DJI Susan Posted at 2018-1-23 01:33
Jyunte, it is the normal procedure of repair case. Free of charge will be provided if it is a warranty case. And each step can be traced in our system. It is estimated to be shipped in the coming working days. Hope you receive it soon.

DJI Susan, why would DJI tell me all the information about the "repair" to my aircraft (that they confirmed the problem with my Mavic Pro; they found a problem with the ESC controller board; they replaced the ESC Controller board; that the repair took over 2 hours)... Only to ship me a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT AIRCRAFT, not the one they fixed that should now work perfectly?

Oh, the aircraft they are shipping me is older than the one I sent back!

Sent in for repair: 08QCE82.....VX (Manufactured 2-August-2017)
Shipped back to me: 08QDE4N..R..AS (Manufactured 22-April-2017)

My original Mavic Pro, the one these replaced, was manufactured in July of 2017!

And there's that suspicious "R" in the 10th position in the serial number.

What's going on, DJI?

DJI Susan Posted at 2018-1-18 23:32
I understand your situation, and will keep follow up.

My THIRD Mavic Pro arrived today.
Serial number 08QDE4N..R..AS.

Note the "R" in the 10th position? I can confirm that it's a refurbished aircraft. How? It has flight logs going back to  5th June 2017, then a bunch in November 2017, and more in January 2018. There was no packing tape on the gimbal, or anywhere else on the aircraft. It was sent back to me in THE BOX FROM THE MAVIC PRO I SENT BACK TO THEM, the box has the previous aircraft's serial number on it! I told DJI, I would not accept a refurbished aircraft in exchange for my BRAND NEW, but defective purchase. I am very tired of being jerked around by DJI.

This is a reply to DJI Susan, who basically said that they can send me a replacement aircraft with an unknown number of hours on it, in exchange for my BRAND NEW aircraft with less than 3 hours flight time on it (and all of that was collecting information and video for DJI support!):

DJI Susan,

I don't really care what your policy says. I purchased a NEW Mavic Pro, and it was defective. I will not accept a refurbished unit  with an unknown number (Hundreds? Thousands?) of hours flight time already on it, when the NEW product I purchased had less than 3 hours on it.

Even if the current replacement works perfectly, there is no guarantee that the old parts, which passed quality assurance "today", will not fail tomorrow due to the wear and tear they received from the previous owner, or owners.

If DJI wants to continue doing business in the USA, DJI should realize that replacing a BRAND NEW, but DEFECTIVE aircraft with a used, and possibly worn out aircraft is NOT acceptable.

Further DJI needs to clarify the serial number "confusion". Telling customers that refurbished serial numbers end in "-R" and that all other versions of serial numbers, including those with an "R" in the 10th position, are New aircraft, is a lie.

I expect DJI to make good on this. How do we proceed?

DJI Susan Posted at 2018-1-12 02:37
Jyunte, could you upload the original videos in the SD card to Dropbox and share the link here?  I'll forward to our engineers for double check.

DJI Susan...

Please move this thread back to the general discussion forum where it was for over a month. there are people following it there, who will not know to look for it in the Service forum.

I can understand why it was moved here, because here it can be hidden, but not deleted.

Very shady tactics, DJI.

Jyunte Posted at 2018-1-24 20:46
DJI Susan...

Please move this thread back to the general discussion forum where it was for over a month. there are people following it there, who will not know to look for it in the Service forum.

I'm still watching this thread..

Say, did you test this drone to see if it still has the same sliding behaviour?

Honestly, I think this is a firmware problem and that many people don't notice it.
I work in the mechanical service industry for a large company who sells product all over the world and many times I have come across problems that no one else in the world had ever noticed. Now, just because no one else noticed them, or could ever diagnose these problems back to their root cause to be able to report them, does not mean that the problems I found weren't problems, they were! Slowly over time, more reports were made and finally the problems were repaired and admitted to!

So my point is, just because many other people are not reporting this problem, doesn't mean it is not a problem in every mavic...
Sometimes all it takes is someone from engineering to actually try and replicate the problem...

Jyunte Posted at 2018-1-24 20:42
This is a reply to DJI Susan, who basically said that they can send me a replacement aircraft with an unknown number of hours on it, in exchange for my BRAND NEW aircraft with less than 3 hours flight time on it (and all of that was collecting information and video for DJI support!):

DJI Susan,

The new post was removed to Service for better follow-up. And we will update the status there:
https://forum.dji.com/thread-131191-1-1.html Thanks for your understanding.

