Hi, three days ago I took delivery of a ‘refurbished’ Mavic Pro fly more combo. Due to the poor winter weather in UK I haven’t had a chance to fly it yet. Just been scouring the net for info and learning as much as I can of this very capable bird. However, on my travels I found myself here and thought I would check the production date of my Mavic. The serial number indicates the build was 21/03/2017. That in itself has given me cause for concern. The firmware is 1.03.0600 for both the AC and RC. Now I’m not clucking just yet, but could someone please shed some light as to whether the ‘dropping from the sky’ incidents were ever resolved and if they were what was the outcome. I’ve been flying lighter drones so not totally green, just a tad apprehensive. I really don’t want to see it dropping to terra from the sky. As I didn’t buy from dji authorised dealer so prob no warranty and when applying for dji care it said not poss as AC had already been covered. I don’t know the circumstances of the refurb. I’ve contacted dji to ask if they can provide me any info.
It arrived boxed in brand new pristine condition RC still celo wrapped on arrival, bag still in full celo, 2 of the batteries show 1 charge and in hibernation and the 3rd battery 3 charges. One of which was me charging to 100% to check info and make sure connection between RC and AC. Any help from some of the experienced members on here would be greatly appreciated.

There will always be drones falling from the sky. Most of the time, those are easily avoidable pilots errors like unlocked props and batteries. If you're worried about that, you could get Statefarm assurance which only costs about 60$ for a year of peace of mind.

You have nothing to worry about. Mavics from Mars 2017 run perfectly fine and it looks like your drone has only been flown once or twice.

MiniPalourde Posted at 2018-2-4 21:48
There will always be drones falling from the sky. Most of the time, those are easily avoidable pilots errors like unlocked props and batteries. If you're worried about that, you could get Statefarm assurance which only costs about 60$ for a year of peace of mind.

You have nothing to worry about. Mavics from Mars 2017 run perfectly fine and it looks like your drone has only been flown once or twice.

Thanks, but I don’t wish to insure my life, just the drone’s. The issue I was referring to especially, was the one of New mavics, built on Earth around the time of March 2017 losing all power for no apparent reason

MiniPalourde Posted at 2018-2-4 21:48
There will always be drones falling from the sky. Most of the time, those are easily avoidable pilots errors like unlocked props and batteries. If you're worried about that, you could get Statefarm assurance which only costs about 60$ for a year of peace of mind.

You have nothing to worry about. Mavics from Mars 2017 run perfectly fine and it looks like your drone has only been flown once or twice.

Thanks Mini Palourde,  but I don’t want to insure my life, just the drones. The issue I’m referring to is the one of new mavic’s built on earth around the time of March 2017 losing power for no apparent reason. I guess you are not familiar with this topic. But thanks for reply

The DougBlueSkies Posted at 2018-2-4 23:08
Thanks Mini Palourde,  but I don’t want to insure my life, just the drones. The issue I’m referring to is the one of new mavic’s built on earth around the time of March 2017 losing power for no apparent reason. I guess you are not familiar with this topic. But thanks for reply

...

I'm talking about insuring your drone, not your life... You can do just that with State farm.


Like I said, Mavics from this period are fine.  You do realize that thousands of Mavics were made in Mars, and 99.9% of them didn't fall out of the sky right?  Your drone will not fall out of the sky because some Mavics from this period did... There were Mavics falling from the sky in January, February, April and so on too...

I don't know where you get that much information wrong but please consider getting multiple sources.

DougBlueSkies Posted at 2018-2-4 23:08
Thanks Mini Palourde,  but I don’t want to insure my life, just the drones. The issue I’m referring to is the one of new mavic’s built on earth around the time of March 2017 losing power for no apparent reason. I guess you are not familiar with this topic. But thanks for reply

That was an hilarious response hahahahahaha Anyway, update the FW on the drone and remote using Assistant 2 to the latest version and you should be fine.

I wouldn't worry too much.  I have purchased two refurbs from DJI.  They were all fine.  When I got them I launched them and put them in hover for about 10 minutes checking things out.  Then short flights till I felt the machines were fine.  Never found any issues.  The only thing I noticed were the way the arms snapped in and out.  One felt kind of mushy.  I called DJI and they let me replace it with another refurb.  It is my favorite machine right now.

A CW Posted at 2018-2-5 10:10
That was an hilarious response hahahahahaha

Yea haha I found it funny too. Why would I suggest an insurance for his life lol I'm not selling insurances at least not on this site LOL

We've all went through this I remember before when I always managed to get at least 3 things wrong in every paragraph. My guess is that OP specifically searched crashes from Mars, but forgot to search about the other months too. There were thousands and thousands of Mavics sold, of course there's gonna be some crashes in Mars

It seems to be a bit of a lotto, fell ok with me.

