Hey Guys

I have bought a Phantom, Osmo, Inspire 1 + Accessories..a loyal customer to DJI. BUT recently I had 2 mishaps whereby my bird just fell out the sky for no reason in one week. First time I was only a few meters away and a couple high, when the bird fell with no warning..broke a strut..got it repaired...1 week later flew in the morning, no problem. Flew again in the afternoon, when on my last shot while hovering....bird fell again and broke the arm. So I got intouch with DJI to do a diagnostics (Sent through all the info and sync the flight records) and would you believe they said the bird was out of warranty and they wont do it............SO my question is, if your warranty falls away, DJI are no longer going to help us if something happens. If they are not going to help us, how the hell are we suppose to find out what went wrong in order to get it fixed.

If this is the type of back-up service one gets for being loyal and supportive to a company, then I'm sorry DJI...you will no longer get my support on your future projects and social media is a wonderful tool...

VERY Disappointed......

Hey Bru,  Unfortunately this is the big issue we face with DJI.  Even if you are under warranty, in many cases I've had with them they will try and say "pilot error" which voids your warranty,  so I can only imagine the frustration you are going through if it's documented.  Good luck man,  I wouldn't give though on your warranty claim.  At the very least you should ask them what went wrong and if it was your fault.

Sestaceans Posted at 2017-2-28 23:01
Hey Bru,  Unfortunately this is the big issue we face with DJI.  Even if you are under warranty, in many cases I've had with them they will try and say "pilot error" which voids your warranty,  so I can only imagine the frustration you are going through if it's documented.  Good luck man,  I wouldn't give though on your warranty claim.  At the very least you should ask them what went wrong and if it was your fault.

Hey Lad......I can honestly say it was not due to pilot error....thing is I don't want a warranty claim as I know it's out of warranty....all I asked is look at the logs and tell me what went wrong and how to fix the issue...not asking for much, just DJI to take the time to access and let me know so I can get my bird back into the air..

SteveSA Posted at 2017-3-1 00:32
Hey Lad......I can honestly say it was not due to pilot error....thing is I don't want a warranty claim as I know it's out of warranty....all I asked is look at the logs and tell me what went wrong and how to fix the issue...not asking for much, just DJI to take the time to access and let me know so I can get my bird back into the air..

I believe there is a person on this site who runs something called healthy drones?  It does an analysis (I think, never been there),  but if you post your flight logs,  I have no doubt people will weigh in.  Sorry man.  Dealing with DJI is frustrating.

Sorry to hear about the crash.
As you can see the policy on our website: "Please note that data analysis service will not be provided after warranty expiration. "
While if you insist getting it analyzed, I'll apply for data analysis for you, but the analysis result will not affect that you need pay for the repair since it's out of the warranty.
Besides, please let me know your case number or ticket number, thanks.

DJI Natalia Posted at 2017-3-1 01:32
Sorry to hear about the crash.
As you can see the policy on our website: "Please note that data analysis service will not be provided after warranty expiration. "
While if you insist getting it analyzed, I'll apply for data analysis for you, but the analysis result will not affect that you need pay for the repair since it's out of the warranty.

Hi Natalia

I know I have to pay for the repairs again...please..please please help me out, my ticket no （#445648). I just want to get the unit fixed and back in the air, once I know what the problem was.

SteveSA Posted at 2017-3-1 01:37
Hi Natalia

I know I have to pay for the repairs again...please..please please help me out, my ticket no （#445648). I just want to get the unit fixed and back in the air, once I know what the problem was.

I've informed our team for your case and will keep you updated, no worries.

DJI Natalia Posted at 2017-3-1 01:39
I've informed our team for your case and will keep you updated, no worries.

Thank you very much..will be waiting in anticipation in order to get my bird back to normal..

Hi Steve,

Sorry to hear about your predicament. It would be helpful if you could upload your flight data for these flights to Healthydrones.com, they can analyse the data and display it in a more legible format. If you do not want to have to pay a subscription (which you will need for battery info), you could PM me and I could get it analysed for you.

In the meantime, could you give us some more details of the flight?What aircraft were you using?
What was the air temp? (Roughly)
What were the battery levels? (take off/landing)
Have the batteries been calibrated properly?
How long since the batteries were charged?
How far and how long were the flights?
Were you flying hard (full sticks)?

There are a good bunch of knowledgeable guys on this forum who will be happy to help get to the bottom of this as it is beneficial to all of us to find out why this has happened so we can avoid repercussions, and I'm sure DJI will get you fixed up (even if you end up having to pay).

