2015-4-29 06:11

rbarbour@pacbel Posted at 2015-4-29 05:13 Are you say that when my P3A arrives I will not be able to use my iPhone to fly it? I was sure I s ... It depends on when it arrives.  We are waiting for Apple to approve the App.  It has already been approved for the Inspire, we are now using different hardware that requires a new MFI from Apple.  We are ready but cannot release a public version without their permission.  We are sorry.  Read the alternatives listed above if you need them.

WAIT! So if you have iDevices, you will not be able to connect to your P3 using DJI Pilot app? So why the F did you even release P3 when it is not ready!? Could someone please confirm this for me? I will cancel my order as soon as I get a confirmation. And I suggest you should, too. First, ground station, then follow me, now you can't even use the App on iOS. What else is coming?

This was already confirmed here by another member here who already received their P3P.

More info:
http://appleinsider.com/articles ... new-phantom-3-drone

It sounds like a lot of this is on Apple, but man, when did DJI submit the app?
I'm sure Apple can't be too happy with the suggestion that people use/buy an Android device. I've read a lot of threads about people wanting to buy an iPad mini to use... I'm sure many of those minds will be changed...

Sounds like much ado about nothing - assuming that it's released in the next few days.

File this under "Modern Problems".....like "I got my Phantom earlier than expected and had to wait a couple days to fly it".....

Read at RC Groups:

"Originally Posted by Tahoe Ed
Make sure that you Tx is on the latest firmware. Then open the App. Under the Tx icon, you can go to RC Control Settings and scroll down to linking rc. Press that and then you will have 60 seconds to link with the P3. Then press the link button on the side of the VPS unit. You should then be linked. That will work for the time being until Apple is done. We used the Inspire Tx for all of NAB with no issues."

Rothgarr Posted at 2015-4-29 09:05
More info:
http://appleinsider.com/articles ... new-phantom-3-drone

REDACTED.

I have been informed that one of our engineers has made a misstatement to Apple. That has caused the delay. I apologies for my previous statement that the delay was caused by Apple that was not correct. We are working with Apple to correct the situation and will inform our users when the App is available. Again I am so sorry for misleading our users on this matter and was relying on the most resent data that was available to me. I am most embarrassed. DJI as a company will make this right. My apologies and please feel free to comment. It is my fault.

Argh.

This problem occurred with the Inspire and I could understand it there.  I can't understand it here: how can DJI get caught twice?  I am firmly in the Apple camp and am not going to buy an Android device for a few days' work but this leaves me grounded.

:@ with bells on.

Tahoe_Ed Posted at 2015-4-29 12:40
REDACTED.

I have been informed that one of our engineers has made a misstatement to Apple. That h ...

Thank you for the update.

So, Ed, I'm confused. The manual that was just released indicated that the same app that runs the Inspire will run the P3 and that it will 'automatically' detect which craft is being addressed.  Is this not correct?

dbeck@promobox. Posted at 2015-4-29 17:44
So, Ed, I'm confused. The manual that was just released indicated that the same app that runs the In ...

It is like that just on Android for now.. and only for the supported Android devices that was supported by the Inspire 1.. so if you don't have one of these devices you will have to wait for a week or so for the apple app to be released..

I think the app will be ready about exactly when my P3 arrives since it's still in Hong Kong on the way.....this will give me more time to RTFM, which is a plus. So I'm looking at this as a feature....


DJI does have to learn to manage their PR better - and manage expectations. If they even mentioned the possibility of this weeks ago (and it was always possible), then it wouldn't be hitting the news on tech sites. It would have been expected...to some degree...or at least considered a possibility.

But to have it happen with no expectation and then the communication a bit messed up....that's a self inflicted wound, IMHO.

Well, you can't win 'em all. If this turns out to be the biggest burp in this launch we'll all be very happy. Now I've got to go as I have to start reading the manual.

droneflyers.com Posted at 2015-4-29 21:44
I think the app will be ready about exactly when my P3 arrives since it's still in Hong Kong on the  ...

@droneflyers.com Does DJI pay you?
That's a ridiculous statement that you would rather read the manual then fly a drone....???? WTF?

dlew21@mac.com Posted at 2015-4-29 22:54
@droneflyers.com Does DJI pay you?
That's a ridiculous statement that you would rather read the m ...

I'm sorry to tell you but the manual PDF file is not yet compatible with Apple products. You will need to view it on Android.

dlew21@mac.com Posted at 2015-4-29 22:54
@droneflyers.com Does DJI pay you?
That's a ridiculous statement that you would rather read the m ...

