I know, I know....DJI Care Refresh

[Splats]

I'm sure it's been covered many times before, but I'm interested to know if people feel DJI Refresh is worth it if you are a relatively competent pilot.

I'm new to the drone game but I used to fly a Blade 400 heli with reasonable competency. When I got my Spark I was simply amazed at how easy it is to fly; in fact, you don't really fly it since it simply sits and waits for your commend. If you let go of the sticks on the Blade for more than a second you'd almost certainly get into trouble fast. I've seen times where I've laid the control down and left the Spark hovering while I faff and do something else.

The stories of crashed and lost drones certainly gave me cause for concern but the more I dig the more I'm certain that pilot error, panic or downright incompetency is the cause in most situations. The freak out over ATTI mode has me perplexed. My Spark decided to have a compass error 800m away and well beyond visual line of site. It flipped into ATTI and due to the toilet bowl effect was somewhat erratic and wouldn't fly straight. Nevertheless, I found it quite easy to limp it FPV back to me where GPS took over and normal service resumed.

My only fear is that with my limited experience I've not yet come across a situation where exceptional skill is required to prevent a crash. Does that scenario even exist?

I guess I'm just struggling to see how you'd crash a drone unless you are pushing the limits or taking risks. My biggest fear by far is fly away or the drone dropping into a lake or sea (where it would almost certainly be lost) and neither of these scenarios (lost drone) are covered by Care Refresh.

My gut instinct is Care Refresh is a no-brainer for pilots that lack confidence, are prone to try and do silly things like fly fast through trees, or likely to panic and start throwing in all sorts of commands when the feed dies or drone behaviour is odd (compass error). On the flip side, I do wonder if competent pilots effectively support the premiums for the rest in the way they would if car insurance was a fixed fee that everybody paid regardless of skill, vehicles, prior accidents, etc.

Discuss. (again )

 

[pixl]

I bought refresh, and I wish I hadn't. I haven't had to use it, and I'm pretty sure I wont -- I've never even come close to a crash*, nor did I ever with my old Inspire Pro in 125 hours of use. It was a spur-of-the moment thing, but I've since found out that my home insurance covers me completely -- even in a case of total loss. There's a caveat to that though -- I have to have been operating it legally for the insurance to apply. Anyone who lives in Canada can tell you that it's actually pretty hard to find places to fly legally, and there are proposed laws that make it stricter.

Refresh will expire reasonably soon anyways. At that point I will "self-insure" for whatever my household insurance doesn't cover. I feel I'll be fine. If it crashes due to software/hardware issues, I'll take it up with DJI.

*I fly with all collision avoidance off. I don't trust that stuff to keep me out of trouble, and I constantly see crashes here caused by over-reliance on CA sensors. Perhaps it was all the ATTI experience I got with the Inspire, but I just don't feel the need to use that stuff.... plus I like to fly into the sunset, and hand catch at times, both of which are things that CA gets in the way of.

 

[turbodronepilot]

Stuff happens and people make mistakes..
That being said it's cheep insurance if something goes wrong..
I've been flying dji for years and seem to find something to crash into from time to time..
I recently crashed my mavic pro into a tree..
I was flying low but thought I was higher than the lowest obstice..I was wrong and crashed in sport mode..
Damage to the aircraft was 260.00 usd and I believe dji sent me a new mavic pro as a replacement..
I'm not sure how much care refresh is for the mavic but I'm sure it was much less than the repair cost..
Seems like a good program if you can afford it at the time of purchase..

 

[turbodronepilot]

My Spark decided to have a compass error 800m away and well beyond visual line of site. It flipped into ATTI and due to the toilet bowl effect was somewhat erratic and wouldn't fly straight

I've had this happen twice with my spark.. Seems to malfunction when flying out blos..
It's very difficult to fly when the sticks don't respond properly..

 

[JimmyHillsChin]

I'm sure it's been covered many times before, but I'm interested to know if people feel DJI Refresh is worth it if you are a relatively competent pilot.

