Hello, this is a second part of a post I made more than 1 month ago, some of you may have read my problem, if you want to read the first part you can go to the following link:

  https://forum.dji.com/forum.php? ... p;page=1#pid3215116


After being almost 1 month talking with DJI and DHL, DHL confirmed me that they did not want to receive the package in the warehouse of DJI and the package was put on hold, after making several procedures and talking with a DJI supervisor, the package was delivered more than 10 business days ago.

I send an email to the supervisor named Alexiss, who has been handling my case all this time, and she tells me that they are not going to refund me because the drone came with signs that it was wet.

I explain it in the first part, but basically the reason for the refund was that I bought a new drone and the camera was fogging up on the lens, I took it to a DJI center in my country and they told me that the moisture seal was activated, my drone was never exposed to any humid environment, nor had any kind of accident.

I explained this to a supervisor and he accepted the return for refund, now this same supervisor denies me the refund because the drone came "wet".

This is ridiculous, DJI is stealing my money and contacting customer service is useless, this supervisor answers messages every 3 days, clearly they are dragging the situation out until I get tired of it.

I hope that exposing this case will help me in some way, I also ask please if anyone can help me in any way I would appreciate it, this problem has been since October and has been a headache for me.

If anyone wants to see some kind of screenshot of emails, or anything else I can gladly pass them on.

Hi there, we are sorry about the inconvenience. This is not the experience we wished you to have. Just to clarify, previously, our manager team applied for a special refund for you even though the order was beyond the return period, so if the drone is in good condition and without activation, or it has a manufacturing defect, we will be able to provide a refund for you.  For the regular return policy, you may refer the screenshot below.

However, after we received your device, we found that the waterproof label inside the aircraft turned red, proving that the aircraft had a water intrusion history.
May we know did you report it to us at the first time when you received (in 2023/09) and discovered this issue? Was the package wet when you received it?
In addition, as per checking, we also found that the aircraft has been used multiple times.

Due to these reasons mentioned above, and we are not able to assure when the drone got water-damaged, we may not be able to provide a refund for you. Hope for your kind understanding.

DJI Thor Posted at 1-28 23:32
Hi there, we are sorry about the inconvenience. This is not the experience we wished you to have. Just to clarify, previously, our manager team applied for a special refund for you even though the order was beyond the return period, so if the drone is in good condition and without activation, or it has a manufacturing defect, we will be able to provide a refund for you.  For the regular return policy, you may refer the screenshot below. [view_image]

However, after we received your device, we found that the waterproof label inside the aircraft turned red, proving that the aircraft had a water intrusion history.

I attach a screenshot as proof



since the first message to customer service, i specified that the water seal was activated from the factory, this was confirmed by a dji technician in my country, the drone never had any kind of accident nor was it exposed to any wet environment. you can check this in the flight history.

You accepted to receive the product knowing that you sold me a drone with the water seal activated, you sold me a rebuilt drone as new, and now you are denying me the refund because "the water seal is activated".

Now I am without money and without drone. the worst customer service I have ever experienced.

I spoke with 2 supervisors on the call, explained the problem and knowing that the water seal was activated they accepted the refund.

How can an LCI (Liquid Contact Indicator) be active on a new drone?

djiuser_702yrLiY0CXt Posted at 1-29 05:01
I attach a screenshot as proof

[view_image]

Youre confusing 2 different things here, when the guy in your country said to you the reason for the humidity, they were not on about the water paper inside the drone, they were referring to the rubber seal around the lens (the tech had no reason to open the drone itself), many of these had been crimped during manufacturing causing a break in the seal thus causing the humidity, its a known issue with the drone.

DJI can only work with what they see, and that is litmus paper inside the drone has been in contact with moisture, the only way is either landing in water or flying in precipitation.

You didn't mention anything about the box having been opened or water logged before you received the drone therefore the only conclusion would be is that you know more than you're letting on and you are trying your luck.

Bashy Posted at 1-29 07:05
Youre confusing 2 different things here, when the guy in your country said to you the reason for the humidity, they were not on about the water paper inside the drone, they were referring to the rubber seal around the lens (the tech had no reason to open the drone itself), many of these had been crimped during manufacturing causing a break in the seal thus causing the humidity, its a known issue with the drone.

DJI can only work with what they see, and that is litmus paper inside the drone has been in contact with moisture, the only way is either landing in water or flying in precipitation.

hello, it is a mini 3 pro. i don't know why it was posted in the mini 4 pro section. i don't know if it was my mistake or some confusion.

in the first post i explain it more in depth, but it was a month after i had used it where the camera got soaked, the most logical thing for me as an immediate solution was to take it to a dji store in my country. and that's where they told me that the water seal was activated and the camera was full of moisture. the technician told me that the drone looked rebuilt and that it didn't look like a new drone at all.

