Anyone using a DJI Care Refresh before it expires?

[Chase R]

With the one year anniversary of the early Mavic deliveries nearing, is anyone thinking about getting some new hardware before their DJI Care Refresh contracts expire?

Given I have had a few Active Track gremlins and have put it into a few trees, I'm leaning towards shelling out the $80 to grab a fresh Mavic before time runs out.

Anyone know of any hardware components that have been upgraded since the early units went out?

Thanks
Chase

 

[Ping^Spike]

You can't buy refresh if your Mavic has been activated for more than 48hrs I think?

And, more importantly, I'd rather keep my current Mavic, the refresh ones are all recons.

Better the devil you know and all that...

 

[Hotelone]

With the one year anniversary of the early Mavic deliveries nearing, is anyone thinking about getting some new hardware before their DJI Care Refresh contracts expire?

Given I have had a few Active Track gremlins and have put it into a few trees, I'm leaning towards shelling out the $80 to grab a fresh Mavic before time runs out.

Anyone know of any hardware components that have been upgraded since the early units went out?

Thanks
Chase

Interesting idea...

 

[TrayBoz]

I have been wondering the same thing. My refresh was purchased last January, so I have a few months left to decide.

Thanks to one good crash I had on the very first day, my mavic has a "scar/crack/scratch" - whatever you want to call it, on the front nose. Other than this cosmetic damage, is has always flown perfectly and predictably. I've had no problems with it whatsoever.

But would it be wise for me to spend $79 and get a refurbished one / brand new one? It would help if I knew for SURE whether I would receive a refurb unit or a brand new one, and there's probably no way of knowing that in advance.

I would no longer have a scratch, but who knows what kinds of issues I might inherit that I've never had before. Plus I'd lose the brand new $50 skin I just put on it.

I think if I had to make the decision today, I'll just keep the one that I have unless it starts giving me problems between now and the January expiry date.

But then again, it would be nice to have ALL NEWER components. I have over 150 hours of flight time on my mavic, and I'm not sure what kind of wear-and-tear that actually puts on all the original components. I'm sure that even if I DID get a refurb Mavic with Refresh, that it would certainly not have nearly as many hours/miles on it as mine currently does.

So the question is: Would you pay $79 to trade from a HIGH-mileage mavic that works perfectly to a (probably) LOW-mileage mavic that was manufactured more recently which may or may-not have ANY issues OR some unknown issues? (The $79 is really not a factor - wouldn't matter to me if it was $5 or $200 - I just want the best mavic possible).

I would like to think that the longer they've been making mavics, the more experienced they are, the better testing they do, and the more kinks get worked out. I would also like to think that their customer service department was worth a S**T, but wishing doesn't make it so.

For any electrical engineers out there: How much performance or reliability degradation is associated with hundreds of hours of use on a device like the mavic? Does anything in the mavic slowly grow closer to failing or lose performance over time and with lots of use? I know the battery does very gradually lose charging capacity over time - I've seen the tests on that, but it's a very nominal amount which I'm perfectly fine with. "Tried and True" OR "Newer = Better" ?

Thoughts?

 

[Lon Denard]

Well, before I purchased my Mavic, I had a Karma but before that a 3DR Solo. The good thing about the Solo and the Karma was that you could replace all of the parts. Especially the Solo. The Mavic...not so much. It doesn't look like DJI offers replacement parts as far as I've found anyway. The motors, both flight and gimbal have an operation life. I don't know what it is and I'm not sure if anyone does. The other question is what defines a refurbished unit? Do they replace the motors, for example? The gimbal? Do you get a new warranty with a refurb from Care Refresh? If you buy one you do.

I plan to use mine before it expires even though would be $130. I crashed my drone within 30 days of buying it and DJI let me buy Care Refresh and pay the replacement fee to get a "new" one. In your case, I would definitely go for the possible refurb. I know people that would rather have a refurb because they go through them at the factory. I don't know but the one I got looked brand new and has worked perfectly for over 50 flights now.

 

[FlyGuy8675309]

The Mavic...not so much. It doesn't look like DJI offers replacement parts as far as I've found anyway.

