In late September after months of trying to figure out a problem that I was having, I contacted support and was told that I needed to send in my Phantom 3 Pro for service. The recorded video was of poor quality with lots of noise and artifacts.

I got a case number and sent it in to the repair depot in California. A couple of days after it arrived there I was given a quote of $74 to replace a roll-axis cover and a gimbal soft flat cable. I wasn't sure how that would cause poor video quality but hey, they are the experts.

I paid and the unit was returned to me. A day after I received it I went out to test it. The problem was still there. I contacted service once more and again I was told that I needed to send it back in to be looked at once again.

Again I got a case number and again I sent it to the repair depot in California. I got another quote, this time it was for $257 to replace the gimbal y-axis video downlink main board V10. I'm still waiting for the return to see if it is fixed this time.

However, as I wait, I've been asking support for a refund of the $74 for the first repair as it obviously didn't fix the problem that it was sent into them to repair. Or at least an explanation as to what problem the first repair actual did fix because it certainly wasn't what I sent it in for. For the last several days, all I've been getting is the run-around or answers which just seem so bizarre that I wondered if I was speaking the same language. I don't think that I'm being unreasonable. The $74 isn't a lot of money but why pay for something that wasn't needed or asked for.

The original bout of service was a delivery nightmare. It took a total of 27 days for the repair process to complete. 10 day of which it sat in the local UPS warehouse waiting to be delivered to me. Then when the unit is finally delivered to find it not repair was very fustrating. And now to be getting the run-around on a refund for the non-repair is just more fustration. I love the product but it too bad that the service and support is so bad that it makes you nervous about buying any further products from the company.

That is too bad. DJI isn't the only one like that. Many companies are the same, especially in the RC industry. Since I work on my own stuff, I just fix my own gear and forget the warranties. I can't build a craft as cheaply as these anyway.

Crowesnest, sorry for the inconvenience caused, would you please provide us your case number? we'll help you escalate it soon.

DJI Natalia Posted at 2016-12-5 12:16
Crowesnest, sorry for the inconvenience caused, would you please provide us your case number? we'll help you escalate it soon.

Thank you DJI Natalia for looking into this for me.

The case # for the 1st repair is CAS-283962-H5F6K1

The case # for the 2nd repair is CAS-322979-P2Y8J6

It sounds similar to my case! I did a software update about two months ago and my gimbal would not connect. It flew fine before the update. Tried to fix over the phone three times with no luck, sent the drone in for repair, and a month later I got an invoice for $209! I called DJI and asked why do I have to pay for something that I didn't break? So they said they would review my case. Today I just got off th phone with DJI and they said it's out of the 6 month warranty and I have to pay.  Really?! First off, why is the drone advertised as having a one year warranty, but it doesn't cover all of it? My drone is less than a year old by the way. Second, their software update messed up my drone, not me. I would understand if I did something wrong, but I didn't. All I did was update the software!? I have not had my drone for 2 months now and I am pissed off! I live in Florida and have missed some very unique footage of the aftermath of hurricane Matthew. The service manager that I spoke to was very nice and understood my problem and agreed I should not have to pay for it, but he said it was out of his hands and could not do anything else except give me the number to main headquarters. I tried calling but the number would not go through. After reading the forums, there seems to be a major issue with these updates!

Crowesnest Posted at 2016-12-5 22:09
Thank you DJI Natalia for looking into this for me.

The case # for the 1st repair is CAS-283962-H5F6K1

Your case has been escalated, and our support emailed you with the information, please feel free to reply the e-mail, thanks.

DJI Natalia Posted at 2016-12-6 10:51
Your case has been escalated, and our support emailed you with the information, please feel free to reply the e-mail, thanks.

