Hello, new to this forum.  Just now researching for my next purchase, definately a DJI product.  I'm leaning heavily towards the Mavic Pro.  However, I keep reading (and viewing videos) where people are having issues.  One guy had to buy 3 before he got one that worked properly (1st one would not focus, 2nd one some other deal breaking issue).  And then there's apparently many issues with the Android devices/software crashing or otherwise glitching. I have an iPhone, but alas it's not a supported device, so I'm also looking for a new phone/tablet.
So, I know that the most vocal people are the ones that complain. And perhaps these were issues related only to early production models.  I don't know.  I do know, I don't want to spend more time fixing than flying.
Could you Mavic users chime in on this and help me make a decision?
Thanks

I've been flying the Mavic Pro for about 3 months now, never had any of those issues even from updating; They all went smoothly on mine. I used to fly it with my Asus Zenfone 3 Max the only thing that bothers me on that phone was that, it's not as good as my iPhone 7 when it comes to image transmission speed but with the iPhone its almost instantaneous , never had any overheating issues too on that device(Asus) or an app crash. Guess I can say I must be really lucky???

Anyway get the mavic if you care about portability, its an amazing piece of equipment.
Just my 2 cents.

It' like learning to swim, you got to dive in and thread water for awhile before you can breast stroke, you need to be a little computer savvy, start out slow & low until you get the feel for flying a quad.
I use Android for both my P3P, Mavic, OSMO Mobile & Crystal Sky and have had no major issues so far, follow instructions and you should be fine. Practice makes perfect.

You MUST use a compatible device and you will find many recommendations here on this forum.

pixelperspectiv Posted at 2017-9-23 06:28
I've been flying the Mavic Pro for about 3 months now, never had any of those issues even from updating; They all went smoothly on mine. I used to fly it with my Asus Zenfone 3 Max the only thing that bothers me on that phone was that, it's not as good as my iPhone 7 when it comes to image transmission speed but with the iPhone its almost instantaneous , never had any overheating issues too on that device(Asus) or an app crash. Guess I can say I must be really lucky???

Anyway get the mavic if you care about portability, its an amazing piece of equipment.

Thanks.  Yeah, portability and quick on-the-fly sessions is a big factor for me.  Probably more so than the better camera of the P4P.

The Mavic pro is a great drone! but here is my experience.

1st mavic purchased from best buy. Did not fly right, calibrated the hell out of it and went to best buy and exchanged it.

2nd mavic replaced from best buy. Had problems with the gimbal, video feedback was choppy and shaking. Returned again to best buy and had it exchanged. No problems.

3rd mavic replaced from best buy. After a couple of months the same issue started happening with my gimbal, video feedback was choppy and jello like. Could not return to best buy and exchange it because it has passed it's return policy. Had to send it in through DJI warranty repair service in California.

Just got back my 4th mavic yesterday from DJI repair service (took exactly 2 weeks from shipping to them and back to me). Lack of communication from their repair service, got an email saying they replaced the flight control esc board. But in return I got a refurbished Mavic. Took it out to fly and works perfectly fine...SO FAR... (fingers crossed)

Like i said, the mavic is a great drone. Maybe I was just unlucky, who knows.

From what i heard when go pro karma was released DJI was under a lot of pressure to supply the consumer with the Mavic Pro..fast paced production leads to.....poor quality. I guess.  Good luck hope this helps.

personaly i have my Mavic from february 2017 and i dont have problems..(never had) ... i saw problems only with birds after march..april...or maybe can be user problems, they dont read manuals...regarding Iphone i cant tell you anything cose i use Android and never had an Iphone cose i dont like them....i user for my bird Samsung Galaxy S5 with Android 6.0.1 and never had any problems...

before you buy one try to rent one from friends ... install DjiGo4 and make some tests, if you are famyliar with quadcopters you will not have problems...