Mavdude Posted at 2018-1-25 02:53
I'm still watching this thread..

Say, did you test this drone to see if it still has the same sliding behaviour?

I agree. The problem with the Mavic they fixed (Mavic #3) was extreme. Might have been an ESC controller board problem combined with a firmware issue. Which was fixed or at least made manageable by the physical repair. Thing is, we'll never know because DJI didn't send it back! Now it's someone else's problem... Maybe yours, if you ever send your Mavic in for repair!

Over on the Osmo forum, a number of us have complained about the DJI gimbals drifting. It's been a long time. DJI is not updating us, so we're now past the refund stage, and past the return for new stage. That's how DJI works.


Edit: Have not test flown this one, as I got it home after dark yesterday. I spent considerable time updating the firmware, calibrating and documenting what I did. The Mavic firmware updated first time (that has never happened for me!) but stopped responding during VPS calibration, requiring a reboot of the aircraft. It succeeded the second time. I will test it today, but it's pointless, since it's a refurbished aircraft and will be going back to DJI, regardless.

Testing... This thread doesn't seem to appear in the list of threads any more.

Jyunte Posted at 2018-1-25 08:59
I agree. The problem with the Mavic they fixed (Mavic #3) was extreme. Might have been an ESC controller board problem combined with a firmware issue. Which was fixed or at least made manageable by the physical repair. Thing is, we'll never know because DJI didn't send it back! Now it's someone else's problem... Maybe yours, if you ever send your Mavic in for repair!

Over on the Osmo forum, a number of us have complained about the DJI gimbals drifting. It's been a long time. DJI is not updating us, so we're now past the refund stage, and past the return for new stage. That's how DJI works.

HaHa! Yeah, well, I will only be sending my drone back if there is a catastrophic failure, and to be honest, I am even giving that a second thought.
I purchased care refresh when I got it out of the box, however, had I known how it "works" I would not have bothered.

I have to say that I am appauled at how dji handles warranty issues and buries it's head in the sand, especially with disconnect/flyaways.
While there are known problems with disconnect/flyaway all flyaway cases should be honoured as warranty even if the dron is not retrievable...

Mavdude Posted at 2018-1-25 13:00
HaHa! Yeah, well, I will only be sending my drone back if there is a catastrophic failure, and to be honest, I am even giving that a second thought.
I purchased care refresh when I got it out of the box, however, had I known how it "works" I would not have bothered.

You'll get no argument from me!

I think there are probably legal avenues to explore, especially in cases like this. DJI Refresh is quite restrictive, though we should know what it covers when we purchase it. That said, when it is abundantly clear from the evidence that a covered aircraft is unretrievable due to a crash, DJI should honor the claim. In my own case (with Mavic #1), I provided GPS coordinates, flight records, photographs, the original video downloaded from the SD card (it crashed on a mountain side, but still close enough for radio contact), Google Earth imagery, and flight tracking information. DJI looked at all of this, told me it was too dangerous to attempt a recovery and told me not to try... Then they denied my Refresh Claim because I did not retrieve my aircraft!

LOL so these drones are not made to be flown in places you can't easily get to on foot or in a car!
If I wanted to fly like that I would have bought a $30 toy drone...

Mavdude Posted at 2018-1-25 13:50
LOL so these drones are not made to be flown in places you can't easily get to on foot or in a car!
If I wanted to fly like that I would have bought a $30 toy drone...

So, compare DJI Customer Service with that of B & H Photo... I ordered 2 filters for my camera from B&H. Both filters were identical, other than the size: one 77mm diameter, the other 72mm. The 72mm filter box said it was the filter I ordered, but the box contained the wrong filter. It was also someone's previous return (there was a label indicating such). I just called them. They apologized for the error... Even though it was not their fault, since the error occurred at the factory, not the store. They refunded my money, and put in a new order, so that they could expedite shipping. They sent me a return label for the wrong for. It took 3 minutes from the start of the call to the end.

THAT, DJI, is how customer service is supposed to be done. THAT is why I purchase all my camera equipment (tens of thousands of dollars worth) from B&H..

A product is only as good as its after sales support.

The reason I say that  this is firmware,
the drone for the most part flys just fine, flies reasonably straight.
The GPS works.
If I have the drone floating and attempt to pull it from its spot it will return.
But when stopping, as in just flying along straight and letting go of the sticks, the drone will almost come to a halt in its line that it was travelling, then at the last second will slide off to the left or right several meters depending how fast you were going.
I found if you were travelling at under 20kph it stopped mostly fine, over 30kph it is quite noticable.