@dlew21 really? No need to be rude. @droneflyers.com clearly stated he doesn't have the P3 yet and will read the manual while he waits for his P3.

rami@ramifilms. Posted at 2015-4-29 23:53
@dlew21 really? No need to be rude. @droneflyers.com clearly stated he doesn't have the P3 yet and ...

I didn't mean to come off like an a-hole however I really don't believe that he'd rather be sitting at home looking at a manual then flying the P3 which is what was inferred.  I'm not mad at anybody on here of course...  I'm just very frustrated with the 6 weeks its taken for my 2 repairs, and now this.......
It's frustrating.  Not aimed at anyone but DJI, my apologies.  

dlew21@mac.com Posted at 2015-4-29 22:54
@droneflyers.com Does DJI pay you?
That's a ridiculous statement that you would rather read the m ...

Oh, I would always want to read the manual for at least a couple days before I fly.

Even if I was gonna fly I would only do it long enough to have a couple questions - so I could refer to the manual and get them answered.

Also I need to modify my case, put on a bottom guard and do some other stuff....

BUT, shipping is quicker than I though - it got here today!

No, DJI doesn't pay me (other than as they pay anyone for referrals, etc.).
Rather, I pay them....

Maybe I'm just giddy about how far and fast this tech is coming along? I'm still floored by my P2V+, so I'm not going nuts to get the P3 flying yet.

Mostly - having been in manufacturing, importing, retailing and consulting.....I know that the "perfect" launches we've come to expect from companies like Apple are almost impossible. As I said, if this is the biggest glitch, I'll be happy.

If actual big problems come along - well, I'll be writing around them on my independent blog and books, etc.

As far as a ridiculous statement - how about this one? Many people, maybe yourself included, spend a LOT more time cruising forums about flying than actually flying. Isn't that actually crazier than reading a manual?

droneflyers.com Posted at 2015-4-30 00:49
Oh, I would always want to read the manual for at least a couple days before I fly.

Even if I was ...

I like your positive attitude.  

However, I must say that for those of us that use the Inspire and have had lots of experience with Phantoms, could probably use this right out of the box.  I am very familiar with the DJI Pilot and don't need "days to read the manual.  TO be honest, if you have read the manuals for the past drones, this one is not very different and should take you about 1-2 hours to read fully and comprehend.  I have already read it.    Yes, they are a few differences, and I am better for knowing.  
I'm not sure why you say it has come earlier than expected.  I read early on that these drones would be shipped from the 28-30th.  This is right in range.  
Not trying to burst you bubble, but I expected to use this on a project this weekend and now I'm not so sure.  The Phantom 3, should be good for indoor spaces, however now it is good as a paper weight.
It's not the end of the world, it's just part of the mounting issues that have plagued DJI, particularly tech support.  @droneflyers.com , props to you for staying positive.  

dlew21@mac.com Posted at 2015-4-30 00:26
I didn't mean to come off like an a-hole however I really don't believe that he'd rather be sittin ...

I'd be upset if I didn't have a bird to fly and as we all know, that 4-6 weeks thing is far too long.  But I'm still testing, editing video, writing about, etc. with my P2V+.....so the P3 is in the backlog! Again,, modern problems! If I didn't have my P2 I'd be flying my P1 with my new Hero4

I'd bet dollars to donuts that within one year DJI will have that turnaround down to 2-3 weeks. I think two weeks is the time to shoot for - that is, 10 days from their receipt to shipment out on repairs that aren't delayed by customers (not approving paid repairs, etc.)

But who am I? Just another of the 100's of thousands of users.

Hey, if the damn things weren't so magical we wouldn't be complaining about doing without, etc....again, modern problems! To me a really big problem would be not having anything like this on the market!
I'm an optimist and also a patient person. Maybe it's what I have learned in my many years on the planet (senior citizen now).

droneflyers.com Posted at 2015-4-30 00:59
I'd be upset if I didn't have a bird to fly and as we all know, that 4-6 weeks thing is far too lon ...

You must have a partnership with them.. My lawd..  I won't be buying anything more from them until they fix ALL of the issues they currently have.  I would rather them slow down and make a good product then send out glitchy software (or no software), and fast tech support.  3DR is next on my list to try.

msjh Posted at 2015-4-29 13:33
Argh.

This problem occurred with the Inspire and I could understand it there.  I can't understand i ...

Lol firmly in the apple camp...

dlew21@mac.com Posted at 2015-4-30 01:03
You must have a partnership with them.. My lawd..  I won't be buying anything more from them until ...

Hey, it's no skin off my back if you buy 10 Solos.....

