Well this really sucks. Was flying my Air 2S today while on an island vacation, had been flying the drone for at least 15 minutes without issue. Paused the flight to take a photo & then the 1st low battery warning showed up. As soon as I started to fly the drone back to me, it started tumbling from 100m in the air and fell into the ocean. Completely unretrievable & even if I could retrieve it, it's not going to be fixable with that water damage.


I've flown this drone 100-150 times all over the world, bought it in July 2021, and I'm quite an experience drone operator, and this is the first time I've ever remotely had any problems with any of my drones. I'm likely outside the warranty window & out $1000 for a drone issue that I have absolutely no effect on. WTF DJI. I use this drone for my business, I'm really screwed at this point.


The worst part of all was I have been planning to propose to my girlfriend & use the drone to film it while we were hiking NEXT WEEK, and now I can't execute my proposal the way I've been planning for almost 3 years.


I thought DJI was the best drone company out there? Never again.

Ouch, that's sad to hear, especially with your pending proposal plans using the drone.

Your recorded flight data might help solve your mystery incident.

Go to http://www.phantomhelp.com/LogViewer/Upload/

It has instructions to find the .txt file from your phone or tablet which you can upload to that site
Upload it and it gives you a summary of the flight data.

Post a link to that summary.   Or just post the .txt file

One of the super experienced log reviewers will interpret the data and give you feedback.

.

DowntownRDB Posted at 3-5 15:10
Ouch, that's sad to hear, especially with your pending proposal plans using the drone.

Your recorded flight data might help solve your mystery incident.

I appreciate the support and advice. I’ve contacted DJI & found the flight log, will figure out how to post it in here shortly. From what I see, it was a motor error. Unfortunately I wasn’t recording at the time, as I just finished taking photos & had to return due to 25% battery left.

This is why I always get two of each model.  If you are in business and depend on a drone, two is one, and one is none.

CamRodaSnaps Posted at 3-5 15:15
I appreciate the support and advice. I’ve contacted DJI & found the flight log, will figure out how to post it in here shortly. From what I see, it was a motor error. Unfortunately I wasn’t recording at the time, as I just finished taking photos & had to return due to 25% battery left.

I lost a Air 2 over a local lake due to motor failure.  I'm always careful to have plenty of battery available but had no contingency plans for a motor failure.  Fortunately, I had an Air 2S as my secondary or back-up drone at the time.  

Again, sorry about losing your drone.  

Sounds like a motor or propeller failure.

When was the last time you did an inspection of the drone?

Hi, CamRodaSnaps. Thank you for reaching out and we're sorry for the unpleasant experience. Have you created a flyaway case? If not yet, you may contact our support to help you create one you may contact DJI support at (https://www.dji.com/support). As other pilots advise, if you're using it for business, it's better to have more than 1 drone. Hopefully, you can still manage to film your proposal next week. Again, we're sorry for the inconvenience.

CamRodaSnaps Posted at 3-5 15:15
I appreciate the support and advice. I’ve contacted DJI & found the flight log, will figure out how to post it in here shortly. From what I see, it was a motor error. Unfortunately I wasn’t recording at the time, as I just finished taking photos & had to return due to 25% battery left.

will figure out how to post it in here shortly.
Instructions were posted in post #2

Hi there, we are sorry to know about this accident. We saw the case you created, and our team will contact you regarding your case soon. Hope you can wait for the email update patiently.

TonyPHX Posted at 3-5 15:22
This is why I always get two of each model.  If you are in business and depend on a drone, two is one, and one is none.

I haven’t been fortunate enough to be able to afford to purchase a 2nd drone & was getting pretty close to this ability. Was planning in the summer, will never buy DJI drones again though now.

blue_canyon21 Posted at 3-5 16:42
Sounds like a motor or propeller failure.

When was the last time you did an inspection of the drone?

I do a check on my entire drone once every week, I am rigorous about this. I’ve had 2 DJI drones in my lifetime & never had a problem in over 300 flights because I’m very careful in ensuring every possible aspect of the drone is in good condition.

