Just purchased my first ever drone.  Was massively excited.  The all new DJI MAvic Air.  Like so many others however... the moment I tried to use it for the first time- I couldn't.  I was asked for a Mainland China number and some special code.  I had my other camera with me, all set up, ready to record a rookie's maiden flight with the Mavic Pro (I've got a YouTube channel with a decent subscriber base).  I wanted to show how tough it is to fly this thing, out of the box, by a first time pilot (I watched all the initial videos, read all the manuals, and wanted to do some very basic take offs/hover/landing in beginner mode).  

Needless to say- my video, thus far, will show that apparently, the Mavic Air is useless out of the box.  I'm in Spain (at the moment, although I bounce around Europe regularly), and it's asking me for a Mainland China phone number.  Can't access menus or do anything without this.  I understand, there are issues sometimes with software- I know this better than most.  I was outside, with plenty of GPS signals available- but this made no difference.  I read a few online forums- found countless others, all over the world, having the same issue.  I followed instructions provided by some (uninstall the app, delete all Mavic folders, reinstall, etc).  

I have no issue, with the reality that sometimes, in business- things don't go as hoped for.  Products launch with an issue.  Software has a bug.  Websites malfunction.  This is inevitable.  However, what I find unforgivable, and this will most likely be mentioned in my review video of this product (and DJI) is the fact that this issue- as many online threads demonstrate, has been known since mid 2017, and yet- it seems, no one at DJI gives a &#@^.   If a brand new drone, purchased in Feb of 2018, along with software downloaded days later continues to have an issue that has been known since early/mid 2017, it demonstrates a complete lack of respect for DJI's customers or the quality of the products you sell.

I am hoping someone at DJI will provide easy to follow steps on how to do, what DJI should have done prior to my purchase of their product:  ensure the software needed to control the drone- works properly.  This is a very poor first impression of DJI, and unless the issue will be remedied shortly, the reviews on YouTube will reflect this.  Not only will I be returning the product (and record me doing so for my YouTube review), I will advise others against purchasing any DJI products based on my experience.  I am extremely disappointed by the lax approach DJI has taken to a well documented issue, nearly a year after it has been brought to your attention.

I hope someone at DJI will once and for all, provide clear, step by step instructions on how to address this, instead of wasting our time with "What country are you in?  Have you ever been to China?"  We've established at this point, that this is NOT an issue related to our internet connections or where we're located, since it manifests all over the world, on every device, in every scenario.  The only common factor- is the DJI GO app.  Therein, lies the problem.  Please resolve this issue- it's very clear your failure to have done so as of March 2018, is agigating off a lot of first time (and possibly last time) customers.  I'll reserve my final reviews and decision whether or not to keep or return this product until I see a followup from DJI staff regarding this matter- to see how this can be resolved, not only for me- but clearly countless other customers all over the world having the same issue.  Come on guys- it's 2018.  You've known about this since early/mid 2017.  Continuing to sell new products, without fixing a known issue amounts to negligence.  I respectfully ask you to please get your $*^% together.  

Which app are you using DJI Go or DJI Go4 !  Just to clarify

Thank you for responding.  In my desperate attempt to make this work, I've actually tried both apps, neither work.  I've been reading countless threads on this issue online, seeing it's a well documented issue facing many people- across a broad range of variables (location- all over the globe, platforms (Android, iOS, etc)).  If it helps, I'm using an Android phone (Samsung Galaxy) and while I'm aware it's 'preferred' to use an iPhone, I've seen others have this issue with iPhone as well.  Ultimately this appears to be an issue that affects people across the board, and DJI simply has failed to properly address it.  I'm in business as well- I deal with customers on a daily basis.  I genuinely do not like to be that irate customer myself.  But in this case, after spending 1000 Euros on my first drone- then seeing I'm having an issue that has been well documented for nearly a year but- still not resolved, I feel a little 'miffed' at DJI to put it mildly.

You seem to have an old version of DJI GO 4. With the latest one you should not have this problem. And you should also take the time to do all the firmware updates (including for the batteries).

I downloaded the latest version approx. 2 hours ago.  Does that qualify as an old version in today's high-speed world?  ;)  Regarding firmware- I will refer to the manuals and follow all required steps (I'm assuming firmware updates are outlined there).  However, I have yet to turn on the drone.  I assumed, my first step in this regard, would be to install and set up the app needed to control the drone.  

