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An example of what you can expect from DJI Technical Support
2903 12 2018-10-6
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Chuck101
Second Officer
Flight distance : 27815 ft
United States
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This is the exchange that occurred between myself and the DJI Technical Support personnel. It becomes very obvious they do not pay attention to the information you supply. They needlessly complicate everything. There is no getting a simple answer to a simple question.

Original request:

I was getting a status indication on the rear LEDs of my Spark that is not defined in the User Manual. The status indication was as follows:
Solid red for 2 seconds
Off for 1 second
Solid red for 2 seconds
Off for 2 seconds
Flashing green (P-Mode with GPS)
This pattern repeats every 10 seconds.

The Spark was stable and responded well. No control problems were experienced. No error indications on the GO4 app.

I had several on-line support chat sessions with Mary (9/11), Mark (9/14) and Rickson (9/18). I wanted to know what was the meaning of this status pattern. As requested a video was sent clearly showing this LED status pattern. The consensus was this was likely a Critical Error. This information and video was reportedly forwarded to the "development team". I was first told I would hear something in 24 - 48 hours. That did not happen. Then I was told it would be 5 business days. Nothing was ever received.

At that point (9/19) I requested a case number and shipping label. The Spark was sent in for repair based on what I was led to believe was possibly a Critical Error. Case number CAS-xxxxxxx-xxxxxx.

Subsequently, after the Spark had already been shipped, I was able to establish through other non-DJI sources that this status indication was in all probability a No Fly Zone warning. It so happens I am near an airport.

The repair facility reported "no fault found" with my Spark. In light of the information I now had this was no surprise.

Bottom line is all of this wasted time shipping and troubleshooting could have been avoided if DJI had documented this LED status indication of the Spark or at least provided this information to the on-line support chat session employees.

In addition the DJI Forum Administrators (DJI Gamora) refuse to confirm or deny this No Fly Zone warning indication. Very poor support from them as well.

After all the inconvenience DJI has caused me I deserve an explanation.
1.Why has DJI failed to document or even acknowledge the existence of this No Fly Zone warning LED status indication?
2. Why do the on-line support chat session employees and the DJI Forum Administrators not have access to this information?
3. Exactly what does DJI gain by withholding this information?

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DJI reply:
Thanks for your email.

Could you please give us the detailed address or coordinates of that issue happened ?Please send me the information in the format of longitude: 1.123456; latitude: 1.123456 ,so we can check first ?

And based on the information ,you have a spark ,may i know when you are at that location ,did your DJI GO 4 APP ,has any reminders that shows you are in or approaching an airport ? If you happens at the same location now ,could you please send us a screen shot of the DJI GO 4 APP ,map page  ?And a screen shot of the DJI GO 4 about page ?So we can check for you ?Also ,may i know what device you use to connect the drone ?Iphone ?Or Android phone ?

If you have any further question, please feel free to contact us. We're always here to help.

Best Regards
Bruce
DJI Technical Support
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My reply:
DJI has got to be one of the most difficult customer service companies I have ever had the displeasure of having to deal with.


You are hell-bent on making things just as unnecessarily complicated as you possibility can. All the information you need was given in the original post. Is there anyone there that actually has any English language reading comprehension skills? If so, please pass this to them.


The ONLY issue at hand here is WHAT DOES THE DESCRIBED SPARK STATUS LED PATTERN REPRESENT?
And WHY DO YOU REFUSE TO DOCUMENT IT?
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DJI repy:
Thank you for contacting DJI Technical Support.

What you have experienced is no more acceptable to us than it is to you. If I were in your position, I think I’d feel just as you do.

For the status led indicator on the rear of the aircraft that means it is turned on and self-diagnostic status.

This is actually available on our website you may check this link: https://dl.djicdn.com/downloads/Spark/Spark%20User%20Manual%20V1.6-.pdf.

This status normally happens when you turn on the spark or it is on idle and not connected with a remote controller.

I sincerely apologize if our colleagues from our chat team were not able to address it right away. I have attached a picture of the manual that shows the led indicators. It may not be the same as what you have explained but rest assured that it is normal and as you have mentioned there is no other problems with your spark.

I hope I was able to address your concern today.

Should there be anything else please feel free to contact us directly.

Thank you for choosing DJI.
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My reply:
And the DJI blindness continues.....

Sherrie, you are not paying attention to what I have sent. This is NOT a diagnostic. A diagnostic pattern will not repeat every 10 seconds nor will it occur while in flight. I am surprised you don't know that. I am not so ignorant as to not know what the status definitions are in the manual. The pattern I describe is NOT there. Sending a copy of that is pointless and only substantiates you do not understand.

