Hi,

I own a Phanton 2 Vision+ v2 and recently had a minor crash which requires a new ESC and possibly a new 2212 motor. To my dismay it appears no parts are being made/supplied for this older drone. Shops are all out of stock and just a few bits available overseas only. Is that correct? Now that DJI has official 'discontinued' these models is it essentially and expensive old paperweight? I am reluctant to invest in DJI again knowing parts and service life on these expesnive machines is short lived. I mean shops are still selling the last Phantom 2's in stock as brand new yet one crash and its useless... how can this make any sense. It even appears Phantom 3 standard 2312 motors are discontinued, so once last spare parts dry up will also be impossible to repair in near future (and shops are still selling these too). So is there any official information about how long spare parts will be available for any given model?

Are the 2312 motors from the Phantom 3 the same as the 2312 motors used in the Phantom 2 Vision+ v3. In other words are the 2312 960 motors identical as online they appear model specific (different part numbers) but are they actually the same. One difference appears to be the wiring where the Pahntom 3 2312 is wired to central board instead of ESC (so maybe longer wires only). Or is there other differences... mounting feet / screw lengths / or hardware changes.

Lastly do DJI still repair in house these older models?  

The motor of Phantom 2V+ is different from Phantom 3's. They are not the same.  
Besides, we do recommend sending the drone our official repair center for repair for the safety of the flight.
Here's the online repair link: https://repair.dji.com/en/SelfRepair/Area …
Send it in if you need and we will do our best to help this out. Thank you.

Shops are all out of stock and just a few bits available overseas only. Is that correct?
No, a tiny bit of googling finds lots available
https://www.google.com.au/search ... wWdbGFovp8wf04oWQCQ
https://www.google.com.au/search ... wWcOvLovp8wf04oWQCQ

Now that DJI has official 'discontinued' these models is it essentially and expensive old paperweight? I am reluctant to invest in DJI again knowing parts and service life on these expesnive machines is short lived.
Sorry to burst your bubble but the P3 series is very outdated and way behind modern technology.
The P2 series are dinosaurs of the drone world.  Even working it's still not much better than a paperweight.
If you want to really fly a drone, you'd do well to invest in something more modern.

I mean shops are still selling the last Phantom 2's in stock as brand new yet one crash and its useless...
Really ... still selling P2s??

Labroides Posted at 2017-7-20 03:26
Shops are all out of stock and just a few bits available overseas only. Is that correct?
No, a tiny bit of googling finds lots available
https://www.google.com.au/search ... wWdbGFovp8wf04oWQCQ

Actually if you follow through on the links to the shops you will find nearly all DJI OEM stuff is not actually in stock (just because shops have a stock item in search text still does not mean they actually have the part).

And yes I know P2 are old and P3 are too it seems but that makes me wonder if I bought a P4 it will only have a lifespan (parts wise) similar to the past models. Considering they flu and crash and get damage parts are critical to such investments.

DJI Thor Posted at 2017-7-20 02:52
The motor of Phantom 2V+ is different from Phantom 3's. They are not the same.  
Besides, we do recommend sending the drone our official repair center for repair for the safety of the flight.
Here's the online repair link: https://repair.dji.com/en/SelfRepair/Area …

Australia: Your selection is not currently available. Please contact us via www.dji.com/support by choosing “OTHER SUPPORT OPTIONS” at the bottom of this page to arrange repair.

Local supplier wants $80 to do a quote (if I reject quote its still $80) and if I accept the quote they will send it to DJI for repairs as they can not order any parts for this model. Its counter productive. I know whats wrong just need the part.

This situation has filled us with regret, we are sorry for the mishap and the trouble you’ve been caused. Phantom 2 Version+ is a very previous product, I'm afraid it's hard to find accessories like motors from dealers.
So there is little I can help to get this part. I am so sorry.
Please contact us via www.dji.com/support by choosing “OTHER SUPPORT OPTIONS” at the bottom of this page to arrange a repair if you need.

DJI Thor Posted at 2017-7-20 20:06
This situation has filled us with regret, we are sorry for the mishap and the trouble you’ve been caused. Phantom 2 Version+ is a very previous product, I'm afraid it's hard to find accessories like motors from dealers.
So there is little I can help to get this part. I am so sorry.
Please contact us via www.dji.com/support by choosing “OTHER SUPPORT OPTIONS” at the bottom of this page to arrange a repair if you need.

Thanks for your reply. I understand its now a paper weight and DJI's anticipated service life in just 3 years on these expensive toys. I am sure you probably have a few spare parts still at the service centre but never are prepared to send parts directly to customers. Instead the cost for me to ship such a large package overseas + repair costs ends up more than the drone is worth.

Sarcasm aside, it is both disappointing and eye opening.  I think you lose a lot of future potential with such practices. For example, I am not prepared to spend $2000 on a piece of equipment that parts will not be available for in 3 years in respect that its a flying machine and mishaps are common.  A $2000 computer that sits on my desk undisturbed might have a 3 years service life for motherboard etc but will last 7 years. A $2000 DSLR will often last 5+ years with bumps and mechanical shutters. Get my point.

So from a non drone fanatic but from a general average consumer level and interested in technology and/or photography and/or RC... and so on... I have often considered getting a drone and only now having experienced a second hand drone and the lack of parts 3 years later I have given up totally on buying new DJI products (and perhaps others but DJI is the go to brand). Likewise inexperienced amateur people given such gifts or toys (older models more cheaply to get into the scene)... will also likely be put off by the lack of support and high costs of ownership. The end result is drones remain a niche market as such compared to a camera or gopro etc.

