Battery crapped out.

[jwilson]

I was flying my mavic 3 pro at the beach, on a hot day. So we set up a shade tent, which is like one of those tents you set up with poles, but it's half open. It has a bottom. So unfortunately, when I finished swimming, I sat in there with my wet swimsuit, and it developed a small puddle of salt water, right where I happened to place my DJI carrying bag. So when I changed batteries, I noticed the terminal side was a little wet. I thought this was strange, but I couldn't see the puddle under my bag. I just wiped them off, and they worked fine. Until my fourth battery. I wiped it off too, but when I put it in my drone, it would power up the drone, but fly would say "battery communication error" so it wouldn't let me fly. I took the battery out, and wiped it off again,. But same error. I did this three or four times but to no avail. I emailed dji right from the beach about this problem.
So when I got back to my hotel, 2 or 3 lights on that battery kept flashing in a random pattern, and I couldn't get it to go off. It wouldn't charge in the charging hub. DJI told me to charge it in the drone, which I did. I did get it to finally power on the drone, it gave video and I could move the gimbal. But still couldn't fly. I emailed DJI about the progress I had made, but of course, they were slow to get back to me. The next day, the battery was totally dead, and has been ever since. I emailed DJI the serial number, but to this day, weeks later, they still haven't been able to confirm the warranty status. They keep asking me for proof of purchase, but I've lost two of my receipts. I actually think this is an old battery from my mavic 3 days, which would not be in warranty.
I wonder why dji did not make their bag waterproof, and I'm thinking of trying to do it myself. I also recommend storing your batteries terminal side up in your bag. I think maybe water got inside the battery that failed, and damaged it's circuitry.

 

[mavic3usa]

Sorry to hear about your battery; I actually have a tiny cap I place on mine:

DJI Accessories

Products by drone pilots for drone pilots. In 2013 we started Aerial-Pixel as a drone photography and videography service. Since then we have grown to also provide vinyl graphics, apparel and 3D printed products for the drone industry.

www.aerial-pixel.com

There's always an electronic receipt somewhere from your email, to the store's system, to your credit card. Barely anything sold as new these days comes with paper receipt only.

 

[GadgetGuy]

Sorry to hear about your battery; I actually have a tiny cap I place on mine:

DJI Accessories

Products by drone pilots for drone pilots. In 2013 we started Aerial-Pixel as a drone photography and videography service. Since then we have grown to also provide vinyl graphics, apparel and 3D printed products for the drone industry.

www.aerial-pixel.com

Those are more likely dust covers than waterproof, but every little bit helps in a leaky situation, without submersion.

 

[jwilson]

Sorry to hear about your battery; I actually have a tiny cap I place on mine:

DJI Accessories

Products by drone pilots for drone pilots. In 2013 we started Aerial-Pixel as a drone photography and videography service. Since then we have grown to also provide vinyl graphics, apparel and 3D printed products for the drone industry.

www.aerial-pixel.com

There's always an electronic receipt somewhere from your email, to the store's system, to your credit card. Barely anything sold as new these days comes with paper receipt only.

It's interesting that they replaced my whole lost drone without a receipt, but they can't tell if a battery is in warranty without a receipt. I would think the serial number would give them a pretty good idea if it's in warranty

 

[GadgetGuy]

It's interesting that they replaced my whole lost drone without a receipt, but they can't tell if a battery is in warranty without a receipt. I would think the serial number would give them a pretty good idea if it's in warranty

Not necessarily. Serial number only tells the date of manufacture. 6 month battery warranty begins on date of sale, which could potentially be years later.

 

[jwilson]

Not necessarily. Serial number only tells the date of manufacture. 6 month battery warranty begins on date of sale, which could potentially be years later.

I ordered my mavic 3, from Amazon, the day it was available, in November 2021. I bought a 2nd battery a few months later. I bought my mavic 3 pro in June, 2023. So I would think they could distinguish from those 2 days, by the serial number, if my dead battery is in warranty. I wouldn't think they would want batteries sitting around too long after they're manufactured. Maybe I should ask them when my dead battery was manufactured. I don't want to tax their brains too much.