I know of a Mav Plat for 650 euro now, never used.

Did a post on it earlier, might be sold, he was asking 700, offer him 650 if he still has it and postage and its yours I bet.

MiniPalourde Posted at 2018-2-5 10:14
Yea haha I found it funny too. Why would I suggest an insurance for his life lol I'm not selling insurances at least not on this site LOL

We've all went through this  I remember before when I always managed to get at least 3 things wrong in every paragraph. My guess is that OP specifically searched crashes from Mars, but forgot to search about the other months too. There were thousands and thousands of Mavics sold, of course there's gonna be some crashes in Mars

"Mars" or MARCH? Insurance on the drone or "Assurance" on one's life? I think that's what the OP is replying to.  

A CW Posted at 2018-2-5 10:17
"Mars" or MARCH? Insurance on the drone or "Assurance" on one's life? I think that's what the OP is replying to.

Oh no. He's still mad.

Look if you're gonna hunt me down like some creep then do just that but it's not a good thing to do. OP is not replying to these mistakes, he's replying to my post and my suggestions I'm helping him lol.

I mean I guess you can't understand that I confuse English with French from time to time because you're unilingual.

MiniPalourde Posted at 2018-2-5 10:24
Oh no. He's still mad.

Look if you're gonna hunt me down like some creep then do just that but it's not a good thing to do. OP is not replying to these mistakes, he's replying to my post and my suggestions  I'm helping him lol.

I'm not hunting anyone down thank you - I replied to the OP, not you. I found his response very funny and gave him correct information which has nothing to do with you. Please, stop harassing me and I would appreciate it if you do not reply to anymore of my posts on this forum.
Good day.

A CW Posted at 2018-2-5 10:27
I'm not hunting anyone down thank you - I replied to the OP, not you. I found his response very funny and gave him correct information which has nothing to do with you. Please, stop harassing me and I would appreciate it if you do not reply to anymore of my posts on this forum.
Good day.

No. You tried to make fun of simple grammar mistakes and then edited your post to "help op".

You're right though, let's go to the fact that we're helping OP. You say that he should update to the latest firmware but that might not be the greatest idea. Current firmware has tons of annoying restrictions like No Fly Zones.

OP, you should consider the current limitations before upgrading to the latest firmware. State Farm doesn't care about your firmware.

I would not worry. Fly it and have fun. Most people that lose their drones they are pilot error’s most of the time. And as far as State Farm insurance goes I use them $60 a year it’s a no-brainer. I wish life insurance was that cheap. Lol

Thanks for the replies guys. I didn’t mean for fisticuffs to break out. minipalourde, I know your heart is in the right place. I had read posts where Jason Lane was involved in helping some people who had drones
Built in March that had suffered complete power loss for no apparent reason and fallen from the sky. I also saw the firmware 1.03.0600 mentioned. As my Mavic fits this criteria I thought it prudent to ask
‘Experianced Users’ for there input. Initially I was pleased on seeing the firmware loaded on my Mavic wasn’t the current one, where people were having probs with Mac iOS and camera dropouts, until I read the posts re drones falling from the sky. I guess where software updates are concerned it’s is always bit of a lotto. Still I would like to know what, if any, conclusions were made re these losses.
Just to confirm I’m in the UK and pretty sure I cannot purchase state farm insurance from US. But that doesn’t matter as dji have said they ‘will’ let me purchase care refresh subject to video confirmation of the condition and performance of my drone. Thank you dji. It would be great to hear opinions on whether I should update firmware, I already get NFZ alerts now, I haven’t tried flying yet so don’t know if these are overkill in latest update or am I confusing software and hardware. Once again any help appreciated.

MiniPalourde Posted at 2018-2-5 10:48
No. You tried to make fun of simple grammar mistakes and then edited your post to "help op".

You're right though, let's go to the fact that we're helping OP. You say that he should update to the latest firmware but that might not be the greatest idea. Current firmware has tons of annoying restrictions like No Fly Zones.

State Farm is just in USA right? OP is in UK.

DougBlueSkies Posted at 2018-2-4 23:03
Thanks, but I don’t wish to insure my life, just the drone’s. The issue I was referring to especially, was the one of New mavics, built on Earth around the time of March 2017 losing all power for no apparent reason

ahahahahahahaaaaaaa..... you gotta love those US vs. queens English differences.

I would get a personal item insurance plan on it as soon as possible, prior to flying.

