Folks: I have read alot about dji drones that are "bound" but are up for sale from a third party that has no link to the person that originally bound the unit. Often a "seldom used" unit can be had for 1/3 the price of new. So there is a real temptation, although buyiing used can frequently have issues. Aside from any mechanical problems, the big issue seems to be purchasing a unit that is bound to the account of the previous owner.
I contacted DJI on this and after we got past the "why don't you buy a new one" commentary, they advised if I supplied proof of purchase and they were satisfied the unit had not been part of a flyaway insurance claim or reported stolen, they could reach out to the previous owner and request that they unbind the unit. However, this is completely voluntary by the original owner. If they refuse, DJI says there is nothing they can do. This seems rather odd.
I should stipulate if I was going down this road, I would only purchase a drone which includes the controller it is bound to.
So after reading many threads on this, I now understand:
I contacted DJI on this and after we got past the "why don't you buy a new one" commentary, they advised if I supplied proof of purchase and they were satisfied the unit had not been part of a flyaway insurance claim or reported stolen, they could reach out to the previous owner and request that they unbind the unit. However, this is completely voluntary by the original owner. If they refuse, DJI says there is nothing they can do. This seems rather odd.
I should stipulate if I was going down this road, I would only purchase a drone which includes the controller it is bound to.
So after reading many threads on this, I now understand:
- If the drone and contoller are bound to each other, it is possible to fly the drone with no restrictions other than not being able to retreive any flight data. Correct?
- It seems to me if one is using a RC controller with the built in screen (no mobile phone connected), and that controller is bound to the drone there should be no issues to fly other than the inability to access flight data.Right?
- In this scenario is one able to connect the controller to wifi to perform undates?
- Is it the same for controllers where your mobile phone is connected with the Fly App installed as the Fly App in your mobile would be a different login? As in #3, will you be able to update the Fly App and still connect to and fly the drone?
- It would seem to me in either of the above cases, if the owner that bound the account logs out of the Fly App, then that renders everything useless and you are left with "dust' collectors. Correct?