The bigest problem will be "I want to by a Mavic" ... you will se

QuadKid Posted at 2017-9-23 06:28
It' like learning to swim, you got to dive in and thread water for awhile before you can breast stroke, you need to be a little computer savvy, start out slow & low until you get the feel for flying a quad.
I use Android for both my P3P, Mavic, OSMO Mobile & Crystal Sky and have had no major issues so far, follow instructions and you should be fine. Practice makes perfect.

Thanks.  I've been flying quads for some time and just wanting to "up my game" with the Mavic Pro or P4P.  The portability and quick to setup features are very appealing to me for my style of flying/shooting.  I've been into computer and electronic technologies since the late seventies, so those are not my issue.  But as I said, I'd rather be flying.

Mavic is ready to fly ..besides updates you cannot do anything ...

and get Fly More Combo version

Jon_ny23 Posted at 2017-9-23 06:33
The Mavic pro is a great drone! but here is my experience.

1st mavic purchased from best buy. Did not fly right, calibrated the hell out of it and went to best buy and exchanged it.

This is exactly what I'm trying to avoid.  Thanks for the feedback.

Tealk Posted at 2017-9-23 06:33
personaly i have my Mavic from february 2017 and i dont have problems..(never had) ... i saw problems only with birds after march..april...or maybe can be user problems, they dont read manuals...regarding Iphone i cant tell you anything cose i use Android and never had an Iphone cose i dont like them....i user for my bird Samsung Galaxy S5 with Android 6.0.1 and never had any problems...

before you buy one try to rent one from friends ... install DjiGo4 and make some tests, if you are famyliar with quadcopters you will not have problems...

I guess you are one of the lucky ones.  I just to avoid situation like @jon_ny23 reported in the message above (#5).  He's on his 4th drone - 2 DOAs and 1 that quit working after 2 months.  If that's typical, then I'm not interested.  I'll go with the P4P.

In my mind as a native English speaker, reliability is the quality of performing consistently well.  But reliability is not related to the percentage of the devices that are bad right out of the box.  With that said....

Assuming you get a working one, the Mavic Pro is reliable.  But DJI software is NOT reliable, especially on Android devices.  DJI as a company is not reliable and never has been.  DJI firmware is no longer reliable (if it ever was).

Ditch the DJI Go 4 app and use Litchi instead ($25 cost) and your app will be reliable.  Never allow a firmware update and your aircraft will be reliable.  Beyond that I don't know what to tell you.  You're always one firmware update away from having a brick (read the P4 threads), and always one update away from having a drone intentionally further crippled by DJI for so-called legal reasons.

I recently sold my Mavic Pro(just to pre-order the Platinum) I had 517 miles of flight distance and 40+hours of flight time.  Tell me that wasn't reliable and it was still running strong when i sold it.

Irate Retro Posted at 2017-9-23 07:00
In my mind as a native English speaker, reliability is the quality of performing consistently well.  But reliability is not related to the percentage of the devices that are bad right out of the box.  With that said....

Assuming you get a working one, the Mavic Pro is reliable.  But DJI software is NOT reliable, especially on Android devices.  DJI as a company is not reliable and never has been.  DJI firmware is no longer reliable (if it ever was).

Interesting.  Is this the same for the P4P?  Are there sources available to (down)load older versions of the firmware that are known to performer better?
I'll check out Litchi as well.  Had no idea there was an option for the controller software. (I'm new to the DJI world)

I've been flying the Mavic Pro for over 9 months (300 flights) under varying weather of Finland in winter, spring and summer. I have had only one close by incident and it was my own fault (video link below). The Mavic Pro is a very robust beast.

cleamon Posted at 2017-9-23 08:36
Interesting.  Is this the same for the P4P?  Are there sources available to (down)load older versions of the firmware that are known to performer better?
I'll check out Litchi as well.  Had no idea there was an option for the controller software. (I'm new to the DJI world)

P4P, Mavic, makes no difference.  The DGI Go 4 app is the same app and just as unreliable.  It also makes no difference for the firmware, because it's the same screwy company that's writing it and they're going to do whatever they want even if it means crippling your drone to a certain extent.  Or rendering it totally unflyable, as in the case of the Phantom 4 standard.  (P4P was not affected the same way if that's what you were asking.)  The users are the beta testers.