Bashy Posted at 1-29 07:05
Youre confusing 2 different things here, when the guy in your country said to you the reason for the humidity, they were not on about the water paper inside the drone, they were referring to the rubber seal around the lens (the tech had no reason to open the drone itself), many of these had been crimped during manufacturing causing a break in the seal thus causing the humidity, its a known issue with the drone.

DJI can only work with what they see, and that is litmus paper inside the drone has been in contact with moisture, the only way is either landing in water or flying in precipitation.

The screenshot in post #4 states: “i bought a mini 3 pro“.
Are we discussing a mini 3 or 4?

MKmini4 Posted at 1-29 06:42
How can an LCI (Liquid Contact Indicator) be active on a new drone?

When I took it to the dji store in my country, the technician told me that it looked like DJI had sold me a rebuilt drone, because it had too much moisture inside the camera.

djiuser_702yrLiY0CXt Posted at 1-29 07:21
hello, it is a mini 3 pro. i don't know why it was posted in the mini 4 pro section. i don't know if it was my mistake or some confusion.

in the first post i explain it more in depth, but it was a month after i had used it where the camera got soaked, the most logical thing for me as an immediate solution was to take it to a dji store in my country. and that's where they told me that the water seal was activated and the camera was full of moisture. the technician told me that the drone looked rebuilt and that it didn't look like a new drone at all.

Thanks for clearing that up, when i made my reply i then noticed that it was in the 4 section and that threw me, i have now reverted my reply.

There is only 1 possibility here and that is because DJI received many of these drones back for this issue, its not inconceivable that the odd one may have slipped through the checking and because so many were being sent back thn they were inundated and so full strip downs were not a priority so they missed that it was also water damaged (again they are 2 issues) and then packaged as a refurb and sadly you got one of those by mistake. But, if thats the case, i think those are marked on the box differently or is it the serial number thats changed, i cant remember now..

That is the only thing i can think of, maybe DJI could give you the benefit of the doubt here, i don't know. Maybe they should look at the flight logs and see for themselves if at any point the drone hit water or if it was flown in the rain, this would back you up.

How many flights did you make with it?

StepCH Posted at 1-29 07:22
The screenshot in post #4 states: “i bought a mini 3 pro“.
Are we discussing a mini 3 or 4?

Its the section that this is posted in that threw me, i did only skim some of the initial post though, i thought it was the Mini 3 Pro and after i replied then made an edit, it took me to the top of the page and thats when i saw the section it was in and the rest is history lol

djiuser_702yrLiY0CXt Posted at 1-29 07:22
When I took it to the dji store in my country, the technician told me that it looked like DJI had sold me a rebuilt drone, because it had too much moisture inside the camera.

This should be easy to clarify.

Anyway, I can't imagine DJI selling refurbished drones as new ones.

djiuser_702yrLiY0CXt Posted at 1-29 07:22
When I took it to the dji store in my country, the technician told me that it looked like DJI had sold me a rebuilt drone, because it had too much moisture inside the camera.

Thats not quite how it is, as i said, these drones suffered with this issue, perhaps the tech wasn't as informed as in other countries, It doesn't mean that the drone has been rebuilt.

I should mention that the box came in good condition, 0 humidity.

with the drone I made about 20 flights only, the only place where it could have been "exposed" to water, was on a trip I made to the beach, but I repeat, I never had any kind of accident or anything similar.  DJI has all the flight records of that drone.

Outside of the beach, I flew it in my house, which is a normal urban area and on a trip I took to a volcano. the camera error I noticed right on the volcano trip. I have been dealing with DJI since November and it has been a complete headache.

MKmini4 Posted at 1-29 07:36
This should be easy to clarify.

Anyway, I can't imagine DJI selling refurbished drones as new ones.

I would like to think that they wouldn't do that, but it seems that I was unlucky or I don't know, but at this moment DJI doesn't want to be responsible for their mistake.

djiuser_702yrLiY0CXt Posted at 1-29 07:45
I should mention that the box came in good condition, 0 humidity.

with the drone I made about 20 flights only, the only place where it could have been "exposed" to water, was on a trip I made to the beach, but I repeat, I never had any kind of accident or anything similar.  DJI has all the flight records of that drone.

Did you fly through cloud or fog at any time?

