Well my MA2 took a swim....now I need to decide when to use refresh.

[Billbrown1982]

Open and shut case - I got too adventurous with the drone in auto follow while attempting to have a romantic row boat ride with my misses. Managed to get the boat in a spot of bother and by the time i'd got us out of the weeds I forgot to look at the drone, which flew straight into a tree and then landed upside down in the lake.

After retrieval (maybe 5-10 minutes) the drone was still active, although the gimble was having absoloute fits.

Turned it all off and have left it to dry for quite a few days, we were glamping at the time so didn't have any facilities to try and dry it out better, but thats just sods law. The battery kept trying to switch itself back on, and the LED indicators were...flashing/glowing almost in a weird i'm shorting out kind of way, so that got left outside for the rest of the day, when I retrieved it in the evening it was off, and one push of the button showed its current 1 light of charge, so I thought it had survived.

Cut to today and I finally decided to fire it up again, the drone SEEMS ok, no obvious errors and the gimble is behaving. Not flown it yet mind. The battery however seems kinda broken. The button does nothing at all, I've stuck it on charge in a lipo bag just incase, and it appears to be charging normally but I took it off briefly at about half charge and the button still isn't doing anything, so I'm guessing there's a problem in there somewhere.

The question I'm now left with is, I have refresh running for another 6 months or so. Do I get it changed out now, or, do I just fly with my 2 remaining batteries and see how it goes for a while, then use refresh closer to the end of the year. Which means should I have any more incidents or get a little bit too close to those tree branches, it won't matter as much.

Although...can I trust the drone now that its not going to just fall out of the sky one day due to some kind of internal water/corrosion or something? It wasn't salt water...so there's that at least.

Thoughts guys?

 

[dirkclod]

Been flying my M2P after a brief dunking over a year . Did mess up the battery [ swells when hot] but after drying it out with compressed air , using electronic cleaner and setting for a month I still fly it a lot with no issues. It could drop tomorrow. Is a chance I take .I fly only
over water or timber land so no issue there. Would I fly it anywhere
else...no.
Yours could fly fine then just drop. Do ya feel lucky, well do ya ?
Now say you take that chance and it does drop...in deep water where
you have nothing to return. Again, do ya feel lucky. ?‍
I didn’t have refresh so I had no choice, you do. Return it.
JMO

 

[vindibona1]

It's kind of a tough call. With the refresh program lasting only 6 months you might fly it until winter slows you down then send it in. The thing is, if you don't use the refresh program in the time period the money you paid for it goes away. I don't know what happens internally at DJI, but I have to wonder if you send it in without visible damage how they'll handle it?

 

[Tony McDrone]

DJI will know it has been damaged by water once they open it up. There is a dye inside of the drone that turns pink when it has made contact with water. They will see it immediately.

I'm not so sure that I would trust the battery again, but it depends on where you are flying and your risk tolerance. I've had a Phantom survive a swim in the pool, but the battery ended up not surviving.

If you're going to send it in for the refresh program, make sure to include the battery. Maybe they will replace it also, if not, they return it with your new drone.

 

[Thomas B]

Send it in and use the Refresh. DJI will tell you what they want you to send.

 

[Billbrown1982]

Looks like a fair consensus then. I've just taken the battery off charge and it still won't turn on on anything. According to the small print, refresh covers the drone, a battery and also the props (which I shredded quite nicely) so I guess it makes sense to just send it all in now and then fly a bit more carefully in the future eh!?

Cheers all

 

[lannes]

Every time you fly from now on there is a chance you'll have a fly away due to corrosion and have to forfeit the refresh without an AC.
I'd do the refresh now for peace of mind.

 

[GadgetGuy]

Every time you fly from now on there is a chance you'll have a fly away due to corrosion and have to forfeit the refresh without an AC.
I'd do the refresh now for peace of mind.

Far more likely a crash than a fly away. Very few true fly aways are actually possible. Home point recording Is unlikly to be affected, but the ability to complete RTH may be affected by a crash. Same answer, though. I'd do the refresh now, too, for peace of mind, especially since they will also replace the known dead battery in the process.

 

[hiflyer201]

You wouldn't drive a wreck if you had insurance would you? just my thought

 

[Billbrown1982]

Yeah I booked it in last night guys, so just waiting for the returns label etc.

I might skin the new one too...seeing as I tried to remove my phantomrain jacket thing and its so brittle that it just came off in chunks lol

 

[careless]

I agree with hiflyer201 if you have refresh send it in or you'll never be satisfied and if the answer is No at least you'll be out of the weeds again.

 

[dirkclod]

I agree with hiflyer201 if you have refresh send it in or you'll never be satisfied and if the answer is No at least you'll be out of the weeds again.

Must have missed the post above yours he is.

 

[mavicn00b]

DJI will first assess the issue via flight logs to determine if it was a product fault, or "Pilot error". From there they generate a quote which they send you sometimes neglecting to check if you have care refresh. Sometimes the repair is cheaper than a care refresh claim so better off just paying the fee but in a case of water damage, I suspect not.

 

[GadgetGuy]

DJI will first assess the issue via flight logs to determine if it was a product fault, or "Pilot error". From there they generate a quote which they send you sometimes neglecting to check if you have care refresh. Sometimes the repair is cheaper than a care refresh claim so better off just paying the fee but in a case of water damage, I suspect not.

If you have Refresh, they now have an Express Refresh option for replacement, which completely skips the assessment process, and immediately replaces your aircraft, precluding the need to create a repair invoice first. Unless you have strong reason to suspect a true warranty issue that caused the crash, best to exercise the Express Refresh and be done with it!

 

[mavicn00b]

If you have Refresh, they now have an Express Refresh option for replacement, which completely skips the assessment process, and immediately replaces your aircraft, precluding the need to create a repair invoice first. Unless you have strong reason to suspect a true warranty issue that caused the crash, best to exercise the Express Refresh and be done with it!

In that case yes best to exercise this option and get it replaced, no good flying a drone that may go down at any time. Remember with care-refresh you need to be able to retrieve the drone and if it goes down in an area not easily accessible (e.g. middle of the ocean) your up for the cost of a new drone as care-refresh doesnt cover you for obvious reasons.

 

[Mazdaman323lx]

I drowned my MA-2 and got a new unit , well looked new , all the same stickers and plastic protectors as the original and got a new battery also. Couldnt tell if it was a refurb or not . I was very happy with the refresh .

 

[In The Zone]

I didn't get the DJI refresh because if you don't recover your drone they won't replace it. I made a bunch of calls to insurance companies and found State Farm offers drone insurance. They ensured my Mavic Air 2 replacement cost $988.00 for $75.00 for a year no questions asked and you don't have to recover your drone to get it replaced.

 

[mavicn00b]

Statefarm insurance is locality based and not everyone can get it

 

[Jan Smith]

I am a retired State Farm agent, and that is not correct. State Farm is licensed in most states. I have my MA2 insured with them, and it is very reasonable. You can find out where they offer coverage at Find Insurance Agents By State - State Farm® Insurance

 

[DanMan32]

I think what he meant is SF might not insure the drone as personal property insurance in some states.

Of course the denial to insure could simply be the agent's interpretation of SF policy and not policy of SF themselves.