DJI Gamora Posted at 3-5 18:40
Hi, CamRodaSnaps. Thank you for reaching out and we're sorry for the unpleasant experience. Have you created a flyaway case? If not yet, you may contact our support to help you create one you may contact DJI support at (https://www.dji.com/support). As other pilots advise, if you're using it for business, it's better to have more than 1 drone. Hopefully, you can still manage to film your proposal next week. Again, we're sorry for the inconvenience.

So ridiculous that your response is “you should have a 2nd drone”. As if owning 2 $1200+ devices is the logical answer to my problem, that’s BS. I’ve worked hard to get to this point & thought I’d be able to buy a 2nd soon, but it’s ridiculous & callous of you to say this is the solution, to take the blame off of DJI for having faulty drones that fall out of the sky. You’re just as unhelpful as the flyaway case support. Never ever buying a DJI drone again.

DJI Mindy Posted at 3-5 18:53
Hi there, we are sorry to know about this accident. We saw the case you created, and our team will contact you regarding your case soon. Hope you can wait for the email update patiently.

Your “team” was tremendously unhelpful & just told me “sorry can’t do anything cause it’s out of warranty, here’s 15% off”, as if you think I’m going to buy another DJI product ever again? NEVER. Absolutely never. Tremendously callous company who doesn’t care about their customers whatsoever & the most important moment of my life has been ruined as a result. DJI will hear about this problem on social media, from accounts bigger than they expect & many of my friends/colleagues who were already skeptical of DJI’s products are certainly going to never buy a drone with DJI again after hearing how DJI handled my issue and ruined my proposal. Disgusting customer service.

CamRodaSnaps Posted at 3-6 00:46
Your “team” was tremendously unhelpful & just told me “sorry can’t do anything cause it’s out of warranty, here’s 15% off”, as if you think I’m going to buy another DJI product ever again? NEVER. Absolutely never. Tremendously callous company who doesn’t care about their customers whatsoever & the most important moment of my life has been ruined as a result. DJI will hear about this problem on social media, from accounts bigger than they expect & many of my friends/colleagues who were already skeptical of DJI’s products are certainly going to never buy a drone with DJI again after hearing how DJI handled my issue and ruined my proposal. Disgusting customer service.

I understand you're angry. But I'd like to ask just a question: if your top brand mobile phone stops working and you're out of warranty, what are you expecting from the manufacturer ? And what about a car used for business ? A free replacement or repair ? It's sad to say, but it does not work in that way ...
I do not expect a different behaviour from any other drone, car or phone manufacturer. Most of them won't either provide to you a 15% discount for your next purchase.

If you're are using a drone for business, you can subscribe an insurance that covers damages and losses, in the same way you probably do for all the items that are critical for your business.

CamRodaSnaps Posted at 3-6 00:46
Your “team” was tremendously unhelpful & just told me “sorry can’t do anything cause it’s out of warranty, here’s 15% off”, as if you think I’m going to buy another DJI product ever again? NEVER. Absolutely never. Tremendously callous company who doesn’t care about their customers whatsoever & the most important moment of my life has been ruined as a result. DJI will hear about this problem on social media, from accounts bigger than they expect & many of my friends/colleagues who were already skeptical of DJI’s products are certainly going to never buy a drone with DJI again after hearing how DJI handled my issue and ruined my proposal. Disgusting customer service.

We are sorry for your situation and we understand your feeling very well. But we hope you understand that drones are a sophisticated kind of electronic and the performance of spare parts will be affected by daily usage environment, usage frequency, and other factors. And data analysis service will not be provided after warranty expiration. You can also refer to: https://www.dji.com/service/policy?site=brandsite&from=nav Thanks for your understanding.

