Brand New Fully Charged Mini 3 Battery Lasts 3 Minutes of Flight

[Robert Prior]

I charged up all of the batteries in my Fly-More kit with the charging hub the first time, and I haven't had any problems.

I have had a battery dead out of the water: a Phantom 4 battery I bought from Best Buy. Had to argue about returning it, because the serial number on the battery didn't match the serial number on the box, so I suspect that someone slid a defective battery into a new battery box and returned it 'unopened' and it was just reshelved.

 

[MaverickAus]

RTFM!
User Manual DJI mini 3 pro
Page #7

It's actually page 8 not 7, and I did not do this and my batteries are all working fine. I charged them all in the hub.

 

[Conservative Nihilist]

Fortunately, I purchased a couple of Plus batteries for my newly acquired Mini 3, but for which I would have been forced to shelve the idea of flying the drone for weeks if not months while I awaited delivery of a replacement battery on the next slow boat from China.

The drone's seller, identified on eBay as INFINITY DRONES, did not entertain the notion of my returning the defective battery for a replacement. Instead, I was advised to contact DJI to seek a replacement of that dead battery under the terms of a purported one-year warranty, which turned out to be non-existent because my replacement request for that defective battery was instantly declined by DJI without explanation.

To any drone buyers out there who patronize eBay, I strongly advise that you avoid making any purchases from Infinity Drones, because if any component of their order is defective, there will be no replacement offered whether by the seller or by DJI

 

[Robert Prior]

To any drone buyers out there who patronize eBay

Can you use eBay to get a refund? I've heard sellers complaining that the eBay dispute resolution process is biased in favour of buyers…

There's a reason I stick with my semi-local specialty shop now. For years they have supported what they sell. Worth (sometimes) paying a tiny bit extra for the peace of mind.

 

[Conservative Nihilist]

I did consider this option and have resorted to a refund request successfully twice in the past with eBay. This time, because the seller won't even offer a return shipment address, and due to my location out in the Third World boonies, I decided to take the loss of that $60 battery and move on, given that I do have two of the higher capacity Plus batteries from a separate vendor that will enable me to fly the drone.

Were it not for those two batteries that I bought separately, I would be downright irate at not being able to fly the drone at all. That said, I felt there'd be no harm in alerting visitors to this forum to avoid making eBay purchases from Infinity Drones in Florida, given their casual disregard of my legitimate complaint about that dead battery shipped to me.

 

[Deleted member 162835]

I did consider this option and have resorted to a refund request successfully twice in the past with eBay. This time, because the seller won't even offer a return shipment address, and due to my location out in the Third World boonies, I decided to take the loss of that $60 battery and move on, given that I do have two of the higher capacity Plus batteries from a separate vendor that will enable me to fly the drone.

Were it not for those two batteries that I bought separately, I would be downright irate at not being able to fly the drone at all. That said, I felt there'd be no harm in alerting visitors to this forum to avoid making eBay purchases from Infinity Drones in Florida, given their casual disregard of my legitimate complaint about that dead battery shipped to me.

I had one bad battery buy experience on eBay where I purchased a Sony batter for my a6500 and when I plugged the battery into my Sony charger it threw up an error. The battery was a fraud. I immediately reported it and shipped the battery back and received a prompt refund. That was the last time I ever purchased a battery from eBay. I would also never buy a memory card from eBay either. Lots of those are fraudulent as well.

For your case, I would most definitely get eBay involved so that they can get your money back. If you used PayPal to pay, even better. They are great to work with. It's good for eBay to know you were the recipient of what seems to be a scam so they they can investigate the seller.

 

[Conservative Nihilist]

A while back I paid for a Mavic 2 Pro on eBay that turned out to be a scam. Amazingly eBay tracking was hacked to purport that I had taken delivery of that non-existent drone. I initiated a fraud complaint with the US Postal Service, yet STILL had a devil of a time convincing eBay that I was not attempting to deceptively seek a refund on a drone that WAS delivered. It was only when I threatened a lawsuit that my "closed" complaint was reluctantly reopened and the $750 finally refunded, at which point I ordered the same drone again from a different seller with no further problems in delivery. The scammer was quietly barred from eBay, without any further comment from them.

Because I am still in possession of this dead battery, and given that the seller has flatly refused to provide a return address, I am reluctant to make a fuss with eBay over this comparatively smaller loss amount, for fear of being labeled as dishonest, after a 5-year spotless record as a buyer there. This is why I grudgingly opted to absorb the loss of about $60 while alerting other members of this forum to stay well clear of eBay seller INFINITY DRONES located in Florida.

 

[Droning on and on...]

Whether that replacement materializes is uncertain, given DJI's abysmal customer service reputation.

I've had nothing but excellent experiences with DJI when I've needed service. They even fixed my goggles V2 when the displays got sunburned, free of charge, and that was my fault.

It's customer support (i.e. answering questions and helping with issues on the phone or email) that they are worse than calling the Clown Academy.

