On December 6th I purchased a Phantom 4 Pro from directly from DJI. On December 14th the quadcopter arrived and on that very day, I was showing the P4P to my family. The was hovering at 17 meters when it lost all power without warning and fell from the sky. I was incredibly disappointed that I had received a faulty product and it failed on the day it arrived. I was hoping to use it over the Christmas break but sadly, it wasnt possible.

Fast forward to a month later and DJI tell me that they really WANT to honour the warranty on the faulty product they sold me, but they wont. My case number was [size=14.6667px]CAS-368122-S9V7R9. Even though all available information and even flight logs show that the P4P must have failed, the internal SD card was damaged and they tried to use that as an excuse to charge me nearly €500 to fix the faulty P4P they sold me. After a day battling with DJI Europe, and a sleepless night worrying about it all, DJI eventually honoured the warranty on the product they sold me. I recieved the updates on the repair, on all the parts needed to do the repair and the quadcopter was sent back.

Wednesday 25th of January arrives and my quadcopter arrives except.... it isnt my quadcopter at all?? Without asking or informing me, DJI switched my quadcopter with someone elses. Well OK, once it works thats ok by me! Except it didnt work. This quadcopter is also faulty, it has a persistant gimbal problem. So the day THIS P4P arrives, DJI tell me to send it back to the repair centre again. My new case number is CAS-425604-P0G2L0. So DJI think its fine to take €1700 from me on December 6th and keep sending me faulty products? They think its ok to make the customer wait and hope their repair process actually works?

Well I am taking my story to every site and tech blog I can find starting now. This is absolutely unacepptable.

Does anybody have contact information for bloggers who would be interested in this story?

Sorry for your troubles.
Would you be interested in uploading your flight log - the one that's on your mobile device - to this site and pasting the link so we can take a look at it?  

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

Absolute CRAP...  You (any) consumer / client deserves better.  How can such a brilliant device be discredited by the same company who built it by such unacceptable after sales service?  This is the one part of DJI I do not understand and will never accept.  I do not want someone elses drone back.  I want my own one back.  And to think a "used" one is sent back in a "broken" state....    Really DJI, I'm a big supporter and fan of your product - I own 3 of your top end devices, I run a Drone School JUST FOR DJI devices with pride BUT this kind of testimony of your after sales STINKS!  (and this is about the standard experience clients have - it seems!)  Please, make us owners proud and stop this (may I say ONE unacceptable) nonsense standard issue - we do not deserve this!

I 2 Fly Posted at 2017-1-30 07:12
Absolute CRAP...  You (any) consumer / client deserves better.  How can such a brilliant device be discredited by the same company who built it by such unacceptable after sales service?  This is the one part of DJI I do not understand and will never accept.  I do not want someone elses drone back.  I want my own one back.  And to think a "used" one is sent back in a "broken" state....    Really DJI, I'm a big supporter and fan of your product - I own 3 of your top end devices, I run a Drone School JUST FOR DJI devices with pride BUT this kind of testimony of your after sales STINKS!  (and this is about the standard experience clients have - it seems!)  Please, make us owners proud and stop this (may I say ONE unacceptable) nonsense standard issue - we do not deserve this!

This is the infuriating thing for me also. I am a massive fan of the tech and the product, Ive used a P3P for years with no incident. All I want to do is create content with the P4P. i dont want to be arguing with DJI for the most basic customer service. Its like they think its fine that someone spends two months waiting on various repairs after spending significant money on a brand new product

I also find it absolutely unbelievable that DJI send back a different drone than the one that was sent in for repair. This is something I have never been able to get my head around. You pay your hard earned money and end up having your drone swapped for a different one (which is also broken a lot of the time!)....simply unbelievable.

AlecW Posted at 2017-1-30 12:55
I honestly wouldn't care if I got my specific drone back as long as the refurbished unit worked.

Even more I would rather NOT get my faulty drone back.

√ Please note that products and components presented for repair may be replaced by refurbished goods of the same type rather than being repaired. ...


http://www.dji.com/service/policy

phantom_of_the_ Posted at 2017-1-30 12:07
I also find it absolutely unbelievable that DJI send back a different drone than the one that was sent in for repair. This is something I have never been able to get my head around. You pay your hard earned money and end up having your drone swapped for a different one (which is also broken a lot of the time!)....simply unbelievable.

Many companies do this to reduce turnaround time. Not sure if this is the case with DJI, but it may be more common/logical than you think.

Mark The Droner Posted at 2017-1-30 13:35
√ Please note that products and components presented for repair may be replaced by refurbished goods of the same type rather than being repaired. ...

Correct Mark. Soooo many threads on this, it can't possibly be a surprise for people joining this forum and reading the posts here.

The only difference is their DOA policy, where you Should receive a new unit if returned to the dealer within 15 days as a DOA (which I did once after receiving a dead battery in the new P4).