Regards
Mark G.

Mark Guille Posted at 2017-3-1 03:03
Hi Steve,

Sorry to hear about your predicament. It would be helpful if you could upload your flight data for these flights to Healthydrones.com, they can analyse the data and display it in a more legible format. If you do not want to have to pay a subscription (which you will need for battery info), you could PM me and I could get it analysed for you.

Hey Mark...that it truly awesome....this is the (Crash 1)First one..happened on the morning of the 18th..it was about 17 degrees....Battery level was full...all batteries have been calibrated (Had no issues before)...Batteries were charged the night before...this instance I was just taking off...you can see the landing gear had just raised when it took a tumble and then the gimble message popped up & the Strut broke and it went in for repairs...................(Crash 2) Morning of the 25th I took the bird to the beach for a test flight for about an hour...all seemed fine.....that afternoon went to do a shoot, all ok...until I was hovering just off the ground adjusting the gimble roll, when that also just fell without warning and then these messages popped up. Hope this helps Mark and greatly appreciated.

Hi Steve,

It would be helpful if I could see your flight data. You can find this in the mobile device that you had connected to the RC at the time of the flight. On an Android device, it would be stored in the folder location  "DJI/dji.pilot/FlightRecord" and would look something like this: DJIFlightRecord_2016-18-02_[15-15-25].txt  (the numbers 2016-18-02 being the date). On an IOS device you would need to use I-tunes to look for the file. You could upload these files to Healthydrones.com yourself but to get access to battery info you will need to subscribe. If you don't wish to subscribe, send me a PM and I will give you an email address to send the files to ( you will have to add me as a friend to send me a PM).

Mark G.

Mark Guille Posted at 2017-3-1 05:09
Hi Steve,

It would be helpful if I could see your flight data. You can find this in the mobile device that you had connected to the RC at the time of the flight. On an Android device, it would be stored in the folder location  "DJI/dji.pilot/FlightRecord" and would look something like this:  DJIFlightRecord_2016-18-02_[15-15-25].txt  (the numbers 2016-18-02 being the date). On an IOS device you would need to use I-tunes to look for the file. You could upload these files to Healthydrones.com yourself but to get access to battery info you will need to subscribe. If you don't wish to subscribe, send me a PM and I will give you an email address to send the files to ( you will have to add me as a friend to send me a PM).

Hey Mark

I have registered with Health Drones and downloading the app on my ipad...so I can sync the info to them...I will have a look and see if I can find the records on my ipad as well...then forward them to you. Thanks again lad.

SteveSA Posted at 2017-3-1 05:22
Hey Mark

I have registered with Health Drones and downloading the app on my ipad...so I can sync the info to them...I will have a look and see if I can find the records on my ipad as well...then forward them to you. Thanks again lad.

If you have uploaded the data to Healthydrones, you can just share a link here. From withing the Healthydrones page click the share icon, top right, and post a link here.

Mark Guille Posted at 2017-3-1 06:31
If you have uploaded the data to Healthydrones, you can just share a link here. From withing the Healthydrones page click the share icon, top right, and post a link here.

This is the first one..
https://healthydrones.com/main?f ... _id=GENERALOverview

This is the 2nd one:
https://healthydrones.com/main?f ... _id=GENERALOverview

SteveSA Posted at 2017-3-1 07:25
This is the first one..
https://healthydrones.com/main?flight=9c87a602ac45f152369f51b9cee156a1&page_id=GENERALOverview

What I do notice on the flight log..on both occasions the drone spiraled to the right and the damage were both on the left hand side of the drone if facing away from you. Note sure if they may also help in any way..

DJI Natalia Posted at 2017-3-1 01:39
I've informed our team for your case and will keep you updated, no worries.

Hi Natalia

Hope all's well. Do you perhaps have any feedback for me as yet?

SteveSA Posted at 2017-3-2 02:46
Hi Natalia

Hope all's well. Do you perhaps have any feedback for me as yet?

It's under progress, our support will send you an e-mail with the data analysis result once it's done.

DJI Natalia Posted at 2017-3-2 03:19
It's under progress, our support will send you an e-mail with the data analysis result once it's done.

Thank you so much Natalia.

Here is some thing I got from Healthy Drones that I picked up on the Compass for both crashes. Did all the IMU and Compass Calibrations for both flight. According to Healthy drones, no problems with batteries etc.

