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My Mavic is being held hostage by DJI
1309 12 2017-8-23
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brettt
lvl.4
United States
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I had the famous gimbal obstruction error in the middle of a trip in Iceland:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7aujEnVLVUQ

Support first told me to do useless things like update the firmware (to the new evil version). When that didn't help (obviously) they said to send it in, so I did. The package went back and forth across the country; I'm not sure if DJI rejected the package initially or the carrier screwed up, but it finally got there after 2 weeks. The same day it was received, I was quoted $196 for the flat cable, gimbal arm module, vibration damping module, and labor.

The same story is present in many places throughout this forum and other Mavic forums, and many people say if you keep pushing they'll fix or replace it for free, as it seems to be some kind of manufacturing or design defect. My drone has no damage, and neither does anyone else with this problem. When I was messing with it I had actually gotten the gimbal to work normally for a few minutes before it went back to the same problem.

I sent multiple e-mails to support asking if there was any actual damage to the drone and got no reply. They were ignoring me. So I called the support line, and they said they would have the repair team take another look. I waited a week with no news, so called again, and of course nothing had happened. They said they would have the repair team look again, but would expedite it this time. It's been almost another week with no news. All of this when the initial repair assessment happened the same day it was received.

I think they're just waiting for me to give up and pay them the $196. My drone is a hostage and I have to pay up.
2017-8-23
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Tealk
Second Officer
Flight distance : 479613 ft
Romania
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that is bad luck ...sorry for you...you did a ginbal calibration? (maybe is a stupid question)
2017-8-23
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brettt
lvl.4
United States
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Yeah, I tried everything that anyone with this problem had mentioned on the forums, desperately trying to get it to work again when I was in Iceland...
2017-8-23
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Husker001
lvl.1

United States
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brettt Posted at 2017-8-23 10:37
Yeah, I tried everything that anyone with this problem had mentioned on the forums, desperately trying to get it to work again when I was in Iceland...

Their support is horrible. I swore I wasn't going to be "one of those" who writes in to complain about the DJI telephone support, but I'm at my wits end. Bought my Mavic 7/23, had a number of successful flights, no real issues and very easy to fly compared to all of the r/c airplanes ive flown in the past. On 7/30 I take the drone out by my house, fly for a few minutes and take pictures of me and my daughter. Then I decide to take it up higher to get a neighborhood shot - I'm up at about 250 feet when all of a sudden the Mavic starts spinning out of control and coming down rapidly. The controls weren't working and at the moment I didn't know what happened as I was in calm conditions, nothing but air touching the Mavic and I was praying it would come down on something relatively soft. Unfortunately it hit pavement and the camera was barely attached to the Mavic and numerous scrapes, etc. I sent it in on 8/1 after talking to DJI since they claimed they could get it back to me quickly (I was hoping to have it for the eclipse). I've gone through numerous phone calls with their support team - which is clearly overseas and has a limited script to work with. I also have received a few notices that I owe DJI $190 for the repairs. Last week I evidently said some magic words "manufacturer defect" and then they said they needed someone else on their side to do the data review. I called again today and now one has reviewed the log. Unfortunately I don't have the log since I already sent it in hoping for a quick return. I do have the pics and video of the flight log that shows "motor obstruction" and the spinning out of control. My fear is that they will send back the drone without being repaired since they are still reviewing the logs. I'm disappointed that as the consumer I've spent a lot of time chasing down a "status" when there clearly has been no progress made. I'd feel better if I knew I was talking to someone who really knew what was happening with it and could give a real update. I initially tried to return it to Best Buy since it was a motor malfunction, but they claimed they couldn't take it since it was crashed.

Don't mean to hijack your post, but even posts weren't showing up. Any other suggestions?
2017-8-23
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fansa5957cce
lvl.1
Flight distance : 330302 ft
United States
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Your experience sounds identical to mine, only my Mavic starting smoking after the Gimbal Overload Error. Yours is probably sitting the shelf right next to mine.
2017-8-23
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brettt
lvl.4
United States
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Well, support issues seem to be inevitable... I've had my drones try to crash themselves a few times but it never happened, then the Mavic stopped working without ever crashing. I called a third time today and again they said they would have the data reviewed. I'll give it another few days and call again. They have all the power, I don't know what else to do... will post updates.
2017-8-23
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DJI Diana
Administrator
Flight distance : 2408 ft

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brettt Posted at 2017-8-23 16:57
Well, support issues seem to be inevitable... I've had my drones try to crash themselves a few times but it never happened, then the Mavic stopped working without ever crashing. I called a third time today and again they said they would have the data reviewed. I'll give it another few days and call again. They have all the power, I don't know what else to do... will post updates.