 

[MS Coast]

I was flying my mavic 3 pro at the beach, on a hot day. So we set up a shade tent, which is like one of those tents you set up with poles, but it's half open. It has a bottom. So unfortunately, when I finished swimming, I sat in there with my wet swimsuit, and it developed a small puddle of salt water, right where I happened to place my DJI carrying bag. So when I changed batteries, I noticed the terminal side was a little wet. I thought this was strange, but I couldn't see the puddle under my bag. I just wiped them off, and they worked fine. Until my fourth battery. I wiped it off too, but when I put it in my drone, it would power up the drone, but fly would say "battery communication error" so it wouldn't let me fly. I took the battery out, and wiped it off again,. But same error. I did this three or four times but to no avail. I emailed dji right from the beach about this problem.
So when I got back to my hotel, 2 or 3 lights on that battery kept flashing in a random pattern, and I couldn't get it to go off. It wouldn't charge in the charging hub. DJI told me to charge it in the drone, which I did. I did get it to finally power on the drone, it gave video and I could move the gimbal. But still couldn't fly. I emailed DJI about the progress I had made, but of course, they were slow to get back to me. The next day, the battery was totally dead, and has been ever since. I emailed DJI the serial number, but to this day, weeks later, they still haven't been able to confirm the warranty status. They keep asking me for proof of purchase, but I've lost two of my receipts. I actually think this is an old battery from my mavic 3 days, which would not be in warranty.
I wonder why dji did not make their bag waterproof, and I'm thinking of trying to do it myself. I also recommend storing your batteries terminal side up in your bag. I think maybe water got inside the battery that failed, and damaged it's circuitry.

Given that you may have introduced a bit of saltwater into your drone's battery compartment, you might want to clean the contacts and the area around them. Cotton swab and isopropyl alcohol?

I wouldn't expect batteries to be warrantied against exposure of the contacts to salt water by the user.

 

[GadgetGuy]

I ordered my mavic 3, from Amazon, the day it was available, in November 2021. I bought a 2nd battery a few months later. I bought my mavic 3 pro in June, 2023. So I would think they could distinguish from those 2 days, by the serial number, if my dead battery is in warranty. I wouldn't think they would want batteries sitting around too long after they're manufactured. Maybe I should ask them when my dead battery was manufactured. I don't want to tax their brains too much.

Battery warranty is 6 months. Based upon the dates you supplied, none are still under warranty. If you purchased a Mavic 3 battery within the last 6 months, it would still be under warranty, but even then, the warranty does not cover exposure to salt water.

 

[jwilson]

Given that you may have introduced a bit of saltwater into your drone's battery compartment, you might want to clean the contacts and the area around them. Cotton swab and isopropyl alcohol?

I wouldn't expect batteries to be warrantied against exposure of the contacts to salt water by the user.

Yea, I did clean the contacts with contact cleaner. Didn't help. Either saltwater got in the battery, or it shorted out, and damaged the internal electronics. I thought these batteries were relatively watertight. I wonder if you can open them up? I see somethings that look like fasteners on the battery.
Anyway, most of the time I don't need four batteries, and I can always buy another one if I really need it. Another thing I want to do, is my DJI carrying bag waterproof. I wonder if I could paint it with a waterproof paint, at least on the bottom.

 

[jwilson]

Here's the email I got from DJI yesterday.

Thank you for reaching out to us with your inquiry about the manufacture date of your battery.

We appreciate your interest in this detail, and I would like to clarify that, unfortunately, we do not have the capability to view the exact production date of individual batteries. We trust you will understand our position in this matter.

For your reference, when utilizing the DJI Fly app version 1.4.12 or later, the application does not provide the production date of the battery. However, if you are using a version of the DJI Fly app earlier than 1.4.12, you should be able to see the production date within the app.

In addition, I wanted to assure you that I am actively following up with our relevant department regarding your query about the faulty battery. I anticipate providing you with an update within the next 24-48 hours once I receive further information.

