Time for goodbye to DJI?

[Meta4]

If you are running a business then you should have bought a commercial drone not a hobby recreational drone. I have no sympathy for you.

You might be surprised but the Mavic 2 pro and Phantom 4 pro are the most commonly used drones for professional drone flying.

 

[HoozierDroneDaddy]

I have a silly question: do you believe LAANC will provide you authorization to fly in a LAANC 0 grid?

Yes with prior coordination with the local FSDO and Appropriate Airport personnel, and then if you have the proper requirements as far as equipment, established safety operations, etc. etc. It happens more frequently than you think. But not by simply using ONLY a LAANC request.

 

[Phantomrain.org]

Well folks, while fun as a toy, I am finding the DJI Mavic 2 Pro and Smart Controller for actual paid work in my business to be an epic fail, I am very very close to selling it all and cutting my losses.

Up until I ordered my DJI setup in early August, I had been sub contracting out drone pilots to provide that avenue of content creation on various commercial jobs. I had refrained from getting one my self because I did not feel the image quality and still camera ability was quite up to par in the price point I was looking to spend.
A big part of the reason for getting the M2P and associated accessories *and* my P107 cert was a fairly important job that has since passed as of yesterday. Basically it was to be a series of aerial images made for a world famous architect of a both a finished building and a proposed site, the former in a 50AGL NFZ and latter in a 0 AGL NFZ that I am able to easily get LAANC approval through Skyward.

Out of 18 planned flights over a two week period, I managed to fly three batteries on two days. The rest of the time DJI’s horrendous self unlock protocols via the smart controller simply locked us out, we missed SO MANY prime time slots for getting this content it was disgusting. The client while super frustrated like I was understood and has heard from several people this is becoming a bigger issue with the newer models of DJI drones. But even though this client understood, they are not paying for what they don’t have so I am out $15,000 because of this POS toy!

I invested my time into getting my P107, learning how to fly responsibly and to do everything right and this company has done nothing but let me down. NLD says they are working on a patch that could get the FW back down to the one where I can at least apply the NFZ patch but it is still an unknown at this time.

So in the meantime, I have completely wasted my time, effort and money on this toy. I’m beyond pissed and someone is probably going to get a great deal on a M2P, SC and a bunch of accessories.

What an absolute POS company and a joke of a product.

Your pain is felt world wide, and this is where the Software for the Phantom 4 Pro from NLD still shines its guiding light .
Like it or not having the work around is the key to making the big money in the sky!

Many of us have the Phantom 4 Pro for these types of DJI money blockers.

As is everything in life , it always comes down to having the right tools for the job.

Phantomrain.org
Elite Gear to fly your Mavic in and out of the Storm.
Coal

 

[skiptv]

I don't have any problems, I have three Mavic Pro 2s. I have 270 hours of flight time, I shot for major developers and construction companies, TV shows and ad agencies, I also teach at two universities in Cali. I am in Socal so I fly in a considerable amount of airspace that needs to be unlocked. Personally I am glad they have the unlock feature as I have noticed it is thinning the herd and leaving me more work. Sorry for your issues, hey can I have the name of your client.

 

[wsalopek]

We all have our experiences and our opinions that are formed by them. I can see that you had some very frustrating and discouraging attempts at flying where you should have been allowed to fly (based on your LAANC authorization). However I am sure that looking at the big picture we can also see the other side of the story. We all want to keep the skies safe for everyone. We don't want everyone to be able to start up a drone and fly in controlled airspace, and certainly not in a zero foot grid.

So DJI imposes these limits which YES can be very frustrating and YES can sometimes prevent totally legal flights. I think what needs to happen to make this process cleaner and more foolproof is to have LAANC authorization built into GO 4. That way if you get LAANC authorization then it lets you fly. DJI is already an authorized LAANC provider so why they haven't already done this is beyond me, It just makes sense.