Absent the shipping issues you have where you're located, I'd expect DJI to replace it under warranty without issue if it's defective.

Then, Chimpanzee Delivery Co. will drop it on your front porch there in the Jungle, Tarzan (just kidding around with ya friend).

 

[Conservative Nihilist]

Haha you had me going there for a second, MP 2000. I thought Chimp Delivery was a legit outfit name. Dang, I need to get out more.

 

[Droning on and on...]

Can you use eBay to get a refund? I've heard sellers complaining that the eBay dispute resolution process is biased in favour of buyers…

There's a reason I stick with my semi-local specialty shop now. For years they have supported what they sell. Worth (sometimes) paying a tiny bit extra for the peace of mind.

Amazon.

Am uh zon.

First, you'll get it fast.

Second, if there's a problem, returns are a no-brainer.

OR, store.dji.com. Same.

Only two places I buy DJI products.

 

[Droning on and on...]

I'll still need to peruse the manual to find out how to start recording on takeoff since it only takes still pictures for now.

Save yourself some frustration... This feature isn't implemented on the M3(P).

It is available on the two FPV models, and has been there years past for older models, so it's a mystery why they deliberately leave this feature out for current cinematic models.

Very annoying.

 

[MS Coast]

Save yourself some frustration... This feature isn't implemented on the M3(P).

It is available on the two FPV models, and has been there years past for older models, so it's a mystery why they deliberately leave this feature out for current cinematic models.

Very annoying.

It's just a single button press, isn't it?

 

[Conservative Nihilist]

I use Litchi exclusively with my older DJI drones, and the auto-record at takeoff feature has been a real bonus for me since I tend to be very absent-minded even on the best of days. Having to manually start recording with my new Mini 3 on takeoff is akin to re-learning how to operate a stick-shift gearbox car after years of driving vehicles with automatic transmissions.

I'm still clinging to dwindling hope that DJI will respond to the clamor of Mini 3 owners all demanding that the new SDK be modified to allow Litchi waypoint GPS data to be stored onboard prior to takeoff so that fully autonomous waypoint missions will be possible. I bought the Mini 3 the instant I learned that the SDK was about to be released, and was taken aback to later discover that fully autonomous missions might not be possible after all.

That 47-minute flight time possible with the Mini 3's optional Plus batteries would have enabled me to launch the drone on missions covering an easy 10 miles round trip, in marked contrast with the 7-mile round trip Litchi missions my old Mavics routinely fly. Hope springs eternal, so I won't commence wailing and gnashing of teeth until I hear a definitive declaration from DJI that onboard waypoint data storage will NEVER be offered.

 

[Droning on and on...]

It's just a single button press, isn't it?

Nope!

The critical component is the pilot, having to remember to press it, during one of the highest Pilot Load portions of the flight – takeoff.

Now, if you consider this trivial, and have no problem remembering to hit it, let me be the first to acknowledge how superior you are to the rest of us. How your piloting skills just make the rest of us look like barely sentient H o m o Neanderthalensis by comparison.

Please be gentle with us lessers.

 

[Conservative Nihilist]

Some of my most respected associates are Neanderthals in good standing who enjoy all rights and privileges implied.

 

[Droning on and on...]

A few summary comments:

Batteries
New batteries must be activated from hibernation before they will charge. The can be activated in either the M3P or the charging hub.

Laws of the universe

• Gravity
• Lightspeed speed limit
• You get what you pay for
• If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is

 

[Droning on and on...]

Some of my most respected associates are Neanderthals in good standing who enjoy all rights and privileges implied.

But do they remember to press the record button on takeoff? Do they? Huh?

 

[MS Coast]

Nope!

The critical component is the pilot, having to remember to press it, during one of the highest Pilot Load portions of the flight – takeoff.

Now, if you consider this trivial, and have no problem remembering to hit it, let me be the first to acknowledge how superior you are to the rest of us. How your piloting skills just make the rest of us look like barely sentient H o m o Neanderthalensis by comparison.

Please be gentle with us lessers.

I'm puzzled why that simple question triggered such a defensive and snide response. There must be other issues upsetting you beyond my question.

 

[Droning on and on...]

I'm puzzled why that simple question triggered such a defensive and snide response. There must be other issues upsetting you beyond my question.

Seemed condescending to me. After all, it was stating the obvious, and seemed to miss the point.

Sounds like I misunderstood you. I do apologize for that.

 

[MS Coast]

Seemed condescending to me.

If you saw condescension there, you brought it.

After all, it was stating the obvious,

It was a question, not a statement.

and seemed to miss the point.

I was attempting to understand your point by asking for clarification.

I didn't, and don't, understand why avoiding a single button push prior to takeoff justifies so much fuss. I was wondering whether there was a larger consideration that I was unaware of. I guess there was not.

Sounds like I misunderstood you. I do apologize for that.

Good enough. Done.