Please rest assured that our team is committed to offering you the highest level of support. If you have any more questions or if there's anything else we can assist you with, please feel free to contact us. We are here to ensure your experience with our products is as positive and seamless as possible. Your satisfaction is indeed our utmost concern.

Thanks for contacting DJI. Take care and have a wonderful day!

Warmest Regards,

Zend

DJI Technical Support


I find this very hard to believe. Are they suggesting I install and older Fly to find the manufacturing date? Unbelievable!

 

[GadgetGuy]

Here's the email I got from DJI yesterday.

Thank you for reaching out to us with your inquiry about the manufacture date of your battery.

We appreciate your interest in this detail, and I would like to clarify that, unfortunately, we do not have the capability to view the exact production date of individual batteries. We trust you will understand our position in this matter.

For your reference, when utilizing the DJI Fly app version 1.4.12 or later, the application does not provide the production date of the battery. However, if you are using a version of the DJI Fly app earlier than 1.4.12, you should be able to see the production date within the app.

In addition, I wanted to assure you that I am actively following up with our relevant department regarding your query about the faulty battery. I anticipate providing you with an update within the next 24-48 hours once I receive further information.

Please rest assured that our team is committed to offering you the highest level of support. If you have any more questions or if there's anything else we can assist you with, please feel free to contact us. We are here to ensure your experience with our products is as positive and seamless as possible. Your satisfaction is indeed our utmost concern.

Thanks for contacting DJI. Take care and have a wonderful day!

Warmest Regards,

Zend

DJI Technical Support


I find this very hard to believe. Are they suggesting I install and older Fly to find the manufacturing date? Unbelievable!

See post #8 above. The relevant date is your date of purchase, not date of manufacture, but it's moot, because even that battery warranty does not cover damage from negligent user handling such as immersion in salt water. Their "relevant team" will eventually tell you the same thing.

 

[jwilson]

See post #8 above. The relevant date is your date of purchase, not date of manufacture, but it's moot, because even that battery warranty does not cover damage from negligent user handling such as immersion in salt water. Their "relevant team" will eventually tell you the same thing.

Hi GagetGuy. Thanks for taking the time to read, and comment, on my post. I realize the purchase date is when the warranty starts, but I lost the receipts for some of my purchases, so I can't prove what those dates were. But knowing when the batteries were manufactured, might give us a good idea when they were purchased.
The battery was not immersed in salt water. It was contacted by some saltwater, when it wasn't powered on. I wiped that water off before I put it in the drone. Two other batteries were also contacted by saltwater, and were not damaged.
I told DJI exactly what happened, as I told the forum, so they can decide if what happened voids the warranty. I'm not going to make that decision.
When my mavic 3 pro didn't return from a out of signal range waypoint mission, I emailed DJI, saying I know this is not covered by warranty, but it turns out, it was covered by warranty. I got a brand new replacement absolutely free. So I just let DJI make the warranty decisions.
My platinum crashed into the ocean, and was underwater probably 30 minutes. But I was able to get it to fly again. Just never could get the camera/gimbal to work again, even when I replaced it with a new one.
Given what happened, I've never expected a warranty replacement. But again, I'll let DJI decide that. Can't hurt to tell them what happened and see what they say.

 

[GadgetGuy]

Hi GagetGuy. Thanks for taking the time to read, and comment, on my post. I realize the purchase date is when the warranty starts, but I lost the receipts for some of my purchases, so I can't prove what those dates were. But knowing when the batteries were manufactured, might give us a good idea when they were purchased.
The battery was not immersed in salt water. It was contacted by some saltwater, when it wasn't powered on. I wiped that water off before I put it in the drone. Two other batteries were also contacted by saltwater, and were not damaged.
I told DJI exactly what happened, as I told the forum, so they can decide if what happened voids the warranty. I'm not going to make that decision.
When my mavic 3 pro didn't return from a out of signal range waypoint mission, I emailed DJI, saying I know this is not covered by warranty, but it turns out, it was covered by warranty. I got a brand new replacement absolutely free. So I just let DJI make the warranty decisions.
My platinum crashed into the ocean, and was underwater probably 30 minutes. But I was able to get it to fly again. Just never could get the camera/gimbal to work again, even when I replaced it with a new one.
Given what happened, I've never expected a warranty replacement. But again, I'll let DJI decide that. Can't hurt to tell them what happened and see what they say.