Bashy Posted at 1-29 17:29
Did you fly through cloud or fog at any time?

no, I never flew it in any humid environment or anything similar.

update, the supervisor after 2 days gave me this answer.

I don't know if they are playing dumb or they really don't care, I explained the problem from day 1, if they really checked the drone, they saw that I returned it in good condition, DJI's customer service is terrible.

DJI Thor Posted at 1-28 23:32
Hi there, we are sorry about the inconvenience. This is not the experience we wished you to have. Just to clarify, previously, our manager team applied for a special refund for you even though the order was beyond the return period, so if the drone is in good condition and without activation, or it has a manufacturing defect, we will be able to provide a refund for you.  For the regular return policy, you may refer the screenshot below. [view_image]

However, after we received your device, we found that the waterproof label inside the aircraft turned red, proving that the aircraft had a water intrusion history.

I would appreciate it if you could really help me and not just give me generic answers.

djiuser_702yrLiY0CXt Posted at 1-30 06:25
I would appreciate it if you could really help me and not just give me generic answers.

You state that they are designed to be flown in rainy or snowy conditions, actually no, they are not, even more so with this Mini 3 Pro because 1, air is scooped in to the opening behind the camera and 2, they are designed to have air blown into the top rear vents by the props, they did this because there is no fan in this drone (to keep weight down) so that had to come up with a way to keep it cool and if air can get in then so can moisture.

Also,  DJI drones should NOT be flown in wet conditions except one or 2 of the commercial line, just because many do, that's at their own risk, just because the drone may appear and even be ok but if the paper inside turns red/pink then the warranty will be void.

You saying that you've flown a previous model in wet conditions really does not bode well for your case. That is something one should have kept schtum, have you heard the saying, "shot one self in the foot"?

I also noticed that the Costa Rica Winter (rainy/green) is from May to November; I just thought i would mention that as it ties in with your usage.

Bashy Posted at 1-30 07:10
You state that they are designed to be flown in rainy or snowy conditions, actually no, they are not, even more so with this Mini 3 Pro because 1, air is scooped in to the opening behind the camera and 2, they are designed to have air blown into the top rear vents by the props, they did this because there is no fan in this drone (to keep weight down) so that had to come up with a way to keep it cool and if air can get in then so can moisture.

Also,  DJI drones should NOT be flown in wet conditions except one or 2 of the commercial line, just because many do, that's at their own risk, just because the drone may appear and even be ok but if the paper inside turns red/pink then the warranty will be void.

I don't see it as a foot shot, but I know the capabilities of these devices, correct the rainy season here, however the drone was never flown in the rain or anything similar.

I say this because I have friends who have used the mini 3 pro in waterfalls in rainforest and have not had any problems with the camera, if for a little humidity the camera is damaged, no landscape content creator would use a dji drone.

And to make certain shots the drones have been practically wet, but have never had problems with moisture inside the camera. Like I said, the only place with water I went to was a beach, and I flew it about 100 meters away, so it wasn't even close to the water as if anything happened.

I don't know if you know, but for the water seal to activate, the camera of the drone had to be practically submerged in water, that's why the dji technician told me that it looked like a rebuilt drone, because the whole drone was in perfect condition except the camera.

this at the time I talked to the supervisor and he agreed to give me a refund, so now they come out with that excuse is simply an consumer abuse.

djiuser_702yrLiY0CXt Posted at 1-30 07:29
I don't see it as a foot shot, but I know the capabilities of these devices, correct the rainy season here, however the drone was never flown in the rain or anything similar.

I say this because I have friends who have used the mini 3 pro in waterfalls in rainforest and have not had any problems with the camera, if for a little humidity the camera is damaged, no landscape content creator would use a dji drone.

If it was a rebuilt drone from DJI, they would have replaced the tale-tell.

djiuser_702yrLiY0CXt Posted at 1-30 07:29
I don't see it as a foot shot, but I know the capabilities of these devices, correct the rainy season here, however the drone was never flown in the rain or anything similar.

I say this because I have friends who have used the mini 3 pro in waterfalls in rainforest and have not had any problems with the camera, if for a little humidity the camera is damaged, no landscape content creator would use a dji drone.

Youre still confusing the 2 issues, the 1st issue is the camera, this is a known issue and may take many uses before it shows or it could be on the 1st flight, the seal for the camera was pinched during manufacturing.

When you sent the drone in, if the issue was only the above, they would have replaced it or the drone, no questions asked. The problem youre facing now is down to issue number 2, somehow the drone has managed to get moisture inside, the litmus paper has turned red, you've already stated that the box was fine and sealed so you got a new drone, therefore, sometime during unboxing and being returned to DJI, it got moisture inside. This is the problem youre facing right now, forget the camera, thats secondary, the primary issue is the inside of the body.

