I am absolutely beside myself right now, I experienced an uncontrolled fly away with my Mavic 3 that I have only had for 31 days. I was at a motocross event trying to get some footage everything started off normal and ok I did auto take off it performed well I put input to gain altitude and then as it went up I got an ESC error return to home immediatly, at that point I had no control over the aircraft and it went into uncontrolled flight and altitude variations I honestly thought it was going to crash on to an active race track however it flew over a pond an into some woods and I have not been able to locate the drone. There was no indication of this and I just updated firmware the day before I took it out for this shoot. Up until this point I really was enjoying the flight characteristics and camera on this drone however this was a little worrisome and obviously very painful as I just spent 2000.00 dollars on this drone only a month ago. I do have a case number CAS-10625847-F6X7G2 this was going to be my primary drone for shoots as I have a business JMagin Aerial Photography and Cinema LLC and I am FAA 107 certificated. I guess I just hope DJI can make this right as this is a pretty big loss and I guess I just wanted to see if anyone else has experienced this? Thanks Justin

just after take off

start of error

fly away

Hi there, Justin. We're sorry for the unfortunate incident. We'll seek and communicate this to the team to further assist regarding the matter. Kindly check important notifications/updates on your email from time to time. Also, we'll help to keep an eye to your case. Thanks for your patience in resolving this.

I will and I do appreciate the communication, it is just I am not a rich guy really was just starting this venture and this is my first DJI drone. It did wonderful and I have some unbelievable photos and videos in the short time I had the drone but this is a big investment at least to me as I am not a rich guy. Thanks again and I will be patient and look forward to any further communication. Respectfully Justin

JMagin Posted at 9-25 07:39
I will and I do appreciate the communication, it is just I am not a rich guy really was just starting this venture and this is my first DJI drone. It did wonderful and I have some unbelievable photos and videos in the short time I had the drone but this is a big investment at least to me as I am not a rich guy. Thanks again and I will be patient and look forward to any further communication. Respectfully Justin

No worries, Justin. As always, should you need to contact us for any reason, please know that we are always here to help. Thank you again for your patience.

DJI Diana Posted at 9-25 07:45
No worries, Justin. As always, should you need to contact us for any reason, please know that we are always here to help. Thank you again for your patience.

So I received an email from DJI support stating that according to the analysis the incident was caused by pilot misoperation I guess that means error? I sent a video of my screen that I took of this flight I had an ESC error almost immediately after take off at 29M and I had zero control over this aircraft at that point. There was nothing I could do. So I am out 2000.00 dollars and I am offered 15% on the purchase of a new Mavic 3, thanks but no thanks if this is the kind of product support and how you stand behind this drone. I would except this if it was my fault but it did not respond to any of my inputs at all the only one it responded to was auto take off and then I put in a straight up to gain altitude and then I got an ESC error code to return home immediately and that is what I tried to do however the aircraft did not respond to one input from me. So I really appreciate the quick responses but you all got this one wrong or did not see the right information or something. I did try to send the video of my flight over to you all that I have saved from my controller, I have tried to find the drone multiple times but I believe it may be in the water and I cannot locate it so that does not help either but this was not my fault this was some sort of software error in the drone or internal issue. At this point I am thinking about filing a report with the FAA to see what they find in the information I have. Thanks but this is really not acceptable in my opinion and a guy that is trying to scrape by is now out of commission until I can figure out what to do next however I am sure it will not be a DJI product that I will be looking for.