I agree it never hurts to ask, but in this case, based solely upon the dates you have supplied of when all three of the batteries were purchased, all being over 6 months ago, whatever warranty coverage existed on them has already expired. In some rare cases of premature battery swelling on older batteries, DJI has covered them outside of 6 months, but this isn't that. Good luck, but trashing DJI when they are helpfully telling you how to determine the now irrelevant manufacturing date seems a bit harsh. Newer Fly versions simply do not display the manufacturing date. Older versions do.

 

[MS Coast]

I find this very hard to believe. Are they suggesting I install and older Fly to find the manufacturing date? Unbelievable!

There's no suggestion whatsoever that you install an older version of the app. They helpfully informed you that an older version would show the battery information.

It's "hard to believe" that you find that offensive. Though, it is a bit difficult to understand how you drowned a battery in swim suit water.

 

[jwilson]

I agree it never hurts to ask, but in this case, based solely upon the dates you have supplied of when all three of the batteries were purchased, all being over 6 months ago, whatever warranty coverage existed on them has already expired. In some rare cases of premature battery swelling on older batteries, DJI has covered them outside of 6 months, but this isn't that. Good luck, but trashing DJI when they are helpfully telling you how to determine the now irrelevant manufacturing date seems a bit harsh. Newer Fly versions simply do not display the manufacturing date. Older versions do.

I thought the batteries now have a 1 year warranty? I'm not sure where I trashed DJI. I have a new DJI story, but I guess I will have to start a new thread for it, since it's not related to this battery thing. My main complaint on this battery thing, is I gave them all the information they need to determine warranty status a long time ago, and they still haven't told me if the battery is under warranty.

 

[MS Coast]

I thought the batteries now have a 1 year warranty? I'm not sure where I trashed DJI. I have a new DJI story, but I guess I will have to start a new thread for it, since it's not related to this battery thing. My main complaint on this battery thing, is I gave them all the information they need to determine warranty status a long time ago, and they still haven't told me if the battery is under warranty.

There is no warranty for damage negligently inflicted by the owner.

You described how you damaged it yourself by sitting near it in a wet bathing suit and getting salt water on it. The date of manufacture and the date of purchase have no significance here.

 

[jwilson]

There is no warranty for damage negligently inflicted by the owner.

You described how you damaged it yourself by sitting near it in a wet bathing suit and getting salt water on it. The date of manufacture and the date of purchase have no significance here.

DJI determines whether or not the warranty applies. Not you! I didn't even have to tell them what happened, but I did, because I'm an honest person. I will respect their decision. Not yours. By the way. Objects do not drown. People and animals drown.

 

[GadgetGuy]

I thought the batteries now have a 1 year warranty? I'm not sure where I trashed DJI. I have a new DJI story, but I guess I will have to start a new thread for it, since it's not related to this battery thing. My main complaint on this battery thing, is I gave them all the information they need to determine warranty status a long time ago, and they still haven't told me if the battery is under warranty.

My bad. You are correct that the battery warranty on all new drones purchased after August 2021 was changed from 6 months to 1 year after purchase. Good to know!

However, as previously stated, it is the date of purchase, and not the date of manufacture, that begins the 12 months, and DJI has no way of knowing exactly when you bought your battery without a receipt, especially since the Mavic 3 Pro batteries are identical to the Mavic 3 batteries, released on November 5, 2021, over 2.5 years ago.

