Is the Mavic 2 Pro Gimbal Serviceable / Repairable?

[Azz3879]

TL;DR - Has anyone had an experience in which the official DJI Service Center repaired their gimbal as opposed to outright replacing it?

Several months ago I began seeing intermittent white flashes across my screen while flying, as can be seen here:

I deduced the problem was possibly a loose connection within the gimbal or camera, as the white flashing only occurs when I am maneuvering aggressively or descending rapidly while flying, or when calibrating the gimbal, specifically when the gimbal rotates from left to right. Other than those situations the camera and gimbal perform flawlessly, and the gimbal calibration is successful each time it is performed.

With that in mind yesterday I sent my drone to Dominion Drones LLC which I found through the DJI Service Centers page. Today they informed me that the gimbal is not serviceable, that DJI does not provide repair parts for the gimbal and I must replace the gimbal and camera. That seems extraordinary as parts for the gimbal are listed on the DJI Repair Component Price Inquiry page.

They want me to replace the camera and the gimbal for $799.00. For what seems like a relatively minor issue, their solution seems overreaching - attempting to remedy the problem by replacing the whole component, instead of attempting to investigate and repair the internal problem. I have begun to wonder whether I should have sent the drone directly to DJI as opposed to one of their listed service centers.

Has anyone had an experience in which the official DJI Service Center repaired their gimbal as opposed to outright replacing it?

Thank you!

 

[TampaTC]

give this guy a call when he is open. Fix 'n Fly Drones - Nationwide DJI Drone Repair & Flight Training Services
He does all the local companies drones in Tampa, Fl

 

[boblui]

It may be the camera that has got problems. Have you tried keeping the gimbal cover in place and move the drone with your hands to see if the white frames appear ?

 

[TruGreen]

if you sent to DJI they will look at it, figure the problem, charge you for said problem, and then ship you a whole refurb drone. you will not get your drone sent back to you

 

[Azz3879]

It may be the camera that has got problems. Have you tried keeping the gimbal cover in place and move the drone with your hands to see if the white frames appear ?

I have not, but that is a great idea!

 

[TruGreen]

It may be the camera that has got problems. Have you tried keeping the gimbal cover in place and move the drone with your hands to see if the white frames appear ?

thats actually a bad idea as the gimbal cover locks the gimbal in place. so during start up it wont be able to do its "dance". and i would think if you put it back on after startup it still wouldnt be happy as the gimbal stays level when going from side to side.

 

[offtheback]

TL;DR - Has anyone had an experience in which the official DJI Service Center repaired their gimbal as opposed to outright replacing it?

Several months ago I began seeing intermittent white flashes across my screen while flying, as can be seen here:

I deduced the problem was possibly a loose connection within the gimbal or camera, as the white flashing only occurs when I am maneuvering aggressively or descending rapidly while flying, or when calibrating the gimbal, specifically when the gimbal rotates from left to right. Other than those situations the camera and gimbal perform flawlessly, and the gimbal calibration is successful each time it is performed.

With that in mind yesterday I sent my drone to Dominion Drones LLC which I found through the DJI Service Centers page. Today they informed me that the gimbal is not serviceable, that DJI does not provide repair parts for the gimbal and I must replace the gimbal and camera. That seems extraordinary as parts for the gimbal are listed on the DJI Repair Component Price Inquiry page.

They want me to replace the camera and the gimbal for $799.00. For what seems like a relatively minor issue, their solution seems overreaching - attempting to remedy the problem by replacing the whole component, instead of attempting to investigate and repair the internal problem. I have begun to wonder whether I should have sent the drone directly to DJI as opposed to one of their listed service centers.

Has anyone had an experience in which the official DJI Service Center repaired their gimbal as opposed to outright replacing it?

Thank you!

Try this company.Rob is one of the most knowledgeable and reasonably priced repair shops in the USA. Thunder Drones – Specializing In Dji Drones

 

[boblui]

thats actually a bad idea as the gimbal cover locks the gimbal in place. so during start up it wont be able to do its "dance". and i would think if you put it back on after startup it still wouldnt be happy as the gimbal stays level when going from side to side.

Not sure what you mean but I have done that many times on my M2P without any issue. All I got is a "gimbal overload, check cover" warning message. The OP suspected that only the gimbal arms need be replaced. This is just to test whether the problem will still be there if the gimbal arms do not move at all.

 

[Azz3879]

After contacting three different businesses that repaired DJI drones and speaking with customer service representatives as well as a customer service agent at DJI in Los Angeles, these were the takeaways concerning my initial question.

- DJI does not make gimbal and or camera parts available to any third parties, authorized or not. They do make the gimbal / camera units as a whole available to authorized repair centers, and those units cost about $600 to $650.

- As a result of this, if you suspect your camera or gimbal can be fixed without replacing the entire camera and gimbal, it is best to send your drone in to DJI directly, but even when you send your drone in under those conditions it is more cost effective, ie less labor intensive, for DJI to just replace the entire gimbal / camera unit than it is to repair the units unique disfunction.

- With that said, I was told by a DJI representative who contacted me over the phone after he read my post on the DJI forums, that while DJI is likely to replace the entire gimbal / camera unit, they do take into account how damaged the unit is, and will pro-rate the replacement of that unit accordingly. For example, he suspected that the "repair" costs for the problem I was experiencing would likely be about $350, even though they would very likely be replacing the entire gimbal / camera unit.

 

[TruGreen]

After contacting three different businesses that repaired DJI drones and speaking with customer service representatives as well as a customer service agent at DJI in Los Angeles, these were the takeaways concerning my initial question.

- DJI does not make gimbal and or camera parts available to any third parties, authorized or not. They do make the gimbal / camera units as a whole available to authorized repair centers, and those units cost about $600 to $650.

- As a result of this, if you suspect your camera or gimbal can be fixed without replacing the entire camera and gimbal, it is best to send your drone in to DJI directly, but even when you send your drone in under those conditions it is more cost effective, ie less labor intensive, for DJI to just replace the entire gimbal / camera unit than it is to repair the units unique disfunction.

- With that said, I was told by a DJI representative who contacted me over the phone after he read my post on the DJI forums, that while DJI is likely to replace the entire gimbal / camera unit, they do take into account how damaged the unit is, and will pro-rate the replacement of that unit accordingly. For example, he suspected that the "repair" costs for the problem I was experiencing would likely be about $350, even though they would very likely be replacing the entire gimbal / camera unit.

because once they remove your camera/gimbal setup they send it to a different department to be taken apart and rebuilt then reused to fix the next one that comes in with busted camera

 

[kidroc]

Not sure what you mean but I have done that many times on my M2P without any issue. All I got is a "gimbal overload, check cover" warning message. The OP suspected that only the gimbal arms need be replaced. This is just to test whether the problem will still be there if the gimbal arms do not move at all.

You will get a issue sooner or later never ever do that to your gimbal unless you want to break it..