Yes, there are sources to download older versions of the firmware.  We are not allowed to discuss it here anymore.  Reason being:  They put flight restrictions on the newer firmware and they don't want you bypassing it.  THEY will tell you what you can do with your drone.  (This is a common theme with them)

Litchi is a good stable app compared to DJI Go 4.  In the interest of not being confusing I would not use the term "controller software" though, because the "controller" is the physical device with the sticks and runs firmware by DJI.  The app that runs on your phone/table is a whole different matter.

M1956 Posted at 2017-9-23 09:19
I've been flying the Mavic Pro for over 9 months (300 flights) under varying weather of Finland in winter, spring and summer. I have had only one close by incident and it was my own fault (video link below). The Mavic Pro is a very robust beast.

https://youtu.be/li0uJyUNNrU

Absolutely amazing !!  BTW Nice job of flying and not panicking!

Irate Retro Posted at 2017-9-23 09:31
P4P, Mavic, makes no difference.  The DGI Go 4 app is the same app and just as unreliable.  It also makes no difference for the firmware, because it's the same screwy company that's writing it and they're going to do whatever they want even if it means crippling your drone to a certain extent.  Or rendering it totally unflyable, as in the case of the Phantom 4 standard.  (P4P was not affected the same way if that's what you were asking.)  The users are the beta testers.

Yes, there are sources to download older versions of the firmware.  We are not allowed to discuss it here anymore.  Reason being:  They put flight restrictions on the newer firmware and they don't want you bypassing it.  THEY will tell you what you can do with your drone.  (This is a common theme with them)

Thanks for that info.  But I would add that if the application on running on the phone/tablet implements features such as "follow me", etc., then it is indeed "controller software".  It is indirectly controlling the bird.
BUT I will refrain from calling it that.  

Flying the Magic for 6 months now. VERY satisfied.

I've not had any issues (that weren't my fault) with the Mavic. My friend owns one too and he's not had any issues either. I still think a lot of the negative comments here are pilot error or false expectations.

M1956 Posted at 2017-9-23 09:19
I've been flying the Mavic Pro for over 9 months (300 flights) under varying weather of Finland in winter, spring and summer. I have had only one close by incident and it was my own fault (video link below). The Mavic Pro is a very robust beast.

https://youtu.be/li0uJyUNNrU

Wow!! You're MP survived that storm? Awesome vid btw. That just shows how great the MP is.  I dont have the 'marbles' to fly my MP through that tho..lol

Baby steps for me. Just a beginner and still learning.

I love my Mavic.  I think that the majority of Mavic owners would say that their experience has been positive. I'd like to think that if you decide to purchase a Mavic, you'll not have buyers remorse.

No problems with my Mavic either.  All firmware/software updates work, etc.  My second drone, a Phantom 3A is my first and still flying.  My son flies his Mavic more often than I do mine and also hasn't had any problems.

Been flying my Mavic since February with no issues even after updates. Mavic is my fourth drone and by far the best. Go with the Mavic.

Don't believe everything you read. Mavic Pro is an amazing dependable copter machine. There's plenty of fake news, blame being thrown around and misinformation in the universe.

Up until yesterday, I would have said it is very reliable. Then I had a flight where the Remote control disconnected from the Mavic even though it was only 30 feet away. Could not get it to reconnect. Could not make it land when it returned to home. No one at DJI or elsewhere can give me an answer as to what happened or what to do in that situation. I now have zero confidence in this bird.

M1956 Posted at 2017-9-23 09:19
I've been flying the Mavic Pro for over 9 months (300 flights) under varying weather of Finland in winter, spring and summer. I have had only one close by incident and it was my own fault (video link below). The Mavic Pro is a very robust beast.

https://youtu.be/li0uJyUNNrU

WOW - What a trooper the Mavic proved itself to be. Hopefully an important timing lesson learned there. That was some brilliant footage of the storm and lightening coming in though. Bomb proof - Nope, a hardy little fella - Yes.

