-18 05:19
I was just commenting on another post where the battery bricked during an update, and the user unp ...

The malfunctions have become pretty prevalent recently though, even among experienced pilots.
I can only hope that the issue comes down to user error. I'm sure we'll know soon enough now that DJI has paused production to investigate the issue.
2015-5-17
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Mistician
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nilsblix@gmail. Posted at 2015-5-18 05:43
No of course you do not suggesting me to shelve - but you ask what others think and I answered wha ...

Thanks for the reply, nilsblix. I appreciate the feedback, I just wanted to make sure no one thinks I'm trying to stop anyone from flying. If it were up to me, we'd all be up in the air as much as possible.
I'm glad to hear that your batteries have been issue free!
2015-5-17
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insectorchid3
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Wow although i do not own any TB 48's i have all TB 47's it is really disappointing to have to here about this from a customer not the billion dollar company the makes them.
2015-5-17
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aknauer
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If this turns out to be the issue, than I would consider DJI liable to replace the existing T48. These batteries are extra-expensive compared with many other quality LiPo's I have been using for the last four years.
Only very rarely will you end up with a faulty battery after a few cycles.

But going by what this, and other forums are reporting about the customers service, there most likely will be no announcement or remedy. Just spend another few hundred!!!
2015-5-17
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jimhare
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I have 2 x TB-48 and used them for 3 months without incident.   I'm hoping if there was going to be an issue it would mostly likely do so pretty early on?
2015-5-17
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PureSQNut
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I have 1 tb47 and 4 tb48's with tracking info one one more in route and no issues what so ever so far. Flew with the 48's today and issueless with plenty of run time.
2015-5-17
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michaelanthony.
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I have 1 TB47 & 2 TB48's and thus far I too have been without issues. Keeping my fingers crossed that it stays that way, business is really starting to pick up, enough that I am considering buying a second I1 as a backup in case my primary fails.  All of these issues people are having give me pause, but then again, thats mostly what these forums are for and when all you hear is the bad stuff all the time, it's naturally going to skew your perception.

My bird has been great, and god willing, it will continue in that vein.
2015-5-17
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lethbrp
Second Officer
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Flew with one of my TB-48's on the weekend, no sudden drop in power.
2015-5-17
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Airosa
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Can you post the official message from DJI here?
I don't doubt you but it would be nice to have it here.

I have six batteries in total and I had two episodes where power dropped in excess too fast.
It wasn't a great issue as I was running short flights but it could have been.

This should be taken seriously by the manufacturer.
2015-5-18
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arunmehta
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i have three TB48 and five TB47 i only use TB48'a and have 28 charges on one and 30 charges on the other.. no problems so far.. i completely discharge every 10 cycles to 0% ( i noticed the aircraft can stay in air six inches of ground for full 60 seconds at 0% and drops when the voltage in all cells becomes less than 3 volts)
2015-5-18
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averbouwens
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My Bird 1 fell out of the sky into the river.  I was using the TB48 .... still no answer from DJI...???
2015-5-18
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arunmehta
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averbouwens Posted at 2015-5-18 22:14
My Bird 1 fell out of the sky into the river.  I was using the TB48 .... still no answer from DJI... ...

what % was battery BEFORE you started the flight and just before the fall?
2015-5-18
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mountmotor
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I just talked to two different support staff from China stating that the new firmware can cause the "No Charging Phenomena." But they should still be safe to use during flight, if they charge. I myself have not had any problems with the TB47 and TB48 on the latest firmware (Knock on wood).
Screen Shot 2015-05-18 at 7.51.37 AM.png
2015-5-18
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stevenstringer
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I have had a TB48 for a couple of weeks and had no issues with it. My TB47 that came with the inspire had a sudden drop of power straight after the latest firm update. It was on 65% when I started the flight. When it reached 57% there was sudden drop to 2% and the bird auto landed, Luckily it was close by.
Looking a the battery log straight after it said there was an error, once I recharged the error had gone and I have had about 4 flights with battery since with no issues.
2015-5-18
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Mistician
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Airosa Posted at 2015-5-18 16:59
Can you post the official message from DJI here?
I don't doubt you but it would be nice to have it h ...

Hi Airosa, the message was given to me over phone by my local dealer. I have yet to see any official announcement from DJI to its consumers. I checked with my dealer again today and he confirmed that the production hold is still in place.

Everyone can feel free to call my dealer, Multicopter Warehouse, in Castle Rock, Colorado, U.S.
The number is (303)552-2300.
They're happy to confirm this information with anyone.
2015-5-18
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Mistician
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mountmotor Posted at 2015-5-18 22:57
I just talked to two different support staff from China stating that the new firmware can cause the  ...

I'm glad to hear there haven't been any problems with your batteries! I hope it stays that way for the majority of us.

I don't doubt your verification with the Chinese support at all. Unfortunately, I don't have much faith in the Chinese live chat. I've had too many convoluted conversations with them. I've had to wait on hold with the L.A. DJI facility many times simply to confirm or debunk what the Chinese live chat had told me. I hope they're slowly improving the communication!

It's interesting that they only told you there was a 'no charging phenomenon' but that my dealer reported that DJI had also instituted a production hold because of the instant power drop while flying... Any thoughts?

Thanks again for the response!
2015-5-18
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Mistician
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averbouwens Posted at 2015-5-18 22:14
My Bird 1 fell out of the sky into the river.  I was using the TB48 .... still no answer from DJI... ...

I'm sorry about your bird, averbouwens. I've kept up with your story since its inception in your original thread. Hopefully, if DJI locates a specific malfunction, they'll have more information as to what could have gone wrong with your unit...
2015-5-18
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Mistician
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stevenstringer Posted at 2015-5-19 03:35
I have had a TB48 for a couple of weeks and had no issues with it. My TB47 that came with the inspi ...

Hi Steven, I'm definitely not thrilled to hear that the power drop happened with a TB-47 as well. Hopefully DJI gets a fix out or we'll all be taking a slight gamble each flight.
Thanks for letting us know that the battery has performed well since the fall off.
Do you remember what the specific error was in your battery when the app reported it?
2015-5-18
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mountmotor
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Mistician Posted at 2015-5-19 06:30
I'm glad to hear there haven't been any problems with your batteries! I hope it stays that way for ...

This power drop seems to be coming from not fully charged batteries.
2015-5-18
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Airosa
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Mistician Posted at 2015-5-19 06:20
Hi Airosa, the message was given to me over phone by my local dealer. I have yet to see any offici ...

Fair enough.
Thanks man
2015-5-18
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Airosa
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mountmotor Posted at 2015-5-19 10:39
This power drop seems to be coming from not fully charged batteries.

ALWAYS take off fully charged.
But I'm keeping my eyes open on the battery meter and the distance to the bird for now
2015-5-18
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kindasketch

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mountmotor Posted at 2015-5-18 22:57
I just talked to two different support staff from China stating that the new firmware can cause the  ...

They don't care about you and they will always lie. If there is an issue they're not going to tell you this way you buy more.

2015-5-19
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