By now I am quite sure the non-DJI sources were spot on that this is a No Fly Zone warning. I have seen video of a Phantom showing this same indication. I was hoping that DJI would actually publish this.

I do find strange that DJI does not know its own product any better than this. I am guessing now you probably have corporate lawyers that will not permit you to answer direct questions. This seems to be a common characteristic on the DJI Forum as well. Sad state of affairs for your customers.
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DJI reply:
Thank you for your response.

I would feel the same in your situation, but we will sort this out. The response I provided you was just based on how it was described.  To simplify this please send us a video showing the situation indicated.

Should there be anything else please contact us.

Looking forward for your response

Thank you for choosing DJI.
Best Regards,
Sherrie
DJI Technical Support
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My reply:
At this point I question if you have even read the ORIGINAL email for this.

Here is a video:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qhxOY6sMw0cKtLP1jwxCcmSfP9GUPUPP/view?usp=sharing

What you see in the video is EXACTLY as I have described it.

Why all of this procrastination? The question has ALWAYS been a very simple one: What does this Spark status LED indication mean?
Solid red for 2 seconds
Off for 1 second
Solid red for 2 seconds
Off for 2 seconds
Flashing green (P-Mode with GPS)
This pattern repeats every 10 seconds.

Stop complicating things and answer the question!
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DJI reply:
Thank you for your response.

Based on the video you sent it is 5 seconds blink red, 7 seconds blink normally if blink is like this, it should be the drone is close to Restricted Zone.
May we know your exact location while you are flying your spark? If possible please send us a copy of your flight record.

Please try to upload the flight records to the cloud: https://www.skypixel.com/videos/eb25afd9-4d2e-4484-b1b9-f17ce90f14da

If you fail to do it, please send us the flight record's text files on your mobile device. Please also export the cached video to us if you were recording a video when the incident happened. Attached is the PDF instruction for your reference.

Please note, the flight-records are only stored on the device you were using during the flight. Any connection problem will interrupt the recording process of the flight-record. Once you have downloaded the flight-records, please reply to this email with the flight records attached.

Should there be anything else please feel free to contact us.

Thank you for choosing DJI and we are looking forward to your early reply.

Best Regards,
Sherrie
DJI Technical Support

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My reply:
All of this non-sense and you FINALLY confirmed what I have been trying to get from DJI for a month!

"Based on the video you sent it is 5 seconds blink red, 7 seconds blink normally if blink is like this, it should be the drone is close to Restricted Zone."

You just combined the 2 sec red / 1 sec off / 2 sec red on into a 5 second blink red. That is the SAME thing. More evidence of your desire to complicate things as much as you possibly can.

Obviously you were not able to comprehend the original email. I truly believe you never read it. Had you actually paid attention you would have noticed I stated I was near an airport. I also suggested that this indication was a No Fly Zone warning. Restricted Zone is the SAME thing.

Time and time again the ignorance exhibited in the DJI replies about this issue has been overwhelming. DJI technical support has been absolutely atrocious. Hopefully I will never need your support again. It's just not worth it.







2018-10-6
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DJI Mindy
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Hi Chuck101, you have our sincere apologies for the unfortunate experience with our customer support team, we care much about your feedback and will take it very seriously, your frustration has been escalated to the management department to investigate, we will do more training and keep improving the technical ability of our support team.
5 seconds blink red slowly and 7 seconds blink normally means there is Restricted Zone nearby or the drone is within Restricted Zone, this information is included in the previous old drone like Inspire 1 but not in the Spark, we will forward this to our engineers for attention, sorry again for all the hassle and inconvenience caused.
2018-10-6
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Chuck101
Second Officer
Flight distance : 27815 ft
United States
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DJI Mindy Posted at 2018-10-6 02:52
Hi Chuck101, you have our sincere apologies for the unfortunate experience with our customer support team, we care much about your feedback and will take it very seriously, your frustration has been escalated to the management department to investigate, we will do more training and keep improving the technical ability of our support team.
5 seconds blink red slowly and 7 seconds blink normally means there is Restricted Zone nearby or the drone is within Restricted Zone, this information is included in the previous old drone like Inspire 1 but not in the Spark, we will forward this to our engineers for attention, sorry again for all the hassle and inconvenience caused.