SteveSA Posted at 2017-3-4 00:43
Here is some thing I got from Healthy Drones that I picked up on the Compass for both crashes. Did all the IMU and Compass Calibrations for both flight. According to Healthy drones, no problems with batteries etc.

Ok here is my guess, Just as you raised the gear is when the problem occurred correct , the speed controls are in the booms of the Aircraft , I wonder if you have a short in one of the speed controls , this would account for the way the aircraft reacted and went in .  Did you ever have a crash before the first one reported here ? The reason I inquire is there may have been hidden damage, this could then result in the crash .  Total speculation here, you would have to do some testing to prove the  theory .

donnie

Donnie Stugots Posted at 2017-3-4 13:28
Ok here is my guess, Just as you raised the gear is when the problem occurred correct , the speed controls are in the booms of the Aircraft , I wonder if you have a short in one of the speed controls , this would account for the way the aircraft reacted and went in .  Did you ever have a crash before the first one reported here ? The reason I inquire is there may have been hidden damage, this could then result in the crash .  Total speculation here, you would have to do some testing to prove the  theory .

donnie

Hi Roger..in the first instance..that was the very first crash with my bird..in the second instance the bird was just hovering while I was adjusting the gimble roll to take another shot..

This is a real headscratcher.
In the app, you can replay the flight along with stick inputs. Could you record this and post a link up for us.

Mark G.

Donnie Stugots Posted at 2017-3-4 13:28
Ok here is my guess, Just as you raised the gear is when the problem occurred correct , the speed controls are in the booms of the Aircraft , I wonder if you have a short in one of the speed controls , this would account for the way the aircraft reacted and went in .  Did you ever have a crash before the first one reported here ? The reason I inquire is there may have been hidden damage, this could then result in the crash .  Total speculation here, you would have to do some testing to prove the  theory .

donnie

Mark Guille Posted at 2017-3-5 07:45
[view_image]

I just thought since the gear  had Just raised and then he said it just fell and kind off to the right , that one of the motors may have stopped or reduced power significantly .  That is why I thought maybe a short in the wiring or the ESC is in the boom , maybe that has a short in it.

If he has the stick movement that would help as well of course .  
What is your hypothosis Doctor  Mark ???

donnie  ( the alien from an unknown star galaxy far -far- far -way ).

Donnie Stugots Posted at 2017-3-5 11:45
I just thought since the gear  had Just raised and then he said it just fell and kind off to the right , that one of the motors may have stopped or reduced power significantly .  That is why I thought maybe a short in the wiring or the ESC is in the boom , maybe that has a short in it.

If he has the stick movement that would help as well of course .  

To be honest Donnie, this is a tricky one. I don't think they both fell for the same reason, the second crash may well have been due to the first, however. Looking at the second flight path, it would seem that one of the motors had stopped, the aircraft tumbled and steadied itself, then the motor stopped again. As you said Donnie, this may have been due to a fault ESC, possibly a result of the first crash.
As for crash #1, I would really like to see the flight replay with stick inputs.

Donnie Stugots Posted at 2017-3-5 11:45
I just thought since the gear  had Just raised and then he said it just fell and kind off to the right , that one of the motors may have stopped or reduced power significantly .  That is why I thought maybe a short in the wiring or the ESC is in the boom , maybe that has a short in it.

If he has the stick movement that would help as well of course .  

Hi Donnie.....sorry for calling you Roger....lol...I'll run a few more tests as suggested. Thanks again.

SteveSA Posted at 2017-3-5 21:21
Hi Donnie.....sorry for calling you Roger....lol...I'll run a few more tests as suggested. Thanks again.

That's a roger Steve ....and stop calling me Roger..........(   movie "Airplane " joke  ).

donnie

Donnie Stugots Posted at 2017-3-6 03:04
That's a roger Steve ....and stop calling me Roger..........(   movie "Airplane " joke  ).

donnie

Shirley you don't mean....

Mark Guille Posted at 2017-3-6 03:10
Shirley you don't mean....

At least somebody gets it !!

donie

Donnie Stugots Posted at 2017-3-6 04:54
At least somebody gets it !!

donie

Hahahahaha......you lads are a hoot.....here is the flight path for both flights with joysticks...footage is a bit shakey...pretty much like the flights.....lol

SteveSA Posted at 2017-3-6 23:06
Hahahahaha......you lads are a hoot.....here is the flight path for both flights with joysticks...footage is a bit shakey...pretty much like the flights.....lol
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJH4KMpXAGs

That is a definite failure of one of the Motors , the way it spun in like that I would be looking at a failure in the ESC  of one of the motors.  You stick movement was NOT giving any yaw  so  it was not Pilot error ( in my opinion  anyway )

The second crash looked similar to the first .

