This is a rant about DJI's refresh system, I just need to blow off steam and see if I am alone with my frustrations.
I have been a DJI flyer since early 2019, which isn't long I know. My first bird was a Mavic Air, which was awesome. I purchased the DJI Refresh at the time of the purchase, suspecting that I would likely crunch it somehow. Lo and behold about six months later I put it into a 200' cedar tree where it lived for a couple of days before finally being blown to the ground in a wind/rain storm (Seattle area folks). Knowing I had the refresh coverage, I sent it in for my first replacement, pleasantly surprised that in only 10 days I had a shiny new (maybe refurbished?) unit at my front door. I was beside myself with appreciation, and I am certain that my joy led to the purchase of at least two more DJI drones by others. Since then I have purchased a Mavic 2 Zoom, Mavic 2 Pro, a used Spark, a Tello (for the kids) and most recently a Mavic Mini 2, purchasing the refresh option for all but the Tello and Spark.
I have since returned to my home state of Montana, bringing my drones with me to capture the natural beauty only found here. But since the winters are much more severe here, I keep my fleet in my drone cabinet during the harsher months, bringing them out periodically to cycle the batteries. Around the end of February, while booting up the Zoom, it wouldn't get beyond a "200 Error", so I exercised the refresh option (now in refresh+, 2nd year). The analysis showed bad gimbal and board, requiring a $149 replacement fee, so remembering my previous experience I did not hesitate and quickly paypal'd the funds. That moment was the last time that I felt good about the refresh program.
After about another 10 days (3 weeks after first submitting the case, delayed because it took a week to get the return label) I received a replacement, but lo and behold it was DOA, complaining about a "gimbal motor overload". I now had about a week of refresh+ time left, and a dead drone. I called DJI, and they told me to open another case which required a restart of the whole process. After another 3 weeks (yes, another delay getting me a return label), I finally received a replacement of the first replacement. I had this one for about a month, only flying it a few times, when one sunny day it suddenly dropped out of the sky while ascending during a RTH. Perplexed and curious as to what really happened, I once again sent it in (now out of refresh but hopeful that it was under some kind of warranty). That was more than two weeks ago, they still have it, still awaiting a determination.
Given that I was so impressed with my first refresh experience, and how my recent experiences have been so much different, I was just wondering if I am alone or has that program just gotten really bad?. Luckily I purchased a backup State Farm insurance policy to cover my fleet just in case I lost a drone in the water or they were stolen, (which is outside of refresh coverage), so if DJI denies this last issue I am still covered.
Any other refresh/refresh+ stories out there? Maybe some good ones to restore my confidence in the DJI repair service? I still have 3 drones covered, but will I have the same experience if I have to use it?
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I have been a DJI flyer since early 2019, which isn't long I know. My first bird was a Mavic Air, which was awesome. I purchased the DJI Refresh at the time of the purchase, suspecting that I would likely crunch it somehow. Lo and behold about six months later I put it into a 200' cedar tree where it lived for a couple of days before finally being blown to the ground in a wind/rain storm (Seattle area folks). Knowing I had the refresh coverage, I sent it in for my first replacement, pleasantly surprised that in only 10 days I had a shiny new (maybe refurbished?) unit at my front door. I was beside myself with appreciation, and I am certain that my joy led to the purchase of at least two more DJI drones by others. Since then I have purchased a Mavic 2 Zoom, Mavic 2 Pro, a used Spark, a Tello (for the kids) and most recently a Mavic Mini 2, purchasing the refresh option for all but the Tello and Spark.
I have since returned to my home state of Montana, bringing my drones with me to capture the natural beauty only found here. But since the winters are much more severe here, I keep my fleet in my drone cabinet during the harsher months, bringing them out periodically to cycle the batteries. Around the end of February, while booting up the Zoom, it wouldn't get beyond a "200 Error", so I exercised the refresh option (now in refresh+, 2nd year). The analysis showed bad gimbal and board, requiring a $149 replacement fee, so remembering my previous experience I did not hesitate and quickly paypal'd the funds. That moment was the last time that I felt good about the refresh program.
After about another 10 days (3 weeks after first submitting the case, delayed because it took a week to get the return label) I received a replacement, but lo and behold it was DOA, complaining about a "gimbal motor overload". I now had about a week of refresh+ time left, and a dead drone. I called DJI, and they told me to open another case which required a restart of the whole process. After another 3 weeks (yes, another delay getting me a return label), I finally received a replacement of the first replacement. I had this one for about a month, only flying it a few times, when one sunny day it suddenly dropped out of the sky while ascending during a RTH. Perplexed and curious as to what really happened, I once again sent it in (now out of refresh but hopeful that it was under some kind of warranty). That was more than two weeks ago, they still have it, still awaiting a determination.
Given that I was so impressed with my first refresh experience, and how my recent experiences have been so much different, I was just wondering if I am alone or has that program just gotten really bad?. Luckily I purchased a backup State Farm insurance policy to cover my fleet just in case I lost a drone in the water or they were stolen, (which is outside of refresh coverage), so if DJI denies this last issue I am still covered.
Any other refresh/refresh+ stories out there? Maybe some good ones to restore my confidence in the DJI repair service? I still have 3 drones covered, but will I have the same experience if I have to use it?
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