Hi all,
I bought my first ever DJI - a new Mini 3 from DJI's site. It arrived last Monday, and I've had serious issues with it.

First, the gimbal has been "stuck" since the first time I powered it on last Tuesday (after charging overnight). I've followed some tutorials using an air blower to try to remove any debris, which usually makes the message go away, but then there are issues with video. The video the drone records is extremely shaky at all times. I think this is probably related to the gimbal issue. I couldn't find any help for this online except to send the drone back and have it recalibrated.

Finally... the biggest issue... DJI apparently shipped my drone without the rubber strap that binds the props down. I didn't think anything of this when I unpacked my drone, but what I missed was that as a result, one of the blades was split down the middle during shipping, in a way that was not readily noticeable. So the first time I powered up the drone and hit auto-takeoff, it tilted to its side and accelerated into a building across the street. I was able to replace the broken blades and pop on the parts that popped off, but I'm still a bit peeved that they shipped me a drone that was destined to crash.

I called DJI's tech support, and they referred me to the warranty department. But they told me 1) it's a ONE MONTH wait for them to even look at it, and 2) they would let me know "IF" it qualified for free repair or replacement.
Not sure what to do at this point, and getting a little emotional. Should I send it for repair? Just return it? Thanks for any advice.

I will ask the daft question first, did you remove, from the gimbal and drone, any packing pieces and labels that might impede gimbal movement?

Regarding " but I'm still a bit peeved that they shipped me a drone that was destined to crash.". Sorry but I would blame that on your failure to spot the split rather than anything else, afterall your inspection was the last safety check.
If, further down the line, you have an accident that cracks a blade and you fail to spot the crack, who will you then blame?
Since some cracks are, indeed, very difficult to spot, I twist a blade when inspecting it, this helps separate/misalign the portions of the blade on either side of the crack and makes the crack easier to spot, I also run my finger tips (finger and thumb) over the blade.

I would also question whether or not a so split blade would cause the problem you describe, it might be an idea to post the flight logs for the flight and see what some of the log guys say.

Sean-bumble-bee Posted at 5-29 16:00
I will ask the daft question first, did you remove, from the gimbal and drone, any packing pieces and labels that might impede gimbal movement?

Regarding " but I'm still a bit peeved that they shipped me a drone that was destined to crash.". Sorry but I would blame that on your failure to spot the split rather than anything else, afterall your inspection was the last safety check.

Thanks for the reply, Sean,

Yes, I removed all the packing pieces from the gimbal. I also attempted to clean out all the joints with an air blower. Like I said, that worked to stop the error message temporarily, but didn't fix the shaky video. What I've seen online implies this is caused by a faulty servo.

Regarding the split blade... I'd probably tend to agree with you, except that this was a brand new drone, freshly unpacked. A visual inspection didn't show any damage. Why would anyone assume a company would ship their products in a way that would lead to them being damaged?

Is this a mini 3 or mini 3 pro? Reason why I ask is because the Mini 3 pro didn't have any band on the blades either, but considering the way it is packed, I really don't see how a blade can get damaged, unless it was spit from the word go. A split in the blade would definitely give you "shaky video" but in your story, you had the shaky video even before taking the bird up in the air, so that's not an option...

smoseley Posted at 5-29 16:38
Thanks for the reply, Sean,

Yes, I removed all the packing pieces from the gimbal. I also attempted to clean out all the joints with an air blower. Like I said, that worked to stop the error message temporarily, but didn't fix the shaky video. What I've seen online implies this is caused by a faulty servo.

RE "Why would anyone assume a company would ship their products in a way that would lead to them being damaged?"  they wouldn't but ultimately, as the pilot,  you are the "last line of defence".

Burt37 Posted at 5-29 17:00
Is this a mini 3 or mini 3 pro? Reason why I ask is because the Mini 3 pro didn't have any band on the blades either, but considering the way it is packed, I really don't see how a blade can get damaged, unless it was spit from the word go. A split in the blade would definitely give you "shaky video" but in your story, you had the shaky video even before taking the bird up in the air, so that's not an option...

Mini 3 (not pro) - maybe I'm wrong that it was supposed to ship with that. I saw a YouTube video that mentioned it, but maybe it was an aftermarket product?

smoseley Posted at 5-29 17:09
Mini 3 (not pro) - maybe I'm wrong that it was supposed to ship with that. I saw a YouTube video that mentioned it, but maybe it was an aftermarket product?

Yes it is an aftermarket product...

I notice you changed your reply to Sean and your avatar... I thought you had already decided to returned and get over and done with it...

Have you changed your mind?

Hi there, we are sorry for the inconvenience. We manage to find your case number through your forum account, We notice that the shipping label has been sent. Could you please check if it's in your spam folder? If not, we will ask the corresponding team to send you the shipping label again.

Burt37 Posted at 5-29 17:15
Yes it is an aftermarket product...

