Got an Inspire 1 from Bestbuy last Thursday, battery was dead and the controller was broken. Best Buy ordered another for me which I received today, again battery was dead. Called DJI and recevied some horrible customer service. Thank god for Best Buy, I'm just going to keep exchanging these brand new units unitl I get one with a battery that works. Better than waiting 2 weeks to get a replacement battery and having a $2,000 paper weight just sitting around at home.

Really wish DJI would do something about how they do warranties. What are other peoples expereinces on here when it comes to DJI customer sevice and their products?

I ordered a Inspire 1 V2 from Best Buy to serve as my back up. The first one came with a dead TB47 battery. Best Buy took it back and I ordered the second one, this time it came with all good parts. Best Buy has good customer service but be careful about brining back 3K returns multiple times... or you will be put on the retail report list and banned from returning stuff for one year....

How did you get the 2K price..? They list it for 3K still


Rich

RichJ53 Posted at 2016-6-14 14:10
I ordered a Inspire 1 V2 from Best Buy to serve as my back up. The first one came with a dead TB47 b ...

Thanks for the info on the retail report list. I didn't know about that. Is that for Best Buy only or all stores?

Best Buy does price matches. If you find it somewhere cheaper, you have within 15 days I believe from time of purchase to get the credit. Or in my case, purchase it at the cheaper price.

I'm sorry you experienced that, what exactly was broken on the RC and what error did the battery give you?
And did the 2nd battery give the exact same error as the first one?
Also, what is your ticket number, if you said you had "horrible customer service" I can have management play back your call and if indeed the rep was not treating you in a professional manner management will resolve it.

And DJI warranties pretty much work the same as everywhere else. If you have a warranty issue, call or email and get a RMA, then they send you a shipping label and you sent it in and DJI repairs it and sends it back to you. Usually that entire process is less than two weeks.

I also got an inspire 1 pro today and the battery is totally dead and will not charge.  Is there a better way to get customer service?

Call them. They will ask for pictures, proof of purchase with date, & a sample video of you trying to turn it on and plugging it in. Turn around is about 4-6 weeks

lweston6 Posted at 2016-6-14 11:21
Thanks for the info on the retail report list. I didn't know about that. Is that for Best Buy only ...

I purchased my back up Inspire 1 V2 about 45 days ago,, so I am out of luck. The retail report is at Best Buy and they track your returns. For me I wrote a letter to them and they took off the warranty matter (bad battery) from my report.

DJI will also, handle the warranty claim and Ken will back you up too. I decided to use Best Buy customer service it was very fast in my case.... no problems

Really enjoy my Inspire 1 series copters... I hope you like yours too.

Rich

DJI-Ken Posted at 2016-6-15 05:24
I'm sorry you experienced that, what exactly was broken on the RC and what error did the battery giv ...

My Inspire 1 Pro arrived yesterday in Australia with the same issue. The battery completely dark and and not charging. None of the battery tests work (button pressing). Charger itself is fine as it is charging the remote. Sent an email to DJI support, so i guess I will find out what the procedure is.. hopefully. @DJI-Ken is there anything you could recommend?

Also if I go and buy more TB47 or TB48 batteries now online, how do I know they wont have the same problem? Has the problem been resolved in the manufacturing or will it just keep happening on random batteries? Is there a trusted online retailer that I should buy from here in Australia for example

I guess i'm not sure if i'm just unlucky or if every battery I buy is going to have the same issue.

DJI-Ken Posted at 2016-6-14 15:24
I'm sorry you experienced that, what exactly was broken on the RC and what error did the battery giv ...

Ken,

The landing gear/return to home button was broken on the first one. The hole thing was pushed in. It was like there was a screw loose or something on the inside.

The batteries don't give any errors. Like a few other people posted below, they are just completely dead and they won't take charge/turn on.

