DJI ban: What happens to the drone I already own?

[Robbyg]

I don't know what will ultimately happen but I can tell you that if DJI is told to shutdown the Drones via a software patch they will be able to do so very quickly. I suspect that they have already uploaded code in the recent patches to force users to do an update by a certain cut off date.
If no FCC mandate is in effect by that date then the patches will just be routine. If a FCC mandate is in effect then they will shutdown all the drones by that date at the very latest. The Chinese govt will be looking at the bigger picture and DJI US sales are a small income loss in that picture.

 

[Divine_Madcat]

I suspect that they have already uploaded code in the recent patches to force users to do an update by a certain cut off date.

Funny - I had/have that suspicion myself, and got beaten over the head for suggesting it. I still wouldn't be surprised if they do...

 

[mavic3usa]

I suspect that they have already uploaded code in the recent patches to force users to do an update by a certain cut off date.

Funny - I had/have that suspicion myself, and got beaten over the head for suggesting it. I still wouldn't be surprised if they do...

I think it is possible to implement forced updates where you are required to accept the update before the drone will continue to fly. Also you could allow the flyer to skip the update 3 times (for example) before they are required to update. However, not sure a time- or date-based cutoff planted in recent patches for future updated is something a professional organization like DJI would engage in. Not berating anyone but it is highly unlikely DJI is seeding their drones with software to enable a quick shutdown should they receive marching orders from the the US government.

 

[Robbyg]

I think it is possible to implement forced updates where you are required to accept the update before the drone will continue to fly. Also you could allow the flyer to skip the update 3 times (for example) before they are required to update. However, not sure a time- or date-based cutoff planted in recent patches for future updated is something a professional organization like DJI would engage in. Not berating anyone but it is highly unlikely DJI is seeding their drones with software to enable a quick shutdown should they receive marching orders from the the US government.

The FCC is a pretty rough organization to deal with.
They treat every meter of RF spectrum with the same policies. If you Transmitted on one of the Police Frequencies or the One of the Aircraft Frequencies they would come down on you like a Ton of Bricks. Even Ham Radio Operators that Broadcast illegally get $40K fines. Companies get fines in the Millions and they also take away certifications on other frequencies if they think a company is hindering a stop order.

It's probably pointless to speculate on specifics but I am pretty sure that they have already Implemented something that will prevent people from just Bypassing an update to cease operation.
They know that once the first person screams out that they connected their drone and it's now bricked, everyone else will be avoiding making a connection.
They know work arounds will be tried and they know that if Drones are still being spotted flying that the FCC will fine DJI for it. The whole Basis of restrictive flying, Geo Zoning etc was based on DJI demonstrating and promising that they could comply with keeping drones out of redistricted Airspace and the Air in General if needed.

 

[mavic3usa]

The FCC is a pretty rough organization to deal with.
They treat every meter of RF spectrum with the same policies. If you Transmitted on one of the Police Frequencies or the One of the Aircraft Frequencies they would come down on you like a Ton of Bricks. Even Ham Radio Operators that Broadcast illegally get $40K fines. Companies get fines in the Millions and they also take away certifications on other frequencies if they think a company is hindering a stop order.

It's probably pointless to speculate on specifics but I am pretty sure that they have already Implemented something that will prevent people from just Bypassing an update to cease operation.
They know that once the first person screams out that they connected their drone and it's now bricked, everyone else will be avoiding making a connection.
They know work arounds will be tried and they know that if Drones are still being spotted flying that the FCC will fine DJI for it. The whole Basis of restrictive flying, Geo Zoning etc was based on DJI demonstrating and promising that they could comply with keeping drones out of redistricted Airspace and the Air in General if needed.

That's fine and all but I don't believe there are any plans from Congress or the FCC to ground drones. At this point, the intent appears to be prevent any further import or "FCC approval" after a certain date (who know what date that is). As far as I know, this is not an effort to clear the airspace of DJI/Chinese drones. You may have a point if that were the case but it doesn't seem likely.

 

[tstr14]

I have it on good authority that the government will make owning a DJI drone a crime punishable by death. To escape this fate, feel free to send your drone(s) to me and I will make sure they are removed from your registration and properly dispose of them in an approved manner.

On a different note, I also have a bridge in Brooklyn you can own for a mere pittance.