Sorry for the unpleasant experience, the warranty period of the gimbal camera is 6 months, as you can see the screenshot below. You can also visit: http://www.dji.com/service/policy, I've checked your case, your drone has been activated at Nov 2016. I am sorry to say that you may need to pay for the repair since the gimbal camera is out of warranty. 1.png
2017-8-23
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DJI Diana
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Flight distance : 2408 ft

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Husker001 Posted at 2017-8-23 16:41
Their support is horrible. I swore I wasn't going to be "one of those" who writes in to complain about the DJI telephone support, but I'm at my wits end. Bought my Mavic 7/23, had a number of successful flights, no real issues and very easy to fly compared to all of the r/c airplanes ive flown in the past. On 7/30 I take the drone out by my house, fly for a few minutes and take pictures of me and my daughter. Then I decide to take it up higher to get a neighborhood shot - I'm up at about 250 feet when all of a sudden the Mavic starts spinning out of control and coming down rapidly. The controls weren't working and at the moment I didn't know what happened as I was in calm conditions, nothing but air touching the Mavic and I was praying it would come down on something relatively soft. Unfortunately it hit pavement and the camera was barely attached to the Mavic and numerous scrapes, etc. I sent it in on 8/1 after talking to DJI since they claimed they could get it back to me quickly (I was hoping to have it for the eclipse). I've gone through numerous phone calls with their support team - which is clearly overseas and has a limited script to work with. I also have received a few notices that I owe DJI $190 for the repairs. Last week I evidently said some magic words "manufacturer defect" and then they said they needed someone else on their side to do the data review. I called again today and now one has reviewed the log. Unfortunately I don't have the log since I already sent it in hoping for a quick return. I do have the pics and video of the flight log that shows "motor obstruction" and the spinning out of control. My fear is that they will send back the drone without being repaired since they are still reviewing the logs. I'm disappointed that as the consumer I've spent a lot of time chasing down a "status" when there clearly has been no progress made. I'd feel better if I knew I was talking to someone who really knew what was happening with it and could give a real update. I initially tried to return it to Best Buy since it was a motor malfunction, but they claimed they couldn't take it since it was crashed.

Don't mean to hijack your post, but even posts weren't showing up. Any other suggestions?

Sorry to hear about this, sincerely apologize for the trouble you have been caused. Just checked your case, our engineers are reviewing the data now, I've escalated it, will keep you updated, hope it can be sorted out shortly. sorry again for this.
2017-8-23
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DJI Diana
Administrator
Flight distance : 2408 ft

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fansa5957cce Posted at 2017-8-23 16:53
Your experience sounds identical to mine, only my Mavic starting smoking after the Gimbal Overload Error. Yours is probably sitting the shelf right next to mine.

We've replied your own thread, please check it.
2017-8-23
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Husker001
lvl.1

United States
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DJI Diana Posted at 2017-8-23 18:34
Sorry to hear about this, sincerely apologize for the trouble you have been caused. Just checked your case, our engineers are reviewing the data now, I've escalated it, will keep you updated, hope it can be sorted out shortly. sorry again for this.

Thank you very much for escalating this. I look forward to a resolution.
2017-8-23
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brettt
lvl.4
United States
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Well, fortunately I got an e-mail that they'll repair it. Guess complaining on the forums does the trick... appreciate the help.
2017-8-23
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Husker001
lvl.1

United States
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DJI Diana Posted at 2017-8-23 18:34
Sorry to hear about this, sincerely apologize for the trouble you have been caused. Just checked your case, our engineers are reviewing the data now, I've escalated it, will keep you updated, hope it can be sorted out shortly. sorry again for this.

My case was escalated (thanks Diana) and DJI is repairing my Mavic under warranty.
2017-8-25
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DJI Diana
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Flight distance : 2408 ft

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Husker001 Posted at 2017-8-25 05:21
My case was escalated (thanks Diana) and DJI is repairing my Mavic under warranty.

Thank you for your update, hope you can get it back soon, should you have any further questions, please feel free to let us know.
2017-8-28
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