I went out to use my PP4+ the other day and the controller wouldn't start.  After taking it into repair (in Tokyo) they called me and said it was a broken board and would cost ¥27,000 (about $250).  I kind of doubt the board could be broken as the controller sits it a case on a shelf, so I asked if I could gets the parts after repair and they said "oh no no, we cant do that.  We will send it to repair and they will send you a new one."  I cant even get the old controller back.
So my question is, since I own the first one and am paying for a second one, why can't I get the broken one back?  Is this DJI policy?  Why would they replace the whole controller just for a board?  

Whats the official DJI policy with broken parts and repairs?

Thanks

Scott

Hi, we're sorry to know about this situation. We've sent a message that you may need in regard to this situation. Please check your inbox later for further explanation. Thank you for your support.

Yes, that’s a weird policy.

But it’s only one of a long list, they practice.



RedHotPoker

DJI Tony Posted at 8-29 16:00
Hi, we're sorry to know about this situation. We've sent a message that you may need in regard to this situation. Please check your inbox later for further explanation. Thank you for your support.

The other strange part about this is the shop staff said they would send it off for repair, but apparently its still sitting in the shop. How would they know its a broken board?  Is the staff at the Shinjuku shop in Tokyo qualified to work out whats wrong with it?  

DJI Tony Posted at 8-29 16:00
Hi, we're sorry to know about this situation. We've sent a message that you may need in regard to this situation. Please check your inbox later for further explanation. Thank you for your support.

The other strange part about this is the shop staff said they would send it off for repair, but apparently its still sitting in the shop. How would they know its a broken board?  Is the staff at the Shinjuku shop in Tokyo qualified to work out whats wrong with it?  

DJI Tony Posted at 8-29 16:00
Hi, we're sorry to know about this situation. We've sent a message that you may need in regard to this situation. Please check your inbox later for further explanation. Thank you for your support.

I have not received anything

I would suspect that you are gong to get a refurb unit in exchange for your old one. Rather similar to broken aircraft. Somewhere in the rules on repairs it does tell you this but I cannot find it at the moment. Whether they are qualified in electronics to make that decision is a different story. I would suspect that they are not qualified and thus either run a computer program that gives troubleshooting advice, or that they use it as a way of making money. With not a lot of new drones from DJI around for one reason or another, how else can the shop make a living?

It's difficult to confirm whether they have the skills or not, i would assume they have spare parts in the back to test a controller in order to narrow down the faulty module, they could be assuming it's the main board, which would probably be bad if it's not as i'm pretty sure the battery would be cheaper. I assume on there end they submit the faulty controller back to china for board component repair and the replace you with a refurbed controller, this saves time and money as you get the replacement straight away and they get to make use of Chinese labour.
I assume by taking it in you mean you took it to a DJI shop, not a normal repair shop ?

Probably sending a refurbished model anyway.



RedHotPoker

Ben Mason Posted at 8-30 07:56
It's difficult to confirm whether they have the skills or not, i would assume they have spare parts in the back to test a controller in order to narrow down the faulty module, they could be assuming it's the main board, which would probably be bad if it's not as i'm pretty sure the battery would be cheaper. I assume on there end they submit the faulty controller back to china for board component repair and the replace you with a refurbed controller, this saves time and money as you get the replacement straight away and they get to make use of Chinese labour.
I assume by taking it in you mean you took it to a DJI shop, not a normal repair shop ?

I took it to the DJI shop in Tokyo

Scott L Posted at 9-1 01:30
I took it to the DJI shop in Tokyo

I have to assume they have actually tested the item, otherwise it would be crazy to give you a quote. Generally DJI replaces your controller and sends the faulty unit back to china for repair/scrap, so technically you would no longer own that controller as you have been replaced. I believe you can specifically request that you keep the same controller and only have the faulty part replaced, or at the very least i have seen this happen.

DJI Tony Posted at 8-29 16:00
Hi, we're sorry to know about this situation. We've sent a message that you may need in regard to this situation. Please check your inbox later for further explanation. Thank you for your support.

Ok so I went back in today to get an update.  They are going to charge me ¥27,000 (about $250) for a refurbished controller.  The repair people don't repair, they just swap it out for a refurbished item.  So even if its just a loose cable or something, it gets swapped out and I'm out ¥27,000.  I did not agree to this beforehand and was not told thats what they do.  

I told them not to repair it, I want it back so I can take a look at it myself, but they want about $100 for an "inspection fee."  Inspection of what?  All they do is swap it out for a refurb.  Now I cant get my controller back without forking over $100!  I was never told this until after it was already at the "repair" center.   

So, what do I do now DJI?!  Why was I not told I would be forced to pay $100 just to get it back??  Why am I paying for an "inspection fee" if it just gets swapped out?  Why cant I just pay for whatever is wrong, I dont need the whole thing swapped out!!