After returning my M3 for repair or replace due to Gps issue, (between 3-9mins before locking on) I have recieved a replacement.
First of all I would like to thank Dji for brilliant support from requesting repair to return delivery, absolutly brilliant, Thank you Dji.
Whole process took 8 days from pick up to return delivery. UK to Netherlands to UK. According to almost daily emials I received
they tested it and said it needed a new Gps board. But a brand new replacement M3 was sent.
After doing 5 cold startups with the new one I can honestly say it is a lot better but still not as it should be.
My first startup was on the already installed old firmware 0400.. Home point locked on in just 15 seconds.
After updating to 0600.. Home point locked on in approx 2 mins and for the remaining cold startups I have done;
anywhere between 90sec and 5 mins..
So I will leave it with you guys to draw your own conclusions;   Software or Hardware....

5 minutes for a lock seems pretty terrible to me,   the Mini2 I have is less than a minute usually,  and the Mavic 2 pro is rarely more than 1.5 minutes.

That's great news though sounds like you still need a fix from DJI (Hope it's software!). What is the manufacture date on the box?

Bussty Posted at 4-15 02:03
That's great news though sounds like you still need a fix from DJI (Hope it's software!). What is the manufacture date on the box?

Yeah still need a fix, still too long to wait, but for me its better than the 7/8mins with the last one.
Date on box 2022/01. Regards.

DAFlys Posted at 4-15 02:02
5 minutes for a lock seems pretty terrible to me,   the Mini2 I have is less than a minute usually,  and the Mavic 2 pro is rarely more than 1.5 minutes.

Yes still too long, same here also with my Mavic 2 Zoom locked on in seconds from same locations.
Hopefully Dji will sort it soon,.

Hello there Grimtheviking. Good day and thank you for sharing these interesting information and your positive feedback for DJI. Again, thank you for your support and keep flying.

Grimtheviking Posted at 4-15 02:07
Yeah still need a fix, still too long to wait, but for me its better than the 7/8mins with the last one.
Date on box 2022/01. Regards.

Cheers for that. That's interesting you are the latest manufacture date I have heard of. Do you have the round or the oval tele lens?

Grimtheviking Posted at 4-15 02:11
Yes still too long, same here also with my Mavic 2 Zoom locked on in seconds from same locations.
Hopefully Dji will sort it soon,.

Jut makes me happy to not have upgraded,  I dont need another legacy drone under the new rules with the 150 meter requirements,  and the extra flight time is just wasted on the GPS, compared to my M2P.

Teslarati Posted at 4-15 04:32
Similar experience here. I received a new drone- same manufacture date 1/2022.
Oval lens.
Cold boot is identical in terms of time to the old one. Also came with 0400 on it initially.

Good to know. Did you have the round tele on the old M3?  Do you think the Oval is an improvement over the round tele?

DAFlys Posted at 4-15 03:41
Jut makes me happy to not have upgraded,  I dont need another legacy drone under the new rules with the 150 meter requirements,  and the extra flight time is just wasted on the GPS, compared to my M2P.

I'm wondering to those that say the extra flight time is wasted on the GPS, are you waiting for the GPS lock with the rotors spinning? Even if mine takes 2 minutes for lock, I still have at least 98% battery life left by the time I lock in and haven't timed it lately but I always get at least 36 minutes of flight time which is much greater than any of my other DJI drones. That's why my Mavic 3 remains my go to drone in almost any situation.
To clarify, I don't start the motors until the GPS is locked

software or hardware; obviously it's both.  when dji says "it needed a new gps board" that is a hardware issue or a hardware problem or a hardware defect, whatever you want to call it.  doesn't mean the gps issue is strictly hardware related but it means your particular drone was diagnosed (correctly or incorrectly) as such.  however, it is likely dji is also using software to enhance the fix by improving the performance (because we are aware how software can degrade the performance).   so to settle the debate for now, i would say it is likely hardware AND software, in general.  i think it is disingenuous for anyone to characterize all the components on-board the m3 as performing perfectly and within specifications and expectations at all times.

Bussty Posted at 4-15 02:55
Cheers for that. That's interesting you are the latest manufacture date I have heard of. Do you have the round or the oval tele lens?

Oval tele lens on this one and I think the "zoom" picture quality is slightly better, more focused  than the old.
Just for the other comments, The cold starts that I have done are at least 5 hours in between
over the last couple of days since receiving.
I have just done another cold start and this time approx 90 seconds thats with my usual stat up procedure; RC and app started then M3, on the ground no props spinning,  and I time from when I start the M3,  Also if I take off after receiving 5/6 sats then I lock on even quicker.

For me the M3 picture/video quality tele lens flight time now outweights the Gps issue, which hopefully will be sorted soon along with other updates and maybe some new features.