Mavdude Posted at 2018-1-25 17:30
A product is only as good as its after sales support.

The reason I say that  this is firmware,

You mean like this (from my earlier post, #51)?

Yes, exactly like that.

Given that your first and second did it, mine does it and most likely your third one does it too, if your 3rd one does this then I call it a firmware problem without a doubt.
And mine doesn't quite fly straight either. I have a laneway with a line down the middle, I can centre the drone over the line and line up the camera to the line, but when I push the stick forward, it does not track to the line.
This is also where I noticed that it would slide sideways while stopping as it is quite obvious when you have obsticals all around.

Hope you got resolved man! I'll inspect mine today.
Btw, thanks for replying my doubt at mavicpilots, I found it helpfull as this thread too!

Jumper17 Posted at 2018-1-26 09:08
Hope you got resolved man! I'll inspect mine today.
Btw, thanks for replying my doubt at mavicpilots, I found it helpfull as this thread too!

Just FYI, DJI confirmed today that I received a refurbished aircraft, so there you go... If there's an "R" in the 10th position in the serial number, it's a refurbished aircraft.

I tried it again today at a different location and it does it!
Fly forward, let go of stick, almost comes to a halt in its line, then drifts to the right a couple of meters before finally stopping.
No wind or any other interference. It stops in an "L" shape

Mavdude Posted at 2018-1-27 04:47
I tried it again today at a different location and it does it!
Fly forward, let go of stick, almost comes to a halt in its line, then drifts to the right a couple of meters before finally stopping.
No wind or any other interference. It stops in an "L" shape

A DJI  tech from the Cerritos facility called me on Friday, but I missed the call. They sent me an email as a follow-up. I replied to the email, asking DJI to call me again on Monday... And they did, about an hour ago! I've returned my 3rd replacement Mavic Pro, which was a refurbished aircraft, and will be getting a new Mavic Pro, as initially promised. This new-in-box replacement will be personally quality checked at the Cerritos facility to make sure it does not suffer the same problems as the three other replacements. I appreciate DJI taking these extra steps to finally fix my ongoing problems, and hope to have good news to report by the end of the week.

Good luck, I hope that sorts it out and good to see that they are sending you a new drone this time.
By the looks of things they have just been sending out "refirbushed" drones but without actually refirbishing them! So you end up with someone elses problems.
Time to bury all these refirbished drones in a hole in the ground and use new drones.

Hopefully by the looks of things there might have been a few feathers ruffled within DJI about how a real service department should work.

If replacing the drone fixes your issue, I might have to consider doing the same with mine, but at this stage I am not really all that keen!

Mavdude Posted at 2018-1-29 23:07
Good luck, I hope that sorts it out and good to see that they are sending you a new drone this time.
By the looks of things they have just been sending out "refirbushed" drones but without actually refirbishing them! So you end up with someone elses problems.
Time to bury all these refirbished drones in a hole in the ground and use new drones.

Apparently, the "fully working", "good as new" refurbished Mavic Pro that I was sent as the 3rd replacement for my defective-out-the-box brand new Mavic Pro, was itself defective and needed repairing by the techs at the DJI Cerritos facility! Strange that I was sent a defective refurbished aircraft! Could it be that whoever owned it before me experienced gimbal problems? I ask, because I returned it for exchange, not repair, but DJI repaired it for me anyway, finding a problem with the gimbal controller board, which need replacing!

This begs several questions:

1) If it needed repair, why was it sent to another customer (me) as a "like new" aircraft?

2) Why did this unit go for repair when DJI created a case number for REPLACEMENT?

3) Why was it subsequently issued another case number?

4) DJI said they were looking out for my return, and asked me to email them after I sent it by UPS. I did this. So how did they miss it?

5) Why the HELL am I going through this BS, AGAIN?
This is why I will not accept a refurbished aircraft! When you get one, you really are just inheriting someone else's defective equipment. In this case, it was the gimbal controller board. Maybe in your case, it's a defective motor that causes it to drop out of the sky?

Jyunte Posted at 2018-1-30 22:49
Apparently, the "fully working", "good as new" refurbished Mavic Pro that I was sent as the 3rd replacement for my defective-out-the-box brand new Mavic Pro, was itself defective and needed repairing by the techs at the DJI Cerritos facility! Strange that I was sent a defective refurbished aircraft! Could it be that whoever owned it before me experienced gimbal problems? I ask, because I returned it for exchange, not repair, but DJI repaired it for me anyway, finding a problem with the gimbal controller board, which need replacing!