I'm new to the drone game but I used to fly a Blade 400 heli with reasonable competency. When I got my Spark I was simply amazed at how easy it is to fly; in fact, you don't really fly it since it simply sits and waits for your commend. If you let go of the sticks on the Blade for more than a second you'd almost certainly get into trouble fast. I've seen times where I've laid the control down and left the Spark hovering while I faff and do something else.

The stories of crashed and lost drones certainly gave me cause for concern but the more I dig the more I'm certain that pilot error, panic or downright incompetency is the cause in most situations. The freak out over ATTI mode has me perplexed. My Spark decided to have a compass error 800m away and well beyond visual line of site. It flipped into ATTI and due to the toilet bowl effect was somewhat erratic and wouldn't fly straight. Nevertheless, I found it quite easy to limp it FPV back to me where GPS took over and normal service resumed.

My only fear is that with my limited experience I've not yet come across a situation where exceptional skill is required to prevent a crash. Does that scenario even exist?

I guess I'm just struggling to see how you'd crash a drone unless you are pushing the limits or taking risks. My biggest fear by far is fly away or the drone dropping into a lake or sea (where it would almost certainly be lost) and neither of these scenarios (lost drone) are covered by Care Refresh.

My gut instinct is Care Refresh is a no-brainer for pilots that lack confidence, are prone to try and do silly things like fly fast through trees, or likely to panic and start throwing in all sorts of commands when the feed dies or drone behaviour is odd (compass error). On the flip side, I do wonder if competent pilots effectively support the premiums for the rest in the way they would if car insurance was a fixed fee that everybody paid regardless of skill, vehicles, prior accidents, etc.

Discuss. (again )

I suppose it comes down to how much it would bother you if your drone did fall out of the sky through no fault of your own and you then get stung with the hefty repair bills or, even worse, have to buy another.

As with any insurance type policies, it's a gamble.
Sure, you might be lucky enough to never need it and so could save the money. Or, you could be one of those unlucky types who, shortly after take off, it plummets to the ground because it's faulty.

I don't think being an extremely competent pilot matters.
We want more and more tech cramming into these chunks of plastic and so things will go wrong at some point.

You've just spent a good wedge of your money on something that will be being zipped across the sky 100's of feet high and connected by WiFi.....

It does make me think of those people who spend £1000's on a push bike and then can't face paying another £50 on a decent lock and chance it with some £5 lock off Ebay.

 

[pixl]

......Or, you could be one of those unlucky types who, shortly after take off, it plummets to the ground because it's faulty.

This particular situation would be one for a warranty repair or replacement by DJI if it's truly faulty. No need for insurance in this case.

 

[JimmyHillsChin]

This particular situation would be one for a warranty repair or replacement by DJI if it's truly faulty. No need for insurance in this case.

Yeah, you are right and another example would have been better.
They send it up on it's maiden voyage, get signal interference and it plummets (especially relevent when talking about the Spark)

My point was that some people will just be unfortunate and require this policy right from the minute they unbox their drone.

 

[smo1a]

I destroyed my spark in a crash. It went off on its own from regular mode to sport without me doing anything. It was going forward full speed. I let go of sticks and still hauling ***. I could only yaw, and that was tough with the sensitivity and full speed. Long story short, I went into a brick wall at 30 mph. Snapped off a leg and cracked off the top cover.

I forgot to order dji refresh. Mavic air on the way, lol. I ordered refresh at purchase of my air.

 

[StrayaMavic]

For the money you're spending on the drone why wouldnt you? Especially given there are occasional "quirks" with their mass production.

 

[AgPhotoWings]

I'm sure it's been covered many times before, but I'm interested to know if people feel DJI Refresh is worth it if you are a relatively competent pilot.