I work for Daikin/Mcquay, I'm a Mechanical Sales Engineer. The way our parts department handles warranty issues is, we send you the replacement item. It this case, the battery. They make sure you provide you credit card info because if it's determined it's not a warranty issue, battery shows sign of abuse, etc; they will charge your card.

Keeps the customer from having to wait for DJI to receive the package, inspect the item, wait to receive the a new item back. At least this way, i'll be back to flying in 2 or 3 days depending on how quick they ship out the replacement.

Especially in a situation like this, where it seems to be happening often with DJI batteries. It's crazy to me to just have this brand new item sitting around for almost 2 weeks because of a known manufacture defect.

I already received the tracking number and the new drone from Best Buy will be here Thursday. If this one doesn't work, I'll go back to best buy and I should be able to get another here by Monday.

As for horrible customer service, the representative/agent did all she good do I guess. I quantify good customer service as speaking with someone with the utmost respect which she did and providing a solution within reason for someone who has been going through the same issue multiple times. Why would I want to wait 2 weeks when I can have another one in 2 days? DJI should offer something, 25% off on accessories on something. Especially since this happened twice now. This is how you keep customers. Just my 2 cents. Obviously your company has been in business for sometime now so why would you care what 1 upset customer thinks...

florod63@gmail. Posted at 2016-6-14 15:40
I also got an inspire 1 pro today and the battery is totally dead and will not charge.  Is there a b ...

I had no issues reaching them on the phone.

peterrussell23@ Posted at 2016-6-14 19:20
My Inspire 1 Pro arrived yesterday in Australia with the same issue. The battery completely dark a ...

Peter,

I'm questioning the same thing. It's not you being unlucky, they have some sort of quality control issues with these batteries.

That's how I tested my first one as well. When I went to plug it into the remote, that's when I noticed the rth/landing gear button was broken. So rest assure that it is the battery and not the charger.
Good luck with getting a replacement.

I posted this in a separate thread, but it seems germane here too...


I purchased three Inspire 1 v2 kits from three different retailers over the course of the last week and all three kits had batteries that were DOA (no lights, would not turn on and would not charge).  One of the retailers informed me that they had recently sent back a shipment of 40+ batteries because over one-half of the ones that were tested were bad.  When I contacted DJI regarding the issue the CSR acted surprised and implied that he had never heard of such a problem.  Obviously, this is a fairly widespread problem.  It would seem that DJI should be able to determine which batteries were sent out with firmware that allows the cells to over-discharge, and where they were sent, and recall the unsold batteries from their retailers rather than allow them to continue being sold like nothing is wrong.  

ccarr Posted at 2016-6-14 20:47
I posted this in a separate thread, but it seems germane here too...

Thank you. What a well said statement.

Did you finally get one with a working battery or did you have it replaced with DJI?

DJI Ken, thoughts/comments?

lweston6 Posted at 2016-6-15 08:51
Thank you. What a well said statement.

Did you finally get one with a working battery or did you h ...

No, I never did get a kit with a working battery, so I will have to wait on DJI.  I have another battery I borrowed from a friend, so I am not entirely grounded.  I would like to purchase several extra batteries, but I do not have a retailer nearby that has any working batteries in stock, and I hesitate to order online without being able to test them first because of all of the reports of dead batteries out there.  

lweston6 Posted at 2016-6-15 07:48
Ken,

The landing gear/return to home button was broken on the first one. The hole thing was pushe ...

First off there is no known manufacture defect, if there were there would be tens of thousands of people who have bad batteries.
There may be a few that have had a bad battery.
And the kit you got had a bad battery and a broken RTH/landing gear button. It seems like it was not a brand new kit.
So you stated "horrible customer service" is now she did all she could do. I'm sorry is that is horrible customer service to you.
I am sorry you are having the issues, DJI only uses PayPal and for that reason they cannot send you a product first then if yours does not show up they charge you.
And DJI does care about every upset customer, and trust me there is concessions happening all the time but in certain circumstances.

ccarr Posted at 2016-6-15 08:47
I posted this in a separate thread, but it seems germane here too...

