Is what DJI does with the Mavic legal?

[TheRoach]

Really, the question shouldn't be about what's legal for them to do. It should be about meeting customer demands within in the realm of legality in their home nation. Mark my words, DJI will be all but gone in two years OR they'll have changed their business model to meet customer demands. NFZs are fine but should be restricted to major airports and military installations, that's all. In the US we have an entire arm of government to deal with pilot infractions and incidents while establishing new law based on those investigations.

This may piss many of you off but I have to say - this is how communism works in the real world (overbearing control) - there's is no place for it in the US and it's sad to see it taint such a great product. I stopped buying DJI - never again. The 520 is out with a 1 inch sensor - just as good as any DJI bird. As someone above stated, people should stop protecting DJI - the company really has no concern for you, past your $$$ that is. You see it in the business model, you see it in the customer service model, you see it in the firmware updates and their NFZ policy all around. Even their official forum mods complain about the lack of communication with the customer AND within their own organization.

An extensional question for you. Do you approve of corporations getting into the business of law enforcement? Don't they own enough of our governments already?

I really can't wait to see DJI go away. Never even written a letter about bad service much less a website.
www.dji-advocacy.com - a slow work in progress

 

[TheRoach]

What the heck are you going to sue them for? Upsetting your tummy?

Don't worry about suing. Hit them in the pocket - that's all they understand.

 

[TheRoach]

All DJI GO and firmware updates are optional. You can keep everything as-is now and continue to run offline forever if you'd like.

My understanding is that firmware now have expiration dates - this is how they force updates when one hasn't connected. I've had several instances where I was forced to update or pretty much loose the ability to fly. The fact so many people even argue over the fact should tell us all we need to know - DJI has no consistent message to its user base and continues to prove it's complete lack of concern of consumer. Par for the course for this terrible company with a good product.

 

[gnirtS]

Your right, they can do anything they want with the App software but they cannot do anything to the Hardware Aka the drones hardware that will make it less useful or removes features that were there at the time of purchase. Many new owners either forget or don't know that DJI advertised the Mavic as being able to fly without a phone/tablet connected when it was first sold.

The mavic is very little hardware. Its almost entirely firmware (ie software). They can do whatever they like with it. The T&Cs were agreed to.

"Also no update with the mavic is forced just as buying a mavic isn't forced"

Have seen what just happened with the Spark?

I said the Mavic. And i can't see the issue with it. A safety risk (dropping out of the sky) with a mandatory fix. No different to Samsung eventually rendering their explod-a-phones useless. Its a lot better than a product recall.

Ultimately nobody forced anyone to buy a mavic - its a toy not an essential service. Users agreed to the T&Cs. Nobody is forcing anyone to upgrade if they don't want. I fail to see the issue.

 

[TheRoach]

The mavic is very little hardware. Its almost entirely firmware (ie software). They can do whatever they like with it. The T&Cs were agreed to.



I said the Mavic. And i can't see the issue with it. A safety risk (dropping out of the sky) with a mandatory fix. No different to Samsung eventually rendering their explod-a-phones useless. Its a lot better than a product recall.

Ultimately nobody forced anyone to buy a mavic - its a toy not an essential service. Users agreed to the T&Cs. Nobody is forcing anyone to upgrade if they don't want. I fail to see the issue.

The issue is they are not meeting customer demand within the legal confines of the nation one lives in. DJI is enforcing 'law' that doesn't exist in the US. I don't particularly want to start a precedence where corporations are enforcing laws - valid law or not, do you? This is the issue with DJI and people really should stop apologizing for the poorly run company. As for not buying DJI, I left them and will never purchase another item from a company with communistic ideals at the business level. I don't think they'll be around in two years anyway. The competition is getting very close in quality and features and with the way DJI treats their customers - almost everyone will eventually jump the sinking ship. Be stupid not to if they don't straighten up.

 

[Cut.Aussie]

You guys do know that DJI is not the only drone company forcing airspace restrictions right?

 

[TylerDurden]

Yes, this one too.