CamRodaSnaps Posted at 3-6 00:46
Your “team” was tremendously unhelpful & just told me “sorry can’t do anything cause it’s out of warranty, here’s 15% off”, as if you think I’m going to buy another DJI product ever again? NEVER. Absolutely never. Tremendously callous company who doesn’t care about their customers whatsoever & the most important moment of my life has been ruined as a result. DJI will hear about this problem on social media, from accounts bigger than they expect & many of my friends/colleagues who were already skeptical of DJI’s products are certainly going to never buy a drone with DJI again after hearing how DJI handled my issue and ruined my proposal. Disgusting customer service.

Be realistic, how many manufacturers offer a replacement for an out of warranty item that has POSSIBLY failed unless the failure was due to a known design flaw.

BUT since you have not posted the log no one here can offer an opinion as to what went wrong,

'Blowing your top' gets you nowhere, if you want help post the log.

CamRodaSnaps Posted at 3-6 00:46
Your “team” was tremendously unhelpful & just told me “sorry can’t do anything cause it’s out of warranty, here’s 15% off”, as if you think I’m going to buy another DJI product ever again? NEVER. Absolutely never. Tremendously callous company who doesn’t care about their customers whatsoever & the most important moment of my life has been ruined as a result. DJI will hear about this problem on social media, from accounts bigger than they expect & many of my friends/colleagues who were already skeptical of DJI’s products are certainly going to never buy a drone with DJI again after hearing how DJI handled my issue and ruined my proposal. Disgusting customer service.

I thought DJI was the best drone company out there? Never again.
will never buy DJI drones again though now.
if you think I’m going to buy another DJI product ever again? NEVER. Absolutely never.
You lost a 2 year-old drone, have no interest in finding out why and no idea of the cause of the incident  .... but you're certain it must be DJI's fault.
How do you figure that?

Tremendously callous company who doesn’t care about their customers whatsoever & the most important moment of my life has been ruined as a result. DJI will hear about this problem on social media, from accounts bigger than they expect & many of my friends/colleagues who were already skeptical of DJI’s products are certainly going to never buy a drone with DJI again after hearing how DJI handled my issue and ruined my proposal. Disgusting customer service.
aww .. you think you're a professional but never thought to have a backup drone
And evil DJI spoilt your cheesy proposal and ruined your life.
Never mind
You've won the total jerk of the week award.

CamRodaSnaps Posted at 3-6 00:46
Your “team” was tremendously unhelpful & just told me “sorry can’t do anything cause it’s out of warranty, here’s 15% off”, as if you think I’m going to buy another DJI product ever again? NEVER. Absolutely never. Tremendously callous company who doesn’t care about their customers whatsoever & the most important moment of my life has been ruined as a result. DJI will hear about this problem on social media, from accounts bigger than they expect & many of my friends/colleagues who were already skeptical of DJI’s products are certainly going to never buy a drone with DJI again after hearing how DJI handled my issue and ruined my proposal. Disgusting customer service.

can i get that 15% off coupon if you're not going to use it.? happy to take it off your hands and purchase one of those "faulty" drones from a "callous" company.

CamRodaSnaps Posted at 3-6 00:37
I haven’t been fortunate enough to be able to afford to purchase a 2nd drone & was getting pretty close to this ability. Was planning in the summer, will never buy DJI drones again though now.

That doesn't make sense to me.  If you are serious about being in the industry, I wouldn't let one drone incident or accident lead to no DJI....

Labroides Posted at 3-6 03:47
I thought DJI was the best drone company out there? Never again.
will never buy DJI drones again though now.
if you think I’m going to buy another DJI product ever again? NEVER. Absolutely never.

Agreed.  This is exactly the type of lash out at DJI that I do think is the worst type of post.  I'm making a list of post types that just are pathetic.  This has become one of them.

I just wrecked my 1980 Chevy and they won't fix it for free. I'll never buy a Chevy again!!

@MobileH!  Nailed it!!

Labroides Posted at 3-6 03:47
I thought DJI was the best drone company out there? Never again.
will never buy DJI drones again though now.
if you think I’m going to buy another DJI product ever again? NEVER. Absolutely never.

your cheesy proposal

Labroides, do you have to be so nasty to people all the time, it's a fairly important moment in someone's life.

