My outcome was relatively positive in that DJI offered me a 30% discount on the purchase of (only) the exact same model that I lost; I took them up on it, and I'm happily flying the replacement... and so much the wiser now, though a thousand poorer!
Event Details:
--Flying over a lake, in daytime and with no video recording underway (I was on a photography mission). I was maneuvering the drone for a shot of the nearby shoreline when...
--A sudden "Aircraft Disconnected" notification appeared on the Smart Controller (in clear LOS, distance about 1 mile), with no previous indications of any trouble.
--No further connection with or response from the drone, despite trying various inputs on the SC.
--I happened to be watching the drone location when I saw a big splash, and deduced that it must have hit the water. (The drone was a couple hundred feet high when it disconnected). This occurred approximately 2 minutes after disconnection and was not a case of exhausted battery. I subsequently judged there was no possibility of retrieval.
DJI Interactions:
--As a current member of DJI Care Refresh, I submitted a claim within 1 day. The response was automated, and indicated that the next step was to send in the drone for evaluation (they emailed me a shipping label).
--I realized there was no avenue on the web site for pursuing help with a lost (fly-away) drone, even though in the "description of what happened" section of my Refresh claim I did in fact explain the details of the incident.
--After pondering and researching for few days, I called DJI Support with my claim number and explained the situation to the agent. He was polite and helpful, and recommended converting my case to a fly-away incident. I asked how to do this, and he volunteered to do it during the call.
--Within about a day I got an email from DJI Support asking for my flight log (from the SC, not the drone). They evaluated it and responded with a simple statement that no malfunctions were indicated, but that they would offer a 30% discount on a replacement. Rather than argue with them--I knew from reading this forum that 30% would be their best offer under these circumstances--I chose to accept it, and the replacement process proceeded without delay, all by email.
--My communications from DJI Support after the claim got converted to a fly-away were nothing but professional, courteous, and helpful. Through them, I learned that the replacement drone would automatically be bound to my existing Care Refresh policy for the duration of its term. I gave them a very positive satisfaction rating.
Lessons:
Lots of research on this forum led me to understand a few key points that now make me a better-informed and more confident flyer:
--Flying over water is risky, and water damage and loss claims are excluded by the Care Refresh terms.
--Aircraft Disconnects happen fairly often, especially with Smart Controllers; in my own history of flying my M2P for 6 months, I've had about 6 disconnect events, and most ended benignly, except this one.
--The "Aircraft Disconnected" problem seems to be with the DJI GO 4 app, and restarting this on the SC may lead to reconnection (I haven't been able to try this yet). In any case, here is the key point: the SC seems to still maintain a link to the drone, and the drone will respond correctly to control inputs, even though there is no feedback--better hope you can see the drone! The hard RTH button on the SC will still work, so it should save the day if this feature is set up properly.
--I believe that the loss of my drone was not due to anything I did wrong, and that the loss should qualify for full replacement. However, the Care Refresh terms are clearly stated, and I agreed to them, so I chose the glass-half-full perspective on how DJI handled this particular case. I reviewed the many successful and even joyful photography flights I had made prior to losing the drone; I rediscovered all my reasons for choosing the M2P in the first place; and I decided it was worth the $1K to me to pick myself up and keep going. Some anguish along the way, but now I'm in a good state of mind about it all, and I thought it would be worth sharing my experience with other Mavic flyers.
Event Details:
--Flying over a lake, in daytime and with no video recording underway (I was on a photography mission). I was maneuvering the drone for a shot of the nearby shoreline when...
--A sudden "Aircraft Disconnected" notification appeared on the Smart Controller (in clear LOS, distance about 1 mile), with no previous indications of any trouble.
--No further connection with or response from the drone, despite trying various inputs on the SC.
--I happened to be watching the drone location when I saw a big splash, and deduced that it must have hit the water. (The drone was a couple hundred feet high when it disconnected). This occurred approximately 2 minutes after disconnection and was not a case of exhausted battery. I subsequently judged there was no possibility of retrieval.
DJI Interactions:
--As a current member of DJI Care Refresh, I submitted a claim within 1 day. The response was automated, and indicated that the next step was to send in the drone for evaluation (they emailed me a shipping label).
--I realized there was no avenue on the web site for pursuing help with a lost (fly-away) drone, even though in the "description of what happened" section of my Refresh claim I did in fact explain the details of the incident.
--After pondering and researching for few days, I called DJI Support with my claim number and explained the situation to the agent. He was polite and helpful, and recommended converting my case to a fly-away incident. I asked how to do this, and he volunteered to do it during the call.
--Within about a day I got an email from DJI Support asking for my flight log (from the SC, not the drone). They evaluated it and responded with a simple statement that no malfunctions were indicated, but that they would offer a 30% discount on a replacement. Rather than argue with them--I knew from reading this forum that 30% would be their best offer under these circumstances--I chose to accept it, and the replacement process proceeded without delay, all by email.
--My communications from DJI Support after the claim got converted to a fly-away were nothing but professional, courteous, and helpful. Through them, I learned that the replacement drone would automatically be bound to my existing Care Refresh policy for the duration of its term. I gave them a very positive satisfaction rating.
Lessons:
Lots of research on this forum led me to understand a few key points that now make me a better-informed and more confident flyer:
--Flying over water is risky, and water damage and loss claims are excluded by the Care Refresh terms.
--Aircraft Disconnects happen fairly often, especially with Smart Controllers; in my own history of flying my M2P for 6 months, I've had about 6 disconnect events, and most ended benignly, except this one.
--The "Aircraft Disconnected" problem seems to be with the DJI GO 4 app, and restarting this on the SC may lead to reconnection (I haven't been able to try this yet). In any case, here is the key point: the SC seems to still maintain a link to the drone, and the drone will respond correctly to control inputs, even though there is no feedback--better hope you can see the drone! The hard RTH button on the SC will still work, so it should save the day if this feature is set up properly.
--I believe that the loss of my drone was not due to anything I did wrong, and that the loss should qualify for full replacement. However, the Care Refresh terms are clearly stated, and I agreed to them, so I chose the glass-half-full perspective on how DJI handled this particular case. I reviewed the many successful and even joyful photography flights I had made prior to losing the drone; I rediscovered all my reasons for choosing the M2P in the first place; and I decided it was worth the $1K to me to pick myself up and keep going. Some anguish along the way, but now I'm in a good state of mind about it all, and I thought it would be worth sharing my experience with other Mavic flyers.
