DJI to restrict non-compliant drones at next software update

[Bunny Too]

I don't think DJI's intent is to create a 'no fly list' for counter terror purposes in the same manner a TSA "no fly list" we have today. And its not exactly like "spies" will be registering with DJI under their real names and stuff anyhow. So while certainty this can be used to individually target and spy on someone who is a person of interest, it doesn't seem like a practical intent. More likely, DJI is paving the way for the beginning steps of a registration list, being the defacto manufacturer of consumer drones, they are in the unique industry position to drive this, partly the appease governments, partly to benefit themselves. Eventually I could see this going down the route how like we have firearms registration in the USA right now. For example, wanna buy a new drone? It has to go through an DJI authorized dealer. That Dealer must perform check ID in person and those who can't pass a background check will be denied flying privileges. Just like felons cannot vote or people on no fly lists cannot fly, there might be a DJI list of people who are not allowed to fly DJI drones, and whatever criteria DJI sets will be even more strict than the governments criteria, since flying, and especially drone flying, is a privilege and not a constitutionally protected right (such as free speech etc) So I could see this going down the path of, oh so you are on probation? drone flying privileges revoked! Oh you own the IRS backtaxes? You can't fly drones until you pay up. Oh you are late on child support? Oh you are suffering from PTSD? Oh you posted a video or forum post critical of DJI? you get the idea.

I could see Obama saying : if you are too dangerous to fly, you are too dangerous to own a gun,
if you are too dangerous to own a gun, you are too dangerous to buy a drone.

Sliding down the slippery slope we go!

lol

Steps have been taken:
Can a Chinese drone manufacturer’s no-fly zone software stop ISIS from weaponizing drones?
I may be xenocentric here but I do not see this firmware update affecting These United States and most first world countries.

 

[Steelgtr]

sub

 

[Robbyg]

Steps have been taken:
Can a Chinese drone manufacturer’s no-fly zone software stop ISIS from weaponizing drones?
I may be xenocentric here but I do not see this firmware update affecting These United States and most first world countries.

I like your positive thinking but the fact that DJI does not make different versions of the app or firmware for different countries, means the same code will end up in your App and firmware.

While it may start off as a campaign against terrorist you can bet your last dollar that DJI will use it for whatever Geo problems they need it for. Any country that has laws in place to limit drone flight will eventually feel the pinch as they use forced upgrades to enforce new laws and problems that DJI as a company feels is a threat to their business.

I am not talking about a year from now but most likely within a couple of months. I would bet that even pilots in the USA will start to see increased NFZ control very soon. Folks who live in DC and FL will most likely be the first on the list.


Rob

 

[Robbyg]

MacPap just sent me this.

Now I am convinced that it is already in the current firmware versions. I guess we will find out over the next 10 days how long ago they introduced this code. I am removing all the WiFi connections from my iphone just in case I accidentally activate the WiFi and they push something into my old App and .400 firmware.

Rob

 

[adiru]

MacPap just sent me this.

Now I am convinced that it is already in the current firmware versions. I guess we will find out over the next 10 days how long ago they introduced this code. I am removing all the WiFi connections from my iphone just in case I accidentally activate the WiFi and they push something into my old App and .400 firmware.

Rob

If I were a betting man, I'd say they added it in 400.

I screwed myself by upgrading from my 200 to 400 just a few days ago ironically to test my VM for the 400

 

[mstranger]

I had this message yesterday in dji go 4 app while boot up mavic - controller and pre paired to fly. I hit ok and thought that i will log in , no login happened but mavic locked at 50m altitude. Am shure that this code came in mavic with .700 firmware and is waiting dji go 4 update to work with

 

[adiru]

I like your positive thinking but the fact that DJI does not make different versions of the app or firmware for different countries, means the same code will end up in your App and firmware.

While it may start off as a campaign against terrorist you can bet your last dollar that DJI will use it for whatever Geo problems they need it for. Any country that has laws in place to limit drone flight will eventually feel the pinch as they use forced upgrades to enforce new laws and problems they perceive as a threat.

I am not talking about a year from now but most likely within a couple of months. I would bet that even pilots in the USA will start to see increased NFZ control very soon. Folks who live in DC and FL will most likely be the first on the list.


Rob

DJI is at this point gone full on political and acting like quasi government or an enforcement arms for governments.
We all know something that starts out for "terrorism" soon gets used for every other reason /purpose under the sun.
Given DJI's track record, this is not looking good for consumers.

 

[Robbyg]

If I were a betting man, I'd say they added it in 400.