JMagin Posted at 9-27 02:31
So I received an email from DJI support stating that according to the analysis the incident was caused by pilot misoperation I guess that means error? I sent a video of my screen that I took of this flight I had an ESC error almost immediately after take off at 29M and I had zero control over this aircraft at that point. There was nothing I could do. So I am out 2000.00 dollars and I am offered 15% on the purchase of a new Mavic 3, thanks but no thanks if this is the kind of product support and how you stand behind this drone. I would except this if it was my fault but it did not respond to any of my inputs at all the only one it responded to was auto take off and then I put in a straight up to gain altitude and then I got an ESC error code to return home immediately and that is what I tried to do however the aircraft did not respond to one input from me. So I really appreciate the quick responses but you all got this one wrong or did not see the right information or something. I did try to send the video of my flight over to you all that I have saved from my controller, I have tried to find the drone multiple times but I believe it may be in the water and I cannot locate it so that does not help either but this was not my fault this was some sort of software of error in the drone. At this point I am thinking about filing a report with the FAA to see what they find in the information I have. Thanks but this is really not acceptable in my opinion and a guy that is trying to scrape by is now out of commission until I can figure out what to do next however I am sure it will not be a DJI product that I will be looking for.

Hello, there. Sorry for your inconvenience. We found your case number through your registered email address. We will check your case and forward it to the designated department.  

I appreciate your apology and I swear on everything that if I felt for one instance this was something I did I would have no problem with the conclusion. However there was nothing absolutely nothing I could do with inputs on this drone once I got the ESC error within a few seconds of takeoff. I did everything I could to try to gain altitude as I was concerned about the way it was acting and then flying over an active race track. I just cannot believe I am having to fight this hard for an expensive product I purchased only 31 days before the incident. It is what it is at this point but I am obviously really disappointed and just well obviously needing to figure out what to do as a small business owner who just invested quite a bit on a product that I thought I could trust only to be blamed for something I had no control over so excuse me for being a little bit upset about that. Respectfully Justin. Jmagin Aerial Photography and Cinema

JMagin Posted at 9-27 02:31
So I received an email from DJI support stating that according to the analysis the incident was caused by pilot misoperation I guess that means error? I sent a video of my screen that I took of this flight I had an ESC error almost immediately after take off at 29M and I had zero control over this aircraft at that point. There was nothing I could do. So I am out 2000.00 dollars and I am offered 15% on the purchase of a new Mavic 3, thanks but no thanks if this is the kind of product support and how you stand behind this drone. I would except this if it was my fault but it did not respond to any of my inputs at all the only one it responded to was auto take off and then I put in a straight up to gain altitude and then I got an ESC error code to return home immediately and that is what I tried to do however the aircraft did not respond to one input from me. So I really appreciate the quick responses but you all got this one wrong or did not see the right information or something. I did try to send the video of my flight over to you all that I have saved from my controller, I have tried to find the drone multiple times but I believe it may be in the water and I cannot locate it so that does not help either but this was not my fault this was some sort of software of error in the drone. At this point I am thinking about filing a report with the FAA to see what they find in the information I have. Thanks but this is really not acceptable in my opinion and a guy that is trying to scrape by is now out of commission until I can figure out what to do next however I am sure it will not be a DJI product that I will be looking for.

One more thing that I would like to add to this. I very clearly had an ESC error code within 13 seconds of taking off during this flight. Why was that not addressed in the analysis of this flight?

JMagin Posted at 9-27 04:38
One more thing that I would like to add to this. I very clearly had an ESC error code within 13 seconds of taking off during this flight. Why was that not addressed in the analysis of this flight?

Hello, there. We sincerely apologize for your inconvenience. We have forwarded your case to our teams. They will check your case and reply to you soon. Please pay attention to your inbox. Thanks.

I just want to say that I really appreciate your communication. It looks like the drone will be replaced and I cannot thank you all enough for the communication and standing behind the product. I swear with everything in my heart if I get like I caused this I would have excepted that, I just am a little nervous about the failure and it happening again, I wish I could have found the drone so I could have sent it to you all for analysis but again I just appreciate your help

JMagin Posted at 9-28 02:16
I just want to say that I really appreciate your communication. It looks like the drone will be replaced and I cannot thank you all enough for the communication and standing behind the product. I swear with everything in my heart if I get like I caused this I would have excepted that, I just am a little nervous about the failure and it happening again, I wish I could have found the drone so I could have sent it to you all for analysis but again I just appreciate your help

We are so glad to hear this news. After you receive the drone, please test it as soon as possible. If you have any questions, please let us know.