Yes, it's legal. Nobody forced you to buy their products. You can switch to another manufacturer at the drop of a hat if you choose. And if you just want to stay with what you have right now, you don't have to continue to install new DJI GO and firmware updates.

Why do you say it is legal?
I AM a US based attorney snd I am not as certain as you are.

 

[HKFEVER]

Just like Spark, if you have continue and always update FW from 300 to 400 to 500; Go4 from 4.0.8 to 4.1.4.

Then all of a sudden you can't fly after Aug-31-2017 without update to 600 & 4.1.9.

Is this a force update?

 

[Oingo Boingo]

The joys of upgrading to the lastest firmware. U see that's what happens when Ure one the bleeding edge of tech. Im still flying 1.3.300 and my app is .317 have no intention of upgrading.... But I suppose if u wanted the latest version of tech... U now have it. Enjoy it

 

[Robbyg]

The mavic is very little hardware. Its almost entirely firmware (ie software). They can do whatever they like with it. The T&Cs were agreed to.



I said the Mavic. And i can't see the issue with it. A safety risk (dropping out of the sky) with a mandatory fix. No different to Samsung eventually rendering their explod-a-phones useless. Its a lot better than a product recall.

Ultimately nobody forced anyone to buy a mavic - its a toy not an essential service. Users agreed to the T&Cs. Nobody is forcing anyone to upgrade if they don't want. I fail to see the issue.

First of all the Mavic is mostly hardware, I can't even fathom how you could believe it's mostly software. CPUs and Memory chips are considered hardware and maybe that's what your confused with.
Secondly advertised specifications can not be nullified in a T&S.
To use the oh so common car analagy you cannot sell an expensive car on the premises that Top speed is 180MPH and then sneak in an update that lowers the speed to 120MPH just because you want to decreases accidents. If it's a car problem issue why you lowered it then you must fix it or offer a refund or exchange.

Rob

 

[TheRoach]

You guys do know that DJI is not the only drone company forcing airspace restrictions right?

Yuneec is doing away with their NFZ and allowing actual law enforcement to do their job. I'm see many new drones sold with a new 'feature' - no NFZs. DJI has done more harm than good to the industry.

 

[FlyGuy8675309]

Why do you say it is legal?
I AM a US based attorney snd I am not as certain as you are.

Wow. Looks like DJI doesn't have any legal counsel if they are doing illegal things. Maybe you should hang out a shingle...

 

[TheRoach]

Wow. Looks like DJI doesn't have any legal counsel if they are doing illegal things. Maybe you should hang out a shingle...

Legal and right are two different things. DJI definitely isn't 'right' although they may be legal in all or some nations they sell product in. Additionally, legality is often a matter of interpretation meaning that after a court battle things can change.

Finally, and the gross point everyone is missing, do we want to set a precedence of allowing corporations to enforce the law? That's a very very very slippery slope and IMO, should NEVER be allowed - anywhere - ever.

I keep saying that DJI will be gone in two years. Any company wanting to stay in business must meet customer demands. Supply and demand. From what I see in surveys and what not, DJI is NOT meeting customer demands for about two thirds of their customers. That's pretty bad and will end this company if they don't wise up.

 

[TheRoach]

All DJI GO and firmware updates are optional. You can keep everything as-is now and continue to run offline forever if you'd like.

I see you are a vendor. Do you happen to have an inside vine to confirm that? I see this on DJI's forum but it would be nice to actually know the truth.

The old firmware versions have an expiration date hard coded into them. This is different than the DJI Go app nagging you to update the firmware. Consider that the soft grace period, but the hardcoded expiration date on the firmware, once reached, will not only require you to reactivate the Mavic with DJI servers, but also update to latest firmware, at which time, will also require you to use latest DJI app. As we all know, Mavic does not fly without GPS mode, sure it might take off in ATTI mode, but you can't really do anything with the Mavic until GPS kicks in. GPS-TIME is extremely accurate, just like sync with an atomic clock, so Mavic will always know the true date/time upon powerup. The old firmware versions have a trigger that if it detects it is too old, it will refuse to fly at all until you are then requested to upgrade. The newer version firms will not let you downgrade back to an older version.

