Some questions for anyone who has just got an Air 3 with ... or without, care refresh / binding etc.

[Yorkshire_Pud]

Basically I am asking these questions here because the drone will be new and you presumably had to activate it. I think the drone's model is irrelevant.

Qu 1) Is "binding" NOW an automatic part of the activation process?
Qu 2) What appears in the device management section of profile? If by any chance you post screen captures please mask email and serial number details.
By "binding" I mean
a) the association of the drone with the DJI account that activated the drone AND
b) the association of the controller with the drone
which might result in the drone being unusable if logged into a different DJI account and the controller being unusable with another drone plus the drone being unusable with another controller.

Qu3) was the purchase of care refresh compulsory?

Thanks.

 

[KLRSKIR]

1, The controller will come to you "bound" to the aircraft and all you will need to do is activate the aircraft which will then be linked to the DJI account. You may connect any compatible controller with any aircraft. You just need to relink the two when changing.

2. Aircraft airtime/mileage, aircraft serial number, CURRENT controller serial number and Refresh information (active/inactive).

3. Absolutely not!

 

[mavic3usa]

1, The controller will come to you "bound" to the aircraft and all you will need to do is activate the aircraft which will then be linked to the DJI account. You may connect any compatible controller with any aircraft. You just need to relink the two when changing.

Unless something has changed recently with the Air 3, the drone and the remote controller do not come to you "bound." Binding is a step the pilot will need to do manually after activation. I believe the remote controller comes paired with the drone so when you power them up, the equipment won't automatically try to connect to a different drone but instead will find your drone without you having to kick off the pairing process.

DJI Fly App Account and Device Binding/Unbinding Guide

After unboxing your new product, it is important to promptly bind it to your DJI account. Failure to do so will result in your inability to produce a DJI Care Aircraft Flyaway Report in case of a flyaway incident. To bind your aircraft and remote controller, or to perform an unbinding operation...

support.dji.com

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

1, The controller will come to you "bound" to the aircraft and all you will need to do is activate the aircraft which will then be linked to the DJI account. You may connect any compatible controller with any aircraft. You just need to relink the two when changing.

2. Aircraft airtime/mileage, aircraft serial number, CURRENT controller serial number and Refresh information (active/inactive).

3. Absolutely not!

Thanks but regarding "1," I think your " "bound" " refers the control linkage rather than the binding I mean.

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

@mavic3usa , great find with that document !

 

[old man mavic]

the most important thing to remember, when you have your drone bound to your Account is that if you sell it ,then it will not fly for a third party ,unless you unbind before you pass it on ,its an added security safegard ,and of course it also means that if it is lost, then anyone finding it ,will not be able to fly it either
it has nothing to do with pairing the RC to the drone

 

[KLRSKIR]

Thanks but regarding "1," I think your " "bound" " refers the control linkage rather than the binding I mean.

I believe you are correct. DJI did change their vernacular a year or so ago right around the time they started the streamlined activation system.

 

[stikflote]

I have just bought a new Mini3pro i had a lot of help from JockyB we Activated drone put put e mails and other stuff
in then you now bound to Account ,,then it asked if i wanted Care refresh ,
i did look at it it said buy it now but did not give out a price
i have not bought it.

The purchase of care refresh was not compulsary

the controller is not bound to drone till you start activating it

 

[Conservative Nihilist]

the most important thing to remember, when you have your drone bound to your Account is that if you sell it ,then it will not fly for a third party ,unless you unbind before you pass it on ,its an added security safegard ,and of course it also means that if it is lost, then anyone finding it ,will not be able to fly it either
it has nothing to do with pairing the RC to the drone

I'm digging up old discussions in search of reasons why a DJI Air 3 that I just bought used off eBay won't bind with the controller it was shipped with to me. I am beginning to suspect that the seller neglected to unbind the drone from their DJI account before selling it to me, with the result that the drone is bricked for now.

Short of sending the drone back for a refund, I would like to ask whether the previous owner of this drone could be asked to log into their DJI account and unbind this drone so that I can link it to its controller per DJI instructions WITHOUT having to physically post the drone to the previous owner for that unbinding process

 

[GadgetGuy]

I'm digging up old discussions in search of reasons why a DJI Air 3 that I just bought used off eBay won't bind with the controller it was shipped with to me. I am beginning to suspect that the seller neglected to unbind the drone from their DJI account before selling it to me, with the result that the drone is bricked for now.

Short of sending the drone back for a refund, I would like to ask whether the previous owner of this drone could be asked to log into their DJI account and unbind this drone so that I can link it to its controller per DJI instructions WITHOUT having to physically post the drone to the previous owner for that unbinding process

Try it yourself and see. If you own any other DJI drone already bound to your account, try unbinding that other drone yourself from your account, without access to that drone. If it works, your answer is yes. If it doesn't, the answer is no.

 

[Conservative Nihilist]

Try it yourself and see. If you own any other DJI drone already bound to your account, try unbinding that other drone yourself from your account, without access to that drone. If it works, your answer is yes. If it doesn't, the answer is no.