Is this my case you are referring to Natalia?
My case # is CAS-314850-Y7B8X1

justin1 Posted at 2016-12-15 02:06
Is this my case you are referring to Natalia?
My case # is CAS-314850-Y7B8X1

We feel so sorry for the inconvenience caused.
The last post was referring to the OP since you did not provide us the case number. We've checked your case, it's activated last year, right?
The repair case was created on 9th Nov, and we received it on 23th Nov, then sent you an e-mail with the invoice the same day.
The warranty period for Gimbal Camera is 6 months, you could get the information on DJI official website--*Warranty Period of Main Parts* : http://www.dji.com/service/policy

This is not right at all!!! I have to pay $200 for a problem that I did not do! What the heck DJI? I don't even have $200 to pay them now! So they just keep my drone until I pay. This is bull!!! I have missed many unique photo and video footage from the aftermath of hurricane Matthew, and the hours wasted trying to fix the problem over the phone before sending it in! Why don't you just man up like a REAL company and do a recall on this issue so you don't have a bunch of mad customers?!

DJI Natalia Posted at 2016-12-5 18:51
Your case has been escalated, and our support emailed you with the information, please feel free to reply the e-mail, thanks.

An update to my fun and games with regards to my Phantom 3 Pro repair.

The 2nd repair did the trick. I now have a UAV that can take videos and pictures like it use to. However, after being promised on Dec. 9th to do a refund on the initial repair (which did nothing to fix the problem)  I have seen or heard nothing. Several emails to the "manager" that I was dealing with have gone by with no replies or explanation.
It probably won't mean anthing to them or will it change their mind on how they do buisness but there is an old business saying that I was taught when I first started out which seems to have been forgotten by many. It is easier to keep a customer than to get one back. It is easy for a company to sell a product to a customer. The hard part is getting a customer to return and buy other products over and over again. Good customer service is the key to having customers return. I was looking forward to purchasing a new Phantom 4 Pro. However, this experience has given me pause and I will now look at other companies and their products. All over a $75 bill that should have never been charged. It seems that DJI really likes their notoriously bad customer service reputation.

Crowesnest, we feel so sorry for your unpleasant experience, we've issued the refund for you.
Customer satisfaction is very important to us, we keep improving the service so that you could have great experiences.
Thank you so much for your understanding.

DJI Natalia Posted at 2017-1-11 01:14
Crowesnest, we feel so sorry for your unpleasant experience, we've issued the refund for you.
Customer satisfaction is very important to us, we keep improving the service so that you could have great experiences.
Thank you so much for your understanding.

When should I expect to see the refund? It been nearly 5 weeks since I was told that I would be getting it but I still have not seen anything?

Crowesnest Posted at 2017-1-12 07:33
When should I expect to see the refund? It been nearly 5 weeks since I was told that I would be getting it but I still have not seen anything?

I've brought this to the attention of our support team, will keep you updated.
Very sorry for the trouble caused.

Hi Justin1. I believe we have similar problems with our dji phantom 3 professional quads. If your problem was in fact a corrupted gimbal main board after firmware upgrade, this is pretty common and dji has repaired these even out of warranty. It's considered a manufacturer flaw or unit failure.
This thread indicates that

In this linked thread, DJI's reps recognize that this known issue is due to "corrupted video transmission module" on the camera gimbal assembly: http://forum.dji.com/thread-59246-1-1.html

Hey,
I have a simelar Problem.
My drone crashed after I activated autolanding, or lets say I activated autolanding, the drone starts to drifting away and starts to go down. after 15 Meters it hits a car and got down on the ground.
The flightlog says that the drone was under my controll for the full 15 Meters and I didnt changed the Position of the flightsticks for all the time, direct wehn the drone hits the car it says that autlanding was started.
You can see on the video that the Drone allready startet landing wehn it was drifting away. The end of the Crash was that there was a small crack on the body, the Sunlens of the camera was broken and the propellers were also broken.
I conntacted DJI on Twitter, they said that they have to check the drone if it is a warranty case, I sent the Drone to them, after I conntacted DJI on twitter that my Drone isnt checked after 18 Days  I got a bill over 316 Euros with the remark that teh drone was fully under my controll. So now I have to pay the 316€. 140€ Euros for the Y-Achis video downlink main board and tow times 50€ for Service. I dont now why I should pay the bill, if you have some brain you would think that a normal person that has all his eyes on the Airplane would fly the Drone in the AIr, I tried it, but the drone didnt got my commands(You can see on the Video that all my handy are on the Controller).
Also I send the drone in for a warranty case, now I have to pay money to get my drone back, I dont think that this Is fair and is accepted by the German rights.
I dont now what to do now because I am an Student and dont have 316€ (for 300€ I could get one year free repair!). Also I think wehn there is an error on the controller it wouldnt say it in the flightlogs.