The Saint Posted at 4-15 06:47
software or hardware; obviously it's both.  when dji says "it needed a new gps board" that is a hardware issue or a hardware problem or a hardware defect, whatever you want to call it.  doesn't mean the gps issue is strictly hardware related but it means your particular drone was diagnosed (correctly or incorrectly) as such.  however, it is likely dji is also using software to enhance the fix by improving the performance (because we are aware how software can degrade the performance).   so to settle the debate for now, i would say it is likely hardware AND software, in general.  i think it is disingenuous for anyone to characterize all the components on-board the m3 as performing perfectly and within specifications and expectations at all times.

That's the way I am looking at it, especially when they mentioned after inspection,  new Gps board required.
Any way Happy Easter everyone, weather is brilliant here where I am so I out of here til later, and off flying. Cheers.

Teslarati Posted at 4-15 10:20
They just say 'new GPS board" depending on what you tell them. They don't truly "diagnose" the issue - they just automatically send a replacement.

If you gave them a perfectly good drone and put in a note saying "GPS board is bad" they would also say GPS board replacement and send you a new drone.  The form emails mean nothing.

then why didn't they just write "flux capacitors overloaded and requiring re-channeling"?

look, i agree the diagnosis (if it were actually done) might not be entirely accurate and it is possible his gps board in his particular device is still pretty good but that doesn't mean dji answer means "nothing."  yes, it probably carries less weight.  instead, it probably means dji is aware of these types of complaints and it's likely a bad piece of hardware and therefore they are told to simply mark it and ship it.  but somebody gave them "gps board is bad" and that should be somewhat of a clue to all of us.  again, i'm not saying "ah ha, i knew it!" but you can't ignore it completely and write it off as "nothing."  otherwise, nothing works.  "we'll send you a replacement" could mean anything, too.   again, i say it's hardware and software.

again, just for the record.  i've seen dropdown lists that contain limited choices, i've seen incoming repairs so numerous, you mark it as anything, i've seen "read the complaint, call it as b-a-d" so again,  ymmv especially if you still don't know the problem.

Re "They also say testing replacement" before they ship the replacement. They absolutely do not do that. You can verify via log files that they don't even power on the replacement", did you consider the possiblity that they could wipe logs and reset counts AFTER testing and before packaging or repackaging? Or that maybe the DATs on the drone sent in for repair contain information relating to the peformance of the GPS unit?

To me it seems quite reasonable that, with the publicity surrounding the GPS issue, they could have developed such a process, even via the USB-C connection, in fact it would seem sensible to do so.

I am not saying that they have, I am merely pointing out that you are surmising what actually happened to the drone........you do not in fact KNOW what has been done with it...unless you were there, were you?

Teslarati Posted at 4-15 13:45
They don't wipe logs before replacement. You can actually pull logs when it was powered on and manufactured initially, months before the replacement arrived.

They don't "test" it, and selectively only wipe those logs, yet somehow leave logs on from the date of manufacture and test. Then specially seal it up, repackage it, etc.

have it your own way,

Teslarati Posted at 4-15 13:56
Really? So you somehow think that they "analyze" the returned drone, "diagnose it", then "test" a new drone, selectively remove only those logs- not other logs from it, repackage it, seal it, and send it back to you in just a couple of days? Yeah, that's cost and time effective and not borne out by any logic, evidence, or reason.

Yeah. You have it "your" way.

Incorrect.
I have no idea what they do............but I do not make pronouncements as to what they do do or don't do.
I said, I think they could have such procedures in place, it is not an unreasonable expectation.
I have seen, in a  street side shop, mobile phones tested and modified in seconds via an appropriate tester/programmer connected to various points on circuit boards and that was 20+ years ago.
I imagine things have progressed since then.

Anyway, as I said have it your own way.

Grimtheviking Posted at 4-15 06:47
Oval tele lens on this one and I think the "zoom" picture quality is slightly better, more focused  than the old.
Just for the other comments, The cold starts that I have done are at least 5 hours in between
over the last couple of days since receiving.

Good to know re the Oval lens.... thanks!

I wonder if all units now manufactured at your date and beyond will have the oval lens? Impossible to get one in NZ currently as all units were made back before December 2021 and vendors have plenty of stock.

Teslarati Posted at 4-15 05:37
I had a round on the old one. I don’t think there is any difference on the oval- none noticeable at least.

Thanks. Jury is out on the Oval lens, I know OsitalV had a "professional" test undertaken but feedback here and on China DJI Forum suggests maybe Oval is better? Hard to tell as most users will have sent their drone back and got a replacement and can't do a side by side...

