Having had my Mini 3 Pro now for about 4 months in the UK and having had great success I thought I had got a good one. Sadly I went for a flight today and about 1 minute into the flight the lens started to mist up. I could clearly see this on my RC screen so I landed. I looked at the lens and could clearly see condensation/misting behind the glass of the screen.

After a few seconds this misting disappeared. I tried another flight and exactly the same thing happened again.

I have contacted the retail outlet in the UK to send the drone back.

All I can say is that being the owner of many DJI drones I am very surprised that DJI's quality control has obviously fallen short of the mark on this one as being a regular on here I have read several others with this issue.

Perhaps this poor QC was linked to staffing issues over the covid period I dont know but I sincerly hope that DJI get their act back in order to how it used to be or even better.

Below is a short video clip showing the issue I had. Now I will have to send in the drone and wait 4 - 6 weeks..........

DJI I expected better and I am sure others did also

Why will you have to wait 4/6 weeks ? From pick up to return under warranty it takes no more than 10 working days.

Hi, there. We are greatly sorry to hear about that. May we know if you have already sent it back? If yes, you may provide us with your case number and we will keep an eye on it. Please rest assured we will try our best to expedite the process and get it addressed. Besides, we have forwarded your feedback to our team and will keep improving and providing better service.

hallmark007 Posted at 9-13 08:00
Why will you have to wait 4/6 weeks ? From pick up to return under warranty it takes no more than 10 working days.

That was what I was told as a worst case from the main UK supplier I bought from.

My main point was not this however it was the fact that DJI's QC has in my view gone way down hill and they are now turning out far too many faulty items as far as I am concerned

Owww... that's a good fogging problem video!
Dji support is very accurate concerning problem replacements!

Not sure if its a QC issue or design oversight, but its definitely a known issue and DJI needs to chime in.

Bigplumbs Posted at 9-13 08:14
That was what I was told as a worst case from the main UK supplier I bought from.

My main point was not this however it was the fact that DJI's QC has in my view gone way down hill and they are now turning out far too many faulty items as far as I am concerned

You’ve had the drone a long time could it have been something you done. Strange it just appeared this long after purchase. Most if not all users who had this problem had it out of the box.


But yes 99% of the time it will take 10 working days, I have not heard of this 4/6 weeks thats just a myth.

hallmark007 Posted at 9-13 10:34
You’ve had the drone a long time could it have been something you done. Strange it just appeared this long after purchase. Most if not all users who had this problem had it out of the box.

Well this is why I am posting it here. Letting others know that it can happen. I have used the drone in the normal way in the UK. I am a very gentle flyer and look after my drones so to answer your question no I cannot see how it could have been something I have done. Unless you are not supposed to fly your drone.

Damn shame this has happened to you.  I'm OK so far. Hope it's not a defect which develops with time

Blériot53 Posted at 9-13 10:49
Damn shame this has happened to you.  I'm OK so far. Hope it's not a defect which develops with time

I thought the same. All I can think is that somewhere there is a seal or glue or similar that perhaps over time allow moisture in somehow. At first I thought it was moisture on the front of the lens but when I landed and tried to wipe it away it simply remained. After about 30 seconds it had gone. I took off and again it fogged after a little while in the air. I wonder if it is a pressure thing also. today was only about 18 degrees c so nothing special about that

Mine had fogged up once and ever since I put silica gel packs in the drone bag and a small one in the gimbal cover, never had it again.

Bigplumbs Posted at 9-13 10:57
I thought the same. All I can think is that somewhere there is a seal or glue or similar that perhaps over time allow moisture in somehow. At first I thought it was moisture on the front of the lens but when I landed and tried to wipe it away it simply remained. After about 30 seconds it had gone. I took off and again it fogged after a little while in the air. I wonder if it is a pressure thing also. today was only about 18 degrees c so nothing special about that

100m or so of altitude doesn't seem like much in pressure terms, except when you think about driving over a steep hill and your ears suddenly pop. Would that be enough to break the seal on a lens enclosure though? Who knows. But humidity ( fogging or condensation) is insidious and has a nasty habit of creeping in where it's not wanted. Usually warm air condensing on a cold surface.
Puzzling

Blériot53 Posted at 9-13 11:56
100m or so of altitude doesn't seem like much in pressure terms, except when you think about driving over a steep hill and your ears suddenly pop. Would that be enough to break the seal on a lens enclosure though? Who knows. But humidity ( fogging or condensation) is insidious and has a nasty habit of creeping in where it's not wanted. Usually warm air condensing on a cold surface.
Puzzling

It is indeed. The drone was in the car most of the journey and I had carried it about in the bag. I am tempted to try the silica gel trick but if it does come back again I will regret not sending it in. Where I flew it did feel a little humid but then I have flown drones in worse humidity. But since we have had such a dry summer here in the UK since May when I bought it I wonder if it had up till now had a good test.

