Hi there,

I have been in contact with DJI for over 3 months now on an email trail that stretches to 50 emails.  I will condense the issue below.  I cannot get DJI to admit to anything, despite the fact that they have proved there was an issue with my Mavic straight out of the box. Here is the condensed version

- I bought my Mavic and tried to get some great footage on several attempts.
- The camera was blurring, particularly over trees and foliage, but I had heard tales of the autofocus being crazy and various settings helping, so I kept looking on forums and trying different things, none of which seemed to work.
- I contacted DJI direct, they suggested trying something with my SD card, which didn't work.  
- I contacted DJI again and they told me to send the drone back. which I did.
- DJI told me that the drone had crashed and it was my fault the camera was broken.  I did have a very minor crash (1m from the ground onto grass), which I was always open about, but this was during my testing phase, trying to get the camera to shoot with clarity.  
- So after many back and forth, DJI confirmed, through the flight records, that the crash had been 9th May.
- I sent them several videos before 9th May to show the issue was always there before the minor crash
- DJI maintain that it doesn't matter, they will not repair the issue for me.

My Mavic has never worked.  It cost a fortune and I have done all I can to prove that it has never worked.  DJI have agreed on the date of the minor crash, but refuse to accept the footage beforehand is a defect, even though when I showed them this footage in the first place, they told me to send it back because it was a defect.  

This guy - had exactly the same issue. Exactly.  It seems he sent it back to DJI, the acknowledged it was a known flaw and gave him a replacement.  What is the difference with me?

Now DJI is saying that they won't do anything because I didn't send it back straight away, that it is my fault for trying to change the settings etc.  

This is madness and clearly violates my consumer rights, but DJI is refusing to do anything about it.  
Can anyone help?

So if I understand correctly, you first contacted them about the focus problem, later had a minor crash, and then they eventually acknowledged the focus problem but refuse to provide a repair due to your after-the-fact crash? If so, that's unreasonable in my opinion and hopefully one of the DJI employees on this forum can help get this sorted.

I should add, too, that this kind of corner focus problem was at one time a fairly common problem with the Mavic and DJI provided replacements / repairs to many people before you.

I had read that this was a fairly common problem.  

The contact at DJI told me that my pre-crash footage could be explained as dirt on the lens.  Dirt that seemed to move wherever there were trees in the video seems highly unlikely!

Your assessment is pretty much what happened.  They confirmed the crash date on 9th May, but refuse to accept the pre-crash footage as evidence that there was always an issue.  

I just want my drone back to make pretty films.  I am not trying to get something from the company that I don't deserve!

felttipfilms Posted at 2017-10-25 06:19
I had read that this was a fairly common problem.  

The contact at DJI told me that my pre-crash footage could be explained as dirt on the lens.  Dirt that seemed to move wherever there were trees in the video seems highly unlikely!

Blaming it on the crash makes no sense, as it's very unlikely that a minor crash -- or even a major one -- would produce this result. It makes even less sense in the context of this being a problem acknowledged by DJI in many earlier cases as a product defect. In my opinion DJI should provide you with a free warranty replacement just as they did many other people who experienced this same problem.

Thanks for the reassurance.  I did start to doubt myself.  Even if they repair the camera part on my existing drone, that would do.  There are minor scratches on the body post-crash and I don't want them to think I am trying to get a new drone because I crashed it. I just want a functional camera.

Do moderators often pick things up from the forums?  

I have asked on several occasions for my case to be put to a supervisor or alternative member of staff, but this has been refused on every occasion.  I have also asked for a detailed description of the 'crash damage' from the engineers and a guarantee that no other Mavics have been returned because of this issue.  I asked for this a month ago. So far......nothing.  

felttipfilms Posted at 2017-10-25 06:30
Thanks for the reassurance.  I did start to doubt myself.  Even if they repair the camera part on my existing drone, that would do.  There are minor scratches on the body post-crash and I don't want them to think I am trying to get a new drone because I crashed it. I just want a functional camera.

Do moderators often pick things up from the forums?  

There are minor scratches on the body post-crash and I don't want them to think I am trying to get a new drone because I crashed it. I just want a functional camera.

There's essentially no chance of getting back your original drone. What they always send out is someone else's refurbished Mavic, but they do have a pretty good track record of making sure what they send back is fully functional. Not a perfect record, but a good one.

Do moderators often pick things up from the forums?  

Yes, they'll most likely notice it on their own or you can send one or more of them a Private Message. Most are located in Asia and so are sometimes on at odd hours (for those of us in the western world), but Thor and Susan seem to be the most active ones lately. You might send a PM to one or both of them with a link to this thread to get their attention, but even if you don't it's likely that one of the DJI employees will eventually notice it. I should add, though, that this thread will probably be moved to the Service forum, so in the future you may need to look there for it.

I have also asked for a detailed description of the 'crash damage' from the engineers . . . a month ago. So far......nothing.