In the event of any kind of drone malfunction, DJI will blame it on user error. Their customer support begins and ends at the sale.

MiniPalourde Posted at 2018-2-4 21:48
There will always be drones falling from the sky. Most of the time, those are easily avoidable pilots errors like unlocked props and batteries. If you're worried about that, you could get Statefarm assurance which only costs about 60$ for a year of peace of mind.

You have nothing to worry about. Mavics from Mars 2017 run perfectly fine and it looks like your drone has only been flown once or twice.

Can confirm that Mavic from Mars 2017 are not all falling from the sky. Bought one used last summer and it has worked fine. It was on fw 1.3.0600 which is one of the best fw. I have updated it to 1.4.0100 now and the app to 4.1.18 and will stay there as everything work as it should.

DougBlueSkies Posted at 2018-2-5 13:26
Thanks for the replies guys. I didn’t mean for fisticuffs to break out. minipalourde, I know your heart is in the right place. I had read posts where Jason Lane was involved in helping some people who had drones
Built in March that had suffered complete power loss for no apparent reason and fallen from the sky. I also saw the firmware 1.03.0600 mentioned. As my Mavic fits this criteria I thought it prudent to ask
‘Experianced Users’ for there input. Initially I was pleased on seeing the firmware loaded on my Mavic wasn’t the current one, where people were having probs with Mac iOS and camera dropouts, until I read the posts re drones falling from the sky. I guess where software updates are concerned it’s is always bit of a lotto. Still I would like to know what, if any, conclusions were made re these losses.

No problem mate, I don't mind grammar nazis. The fisticuffs weren't your fault, just my old friend andrew being andrew.

NFZs are the reason why I didn't want you to upgrade your firmware. The older firmwares are not dangerous and your drone wouldn't have fallen from the sky. The users who lost their Mavic are way more present on the forums than the ones who didn't.
digdat0's channel could show you how to downgrade firmware if you are interested. Please report back for your Care Refresh thingy

DougBlueSkies Posted at 2018-2-5 13:26
Thanks for the replies guys. I didn’t mean for fisticuffs to break out. minipalourde, I know your heart is in the right place. I had read posts where Jason Lane was involved in helping some people who had drones
Built in March that had suffered complete power loss for no apparent reason and fallen from the sky. I also saw the firmware 1.03.0600 mentioned. As my Mavic fits this criteria I thought it prudent to ask
‘Experianced Users’ for there input. Initially I was pleased on seeing the firmware loaded on my Mavic wasn’t the current one, where people were having probs with Mac iOS and camera dropouts, until I read the posts re drones falling from the sky. I guess where software updates are concerned it’s is always bit of a lotto. Still I would like to know what, if any, conclusions were made re these losses.

No, we don't get state farm insurance here - care refresh will cover accidental damage anyway. You can also look at the link for fpvuk.org to consider £5,000,000 of public liability insurance for flying drones for recreational use anywhere in Europe. £19.99 a year and this insurance is mandatory for some councils to permit you to fly in public access points. I was also involved in the UK government consultation on the new drone regulations that are being put through parliament later this year - this membership may prevent the need for you to register you drone as a UK CAA approved national membership.
As for the FW - I flew my Mavic Pro Platinum today on the latest FW .200 and GO 4 app 4.2.5 using my iPhone 7+ on the latest IOS for the 30th time - still hasn't fallen from the sky as none of my 7 DJI drones ever have since flying them from 2015...

DougBlueSkies Posted at 2018-2-5 13:26
Thanks for the replies guys. I didn’t mean for fisticuffs to break out. minipalourde, I know your heart is in the right place. I had read posts where Jason Lane was involved in helping some people who had drones
Built in March that had suffered complete power loss for no apparent reason and fallen from the sky. I also saw the firmware 1.03.0600 mentioned. As my Mavic fits this criteria I thought it prudent to ask
‘Experianced Users’ for there input. Initially I was pleased on seeing the firmware loaded on my Mavic wasn’t the current one, where people were having probs with Mac iOS and camera dropouts, until I read the posts re drones falling from the sky. I guess where software updates are concerned it’s is always bit of a lotto. Still I would like to know what, if any, conclusions were made re these losses.

The DJI NFZs and authorisation zones in the UK aren't too prohibitive, generally covering airport perimeters (circular of course :-) ), prisons, nuclear plants etc. Just the places where most would not fly. There are plenty of warning and enhanced warning zones, but they are just a tick in the box. Stick with the drone code and your covered :-)

Regarding falling from the sky, wasn't that a Spark issue where DJI put out a mandatory firmware update for them to fix a power problem ?