I'm new to the drone game but I used to fly a Blade 400 heli with reasonable competency. When I got my Spark I was simply amazed at how easy it is to fly; in fact, you don't really fly it since it simply sits and waits for your commend. If you let go of the sticks on the Blade for more than a second you'd almost certainly get into trouble fast. I've seen times where I've laid the control down and left the Spark hovering while I faff and do something else.

The stories of crashed and lost drones certainly gave me cause for concern but the more I dig the more I'm certain that pilot error, panic or downright incompetency is the cause in most situations. The freak out over ATTI mode has me perplexed. My Spark decided to have a compass error 800m away and well beyond visual line of site. It flipped into ATTI and due to the toilet bowl effect was somewhat erratic and wouldn't fly straight. Nevertheless, I found it quite easy to limp it FPV back to me where GPS took over and normal service resumed.

My only fear is that with my limited experience I've not yet come across a situation where exceptional skill is required to prevent a crash. Does that scenario even exist?

I guess I'm just struggling to see how you'd crash a drone unless you are pushing the limits or taking risks. My biggest fear by far is fly away or the drone dropping into a lake or sea (where it would almost certainly be lost) and neither of these scenarios (lost drone) are covered by Care Refresh.

My gut instinct is Care Refresh is a no-brainer for pilots that lack confidence, are prone to try and do silly things like fly fast through trees, or likely to panic and start throwing in all sorts of commands when the feed dies or drone behaviour is odd (compass error). On the flip side, I do wonder if competent pilots effectively support the premiums for the rest in the way they would if car insurance was a fixed fee that everybody paid regardless of skill, vehicles, prior accidents, etc.

Discuss. (again )

I have found that in the most extreme circumstance ie; lost connection ....RTH ...she does that .......however how much faith do you have?????

 

[laurens23]

I did not get care fresh.

In most cases something happens the drone will not be recoverable (lost or drowned). (I lost one drone at sea, ran out of battery and it auto-landed in the water.)

If there is a malfunction of the software/hardware) and it can be recovered, it should be covered under warranty.

If you are a responsible and knowledgeable pilot, I think pilot error and being able to recover the drone will be rare. Even if that is the case I would just pay the repair and be happy i did not lose the drone.

I don't understand why there are so many people flying into things. I also don't understand the need and demand for collision avoidance systems. clearly people trust them too much and still hit stuff. just get rid of them and make people pay better attention. Collision avoidance is something that is more interesting for autonomous BVLOS flights. A mavic is supposed to stay under control of the operator at all times wit proper altitude settings in RTH and other (semi)autonomous flight modes. trusting the collision avoidance causes more crashes than saves imo.

 

[Splats]

I did not get care fresh.

In most cases something happens the drone will not be recoverable (lost or drowned). (I lost one drone at sea, ran out of battery and it auto-landed in the water.)

This must have been sooooo painful to watch on the video feed. The sadist in me wants to see the cached video footage

Pondering more about it, I think I've made the following considerations.

1. Usage: Do I plan to use the drone a lot? More use equals more time exposed to danger and a greater probability of something happening. The answer is yes I will. I plan to have the drone with and available to me 80%+ of the time. I'll take it to work (stove installer, could be useful for inspecting chimneys) and I'll nearly always sling it in the car or bag if I'm out and about.
2. Spur of the Moment: Will I always spend 5 minutes setting up, checking everything and going through a clipboard of pre-flight checks? Truthfully, no. The other day I took my Spark out the box and had it in the air within about 45-60s while still in ATTI mode searching for satellites. It was just a short and very local flight but I wanted to get up, get my shot, and move on with my day. This sort of flying increases risk considerably.
3. Will I Push it: Yes, probably, I'm that sort of guy. I love fast cars and while I take my time to feel out the chassis and handling balance, I'll usually work up to the point where I've got the car sliding around as I try to push the limits of grip, etc. With the best will in the world, it's likely I will push the limits of the drone as well and that increases risk.
4. Distraction: I'm not getting the drone to go off into the wilderness on my own, complete a 10 minute pre-flight check, plan my route/shots and then carefully get everything I need. I plan to use it to capture family moments, places I go, etc and all on the fly. It's possible I'll have my 2-year old hanging off my leg as I fly or my wife talking to me. Distraction equals risk.
5. Cool Shots: Do I plan to shoot exclusively from above the trees? Honestly, no, it's likely I'll always be searching for cool and quirky shots to edit into those longer lingering aerials. So skimming water backwards at speed, flying through trees, flying through tight and restrictive spaces, under bridges, into and out of caves and crevasse openings are all on the cards. This close quarter flying with obstacles around all increase risk considerably.

