Hey Guys,

I crashed my drone into a tree filming someone flyboarding and thus it fell into the water at that point. It spent about 5 minutes in the water before I was able to find it. I got it blow dried as soon as possible and then left it in a box of rice for about 6 days. Yesterday I went to boot it up without the props and to my suprise the drone doesnt even turn on with the fresh battery, no lights, no gimbal, no signature sound... I really thought I saved it but unfortunately it's %100 toast just from water damage, zero mechanical damage. I don't have any insurance or warranty on it so I was just wondering if anyone has had a similar experience with this in regards to sending it to DJI for repairs. I've heard some horror stories about DJI's customer support - and I'm also not trying to get a repair bill for something ridiculous like $800.

Any previous experience/input would be greatly appreciated! Thank you

If this was salt water, you are wasting your time to save it. Fresh water, maybe you had a shot.
And unfortunately you don't have a shot with DJI. IMHO. Sorry for the loss.

Ok what model is it first ?  The gimbal and camera are your most expensive parts ? If they are ok it may well be a fairly cheap fix ,if the power is not getting to them it would be difficult to tell if they are toast !
Where are you based if your in America then  fixing it is a lot cheaper than in the U.
K. For instance a complete motherboard motors etc can be bought for $ 130 and there is no soldering or anything like that involved  its swap out and put back in ,easy Peasy with about 2 hrs for the uninitiated it all depends if you have the inclination ?
Personally I'd go down that route,I'm not clever enough to know if there is a simple fuse hidden in the circuit board that would be a very cheap fix .
I trashed mine by letting it be flown into a tree by a family member that I should have been paying more attention too ,I was heart broken and could not afford a new one so I swapped the shell over replaced some obviously damaged cables they come in a pack and are clip out plug in and hey presto working drone ,happy days ,whilst doing all my research I found I could get a complete original DJI motherboard with motors attached for 130 bucks plus import charges and having swapped out the internals and found it so easy to do that is what I would have done had the cables and swap out not worked !
Maybe you could try this also and bit by bit rebuild her if the motherboard doesn't cure everything the it's going to be more expensive as you will then need to replace the sensor unit for p3 pro $75 for a new one though second hand on eBay the go from $25/50 ,the worst fear I have is your gimbal and camera however there are now a lot of people who specialise in repairing those and your is going to be a circuitry repair and not a physical repair which are the most expensive,
I'm aware this might all sound like crazy advice ! However on a tight budget it would allow you to repair it little by little as and when you could afford it ,let's face it your warranty would be void now anyway even if you had any still on it .
There are companies here that will give you a free appraisal for what needs doing / replacing there must be something similar if your in the States that might be a cheap way of finding out what's wron and will only cost you freight back and forth!
If I can help you in anyway I'm happy to and can guide you towards some good tutorials for repairs ,I understand it's not a cheap quick fix you maybe looking for maybe there is a clever tech who will be able to jump in on the post and say no just replace the I got it wet transistor or something similar ,if not then repair her you'll love her more and understand a lot more about your bird and be happy about yourself ?I am glad I repaired mine and feel smug that it wasn't beyond me.
Good Luck keep your chin up !dont give in you can do this !
Cheers Andy T

It doesn't sound good my friend. I have read of those that have saved the one that went in the drink, but I don't really see how it could survive myself. The boards in these things have all the solder joints, etc.,  that are totally out in the open and unprotected. I can't imagine when it goes into the water with power to all the components, how it would not short everything out. I wish you the best of luck too, but I would be afraid if it did fire up, how long will it stay in the air. I totally understand you have nothing to lose. I just wouldn't think it would be reliable. The is absolutely no protection built into these things for water protection. You might want to pull the shell apart and take a look. Remove the motors and blow lightly with some compressed air. Really sorry to hear about your misfortune.

"to my suprise the drone doesnt even turn on with the fresh battery, no lights, no gimbal, no signature sound... I really thought I saved it but unfortunately it's %100 toast"

I'm surprised you were surprised.
Complex electronics and water just don't go together.

You didn't mention salt or fresh water.

Salt water it is most likely a lost cause although there is a slim possibility of saving it but you must flush it thoroughly and then dry it thoroughly and even then the odds are against you.  Nonetheless I've read posts where they have saved it after falling in salt water.  

It dropped into fresh water. Currently sending it off for a free quote then repair to NYC from Southern Ontario. Basically if it's fixable I get a quote and if it can't be saved it'll just be a write-off and I'll have to buy a new one in the future. Again no mechanical damages, just what would make sense to be blown out circuitry etc... Hoping for the best (i.e. a $500++) bill lol

ZFK_Visuals Posted at 2017-7-10 20:10
It dropped into fresh water. Currently sending it off for a free quote then repair to NYC from Southern Ontario. Basically if it's fixable I get a quote and if it can't be saved it'll just be a write-off and I'll have to buy a new one in the future. Again no mechanical damages, just what would make sense to be blown out circuitry etc... Hoping for the best (i.e. a $500++) bill lol

So what ended up being the problem? Did you get it fixed? How much did it cost? Mine is doing the same thing. I’m not sure what to do.