And no I am not a sentemental person but your nastiness does take the biscuit at times.

Sean-bumble-bee Posted at 3-6 10:12
your cheesy proposal

Labroides, do you have to be so nasty to people all the time, it's a fairly important moment in someones life.

Proposing might be important, but using with a drone is just a cringeworthy stunt to trivialise the moment.
Making a point of bringing it up to show how callous DJI is, is pathetic.

CamRodaSnaps Posted at 3-6 00:43
So ridiculous that your response is “you should have a 2nd drone”. As if owning 2 $1200+ devices is the logical answer to my problem, that’s BS. I’ve worked hard to get to this point & thought I’d be able to buy a 2nd soon, but it’s ridiculous & callous of you to say this is the solution, to take the blame off of DJI for having faulty drones that fall out of the sky. You’re just as unhelpful as the flyaway case support. Never ever buying a DJI drone again.

Hi, CamRodaSnaps. We're sorry for the misunderstanding. We have just pointed out this suggestion from other pilots who are in the aerial footage business as well for this kind of situation and we never said that this is the solution to your concern. Hoping for your kind understanding.

FabioV Posted at 3-6 02:03
I understand you're angry. But I'd like to ask just a question: if your top brand mobile phone stops working and you're out of warranty, what are you expecting from the manufacturer ? And what about a car used for business ? A free replacement or repair ? It's sad to say, but it does not work in that way ...
I do not expect a different behaviour from any other drone, car or phone manufacturer. Most of them won't either provide to you a 15% discount for your next purchase.

But it’s dji’s fault and they don’t take the blame.

The Saint Posted at 3-6 08:25
can i get that 15% off coupon if you're not going to use it.? happy to take it off your hands and purchase one of those "faulty" drones from a "callous" company.

Labroides Posted at 3-6 03:47
I thought DJI was the best drone company out there? Never again.
will never buy DJI drones again though now.
if you think I’m going to buy another DJI product ever again? NEVER. Absolutely never.

Why do you have to be so rude?

Drey. I Posted at 3-10 05:59
But it’s dji’s fault and they don’t take the blame.

But it’s dji’s fault and they don’t take the blame.
Care to explain how you can be so sure of this?
There's no data that confirms this.
The OP didn't bother to post any data at all.

Why do you have to be so rude?
Good to see you policing good manners on the forum.
But if you are concerned, why not start by asking the OP?

Labroides Posted at 3-10 07:15
But it’s dji’s fault and they don’t take the blame.
Care to explain how you can be so sure of this?
There's no data that confirms this.

Please tell me what other options there are. If a seasoned drone pilot has a d one that falls out of the sky then I don’t see any other options then the option of that DJI is at fault.

Drey. I Posted at 3-10 07:38
Please tell me what other options there are. If a seasoned drone pilot has a d one that falls out of the sky then I don’t see any other options then the option of that DJI is at fault.

All the mechanical components may experience failures, and the manufacturer is responsible, until the expiration of the warranty. Just another question:
If you drive a car out of warranty and a brake failure causes an accident, do you think the car manufacturer will pay for the damages ? The responsibilities from the manufacturers cease at the end of the warranty. After that, you can subscribe an insurance. These are the rules of the world where we’re living and I’m surprised that a “seasoned drone pilot” does not know those rules.

FabioV Posted at 3-10 08:59
All the mechanical components may experience failures, and the manufacturer is responsible, until the expiration of the warranty. Just another question:
If you drive a car out of warranty and a brake failure causes an accident, do you think the car manufacturer will pay for the damages ? The responsibilities from the manufacturers cease at the end of the warranty. After that, you can subscribe an insurance. These are the rules of the world where we’re living and I’m surprised that a “seasoned drone pilot” does not know those rules.

i would even go one step further and contend the manufacturers liability is limited to a failure caused by a manufacturers defect, not just by a failure.  also, in this case....there's a difference between responsibility and liability.

Drey. I Posted at 3-10 07:38
Please tell me what other options there are. If a seasoned drone pilot has a d one that falls out of the sky then I don’t see any other options then the option of that DJI is at fault.