The only drone I've ever bought brand new was my Mini 3, so I am tempted to try this idea to see if my hopes are realistic that a drone previously bound to a DJI account can be unbound without the drone having to be present.

I can't help but wonder whether I might get locked out of using the Mini 3 if I unbind it from my DJI Fly account. I'll ponder my options as I await a response from the seller of my bricked Air 3, who I remain convinced made an honest mistake by forgetting to unbind the drone before selling it on eBay.

 

[GadgetGuy]

The only drone I've ever bought brand new was my Mini 3, so I am tempted to try this idea to see if my hopes are realistic that a drone previously bound to a DJI account can be unbound without the drone having to be present.

I can't help but wonder whether I might get locked out of using the Mini 3 if I unbind it from my DJI Fly account. I'll ponder my options as I await a response from the seller of my bricked Air 3, who I remain convinced made an honest mistake by forgetting to unbind the drone before selling it on eBay.

No worries. Whatever can be unbound can always be rebound, as long as you also have access to the drone, which you do, since you already own it. Just reverse the process. My strong suspicion, however, is that you likely need access to the drone to unbind it. Binding, of course, always requires access to the drone. It is possible, however, that unbinding does not. If you do find you can unbind yours without powering it on, so can he. If not, neither can he, and you'll need to send it back. Good luck!

 

[Droning on and on...]

I can testify from direct experience that a drone does not need to be powered up and connected to an RC, with the RC connected to the internet, to unbind a drone.

Unbinding is as simple as logging in to your DJI account from a web browser, and going through the simple process for that drone and controller (if you have CR, for flyaway coverage).

 

[GadgetGuy]

The only drone I've ever bought brand new was my Mini 3, so I am tempted to try this idea to see if my hopes are realistic that a drone previously bound to a DJI account can be unbound without the drone having to be present.

I can't help but wonder whether I might get locked out of using the Mini 3 if I unbind it from my DJI Fly account. I'll ponder my options as I await a response from the seller of my bricked Air 3, who I remain convinced made an honest mistake by forgetting to unbind the drone before selling it on eBay.

So what has happened?
Based upon @Droning on and on... 's post above, the seller should be able to unbind it from his account without the drone, IF he is truly the owner of the bound account, and merely forgot to unbind it before selling it to you. That's a very big "if."

 

[Conservative Nihilist]

So what has happened?
Based upon @Droning on and on... 's post above, the seller should be able to unbind it from his account without the drone, IF he is truly the owner of the bound account, and merely forgot to unbind it before selling it to you. That's a very big "if."

I completely forgot to update here when the problem was solved, Gadget Guy. It turned out that the drone and its controller were shipped to me with different firmware revision numbers. Having contacted the seller who sent me a screenshot to prove the drone was no longer bound to his DJI account, I knew I had to keep up my search for the real reason the drone wouldn't bind to its controller.

Finally, and after all else failed, I carried out the firmware update for the drone and its controller with some reluctance due to my perception that most if not all DJI firmware updates serve the primary purpose of further restricting DJI drones from flying in an expanding list of locations. The firmware update that stealthily removed the ability of EU residents' DJI drones to continue waypoint missions in the event of signal loss, was a further reason l delayed the firmware update until all other options had been explored.

When I did carry out the firmware update none of my dark fears were realized, and the drone swiftly linked to its controller so that I could bind it to my DJI Fly account. I checked to ensure that my Air 3's waypoint missions could continue in the event of RC signal loss, and to my profound relief, I did not suffer the same fate as EU residents in the wake of their most recent DJI firmware update.

So all told, all's well that ends well and I am having a blast flying this Air 3, which will soon commence flying waypoint missions translated from Lichi using the utility created by code-meister Wes Barris.

 

[Droning on and on...]

Finally, and after all else failed, I carried out the firmware update for the drone and its controller with some reluctance due to my perception that most if not all DJI firmware updates serve the primary purpose of further restricting DJI drones from flying in an expanding list of locations. The firmware update that stealthily removed the ability of EU residents' DJI drones to continue waypoint missions in the event of signal loss, was a further reason l delayed the firmware update until all other options had been explored.

Let's disabuse you of this notion. Restrictions on where you can fly are managed in the FlySafe database, not the aircraft firmware, which is the software code that controls the operation and function of the drone.

Updating the FSDB might result in a new location being inaccessible even if you haven't updated the firmware for many releases.

Not absolutely sure of this, but I think the "system" will force you to update the FSDB once in awhile if you haven't, completely independent from firmware version.

Occasionally some new regulatory restriction will be implemented in a firmware release because it changes some functional aspect of the drone. This is never "hidden" or secret. It's detailed in the DJI Release Notes, so you can know in advance and decide whether or not to apply the update.

The vast majority of firmware updates fix bugs, improve performance and operation, and add features. Unless there is something spelled out in the release notes that compromises your use in your locale, I strongly recommend keeping firmware up to date.