That's standard operating procedure; they don't normally provide information beyond what's in the initial assessment, and that's usually pretty thin on details. They are good about taking a second (or even third) look at these cases once brought to their attention on here, though, and in my opinion they do make an honest effort to do the right thing. The problem seems to be that the people doing the problem analysis don't always get it right; it's not that anyone's trying to cheat the customer, though I imagine it must feel that way sometimes.

Thanks for this sir.  You are a true gent.  I will give the guys 24 hours to catch up and then ping them a PM if I don't hear anything.  half an hour on this forum and I am far more encouraged than I have been with 3 months of emails!

So DJI are aware of a known fault but in your case refuse to acknowledge it as you had a minor accident some time after the issue raised itself and you have proved this too ... seems pretty cut and dried to me. If this was a company in the UK then you would be home and dry by now, consumer rights and all that ..... appears that in China they lag behind on this aspect by some margin.

Come on DJI, get it right, fairs fair and all that.

Bigga J Posted at 2017-10-25 07:04
So DJI are aware of a known fault but in your case refuse to acknowledge it as you had a minor accident some time after the issue raised itself and you have proved this too ... seems pretty cut and dried to me. If this was a company in the UK then you would be home and dry by now, consumer rights and all that ..... appears that in China they lag behind on this aspect by some margin.

Come on DJI, get it right, fairs fair and all that.

That is what I think personally.  

If I simply crashed the drone and it was all my fault, I wouldn't still be chasing them 3 months later for a resolution.  

I hope the guys on the forum can apply a bit more logic to the situation.   Cheers for the support.

Here is a clip from 1 month before the minor crash.

felttipfilms Posted at 2017-10-25 07:41
Here is a clip from 1 month before the minor crash.

https://youtu.be/cgfNgjX7-Dw

Can you point out a spot in your video that best demonstrates the problem?  Is it always in the same place in the frame?

I'm asking because I believe my Mavic may be afflicted by the same problem but I'm not sure I can localize it to one area.  My whole darn image has always been soft.  Maybe I'll have better luck using still photos for testing.

Irate Retro Posted at 2017-10-25 08:39
Can you point out a spot in your video that best demonstrates the problem?  Is it always in the same place in the frame?

I'm asking because I believe my Mavic may be afflicted by the same problem but I'm not sure I can localize it to one area.  My whole darn image has always been soft.  Maybe I'll have better luck using still photos for testing.

From around 14s in, when it gets to the trees. They are all fuzzy and out of focus. It's not the same in every frame, it seems to be when there is a lot of information in the shot, high detail, like trees or far away buildings.

Is this a file directly off the SD card?

HWCM Posted at 2017-10-25 22:15
Is this a file directly off the SD card?

Yes it is. When I first contacted DJI about this, they informed me that it may be an issue with the SD card, hoewever I tried 3 different Sandisk Ultra and they all had the same effect.

I am sorry to hear about your experience. Had you contacted us and reported the camera issue before the crash? If yes, could you please provide me with the ticket number? According to your email record, the earliest date is on 25 July. Also, would you mind exporting the videos or pictures that were taken before the crash, upload them to Dropbox and paste the link here? I'll try my best to help.

DJI Thor Posted at 2017-10-26 00:48
I am sorry to hear about your experience. Had you contacted us and reported the camera issue before the crash? If yes, could you please provide me with the ticket number? According to your email record, the earliest date is on 25 July. Also, would you mind exporting the videos or pictures that were taken before the crash, upload them to Dropbox and paste the link here? I'll try my best to help.

Hi Thor,

Thanks so much for getting back to me.  I don't believe I got in touch before the crash. I was still checking out forums etc. I definitely got in touch before 25th July however, I cannot find the ticket number in my emails. It may have been a live chat, rather than an email contact.

I have 3 examples of pre-crash footage in Dropbox already that you can download here - https://www.dropbox.com/sh/lv1y4 ... n36Y2o_uyO8KCa?dl=0

felttipfilms Posted at 2017-10-26 05:40
Hi Thor,

Thanks so much for getting back to me.  I don't believe I got in touch before the crash. I was still checking out forums etc. I definitely got in touch before 25th July however, I cannot find the ticket number in my emails. It may have been a live chat, rather than an email contact.

Sir, could you please PM us the email account which you used to contact online chat? We will try our best to look into the records to verify you have contacted us and reported the issue before the crash accident. Thank you.

DJI Mindy Posted at 2017-10-26 22:30
Sir, could you please PM us the email account which you used to contact online chat? We will try our best to look into the records to verify you have contacted us and reported the issue before the crash accident. Thank you.