This begs several questions:

I got the email containing the serial number of the replacement Mavic Pro DJI is sending: 08QDDBA..R...1

Notice the "R" in the 10th position again?

It's a refurbished unit manufactured 10th November 2016.
It was manufactured a year before my original Mavic Pro.
It was manufactured before DJI fixed the Mavic Pro camera problems, in 2017.

That's not acceptable. That's not what was promised.
A supervisor is supposedly going to call back today.

Jyunte Posted at 2018-1-31 11:31
I got the email containing the serial number of the replacement Mavic Pro DJI is sending: 08QDDBA..R...1

Notice the "R" in the 10th position again?

A supervisor did not call back yesterday, as was promised (but see below).

I picked up the latest refurbished aircraft from UPS this morning.

Inside the shipping box, was the white Mavic Pro box. The serial number matched the aircraft that was returned 2 aircraft ago, not the aircraft inside the box! The serial number on the aircraft inside the box, matched the one DJI said was being shipped to me in their email, a refurbished Mavic pro from 2016.

While typing this post, a DJI Supervisor called me. This is what I learned...

The supervisor...:

• Confirmed the refurbished status of this aircraft (again, "R" in the 10th position in the serial number=refurbished).
• Does not know why my returned aircraft was repaired, or why a fault was found with it since refurbished aircraft are supposed to be in fully working and tested condition, IE. "as new".
• Does not know why the shipping label did not trigger my return to be directed to him, instead of the repair facility.
• Does not know why 2 previous Mavic were returned to me in boxes with serial numbers that did not match the aircraft within.
• Does not know why the Mavic I just received, was in the box that belonged to the Mavic Pro I returned 2 replacements ago.
• Confirmed that nothing gets repaired, just replaced.
• Said, "That's just the way it is," when questioned why aircraft sent in for repair has parts replaced, and then a totally different aircraft is returned to the customer.
  

He said he (still) has approval to send me a brand new Mavic Pro, in its original(!) box, and he would ensure that it flies correctly. He also has approval to refund me my money. What I want, is a fully functional Mavic Pro. If I send this Mavic Pro back to DJI, experience has proven to me that it won't go back to the supervisor, but it will end up being repaired (I have not even powered it on!) and another refurbished aircraft will be sent to me. On the other hand, if DJI just goes ahead and ships me out a late 2017 or 2018 NEW Mavic Pro (as tested by the supervisor), then I'm guaranteed to get it, and it should perform properly... at which point I can safely return the refurbished aircraft, and the saga can end there.

The supervisor called back. He said he had a brand new, in the box, Mavic Pro in his hands. With my permisiion, he would take it out of the box, and, with his flight team, test it to make sure it doesn't rotate of its own volition while hovering, and does crab to one side when commanded to fly in a straight line. Assuming it passes those simple tests (there will be video evidence on the SD card, though it won't show if there was any stick input used!), it will be shipped to me. Replacement #4 is currently in a box, waiting for me to ship it back to DJI. I have not heard the results of the Flight Team's testing. I also don't know if the new Mavic Pro that I should be receiving is from 2016, 2017, or 2018. A 2016 would be an unacceptable exchange (bad camera, bad gimbal, bit bucketing) for my late 2017 purchase.

Once again, I have my fingers crossed.

Well if they don't repair, just replace, where to the "refirbished" ones come from??
Oh they just send them to the next customer in the hopes it will fly away without a trace, problem solved..

Mavdude Posted at 2018-2-1 17:33
Well if they don't repair, just replace, where to the "refirbished" ones come from??
Oh they just send them to the next customer in the hopes it will fly away without a trace, problem solved..

What I mean is, they don't repair individual circuit boards, or motors, they just replace the entire board/motor.

What makes no sense to me, is this scenario:

"Dear DJI, My 3-day old new Mavic Pro works PERFECTLY. However, the left-rear landing gear is broken. Please fix the landing gear."

In that case, DJI would repair the landing gear, put YOUR 3-day old, new Mavic Pro on a shelf, and send you a refurbished Mavic Pro of unknown age and history. At some point in the time, someone else would get YOUR repaired Mavic Pro. Why would they not just fix/repair/replace the broken part, and send YOUR now perfectly working, repaired aircraft back to you? It would be just one aircraft they'd have to keep track of.  It's worse if the problem is electrical. Then it becomes a box of chocolates... you never know what you're gonna get.