Youre only hope now is that DJI will exchange it in good faith on the benefit of the doubt, but you will be very lucky if this happens. The litmus paper is their get out clause, despite how their drones have been flown, you are not supposed to fly in rain, snow, waterfalls, fog, mist and anything else thats wet. Im sorry but thats it, its in the manual pg 20

It occurs to me that it might be an idea to check weather forecasts / records for the individual flights and flight locations.
Of course weather forecasts are not always accurate but it might support your case to some extent.

I am also curious, where precisely is this water indication label ?

the humidity seal was already red long before I sent it back to DJI, the seal was activated since I received the drone, why do I say this? because at no time I flew it in any humid environment or anything like that. and I repeat, let them check my flight history and verify it.

This is simple, they sold me a drone that had a camera full of humidity, they agreed to refund my money for this problem and now they don't want to do it.

I repeat, before taking the drone to a dji store in my country, I had never flown it in any humid environment, rain or anything similar.
then why the seal was activated? simple. because they sold me a defective equipment. the same technician checked the camera and confirmed that it was full of humidity.

Sean-bumble-bee Posted at 1-30 09:43
It occurs to me that it might be an idea to check weather forecasts / records for the individual flights and flight locations.
Of course weather forecasts are not always accurate but it might support your case to some extent.

of course, that's what I've been saying and I told the supervisor. check every place where I flew and they will see that there was no place where there was a lot of humidity, they will also see that there was never an accident.

The seal is located inside the camera's mounting, it is a white postcard that if it comes in contact with water it will automatically turn red.

djiuser_702yrLiY0CXt Posted at 1-30 10:07
of course, that's what I've been saying and I told the supervisor. check every place where I flew and they will see that there was no place where there was a lot of humidity, they will also see that there was never an accident.

The seal is located inside the camera's mounting, it is a white postcard that if it comes in contact with water it will automatically turn red.

Can you be more precise than "located inside the camera's mounting, "
Or do you mean it is actually inside the black housing/case of the camera ?
If it is located inside the camera housing, what is the possibility that condensation could have wetted the label?

I doubt that it is reasonable to ask oe expect DJI to do the checking or looking for weather forecasts/records and would suggest that you provide them with links to the forecasts.

Sean-bumble-bee Posted at 1-30 10:26
Can you be more precise than "located inside the camera's mounting, "
Or do you mean it is actually inside the black housing/case of the camera ?
If it is located inside the camera housing, what is the possibility that condensation could have wetted the label?

the seal is inside the camera assembly, i.e. inside the black case of the camera, it is not something that can be seen , to see the seal you would have to disassemble the entire camera.

and the chances of it getting wet from the weather is very slim,  

djiuser_702yrLiY0CXt Posted at 1-30 10:34
the seal is inside the camera assembly, i.e. inside the black case of the camera, it is not something that can be seen , to see the seal you would have to disassemble the entire camera.

and the chances of it getting wet from the weather is very slim,

Hi there, we have went through the above reply comments. According to the current condition of the device received, it is ineligible for the refund. We understand your feeling on this matter. After talking with our higher department, we will perform a device assessment again, and our manager will update you by e-mail soon. Please check it afterward. Thank you for your understanding and patience.

Sean-bumble-bee Posted at 1-30 09:43
It occurs to me that it might be an idea to check weather forecasts / records for the individual flights and flight locations.
Of course weather forecasts are not always accurate but it might support your case to some extent.

Hi Sean, the only wet indicator that i know of is inside the body of the drone, i am not aware of one for the camera itself, that said, there could well be one but the camera isnoramlly a sealed unit so it shouldn't need one.

From their replies, they are still hung up on 2 different things,

  1. the camera housing seal was damaged and would have been under warranty
  2. the body of the drone has been subjected to moisture be it rain, fog etc. not warranty

#2 is 100% not related to #1 or vice versa and because of number 2 this supersedes #1 thus invalidating any warranties.

They have confirmed it was a brand new drone and the box was intact, therefore, one can only conclude that the moisture inside the drone itself (not camera) happened after unboxing.

Thor says that they will look into it again but I am not hopeful unless the techs are feeling very charitable.

djiuser_702yrLiY0CXt Posted at 1-30 10:34
the seal is inside the camera assembly, i.e. inside the black case of the camera, it is not something that can be seen , to see the seal you would have to disassemble the entire camera.

and the chances of it getting wet from the weather is very slim,

If DJI still will not honour the warranty then have the drone sent back, and perform the fix yourself, its straightforward, unscrew the camera and reseat the o-ring, if the o-ring is too crimped then buy a new one of the same size, there's no reason to get too upset about it, unless of course there's damage inside the drone body too, in that case you will need to look into it further.