It won't work until you turn it on............. Just to help you out

And if you still have issues, there are enough guys and gals here to help you out, without getting stressed out (we have all been there) welcome to the forum and welcome to the Air Club

Thank you for helping out- I appreciate your polite and helpful message.    I will view the video in a bit- thank you again for taking the time to assist a stranger- it's a kind gesture.  Should I have more issues with this, I'll followup.  And, if not- you'll see me in the forum- hopefully in a better mood next time, if I can get this resolved.  Still disappointed though... that an issue so well documented for nearly a year now, remains unresolved in their latest product (Mavic Air).  Great first impression of the community here. Poor impression of DJI.   Cheers!

PJski Posted at 2018-3-19 06:29
Thank you for helping out- I appreciate your polite and helpful message.    I will view the video in a bit- thank you again for taking the time to assist a stranger- it's a kind gesture.  Should I have more issues with this, I'll followup.  And, if not- you'll see me in the forum- hopefully in a better mood next time, if I can get this resolved.  Still disappointed though... that an issue so well documented for nearly a year now, remains unresolved in their latest product (Mavic Air).  Great first impression of the community here. Poor impression of DJI.   Cheers!

You are very welcome.

The community here is awesome and the moderators from DJI will step in to assist as and when they see an issue and help the best they can.  

Hi guys. Can anybody on here help me.

My MAVIC 2 pro arrived from Heliguy last week after a 3 month waiting time.  Downloaded DJI GO 4. Newest version. Running on iPad mini, IOS 12.1. All firmware was updated on first day for the drone etc. First problem arose with the registration info on DJI GO 4. There was no option to choose anywhere other mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan or another Asian country as my location. Now my profile says I am in mainland China. Updated firmware on controller today and now I can’t acces the app. Just had a white screen asking for my mainland China phone number to link device. Great. Was going well and not so well.

So, only way to resolve this was to delete the app and reload it. Same problem again. Next, deleted app again,  clear cache on iPad and reload, same problem. So, next deleted app, reset iPad, reload app, same problem again. What is happening. Grrr.

I have read on the forum that loads of people have had the same problem but these are all from 2017 and cant find any thread on this issue for 2018 Mavic 2 pro. Not sure what to do now. Stuck for ideas.

Please help.

Rich

just curious, any chance these problems could be related to being fake dji drones, not saying they are but you never know, honest retailers have been unknowingly caught out in the past over Chinese knock offs.

raven swe Posted at 11-11 22:07
just curious, any chance these problems could be related to being fake dji drones, not saying they are but you never know, honest retailers have been unknowingly caught out in the past over Chinese knock offs.

Please provide details/links to these "fake dji drone" stories.
I am curious, as despite searching I have yet to find one and have not had any feedback when I asked before.

Jesus don't you guys ever read posts properly,,,, could be related to being fake dji drones,,,, word here to take note of is COULD and BEING,,,,, retailers have been unknowingly caught out in the past over Chinese knock offs,,,,, DONT see any mention of drones there, in case you didn't get it, it was ment to be taken in general over Chinese knock off stuff, cant see where I said I knew anything about fake drones,,,
so how about getting back to what the problem is with what these guys are having, my input was just a maybe could it be something like this, and yours is ?

So, is there anybody out there that can help me with my problem re mainland China issue?

raven swe Posted at 11-12 01:58
Jesus don't you guys ever read posts properly,,,, could be related to being fake dji drones,,,, word here to take note of is COULD and BEING,,,,, retailers have been unknowingly caught out in the past over Chinese knock offs,,,,, DONT see any mention of drones there, in case you didn't get it, it was ment to be taken in general over Chinese knock off stuff, cant see where I said I knew anything about fake drones,,,
so how about getting back to what the problem is with what these guys are having, my input was just a maybe could it be something like this, and yours is ?

Oh, I see. Your response to the problems these guys are having was to suggest that it may be caused by something that you have no evidence for because it doesn't exist. Very useful.
Perhaps you could learn to respond without having a tantrum in future.

fans815920be Posted at 11-12 11:23
So, is there anybody out there that can help me with my problem re mainland China issue?

Rich, can I suggest you post your query as a new topic on the Mavic 2 Pro section of the forum. With a bit of luck it will be more visible and someone from dji will be along to help quickly.
Hope you get it sorted soon!

Maybe you Kas could stick to the question in hand and respond to that instead of having a poke at someone's post