Has anyone else had trouble with any DJI products failing to Return To Home and instead auto-landing? I had only had my Spark for less than two weeks when it began to automatoically descend into hazardous terrain. Every piece of literature including the User Manual repeatitively mentions the highly-advanced Return To Home (RTH) feature, and that the craft could fail to exceute this much-touted safety mode under one particular condition was unknown to me, despite having read the User Manual.
The aircraft was damaged in the resulting collison, and I sent it back to DJI fully expecting them to repair it under Warranty, due to software/hardware failure. To my surpriose they attempted to instead blame me, and cited a particular badly-worded and patently ambiguous clause in their manual.
Who out there knew that if the Spark is within 20m from home point it will not RTH but rather will descdend on the spot, beyond the control of the operator?
After reading back over the clause in the User Manual (Clause 4b) this peculiar exception to the triggering RTH function was no more clear to me than the first time I read through the manual. RTH is referred to time-and-time again throughout the User Manual, and one has to look very carefully indeed and apply a heap of assumptive interpretation, in order to get any hint of there being a condition in which it does not trigger. The following is from the DJI Spark User Manual: RTH Procedure 1. Home Point is recorded automatically.
2. RTH procedure is triggered i.e., Smart RTH, Low-Battery RTH and Failsafe RTH.
3. Home Point is confirmed and the aircraft adjusts its orientation.
4. a. The aircraft will ascend to the pre-set RTH attitude and then fly to the Home Point when the aircraft is further than 20 m from the home point.
b. When the aircraft is between 3 m and 20 m from the Home Point, it will land automatically with the RTH at Current Altitude option disabled (the default setting in DJI GO 4).
The aircraft will return to the Home Point at the current altitude with the RTH at Current Altitude option enabled if flying at or above 2.5 m, and it will ascend to 2.5 m then return to home if flying lower than 2.5 m when the aircraft is between 3 m and 20 m from the Home Point.
I have labelled in red Clause 4b, which appears to be the entire thrust of DJI's argument. Reading this, it sounds like the Spark will RTH as in every single other condition however the 'At Current Altitude' function will be disabled. Let it be known that the second part of Clause 4b goes on to state that the craft will RTH at current altitude if it is more than 2.5m above the ground, which as the Flight Records prove, it most certainly was. It then goes on again to state that the Spark will RTH. My argument is a fair one: There was no reasonable way that I could have had prior knowledge that the aircraft would not RTH, and would instead descend on the spot, resisting all attempts to control it. Over many weeks and multiple emails, DJI have consistently failed to address my extremely well-thought-out arguments and opt instead to merely restate Clause 4b. I have read the Warranty and it states:
What is CoveredUnder this Limited Warranty, DJI warrants that each DJI product that you purchase will be free from material and workmanship defects under normal use in accordance with DJI’s published product materials during the warranty period. DJI’s published product materials include, but not limited to, user manuals, safety guidelines, specifications, in-app notifications, and service communications.
What about then the 'published materials' themselves are not free from material and workmanship defects? They have placed their User Manual as the final word on safe operation, and yet if one operates the craft under 'normal use' as per said document, the craft may very well behave totally unexpectedly and experience an unforseeable collision.
This is precicely what happened to me and yet the message I am receiving is that DJI couldn’t care less about me, or the truth of my experiences with their product. They want me to pay up and/or go away. I will be doing neither of these things. I have made them a promise that I won’t back down until DJI waive all repair costs. I keep my promises. If anyone has had trouble with DJI products or customer service, please, I invite you to join in the discussion. I will be posting my email exchange with DJI in the comments as a public reference.
Thank you for taking the time to read this. Sincerely, Travis Earsman
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