Random eBay purchasing like Russian roulette ?

[Scubakev]

I have a Mini 1 that works fine,
BUT I left the controller in a taxi or hotel when I was in Thailand.
Wanting to use while I was there, I found there are many DJI / OEM shops, so I stopped in for assistance expecting to purchase a replacement remote for the drone and be on my way.

After spending most of the day in the waiting area, that was not the case.

After many pairing attempts and even updating the firmware, they were unsuccessful at creating a working pair.

So… where do I go ?
I have reservations about purchasing random mini 1 controllers off eBay…. will it be like playing Russian roulette with will it work or not, and end up wasting a bunch of time & money with no better guarantee of success ?

 

[MAVE (Little bird)]

Not a mini, I needed a controller for a spark. Bought one on eBay without any problems. Worked find.
Good luck.

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

I bought spare MavicMini controllers via ebay, no problems here.
Besides if your ebay has the same T&C as here, then something sold in the "used" condition category MUST work as intended otherwise it can become a "not as described" return at the seller's expense and a full refund given.
The one concern I would have now is the binding associated with care-refresh/flyaway insurance but I do not think that that binding relates to the Mini SE, same controller? But, just in case, check that any such binding has been severed.
It was not an applicable concern when I bought mine.

 

[LoudThunder]

I have a Mini 1 that works fine,
BUT I left the controller in a taxi or hotel when I was in Thailand.
Wanting to use while I was there, I found there are many DJI / OEM shops, so I stopped in for assistance expecting to purchase a replacement remote for the drone and be on my way.

After spending most of the day in the waiting area, that was not the case.

Your Mini was made for the US Market… And you are not the first to experience problems with cross continental mixes and matches… Other folk have also had this issue. There are hardware and firmware difference to meet local laws… Take the Japanese Mini 2 battery, it's much smaller and with the Japanese Mini 2 in the air, it weighs less than 200 grams… Japan also requires Remote ID already, so there might be just a firmware update or even different guts… And just as cell phones from the US do not work in some other countries, the DJI Drones may transmit on different frequencies in other countries…

If you need more information, I suggest you contact DJI Support directly.

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

Sorry it did not occurs to me that you might be buying outside the USA.
There are two controller types, CE - model number MR1SD25 & the FCC version, model number MR1SS5. They are not interchangable, you MUST buy the the correct sort for your drone.

 

[mark.pinskey]

Your Mini was made for the US Market… And you are not the first to experience problems with cross continental mixes and matches… Other folk have also had this issue. There are hardware and firmware difference to meet local laws… Take the Japanese Mini 2 battery, it's much smaller and with the Japanese Mini 2 in the air, it weighs less than 200 grams… Japan also requires Remote ID already, so there might be just a firmware update or even different guts… And just as cell phones from the US do not work in some other countries, the DJI Drones may transmit on different frequencies in other countries…

If you need more information, I suggest you contact DJI Support directly.

So very true….