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HOW TO RETURN A FOUND DJI DRONE TO ITS OWNER

Drone-Retriever

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Location
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Many people have asked how to return a drone that they find to its owner.
Below is how to do it!

Wayne (DJI Support)
2020年9月26日 GMT+87:48
Hi Bob,

Thank you for contacting DJI Technical Support.

We appreciate your time and effort in letting us know your concern. We would like to apologize for the delayed response.

As for your concern, yes we can check on our system the owner of the aircraft by using the serial number of the aircraft, if you found one, please kindly provide the information below.

• Serial Number:
• Complete Name:
• Phone Number:
• Email address:

We are looking forward to hearing from you soon, so we could coordinate with the owner.

You may let us know if you need further assistance. We will be more than happy to help you with your concerns.

Thank you for choosing DJI products and have a wonderful day ahead of you.
Best Regards,
Wayne
DJI Technical Support
Website: http://www.dji.com/supportYoutube: DJI Tutorials
 
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But will DJI contact me about my lost and or stolen Mavic Air? I put out a nice reward and cant believe somebody didnt turn it in
 
Many people have asked how to return a drone that they find to its owner.
Below is how to do it!

Wayne (DJI Support)
2020年9月26日 GMT+87:48
Hi Bob,

Thank you for contacting DJI Technical Support.

We appreciate your time and effort in letting us know your concern. We would like to apologize for the delayed response.

As for your concern, yes we can check on our system the owner of the aircraft by using the serial number of the aircraft, if you found one, please kindly provide the information below.

• Serial Number:
• Complete Name:
• Phone Number:
• Email address:

We are looking forward to hearing from you soon, so we could coordinate with the owner.

You may let us know if you need further assistance. We will be more than happy to help you with your concerns.

Thank you for choosing DJI products and have a wonderful day ahead of you.
Best Regards,
Wayne
DJI Technical Support
Website: http://www.dji.com/supportYoutube: DJI Tutorials
Bob, Hope all is well in LEB and greetings from the Lakes Region. That is very interesting info for future reference. I absolutely would love to be able to reunite a grieving drone owner with his/her drone! Again, good info.
 
Bob, Hope all is well in LEB and greetings from the Lakes Region. That is very interesting info for future reference. I absolutely would love to be able to reunite a grieving drone owner with his/her drone! Again, good info.
Let us know if it works. In the past DJI would neither make contact with the owner nor give the drones’ finder that contact info due to privacy policy. Wonder if they deactivate it?
I personally have all my drones labeled on the bottom outside with my phone number and instructions to call if the drone is found.
 
Many people have asked how to return a drone that they find to its owner.
Below is how to do it!

Wayne (DJI Support)
2020年9月26日 GMT+87:48
Hi Bob,

Thank you for contacting DJI Technical Support.

We appreciate your time and effort in letting us know your concern. We would like to apologize for the delayed response.

As for your concern, yes we can check on our system the owner of the aircraft by using the serial number of the aircraft, if you found one, please kindly provide the information below.

• Serial Number:
• Complete Name:
• Phone Number:
• Email address:

We are looking forward to hearing from you soon, so we could coordinate with the owner.

You may let us know if you need further assistance. We will be more than happy to help you with your concerns.

Thank you for choosing DJI products and have a wonderful day ahead of you.
Best Regards,
Wayne
DJI Technical Support
Website: http://www.dji.com/supportYoutube: DJI Tutorials
Send this information to what email??? WHO do we send this too - I've looked on DJI website and here but no link or email to where the info should be sent. I have a drone I'd like to return. Thanks.
 
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Send this information to what email??? WHO do we send this too - I've looked on DJI website and here but no link or email to where the info should be sent. I have a drone I'd like to return. Thanks.
Is it a drone you've found and want to get it back to the rightful owner?

If so, you can drop it off with your local Law Enforcement Agency. They can contact someone with the FAA and start the process. Does it have any identifying markings on it (Reg# etc)?
 
Many people have asked how to return a drone that they find to its owner.
Below is how to do it!

Wayne (DJI Support)
2020年9月26日 GMT+87:48
Hi Bob,

Thank you for contacting DJI Technical Support.

We appreciate your time and effort in letting us know your concern. We would like to apologize for the delayed response.

As for your concern, yes we can check on our system the owner of the aircraft by using the serial number of the aircraft, if you found one, please kindly provide the information below.

• Serial Number:
• Complete Name:
• Phone Number:
• Email address:

We are looking forward to hearing from you soon, so we could coordinate with the owner.

You may let us know if you need further assistance. We will be more than happy to help you with your concerns.

