Will DJI end the world as we know it with their latest Firmware?

[heo3480]

Here are my thoughts on this!

 

[gavcuk]

Probably better the industry shows a degree of self regulation or governments will see it as something they have to increase.

Lots of scaremongering over this. I suspect it's nothing to be afraid of unless you are paranoid.

 

[Former Member]

Thanks for making a video if this so I could listen and not have to read. My eyes are tired of reading the other 11 page thread.

 

[geigy]

Relax. It's going to be fine. DJI won't end the world as we know it. They love us. They want us to be happy because we give them all their money.

 

[Ender]

Relax. It's going to be fine. DJI won't end the world as we know it. They love us. They want us to be happy because we give them all their money.

Nope, they are money hungry control freaks BUT as the money comes from us there is hope they wont ruin it all

Ender

 

[ge0kas]

These are the results of Monopoly

 

[Nikon1]

Henrik - Thank you for being a voice of reason in the cacophony of paranoia that seems to be letting louder and louder in the world of DJI Flying.

 

[Former Member]

These are the results of Monopoly

Good point. Im trying to figure out how DJI looks at it's customer base, and yes it is a monopoly, but I never really let that bother me because I so enjoy their products, and Im willing to put up with it. Since it is a business and has no governing ability (yet), I guess it couldnt be referred to as a tyranny. Sometimes I feel like they are trying to cram something down my throat, sell me on something they cant provide, tell me Im crazy when it is they who are misinformed, or they simply dont comply with a normal code of ethical business behavior.

To address the title of this post, "Will DJI end the world as we know it with their latest Firmware?", the answer for me is a foregone conclusion. My world was forever ended as I knew it when I bought my first DJI product, because I then entered DJI's world, an uncharted territory where no business rules apply. This was a both positive and negative experience, and my world will never be the same. My first DJI product was the best and most enjoyable RC product I have ever owned, and I have had hundreds of land, sea and air based RC. DJI has great hardware, integrated approach to FPV, able to use your own device, and then came the Mavic and that just blew me away again.

On the downside, DJI treats their customers as if we are a burden to them, we are their slaves, test dummies and guinea pigs, and yes they will cover something under a warranty, but then we have to wait 6 weeks to get it back, and what we get back might be a refurb. The fact that they will sell 600,000 drones in the USA alone this year, and only have 1 repair facility on the west coast, means they dont provide adequate care to post-sales problems. 6-8 week wait times for a repair is unfathomable in any other industry, especially the RC community. Compounding that problem is the shortage of OEM parts availability for their products, which angers me to no end. Ok, we get it. DJI wants to do your repair. Then dont make us wait 2 months to get our drone back, and have horrible communication during the whole process, and then copout with an explanation of, "Sorry parts shortage, please wait a few more weeks" or "Sorry we are moving our facility, please wait a few more weeks for your repair to be complete."

There are and have been many monopolies out there. Back in the day, Ford was one for example, but you could always buy parts for a Model A, and you didnt have to bring it to Henry to get it fixed. These days it's the telecommunications providers. When I moved into my home, I was given the choice of Comcast or Comcast. No choice at all. But as abysmal Comcast is and was to deal with according to millions of their subscribers, DJI takes the prize for cavalier attitude, inept, untrained, ignorant customer service and organization.

This software might be the end of one world and the beginning of a new world for many of us drone owners, but my hope with the new Spark is that parts will be immediately available, repair times will only be 1-2 weeks, and they will deliver on schedule. (note to self: keep dreaming TD)

Hopefully, all the data that DJI plans to collect and make available to the government will be used very discretely, but as has been pointed out before, China is a communist country and DJI has to bend to the governments authority. I guess they are so used to bending to their governments authority that doing it for US authorities is just another day at DJI.

Rant over.

 

[darren6270]

Good point. Im trying to figure out how DJI looks at it's customer base, and yes it is a monopoly, but I never really let that bother me because I so enjoy their products, and Im willing to put up with it. Since it is a business and has no governing ability (yet), I guess it couldnt be referred to as a tyranny. Sometimes I feel like they are trying to cram something down my throat, sell me on something they cant provide, tell me Im crazy when it is they who are misinformed, or they simply dont comply with a normal code of ethical business behavior.

