To buy or not to buy Mavic 4 pro

[CraigVMN]

I have an opportunity to buy a Mavic 4 pro bundle with the extra batteries & all, never flown. The person selling it bought it from Ebay, and it was sent from South Korea. He said DJI won't honor the warranty, nor sell him a Care Refresh since we're in the states.

My concern is no warranty, and what if I need to buy parts if something breaks. Also, will there come a time in the near future when the drone will be rendered useless because of the ban?

It's a good price and I would love to have it, but...

 

[Cafguy]

will there come a time in the near future when the drone will be rendered useless because of the ban?

If it will fly now it will fly in the future BUT regulations change all the time. are you planning on getting your part 107?

what if I need to buy parts if something breaks.

That's a good question but parts wont be available for quite some time from now. DJI is going to make getting OEM parts on the secondary market tougher in the future so there is no telling when or if you will find parts for that model and how easy it will actually be to get them.
I would love a new PRO 4 myself but no warranty and no care refresh would be a deal killer for me.

 

[mavic3usa]

I have an opportunity to buy a Mavic 4 pro bundle with the extra batteries & all, never flown. The person selling it bought it from Ebay, and it was sent from South Korea. He said DJI won't honor the warranty, nor sell him a Care Refresh since we're in the states.

Your potential new drone has a South Korean warranty so don't plan to use it effectively from the US. Same with the Care Refresh, you'll need a South Korean/regional address to activate it. DJI says both the warranty and the Care Refresh must originate from the country where the drone was originally purchased.

 

[GadgetGuy]

I have an opportunity to buy a Mavic 4 pro bundle with the extra batteries & all, never flown. The person selling it bought it from Ebay, and it was sent from South Korea. He said DJI won't honor the warranty, nor sell him a Care Refresh since we're in the states.

My concern is no warranty, and what if I need to buy parts if something breaks. Also, will there come a time in the near future when the drone will be rendered useless because of the ban?

It's a good price and I would love to have it, but...

Buy it.

Parts availability is completely irrelevant.
DJI does not repair drones any more.
They replace them with brand new so called "Refurbished " stock.
As long as Refurbished units are available in Canada, you are golden.
Same risk everyone buying one from Adorama or Canada is assuming in that respect. We are all dependent upon Refurbs sourced from DJI Canada by DJI USA.

If you call DJI USA, they will tell you that they will service and support your new acquisition, but you will have to pay for all repair bills regardless of whether otherwise covered under warranty or not. You will then receive a refurbished replacement sourced from DJI Canada, which likely will actually have a warranty because all the Canadian DJI drones have warrantees facilitated by DJI USA.

Bottom line, warranty issues requiring use of a warranty are few and far between, so consider the discounted price as sufficient to be able to pay out of pocket for any unlikely needed warranty repairs through DJI USA, and then receive a new refurbished one from Canada that will likely have a warranty.

 

[akdrone]

Or check to see if you can get something like State Farm insurance on it which is what I did. I would probably only use that in the case of complete destruction/loss but for a gimble repair or some such thing I'm willing to cough up the cost of repair. Mine is grey market also. It all depends on your willingess to gamble and pay for repairs if necessary.

 

[msinger]

Also, will there come a time in the near future when the drone will be rendered useless because of the ban?

Which potential ban are you referring to? I haven't heard of any bans that would render DJI drones useless.

 

[Ptrebor]

J’ai l’occasion d’acheter un pack Mavic 4 pro avec les batteries supplémentaires et tout, jamais volé. La personne qui l’a vendu l’a acheté sur Ebay, et il a été envoyé de Corée du Sud. Il a dit que DJI n’honorerait pas la garantie, ni ne lui vendrait un Care Refresh puisque nous sommes aux États-Unis.

Ce qui me préoccupe, c’est l’absence de garantie, et que se passe-t-il si je dois acheter des pièces si quelque chose se casse. De plus, y aura-t-il un moment dans un avenir proche où le drone sera rendu inutile à cause de l’interdiction ?

C’est un bon prix et j’adorerais l’avoir, mais...

I have an opportunity to buy a Mavic 4 pro bundle with the extra batteries & all, never flown. The person selling it bought it from Ebay, and it was sent from South Korea. He said DJI won't honor the warranty, nor sell him a Care Refresh since we're in the states.

My concern is no warranty, and what if I need to buy parts if something breaks. Also, will there come a time in the near future when the drone will be rendered useless because of the ban?

It's a good price and I would love to have it, but...

Ce n'est pas le temps de l'acheter, attendez que ça se calme (if) sinon ça ne vaut pas la peine d'investir tant d'argent. Achetez un Mavic 3 pro plutôt en seconde main. Et de grâce consultez DJI en chat avant de faire le pas

 

[CraigVMN]

Another thing, I can't even find a DJI web page on the drone since I'm in the US. Will I be able to update the drone & controller software?

 

[msinger]

Another thing, I can't even find a DJI web page on the drone since I'm in the US

It's available here.

If that still doesn't work, go to the DJI Store and change your location to Canada at the top, right.

 

[mavic3usa]

Will I be able to update the drone & controller software?

Yes you will be able to do so. There have already been one software update for the drone and US owners have reported successfully completing the update.

DJI releases new firmware update for Mavic 4 Pro drone

DJI has released a fresh firmware update for its flagship Mavic 4 Pro drone, bringing a wave of performance improvements and fine-tuned features.

dronedj.com

 

[CraigVMN]

The person selling it is willing to let me fire it up to make sure it's working. Will I have to register it to my account to do so?

 

[msinger]

Will I have to register it to my account to do so?

It depends on whether or not the drone was already activated.

The most important thing is to ensure the drone is unbound if you decide to buy it.

 

[CraigVMN]

It depends on whether or not the drone was already activated.

The most important thing is to ensure the drone is unbound if you decide to buy it.

Not activated

 

[msinger]

Not activated

Sure, in that case, you'll need to activate it using someone's DJI account before you can fly it.

 

[CraigVMN]

Sure, in that case, you'll need to activate it using someone's DJI account before you can fly it.

I take it with the RC2 controller, I will need wifi access?

 

[msinger]

I take it with the RC2 controller, I will need wifi access?

Yes

 

[mavic3usa]

It depends on whether or not the drone was already activated.

The most important thing is to ensure the drone is unbound if you decide to buy it.

Not activated

Sure, in that case, you'll need to activate it using someone's DJI account before you can fly it.

Please be careful and don't let someone's DJI account bind that drone and controller else if they do, they will own the drone and DJI will not unbind it regardless. Test it without binding because binding is a permanent lock that only the account holder can release willingly by persuasion or by force. Once the drone is activated it is no longer a new drone and these rules apply: Just a friendly FYI in case you didn't know, new DJI policy few days ago.

 

[CraigVMN]

Thank you everyone for the input and advice. I decided to pass on the drone. I just put videos and pics online, and no one viewing them is concerned about them lacking quality. It would have only been so I would know I had the best, thus not worth the investment and potential troubles.

 

[GadgetGuy]

Thank you everyone for the input and advice. I decided to pass on the drone. I just put videos and pics online, and no one viewing them is concerned about them lacking quality. It would have only been so I would know I had the best, thus not worth the investment and potential troubles.

Good enough is good enough. Anything more is ego. We all want the best, but most of the time, we really don't need it. LOL! Most photos and videos today are viewed on tiny cell phone screens, not a giant 65” 4K monitors, and are invariably also being shared at much lower resolution than the original. YouTube's default can be as low as 480p! The 6K of the Mavic 4 Pro is serious overkill for social media.