Several months ago I began seeing intermentant white flashes across my screen while flying, as can be seen here:




I deduced the problem was possibly a loose connection within the gimbal or camera, as the white flashing only occurs when I am maneuvering aggressively or descending rapidly while flying, or when calibrating the gimbal, specifically when the gimbal rotates from left to right. Other than those situations the camera and gimbal perform flawlessly, and the gimbal calibration is successful each time it is performed.

With that in mind yesterday I sent my drone to Dominion Drones LLC which I found through the DJI Service Centers page. Today they informed me that the gimbal is not serviceable, that DJI does not provide repair parts for the gimbal and I must replace the gimbal and camera. That seems extraordinary as parts for the gimbal are listed on the DJI Repair Component Price Inquiry page.

They want me to replace the camera and the gimbal for $799.00. For what seems like a relatively minor issue, their solution seems overreaching - attempting to remedy the problem by replacing the whole component, instead of attempting to investigate and repair the internal problem. I have begun to wonder whether I should have sent the drone directly to DJI as opposed to one of their listed service centers.

TL;DR - Has anyone had an experience in which the offical DJI Service Center repaired their gimbal as opposed to outright replacing it?

Thank you!

Hi Azz3879, I'm sorry to hear about the difficulties that you encountered. Could you please PM me the serial number of your drone and the detailed diagnosis result that you got from the dealer? I'd like to help you check it, thanks.

DJI Natalia Posted at 11-5 20:39
Hi Azz3879, I'm sorry to hear about the difficulties that you encountered. Could you please PM me the serial number of your drone and the detailed diagnosis result that you got from the dealer? I'd like to help you check it, thanks.

Thank you, I have sent you that information via direct message.

Azz3879 Posted at 11-6 10:52
Thank you, I have sent you that information via direct message.

Received and replied, thanks.

This problem ultimately required my Camera Sensor and the Gimbal Control Board being replaced with used parts. The service was performed by Dominion Drones of Virginia Beach.

After contacting three different businesses that repaired DJI drones and speaking with customer service representatives as well as a customer service agent at DJI in Los Angeles, these were my takeaways

- DJI does not make gimbal and or camera parts available to any third parties, authorized or not. They do make the gimbal / camera units as a whole available to authorized repair centers, and those units cost about $600 to $650.

- As a result of this, if you suspect your camera or gimbal can be fixed without replacing the entire camera and gimbal, it is best to send your drone in to DJI directly, but even when you send your drone in under those conditions it is more cost effective, ie less labor intensive, for DJI to just replace the entire gimbal / camera unit than it is to repair the units unique disfunction.

- With that said, I was told by a DJI representative who contacted me over the phone after he read my post on the DJI forums, that while DJI is likely to replace the entire gimbal / camera unit, they do take into account how damaged the unit is, and will pro-rate the replacement of that unit accordingly. For example, he suspected that the "repair" costs for the problem I was experiencing would likely be about $350, even though they would very likely be replacing the entire gimbal / camera unit.