Are you still under warranty ?  Did you have any crashes before the first one ?
Also the warnings that popped up were a warning AFTER the spin eventbegan and not a CAUSE in my estimation .  

In order Of what I think is the cause
1 ESC failure
2 Short in the wiring inside the boom  to the ESC or from ESC to Motor
3  Wiring Fault to the Main Controler from the ESC .

This is of course speculation without some testing , it is of course hard to tell for sure .  

good luck

donnie

Donnie Stugots Posted at 2017-3-7 05:24
That is a definite failure of one of the Motors , the way it spun in like that I would be looking at a failure in the ESC  of one of the motors.  You stick movement was NOT giving any yaw  so  it was not Pilot error ( in my opinion  anyway )

The second crash looked similar to the first .

Hi Donnie

I think you could be correct, the way it just fell on both occasions didn't make sense to me. The first crash was the very first one...been flying this bird for almost 2yrs now...I may have to try your theory with the landing gear up a starting the motors to see which one may be causing the problem without the blades on...thanks again bud..

SteveSA Posted at 2017-3-7 06:12
Hi Donnie

I think you could be correct, the way it just fell on both occasions didn't make sense to me. The first crash was the very first one...been flying this bird for almost 2yrs now...I may have to try your theory with the landing gear up a starting the motors to see which one may be causing the problem without the blades on...thanks again bud..

Sure , happy to help .  

Hope you find the trouble.

Keep me posted , I am interested.

donnie

Donnie Stugots Posted at 2017-3-7 06:14
Sure , happy to help .  

Hope you find the trouble.

Hi Donnie

Tried the motors spinning on a few batteries for a while...there were no signs of any of the motors slowing down or stopping whilst raising and lowering the landing gear. Still haven't heard from DJI as yet, hopefully find out either Monday or Tuesday. Will keep you posted and keep spinning the motors...thanks again bud.

SteveSA Posted at 2017-3-10 23:39
Hi Donnie

Tried the motors spinning on a few batteries for a while...there were no signs of any of the motors slowing down or stopping whilst raising and lowering the landing gear. Still haven't heard from DJI as yet, hopefully find out either Monday or Tuesday. Will keep you posted and keep spinning the motors...thanks again bud.

Your welcome , I like that you are trying to solve the problem and figure it out .   During the discovery process is how  you LEARN  about the system .  

Learning should be a struggle , by just getting the answer does nothing to improve at whatever task you are doing  .

( the above is a bit wordy , but you get the point )

Good Job Steve

donnie

Donnie Stugots Posted at 2017-3-11 05:38
Your welcome , I like that you are trying to solve the problem and figure it out .   During the discovery process is how  you LEARN  about the system .  

Learning should be a struggle , by just getting the answer does nothing to improve at whatever task you are doing  .

Thanks Donnie

Well DJI have come back to me and the analysis shows that there was a ESC communication error. So should I change all my ESC boards to the motors.

SteveSA Posted at 2017-3-12 21:32
Thanks Donnie

Well DJI have come back to me and the analysis shows that there was a ESC communication error. So should I change all my ESC boards to the motors.

If you can afford it I would .  Unless they can narrow it down to the exact one .

donnie

Donnie Stugots Posted at 2017-3-13 02:15
If you can afford it I would .  Unless they can narrow it down to the exact one .

donnie

Hi Donnie

They have come back to me to tell me it's the No 2 ESC board... cant seem to find out which one it is...any idea's?

Steve

SteveSA Posted at 2017-3-14 00:49
Hi Donnie

They have come back to me to tell me it's the No 2 ESC board... cant seem to find out which one it is...any idea's?

Oh boy...let me think about that one , I saw that one other time ..... I will try to find out

donnie

Donnie Stugots Posted at 2017-3-14 02:10
Oh boy...let me think about that one , I saw that one other time ..... I will try to find out

donnie

Hi Donnie

Apparently it is Front left motor for No2...so lets hope this sorts out the problem and thank you guys once again for all your help. Greatly appreciated. Bought a Inspire 1 v2 as a back up now...a lot of conflicting stories with the prop locks..