I would also like to add that I have flown....Here we go - P3S, P3A, Mavic, P4P and now back to Mavic, due to portability factor. Never had a brick, never had issues with FW updates and certainly never had a fly-away. There are many doomsayers on this forum. There are many haters on this forum. There are many who should have never bought a drone in the 1st place. Yes there are known issues but you will be hard fetched to find another company that makes products like DJI do. There are imitations, there are drones that do most of the stuff that ours do but still fall short. I would, through flying both, go for the Mavic as a 1st drone and then move on to the P4P - Personal opinion of course. At least you are doing the research before diving in. Complex - Yes, but a hell of a lot of fun once your baby wings come off.

Flying the Mavic for 2 months now. No major issues very happy with this drone

Honestly its given me trouble on way more occasions than its been smooth... While Ive gotten some pretty cool footage that I wouldnt have been able to get without the mavic, I have to say that every single time I turn it on Im 100% prepared for a new issue to pop up.

Thanks everyone for chiming in with your experiences.  Exactly what I'm looking for -- a more balanced perspective.  I tend to disregard the youtubers that review their FREE drones since of course giving a positive review means they'll get more free stuff.  Can't really trust their honesty.  On the other hand there are the ranters who complain about everything.  It's very hard to "separate the wheat from the chaff"

Simply buy one and you will learn how to live with DJI. In addition, the firmware that comes with the quad is the best to fly. But the DJI Go 4, you need to find a match and stick with it.

If you check for forum, you will see similar quality reports on the Phantom 4.   I have hundreds of flights with my Mavic ordered September of last year right after the announcement. Two of my coworkers and a number of other local (Colorado Springs) pilots have had absolutely no issues.  It's disappointing to hear about the quality control issues but overall this is the exception not the rule.

WolfgangStiller Posted at 2017-9-25 06:11
If you check for forum, you will see similar quality reports on the Phantom 4.   I have hundreds of flights with my Mavic ordered September of last year right after the announcement. Two of my coworkers and a number of other local (Colorado Springs) pilots have had absolutely no issues.  It's disappointing to hear about the quality control issues but overall this is the exception not the rule.

Thanks.  That's the point of my question really - to see how many people are NOT experiencing problems.  Because mostly you hear from the people with complaints. It's true of everything, computers, cars, phones, etc.  People with problems are (or tend to be) the most vocal.
Thanks again for your positive feedback.

cleamon Posted at 2017-9-25 08:36
Thanks.  That's the point of my question really - to see how many people are NOT experiencing problems.  Because mostly you hear from the people with complaints. It's true of everything, computers, cars, phones, etc.  People with problems are (or tend to be) the most vocal.
Thanks again for your positive feedback.

Glad I could help!  The question you asked is something on many peoples minds so I'd expect this be read by many others.

M1956 Posted at 2017-9-23 09:19
I've been flying the Mavic Pro for over 9 months (300 flights) under varying weather of Finland in winter, spring and summer. I have had only one close by incident and it was my own fault (video link below). The Mavic Pro is a very robust beast.

https://youtu.be/li0uJyUNNrU

Great video! great narrative also

Had mine now for 3 months and haven’t had any issues with it including updates. Been rock solid and very enjoyable.

M1956 Posted at 2017-9-23 09:19
I've been flying the Mavic Pro for over 9 months (300 flights) under varying weather of Finland in winter, spring and summer. I have had only one close by incident and it was my own fault (video link below). The Mavic Pro is a very robust beast.

https://youtu.be/li0uJyUNNrU

So I have to ask, how is your Mavic now?

Jay square Posted at 2018-4-29 05:07
So I have to ask, how is your Mavic now?

My Mavic is fine. I had a test flight today with DJI Go 4 v. 4.2.14 (iOS). Everything was ok.

had a few mishaps, satisfied on how DJI handled my case, I have to keep in mind that one has to learn how to walk before one can run, all in all I love my MP.