I screwed myself by upgrading from my 200 to 400 just a few days ago ironically to test my VM for the 400

I get the feeling that it is not in .400 but I think it is in the versions .500 to .700. I might have screwed myself by trying out .500 and now have some remnant code left in my firmware.
No need for any of us to panic, we just have to wait and see what happens over the next week or so.

Oh well the Goggles are dead to me if mine is unaffected. I will not be forced into the DJI Big brother camp for a pair of goggles.

Rob

 

[adiru]

I get the feeling that it is not in .400 but I think it is in the versions .500 to .700. I might have screwed myself by trying out .500 and now have some remnant code left in my firmware.
No need for any of us to panic, we just have to wait and see what happens over the next week or so.

Oh well the Goggles are dead to me if mine is unaffected. I will not be forced into the DJI Big brother camp for a pair of goggles.

Rob

Much like how there are "service sector" of harddrives that survive low-level reformats, and how when you flash a supposedly "dual BIOS" of say a Gigabyte motherboard with a new BIOS revision it won't let you flash back to an older version, are you suggesting that it is possible that after flashing to a .500, that it somehow have marks that remembers even after going back to the .400? It appears this is reasonable assumption, given that all brand new Mavic's have to be initially registered /activated with DJI servers prior to functionality, obviously this activation status is stored outside of the known firmware, otherwise a flashing of firmware back to older one's might wipe that and require reactivation. Essentially if that is the case, then the VM flash to 400 approach wouldn't even work for someone who has tainted themselves with 500 and above. Once you go .700 you don't go back.

 

[adiru]

I get the feeling that it is not in .400 but I think it is in the versions .500 to .700. I might have screwed myself by trying out .500 and now have some remnant code left in my firmware.
No need for any of us to panic, we just have to wait and see what happens over the next week or so.

Oh well the Goggles are dead to me if mine is unaffected. I will not be forced into the DJI Big brother camp for a pair of goggles.

Rob

I wonder at what point does DJI reach point of negative returns with the efforts to keep encroaching on its customers to appease governments. At some point, (and I don't know if we are anywhere close to it yet) there reaches a point of inflection in which continued lock down efforts will mean less total profit for them. That equilibrium point once reached will spell the slowdown of this crazyness.

But perhaps the DJI Spark, the new Goggles, etc and appealing to the massess of kite flying crowds is DJI's attempt at shifting that curve into the indefinite future.

 

[collins]

I wonder at what point does DJI reach point of negative returns with the efforts to keep encroaching on its customers to appease governments. At some point, (and I don't know if we are anywhere close to it yet) there reaches a point of inflection in which continued lock down efforts will mean less total profit for them. That equilibrium point once reached will spell the slowdown of this crazyness.

But perhaps the DJI Spark, the new Goggles, etc and appealing to the massess of kite flying crowds is DJI's attempt at shifting that curve into the indefinite future.

I am not sure I see things this way. I think that it is in DJI best 'commercial' interests to be 'proactive' in preventing its customers from breaking the law.

Let me give an example. China has had 'problems'with drones flying near commercial airports. They introduce a ruling that no drones maybe flown within a 10km radius of an airport. But people continue to fly drones near airports - 'I didnt realize I wasnt supposed to fly within 10 kms of an airport' they say 'I didnt realize I was within 10 km of an airport'. So the Government introduces a 'drone driver's license' - you have to take a test - know the rules and the laws to qualify. It prevents visitors who dont have a license from flying - and it stops a lot of residents from buying because they simply cant be bothered. And very quickly the hassle of drone flying for the average consumer becomes very damaging to DJI sales and profits.

Bottom line is DJI has a difficult path to tread between 'pissing off its customers' and its products 'pissing off national governments'.

As someone else mentioned our ability to fly drones is a privilege rather than a God given right. And honestly I dont think there is a whole load of 'sympathy for drone pilots' out there amongst the general public. If guns had been invented in the 21st century, I doubt the US constitution would have come to their rescue.

 

[adiru]

I am not sure I see things this way. I think that it is in DJI best 'commercial' interests to be 'proactive' in preventing its customers from breaking the law.

Let me give an example. China has had 'problems'with drones flying near commercial airports. They introduce a ruling that no drones maybe flown within a 10km radius of an airport. But people continue to fly drones near airports - 'I didnt realize I wasnt supposed to fly within 10 kms of an airport' they say 'I didnt realize I was within 10 km of an airport'. So the Government introduces a 'drone driver's license' - you have to take a test - know the rules and the laws to qualify. It prevents visitors who dont have a license from flying - and it stops a lot of residents from buying because they simply cant be bothered. And very quickly the hassle of drone flying for the average consumer becomes very damaging to DJI sales and profits.