What does surprise me is the new hordes of "everything must be perfect" customers entering the pursuit of aircraft and flying. I lost virtually every single model rocket and balsa plane I ever built. Every single quadcopter I owned before the Phantom was lost to mother nature (wind, water, trees).

Am I a fan of advanced quadcopters...and therefore DJI? Yep. I also bought a Mac in 1984 before the public could ever get their hands on one (had to buy it from a university teacher).

I like technology which is useful and advanced.

I'd love to hear your experiences with the Solo and other machines after you buy and fly them for a couple months. I hang out regularly on other forums and watch all the machines.

If my own brother asked me "Hey, Craig, has this hobby advanced enough so that anyone can buy and fly one with no problems or burps?", I'd say no. That's the situation as I see it - you can buy a BeBop from Parrot who has been developing their quad software and hardware for 5 years +...that's an eternity in this hobby! Guess what? It likely won't satisfy......

I think this hobby is where computers were in about 1985 and the Internet was in about 1996.....and if any of us would have said we want to wait until those are perfected, we'd have lost a lot of learning, productivity and - in many cases - income.

So, there you have it. We know that you are going to insist on a perfected machine. We know that I am not - now we can move on to other subjects.

Oh, I found an old Nexus in the closet - maybe I can resurrect it and get flying even a couple days before the IOS thingy comes out. One way or the other, I'll be busy...

I totally feel you. Nothing personal here.

I'm surprised by how DJI deploys Apps. Initially, I had the impression that current Pilot app is one-size-fits-all but that is not the case. I can sense that the engineering group and marketing team are not in sync'ed. supposedly, the app should have been compiled and submitted for approval months ago when they started to introduce P3, not until the very last month to fix bugs and keep fans with iDevices hanging.

DJI now is a multi-million company, they should behave like one. If Waypoint, Follow me, or Pilot apps won't be implemented or miss the deadline, Frank Wang should come out and explain clearly why they choose not to implement something or how things don't get delivered on time, watch Steve Jobs/Tim Cook.

We cannnot point fingers at Apple. They are the most valuable company in the world and have approved about 1.5 million apps before so they know how to do their job.

We all love to people watch - but my guess is that Frank is a behind the scenes guy. Not everyone has the public personality of a Steve Jobs. But, yeah, they need to have single points of contact and a real face or two which carefully explains things.

Ed and Blade and some of the others do a great job....but there is a big difference between back and forth on forums and the official word from on high.

Apple and Amazon have no doubt set a new bar. I always thank the lord (if he or she exists) that I am no longer in retail. The expectation is so high...it's off the charts. The other day I accidentally shipped an Amazon item ($50) to a place where I had set up post office forwarding - so it didn't get there! I chatted with Amazon and they credited me in full for the unit - which I have (albeit at my other address) - and the whole thing was 100% my fault!

That's impossible to duplicate....or, DJI would have to add a couple hundred to the price. Even then, it would take years to hone the employees, systems and policies.

Apple is off-the-charts also...but they do charge for a lot of things (training, extended warranties) and also aren't going to replace your stuff if you destroy it.

So, yeah - no doubt this is a small ball dropped by DJI. Call me a fan boy but I didn't expect to get my P3 until at least the middle of May.....so having it before the end of April without the app is no a big deal in my case.

Rinconol has stated a workaround ... Does that work while the app is fixed to enable immediate connection ?

I'd rather have mine and wait for software than have software and not a device.   I'm personally glad it got shipped out even though the software wasn't ready.  It only takes a sec to download it.   Then I'm charged and ready to go.  I purchased a blade nano QX to practice with and it and the phantom is arriving same day.    Didn't know I'd get the phantom 3 so quickly.  Still have something to play with.

rinconol@yahoo. Posted at 2015-4-29 12:24
Read at RC Groups:

"Originally Posted by Tahoe Ed

I can confirm this works with my Inspire TX using the App with the Phantom 3

rinconol@yahoo. Posted at 2015-4-29 12:24
Read at RC Groups:

"Originally Posted by Tahoe Ed

Thanks buddy

Didnt work on my p3 fyi

Tahoe_Ed Posted at 2015-4-29 12:40
REDACTED.

I have been informed that one of our engineers has made a misstatement to Apple. That h ...

This is Ridiculous. Why would DJI even release the Phantom 3 before you can actually fly it? DJI needs to get their S*** together. This is unexceptable, all of us early adapters have nothing more than a paperweight (unless you have an android device). Not to mention that DJI's return policy is 7 days, and the app for iOS could be a week away...  What a joke.   :@


Bring on the Android vs Apple fanboys..

lol Patience{:3_41:}

its prolli pissing down rain for the next few weeks {:3_57:}

droneflyers.com Posted at 2015-4-29 09:12
Sounds like much ado about nothing - assuming that it's released in the next few days.