I notice you changed your reply to Sean and your avatar... I thought you had already decided to returned and get over and done with it...

On the fence. Gonna follow up with DJI in the morning and figure it out.

smoseley Posted at 5-29 18:22
On the fence. Gonna follow up with DJI in the morning and figure it out.

Well, for what it is worth it, I would send it back and after they check your drone, they will send you a new one. They are doing it all the times...

Do you think your friend gave you bad advice? You said he's got seven of them... Surely he knows a thing or two about DJI...

Sean-bumble-bee Posted at 5-29 16:00
I will ask the daft question first, did you remove, from the gimbal and drone, any packing pieces and labels that might impede gimbal movement?

Regarding " but I'm still a bit peeved that they shipped me a drone that was destined to crash.". Sorry but I would blame that on your failure to spot the split rather than anything else, afterall your inspection was the last safety check.

I had an issue with my gimble and it was exactly that - a missed piece of packing behind the gymbal, maybe give it the once over again. Just my lack of experience.

Sean as an experienced user here, I am surprised you have gone straight into - pilot error. The OP stated this was his first DJI and in the excitement of unpacking and flying it, he missed the fact it was not in 100% order.
I am a newbie too, and there is very little chance I would have noticed an issue with the drone as well. I hope people are a little more forgiving  / less judgemental of the newbies.. Anyway OP good luck with the repair, they are a fantastic drone for the $$ in my newbie opinion.

Perth Bronco Posted at 5-30 01:15
I had an issue with my gimble and it was exactly that - a missed piece of packing behind the gymbal ......... Sean as an experienced user here, I am surprised you have gone straight into - pilot error. The OP stated this was his first DJI and in the excitement of unpacking and flying it, he missed the fact it was not in 100% order.

With regards to my asking about packing etc. it is precisely because I have been around this forum and mavic pilots for a while that I asked about packing.
It is my observation that, for some reason, problems seem to occur in batches, i.e. there will be a spate of threads, from different people in different locations, concerning problem 'xyz', with few, if any, threads concerning that problem before and after such a spate, e.g. Mini 3 Pros stopping their motors in mid air for some reason.
With that in mind, there was a recent thread where failure to remove gimbal packing was the cause of a gimbal problem, the thread may have been a Mini 3 pro thread but a fair while back there was a spate of such threads concerning the Mavic 3.
Therefore, it was possible that this thread was part of a new spate of "packing pieces left in place" threads.
Additionally, checking whether or not packing pieces etc. have been in situ is a very simple and quick thing to do and, if the cause of the problem, easily remedied.

Besides we all make 'stupid' mistakes as newbies or when new to a model of drone or at other times...... or at least I generally do we are human - not robots. I have been known to leave a gimbal cover in place, or to forget to put the memory card back in the drone, or charge the battery, or start/properly-stop a recording.

If your are referring to my saying that the failure to spot the split propeller was the pilot's fault then sorry but Physics, Newton and Gravity have no consideration for a person's feelings, they do not give second chances or warnings, they simply 'issue' penalties and consequences.

Pilot errors, that haven't destroyed the drone, are the simplest thing to fix ..... and the cheapest.
In my book it's better to highlight them rather than leave them undiscussed because of political correctness, it may put someone's nose out of joint for a while but in the long run, if they heed the 'warning', it may be to their benefit and that is and was my intention.

It is also why I included mention of twisting a blade when examining it.
I discovered a crack, trailing edge towards the leading edge, in, I think, a Mavic Mini blade. The discovery was made purely by chance because the drone was lit from an unusual angle and that light just happened to catch the crack "just right". The drone had not had any recent 'incidents' so I think the crack was old and possibly growing, as such it had escaped my notice during my previous inspections.
Lit in the usual manner and from the usual angle the crack was invisible, nor did my finger tips detect it, however applying a slight twist to the blade did reveal it under the usual light.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

one of the blades was split down the middle during shipping, in a way that was not readily noticeable. So the first time I powered up the drone and hit auto-takeoff, it tilted to its side and accelerated into a building across the street.
A split prop blade won't cause the incident that you described, but a yaw error caused by where you powered up and launched, will.

To get to the bottom of your mystery, post your recorded flight data to confirm what actually happened.
Go to: https://www.phantomhelp.com/LogViewer/Upload/
... where you'll find instructions to upload the data to that site and it will give a report
For help interpreting the data you can post a link for the report here.
Or just post the .txt file.

The Mini 3 does have foam packed behind the gimbal, which I removed but the unboxing videos do not show this or removing the stickers, but at least they have yellow tabs on them. Hope you get it back working I haven't flown mine yet, just charged and activated last night. I had a mini 2 but it found a tree and was lost. I am hoping the mini 3 is even better than the mini 2!

Can someone help me please my gimbal when I start it up looks up and down ans left to right is fine but anticlockwise rotation is stuck but clockwise rotation work this is how far anti clockwise go than its stuck