Parts are available via TomTop and RC sites, as well as ebay. Not sure if you can but the parts direct from DJI, but here's the list and price from their website (https://repair.dji.com/en/SelfRepair/PriceQuery)
Part Name Price/$
Aircraft Components Back Right Motor Arm 19.00
Back Left Motor Arm 19.00
Front Right Motor Arm 22.00
Front Left Motor Arm 22.00
Front Vision 2 29.00
Front Vision 1 29.00
GPS Module 45.00
Core Board 288.00
Flight controller ESC board 59.00
Middle Frame 4.00
Top Cover 1.00
Bottom Shell 11.00
Compass Board 3.00
Wi-Fi Board 13.00
Mavic 8330 Quick-release Folding Propellers 9.00
Gimbal Components Gimbal Control Board 17.00
Gimbal Camera and Arm 159.00
Gimbal Arm 59.00
Gimbal Vibration Damping 2.00
Gimbal Camera 101.00
Fan 9.00
Front Cover of Gimbal Camera 6.00
Remote Controller Components RC Top Cover 6.00
RC Bottom Cover 17.00
RC Back Cover 1.00
RC Main Control Board 131.00
RC Antenna Right 2.00
Power Board 4.00
RC Antenna Left 2.00

 

[FlyGuy8675309]

RE: The Refresh thing. Not sure.. I'd love to know more about the inner workings of the DJI scrap heap and how parts are recycled. Looking at the parts list above, I can picture huge bins of each part from various returned aircraft that are used to make "new" ones - so you could get parts older than the ones you have now. Or you could get a brand new one. Would be nice to know... Anyone with insight on this process?

 

[Lon Denard]

RE: The Refresh thing. Not sure.. I'd love to know more about the inner workings of the DJI scrap heap and how parts are recycled. Looking at the parts list above, I can picture huge bins of each part from various returned aircraft that are used to make "new" ones - so you could get parts older than the ones you have now. Or you could get a brand new one. Would be nice to know... Anyone with insight on this process?

Obviously I don't have insight on DJI's process but I've been involved in refurbishing products. When I look at the retail prices of these parts my guess would be that it's far better to use new parts than risk failures on their products. Especially since refurb Drones have the same warranty as new.

 

[gwbaker]

I bought a refurbished Mavic from the get go figuring I would crash, refresh, and wind up with a refurbished unit anyway. Ordered directly from DJI, but my drone shipped from Austell, GA (oddly only 20 miles from my home). I have yet to need the refresh. The refirb that I bought looked brand spanking new and has not had any issues in the 6 weeks or so that I have owned it.

 

[tonytafarella]

I refreshed because I actually had an incident. Worked out great!

 

[Chase R]

A lot of good thoughts here. You wonder if DJI has changed any of the components without mentioning changes to the general public. I work in manufacturing and we certainly do not disclose every improvement we make to our customers. I think I'm going to go ahead and do it because I have has some gremlins with the active track/vision systems.

And yet another question, does the Refresh Mavic carry the same warranty as the new one? If so, then you would get another 6/12 months of warranty by paying the $80.

 

[Chase R]

A lot of good thoughts here. You wonder if DJI has changed any of the components without mentioning changes to the general public. I work in manufacturing and we certainly do not disclose every improvement we make to our customers. I think I'm going to go ahead and do it because I have has some gremlins with the active track/vision systems.

And yet another question, does the Refresh Mavic carry the same warranty as the new one? If so, then you would get another 6/12 months of warranty by paying the $80.

So just verified that the warranty does not "restart". ha Talking to DJI customer service is like having a conversation about the laws of physics with a 2 year old.

 

[Lon Denard]

So just verified that the warranty does not "restart". ha Talking to DJI customer service is like having a conversation about the laws of physics with a 2 year old.

It can be tough for sure...

 

[Deedie]

After the DJI refresh expires, can it be extended for another year?

 

[Lon Denard]

After the DJI refresh expires, can it be extended for another year?

Nope.

 

[Deedie]

Nope.

Thanks

 

[MAVEYE]

If it ain't broken don't fix it

 

[Matt]

hopefully they pick out a good one for you.


i guess it would all depend. you might get a new one or a fixed up one. When would the one year warranty end? date of your original purchase?

 

[MAVEYE]

I mean is it really worth it if your mavic just has normal wear and tear to take the risk of getting one that s prob 98% chance it's a refurb ? Quick question if you did get a replacement does that mean the carefresh starts again or if you replaced it are you stuck with it.

 

[stratos]

Interesting idea...

well you dont really get fresh Mavic you will get a refurbished Mavic that might have other issues.
So if you Mavic dont have issues, well, I dont think you need to refresh it