Until that happens, all I can say is that it just requires more planning. Instead of a self-unlock go with a custom unlock. That way you provide the documentation to DJI in advance and know for sure that your unlock is approved. Also am I reading this correctly that you performed the self-unlock procedure on-site each time? I would never depend on that. I would always do the unlock at home in advance and download the unlock file to the craft. I always try to be over-prepared. It takes a little more time and planning but I can say that I have never been locked out of a flight where I had been approved to fly.

I agree with the OP...it's complete crap that DJI has these nanny restrictions. Any law/procedure that keeps the good people from doing something because some idiots are out there doing something wrong is a BAD law/procedure. Just make the penalties for breaking a law/procedure SO large that folks would not dare cross that line...problem solved...or at least solved as best we can when dealing with an imperfect world.

 

[wsalopek]

I had the DJI M2P and couldn't fly because of Air Force Base. I request permission thru DJI website and got 100 feet altitude approve in 5 mins. I had to go into settings and change settings, then took off. It was a NFZ and wouldn't let me take off until I got permission. I told them what I was doing and why I wanted to fly and got approved right by the Air Foce Base. So evendentlly you didn't go thru there website, because If I could fly near Air Force Base, I'm sure you could get authorization. It's easy to do. The M2P isn't a toy, it is a very good camera and Drone if used right. I love it and have takin amazing photos and videos in places that I had to get permission.

If it doesn't get the job done, it's just a toy.

 

[WithTheBirds]

If it doesn't get the job done, it's just a toy.

A bad tradesman often blames his tools.

 

[Meta4]

I agree with the OP...it's complete crap that DJI has these nanny restrictions. Any law/procedure that keeps the good people from doing something because some idiots are out there doing something wrong is a BAD law/procedure.

While you are agreeing with the OP you should check what he said in post #6.

Just make the penalties for breaking a law/procedure SO large that folks would not dare cross that line...problem solved...or at least solved as best we can when dealing with an imperfect world.

There are fairly heavy penalties for murder.
So no-one is getting imprisoned for murder anymore?

 

[AntDX316]

Well folks, while fun as a toy, I am finding the DJI Mavic 2 Pro and Smart Controller for actual paid work in my business to be an epic fail, I am very very close to selling it all and cutting my losses.

Up until I ordered my DJI setup in early August, I had been sub contracting out drone pilots to provide that avenue of content creation on various commercial jobs. I had refrained from getting one my self because I did not feel the image quality and still camera ability was quite up to par in the price point I was looking to spend.
A big part of the reason for getting the M2P and associated accessories *and* my P107 cert was a fairly important job that has since passed as of yesterday. Basically it was to be a series of aerial images made for a world famous architect of a both a finished building and a proposed site, the former in a 50AGL NFZ and latter in a 0 AGL NFZ that I am able to easily get LAANC approval through Skyward.

Out of 18 planned flights over a two week period, I managed to fly three batteries on two days. The rest of the time DJI’s horrendous self unlock protocols via the smart controller simply locked us out, we missed SO MANY prime time slots for getting this content it was disgusting. The client while super frustrated like I was understood and has heard from several people this is becoming a bigger issue with the newer models of DJI drones. But even though this client understood, they are not paying for what they don’t have so I am out $15,000 because of this POS toy!

I invested my time into getting my P107, learning how to fly responsibly and to do everything right and this company has done nothing but let me down. NLD says they are working on a patch that could get the FW back down to the one where I can at least apply the NFZ patch but it is still an unknown at this time.

So in the meantime, I have completely wasted my time, effort and money on this toy. I’m beyond pissed and someone is probably going to get a great deal on a M2P, SC and a bunch of accessories.

What an absolute POS company and a joke of a product.

You were sued and the total including the drones is $15k or you could have potentially made $15k but couldn't because you couldn't get the drones in the air? If you knew the secrets before time became too late, you could've had a firmware 1.00 version with an NLD mod to disable all restrictions but if you have upgraded to .300 or higher, you cannot downgrade back to .100. You can also boost to 1.8W to extend flight range capabilities by 4x. Unfortunately, we don't live in an age where everything up to date is known and when things become too late, they become, too late.