Please tell me what other options there are. If a seasoned drone pilot has a d one that falls out of the sky then I don’t see any other options then the option of that DJI is at fault.
We have no knowledge of how hard a life his drone and battery had over the two years he'd been flying it.
The battery could have been puffed up and dislodged enough to break contact.
Or perhaps he flew with a battery that had been sitting around discharging.
A previous crash could have contributed to a mechanical failure.
Perhaps he crashed with a seabird.
Did he disregard low battery warnings and continue flying until the battery ran down?
Were the props and blades in good condition and securely attached?
Did the pilot carelessly CSC and stop the motors in flight?

There are lots of possibilities that you didn't consider.
As the OP didn't even bother to post flight data that could have eliminated some possibilities, it's not possible to say that it's DJI's fault at all.

Labroides Posted at 3-10 15:38
Please tell me what other options there are. If a seasoned drone pilot has a d one that falls out of the sky then I don’t see any other options then the option of that DJI is at fault.
We have no knowledge of how hard a life his drone and battery had over the two years he'd been flying it.
The battery could have been puffed up and dislodged enough to break contact.

Correct.

But why not be nice and say something like this from the start, instead of roasting the OP for something he haven't done?

Yaros1 Posted at 3-11 04:21
Correct.

But why not be nice and say something like this from the start, instead of roasting the OP for something he haven't done?

Why not?
Because the OP acted like a complete jerk, ignorant and unnecessarily angry.
Did you read all his posts?

for something he haven't done?
That hasn't been proved.
Since he didn't post his data, cause of his incident is unknown.

Mobilehomer Posted at 3-6 09:20
I just wrecked my 1980 Chevy and they won't fix it for free. I'll never buy a Chevy again!!

BOOM

CamRodaSnaps Posted at 3-6 00:43
So ridiculous that your response is “you should have a 2nd drone”. As if owning 2 $1200+ devices is the logical answer to my problem, that’s BS. I’ve worked hard to get to this point & thought I’d be able to buy a 2nd soon, but it’s ridiculous & callous of you to say this is the solution, to take the blame off of DJI for having faulty drones that fall out of the sky. You’re just as unhelpful as the flyaway case support. Never ever buying a DJI drone again.

Couldnt agree more

FabioV Posted at 3-6 02:03
I understand you're angry. But I'd like to ask just a question: if your top brand mobile phone stops working and you're out of warranty, what are you expecting from the manufacturer ? And what about a car used for business ? A free replacement or repair ? It's sad to say, but it does not work in that way ...
I do not expect a different behaviour from any other drone, car or phone manufacturer. Most of them won't either provide to you a 15% discount for your next purchase.

I work tech support for Apple as a senior advisor (in this context meaning I have authority to give away some things, usually under $400, but definitely not an iPhone or iPad.)  And I have to pick and choose who I give stuff to.  Can't be everybody.

I can say this:  Getting angry with the person or company you are trying to get a replacement for something out of warranty is not the way to approach it!  Had a guy call me up wouldn't let me get a word in edgewise and demanded a new pair of AirPods that were 1 year out of warranty.  He said he was a Jew, as if that mattered, did not steal, and bragged about how much money he had and the new Escalade he just bought and demanded a new pair.  Wasn't even nice about it.  Needless to say he did not get it.

I think DJI is more stringent on their warranty, especially when asked for an "appeasment" like that.  I know of no one who was able to get them to just give someone an expensive item for free that is out of warranty.

Not truing to be rude, just offering the perspective of the person on the other end of your conversation.  Good luck!

@CamRodaSnaps

First of all, Welcome to the forum...

Now, as few here have suggested, posting the flight data would help to know what has possibly/actually happened..

That is, if you care to find out. Regardless of being under warranty or not, once the cause of the problem it has been discovered, you may find yourself in a different situation...

Considering that you haven't post the data in a month, I presume you already found the answer for the reason of your crash in the water...


All the best for your proposal...