 

[moldorf]

I have it on good authority that the government will make owning a DJI drone a crime punishable by death. To escape this fate, feel free to send your drone(s) to me and I will make sure they are removed from your registration and properly dispose of them in an approved manner.

On a different note, I also have a bridge in Brooklyn you can own for a mere pittance.

"bad joke department; tstr14 speaking"

 

[4 inch pistons]

I think DJI will continue to operate as normal in the rest of the world. Why would they shut down your drone while obeying the orders of a government that is trying to destroy their company? I don’t think they will do anything to hurt their customers of the past.

 

[mavic3usa]

I think DJI will continue to operate as normal in the rest of the world. Why would they shut down your drone while obeying the orders of a government that is trying to destroy their company? I don’t think they will do anything to hurt their customers of the past.

How many countries around the world depend on an approved FCC ID for products sold in their own country, do we know?

 

[4 inch pistons]

As I have heard mentioned before for those who continue to use their outlaw drones the biggest threat is insurance problems in case of an accident committed with an illegal device. You will then have trouble.

As for other countries and their laws I am not a world traveler. I know Dave C has made quite a name for himself in long range drone development so I know some places don’t have line of sight rules nor do I know how they enforce rules in place.

I know we have some international members here.

 

[AlanL]

As I have heard mentioned before for those who continue to use their outlaw drones the biggest threat is insurance problems in case of an accident committed with an illegal device. You will then have trouble.

Pure unfounded speculation. There is nothing in the current bill as drafted in the Senate that outlaws the use of existing DJI drones other than by government agencies.

 

[4 inch pistons]

That’s correct.


For the moment. Vic Moss is the best informed and makes the most sense. He says that’s unlikely to ban existing drones.

However the government has the power to do whatever they want.

I have been flying recreationally for less than 2 years. Last year nobody was talking about banning anything.

 

[mavic3usa]

That’s correct.


For the moment. Vic Moss is the best informed and makes the most sense. He says that’s unlikely to ban existing drones.

However the government has the power to do whatever they want.

I have been flying recreationally for less than 2 years. Last year nobody was talking about banning anything.

Yes they have and they have been talking about banning drones for federal and state employees and the military for years. As I have mentioned in numerous thread (that we surely deleted) it was just a matter of time before they start coming after you and I. Plus the government wants to ban all kinds of Chinese products and presently, drones are the easy target and we are easy prey. So the monkey is now on our back.

And it won't be the government banning your existing drones, keep looking but you won't find it in this legislation. Instead it will be the insurance companies who don't take their direction from the government but can make up their own minds and decide for themselves which model of drones they will insure and which they will not. Eventually no insurance company will want to pay claims caused by Chinese DJI drones regardless if they are FCC approved or not. Some will but imagine the public sentiment pushback and social media that controls the day. "Yeah, it was a DJI Chinese drone but it was one of the older ones before the ban came out so you're ok." No ins co wants to hear that. Not every country has an FAA or an FCC to approve drones; I suspect many rely on the US. If I were a small country, I wouldn't stop my Albanian citizens from flying DJI drones that had FCC or CE approval just because the Albanian AKEP hadn't see it yet. I dunno, maybe all the FCC countries could switch to CE if they want to keep selling DJI drones: DJI FCC and CE- How to swap from one another

 

[Taffer]

Nothing about H.R. 2864 affects the continued functionality of existing drones.

But, revoking DJI's FCC licence, thereby removing permission to transmit radio signals on those reserved frequencies, would make it illegal.

It's like operating a HAM radio without a licence, or a police scanner. You can use it all you want to receive and listen to radio signals. You're just not allowed to transmit without a licence.

The equipment itself retains all of its functionality to receive/transmit regardless of how the laws change. The radio equipment, the drone and controller's ability to transmit/receive, will continue to operate as it always did.

Just don't get caught using it without a licence once that's considered to be illegal.

I'm just a Canadian, and thankfully not (yet) affected by your lunatic fringe Gov't clowns. But if I was you, I'd get in touch with my Congressional Member and educate them on how drones work, or at least demand to know how exactly these things currently represent such a severe espionage threat to warrant such an extreme ban.

How are drones (only DJI drones) worse than your average cellphone with Siri, Alexa, and Hey Google tracking every moment of your life?