Thanks, DJI Mindy.
That would be great if you could get this status indication documented. Maybe save the next poor soul from this grief.
2018-10-6
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DJI Mindy
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Chuck101 Posted at 2018-10-6 02:55
Thanks, DJI Mindy.
That would be great if you could get this status indication documented. Maybe save the next poor soul from this grief.

I understand, your suggestion has been forwarded to the related team for consideration, we will learn from this and try to avoid the same thing happens again.
2018-10-6
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Chuck101
Second Officer
Flight distance : 27815 ft
United States
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DJI Mindy Posted at 2018-10-6 03:03
I understand, your suggestion has been forwarded to the related team for consideration, we will learn from this and try to avoid the same thing happens again.

Well, DJI Mindy, you did successfully escalate this to a higher level.
I did receive a phone call from them.

Sadly I must report the person I spoke with did not seem to have a clue what the issue was. Even though she had the original email right in front of her (I was able to establish that much) she appeared to be totally oblivious as to the meaning of its contents.

She kept stating they would "train" the person who failed to provide the proper support. I don't think she ever understood it was not one person but several (6+) individuals who failed to handle the issue.

Even after all of this I was unable to get her to actually state this status indication was a No Fly Zone warning.

I sincerely believe it is a well established DJI culture that the support is this poor. I did not get any sense whatsoever that it was going to change.

However, you gave it your best shot. Thank you for that anyway.
2018-10-9
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DJI Diana
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Chuck101 Posted at 2018-10-9 09:54
Well, DJI Mindy, you did successfully escalate this to a higher level.
I did receive a phone call from them.

Hi Chuck, we understand your frustration and we are very sorry for the unpleasant experience about the customer support. Please be informed that the supervisor you spoke with already forwarded your concern after the investigation the phone call. The respective department will handle this issue accordingly and will get back to you once they receive the feedback. We hope for your patience.
2018-10-9
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DJI Mindy
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Chuck101 Posted at 2018-10-9 09:54
Well, DJI Mindy, you did successfully escalate this to a higher level.
I did receive a phone call from them.

Hi Chuck, sorry for my late reply and the response from the higher team was not satisfied, I have verified with our engineers that this indicator was not recorded in the user manual because the APP will notify if you are within the restricted zone, it is not quite necessary. But for the lack of knowledge from our support team, we will optimize our internal system and improve our support team's ability, hope the same issue will not happen again.
2018-10-12
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Chuck101
Second Officer
Flight distance : 27815 ft
United States
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DJI Mindy Posted at 2018-10-12 00:43
Hi Chuck, sorry for my late reply and the response from the higher team was not satisfied, I have verified with our engineers that this indicator was not recorded in the user manual because the APP will notify if you are within the restricted zone, it is not quite necessary. But for the lack of knowledge from our support team, we will optimize our internal system and improve our support team's ability, hope the same issue will not happen again.

Thank you for replying. I understand the reasoning. However, it is faulty.
1. You may be flying with the RC without the Go4 app. Now you have no way to know of this Restricted Zone warning.
2. You see this LED status indication (as I did) and can't determine what it means. Critical Error? (As I first thought.) Lots of wasted time and inept support.
There is currently an email yesterday from Josh (DJI Support Team) I have replied to. Awaiting response at this time.
2018-10-12
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DJI Diana
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Chuck101 Posted at 2018-10-12 01:46
Thank you for replying. I understand the reasoning. However, it is faulty.
1. You may be flying with the RC without the Go4 app. Now you have no way to know of this Restricted Zone warning.
2. You see this LED status indication (as I did) and can't determine what it means. Critical Error? (As I first thought.) Lots of wasted time and inept support.

I understand your point, Chuck. But flying without the DJI Go app isn't recommended per User Manual. That's why not all LED status indication weren't included on the Manual as we should always have the app as a backup for any notification within the flight.
2018-10-12
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Chuck101
Second Officer
Flight distance : 27815 ft
United States
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DJI Diana Posted at 2018-10-12 14:00
I understand your point, Chuck. But flying without the DJI Go app isn't recommended per User Manual. That's why not all LED status indication weren't included on the Manual as we should always have the app as a backup for any notification within the flight.

But flying without the DJI Go app isn't recommended per User Manual. That's why not all LED status indication weren't included on the Manual

The red: I'm sorry but that is a ridiculous statement.

ANY status indication possible by the Spark LED's SHOULD be documented.
Now I wonder how much more information DJI has witheld from us.

2018-10-12
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DJI Mindy
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Chuck101 Posted at 2018-10-12 15:48
But flying without the DJI Go app isn't recommended per User Manual. That's why not all LED status indication weren't included on the Manual

The red: I'm sorry but that is a ridiculous statement.