As many people above have stated, it shouldn't matter whether you receive a reburbed unit so long as it has the same level of wear as the one you sent in for warranty repair. And imagine how unhappy you'd be if your original unit was put into a queue for repair and you had to wait to get That one back. But the original poster said DJI sent back a faulty refurbed unit - OK, this suxs! All return units should be fully tested before going into the 'pool' for re-distribution.

Going through similar now with regards a warranty claim and feeling very let down by DJI. Customer support is horrendous and try's to get information is like getting blood out of a stone. DJI are trying to charge me £800 for a replacement drone, when it was returned to them due to stress cracks on the motor arms, a very well known and documented manufacturing issue. No mention at all of the stress cracks issue on the quote!

DJIs business practices leave a lot to be desired, absolutely disgusting treatment of their customers!

Sorry to jump on the back of your thread.

Mark The Droner Posted at 2017-1-30 13:35
√ Please note that products and components presented for repair may be replaced by refurbished goods of the same type rather than being repaired. ...

I have no issue with that policy, EXCEPT in the case of us commercial operators. Our drones are registered with the FAA by serial number. A different drone will require a new registration, not to mention messing up all of your historical maintenance data.

AlecW Posted at 2017-1-30 16:08
Why should you be treated any different if you are using essentially a cheapish Chinese toy for commerce.  If you need a more professional tool for the job I'm sure they are available.

Alec, not seeking to start a flame war, but the issue is clearly stated above. The craft's serial number must be registered for commercial operators, and to receive a different unit back requires re-registration. This is the painful side of requiring to deal with any government entity. We can be thankful that us have-fun'ers don't need to do this.

Perhaps the answer here is to have the option when sending back a warranty repair to accept the wait time for the craft to be repaired, rather than for DJI to fast-track resolution by returning another unit.

AlecW Posted at 2017-1-30 16:08
Why should you be treated any different if you are using essentially a cheapish Chinese toy for commerce.  If you need a more professional tool for the job I'm sure they are available.

Same thing would happen if DJI sent me a different Inspire or Matrice. I don't want to be treated different, I was simply pointing out a side effect of getting a different bird back. Chill.

AlecW Posted at 2017-1-30 16:21
Definitely not into a flame war either.  But.. paying for and using a consumer product for commerce obviously has drawbacks, repairs evidently one of them.    Maybe there's a business case for DJI to have commerce type of support package, I'm not sure.  Complaining about they way they handle replacement after the fact seem odd to me for a business if it's a critical issue.

Well, with the quality of the camera now on the P4P, I'd suggest that there's a definite greying of 'consumer' vs 'professional'.  Especially when you can buy 2 P4Ps (giving you a back-up) for the cost of an Inspire 2.
Regardless, an interesting idea for DJI to offer a commercial warranty, where they receive and repair the unit that is sent in. Although that's similar to offering a tick-box when sending in a warranty repair request (assuming there's no additional cost, of course)...

I'll bring this to the attention of our support team and escalate the case for you. Really sorry for the unpleasant experience.

Punchbuggy Posted at 2017-1-30 16:29
Well, with the quality of the camera now on the P4P, I'd suggest that there's a definite greying of 'consumer' vs 'professional'.  Especially when you can buy 2 P4Ps (giving you a back-up) for the cost of an Inspire 2.
Regardless, an interesting idea for DJI to offer a commercial warranty, where they receive and repair the unit that is sent in. Although that's similar to offering a tick-box when sending in a warranty repair request (assuming there's no additional cost, of course)...

DJI also doesn't have any support whatsoever for Businesses.  I can tell you first hand on that front.  Bought the first addiction (notoriously faulty)  Matrice 600 and didn't hear a peep from them for a few months until a few people called them out on social media.  No offense to the great moderator here,  however DJI needs to break bread with their clients.  Consumer/Prosumer/Professional,  Service needs to get better.   
My only suggestion I have from being a DJI client since that very first DJI drone (flew 9 minutes), and a way to avoid all of these problems altogether short of not buying them,  is simply waiting 3-5 months and consistently checking the boards for issues.   DJI lacks a capable Beta Program and their products are always rushed to market.   So unless you want to deal with constant firmware problems and glitches here and there, simply wait a few months and keep up with potential problems.  Many times they are fixed in a few weeks,  but I personally have a 3 month rule.

Happy Droning  

I agree with above.  Waiting to buy on a brand new product rather than rushing out to buy it the first day it's out solves a lot of problems.

Luckily we all differ.  If I buy an item new and something goes wrong within the warranty period I want MY item fixed OR replaced by a NEW item.  This is how the NORMAL world operates when I last checked.  Imagine that the "get a refurbished" car back after a service.  Or a new DSLR / Mirror-less camera etc.  We are not talking small $ any more.  It was maybe still understandable for "toys" as some call it, but for those that did not inherit their hard earned money, it should be an issue - in the same vain, I just got my Inspire 2 kit which was more expensive than a brand new Kia Picanto ....  why will I settle for less than my own fixed or a new replacement?  