 

[sar104]

I agree with the OP...it's complete crap that DJI has these nanny restrictions. Any law/procedure that keeps the good people from doing something because some idiots are out there doing something wrong is a BAD law/procedure. Just make the penalties for breaking a law/procedure SO large that folks would not dare cross that line...problem solved...or at least solved as best we can when dealing with an imperfect world.

The DJI geo fencing system doesn't prevent much at all - it simply requires the user to do some planning ahead when flying in certain kinds of airspace. That's generally a good thing.

 

[GadgetGuy]

You were sued and the total including the drones is $15k or you could have potentially made $15k but couldn't because you couldn't get the drones in the air? If you knew the secrets before time became too late, you could've had a firmware 1.00 version with an NLD mod to disable all restrictions but if you have upgraded to .300 or higher, you cannot downgrade back to .100. You can also boost to 1.8W to extend flight range capabilities by 4x. Unfortunately, we don't live in an age where everything up to date is known and when things become too late, they become, too late.

NLD mod on the earlier FW still cannot bypass the 500m elevation change limit on the M2.

 

[Meta4]

You were sued and the total including the drones is $15k or you could have potentially made $15k but couldn't because you couldn't get the drones in the air?

Read a little more carefully.
There's no mention of anyone being sued.

If you knew the secrets before time became too late, you could've had a ....

Read post #6
If he'd input his serial number correctly, he'd have flown the project and never started this thread.

 

[Drone on]

Well folks, while fun as a toy, I am finding the DJI Mavic 2 Pro and Smart Controller for actual paid work in my business to be an epic fail, I am very very close to selling it all and cutting my losses.

Up until I ordered my DJI setup in early August, I had been sub contracting out drone pilots to provide that avenue of content creation on various commercial jobs. I had refrained from getting one my self because I did not feel the image quality and still camera ability was quite up to par in the price point I was looking to spend.
A big part of the reason for getting the M2P and associated accessories *and* my P107 cert was a fairly important job that has since passed as of yesterday. Basically it was to be a series of aerial images made for a world famous architect of a both a finished building and a proposed site, the former in a 50AGL NFZ and latter in a 0 AGL NFZ that I am able to easily get LAANC approval through Skyward.

Out of 18 planned flights over a two week period, I managed to fly three batteries on two days. The rest of the time DJI’s horrendous self unlock protocols via the smart controller simply locked us out, we missed SO MANY prime time slots for getting this content it was disgusting. The client while super frustrated like I was understood and has heard from several people this is becoming a bigger issue with the newer models of DJI drones. But even though this client understood, they are not paying for what they don’t have so I am out $15,000 because of this POS toy!

I invested my time into getting my P107, learning how to fly responsibly and to do everything right and this company has done nothing but let me down. NLD says they are working on a patch that could get the FW back down to the one where I can at least apply the NFZ patch but it is still an unknown at this time.

So in the meantime, I have completely wasted my time, effort and money on this toy. I’m beyond pissed and someone is probably going to get a great deal on a M2P, SC and a bunch of accessories.

What an absolute POS company and a joke of a product.

Another option to consider is use an older MP1.
I have an Alpine White that has old firmware/app version. I can fly anywhere without DJI interference.
I do still abide by the laws, but DJI doesn't inject a second set.

I also have a Zoom, and do the self unlock frequently, after getting LAANC approval.
I typically use a wifi only device, so I have to hook my phone up first, then as the app states I cannot take off, I do what everybody else does, and attempt to start the Zoom. I then have to enter my registered DJI account phone number, wait a minute, get a code, enter the code and voila...unlock. I then switch back to the wifi only device (size does matter), then fly.

It can be frustrating as all get out, but once you learn how to do it, and are prepared to deal with it, the process adds another three minutes to the prep time

 

[Thomas B]

I agree with the OP...it's complete crap that DJI has these nanny restrictions. Any law/procedure that keeps the good people from doing something because some idiots are out there doing something wrong is a BAD law/procedure. Just make the penalties for breaking a law/procedure SO large that folks would not dare cross that line...problem solved...or at least solved as best we can when dealing with an imperfect world.