In short, even though I'm confident on the sticks and a pretty good judge of distance and orientation, I think my personality type and proposed use of the drone makes Care Refresh a no brainier. If anything, it's probably a no brainer for point 1 alone, I plan to fly this thing a lot and anyone knows that you're more likely to have an accident if you drive 40,000 miles a year instead of 5,000 miles.

 

[joejaxvic123]

Get Care Refresh, because you're guilty until proven innocent....

 

[Air Beetle]

I'm sharing mine with my college age daughter so I got the insurance. I will probably let friends and family try it too. My only fear is a lost drone. The insurance doesn't pay if you have nothing to return.

 

[Splats]

I'm sharing mine with my college age daughter so I got the insurance. I will probably let friends and family try it too. My only fear is a lost drone. The insurance doesn't pay if you have nothing to return.

That's by far my biggest fear too. If you lose video feed and it takes off at speed in a random direction the search radius is massive. I keep a sticker on mines and info on the SD card in the hope that someone might call me.

 

[philh24]

I had a mavic for a year now took out the refresh when I purchased it and never used it, I have just purchased the air and took it out again. If I lose it I no I’m not covered but if it falls out the sky or I have a bird strike I should be ok. I personally think it’s worth it.

 

[laurens23]

This must have been sooooo painful to watch on the video feed. The sadist in me wants to see the cached video footage

Hehehe. here a picture: Imgur: The magic of the Internet the video feed is not saved on the phone, so I don't have a video.

It was a Xiaomi Mi 4k. very nice drone. Yes I was sad. at 30% i got a battery error and the forward velocity dropped to 2.5m/s then at 15% it just stopped an hovered until slowly descending into the ocean. (even without error it probably would not have made it back) It was only a few day into our holiday.

Good thing is that while I wanted to get a new Xiaomi, my wife did not like that idea. She liked how the Mavic looked "all folded and nice", so we agreed she would buy it for my birthday which was coming up.

I only have a couple of hours of flight time on the Mavic. While it is slightly better than the Xiaomi Mi 4k, I'm not sure it worth double the price, but I like it.

you can also decide later. I know the say 24 hours after activation. but if you want you can get it at a later time by making a special video. So you could first carefully practice and then get Care Refresh when you go on holiday or when you feel comfortable pushing the boundaries. here the info on DJI website: DJI_Care Customer Upload Information

Keep in mind that a lot of accidents happen on the first or second flight because people don't read the manual, don't calibrate and don't understand what they are doing. for new RC/drone operators postponing Care refresh is probably a bad idea.

 

[pixl]

.....
Good thing is that while I wanted to get a new Xiaomi, my wife did not like that idea. She liked how the Mavic looked "all folded and nice", so we agreed she would buy it for my birthday which was coming up.

I think in your case it could be said that "a bird in the hand is worth two in the ocean".

 

[Anthony Viscomi]

I bought Refresh on all my DJI platforms and thankfully never had to use it. I also have all my DJI crap covered with SF policy

 

[Gotters]

I've had a Mavic Pro for just over a year, and just received my Air - I have DJI refresh on both and didn't think for a minute about taking it out on the Air

I always think of every flight as like driving very fast in my car waving a £1,000 in notes of my own money frantically out the window, hoping that I don't let go.

That's why I have a bit of insurance.