Suren Posted at 9-13 11:03
Mine had fogged up once and ever since I put silica gel packs in the drone bag and a small one in the gimbal cover, never had it again.

But that suggests that there is moisture movement from outside to the inside of the camera which is not good

ANY moisture inside a "sealed" system is purely the fault of the manufacturer, barring incident. Bad seals, bad procedure, poor training, poor invironment - all can contribute.

Suren Posted at 9-13 11:03
Mine had fogged up once and ever since I put silica gel packs in the drone bag and a small one in the gimbal cover, never had it again.

Good advice. I was just about to to toss two gel packs that came with something else. Thanks for the tip.

Internal fogging = send it back!!! No telling what the moisture has done to the electronics inside.

Suren Posted at 9-13 11:03
Mine had fogged up once and ever since I put silica gel packs in the drone bag and a small one in the gimbal cover, never had it again.

Although i have not had any fogging issues, I have a later model, not sure if that makes a difference, but I stick all of my silca packs that come with other items into the drone back, i think there are 6 just in the AC section alone lol.

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The temps maybe a factor, it is cooling down slowly now, certainly, 2 or 3 C less than of late and 100m is enough to drop one more celsius too, that coupled with the props may have been just enough to produce the issue. Just spitballing is all...

Suren Posted at 9-13 11:03
Mine had fogged up once and ever since I put silica gel packs in the drone bag and a small one in the gimbal cover, never had it again.

Not sure how you fit one inside the gimbal cover

Mobilehomer Posted at 9-13 13:20
ANY moisture inside a "sealed" system is purely the fault of the manufacturer, barring incident. Bad seals, bad procedure, poor training, poor invironment - all can contribute.

Yup. I have not crashed or even knocked the drone in any way

Dear all,
We are sorry for the inconvenience caused.
The fogging problem might be caused by poorly sealed lens, or occurred when operating beyond the normal operating temperature range or other reasons.
If you meet the issue of fogging, please contact our support via this link and send them a related photo: https://www.dji.com/support/repair
We will check the problem and do our best to help.
We have also forwarded your feedback to the relevant team to see how we can do better with this part.

Besides, if there is anything else that we can help with, please feel free to contact us here.

Thank you.

Sad to hear, hope you will get a fixed one soon!

Same problem here... I bought the drone immediately after it was released, and it was fine for months.

It's just recently started to fog, despite having no crashes, knocks, etc. It's going back to DJI just as soon as I can work our what label I need to stick where :-)

wateroftyne Posted at 9-14 14:14
Same problem here... I bought the drone immediately after it was released, and it was fine for months.

It's just recently started to fog, despite having no crashes, knocks, etc. It's going back to DJI just as soon as I can work our what label I need to stick where :-)

Interesting that someone else has had it happen after it being fine for a while

Well my drone is back at the supplier being looked at

I think the easiest way to get the drone not to get fogged up is to take out the battery out of it and leave it outside for about 10 min before you use it. You need to give some time to the lens to get acclimatized to the new/outside temperature.

I had this problem with Mini 3 Pro but I remember the issue happened when I took the drone from inside the house (warm conditions, temperature about 20 C) directly outside (temp was about 10 C) and started flying immediately. Later I noticed that the video was not clear in some areas and when I finished flying, I looked at the lens and saw that there was some fog inside.

The next time I flew the drone, I did as I described in the first paragraph and there was no issue with the fog, although the temperature difference was the same =- about 10 C.

Therefore, to save yourselves some headache, best to take the battery from the drone and keep it inside the house and in 10 min you can put it back in the drone and fly. The batteries don't like the col.

The problem isn't acclimatisation - there's moisture trapped inside the module caused by the poor fitting or incorrectly fitted o-ring.
Leaving it to acclimatise doesn't work as the camera in use gets very warm and creates a large temperature gradient between inside and outside the lens.

The only fix (and its easy) is take the 2 screws out, remove the front, seat the o-ring properly and put it back together.