A few firmware updates ago some batteries if sat for more than 90 days would discharge. a firmware update fixed that. There still may be a few new batteries in boxes from a dealer that they have had for several months which I don't know how that can happen with the popularity of the Inspire.
Regardless, if anything like that happens to a battery and it's on the latest firmware than it would be covered under the DJI 6 month battery warranty.

In the meantime I've bought a fresh one locally because when you spend 5k (AUD) on a drone it is very hard to sit back and stare at it on the ground in travel mode... I will pursue the replacement of my faulty one. I will report back on my experience with dealing directly with DJI support for anyone who is interested in the process. So far I have received an email response asking for a video demonstrating the fault using the supplied charger, a picture of the barcode of the battery and details of where I purchased it from and invoice.

Pretty impressed with the response time so far, fingers crossed.

DJI-Ken Posted at 2016-6-15 00:07
First off there is no known manufacture defect, if there were there would be tens of thousands of  ...

The rep I spoke to one the phone said it's common with these type of batteries.

The kit I purchased was definitely brand new. Everything was sealed, even the paper around the carrying case. I understand you work for them, so please don't take it personal that i'm voicing my opinion on the products and service.

I can understand my situation is not important enough to have a concession. It's not like my $2k drone is grounded or anything...

peterrussell23@ Posted at 2016-6-15 00:21
In the meantime I've bought a fresh one locally because when you spend 5k (AUD) on a drone it is ver ...

It's good to hear that I'm not the only one who see's an issue with having an expensive paper weight sitting around for 1 to 2 weeks.

I hope it all works out for you. I've got my third unit coming in Thursday, already called UPS to pick it up as soon as they open at 9am instead of waiting around for the UPS guy to come later on in the afternoon or evening.

We have heard the Best Buy issues such as yours before. You are not alone my friend.

I also just received my Inspire 1 in the mail last night, and left the battery to charge all night.  Had absolutely no indicator lights light up while charging, and won't respond to a button push.  I've submitted a helpdesk ticket via their support section of the website.  At this point it is under review, but I haven't received any communication from DJI yet.  This is disturbing that a battery can be bricked by the firmware, and that the firmware wasn't thoroughly tested before a release via factory and users.

I'm excited to start flying and capturing some video footage, but this is most likely going to put a 2 week to a month stopper in my plans to fly .  I only hope that I can get the app simulator up and going without having to power on the Inspire 1, as I don't have any juice to do so!

Please post your what ever solutions you guys come up with.  

Thanks

I ordered my fourth kit this morning from B&H.  I'd like to think I couldn't get four bad batteries in a row, but I am not going to hold my breath.  I was speaking with a sales representative at a different authorized DJI retailer yesterday and he told me he was advising people against purchasing the Inspire 1 v2 kits until DJI admits there is a problem and gets the battery issue sorted out.  

With the frequency with which these batteries problems are being reported, it seems to me that customer-centric company would send out new batteries to affected customers immediately without requiring them to jump through all the hoops associated with the regular RMA/warranty service process.  As others have pointed out, this can easily be accomplished by obtaining credit card information for the customer so that they can be charged later in the event that the defective battery is not returned after receipt of the replacement.  In my opinion, instead of pretending that these are "isolated" incidents, the right thing to do would be to own up to the problem.  I think that most people will understand that mistakes are made.  It is how those mistakes are handled that separates good companies from great companies.  

ccarr Posted at 2016-6-15 12:52
I ordered my fourth kit this morning from B&H.  I'd like to think I couldn't get four bad batteries  ...

I'm waiting on my third kit from Best Buy, and i'm hoping the same thing with my third one lol.

It's clear there is a some sort of battery issues but DJI Ken is over here saying "First off there is no known manufacture defect, if there were there would be tens of thousands of people who have bad batteries."
I'm guessing they sell so many of these a month that the 4 of 5 people in this thread, plus a few other in the other thread are just getting lucky.

