Should I keep this drone?

[kenjiru]

Hello guys, I just bought a used DJI Mini 2 Fly More Combo for 400 euros from Amazon. The previous owner left the Micro SD card inside, so I've noticed 2 things:
* the drone was first used around December 2020
* the drone was flown for around 20 times between December 2020 and October 2021, unless the previous owner had flown it without taking pictures or videos

I was expecting this drone to be an Amazon Warehouse deal and did not pay attention that it actually came from the Amazon Marketplace. So the drone is much older than I was expecting it to be.

Even though the drone doesn't seem to have any physical damage, I'm concerned that the batteries might be degraded. I don't know how many cycles the batteries are rated for. Is there a way to get some extra information about the batteries, like how many cycles they have been charged or something similar?

Another concern is that this might be the first revision of the drone and newer revisions might have some improvements. I didn't do any research about this topic yet.

I have a few days to consider if I keep it or get a newer drone. So what do you guys think?

 

[Mikero]

It is possible to check the battery status on the App. The user manual shows this.

 

[GadgetGuy]

Hello guys, I just bought a used DJI Mini 2 Fly More Combo for 400 euros from Amazon. The previous owner left the Micro SD card inside, so I've noticed 2 things:
* the drone was first used around December 2020
* the drone was flown for around 20 times between December 2020 and October 2021, unless the previous owner had flown it without taking pictures or videos

I was expecting this drone to be an Amazon Warehouse deal and did not pay attention that it actually comes from the Amazon Marketplace. So the drone is much older than I was expecting it to be.

Even though the drone doesn't seem to have any physical damage, I'm concerned that the batteries might be degraded. I don't know how many cycles the batteries are rated for. Is there a way to get some extra information about the batteries, like how many cycles they have been charged or something similar?

Another concern is that this might be the first revision of the drone and newer revisions might have some improvements. I didn't do any research about this topic yet.

I have a few days to consider if I keep it or get a newer drone. So what do you guys think?

Only other consideration would be getting the Mini 3 Pro instead. It's state of the art!

 

[old man mavic]

@kenjiru the main issues you have, are the fact that you dont know how the drone,or the batteries have been used or stored since 2020 ,and you might end up having to replace the batteries if they are compromised ,then the price you paid would be negated by the extra cost of such replacements,
personally when it comes to drones, i would rather start with a new product ,so i know how it has been looked after,but thats just me

 

[Phantomrain.org]

20 Flights is not bad and makes sense for most hobbyist. If the Batteries are not swollen and charge all the lights, your ahead of the game, sometime batteries are hit and miss...

I would just squeeze your new purchase like an orange and see what you get from it. I think you will be surprised you got a good deal, including the SD Card.

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly your Mini 2 in the Rain. Land on the Water.

 

[FLDave]

You don't know if you can even register it with DJI, unless you did already and then there may be an issue returning it. it's already used for more than 1.5 years according to the SD card data.
Personally, I would not buy someone else's unknown problem If you don't have any problems for the next 2 years then fine; if your do then it's 400 euros waisted.
My suggestion: return it while you can.
Next time, ask the buyer lots and lots of questions before you make a purchase.

 

[GFields]

Hello guys, I just bought a used DJI Mini 2 Fly More Combo for 400 euros from Amazon. The previous owner left the Micro SD card inside, so I've noticed 2 things:
* the drone was first used around December 2020
* the drone was flown for around 20 times between December 2020 and October 2021, unless the previous owner had flown it without taking pictures or videos

I was expecting this drone to be an Amazon Warehouse deal and did not pay attention that it actually came from the Amazon Marketplace. So the drone is much older than I was expecting it to be.

Even though the drone doesn't seem to have any physical damage, I'm concerned that the batteries might be degraded. I don't know how many cycles the batteries are rated for. Is there a way to get some extra information about the batteries, like how many cycles they have been charged or something similar?

Another concern is that this might be the first revision of the drone and newer revisions might have some improvements. I didn't do any research about this topic yet.

I have a few days to consider if I keep it or get a newer drone. So what do you guys think?

Greetings from Birmingham Alabama, welcome to the forum!

If it were me, and just saying. I would send it back for a new unit. But that's just me.

 

[kenjiru]

It is possible to check the battery status on the App. The user manual shows this.

Thanks Mikero, I missed this in the settings menu. I've just checked and all the batteries had 6 charge cycles when I received the drone.

After I did a firmware update to the drone, one of the batteries failed to update correctly. The update got stuck at 70% and then failed. This issue I managed to solve today by reapplying the update using "DJI Assistant 2(Consumer Drones Series)".

All batteries indicate a voltage of 8.55V when fully charged.

 

[Jdrone]

6 charge cycles - you'll easily run the 3 batteries each time you take it out (18-20 minutes per battery typical flight time), probably was only flown half dozen times= very lightly used batteries, voltage is good, my mini 2 batteries have north of 80 cycles each and going strong. I don't believe you can purchase the refresh on a used item...

 

[Dronut]

The app will tell you how many charging cycles the batteries have done. I've had my Mini2 for a year and I've got over 200 cycles on each of my three batteries. I have used the Litchi app for the last seven months and it says all my batteries are still at a 100% lifespan and I can still get over 20 minutes flying with each one. I can't remember if the DJIFly app gives the same lifespan info.

 

[Rustynutzz]

I purchased mine under similar circumstances and decided to keep it. And you can purchase the DJI refresh care on it. I just purchased it for mine. Here's the directions

https://repair.dji.com/en/djicare/c...9c8efe40878a39d4887&from=dap_unique&pm=custom

 

[Bob in Savannah]

I was kind of in a similar situation when I just purchased the mini 2... Should I have gone with the mini 3?? No.. The I don't think so... I previously owned the Mavic pro 4 years ago and sold it and now back in the hobby... I will spend my money on the tripltek 8 pro, I think and then in the new year try and get the Mavic 3. I'll be able to use that tablet with the Mavic 3 and since it needs a screen that's what I'll be doing... Currently only have a Samsung fold 3 which is working perfectly except that it's kind of dark in the sun and it's also quite the fragile phone... I need a dedicated device so the tripltek 8 pro fills that void. Thanks for listening to me tell you my plans... Lol