Access to flight log (to confirm unused)

[Flyver]

Hi all,

I just purchased a Mini which had been returned by the original buyer.
The shop gave me a small discount, and assured me that the drone had never been flown. Is there anyway I can access the flight log to verify that claim?
That is, to check whether the drone has ever been in the air?

Thanks!

 

[Deleted member 103366]

If you need to activate it then it has not been flown since it must be activated BEFORE it will fly. ( I don't think a shop can 'unactivate ' a Mavic Mini.)
If it does not need to be activated then the proof of whether or not it has been flown lies in the DAT flight logs on the drone but unfortunately only DJI can read those.
I do not remember if the Mavic Mini shows, on the drone, individual DATs or just a collective file.

Other than that all you can do is check, to a limited extent, how much it has been 'used'.
A DAT file is recorded from drone switch on to drone switch off and they are numbered sequentially. When a phone, with the FLY App running? on it, is connected to the controller and the controller is connected to the drone, a DAT is recorded on the phone. Checking the number of the DAT give some indication as to how many times the drone has been switched on and off BUT the problem is the renumbering resets to zero at 99 +1, thus DAT no5 could be DAT #5 or #105 or #205 etc..

In a similar way the photo and video names contain sequential numbering, so checking the number of an image taken can give some indication of how many videos and photos have been taken and or shot. BUT the numbering can be reset by choice and anyway it resets to zero at 999? +1.

If the drone has been activated then I would say the higher the DAT count/number the more likely it has been flown but it is BY NO MEANS proof that it has been flown.

I recollect switching my Mavic Mini on and off multiple times whilst playing with, or investigating, settings BEFORE it first flew.

 

[Flyver]

Thanks for the info! I’m surprised that a Total Flight Time isn’t available.

I retrieved the DAT file from the drone - a single file of 47 MB. The DatCon tool confirms that only DJI can read the log file.
So now I’ve sent DJI support a copy of the log, asking if they can say anything about the prior usage. It has been activated.

 

[Deleted member 103366]

That's fairly small, by comparison a DAT from my Magic Mini DRONE is around 500Mb.
From the PHONE the largest DAT is 12Mb and a DAT which covered a 21 min flight is 10.4Mb.

Is there something that makes you suspect it has been flown?

 

[BudWalker]

Hi all,

I just purchased a Mini which had been returned by the original buyer.
The shop gave me a small discount, and assured me that the drone had never been flown. Is there anyway I can access the flight log to verify that claim?
That is, to check whether the drone has ever been in the air?

Thanks!

If the Mini came with an SD card and if you have not powered up the Mini several times there is a file on the SD card called fc_log.log that might contain info you need. Look here to see how to find it
I Found A Mavic Mini looks almost brand New nothing on the SD card

Figuring out what it says can be tricky. If you provide it I can take a look. It will be 512 Mb so you will need to use a public sharing site like Dropbox or GoogleDrive.

 

[Arnold LeVine]

What about checking the number of times the battery has been charged? Does the mini record that in the battery info like it does with P4's and M2s?

 

[Deleted member 103366]

What about checking the number of times the battery has been charged? Does the mini record that in the battery info like it does with P4's and M2s?

They do. Good thinking. It can be seen in the app, in the "about" section.

the Mini came with an SD card and if you have not powered up the Mini several times there is a file on the SD card called fc_log.log that might contain info you need. L

Darn I forgot about both these.

 

[Flyver]

Thanks for all the suggestions!
Just to summarize: I purchased a Mavic Mini from a shop, with the box seal broken but "product unused". When I opened the box I noticed the USB-cables had been unpacked and one of the batteries had been charged. So I got curious exactly how unused the drone was. Here is what I did:

• Checked activation status by entering the serial number into DJI's Activation Info Inquiry . The drone had indeed been activated 1.5 months earlier.
• Retrieved the DAT flight log from the drone itself, via DJI Assistant 2 on a PC. This 47 MB file is encrypted so I sent it to DJI support, who replied that any flight details "belonged to the privacy of the previous owner - sorry".
• Checked the battery charge cycles via the DJI Fly app - it was 1.
• The drone didn't come with an SD card, but thanks for the suggestion.

So whether my Mini has been airborne with its first owner, I guess I'll never know

 

[Deleted member 103366]

If it has been flown I doubt it has been flown much.