You said it best with you last statement. That's how they should go about handling the issue, but it seems crazy from their standpoint. It's not the first time and probably not the last time that a company will try and cover up a problem instead of admitting fault.

Guys no reason to create conspiracy theories.  DJI has replaced products if there is an issue.  If you feel that it is more than a few users, then give us the serial numbers of your batteries and we can forward them on to DJI. They are the ones that can research this issue.

Tahoe_Ed Posted at 2016-6-15 16:12
Guys no reason to create conspiracy theories.  DJI has replaced products if there is an issue.  If y ...

I would but, I've returned my first two back already.

Not trying to create any conspiracy theories, but its hard to believe that these are isolated issues. One guy above said the place he went to sent all the batteries back to DJI because more that half were dead.

DJI Ken said there are no known issues with the batteries in one statement and then says their was one firmware that if some batteries sat more than 90 days would discharge. Apparently, this could be the firmware in all these dead batteries people are receiving. So according to that statement, to me, it seems like it's a known issue and if that's the case, their should be a different warranty procedure like I stated and others seem to agree with.

Again, my 2 cents on what I believe good customer service is.

lweston6 Posted at 2016-6-16 04:41
I would but, I've returned my first two back already.

Not trying to create any conspiracy theories ...

If you have issues just post here and we can assist.  We do have users buying P2 batteries that have been sitting on the shelf for who knows how long and they are arriving dead.  If a dealer is shipping out DOA batteries then they should handle it.  If they do not then DJI will take care of our users.  I will ask if our Dealer Relations person can send a note to our dealers to check before shipping.

Tahoe_Ed Posted at 2016-6-15 16:47
If you have issues just post here and we can assist.  We do have users buying P2 batteries that ha ...

I think I speak for most when I say the dealers we're purchasing these from our being more than accommodating to us. I'm on my third one with Best Buy and every time they're waving the 2 day $60 shipping for me. Another person mentioned he is on his 4 with someone else.

You can really tell the difference in customer service between an american base company and some others. Because of this issue, I'll think twice before buying from some other company than Best Buy. It's great to see them supporting me and providing for me on an issue that has absolutely nothing to do with them.

The step you mentioned is definitely a step in the right direction. I'd much rather hear DJI doing what you say than acting like nothing is wrong.

update on DJI support. RE: Faulty battery

Pretty amazing! Following me supplying photos and videos I got an email last night saying that they will organise a free courier to pick up the faulty battery where ever I am, they will then do a diagnosis and send out a new battery to me at no cost. I'd say this is the way to go if anyone has this issue. 10/10 DJI! Apparently there is a service place close by so I'm not sure if this would be the case everywhere, but that's pretty great service.

Well, picked up the third one from UPS this morning and the battery is dead. Going to order a TB48 from amazon. Same day free shipping. Hopefully that one comes charged.

lweston6 Posted at 2016-6-16 08:47
Well, picked up the third one from UPS this morning and the battery is dead. Going to order a TB48 f ...

Wow , that is something to have 3 bad ones.  Why not order from like B and H photo , they sell thousands of these and I ma sure have fresh Inventory .  

I have had good luck with amazon Prime though as well.
Best Buy is whre I get my DJI equipment and electronics and they have a Great
Return Policy.  I think they do a great job overall as well.  

good Luck and sorry to hear about the problems- donnie

Donnie Posted at 2016-6-16 09:52
Wow , that is something to have 3 bad ones.  Why not order from like B and H photo , they sell thou ...

There is another gentlemen in my thread that is on his fourth from B and H with dead batteries as well.
I agree with your statment about Best Buy, great service.

Hopefully Amazon comes through with a good battery. Would really like to fly this thing already.

I am happy to report that I received my fourth kit from B&H this morning and the battery is NOT DOA.  This battery came right to life and is charging as I type this.  The three kits I purchased with defective batteries came from Microcenter, Best Buy and Amazon.  When I spoke with B&H the other day, the gentleman I spoke with was aware of the battery "issue", but said he only knew of one return to B&H because of a dead battery.  It may be that they do such a high volume that their stock is always fresh.  In any event, fourth time was the charm.

ccarr Posted at 2016-6-16 10:59
I am happy to report that I received my fourth kit from B&H this morning and the battery is NOT DOA. ...