It has already been proven in the law enforcement arena that the penalty for getting caught has little, if any, effect on behavior while the probability of getting caught is a strong deterrent.

 

[GadgetGuy]

Another option to consider is use an older MP1.
I have an Alpine White that has old firmware/app version. I can fly anywhere without DJI interference.
I do still abide by the laws, but DJI doesn't inject a second set.

I also have a Zoom, and do the self unlock frequently, after getting LAANC approval.
I typically use a wifi only device, so I have to hook my phone up first, then as the app states I cannot take off, I do what everybody else does, and attempt to start the Zoom. I then have to enter my registered DJI account phone number, wait a minute, get a code, enter the code and voila...unlock. I then switch back to the wifi only device (size does matter), then fly.

It can be frustrating as all get out, but once you learn how to do it, and are prepared to deal with it, the process adds another three minutes to the prep time

The process also eats up 3 minutes of battery power, eating up precious flight time. If you swap batteries, does the unlock endure, or do you have to keep repeating it?

 

[Dakarenduro]

I live and fly the majority of the time in a required unlock zone. (Airport nearby) I do the manual unlock, but a 3 day unlock made in advance. Done by the dji unlock website. I believe same process as the on the spot unlock but valid for 3 days. Does not eat up any battery time. Once you figure it out it takes like 60 seconds of my time. I do it almost every week to unlock the weekend in case I decide to fly.

Once you have it downloaded to the app/RC then when you start the drone at your takeoff point you just press the 'import' button to transfer the unlock to the aircraft. I can change batteries and no need to reload.

Is it annoying? Maybe. But to me it is a small negative in relation to the long list of positives the dji drone has over its competition. I will accept the NFZ implementation since everything else (in my opinion) is far better than an equally priced competitor.

 

[WithTheBirds]

The process also eats up 3 minutes of battery power, eating up precious flight time. If you swap batteries, does the unlock endure, or do you have to keep repeating it?

How many airtime minutes does three minutes idling on the ground equate to? It would have to be less than a minute wouldn’t it?

 

[GadgetGuy]

I live and fly the majority of the time in a required unlock zone. (Airport nearby) I do the manual unlock, but a 3 day unlock made in advance. Done by the dji unlock website. I believe same process as the on the spot unlock but valid for 3 days. Does not eat up any battery time. Once you figure it out it takes like 60 seconds of my time. I do it almost every week to unlock the weekend in case I decide to fly.

Once you have it downloaded to the app/RC then when you start the drone at your takeoff point you just press the 'import' button to transfer the unlock to the aircraft. I can change batteries and no need to reload.

Is it annoying? Maybe. But to me it is a small negative in relation to the long list of positives the dji drone has over its competition. I will accept the NFZ implementation since everything else (in my opinion) is far better than an equally priced competitor.

Thanks for clarifying. Totally agree that DJI drones run circles around the competition, as long as you can get them to fly when you need them to!

 

[GadgetGuy]

How many airtime minutes does three minutes idling on the ground equate to? It would have to be less than a minute wouldn’t it?

A lost minute of flight time for me is significant. Could potentially be the difference between making it back and coming up short. However, as he explained, if the unlock survives a reboot, I have no problem swapping batteries before launching, and carrying an extra older battery around solely for purposes of warming up, acquiring GPS satellites, formatting the microSD card, calibrating the compass as needed, and doing any unlocking. I already do that now, to maximize flight time on the primary flight battery which is kept at 100% charge, by letting the first battery do all the necessary housekeeping. As long as the unlock survives any battery swap, I'm good with it!

 

[AntDX316]

Read a little more carefully.
There's no mention of anyone being sued.

Read post #6
If he'd input his serial number correctly, he'd have flown the project and never started this thread.

Kevin Hart got sued for $7M when he was creating an app with a company when some sex scandals or w/e hit the news Before it was released.