DJI Thor Posted at 1-30 23:34
Hi there, we have went through the above reply comments. According to the current condition of the device received, it is ineligible for the refund. We understand your feeling on this matter. After talking with our higher department, we will perform a device assessment again, and our manager will update you by e-mail soon. Please check it afterward. Thank you for your understanding and patience.

since November the same thing, a thousand excuses and a thousand things just to not take responsibility for your mistake, you sold me a drone in bad condition and now you don't want to give me my money back.

You are stealing my money, the worst customer service I have ever received.

Bashy Posted at 1-31 00:05
If DJI still will not honour the warranty then have the drone sent back, and perform the fix yourself, its straightforward, unscrew the camera and reseat the o-ring, if the o-ring is too crimped then buy a new one of the same size, there's no reason to get too upset about it, unless of course there's damage inside the drone body too, in that case you will need to look into it further.

did you know that if i accept the repair from DJI they can't ship the drone to my country? they don't ship internationally. surely if i end up getting a repair i will have to spend 200 dollars just to receive that in CR.

djiuser_702yrLiY0CXt Posted at 1-31 05:27
since November the same thing, a thousand excuses and a thousand things just to not take responsibility for your mistake, you sold me a drone in bad condition and now you don't want to give me my money back.

You are stealing my money, the worst customer service I have ever received.

Sorry for letting you down. As mentioned, if you found a problem with the aircraft when you receive it, you should feedback to us at the first time, instead of after using it for some time. We also want to help you, but in fact, so far the aircraft received indicates it is not eligible for a refund due to the red waterproof label. We are currently trying to coordinate again for you. Hope you understand.

Tell me something, do you think that if I had a problem when I received it I would not have reported it?

I think you don't know how to read, like most of your customer service colleagues.  

I did not fly it in any humid environment, at no time did I drop it in the water or anything like that, when I contacted you the first time I specified the humidity problem, you accepted the refund and now you don't want to be responsible? you sold me a piece of garbage.

You are stealing my money

DJI Thor Posted at 1-31 06:57
Sorry for letting you down. As mentioned, if you found a problem with the aircraft when you receive it, you should feedback to us at the first time, instead of after using it for some time. We also want to help you, but in fact, so far the aircraft received indicates it is not eligible for a refund due to the red waterproof label. We are currently trying to coordinate again for you. Hope you understand.

The camera comes wet because you sold me the drone with the camera wet! this is an abuse to the consumer, from the first message I specified the problem and now you want to blame me for your incompetence.

There is little point at ranting at the mods here, they will do what they can to help you but they are just cogs in a machine and if you abuse them then they are less likely to try to help you.

djiuser_702yrLiY0CXt Posted at 1-31 07:14
The camera comes wet because you sold me the drone with the camera wet! this is an abuse to the consumer, from the first message I specified the problem and now you want to blame me for your incompetence.

tell them the truth is ranting ? imagine being 4 months waiting to receive my money back for a refund and they just give generic answers.

I have been too kind, but at this point you can see that they don't care, this same mod in the first post I made you could see that he didn't even know who to answer.

I worked for a long time in customer service for a giant company, and I know what it's like to deal with customers upset about things that were not my fault, I showed empathy with them, I was clear and looked for all options to help them. unlike DJI customer service that only know how to give generic answers and wash their hands.

djiuser_702yrLiY0CXt Posted at 1-29 07:21
hello, it is a mini 3 pro. i don't know why it was posted in the mini 4 pro section. i don't know if it was my mistake or some confusion.

in the first post i explain it more in depth, but it was a month after i had used it where the camera got soaked, the most logical thing for me as an immediate solution was to take it to a dji store in my country. and that's where they told me that the water seal was activated and the camera was full of moisture. the technician told me that the drone looked rebuilt and that it didn't look like a new drone at all.

Yeah, kindly take the time to figure out how to post 'steal the money' part 3 & 4 on the Mini 3 Pro section.

Mynah Posted at 1-31 11:05
Yeah, kindly take the time to figure out how to post 'steal the money' part 3 & 4 on the Mini 3 Pro section.

I can't wait to see episode 3

OP, good luck, be patient, stay calm with them, keep the conversation going, don't hesitate to copy all the DJI addresses you can find on your emails. It's spam, but when they get tired of it, maybe they'll do something about it.