Glad to hear that.

Just a quick update on my experience with DJI Support in replacing the dead battery that came with the brand new inspire 1.

After I emailed support and sent photos and videos of the battery's behavior, the free courier arrived the following working day. The labels to attach were emailed to me prior. Got an email update as soon as it was received by my local DJI repair centre saying that they were looking at it. Withing 24 hours I had another email saying that courier was picking up a replacement battery and that it would be on its way the next day.

I was a little worried when people were saying that it could be weeks / months to get it sorted out. I am happy to report that the whole turn around was about 7 days and didn't cost me a cent. I was in contact with 1 person throughout the process and was updated every few days along the way. Obviously it would have been better if it wasn't broken in the first place but that is extremely good service if you ask me.

Just a quick note.  It's not only Inspire batteries.  I just picked up a Phantom 4 to go with my Inspire 1 and one of the batteries was doa.  Luckily it wasn't the one in the ship.  Sending it back today fro replacement.  At least I have two other batteries to fly while I wait on this one.

warrenf@gmail.c Posted at 2016-7-29 01:15
Just a quick note.  It's not only Inspire batteries.  I just picked up a Phantom 4 to go with my Ins ...

I'm sorry to hear. You will get those replacement batteries in no time.

kinda hard to get consumers with such a bad job on Quality control or customer service  
when you sell product meant to fail out the door and put mail back policies on your website like i have witnessed by many here
and elsewhere of more than DOA failures and BS credit card/ time to wait etc policies, look if you know you have a problem, face it!!!!
you can't expect me to buy your product when i am aware that when after 4 months of non use the same problem will happen again
and it not being of warranteed as a factory defect, to sell more batteries. i'm taking your DOA product back! and never purchasing from
your defective company again not till you place a workaround that doesn't require tearing the battery apart to fix it or forever waits
for customer support on defective products FIX YOUR QC!  Because if i take the product out of the country for trips to paradise.
last thing i need is it not to work and be lugging around deadweight
have a nice day {:4_154:}

Awful experiences. I had an issue with a few batteries where the Discharge Warning/recommendation wouldn't go away. One person from DJI told me to send it in, another told me to discharge xxx way and reboot yyy that way. The second person saved me a lot of time and hassle.

I always call a second time (later in the day) to get a second opinion on things.

I did have to send one battery in because LED1 was always on. It wouldn't even charge. Had no issue getting a replacement.

DJI-Ken Posted at 2016-6-14 11:24
I'm sorry you experienced that, what exactly was broken on the RC and what error did the battery give you?
And did the 2nd battery give the exact same error as the first one?
Also, what is your ticket number, if you said you had "horrible customer service" I can have management play back your call and if indeed the rep was not treating you in a professional manner management will resolve it.

Sorry.  That is not normal customer service.  Normal customer service is when you buy something new, it does not work, then they replace it IMMEDIATELY with a new replacement.  NOT DJI will repair it for you which is just what I experienced with my DOA.  Come on DJI start pushing the buttons on these batteries before shipping them.

Guess I should have added mine is a Phantom 4.   I ordered the extra battery directly from DJI Mexico website which cost an extra $89 assuming I would get it faster (total $189).  It shipped from Atlanta is DOA and now I am supposed to pay shipping back to the USA so it can be repaired.  Thank god I have the battery that came with my drone.  As I said in another post somewhere (there appear to be several DOA posts so this is not uncommon) BEST product I have every purchased.  Cant think of anything I have purchased that brought me such amazement and enjoyment in such a short time.  WORST customer service I have ever experienced or heard of.  And that is magnified by what I read on this post.   Sorry Sir but you do not repair something that is new, you replace it.