anotherlab
Well-Known Member
For doing updates? That's entirely under their control. This is separate from not being allowed to obtain FCC certification
The FCC just gave itself the power to make a DJI drone ban stick
- Thread starter Flyin&Smilin
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AnzacJack
Australian Defence Veteran
"from my cold dead hands"
looking to a National "Hand in your Drone" scheme. They'll give you a can of redbull and a bag of cheetos.
looking to a National "Hand in your Drone" scheme. They'll give you a can of redbull and a bag of cheetos.
Wreckhunter
Well-Known Member
Dont know about that,it sounds like the FCC will now have a say in almost everything.
Dave Pitman
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Last I checked, the FCC does not control the internet.
Wreckhunter
Well-Known Member
Dave Pitman
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Wreckhunter
Well-Known Member
In the electronics industry, it has been a long standing question about whether a software update requires additional FCC certification. I'm sure DJI knows how it works in the drone sector but in general, if you only make minor updates to the UI or you fix a small bug like the RTH process or you improve sometime like the camera sensors or maybe even adding a faster charging algorithm....you likely don't need to rectify. However if you make certain changes to the radio or GPS or something consequential such as RF changes, you likely need to rectify with the FCC. DJI knows the rules and they also know FCC determines those rules which ultimately means the FCC can change those rules if they want to. Remember, we are way off the rails so anything goes.
Many of you may remember this debacle last decade ago, even when the FCC was righteous. In no way am I providing this as evidence because it's not the same as what we have now (feel free to agree with me in subsequent posts) but it shows what the FCC used to be capable of and we all know how much that has changed. Never in our lifetimes had we discussed revoking FCC, yet here we are; nothing is off the table.
Way to Go, FCC. Now Manufacturers Are Locking Down Routers
At least one large manufacturer has reacted to the new rules by locking down software. And more could follow.
That being said, my personal opinion (which really doesn't matter) is there's no way DJI is performing software updates on products that has no FCC certification to begin with; that makes zero sense. You just don't continue to service products in a region where you are prohibited from operating. Not because they are blocked or because they are prohibited but because if they needed FCC for a certain change, they would be unable to gain it so the defacto block is inevitable, you don't forgo it for anyone else. For example, if the FAA says change the RID details to also include the [new parameter] exactly how is DJI supposed to do this? They can't.
DJI has already bowed out of sales, shipments, repairs, service and all that is left is support (which includes activations, troubleshooting, software updates). I can't speak to the capabilities of the DJI servers (and if they can skip US units or not) but if you are repeatedly sending over software updates to a country that has "banned" you because of your software (and hardware), that's a bit sus. Don't forget, it was the software that caused all this in the first place. Remember when DJI software was rolled out little by little to different groups or regions and if you didn't get it, just wait for it? I'm pretty sure they have complete control over their own software and we didn't predict they would bail on us before the ban....so there's that. I agree they reacted and that's what I think the ban will cause as well. A knee-jerk reaction, whatever that is. Whiplash. Painful.
Hoping for the best; preparing for the worst.
some of us saw this ban coming a year ago.
it's a snowball now...any news is bad news
be cautious with your DJI drones because you may not be able to get another, and if you do there's probably no effective warranty.
it's a snowball now...any news is bad news
be cautious with your DJI drones because you may not be able to get another, and if you do there's probably no effective warranty.
That could only be enforced by DJI itself, through a retroactive GEO reinstatement, which DJI would not likely cooperate with imposing.
When I think of this, I envision whatever is going on over Washington DC to be expanded across the country. It works. Even the YouTubers know better than to launch a drone on the Mall. Clearly it's not going to stop the criminals but it would be very effective at grounding most DJI drones without much effort. It won't be the only tool but it would be one of the tools and the government would be remiss if they skipped this method if they really wanted to ban DJI drones. I think we shouldn't assume they don't know this is an option.
anotherlab
Well-Known Member
Cue the woman saying: "that's not how it works; that's not how any of this works"
So they're going to ban all the drones that were granted FFC approval in the past, how are they going to enforce that ????
I'd assume there are at least a couple of options
make it a federal crime to fly a DJI drone although that would be difficult to enforce. But if it was a federal crime I sure wouldn't risk flying a DJI drone. Not with remote ID in place
another way might be thru the DJI Fly App. The Feds could try and compel DJI to ground their drones. Maybe a carrot/stick approach? The Feds could tell DJI that if they cooperated their might come a future date when the ban would be rescinded. One way might be too leave the requirement for logging in every 30 days (may be 90 days now) in place, but block log-ins and eventually most newer DJI drones would be limited to 30M in height and 50M in distance....effectively grounded
obviously, for older models the Litchi hacks would be an option but if the Feds are determined to shut down DJI they won't ignore Litchi.
No I think the plan is to revoke the FCC certification for specific drone models.
Doing that will trigger a number of things including but not limited to:
- Inability to gain LAANC authorization
- Inability to import product including declaring and hand-carrying product thru customs.
- Won't be able to insure with most insurance carriers
- Current owners won't be able to offer for sale within the US
- Private common carriers could refuse to handle or ship
- Gives the government the legal right to confiscate the product as contraband
I don't know how the commercial drone business works but I would imagine it would be difficult to perform jobs without certified equipment. Just like any other law or rule in this country, the law is directed to the honest, law-abiding citizens and not the criminals who won't obey. I can imagine the punishment would be pretty stiff considering where we are today with punishment so compliance with the law would be pretty good. That's the only way I know how this would be enforced. I can tell you for sure, the dozen or so drones that I own, none of them will be flown illegally by me, meaning if I own a drone which does not have FCC certification, I won't fly it in the US NAS. I can't afford that.
Wreckhunter
Well-Known Member
I may be wrong, but the Mavic 4 Pro did receive FFC approval, but the Mini 5 Pro did not ( from a posted source on this site, but I can't locate it. )
If this government does indeed ground all of our DJI Drones ( amongst others ) I would be expecting compensation from them, but would be told to pound sand.
You probably won't be compensated because you are still free to fly your drone indoors or fly it in another country (Canada or Mexico) or you can sell it to someone in another country. You still have use of your drone. However, you can seek compensation thru legal means if you feel you have been damaged.
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