DJI Susan Posted at 2018-1-25 03:21
The new post was removed to Service for better follow-up. And we will update the status there:
https://forum.dji.com/thread-131191-1-1.html Thanks for your understanding.

Hi Susan, I'm also watching this thread.  The same thing with his thread is happening to mine.  I can't find my thread anymore once DJI reclassified it--the move seems to only result in making the thread, for all intents and purposes, disappear so no one else can find it.

Jyunte Posted at 2018-1-24 20:46
DJI Susan...

Please move this thread back to the general discussion forum where it was for over a month. there are people following it there, who will not know to look for it in the Service forum.

FYI, SERVICE is where DJI sends threads to die.   That's where my thread has been sent. I guess I'm not the only one who sees this as a very suspect and deliberate move by DJI.  

Replacement Mavic Pro #5 arrived today. It's brand new, manufactured October 10th, 2017, serial number 08QCEAA......S

The DJ Isupervisor told me he'd quality check it, and test fly it before shipping. He may have, but all the packing tape was in place when I took it out of the box... The tape on the back of the aircraft, the tape on the camera, and the tape covering the Forward VPS. Who knows? There was no video footage on the SD card. I expected footage, since it was my understanding that he'd test fly it, and record the flights. He said he'd download the footage onto his computer, so why not leave it on the SD card for me to look at? It's too late in the evening to fly it today, but my batteries are on charge, ready to fly tomorrow morning. I'm keeping my fingers crossed, again.

Foxglove84 Posted at 2018-2-2 14:42
FYI, SERVICE is where DJI sends threads to die.   That's where my thread has been sent. I guess I'm not the only one who sees this as a very suspect and deliberate move by DJI.

The threads need to be posted in the specific column and it will be better to follow up. All customers on the forum who go to this topic will be able to read your thread. We all want to do the best to solve your issue and make our best to improve our service. Your case has forwarded to the designated team, please wait patiently and hope your kind understanding of the forum rules.  

DJI Thor Posted at 2018-2-2 21:26
The threads need to be posted in the specific column and it will be better to follow up. All customers on the forum who go to this topic will be able to read your thread. We all want to do the best to solve your issue and make our best to improve our service. Your case has forwarded to the designated team, please wait patiently and hope your kind understanding of the forum rules.

Thank you for sending this to the designated team.  However, I am still waiting for a call from a supervisor.  The DJI Repair Rep I spoke to said I would get a call from a supervisor within 48 hours.  That was last Monday.  

This has to be the funniest thing to come from DJI so far... The email I received this morning:

"We have checked and reviewed the video you sent. Also, it is really hard to tell if we are just going to base on the video that you sent but with your explanations, we have a little bit view about the point.

The views and activity of the Mavic is normal and it does not have any problem. However, I would suggest to calibrate the IMU and Compass before flying the aircraft the next time."

In other words, the defective behavior of your Mavic Pro is normal. Hahahaha. Love it.

Just ignore the DAT files, and the entire history of the problem, and the other people experiencing the same issues. Close your eyes, plug your ears... Just tell your customers "It's normal"

DJI Thor Posted at 2018-2-2 21:26
The threads need to be posted in the specific column and it will be better to follow up. All customers on the forum who go to this topic will be able to read your thread. We all want to do the best to solve your issue and make our best to improve our service. Your case has forwarded to the designated team, please wait patiently and hope your kind understanding of the forum rules.

It seems I am not alone after all. This problem, with Mavic Pro aircraft rotating on their own, and drifting when they should be flying straight, has been going on FOR OVER A YEAR!

See this thread ("Mavic Yaw drift").

Why isn't DJI addressing this issue? It's clearly a widespread problem that probably deserves a recall.

It is a pity nobody has come up with opensource firmware for these drones.
Then at least if you have a problem like this a whole bunch of smart cookies can look into it and fix it!
For DJI to fix this they first would have to admit it was a problem. Given that they have been in denial about it for over a year now, I don't think they will ever fix it as it would be too embarasing  to admit after all this time that it is a problem.

This is a problem that happens with products that are developed and originate from China.
They export them to the western world where we like things to be "right", we find problems with their software, they don't listen, they don't fix.

DJI, now is your chance to prove me wrong ;)

Hi, i've got exactly the same problem, did you find any solution ?

I have the same problem also!

I’ve had my mavic since Nov 2016, never noticed it for the first few months. Then I started to see the rotating with no stick inputs and the drifting when flying forward.