Put simply DJI's lack of simple help to supply a few old parts (they absolutely still have in house) and do not make any more for existing owners (probably to force buying new products)... has the opposite effect on a larger scale and simply scares the majority from ever investing further rather than wetting appetites on older or entry models and buying more and more later.

Bye Bye DJI

Dirty Bird Posted at 2017-7-21 05:04
Out of curiosity have you checked out the lifespan of a cellular phone, tablet, or laptop?  The next model is already in development when the current model starts selling.

For years I watched laptops get better and better. It seemed that each new model/series was about the same price as the predecessor, but the new ones were faster, more memory, bigger drives, etc.

Ultimately, at least for me, the question became: if I could tolerate something not brand, spanking new, I ought to be able to buy a model from the year before last for a significant savings over the new ones. But they seemed impossible to find. Eventually, I *did* find a bunch of used laptops and it *was* pretty much as I expected. A guy I knew had a really, really old IBM laptop (touch-pad, think-pad, something like that). In fact, he had three of them. He claimed to have paid $100 for each of them.

I doubt that means we should be able to find used Phantoms for only a couple hundred bucks!

My 1995 Dodge RAM truck lasted me 267,000 miles and 19 years. Something electrical gave up the ghost and an army of mechanics were unable to ascertain the problem. Guess instead of a new truck I can afford several Phantoms. LOL

Art - N4PJ
Leesburg, FL

Art - N4PJ Posted at 2017-7-21 06:09
For years I watched laptops get better and better. It seemed that each new model/series was about the same price as the predecessor, but the new ones were faster, more memory, bigger drives, etc.

Ultimately, at least for me, the question became: if I could tolerate something not brand, spanking new, I ought to be able to buy a model from the year before last for a significant savings over the new ones. But they seemed impossible to find. Eventually, I *did* find a bunch of used laptops and it *was* pretty much as I expected. A guy I knew had a really, really old IBM laptop (touch-pad, think-pad, something like that). In fact, he had three of them. He claimed to have paid $100 for each of them.

This is not surprising me, as to availability of the motors. I was not intending to become a flight technician, software IT expert for the connectivity issues and upgrading of the software issues. Having to find go back to a previous version if you could find it to do so. When they began "bricking" the P2 vision-v2 with the upgrades for the camera, I saw here in the forums that there would be trouble ahead...especially with the new P3 coming out. Never did I think they would abandon the expensive P2v2 product, but I was wrong, and they lost a double sale of 2 Inspires for fear that it would happen again. There's an old saying in the aerial photography biz, "If you've got one, you've got none". We buy in pairs double everything. My old P2vision...still flies well and although there is no video feed for a full 8 seconds after snapping a still shot, I can deal with the issues, but I refuse to upgrade the software for fear it will "brick" the drone.....Peace all.
the villages area flier..

DJI's reputation by not making a few old parts gets damaged even more by people flogging off their old drones in "working order" "still flys" to the unsuspecting wanting to get into the scene but not wanting to spend $2000 on their first one. Unbeknown is one crash and your $400-$500 second hand drone is a paperweight. On one hand its buyer beware but the seller most likely would know such status (and just say nothing too. The end result is new potential customer to the game waste $500 and have a mini good experience and a major bad one... moving on for good. If DJI just kept making a few old parts (esc and motors) the experience would be totally different and these same people would probably get hooked and the next purchase is $2000+.

Dirty Bird Posted at 2017-7-21 05:04
Out of curiosity have you checked out the lifespan of a cellular phone, tablet, or laptop?  The next model is already in development when the current model starts selling.

Yes I understand and agree with you. But my phone is not flying into the sky, just from table to hand to pockets. My laptop lives in transport and on flat tables not in the sky. Etc Etc. This is a unique product that is 'expected' to suffer some motor and esc replacements from even a simple tip over on landing. Most laptops, phones whatever will happily tick along for years and years without hardware failures... just faster and better comes out that we want.,, but i could still use the old slow laptop unless dropped into water or screen cracked etc (which is easy to avoid).

Xcammer Posted at 2017-7-21 13:09
This is not surprising me, as to availability of the motors. I was not intending to become a flight technician, software IT expert for the connectivity issues and upgrading of the software issues. Having to find go back to a previous version if you could find it to do so. When they began "bricking" the P2 vision-v2 with the upgrades for the camera, I saw here in the forums that there would be trouble ahead...especially with the new P3 coming out. Never did I think they would abandon the expensive P2v2 product, but I was wrong, and they lost a double sale of 2 Inspires for fear that it would happen again. There's an old saying in the aerial photography biz, "If you've got one, you've got none". We buy in pairs double everything. My old P2vision...still flies well and although there is no video feed for a full 8 seconds after snapping a still shot, I can deal with the issues, but I refuse to upgrade the software for fear it will "brick" the drone.....Peace all.
the villages area flier..

"...the villages area flyer..."

I'm assuming you're referring to The Villages in central Florida. I'm just a short distance away from you. Do most of my flying in the Venetian Gardens area in Leesburg - I just live around the corner from there.

Several comments/rumors I've heard is that the authorities are amazingly restrictive in The Villages. Those guys in the Southern Hills squadron reportedly don't like drones. That's a long way for me to go to fly anyway.

Just Curious.

Art - N4PJ
Leesburg, FL