Does gluing a crack on the gimbal of a Mini 3 Pro affect the warranty?

[wrybread]

A cracked gimbal from a crash would be "care refresh", and I see no reason to use one of the limited exchanges for such an easily fixed issue. A drop of super glue, done.

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

A cracked gimbal from a crash would be "care refresh", and I see no reason to use one of the limited exchanges for such an easily fixed issue. A drop of super glue, done.

Perhaps because it isn't really a safe 'fix' and may invalidate warranty. Do a web seach for warranty claims for broken battery catches on the mini 3, I have seen at least one post where the claim was denied because the user had tried to glue the catch.
In addition there may be additional damage that makes the drone unairworthy.

 

[wrybread]

Perhaps because it isn't really a safe 'fix' and may invalidate warranty. Do a web seach for warranty claims for broken battery catches on the mini 3, I have seen at least one post where the claim was denied because the user had tried to glue the catch.
In addition there may be additional damage that makes the drone unairworthy.

Honestly thinking adding a drop of super glue is in any way difficult or unsafe is hilarious. I'm saving those Refresh returns for when I really need them.

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

Honestly thinking adding a drop of super glue is in any way difficult or unsafe is hilarious.

Really? Super glue 'repairs' never fail?
Besides I was meaning that the damage is not PROPERLY fixed.

There is a thread on here, or the DJI forum, where the drone has a cracked gimbal that jams, or something similar, every so often when the super glue job repair fails but its ok when the super glue job has been redone.

It will be interesting to see if DJI rejects any warranty or care refresh claim on a drone of yours that has been subject to your glue job, I would find that "hilarious".

 

[wrybread]

Really? Super glue 'repairs' never fail?

Not really. Gluing a crack in plastic will last longer than the drone. Unless I crash it again, in which case I'll add another drop of glue. And I'd have had to glue a new drone that crashed similarly anyway. These drones get a hairline crack in the gimbal all the time.

Besides I was meaning that the damage is not PROPERLY fixed.

It's 100% functionally fixed. It works perfectly without any downside. Why are you being so dramatic?

I would find that "hilarious".

Why would you find that hilarious? What's wrong with you? Are you having a bad day?

Look I get it, fixing things isn't for everyone, some people would rather buy new stuff, which is what you're doing when you use one of your Care Refreshes. I'd rather fix my things when it's this easy and save the new purchases for when they're really necessary. But that doesn't mean you have to of course.

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

Why would you find that hilarious? What's wrong with you? Are you having a bad day?

Why hilarious, because you reiterate the suggestion of gluing something when you are already been warned that it is likely to invalidate your warranty.

What's wrong with you?

Nothing.

Are you having a bad day?

Nope, quite a good one in fact.

I just don't like people giving information/suggestions to others that might cost others their warranty etc.

 

[wrybread]

when you are already been warned that it is likely to invalidate your warranty.

Actually I got confirmation here and elsewhere that it won't invalidate my Care Refresh. Especially if I scrape the glue off.

I just don't like people giving information/suggestions to others that might cost others their warranty etc.

Then say so and leave it at that?

But the information about using super glue on a cracked gimbal didn't originate with me, I learned it from this forum in fact. And I'm not telling anyone else to use this fix. But it sure did work well for me.

 

[Chrislaf]

You may have a hard time scraping off the glue if you ever need to as super glue can damage most plastics during the bonding process. It actually melts the plastic. See here. Scroll to second paragraph of ‘Who invented Super glue’.

Chris

 

[wrybread]

You may have a hard time scraping off the glue if you ever need to as super glue can damage most plastics during the bonding process. It actually melts the plastic. See here. Scroll to second paragraph of ‘Who invented Super glue’.

Chris

A dremel with the barrel sander tool (for example) would remove it pretty easily. And a bit of plastic too, but I think that's fine. If I'm returning it for a Refresh replacement after a crash a bit of that kind of scraping damage is expected.

The whole thing is absurd anyway, since a drop of glue shouldn't affect a warranty or "refresh". But if they want to be irrational and keep people from applying an easy fix, then I'll be irrational and hide the fact that I saved the drone from being sent to them in the past.

 

[Chrislaf]

A dremel with the barrel sander tool (for example) would remove it pretty easily. And a bit of plastic too, but I think that's fine. If I'm returning it for a Refresh replacement after a crash a bit of that kind of scraping damage is expected.

The whole thing is absurd anyway, since a drop of glue shouldn't affect a warranty or "refresh". But if they want to be irrational and keep people from applying an easy fix, then I'll be irrational and hide the fact that I saved the drone from being sent to them for repairs multiple times.

Sounds like you have it all figured out!

I have Care Refresh on both my Mavic 3 and my Mini 3 Pro and if I was in your shoes I would just use one of my Refreshes and not risk voiding my warranty or Refresh, but that’s just me. It’s your drone to do whatever you want with it.

Chris

 

[Chrislaf]

One other thought - you posted a topic asking about gluing a crack on the gimbal affecting warranty and most of the responses have indicated that it probably would, but you went ahead and did it anyway, so why did you ask about the warranty if you were going to ignore the advice you got?

Chris

 

[wrybread]

One other thought - you posted a topic asking about gluing a crack on the gimbal affecting warranty and most of the responses have indicated that it probably would, but you went ahead and did it anyway, so why did you ask about the warranty if you were going to ignore the advice you got?

Chris

As I said I'd already done the repair before I posted, I was just wondering how DJI would react to it. Now I know to scrape off the glue before sending it in when I use a Refresh repair. I can't imagine that's not clear but alas.

It might be worth repeating that by the time I'd made this fix my drone was already broken and unusable, so it's not like I'm costing DJI money or labor. In fact it's the opposite, I'm saving both DJI and myself time and quite a bit of money.