I know I shouldn’t have but I just learnt to live with it as I thought maybe It was my calibrating technique being my first drone.

I have found throughout all of my flights the drifting sideways when going forward was more prominent than the rotating but both are intermittent, some flights being more visible than in others.

I will also add that nearly all my flights have been in a new location.

DJI Thor Posted at 2018-2-2 21:26
The threads need to be posted in the specific column and it will be better to follow up. All customers on the forum who go to this topic will be able to read your thread. We all want to do the best to solve your issue and make our best to improve our service. Your case has forwarded to the designated team, please wait patiently and hope your kind understanding of the forum rules.

"I've got exactly the same problem"

There has been no solution or interest in the this issue and now DJI is ignoring the problem.
They are hiding this thread in the Service forum, saying it's better for follow-up, but there is no follow-up here.
This is a real problem and DJI is cherry-picking which threads get moved (hidden) from the general Mavic Pro forum to here. A cursory look at the Mavic Pro thread shows literally dozens of Service related threads, none of which have been moved (hidden) to the video Service thread, but DJI knows this is a serious issue, so the have hidden the thread.

I did the imu and compass calibration before I last flew it and it made no difference.
I have noticed that it flys slightly rotated to the right.
I quite often see the front left rotor blade in my video when going fast(because it flys slightly rotated)

When I stop it shoots off to the right after it has stopped its forward motion.

Mavdude Posted at 2018-2-24 17:15
I did the imu and compass calibration before I last flew it and it made no difference.
I have noticed that it flys slightly rotated to the right.
I quite often see the front left rotor blade in my video when going fast(because it flys slightly rotated)

I have never seen the props in the camera footage, but everything you describe is what I've been experiencing. This has been an issue for over a year (see post #111 for a link to the year old post), and has been ignored by DJI... If you send your aircraft back, to DJI they replace a random part, and then send someone ELSE'S aircraft back to you... So YOUR problem is NEVER fixed.

According to the latest information I was sent from DJI support, this rotating without any control input, and drifting to the right when flying forward, and 90 degree deviation when braking after forward and backwards flight, is all normal behavior. In other words, if your Mavic Pro does NOT do this, then *you* have the defective Mavic! What BS!!

I have a good feeling that in a situation like this your "perfectly good" aircraft goes on the shelf and gets sent straight to someone else after maybe some basic checks, like are the arms still attached.. Put new serial number good to go then!! From what I have seen, they don't even update the firmware to current level.

I think this happens to drones that get random disconnects too. How many times have you seen someone either get a replacement on warranty or a care refresh drone for it to fly off and crash on their first few flights, not to mention the refurbished drones that are sold and the reviews of the purchasers..

I mostly notice the prop in sport mode, due to the tilt to required for the speed, but if it wasn't flying slightly rotated I would see nothing, or both props evenly.

Mavdude Posted at 2018-2-24 21:11
I have a good feeling that in a situation like this your "perfectly good" aircraft goes on the shelf and gets sent straight to someone else after maybe some basic checks, like are the arms still attached.. Put new serial number good to go then!! From what I have seen, they don't even update the firmware to current level.

I think this happens to drones that get random disconnects too. How many times have you seen someone either get a replacement on warranty or a care refresh drone for it to fly off and crash on their first few flights, not to mention the refurbished drones that are sold and the reviews of the purchasers..

"I have a good feeling that in a situation like this your "perfectly  good" aircraft goes on the shelf and gets sent straight to someone else  after maybe some basic checks, like are the arms still attached.. Put  new serial number good to go then!! From what I have seen, they don't  even update the firmware to current level."

Yes, I fully believe that is exactly right.

I sent one replacement unit that I recived straight back to DJI. The UPS label was supposed to trigger a series of events, specifically, it was supposed to go straight to the supervisor, and he was supposed to send me a new Mavic Pro. Instead, it went straight to the repair line, where is was tested, and the Gimbal Controller Board was found to be faulty, and was replaced. It was not flight tested to find out if the actual problem was fixed. That particular aircraft then went back on the shelf, and I assume was, or will be sent to someone else. The question was, why was this "good as new"/"in like new condition" refurb sent out with a faulty Gimbal Controller Board? If this could be found during routine inspection, why wasn't the fault found during the original quality control check performed on ALL refurbished drones? My guess is, their quality control check for refubished units consists of, "Is it in one piece, and does it turn on?" It's my belief that if you return your drone to DJI, your problems are simply transferred to the next owner, who may or may not notice them!