I 2 Fly Posted at 2017-1-31 04:13
Luckily we all differ.  If I buy an item new and something goes wrong within the warranty period I want MY item fixed OR replaced by a NEW item.  This is how the NORMAL world operates when I last checked.  Imagine that the "get a refurbished" car back after a service.  Or a new DSLR / Mirror-less camera etc.  We are not talking small $ any more.  It was maybe still understandable for "toys" as some call it, but for those that did not inherit their hard earned money, it should be an issue - in the same vain, I just got my Inspire 2 kit which was more expensive than a brand new Kia Picanto ....  why will I settle for less than my own fixed or a new replacement?

Amen brutha

Cetacaen Posted at 2017-1-31 03:46
DJI also doesn't have any support whatsoever for Businesses.  I can tell you first hand on that front.  Bought the first addiction (notoriously faulty)  Matrice 600 and didn't hear a peep from them for a few months until a few people called them out on social media.  No offense to the great moderator here,  however DJI needs to break bread with their clients.  Consumer/Prosumer/Professional,  Service needs to get better.   
My only suggestion I have from being a DJI client since that very first DJI drone (flew 9 minutes), and a way to avoid all of these problems altogether short of not buying them,  is simply waiting 3-5 months and consistently checking the boards for issues.   DJI lacks a capable Beta Program and their products are always rushed to market.   So unless you want to deal with constant firmware problems and glitches here and there, simply wait a few months and keep up with potential problems.  Many times they are fixed in a few weeks,  but I personally have a 3 month rule.

Cetacaen, I have to agree with your view that DJI needs to improve their support. Specifically, these forums are a very powerful way of supporting their customers which they are failing to capitalise. Sure, there is a very active DJI Support presence here (and good on them for picking up issues on behalf of those frustrated customers in need), and there's a lot of information here coming from a new and old skillbase which also educates and informs and potentially takes pressure off their formal Support lines. DJI need to leverage that, and manage the mis-information which is also introduced better.

For example, I'd suggested here some time ago that DJI need to add stickys which summarise known issues for each craft, and those which have been confirmed (and being incorporated into future firmware releases) and those which are still to be confirmed (and requiring further evidence or scenarios). Customers like us would appreciate knowing that some of the issues being experienced will be resolved and that may hold off some frustration), as well as to help provide DJI with scenarios for un-confirmed issues which may allow them to replicate the problem.

A FAQ would help also. It can be updated here much faster than a manual can be amended and re-published.

But I'm no doubt now off-thread, although the FAQ could clarify the matter of warranty returns using refurbed units.

Hi Dacex80

I am going through the same as you have. had owned my P4P for a month, had a bad bad fly away but after 8 minutes of hell flying I did manage to get on the ground unharmed, DJI took a month to replace and they sent a secondhand used model with a camera that pointed to the left and the batteries when inserted, you could lift up and down in the housing, such a sloppy fit, and I mean sloppy, no way would you want to fly with a battery that loose.

I sent it back last week, I checked with UPS and it arrived with them at 09.25 on Tuesday there is no update on the DJI track/repair status to even say it has arrived with them, I too am not a happy owner either, owned it for a month been without it nearly 2 months, the only excitement I have is to keep the 4 batteries in a usable condition.

CAS-425358-H8N2Y4

As pioneers who who must have these Aircraft on day one, we must realise that we are to become beta testers, for those who are prepared wait they seem to be on the pigs back.
For those who have been around and know how this works, yes, there is some acceptance to this rule, but is it just and fair.
The answer is NO ,if you pay $100 for your aircraft in January and someone else pays $100 in march, then you are entitled to receive your purchase in the exact same condition as those who wait in the long grass.
It's not customer who creates this situation, it's not the customer who should sort out this situation, it's not the members of this forum to sort this out.
It's dji who should show respect for there customers young,old,new flyers,old flyers and everyone who hands there hard earned money over to them, we should not accept that this is the norm, we should not accept to be ignored for long periods of time, we should not accept to have to wait two weeks to get a response to an email, we should not accept to be ignored by moderators, because we ask a question that they choose not to answer , because hierarchy dictates they don't answer.

The OP sent in his AC and was entitled to warranty, for this he should have been entitled to only one solution A NEW P4P , he should not have to accept anything less than that, or a full refund and some compensation for his troubles.

If you send in your for a care refresh, then you are well aware of the deal with that one.

And I very much agree with punchbuggy there should be some sort of notice board to point out the pitfalls that arise and recommendations on what to do to solve them, or at the very least to tell there customers they are working on firmware/ software, that will attend to these matters in a timely fashion..