is it best to upgrade or not upgrade firmware in all birds and controllers before dji ban maybe hits the united states

[slowpony]

Hello, I have been an everyday avid reader for a very long time; but this is my very first post/question. I done a search for my specific question, but I did not find an answer; so I hope I did not miss anything, and I am not breaking any of the rules. I own several DJI drones, starting with the Mini 2 thru the Mini 4 pro along with all the controllers with built in screens starting with the RM500 smart controller to the RC 2. I am a recreational flier, and all of my Air models are registered including all my Mini models. Over the years I have been very fortunate to not have any problems or crashes with any of them, thanks mostly to all the posts I have read on this site. I do have
everything updated with the firmware that activates RID; but that is about as new as it gets. All my drones and controllers work flawlessly on this firmware, and that is the reason I have stopped upgrading firmware. So hopefully if anybody knows or has thoughts on this, I will have maybe a better chance of not ending up with a bunch of grounded boat anchors if there is a hard ban on DJI and their web site goes away. I don't want this to happen just because I did or did not upgrade all to their latest firmware.
Kind Regards and thank you, Jack

 

[msinger]

I will have maybe a better chance of not ending up with a bunch of grounded boat anchors if there is a hard ban on DJI and their web site goes away

Why would the DJI website go away?

 

[slowpony]

Why would the DJI website go away?

Not sure why it would go away, other than the US decides DJI is a big threat and takes the web site down or DJI stops all firmware updates to the United States. That is the main reason for my question: will my birds still fly no matter what firmware they are flying on, whether new or old if this happens.
Thank you for responding.

 

[msinger]

The Huawei website is still fully accessible in the US. If the US only bans new DJI drone models from operating domestically, which appears to be their current plan of action, the result will likely be the same.

Huawei - Building a Fully Connected, Intelligent World

Huawei is a leading global provider of information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure and smart devices.

www.huawei.com

will my birds still fly no matter what firmware they are flying on, whether new or old if this happens

Birds have always flown on any installed firmware version.

I'm not sure DJI would benefit in any way by disabling all of their drone models from flying in the US, forcing everyone to use the latest firmware, etc. Keep in mind they do sell lots of other non-drone products in the US, so they likely wouldn't want to purposely sabotage their business.

 

[Landshark99]

I will be updating all of mine as long as there are firmware updates, if they stop because of a ban, I will be happy that at least I will be on the latest one that was offered.

 

[slowpony]

The Huawei website is still fully accessible in the US. If the US only bans new DJI drone models from operating domestically, which appears to be their current plan of action, the result will likely be the same.

Huawei - Building a Fully Connected, Intelligent World

Huawei is a leading global provider of information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure and smart devices.

www.huawei.com

Birds have always flown on any installed firmware version.

I'm not sure DJI would benefit in any way by disabling all of their drone models from flying in the US, forcing everyone to use the latest firmware, etc. Keep in mind they do sell lots of other non-drone products in the US, so they likely wouldn't want to purposely sabotage their business.

Once again thank you for your quick response to my questions. I guess I just got fully focused and worried about my drones; forgot all about the other outstanding products they manufacture and support. I have not heard of huawei. Thank you for the link and I will check it out.

 

[slowpony]

I will be updating all of mine as long as there are firmware updates, if they stop because of a ban, I will be happy that at least I will be on the latest one that was offered.

Thank you for your response.

 

[msinger]

I have not heard of huawei

Criticism of Huawei - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[High_Order1]

I think this is a fair question.

I never update quickly; I am queasy about being the beta tester on things that DON'T fly.

So, I'd simply hold off when an update comes out. The early-adopting canaries will let you know if the last update is a brick.

 

[slowpony]

I think this is a fair question.

I never update quickly; I am queasy about being the beta tester on things that DON'T fly.

So, I'd simply hold off when an update comes out. The early-adopting canaries will let you know if the last update is a brick.

Thank you and agree one hundred percent. Over the years there sure have been some really buggie updates that fixes one problem and creates three new ones.

 

[MS Coast]

Thank you and agree one hundred percent. Over the years there sure have been some really buggie updates that fixes one problem and creates three new ones.

The notion of firmware updates creating problems has been blown way out of proportion. I've been updating DJI drone firmware on all my drones promptly for the last five years and never had an issue.

The idea of a federal ban on operating DJI drones in the US is a much exaggerated bugaboo.. Even the Countering CCP Drones ACT (not enacted) addresses only NEW models.

From Rep Stefanik's website:

"September 9, 2024
Washington, D.C. - Congresswoman Elise Stefanik’s legislation the Countering CCP Drones Act will add Communist Chinese drone company Da-Jiang Innovations (DJI) to the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Covered List prohibiting new models of DJI drones from operating on U.S. communications infrastructure."

I've never heard of any consumer product that's been widely sold in the US being banned. Anyone?

 

[Landshark99]

I doubt it will happen but there are a long list of things happening that we never saw before

 

[Felix le Chat]

Hello, I have been an everyday avid reader for a very long time; but this is my very first post/question. I done a search for my specific question, but I did not find an answer; so I hope I did not miss anything, and I am not breaking any of the rules. I own several DJI drones, starting with the Mini 2 thru the Mini 4 pro along with all the controllers with built in screens starting with the RM500 smart controller to the RC 2. I am a recreational flier, and all of my Air models are registered including all my Mini models. Over the years I have been very fortunate to not have any problems or crashes with any of them, thanks mostly to all the posts I have read on this site. I do have
everything updated with the firmware that activates RID; but that is about as new as it gets. All my drones and controllers work flawlessly on this firmware, and that is the reason I have stopped upgrading firmware. So hopefully if anybody knows or has thoughts on this, I will have maybe a better chance of not ending up with a bunch of grounded boat anchors if there is a hard ban on DJI and their web site goes away. I don't want this to happen just because I did or did not upgrade all to their latest firmware.
Kind Regards and thank you, Jack

I always read the release notes first. If there's a new feature or a stipulated hardware upgrade: I've always updated to that firmware for the relevant drone. If the notes state "...minor bug fixes and security updates..." I don't bother.

Usually it takes 6 to 12 months for DJI to polish everything up and introduce all possible enhanced features to each new drone model, after that the release note details start to become sketchy and then become non-existent.

My two Mavic 2's stopped being upgraded 4 years ago. My Mini 3 Pro is still running on 3 year old firmware. All with zero problems.