Hi Mindy,

No problem, it would either be ewan@felttipfilms.com or passthetoast@gmail.com

Cheers

I dont think I did contact you before the (very minor) crash. This is because I was going through a cycle of checking forums/youtube, finding a new setting to try or resetting to factory settings etc and trying the drone again.  It was during one of these that I crashed the drone (from 1m above the ground, hitting a plastic bin and then landing on grass)  

I was trying to fix the issue when the crash ocurred.

felttipfilms Posted at 2017-10-27 01:32
Hi Mindy,

No problem, it would either be  or

Sir, we'd love to help you, but if you could not prove the issue occurs before the crash, it would be hard to change the non-warranty.
But I will escalate the case to local team to follow up, we will have someone to contact you after investigation, thanks for your patience.

DJI Mindy Posted at 2017-10-27 03:26
Sir, we'd love to help you, but if you could not prove the issue occurs before the crash, it would be hard to change the non-warranty.
But I will escalate the case to local team to follow up, we will have someone to contact you after investigation, thanks for your patience.

Hi Mindy,

I can prove the issue occurred before the crash, in fact the DJI team have proved this, but still they will do nothing to help me.  

The local team have analysed my crash data and confirmed the crash happened on 9th May.  The examples of footage that I have provided are all dated in April, all of them are before the crash.  

felttipfilms Posted at 2017-10-27 08:26
Hi Mindy,

I can prove the issue occurred before the crash, in fact the DJI team have proved this, but still they will do nothing to help me.  

But I can only see the download date instead of shooting date.
The case has been escalated, we will have someone to contact you on working hours, appreciate your patience.

DJI Mindy Posted at 2017-10-28 00:04
But I can only see the download date instead of shooting date.
The case has been escalated, we will have someone to contact you on working hours, appreciate your patience.

No problem, thanks for all your help.  You can see all of the flight records here - https://www.dropbox.com/sh/94woz ... fXl09bJTroGRda?dl=0

I can screenshot the original dates of the files taken, or should the files in the dropbox I sent not have details in the properties?

felttipfilms Posted at 2017-10-29 06:31
No problem, thanks for all your help.  You can see all of the flight records here - https://www.dropbox.com/sh/94woz2ymod7njxo/AABQOQPd0QNfXl09bJTroGRda?dl=0

I can screenshot the original dates of the files taken, or should the files in the dropbox I sent not have details in the properties?

Our supervisor is following up your case, he will contact you if the shooting date can be used as evidence.
Thanks for your patience.

You will also run into this when the DJI software algorithms fail. Case in point had no fly zone auth for one area. Ran this several  times and it worked fine and my Mavic was fine too. Have not see the NFZ  glitch documented anywhere running any version firmware. AC  took off and functioned fine then in mid flight NFZ warning initiates and the AC attempts to land immediately! What the heck?   Control is erratic and difficult to handle. If you're not good at operating the Mavic it will crash!   When you send it in for repair DJI will stonewall you and never answer your questions. Then when you ask for DJI to cover this crash under warranty due to the NFZ algorithm glitch you will be told that you were NOT in a NFZ therefor you just crashed your Mavic and it has nothing to do with any issue with DJI algorithm glitch and or anything else just pay for your repair. On top of it DO NOT post this type of issue here in the forums or your account will be banned and locked along with all your documented posts removed.   This makes it easier for the cover up to continue. Don't expect NFZ override authorization to work as it should be very careful and prepared to handle a very unstable Mavic and get it back to a soft spot to land without causing internal damage.  RTH fails too, I did get the AC back to my padded and in the grass landing spot but it did flip over when laned and the had some errors so I had to send it back. I may have lost it for good, crashed hard and broke apart but I was good at the controls. So FYI expect the unexpected and there to be no warranty work provided by DJI no matter the proof supplied and no one from HQ will speak with you to discuss their finds and no arbitration! Too bad for you pay up!

You will also run into this when the DJI software algorithms fail. Case in point had no fly zone auth for one area. Ran this several  times and it worked fine and my Mavic was fine too. Have not see the NFZ  glitch documented anywhere running any version firmware. AC  took off and functioned fine then in mid flight NFZ warning initiates and the AC attempts to land immediately! What the heck?   Control is erratic and difficult to handle. If you're not good at operating the Mavic it will crash!   When you send it in for repair DJI will stonewall you and never answer your questions. Then when you ask for DJI to cover this crash under warranty due to the NFZ algorithm glitch you will be told that you were NOT in a NFZ therefore you just crashed your Mavic and your issue has nothing to do with any DJI issue with an algorithm glitch. Just pay for your repair. On top of it DO NOT post this type of issue here in the forums or your account will be banned and locked along with all your documented posts removed.   This makes it easier for the cover up to continue. Don't expect NFZ override authorization to work as it should be very careful and prepared to handle a very unstable Mavic and get it back to a soft spot to land without causing internal damage.  RTH fails too, I did get the AC back to my padded and in the grass landing spot but it did flip over when laned and the had some errors so I had to send it back. I may have lost it for good, crashed hard and broke apart but I was good at the controls. So FYI expect the unexpected and there to be no warranty work provided by DJI no matter the proof supplied and no one from HQ will speak with you to discuss their finds and no arbitration! Too bad for you pay up!