This is not customer frendly and I dont think I would buy any DJI objects in the Future if the Support stay so Customer unfrendy.

Regrads Moritz
(Sory for my bad english, I am german D: )

I have the same problem with my phantom 3 pro. After I updated the firmware the camera wouldn't work anymore. I sent my drone to dji, and they said it's the gimbal mainboard and charged me $295. Can't believe it!

My drone is still at dji and I'm not going to pay that much for it. This is not something that I caused it. It was their software that screwed it up.

I can’t believe the poor customer service I’ve gotten up until this point. My DJI Phantom 3 was flying fine one day, when I got home it told me there was an update available for the DJI app, so I updated my phone and went back out to try and fly. However it wouldn’t connect to my drone. So I took it back home, called DJI and they helped me “troubleshoot” it. The gentleman on the phone made me redownload the app on my phone, the firmware, and retina my remote. After all this he was finally able to get my phone to connect to my remote and my remote to connect to my drone. But it was saying in the app that there was an issue connecting to the gimbal, that it was unavailable. I got told I needed to set up a repair inquest, the gentleman told me it was most likely an issue he caused. It gets to DJI and they just quoted me 354$! To replace 4 blade motors and the gimbal and a cover. The mytors were working fine when it was ! And on top of that they’re basically saying even  “You followed our DJI technicians instructions and he helped you troubleshoot the issue but it’s all your fault”! So not only am I being accused for causing an issue, but I’m also being told I have to pay for the parts, and pay for parts that were totally functional when I sent it to them! This is ridiculous. ABSOLUTELY ridiculous DJI, I have never had a worse experience with a company trying to manipulate there customers.

I just got a quote and paid the $209 bucks to get my P3 Professional "gimbal y-axis video downlink main board V10" That board failed on a firmware update, no crash, no nothing.  Would not respond after attempting the update.  I really wish I would have stumbled across these posts before paying up.   I am now convinced it had nothing to do with myself.   Any DJI reps care to look into my case for me please?  

I just reposted this to include the case # and it won't let me edit / delete the last post.  

I just got a quote and paid the $209 bucks to get my P3 Professional "gimbal y-axis video downlink main board V10" That board failed on a firmware update, no crash, no nothing.  Would not respond after attempting the update.  I really wish I would have stumbled across these posts before paying up.   I am now convinced it had nothing to do with myself.   Any DJI reps care to look into my case for me please?  

Case Number CAS-1319475-X4Y3S1

mightymace Posted at 2018-1-2 18:01
I just reposted this to include the case # and it won't let me edit / delete the last post.  

I just got a quote and paid the $209 bucks to get my P3 Professional "gimbal y-axis video downlink main board V10" That board failed on a firmware update, no crash, no nothing.  Would not respond after attempting the update.  I really wish I would have stumbled across these posts before paying up.   I am now convinced it had nothing to do with myself.   Any DJI reps care to look into my case for me please?  

Hi there, sorry for the late response first. Generally, the firmware upgrade will not cause hardware issue, but the hardware glitches can be found during the process. Per the case number you offered, the drone was activated around 2015-11-05 and has been out of warranty when you sent it in. I'm sorry that it is a paid service, hope for your understanding.

I had/have a P3A that had a Image Transmission Signal and Linking failure caused by a firmware update.  Similar to (https://forum.dji.com/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=59246)  CAS-1300519-D0P6D4.  I sent it in for repair.  DJI charged me for a repair and sent me a refurbished P3A.  The P3A sat on the shelf for 6 months and when I used it for the first time I experienced the noise and artifacts mentioned here.  I sent it in to DJI and now they want another $200 for repair of the P"Gimbal Video Downlink Main Board V10"  for the refurbished drone they sent me because it was out of it's 30 day warranty (I didn't activate it until days before using it for the first time) CAS-1863489-H5R5W9.  Is this DJI's business model?  This makes the second drone they've sent me that didn't work and now the repair bill is on me.  Buyer beware!