I will and again thank you so much for all the communication and dealing with me. It literally just made my heart sink when it happened and I do understand that people try to probably get free stuff from you all the time as I run a business as well. I assure you this hopefully was just a weird glitch and I still wonder if the software update had something to do with it. I guess there is no way to know

JMagin Posted at 9-28 05:02
I will and again thank you so much for all the communication and dealing with me. It literally just made my heart sink when it happened and I do understand that people try to probably get free stuff from you all the time as I run a business as well. I assure you this hopefully was just a weird glitch and I still wonder if the software update had something to do with it. I guess there is no way to know

We really appreciate your understanding. We will keep offering better and better services in the future.

DJI Diana Posted at 2022-9-25 07:28
Hi there, Justin. We're sorry for the unfortunate incident. We'll seek and communicate this to the team to further assist regarding the matter. Kindly check important notifications/updates on your email from time to time. Also, we'll help to keep an eye to your case. Thanks for your patience in resolving this.

Hi, I just leave the same experience I’m living in Israel I bought the Mavic 3 since 1 week I take off the drone and a few moments after it’s go away with no control the connection was off and it was impossible to find the drone. It’s my profession I fly drone 10 years and I got a lot of DJi product, I hope, DJI will do the necessary to their best clients

fansa4fe78a3 Posted at 5-24 21:51
Hi, I just leave the same experience I’m living in Israel I bought the Mavic 3 since 1 week I take off the drone and a few moments after it’s go away with no control the connection was off and it was impossible to find the drone. It’s my profession I fly drone 10 years and I got a lot of DJi product, I hope, DJI will do the necessary to their best clients

Hi there, we are sorry to know about the accident. We recommend that you contact our support team and start a case through the link below. If there is a doubt about the accident, data analysis can also be applied as long as the drone is within the warranty period. http://www.dji.com/support

I had the same problem with my Mavic 3 and Mini 3 pro on July 29 2023. I had the refresh contract but it took until August after I paid flyaway fee to get a new one. I'm still waiting for response on the Mavic 3. Not happy. I own 2 Mini 2 with the smart controller, and was considering buying the new Air j3s but it comes with a new smart controller and I can't get a answer on what other models it would  work with.  I give up I have spent untold hours of time with tech support to learn nothing.

djiuser_Y1IhQpW2NBFF Posted at 8-20 09:00
I had the same problem with my Mavic 3 and Mini 3 pro on July 29 2023. I had the refresh contract but it took until August after I paid flyaway fee to get a new one. I'm still waiting for response on the Mavic 3. Not happy. I own 2 Mini 2 with the smart controller, and was considering buying the new Air j3s but it comes with a new smart controller and I can't get a answer on what other models it would  work with.  I give up I have spent untold hours of time with tech support to learn nothing.

Hi there, we are sorry for any inconvenience caused in your case. Regarding the solution for Mavic 3, the corresponding team sent an email to you under this ticket: #527**17 on 15 Aug but have not received your confirmation. Could you please check the email and reply to us under this specific email? We will also try to ask the corresponding team to contact you again. Thank you.

DJI Susan Posted at 8-21 00:15
Hi there, we are sorry for any inconvenience caused in your case. Regarding the solution for Mavic 3, the corresponding team sent an email to you under this ticket: #527**17 on 15 Aug but have not received your confirmation. Could you please check the email and reply to us under this specific email? We will also try to ask the corresponding team to contact you again. Thank you.

I've returned all correspondence and Sent flight logs. They have confirmed the flyaway and I have the saved emails from tech support I don't see any reason to waste any time trying to get them to confirm the flyaway date of the drone and I will just give up and discontinue the hobby. It is not worth my time. I will sell the equipment on ebay and find something else to spend my time on.

Sorry to hear that you had that happen. It definitely was weird and scary at that I was shooting over an active race track. However DJI made it right pretty quickly so I was pleased with that and have had no further issue over the last year with the drone they replaced mine with. I still wonder if it was an update I did the day before as I never did hear what May have happened. Either way I really do understand the frustration

djiuser_Y1IhQpW2NBFF Posted at 8-21 03:14
I've returned all correspondence and Sent flight logs. They have confirmed the flyaway and I have the saved emails from tech support I don't see any reason to waste any time trying to get them to confirm the flyaway date of the drone and I will just give up and discontinue the hobby. It is not worth my time. I will sell the equipment on ebay and find something else to spend my time on.