Hi Chuck, we will forward your concern again to our engineers for consideration, thanks for your attention.
2018-10-13
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Chuck101
Second Officer
Flight distance : 27815 ft
United States
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DJI Mindy Posted at 2018-10-13 02:48
Hi Chuck, we will forward your concern again to our engineers for consideration, thanks for your attention.

The final chapter
DJI's "respective department" email:

Good day! Hope you're doing well.

This is Josh, Reyn's colleague. I'll take over for now regarding this case about your DJI Spark since Reyn is on emergency leave.

Previously, we have forwarded the concern to our R&D. They acknowledged that we weren't be able to add all indicator led condition in the user manual. We're sorry for this inconvenience. Don't worry, we'll make sure to learn from this to keep improving our services and provide better customer experience.

Thank you for your cooperation and understanding.

Best Regards,
Josh
DJI Support Team

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My reply:
After all the unnecessary aggravation that I have had to endure over this issue at the hands of DJI Technical Support personnel the only redemption that is possible as I see it is for DJI to do 4 things:

1. Post as an announcement on the DJI Forum for everyone to see that this aircraft LED status indication pattern I have described is a No Fly Zone warning.

2. Update the User Manual to include this warning in the status LED definitions.

3. Ensure that all chat session personnel and DJI Forum administrators have access to this information.

4. Reply in an email to me answering each of the 3 questions at the end of my original email and what DJI intends to do to resolve each question.

Anything less than this simply substantiates my belief that DJI corporate management is unable and has no desire to put in place efficient, quality and effective technical support to its customers.

DJI has an excellent reputation for producing quality products and that will keep DJI in business for some time. Eventually poor customer service, as it exists today, could be DJI's downfall.
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DJI's replies:
[October 11 ]

Thanks for getting back.

I really understand the frustration and the trouble caused. We have forwarded this requests to the relevant team and we'll update you soon for a feedback. We'll make sure as well that all our support team is calibrated with these information and improve our internal tools to provide better service.

We really appreciate your feedback regarding this concern. We understand that there are things to improve and we won't stop from there. Thanks again for your cooperation and understanding.

Best Regards,
Josh
DJI Support Team

[October 14]
Good day! I hope you are doing fine.

We received the feedback from the respective department with regards to your concern about the LED's status indicator which I believe it was provided to you on the DJI Forum thread, that the reason why it wasn't included on the manual is because there should be a prompt message in DJI Go app when the drone detects that you are in No-fly zone (Restricted area). We are so sorry for the inconvenience caused but for your other concern, it has been forwarded and we are still waiting for their feedback. We will get back to you soon. We hope for your patience.

Best Regards,
Reyn
DJI Customer Support

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The end result:
"... the reason why it wasn't included on the manual is because there should be a prompt message in DJI Go app  ..." - Ridiculous! Without proper documentation there is NO WAY to relate those two indications. The inability of DJI to see this is utterly amazing!

On Oct 16 I received the 2nd phone call. The accent was very heavy and difficult to understand. The gist of the call was to read a "prepared script" about the warning being shown in the app and not the manual. And the Phantom manual documents this status. I tried to ask them to post an announcement on the DJI Forum so others could have this information. I was getting nowhere in this conversation. Back to the "prepared script". I must admit and was ashamed that my frustration level with her reached my breaking point and I hung up. For that I do apologize.

DJI has done absolutely NOTHING that I can see. This comes as no surprise. What I requested would have cost DJI nothing monetarily. Only a few minutes of typing. By their actions (or failure to act) DJI has made it quite clear to me they have no intention of changing or improving anything.
  
This will be my final post on this topic. DJI support has only been providing empty apologies and meaningless, patronizing lip-service. Nothing with any substance. I'm done with DJI's inept support.

As I pointed out in to opening statement of this thread DJI support pays little attention to the information you supply. They selectively pick out a few words, ignore a most of the content and then make courteous yet essentially useless replies. This is abundantly evident throughout this entire exchange.
2018-10-17
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DJI Diana
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Chuck101 Posted at 2018-10-17 06:18
The final chapter
DJI's "respective department" email:
Good day! Hope you're doing well.

Chuck, the FlySafe database is being updated time by time as well as the Firmware. That's why we recommend to always use the app is to make sure you'll be notified real time about the status of the drone instead of checking the manual itself while in mid-flight. But as mentioned, this has been forwarded to our engineers for consideration. Please wait patiently for an update from the appropriate team regarding this concern. Thank you!
2018-10-17
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