Thank you for choosing DJI products and have a wonderful day ahead of you.
Best Regards,
Wayne
DJI Technical Support
Website: http://www.dji.com/supportYoutube: DJI Tutorials

Is it a drone you've found and want to get it back to the rightful owner?

If so, you can drop it off with your local Law Enforcement Agency. They can contact someone with the FAA and start the process. Does it have any identifying markings on it (Reg# etc)?

Thanks for the reply but I'm trying to follow the original instructions - except those instructions don't include an email or phone number. I'm not inclined to drop it off at our local police.

"As for your concern, yes we can check on our system the owner of the aircraft by using the serial number of the aircraft, if you found one, please kindly provide the information below.
• Serial Number:
• Complete Name:
• Phone Number:
• Email address:
We are looking forward to hearing from you soon, so we could coordinate with the owner."

HOW do I get this info to DJI? Kinda important part of the instructions left out.
 
Thanks for the reply but I'm trying to follow the original instructions - except those instructions don't include an email or phone number. I'm not inclined to drop it off at our local police.

"As for your concern, yes we can check on our system the owner of the aircraft by using the serial number of the aircraft, if you found one, please kindly provide the information below.
• Serial Number:
• Complete Name:
• Phone Number:
• Email address:
We are looking forward to hearing from you soon, so we could coordinate with the owner."

HOW do I get this info to DJI? Kinda important part of the instructions left out.
UNITED STATES & CANADA
+1 (818) 235 0789
Mon-Fri 7:00AM - 5:00PM (PST)
or try here online, it will allow you to email them, online chat or use the number I posted above.
 
Thanks for the reply but I'm trying to follow the original instructions - except those instructions don't include an email or phone number. I'm not inclined to drop it off at our local police.
....
Whatever floats your boat. It's a lot easier to drop it off and let the authorities handle it but you do you :)
 
Whatever floats your boat. It's a lot easier to drop it off and let the authorities handle it but you do you :)
I think the local law enforcement agency might have better things to do than to help return a drone to it's owner. Why put a middle man in there when you can do it yourself the right way without wasting their time when they have way better things to do. The easiest thing would be to call or get a hold of DJI. The gratification of knowing it got returned would just make you feel good too. The local law enforcement agency would definately not put that at the top of their "to do list right now". Like the old saying goes "sometimes when you want a job done right you gotta do it yourself".
 
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I think the local law enforcement agency might have better things to do than to help return a drone to it's owner. Why put a middle man in there when you can do it yourself the right way without wasting their time when they have way better things to do. The easiest thing would be to call or get a hold of DJI. The gratification of knowing it got returned would just make you feel good too. The local law enforcement agency would definately not put that at the top of their "to do list right now". Like the old saying goes "sometimes when you want a job done right you gotta do it yourself".

Right way? LOL

If it has an FAA Registration # the LEAP agent can get the owner's info and contact them to reunite the aircraft to it's rightful owner. I've actually participated in returning 7 different UAS to their owners and 1 that had an incorrect (or fake) FAA# on it that went to a Search-n-Rescue agency.

You'd be surrpised just how cooperative LEO can be as long as nothing major is going on. But hey, you do you.
 
Right way? LOL

If it has an FAA Registration # the LEAP agent can get the owner's info and contact them to reunite the aircraft to it's rightful owner. I've actually participated in returning 7 different UAS to their owners and 1 that had an incorrect (or fake) FAA# on it that went to a Search-n-Rescue agency.

You'd be surrpised just how cooperative LEO can be as long as nothing major is going on. But hey, you do you.
Is there a "right way"? There are 3 agencies you can contact. I say go straight to DJI or FAA (unless the owner put their phone number on it). LEO has better things to do than find the owner of recreational flyers drone.
They sure can be helpful but why rely on them? I've also seen people that report a bike stolen and they say "we'll get back to you if we hear anything". Then never hear anything. Might as well buy a new bike rather than expect them to find it. You say you participated in returning 8 UAV's. Sounds like you didn't pass it on to Constable Billy Joe Bob to take care of it. You participated. That's what the OP wants to do obviously.
All I'm saying is all he has to do is contact DJI and it will likely happen and he'll know at the end of the day what happened. He has taken steps to get it into the rightful owners hands.
As you say. But hey, you do you.
 
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You can't go to the FAA directly. Only LEO can! The FAA Reg database is not Public Accessible. Clear enough?

If you contact your local FSDO they will instruct you to take it to LEA for the above mentioned reason.

I didn't pass it along because I'm an FAA Safety Team Rep (Charlotte NC Region) and LEO utilized me to help them return the aircraft and I work with LEO almost daily. So there's that . . . . Fact of the matter they reached out to me to get the information so they could contact the rightful owners. It's actually a very good system if the aircraft if properly registered and marked.
 