File this un ...

Hope it's not the first iPad mini cause that isn't compatible to even download the app

Right now people are registering their P3's with an Android device running v.10 of the App.  This is not the P3 version but it works for the registration process.  You can then fly/film/etc.  We are working very closely with Apple and they being very accommodative to our request.  It should be soon.

Tahoe_Ed Posted at 2015-5-1 04:03
Right now people are registering their P3's with an Android device running v.10 of the App.  This is ...

Only 25% even care about Apple, what about android APP for P3, NOT inspire????

gsp171@mchsi.co Posted at 2015-5-1 04:10
Only 25% even care about Apple, what about android APP for P3, NOT inspire????

I was told today.  I was not told when today.  

About three weeks ago I preordered DJI Phantom 3 Advanced from DJI.com
They promised to ship it by the end of April, and this morning I received my drone.
After assembling and trying to launch it, I noticed that the app can’t connect to the drone.

I contacted the customer support online. Customer support representative in a very sarcastic and disrespectful manner told me that the drone cannot be operated without a firmware update that is not available yet. Please find below the transcript of the online chat with DJI’s customer support representative.

I believe that companies that treat their customers like that do not deserve to operate. If you also think that it’s outrageous, please help me to spread the word about the negative experience, warning existing and possible new customers about the attitude towards a customer that they might experience after buying DJI’s products.

Best regards,
Gevorg

==================================
TRANSCRIPT of the chat with Tech Support
==================================

Thank you for contacting DJI Technical Support.
亲爱的DJI用户，您可以通过以下方式
1. 拨打400-700-0303获得现场技术支持服务

2. 将您的联系电话，姓名，地区,序列号(SN),问题描述发邮件至support@dji.com；DJI技术专员将在尽快跟您取得联系。

3. 访问http://www.dji.com/cn/product/phantom-3 点击LIVE800在线聊天系统，留下您的联系电话，姓名，地区，序列号(SN),问题描述,DJI技术专员将跟您取得联系。
再次感谢您的支持，DJI将继续致力于提供更优质的产品和服务。
DJI

Hello, thanks for contacting DJI. You can reach us by:
E-mail to: support@dji.com
Send an e-mail containing your name, phone number, location, product Serial Number, and brief description of your issue, and our service team will contact you as soon as possible.        DJI regional offices during local working hours:
North America:
Call +1 (818) 235-0789, Mon-Fri 9:00am - 5:00pm PST, or e-mail us.support@dji.com
EU Member Countries:
Call +49 (0) 9747-9304200, Mon-Fri 9:00am - 5:00pm Central Europe time, or e-mail support.europe@dji.com
Japan:
E-mail support.jp@dji.com         
If you have any pre-sales questions about DJI products before you buy, please write to us at onlinesales@dji.com, and we will respond shortly.

Thank you!

DJI
10:51:30
您好，欢迎您访问！请问有什么需要咨询？
Hello, what can I do for you.

Gevorg
hi there
so where do I get the new firmware to make the app work?

DJI
it hasn't been released and updated yet
please wait

Gevorg
10:52:43
so i can't use the device now?

DJI
yes

Gevorg
yes - i can't?

DJI
No APP and firmware package
you can't use your drone

Gevorg
10:54:00
whaaaat???
are you kidding???
this is ridiculous

DJI
The Phantom 3 compatible version the DJI Pilot app for iOS will be available on the App Store within one week. After downloading the new DJI Pilot app, you must update the firmware of your Phantom 3 before it can be used.

Gevorg
yeah, that's totally ridiculous

DJI
sorry for bringing inconvenience
because the APP is under examination

Gevorg
10:55:08
can i use it with an older app?
or it's just a piece of junk for $1000?

DJI
sorry for bringing inconvenience

Gevorg
10:56:18
ok guys, i gonna sue the crap out of your company.
thanks for the horrible experience.

DJI
10:57:48
pleasure

Gevorg
Pleasure??? Wow! It's outrageous!

DJI
just kidding

<END>

rofl!!!! Just Kidding!

Wow. What the heck man.

I think it's poor that they can't write in English correctly!  Obviously this has been written by someone (let's just say not in an English speaking country), however that doesn't excuse for the poor language skills.  I have nothing against DJI per se, I think they make fantastic products - however their support representatives need to further their communication skills and at least show a little empathy!!

Sooo... you're really going to "sue the crap out of the company"?

Rothgar, I asked my lawyer and she requested evidences of purchase and evidences of missed opportunities that were caused by inoperable equipment.
I sent her everything and gonna talk to her later today. I'll keep you posted.