To address the title of this post, "Will DJI end the world as we know it with their latest Firmware?", the answer for me is a foregone conclusion. My world was forever ended as I knew it when I bought my first DJI product, because I then entered DJI's world, an uncharted territory where no business rules apply. This was a both positive and negative experience, and my world will never be the same. My first DJI product was the best and most enjoyable RC product I have ever owned, and I have had hundreds of land, sea and air based RC. DJI has great hardware, integrated approach to FPV, able to use your own device, and then came the Mavic and that just blew me away again.

On the downside, DJI treats their customers as if we are a burden to them, we are their slaves, test dummies and guinea pigs, and yes they will cover something under a warranty, but then we have to wait 6 weeks to get it back, and what we get back might be a refurb. The fact that they will sell 600,000 drones in the USA alone this year, and only have 1 repair facility on the west coast, means they dont provide adequate care to post-sales problems. 6-8 week wait times for a repair is unfathomable in any other industry, especially the RC community. Compounding that problem is the shortage of OEM parts availability for their products, which angers me to no end. Ok, we get it. DJI wants to do your repair. Then dont make us wait 2 months to get our drone back, and have horrible communication during the whole process, and then copout with an explanation of, "Sorry parts shortage, please wait a few more weeks" or "Sorry we are moving our facility, please wait a few more weeks for your repair to be complete."

There are and have been many monopolies out there. Back in the day, Ford was one for example, but you could always buy parts for a Model A, and you didnt have to bring it to Henry to get it fixed. These days it's the telecommunications providers. When I moved into my home, I was given the choice of Comcast or Comcast. No choice at all. But as abysmal Comcast is and was to deal with according to millions of their subscribers, DJI takes the prize for cavalier attitude, inept, untrained, ignorant customer service and organization.

This software might be the end of one world and the beginning of a new world for many of us drone owners, but my hope with the new Spark is that parts will be immediately available, repair times will only be 1-2 weeks, and they will deliver on schedule. (note to self: keep dreaming TD)

Hopefully, all the data that DJI plans to collect and make available to the government will be used very discretely, but as has been pointed out before, China is a communist country and DJI has to bend to the governments authority. I guess they are so used to bending to their governments authority that doing it for US authorities is just another day at DJI.

Rant over.

Or the Chinese government are more than interested in all this US and international data. It may make their hacking activities a little easier

 

[Former Member]

Or the Chinese government are more than interested in all this US and international data. It may make their hacking activities a little easier

Yes I might agree with you. Here is how a possible conversation between the Chinese government and DJI might go:

Chinese Government (in an email to DJI): Please provide us with all the data that we have ordered you to collect on the US.

DJI to Chinese Government (3 days later): Please allow 48-72 hours for us to answer your email. We are quite busy now with the release of our new products.

Chinese Government to DJI (1 month later): It has now been 1 month since our first email demanding the data you collected on the USA and you have not responded. You are ordered to turn this information over to us immediately.

DJI to Chinese Government (3 days later): We are moving our facility and servers from Shenzhen to a new facility. Please allow 1 - 2 more weeks for us to answer you. We are sorry for any inconvenience this has caused.


Headlines of China Daily Newspaper (1 month later):

Head of famous drone maker DJI mysteriously disappears. Chinese government takes over operations of DJI corporation.

 

[Mavic Maniac]

DJI is covering their rear ends. I don't have a problem with what I have heard so far. And I'm a big advocate for personal rights and freedom.

 

[Bladzalot]

If I could "unbuy" my Mavic I would, in a heartbeat... It is truly the coolest piece of tech I have ever owned, I have a blast with it when I fly, and I keep learning new things about it each flight. My issues all hinge on the stupid *** NFZ "feature". The US federal laws state that in order to fly around an airport, we need to get permission from the control tower. My house is 1.5 miles from a very small municipal airport where people get their pilots licenses, and that is about it. I called the tower, they were cool as hell, even write me permission to fly anytime I like, as long as I stay outside the fence line of the airport (one mile from my house) and never fly over 400 feet high when I can see a plane or helicopter nearby.

I emailed support and the fly safe group, sent photos, gps, googlemaps locations, and the letter from the traffic control tower. No response, so I called support, held for almost an hour, got a guy that said there was nothing he could do but let the flysafe team know that I was waiting for a waiver, or at least a ******* response...

7 weeks later, not a peep, no denial, no exception, no ****...

Without getting in my car to go somewhere to fly, my Mavic is a really cool talking piece, thats all I got for $1300... I feel for the poor souls that own a Mavic in DC... And the firmware updates, every single one since .400, has locked it down more and more. Those Circles on the map keep multiplying, and getting bigger...

