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Mavic 2 Pro (or Zoom) *.DAT Files

At this point I was done with emails. I asked to speak with a supervisor. Supervisor echoed DJI position; It’s a non-warranty repair and could not confirm that DJI would also fix the missing data file issue. I then asked to speak to his boss. He elevated it and I got a call from a manager in China (according to my caller ID). All he did was reinforce DJI’s position that the drone was damaged and that now because DJI believed it had been opened and tampered with so the warranty was VOID, the matter was final, no further discussion.

I hung up and immediately place a call to Amazon (from whom I’d purchased everything) and explained what DJI was claiming, that the unit had been opened and tampered with and that I’d never opened and tamper with the drone. Also, the 12 month warranty, according to DJI, was now void. Several things I can think could have happened are; 1. DJI was wrong in their assessment or got my drone mixed up with another drone that was sent in for repair (either way DJI Voided the warranty for my serial number) or 2. the unit was a used/returned system to start with and that the retail (Amazon) vendor (a DJI Authorized retailer) had supplied it to Amazon as a new item. Amazon agreed to except all the original purchase items/accessories for a refund. THANKS AMAZON.

Contacted DJI and told them I did NOT want any repair work to be done and to ship my drone and controller back to me. Two weeks later and more emails and phone calls "Where is my drone" it finally showed up.
 
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My final Resolution:

I decided not to exercise my Care Refresh agreement with DJI for multiple reasons:

  • After getting DJI’s final decision, I was able to work out an equitable solution with Amazon to return my original purchase items.
  • DJI Care Refresh cannot be transferred from damaged unit to new unit, unless the original purchase was made through the DJI web store and it is executed within 14 days of the original purchase (see DJI web site for Care Refresh transfer).
  • I did not want to PAY out of my pocket for something I did not do and believed DJI should have fix under warranty.
  • Replacement Care Refresh units will be in new or like-new condition in terms of performance and reliability. Figure I’d end up with like-new replacement unit. Have read of some comments describing problems of the replacement system that makes me uneasy of the like-new units. Plus $119 out of my pocket for something I think should be a warranty repair.
 
The Grand Finale:

I did buy another DJI Mavic 2 Pro from Amazon but not form the same DJI authorized Amazon vendor. I think DJI has one of the best products on the market. Just wish there was more competition.

NOTE: The new Mavic 2 Pro will not record the *.DAT files either. Just going to except that. Hope I never need them.


Keep in mind Our Responsibility as Drone Pilots, is to maintain and operate our equipment in a safe manner, Free from Defects and/or Damage whether you fly for Recreational Fun or as a business activity. Going forward the actions of flying my drone, now that DJI certified factory repair service technicians were on record as having said it was defective, would have been irresponsible on my part and asking for potential trouble in the future. If there were to be an accident, there is a clear paper trail to bring into question the flight worthiness of that drone (not the Gimbal Axis Arm Module (Pro) repair, the tampered with claim) . Therefore, if Amazon and I had not reached a satisfactory agreement (Thank You Amazon) AND as much as it would pain me to give into DJI, I would have exercised my Care Refresh plan to assure I was flying/operating a DJI certified “Safe to Fly” drone.
 
Before shipping back to Amazon, took some time to closely look over the drone for any sign of Obvious Physical Damage. I could not find anything. Especially if it were Obvious.

image1a.jpeg
 
Inspected all the folding motor arms, nothing. I had not crashed it so there had better not be any damage.

image4a.jpeg
 
Here are some pictures of the camera and gimbal. I could not find any Obvious damage as DJI claimed. Upon power up, camera went through its quick calibration successfully before hearing the beeps and was stable. Even picking it up and moving it around the camera/gimbal did as I'd expect it to do. Like I said had 47 flights on it without any noticeable problems.

image2c.jpeg
 
I've seen some examples that folks have posted after a crash and the spacing where the camera and gimbal meet shows an enlarged spacing where the gimbal yoke has been bent/damaged

image4c.jpeg
 
Old drone in Gray before boxing up image2d.jpegand NEW drone already with skin of red and ready for maiden flight
 
The drone had to be LINKED back with the controller when I powered it up but worked just fine. Great live video on my iPad from the camera. Like I said, the camera gimbal went through its start up procedural rotations without incident.

I could not see any "Obvious Damage" upon inspection. I could not really see the gimbal ribbon cable so one would think if that were damaged the gimbal would be having issues and maybe throwing errors.

By reading this maybe you will have a better understanding of what you may encounter trying to get your drone serviced.

The ordeal is over, I'm back to flying and enjoying every second of it.
 
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NOTE: The new Mavic 2 Pro will not record the *.DAT files either. Just going to except that. Hope I never need them.

so, just get any other device, other phone of tablet. do a total erase - to the factory settings, then install go4 app from scratch. it is really not the drone that deals with those files.
use an android device if you have it to check. dunno how to help you, but, it is not the norm and it simply has nothing to do with the drone itself.
 
Tested with an Android device, same (no Files) result.
when you set GO4 options for local photos and video cache to on - does it save those jpg and video files on the android directories?
here is what you are supposed to see in the android directory tree. i use SD card mounted as a part of the internal storage, so it has whole cache.
DJI_RECORD directory has all the mp4 files. DJI_Album has JPGs.
FlightRecord has text, under it it shows where .DAT files are supposed to be.
If you will run android device with no SD card - it all should like as the shot below, as all will be stored internally, under DJI core folder.
like i said before - before the experiment, wipe device clean, check that no directory structure for 'dji.go.v4' exists. then install GO4 app, give it all requested privileges to access the filesystem and devices, and try to connect to the drone. if you have SD card and can map it as an internal storage and transfer all data to it during mount - do it. that way you can always pull card out - while device is turned off !!! - and see what i see below, in the card reader view.

78712
 
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Tested with an Android device, same (no Files) result.

This discussion reminds of another issue that has come up before - the entire process seems somewhat sensitive to the aircraft SD card. Have all your tests been done with the same card? If so, you might want to reformat it and/or try a test flight with no card in the aircraft.
 
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This discussion reminds of another issue that has come up before - the entire process seems somewhat sensitive to the aircraft SD card. Have all your tests been done with the same card? If so, you might want to reformat it and/or try a test flight with no card in the aircraft.
or without sd card in drone at all. it is very odd, but, it seems this situation is not unique as several people reported this, but, no one could reproduce it.
 
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