For the Mavic 3 case, there is no need to confirm the date of the accident now, because the drone was beyond the warranty period, the team actually provided a discount for you to purchase a new drone, may I double confirm if you have received the email?

DJI Susan Posted at 8-21 06:01
For the Mavic 3 case, there is no need to confirm the date of the accident now, because the drone was beyond the warranty period, the team actually provided a discount for you to purchase a new drone, may I double confirm if you have received the email?

DJI Back Office (DJI Support)

Aug 6, 2023, 20:31 GMT+8

Dear John,

Good Day,

This is a follow up email for case CAS-13696953-R8V6X4.

Can you confirm the exact dji product that got flew away? Upon checking with your email there are 2 flight logs available and the DJI Mavic 3 is seems to be the one that got flew away.

We look forward with your reply.

Best Regards,
Kirk
DJI Support
Website: http://www.dji.com/support
YouTube: http://s.dji.com/DJI-Tutorials. The drone was reported on the date confirmed by Kirk as you can see by his email.  Yes I received the email offering a discount and no I'm not interested,  I'm not the only person complaining about the Mavic 3 problem.  Dji should do the right thing. I was pushed into filing another report on the phone  by an aggressive female tech after I told her that date stated the drone was in use for 367 days,  and then hung up on . Thanks.

JMagin Posted at 8-21 04:16
Sorry to hear that you had that happen. It definitely was weird and scary at that I was shooting over an active race track. However DJI made it right pretty quickly so I was pleased with that and have had no further issue over the last year with the drone they replaced mine with. I still wonder if it was an update I did the day before as I never did hear what May have happened. Either way I really do understand the frustration

Thanks for the comment, I have flown over 2025 flights in a year without mishap on my mini2 without any loss of control. But the mini3pro and mavic3 both have software issues with the drone or smart controller and I'm always having to do updates. My problem also occurred after a recent update and list both the mini3pro and mavic3 on the same day. I had the refresh package on the mini3pro but not the mavic3. I paid for the replacement fee and received a new mini3pro but no one made me aware the mavic3 was covered under warranty until 367 days went by even though I made them aware of my problem. The find my drone feature did not work. Here is a email I received from one of their technicians confirming the flyaway. DJI Back Office (DJI Support)

John,

Good Day,

This is a follow up email for case CAS-13696953-R8V6X4.

Can you confirm the exact dji product that got flew away? Upon checking with your email there are 2 flight logs available and the DJI Mavic 3 is seems to be the one that

DJI Susan Posted at 8-21 06:01
For the Mavic 3 case, there is no need to confirm the date of the accident now, because the drone was beyond the warranty period, the team actually provided a discount for you to purchase a new drone, may I double confirm if you have received the email?

I'm willing to pay flyaway warranty replacement but no more. I will pursue this problem as far as necessary.  Im retired and my only income is my social security and it took time to save the money to purchase this drone only to lose it. Im 72 years old and in bad health,  this was the one thing I could do from my chair. I  have been a software technician for 40 year's and don't understand the logic of your support.  It breaks my heart to lose my mavic3 , they were the one thing I still could do well. I'm sad.

djiuser_Y1IhQpW2NBFF Posted at 8-22 07:01
I'm willing to pay flyaway warranty replacement but no more. I will pursue this problem as far as necessary.  Im retired and my only income is my social security and it took time to save the money to purchase this drone only to lose it. Im 72 years old and in bad health,  this was the one thing I could do from my chair. I  have been a software technician for 40 year's and don't understand the logic of your support.  It breaks my heart to lose my mavic3 , they were the one thing I still could do well. I'm sad.

We are sorry for the inconvenience caused. We have already forwarded this to our relevant team for further assistance. Please keep an eye on your email for further updates. Thank you for your patience and understanding.