By your own statements, you believe this battery to be from your Mavic 3 days, which is clearly now out of warranty. You also don't state the dates of purchase of the two lost receipts, nor the date of purchase of your Mavic 3 Pro, but in all cases, since the Mavic 3 Pro was released on May 25, 2023, if the battery is the one included in the Mavic 3 Pro purchase, it would still be within 12 months of purchase. If you bought yet another Mavic 3 battery after that purchase it would also still be within warranty, but without a date of purchase on a receipt, difficult to prove, without access to a Fly app version earlier than 1.4.12

"They keep asking me for proof of purchase, but I've lost two of my receipts. I actually think this is an old battery from my mavic 3 days, which would not be in warranty."

The battery serial numbers are essentially sequential and incremented at time of manufacture, so compare the serial number of all three batteries. If the dead battery is the lowest serial number of the three, there's your answer. It's clearly from your Mavic 3 days, as you also believe, and fully out of warranty, and the date of purchase is therefore completely irrelevant.

On the off chance that you are mistaken, and it is a more recently purchased battery, bought with or after your Mavic 3 Pro purchase, the much higher serial number may confirm it should be within its new 12 month warranty, but not without a receipt, or screen shot from a DJI Fly app version earlier than 1.4.12 showing a manufacture date after May 21, 2023, 12 months prior to your posting here. The purchase date obviously has to be after the date of manufacture, so that would be alternative proof of less than 12 months since date of manufacture.

However, even on the off chance that the battery is still under its warranty, and you can somehow prove it, the warranty still will not cover your negligence.

"it developed a small puddle of salt water, right where I happened to place my DJI carrying bag. So when I changed batteries, I noticed the terminal side was a little wet. I thought this was strange, but I couldn't see the puddle under my bag."

A small puddle of sea water that you cannot see under your bag, when placing the carrying bag anywhere, is not covered under any 12 month DJI battery warranty, assuming the very unlikely chance that there are even any remaining months on the original 12 month warranty, and you can also prove it by some means.

You were, indeed, trashing DJI's generous attempt to help you establish the date of manufacture in Post #10 above:

"I find this very hard to believe. Are they suggesting I install and older Fly to find the manufacturing date? Unbelievable!"

Without a receipt showing date of purchase, or a screenshot from a DJI Fly app version earlier than 1.4.12 (which is impossible on a dead battery), DJI cannot determine warranty status, which is why they haven’t told you anything definitive.

However, they should have told you that warranty status is moot because of how your battery came to die. It is not a covered event under any DJI battery warranty, even if still under warranty.

They will eventually confirm the warranty status if you first prove it is under warranty, which you cannot do, with lost receipts, and your likely confirmation, after comparing all three serial numbers, that it is actually from your Mavic 3 days, just as you thought all along yourself.

 

[GadgetGuy]

By the way. Objects do not drown. People and animals drown.

Not true.
From the Oxford dictionary:

submerge or flood (an area).
"when the ice melted the valleys were drowned"

From dictionary.com

Dictionary.com | Meanings & Definitions of English Words

The world's leading online dictionary: English definitions, synonyms, word origins, example sentences, word games, and more. A trusted authority for 25+ years!

www.dictionary.com

verb (used with object)​

1. to kill by submerging under water or other liquid.
2. to destroy or get rid of by, or as if by, immersion:
   He drowned his sorrows in drink.
3. to flood or inundate.
   Synonyms: soak, drench, submerge, engulf, deluge
4. to overwhelm so as to render inaudible, as by a louder sound (often followed by out ).
5. to add too much water or liquid to (a drink, food, or the like).
6. to slake (lime) by covering with water and letting stand.
   

 

[MS Coast]

DJI determines whether or not the warranty applies. Not you! I didn't even have to tell them what happened, but I did, because I'm an honest person. I will respect their decision. Not yours. By the way. Objects do not drown. People and animals drown.

DJI may well elect to give you a new battery, for good publicity, customer relations, or whatever. But not because their product warranty covers such owner-inflicted damage.

I personally would be embarrassed to ask for a replacement for a battery I damaged by my own carelessness. I'd just drown my sorrow with a sip of bourbon and buy a new battery. And eight+ hours later, I go flying.