You can't go to the FAA directly. Only LEO can! The FAA Reg database is not Public Accessible. Clear enough?

If you contact your local FSDO they will instruct you to take it to LEA for the above mentioned reason.

I didn't pass it along because I'm an FAA Safety Team Rep (Charlotte NC Region) and LEO utilized me to help them return the aircraft and I work with LEO almost daily. So there's that . . . . Fact of the matter they reached out to me to get the information so they could contact the rightful owners. It's actually a very good system if the aircraft if properly registered and marked.
Point made. Sometimes maybe the way you do something is not the only right way to do it and still be legal/ligit. You CAN report things directly to the FAA (I've done it), never said the FAA Reg database was Public or Accessible. I didn't mean to ruffle your feathers but I'm free to discuss in PM rather than hijack the thread.
 
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Point made. Sometimes maybe the way you do something is not the only right way to do it and still be legal/ligit. You CAN report things directly to the FAA (I've done it), never said the FAA Reg database was Public or Accessible. I didn't mean to ruffle your feathers but I'm free to discuss in PM rather than hijack the thread.


Feathers aren't ruffled my friend.

You're mixing circumstances and trying to prove your point with invalid information.

Yes you can report anything you want to the FAA but that's not the point of this conversation. We are talking specifically about trying to get the contact information of a found UAS by the FAA Reg#. Two completely different scenarios.... like comparing a duck to a banana....

You, as a member of John Q. Public will not get any contact information for a UAS owner directly from the FAA and that's how it should be. The aircraft is taken to a local LEA, they contact someone from the FAA (Rep or LEAP depending on what resources they have available) and the information is then collected and if possible, the rightful owner is contacted and reunited with their UAS. If the owner can't be contacted or ID'd then the "Finder" might get to keep the aircraft but that's not something I can weigh in on. It's case by case and outside of my wheel house.

Going directly to the FAA/FSDO with a found UAS will not get you any information. They will instruct you to either surrender it to a LEA or, if applicable, a local FAA facility.

No need to go into PM as this conversation is good for our full membership to see and understand.
 
Feathers aren't ruffled my friend.

You're mixing circumstances and trying to prove your point with invalid information.

Yes you can report anything you want to the FAA but that's not the point of this conversation. We are talking specifically about trying to get the contact information of a found UAS by the FAA Reg#. Two completely different scenarios.... like comparing a duck to a banana....

You, as a member of John Q. Public will not get any contact information for a UAS owner directly from the FAA and that's how it should be. The aircraft is taken to a local LEA, they contact someone from the FAA (Rep or LEAP depending on what resources they have available) and the information is then collected and if possible, the rightful owner is contacted and reunited with their UAS. If the owner can't be contacted or ID'd then the "Finder" might get to keep the aircraft but that's not something I can weigh in on. It's case by case and outside of my wheel house.

Going directly to the FAA/FSDO with a found UAS will not get you any information. They will instruct you to either surrender it to a LEA or, if applicable, a local FAA facility.

No need to go into PM as this conversation is good for our full membership to see and understand.
You are the one who keeps changing the parameters of the coversation to suit your side and nothing I said was invalid (until you tried to make it look like I said things I didn't).

You brought up reporting to the FAA saying basically none of us could report to them. I said you can and well, you can. I never said anything about them giving out contact information with an FAA Reg# and I know they would not give it to anyone of us and none of the 3 agencies would without the consent of the owner. DJI would also not have you surrender the bird either.

The whole LEA contacts FAA, FAA responds back etc... Is a blindless back and forth when you can go direct to DJI and have them find the owner "with or without" an FAA Reg#, so why have all this back and forth with LEA, FAA when DJI has the direct information. The only way I'd go to the LEA is if some law was violated by the flight or pilot.

This whole thead would have basically been fullfilled and done at post 10 when I provided the additional information needed for the original post on how to contact DJI.
 
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Did you even read post #5? That's been the NORM with DJI now for about 5 years. Maybe they've had a sudden change of heart (we can only hope) but so many of us have tried using DJI to get that information. Those of us who have been around this industry a day or two have tried and tried and tried to get DJI to help and for the vast majority of us it was a Waaa Waaa Waaaaaaaa!!

LOL!
 
I have read it and I agree. Post #1 shows it looks like it has changed. DJI won't "give you that information" unless the owner ok's it. Otherwise what i've seen is DJI acts as the middle man to get it returned. I do recall a few incidents in the forum where DJI did in fact help find the owner. I'm not new to the drone world and have been around quite a while also.
 
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