And again I'm not necessarily recommending that anyone else do this repair. But I will say that my drone is flying perfectly now.

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

One other thought - you posted a topic asking about gluing a crack on the gimbal affecting warranty and most of the responses have indicated that it probably would, but you went ahead and did it anyway, so why did you ask about the warranty if you were going to ignore the advice you got?

Chris

 

[maggior]

Regularly crashing an expensive drone like this isn't normal. Perhaps get something that is less costly or more durable to practice flying with? I save my risky flying for my cheap toy drones or my fpv drone (not dji) that is designed to be fixed by the user.

 

[JohnnyChicago]

I'm about a month into the drone learning curve and still crash my Mini 3 Pro about once a week on a failed takeoff or from running into something. Working on it! But everytime I crash I seem to re-open the same hairline crack in the gimbal, which then makes one of the gimbal motors whine and the video footage blurry. I don't exactly know why it does that, but a little superglue fixes it until the next crash.

You can see the issue here (not my video):

And in the comment thread someone pointed out the tiny crack in the gimbal. And once I looked with a magnifying glass I had the same crack.

My drone is just a month old and I have the full warranty with flyaway and all that, and I'm wondering if DJI tends to care about attempts to fix the drone ourselves that don't involve opening up the drone?

I do not understand. If it is still under warranty why not send it in for repairs?

 

[wrybread]

I do not understand. If it is still under warranty why not send it in for repairs?

The biggie of course is that DJI Care Refresh doesn't give limitless exchanges, there's two the first year and one the second year.

Buy DJI Care Refresh 1-Year Plan (DJI Mini 3 Pro) - DJI Store

Shop for DJI Care Refresh 1-Year Plan (DJI Mini 3 Pro) on the official DJI Online Store. Find great deals and buy DJI products online with quick and convenient delivery!

store.dji.com

I use my drone mostly for surf checks, and flying over the open ocean all the time is likely to result in some issues that I can't fix. Like a drone falling into the ocean... And at a minimum it's nice to have extra Refreshes remaining for peace of mind.

There are other reasons too, like that the repair is quick and easy, and sending it in is a bit of a hassle and I don't have a drone to use while it's in transit, and it strikes me as downright wasteful to get a new drone for this even if it's not at my expense, but the biggie is that there's only a limited number of Refreshes.

 

[JohnnyChicago]

The biggie of course is that DJI Care Refresh doesn't give limitless exchanges, there's two the first year and one the second year.

Buy DJI Care Refresh 1-Year Plan (DJI Mini 3 Pro) - DJI Store

Shop for DJI Care Refresh 1-Year Plan (DJI Mini 3 Pro) on the official DJI Online Store. Find great deals and buy DJI products online with quick and convenient delivery!

store.dji.com

I use my drone mostly for surf checks, and flying over the open ocean all the time is likely to result in some issues that I can't fix. Like a drone falling into the ocean... And at a minimum it's nice to have extra Refreshes remaining for peace of mind.

There are other reasons too, like that the repair is quick and easy, and sending it in is a bit of a hassle and I don't have a drone to use while it's in transit, and it strikes me as downright wasteful to get a new drone for this even if it's not at my expense, but the biggie is that there's only a limited number of Refreshes.

Yes, I understand. It would be nice to have it done under warranty. I meant to say why not just send it to DJI and pay for repairs. Personal preference but as the hobby is an extravagance in the first place, I don't mind paying for factory check-up and possible reconditioning after a crash. If on the other hand if somebody's hobby is being Mr Fix-It around the house, that's good too.

 

[wrybread]

Yes, I understand. It would be nice to have it done under warranty. I meant to say why not just send it to DJI and pay for repairs. Personal preference but as the hobby is an extravagance in the first place, I don't mind paying for factory check-up and possible reconditioning after a crash. If on the other hand if somebody's hobby is being Mr Fix-It around the house, that's good too.

I'm certainly a Mr Fixit, but as explained I did the repair myself (before posting here) because a) it's so easy, just a drop of glue and there's a ton of posts all over the internet saying it works for exactly my issue, and b) sending it in to DJI is a bit of a hassle, it's a trip to town and packing it up and being without a drone for as long as the repair takes, and most importantly c) it uses one of my limited "refreshes". Which as it turned out was a good thing since that drone was lost at sea soon after my last post, and I was able to use a Refresh while still having another Refresh to spare for this year, which really takes the pressure off. For me at least since I do almost all of my flying over open ocean in unpredictable weather.

 

[Anthony Ivory]

I'm about a month into the drone learning curve and still crash my Mini 3 Pro about once a week on a failed takeoff or from running into something. Working on it! But everytime I crash I seem to re-open the same hairline crack in the gimbal, which then makes one of the gimbal motors whine and the video footage blurry. I don't exactly know why it does that, but a little superglue fixes it until the next crash.

You can see the issue here (not my video):

And in the comment thread someone pointed out the tiny crack in the gimbal. And once I looked with a magnifying glass I had the same crack.

My drone is just a month old and I have the full warranty with flyaway and all that, and I'm wondering if DJI tends to care about attempts to fix the drone ourselves that don't involve opening up the drone?

I’m confused
Why did you spend all that money on a warranty that you aren’t using . You could have bought a TON of SUper glue for a fraction of the warranty price.
DJI has seen everything send it back NOW while the problem is small. They are just going to send you a replacement the is like NEW. It will take about a week

 

[Anthony Ivory]

If you follow this form you will find that 90 % of crashes involve TREES, WATER and/ or pilot error. You are crashing TOO MUCH . Go to YOUTUBE and find excellent tutorials on how to fly your drone. A couple of more crashes and you will be out of $$ and out of the great hobby. Flying a drone without good instruction is like flying a plane as a passenger without a pilot.