Michael_A
 lvl.2
United States
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Failure day + 21...
I just received my unit back via UPS a few hours ago. It was packed very well in a ton of bubble wrap and packing paper and seems to have made it's UPS journey without issue. The unit returned is indeed the one I sent. Serial numbers and other identifiers confirm this. I rigged it up for a test... and... it WORKS! Now all of my previous settings are gone, replaced with perhaps "test" settings so the motors were screeching a bit until I auto tuned it. It does connect quickly to my phone app. Frankly, I am a bit scared to connect it to a computer and see what firmware versions are living in it. At this point, I'm not inclined to update the firmware in this thing again! Initial tests would indicate that it is functioning normally. It powers up, wakes up, connects to the app just as it shroud. It took the auto tune, and some minor adjustments. In testing it chasing my cat through the house it SEEMS to be functioning normally - or at least as one would expect. I haven't detected any drift, shaking, or flyaway. Now, I really don't know what was done to fix it. I suspect they have some developer level interface software that was able to FINALLY blow in the IMU firmware as well as update the rest of the stuff. A quick test with the remote indicates it is connecting and operating normally under its control. It would appear that normal operation has been restored and the unit is usable again.
To their credit, DJI's U.S. service center appears to have turned this around correctly and expediently. It was in their possession maybe 3-4 days total, the rest shipping. Perhaps this was an "easy fix" compared to a drone flown into a brick wall. Perhaps it was faster because it was a warranty fix. Regardless, my experience is far more positive than the many, many that have been reported on various forums, blogs, and reviews over the last few years. Perhaps DJI's customer service has turned a corner? Maybe they are finally getting it together? The optimistic part of me would like to believe that but there is a ton of historical experiences they must overcome before it becomes generally accepted. I have to chalk one notch up in the "positive" column for them.
Could it have been done better? Yes. Really. For one thing, a firmware update shouldn't brick a product - and this isn't the first product this has been reported on. So I have to lay some criticism on whoever pushes out these and insist that the firmware update process undergo more thorough debugging. That is, after all, what bricked mine. For another, the phone support. It is painfully obvious that they are reading from a script, and may not have any real knowledge of the problem, product, history, or fix. Perhaps a "tier 2" level could be established with individuals who have more expertise could field some of these more technical issues. Lastly, and perhaps this is a bit selfish, maybe there should be a "pro level" for people who use these things professionally vs. consumer level. When a unit is on a set, a client is watching, and it screws up - and time and money are being burned through because of a dead gimbal, I don't need someone to tell me to check the battery! Trust me, that has been done and it comes across as a bit condescending.
Lastly, has my faith been restored? Maybe, though only partially. The unit should not have screwed up in the first place; but once shipped off the repair process was about as quick as one could hope for (in my case...). Would I spend $7K on a new Ronin 2 vs. a Movi Pro? Right now, no. There is an element of trust and reliability that needs to be restored and at this moment if I had to lay money down on one or the other, I'd put it down on the Movi. Could that change in the future? Yes. But it's going to take some time before I feel I can trust this thing on a critical shoot. Oh, and it working!
So there, start to finish. Frustration, surprise, repair, and return. If you start a thread like this, please pay it forward and let everyone know how it turned out. May help the next guy! |
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