Bottom line is DJI has a difficult path to tread between 'pissing off its customers' and its products 'pissing off national governments'.

As someone else mentioned our ability to fly drones is a privilege rather than a God given right. And honestly I dont think there is a whole load of 'sympathy for drone pilots' out there amongst the general public. If guns had been invented in the 21st century, I doubt the US constitution would have come to their rescue.

What do you suppose gives DJI the legal 'right' to handicap the Mavic of customers post-sales , retroactively and after the fact, without consent and without legal justification (ie Go Pro Karma recall)
If DJI prioritizes appeasing governments or safety in the name of self preservation then so be it, but if it wants to handicap units already sold, then DJI has the obligation to at least give a partial / pro-rated if not full refund for those customers whom demand /request to be given the option to return their units and get their money back, since the product they got effectively was or had become materially different from what was represented to them at the time of purchase.

Sorry but no matter how DJI spins it, they can't have it both ways. Either DJI screwed up back then when the Mavic was on the drawing boards or DJI screwed up now, but why is the consumer subsidizing for DJI's mistake by getting less than what they paid for? Why is DJI allowed to effectively use tactics that could be construed as anti-competitive (artificially reducing battery safety margins to give better flight times against competitors on specs to publicize themselves to market, but then push out firmware updates to cap the battery usable levels after the fact, in the name of safety and the banner of security, without updating the true effectively flight time to reflect the change, etc) when they have ulterior motives and vested interests (increasing DJI Care profit margins for being more and more conservative in flight envelopes anyone?!) .... either way I don't see how this is anything but 'evil'.

 

[rigor]

If i activate my goggles with dji go on my spare phone that never connects to my mavic by signing it with it then try to use them on the version i use with with the mavic will they still work i have v4.2.
Hope this message makes sense

 

[rigor]

If i activate my goggles with dji go on my spare phone that never connects to my mavic by signing it with it then try to use them on the version i use with with the mavic will they still work i have v4.2.
Hope this message makes sense

Or what im trying to say is can i activate my goggles without connecting my mavic setup to wifi etc as i wont be doing that

 

[adiru]

Or what im trying to say is can i activate my goggles without connecting my mavic setup to wifi etc as i wont be doing that

I don't think Goggles work too well without being on latest firmware and app.

For me personally, I was never a big fan of the VR, hololens, 3d movies, DJI Goggles.
As a DSLR hobbyist, I still like mirrored vs mirrorless.

I prefer to see the Mavic with my own eyes in VLOS, and for BVR, review the 4k footage afterwards. The lag of the Goggles, however low latency DJI might want to claim, isn't for me.

 

[rigor]

My goggles are being delivered in the morning i think i will leave them in the box a while and see what happens to others on here before i use them

 

[adiru]

My goggles are being delivered in the morning i think i will leave them in the box a while and see what happens to others on here before i use them

Depending on where you bought them from, check your return policy just in case.

BTW, isn't 400 firmware still available? You can go to 700 and come back to 400 if you don't like it.

 

[collins]

What do you suppose gives DJI the legal 'right' to handicap the Mavic of customers post-sales , retroactively and after the fact, without consent and without legal justification (ie Go Pro Karma recall)

I am not a laywer BUT if China introduces a Law that makes it illegal to fly a drone within 10kms of an airport, I would have thought DJI has every 'legal right' to introduce a feature that prevents its drones from being flown within 10 km of an airport. In fact DJI may well have a 'legal obligation' to introduce such a feature.Most likely a legal argument that you demand the legal right to be able fly where it is illegal will end up with all 'rights' being taken away with an involuntary stay in a gulag

 

[adiru]

I am not a laywer BUT if China introduces a Law that makes it illegal to fly a drone within 10kms of an airport, I would have thought DJI has every 'legal right' to introduce a feature that prevents its drones from being flown within 10 km of an airport. In fact DJI may well have a 'legal obligation' to introduce such a feature.Most likely a legal argument that you demand the legal right to be able fly where it is illegal will end up with all 'rights' being taken away with an involuntary stay in a gulag

Then folks in the US that felt they were victims of theft by deception also retain the right to contact their credit card company for a chargeback. Especially if they bought straight from DJI and within 180 days/ 90 days Again, this works both ways.

 

[Kilrah]

My goggles are being delivered in the morning i think i will leave them in the box a while and see what happens to others on here before i use them

I would to the opposite and make sure to activate them ASAP before those new measures come in place.