Mine had this. Successfully fixed by dji. Camera totally replaced...no dodgy repair job.

gnirtS Posted at 12-31 17:33
The problem isn't acclimatisation - there's moisture trapped inside the module caused by the poor fitting or incorrectly fitted o-ring.
Leaving it to acclimatise doesn't work as the camera in use gets very warm and creates a large temperature gradient between inside and outside the lens.

2 fixes for it actually, the o-ring reseating and placing a UV or ND on the camera

Since I got my replacement drone I have only flown it twice (been using the Air 2S) as I did not want the disappointment if the new one fogged (Stupid I know but that was just how I felt) I have fitted a UV filter and also have some ND filters. The flight with the UV filter did not fog but I only went to about 30 m.

I will fly it soon once the weather improves

Bashy Posted at 2022-12-31 18:55
2 fixes for it actually, the o-ring reseating and placing a UV or ND on the camera

Filter doesnt always work - depends a lot on how much is in there and how cold the air is.

When we hit winter the ND filter trick which worked in summer didnt any more.
5 mins to reseat the O-ring however has solved it for a few months now.

gnirtS Posted at 1-1 04:07
Filter doesnt always work - depends a lot on how much is in there and how cold the air is.

When we hit winter the ND filter trick which worked in summer didnt any more.

Ah ok, i didnt know that it didn't work during the winter time, i am yet to see this issue myself.

I hope reseating the o-ring doesn't void the warranty although if you're careful with the screw heads you should be ok...

If you use the correct size screwdriver there're no marks.  Also no threadlock or telltales.

To my eye it looks like the problem is the o-ring supplied is too small to form an adequate seal and has a tendency to roll itself as its got room to move.

I do now store my mini 3 in a ziplock bag with silica gel sachets to try to reduce it soaking up moisture from ambient in storage in the flymore bag.

I fully expect to need to repeat the procedure at some point due to the ring itself looking the wrong size but ive used it in the cold snap and in thick freezing fog without the issue returning so far.

gnirtS Posted at 1-1 07:06
If you use the correct size screwdriver there're no marks.  Also no threadlock or telltales.

To my eye it looks like the problem is the o-ring supplied is too small to form an adequate seal and has a tendency to roll itself as its got room to move.

Shouldnt have to do that at all, i will send mine back at the 1st instance and so on...

Thats fine if you want to be without the drone for a period of time and stand a good chance of getting one back with an identical problem as it looks to be a manufacturing flaw.

I'll just spent 5 mins every few months if needed to not be without it.

gnirtS Posted at 1-1 07:06
If you use the correct size screwdriver there're no marks.  Also no threadlock or telltales.

To my eye it looks like the problem is the o-ring supplied is too small to form an adequate seal and has a tendency to roll itself as its got room to move.

Well done for hopefully finding a solution. Just keep sending it back is not the answer in my view because the hassle and stress that this involves is not insignificant. I must admit I am liking the Air 2s and I think for the winter months this is a good option. Not too worried about the whole weight thing because I seldom fly in places that that is an issue and to be honest in my experience no one really cares except of course the You Tubers who love it all so that they can keep making videos worrying people all the time.....There are unfortunately a lot of people like that about

Id be interested to see a later manufacture drone as im 99% convinced the O-ring fitted in mine (and 2 others prior to June) is the wrong size and too thin for the groove.
*Maybe* they've used a different ring in later versions.

If it comes back i might make the effort to measure the groove and source a more suitable ring to test that theory.

gnirtS Posted at 1-1 09:22
Id be interested to see a later manufacture drone as im 99% convinced the O-ring fitted in mine (and 2 others prior to June) is the wrong size and too thin for the groove.
*Maybe* they've used a different ring in later versions.

The one I was sent as the replacement was from October 2022 I think

oh ok, fog IN the drone camera...as opposed to the drone flying IN the fog (like every other "i flew my drone into a fog bank" video posted here).  j/k.  hey at least you won't have to wait for a foggy day to get one of those cool fog videos!

i will have to check my m3p again because it sounds like the issue could crop up at any time.

gnirtS Posted at 1-1 09:22
Id be interested to see a later manufacture drone as im 99% convinced the O-ring fitted in mine (and 2 others prior to June) is the wrong size and too thin for the groove.
*Maybe* they've used a different ring in later versions.

That is one option and certainly, one i had considered should i come across this issue, my only problem is i live in a very dusty environment due to 3 hairy dogs so opening up the camera would probably cause more issues than the fogging, although there is always the bathroom, they don't go in there lol.