Bussty Posted at 4-15 16:43
Thanks. Jury is out on the Oval lens, I know OsitalV had a "professional" test undertaken but feedback here and on China DJI Forum suggests maybe Oval is better? Hard to tell as most users will have sent their drone back and got a replacement and can't do a side by side...

Just give up on the nonsense about the oval lens.
If there's any difference, it's not enough to care about.
It's trivial and continuing to fret about it is pointless.

From what you have written your original M3 had a hardware problem.  DJI's 0600 firmware slowdown startup of replacement (new) M3 by 6 to 20 times.  What would be telling is if you could roll your replacement M3 back to 0400 to see if lock times went back to 15-seconds.

Teslarati Posted at 4-15 12:40
They have to say that certain components are defective when replacing a product. So if you complain about the GPS, you'll see them list the GPS component on a sheet with a 0 dollar repair cost.

When you set up a repair or replace claim - you have to tell them what you are complaining about - that's how they know what to write in their email/component defect (attached)

"They also say "testing replacement" before they ship the replacement. They absolutely do not do that. You can verify via log files that they don't even power on the replacement, ..."

I can't say that is a 'always the case' fact.  But I can say, it is what I experienced.  Had replacements been tested before being sent to me, they would have found replacements had serious problems.

The Saint Posted at 4-15 11:47
then why didn't they just write "flux capacitors overloaded and requiring re-channeling"?

look, i agree the diagnosis (if it were actually done) might not be entirely accurate and it is possible his gps board in his particular device is still pretty good but that doesn't mean dji answer means "nothing."  yes, it probably carries less weight.  instead, it probably means dji is aware of these types of complaints and it's likely a bad piece of hardware and therefore they are told to simply mark it and ship it.  but somebody gave them "gps board is bad" and that should be somewhat of a clue to all of us.  again, i'm not saying "ah ha, i knew it!" but you can't ignore it completely and write it off as "nothing."  otherwise, nothing works.  "we'll send you a replacement" could mean anything, too.   again, i say it's hardware and software.

"i've seen incoming repairs so numerous, you mark it as anything, i've seen "read the complaint, call it as b-a-d""

Aren't those the ones you drill a few holes in?

Labroides Posted at 4-15 17:14
Just give up on the nonsense about the oval lens.
If there's any difference, it's not enough to care about.
It's trivial and continuing to fret about it is pointless.

Thanks for sharing your view

That's good news mate, you got a new drone. Does the Airsense at least work in this new one with 0600 FW?

Hi Suren,  haven't had the chance to test Airsense  (no aircraft in my vicinity as yet). But as I have said my Gps issue has improved and on my last flight it was about 1 minute on a cold start.

Grimtheviking Posted at 4-15 23:10
Hi Suren,  haven't had the chance to test Airsense  (no aircraft in my vicinity as yet). But as I have said my Gps issue has improved and on my last flight it was about 1 minute on a cold start.

Says alot for different Hardware maybe

Flormo2002 Posted at 4-15 05:15
I'm wondering to those that say the extra flight time is wasted on the GPS, are you waiting for the GPS lock with the rotors spinning? Even if mine takes 2 minutes for lock, I still have at least 98% battery life left by the time I lock in and haven't timed it lately but I always get at least 36 minutes of flight time which is much greater than any of my other DJI drones. That's why my Mavic 3 remains my go to drone in almost any situation.
To clarify, I don't start the motors until the GPS is locked

Im just going on my Mavic 2 pro,   if it sat for up to 10 minutes waiting for a lock it would certainly drain more than 2%.  And here in EU the Mavic 3 without a classification will be limited to 150 metres from any person/beach/park/structure/vehicle etc unless it gets retro certification which is not guaranteed.

Where do you find the manufacturing date?

GrimEcho Posted at 4-16 06:52
Where do you find the manufacturing date?

It's on the sticker outside the box that has the barcode.

DAFlys Posted at 4-15 03:41
Jut makes me happy to not have upgraded,  I dont need another legacy drone under the new rules with the 150 meter requirements,  and the extra flight time is just wasted on the GPS, compared to my M2P.

I am with you. I decided to stay with M2P, and  - in my opinion - it seems a wise decision. AFIK EU regulations   for labelling is delayed until 01.01.2024, so I can wait patiently for a ready made new aircraft.

Mavic 3 Raptor Posted at 4-16 08:51
It's on the sticker outside the box that has the barcode.

11/2021

figures

kovat53 Posted at 4-16 09:24
I am with you. I decided to stay with M2P, and  - in my opinion - it seems a wise decision. AFIK EU regulations   for labelling is delayed until 01.01.2024, so I can wait patiently for a ready made new aircraft.

Only the transition in the EU was delayed until then,  the new rules are still in effect,  and for me in the UK we're still waiting to hear if the transition will be extended.   I will probably pickup the Mini 3 Pro to stay ahead of the rules.