In my opinion. DJI drones are far better that Siri, Alexa, etc. They active listen to everything you say. They have to so they can response when they hear "Hey, Siri". We had a hose burst on our washing machine 3 years ago and my wife and I were talking about the issues until 3 am. The following day I logged into Amazon and everything popping up was related to ways to automatically turn off water via moisture sensors, and many other products related to the water damage we had. My wife's not tech savvy so I asked her about these search results. She thought I was looking at them. OK, our daughter was sleeping at 3 am and nobody else has our account info, so the only logical thing was our Amazon Fire tablet had Alexa enabled and based off everything it eavesdropped on, it gave us products related to what it spied on us from the night before.

Yet Congress says DJI drones are evil. There are no microphones on our drones, nor on my remotes. Wifi is turned off unless I'm doing updates. I have firewall software on my PC that warns me if anything tries to push a file and open a port to transfer data off my PC, and I've never had my DJI products attempt to do so. The only places I can think of that China could get our info is from our phones and other devices with internet capabilities. Our drones fly over thousands of wifi capable access points, but without the password, you can't connect. Just how are the Chinese supposed to be stealing our information and making our drones a threat? Sending data over our internet providers is the only reasonable way, and that would be the focal point of stopping data from leaving the USA. There's more publicly available information on Google Maps and Google Sky view maps than anywhere else. I've not dug in deep enough, but I don't see how DJI drones are supposedly sending our photos and videos to China. My DJI drones have never caused my firewalls to pop an alarm.

 

[anotherlab]

...Yet Congress says DJI drones are evil....

No, they have said that drones made by a Chinese company are a security risk. This is despite the security audits that show that telemetry and imagery are not being sent back to China.

It's purely about competition with China and drones are an easy target. If this was a security issue, they would ground existing drones. But it's not, so they won't.

 

[mavic3usa]

In my opinion. DJI drones are far better that Siri, Alexa, etc. They active listen to everything you say. They have to so they can response when they hear "Hey, Siri". We had a hose burst on our washing machine 3 years ago and my wife and I were talking about the issues until 3 am. The following day I logged into Amazon and everything popping up was related to ways to automatically turn off water via moisture sensors, and many other products related to the water damage we had. My wife's not tech savvy so I asked her about these search results. She thought I was looking at them. OK, our daughter was sleeping at 3 am and nobody else has our account info, so the only logical thing was our Amazon Fire tablet had Alexa enabled and based off everything it eavesdropped on, it gave us products related to what it spied on us from the night before.

the missing part might be YOU have access to this information and amazon may or may not (not sure their position) but in any case, you have control over deleting it and preventing it from happening in the future. the police cannot get it without a search warrant so you're probably ok. none of these choices are apparently possible when it comes to chinese drones.

My DJI drones have never caused my firewalls to pop an alarm.

are you sure the chinese drones haven't found a way to get past your firewalls without popping an alarm? if you have, please let me know so i can check mine.

I think you and others might be missing one point, whatever the Chinese are accused of they might not be doing it right now. Apparently they *could* have the capability to turn it on later perhaps and so should we just wait around for their invasive equipment to activate before we try to block it? Maybe that is what the discussion should focus on. Because if I could see the chinese infiltrating our systems, I wouldn't tell you, I wouldn't tell the public, and I wouldn't tell the chinese that we have figured them out and we know how to block you. It would be a secret and oh, in the meantime if we could get rid of as many of the newer drones as possible, we can minimize (not eradicate) the risk.

I understand your concern but honestly, that train has already left the station.

 

[djwak59]

I have it on good authority that the government will make owning a DJI drone a crime punishable by death. To escape this fate, feel free to send your drone(s) to me and I will make sure they are removed from your registration and properly dispose of them in an approved manner.

On a different note, I also have a bridge in Brooklyn you can own for a mere pittance.

 

[@Rip]

Do a Google Search on H.R. 2864 (" Countering CCP " )

Click on the Conress.gov sites.

In addition:
You can find out "who" and how to voice your opposition at the Drone Advocacy Alliance Website
Nothing beats a phone call and a hand written letter.

 

[@Rip]

are you sure the chinese drones haven't found a way to get past your firewalls without popping an alarm? if you have, please let me know so i can check mine.

Use "WireShark" against a packet dump from your network and/or your cellular connection to see what activity is happening.

 

[msinger]

Use "WireShark" against a packet dump from your network and/or your cellular connection to see what activity is happening.

Indeed. Too easy to confirm. And this is precisely how we know none of this is really about security.