Aardvark Posted at 2018-2-5 14:39
The DJI NFZs and authorisation zones in the UK aren't too prohibitive, generally covering airport perimeters (circular of course :-) ), prisons, nuclear plants etc. Just the places where most would not fly. There are plenty of warning and enhanced warning zones, but they are just a tick in the box. Stick with the drone code and your covered :-)

Regarding falling from the sky, wasn't that a Spark issue where DJI put out a mandatory firmware update for them to fix a power problem ?

Spot on - OP: NFZ's have never caused me any issues even flying within the M25 orbital and in zone D airspace. As long as you are a good 4 miles from an airport etc then you'll be fine. NFZ geofencing is in place to protect manned airspace so its best not to try and break it. In fact, if you don't upgrade the FW you may find yourself with flight restrictions as the FW on the Mavic towards the end of last year was mandatory according to the DJI release notes.
Yes, the falling drones were Sparks before DJI put madatory FW in place on that drone w/e 01 September '17... Another great app I use is NATS drone assist - even the government recommend it - it outlines all NFZ's within the UK from petrol stations and pylons to airports - that will tell you everything you need to steer clear from as part of your preflight checks.

May I have a picture your drone's serial number? I would like to check. And it is recommended to update the firmware to the latest version to ensure the full functions of the drone, like pano modes etc..

DJI Thor Posted at 2018-2-5 21:19
May I have a picture your drone's serial number? I would like to check. And it is recommended to update the firmware to the latest version to ensure the full functions of the drone, like pano modes etc..

Thank you Thor, already pm’d serial number through to Mindy.

A CW Posted at 2018-2-5 14:49
Spot on - OP: NFZ's have never caused me any issues even flying within the M25 orbital and in zone D airspace. As long as you are a good 4 miles from an airport etc then you'll be fine. NFZ geofencing is in place to protect manned airspace so its best not to try and break it. In fact, if you don't upgrade the FW you may find yourself with flight restrictions as the FW on the Mavic towards the end of last year was mandatory according to the DJI release notes.
Yes, the falling drones were Sparks before DJI put madatory FW in place on that drone w/e 01 September '17... Another great app I use is NATS drone assist - even the government recommend it - it outlines all NFZ's within the UK from petrol stations and pylons to airports - that will tell you everything you need to steer clear from as part of your preflight checks.

1#
It seems some users are starting to worry about the possibility of their Mavic dropping from the sky, given the recent incidents of unexplained inflight shutdowns. Some say it's nothing to worry about, whiles others are starting to feel jittery.

I decided to post this thread to share with you all the data that I've been gathering on this issue. Shortly after I started to see a few of these cases being reported on MavicPilots and the DJI forums, I decided to start logging as much information as I could, fearing there could be a trend. My data so far includes 14 reported incidents. One of those happened back in February, while all the other 13 were posted in April. Now, I'll be the first to admit that 14 reported cases is not a huge number, given the thousands of Mavics that must be in the air every day. However, 13 reported cases within just a few weeks does not seem insignificant, and we don't know how many others have never been reported.

In pretty much all of these cases, there has been no root cause attributed to the crash, aside from the obvious complete power cut. @BudWalker, @Robbyg and some others have looked at several of the available .dat files, and while there was an apparent anomaly seen in some of them, it isn't present (or missing, to be more accurate) in all cases. DJI seems to be covering these recent crashes under warranty, indicating there was no pilot error.

I don't want to be alarmist, and that's part of why I didn't post my findings earlier, but I now think perhaps it would be good for everybody to be able to track this data as well. I will leave the data here for others to decide what they think.

Here's a link to the data: Mavic Karma - Airtable

(Cross-posted here as well: http://mavicpilots.com/threads/d ... ht-shutdowns.15008/ )

DougBlueSkies Posted at 2018-2-6 11:09
1#
It seems some users are starting to worry about the possibility of their Mavic dropping from the sky, given the recent incidents of unexplained inflight shutdowns. Some say it's nothing to worry about, whiles others are starting to feel jittery.

So are you going to fly yours?

A CW Posted at 2018-2-6 11:49
So are you going to fly yours?

Haha, of course, I can’t wait, tomorrow hopefully. But the first flight will be the dji required Video to prove the Mavics condition meets there requirements for care refresh. I think also prudent for my own piece of mind as it’s a ‘refurbed’ product. Also looking at public liability, not sure if fpv is right for me as I need it for more than just drone. I’ll check around. Also looking at ‘pfco’. But thinking prices being asked are pretty extortionate.

Forget FPVUK if you intend to use the drone commercially. Well I wish you luck and many safe flights. 13 drops in a month is alarming, 14 out of a million is more reassuring.