 

[FlyGuy8675309]

I keep saying that DJI will be gone in two years. Any company wanting to stay in business must meet customer demands. Supply and demand. From what I see in surveys and what not, DJI is NOT meeting customer demands for about two thirds of their customers. That's pretty bad and will end this company if they don't wise up.

You mean 2/3's of the customers who took the survey. Also, people who are PO'd are much more vocal than someone who is content. So there's that.

DJI will do just fine. Apple is another company who tells customers what they want, not vice-versa. They are doing fine. Really, most owners probably fly a few times a year and have no idea what DJI is doing or not doing under the hood.

 

[TheRoach]

You mean 2/3's of the customers who took the survey. Also, people who are PO'd are much more vocal than someone who is content. So there's that.

DJI will do just fine. Apple is another company who tells customers what they want, not vice-versa. They are doing fine. Really, most owners probably fly a few times a year and have no idea what DJI is doing or not doing under the hood.

DJI is absolutely not Apple. Can't believe you made the comparison. DJI makes great products but it's a terrible company. I can't understand why people continue to defend them. Hide and watch, DJI will fall to the wayside within two years - I'll place $1000 on it right now if we can find someone to hold the money two years. They might still be around but they will no longer dominate the market. Just got my Kudrone today. For $112 it has 4K, GPS, sonar, follow-me and precision hovering. It's no match for a DJI but for $100 - yeah, DJI isn't lasting much longer with the competition maturing over the next two years.

Question - Are you OK with corporations taking over law enforcement? A major precedence is being set with the DJI mindset and shouldn't be allowed, anywhere, ever.

 

[asr10user]

Hmm so I sold my Phantom Pro 3 and have a Mavic on the way.... Looks like the Mavic really did get crippled..... When I was selling my P3P, a few people said they owned P4/P4P's and wanted to go back to the 3 due to its old firmware. I'm guessing the Mavic is the same.

 

[gyurko]

I'm missing something. I'm not sure why, but I occasionally read these forums and I see all of these discussions about how DJI is doing this and that, and how the Mavics and Phantoms aren't able to be used the way they originally were, and so on.
I've been building and flying RC stuff for a few decades, and fly FPV racing drones for a couple years. I bought a Mavic to take to Hawaii last winter, and just got back from two weeks in Europe where I flew the Mavic many times a day. I have 37 hours flight time on the Mavic (not a scratch on it, original props). The images and video I have captured with it are absolutely amazing. Without it, it would be just your typical digital pictures. Seeing a small walled city in Italy from the air is breathtaking.
My point is that I have never once had an issue with the DJI app telling me that I can't fly or it's going to impose any sort of flying limitation. I always make sure that I don't fly irresponsibly or do something stupid like flying around the Eiffel Tower, but that's just common sense.
Could someone explain why there's so much discussion about DJI's business ethics and making it seem like they bought a useless product?
Serous question, do you guys spend more time posting on forums or flying?

 

[FlyGuy8675309]

Question - Are you OK with corporations taking over law enforcement? A major precedence is being set with the DJI mindset and shouldn't be allowed, anywhere, ever.

You either have a rip in your tinfoil hat or you need to start breaking the Prozac in half.

 

[Doecliff]

I get that people don't like the idea of DJI having a say in how you operate your drone that is your property but I feel the same way as gyurko. My mavic has worked pretty much flawlessly and I am very satisfied with it despite the annoying firmware updates. I don't like that DJI has that control over my mavic but I think a lot of it is perceived rather than real. What I don't like more is that DJI is the biggest consumer drone company and they don't have a lot of competition. Competition is a good thing and DJI gets away with some of the things they do because they don't have any competition. I believe they will still be around in 2 years but hopefully some of these other companies will start to have an effect on their bottom line. I would love to see Yuneec or another company be a serious challenge to them.