 

[gavcuk]

The NFZ issue is not one to pin on DJI. They are trying to do the right thing. The data made available to them might be wonky but that is as much the fault of each aviation authority I imagine.

I have an ex-military airfield near me which is still an NFZ because it is still a military college.

No planes can land there so I don't see why there is anything other than the hard NFZ over the base itself yet there is also the advisory area nearby.

It is irritating but I don't really see DJI as the fault here.

They need to be seen as doing the right thing or else you can expect every government to become Canada. I'd prefer it if more sense than that were to prevail.

 

[Bladzalot]

The NFZ issue is not one to pin on DJI. They are trying to do the right thing. The data made available to them might be wonky but that is as much the fault of each aviation authority I imagine.

I have an ex-military airfield near me which is still an NFZ because it is still a military college.

No planes can land there so I don't see why there is anything other than the hard NFZ over the base itself yet there is also the advisory area nearby.

It is irritating but I don't really see DJI as the fault here.

They need to be seen as doing the right thing or else you can expect every government to become Canada. I'd prefer it if more sense than that were to prevail.

How on earth are DJI not to blame?! They are the ones locking out the motors, they are the ones that designed the system to not allow buyers to use common sense. They are literally circumventing what the airports are ALLOWING us to do, and by default making it so that we do not even have a choice...

On top of it all, they are doing this to ONE line of drone. So every manufacturer, and every drone made by DJI minus the Mavic and soon the Phantom 4, can fly wherever the hell they want, whenever the hell they want... Who are they saving? How does this make ANYTHING safer for anyone at all? Look at the ****** that flew his drone into the baseball game this weekend. Look at the ******* that flew the drone into the space needle last week. DJI is punishing Mavic pilots specifically, it effects NOBODY else...

 

[D95GAS]

I understand and agree the need for control, more so, if we dont have it, countries/governments will just make a total band on UAV's. I will wait to see what DJI are going to do with this new update...... ultimately it may work out better for us.... who knows, but at the moment its all guess work.

On the flip side, DJI are in danger of pushing users over to the Dark-side, where people are working on hacking the system to remove these restrictions.

Much the same way Apple did with the iPhone....... wasn't long before hacks were being released to allow users to do what they want with the device THEY paid for and OWN.

You dont have to do much searching to learn there is already a group working on the DJI firmware/software, and it wont be long before its all cracked wide open.

That will open the flood gates for UAV's flying around with no control mechanisms, and we all know how some will find it fun to fly within feet of moving aircraft or worse, fly over military bases.

Its a fine line they tread.

I will reserve any judgement until we see what the upgrades actually do to us or for us.

Incidentally, I have been dealing with a guy from their "Fly safe team", as I need to fly on an airfield where I have permission to fly. He has been pretty adamant in telling me NOT to upgrade from my 0400 version.

 

[Bladzalot]

I understand and agree the need for control, more so, if we dont have it, countries/governments will just make a total band on UAV's. I will wait to see what DJI are going to do with this new update...... ultimately it may work out better for us.... who knows, but at the moment its all guess work.

On the flip side, DJI are in danger of pushing users over to the Dark-side, where people are working on hacking the system to remove these restrictions.

Much the same way Apple did with the iPhone....... wasn't long before hacks were being released to allow users to do what they want with the device THEY paid for and OWN.

You dont have to do much searching to learn there is already a group working on the DJI firmware/software, and it wont be long before its all cracked wide open.

That will open the flood gates for UAV's flying around with no control mechanisms, and we all know how some will find it fun to fly within feet of moving aircraft or worse, fly over military bases.

Its a fine line they tread.

I will reserve any judgement until we see what the upgrades actually do to us or for us.

Incidentally, I have been dealing with a guy from their "Fly safe team", as I need to fly on an airfield where I have permission to fly. He has been pretty adamant in telling me NOT to upgrade from my 0400 version.

I would bet the farm against this update being beneficial to any of us. I would love to give them the benefit of the doubt, but there are SO many reasons everyone is sticking with .400, including me personally.

.500 and up makes the NFZ have red circles surrounded by yellow circles. I use the tinfoil diaper method currently to force ATTI so I can LEGALLY fly in my neighborhood, that is freaking rediculous.

I am eagerly waiting for custom firmware, I will gladly put it on the second it's available, and if I knew anyone currently working on it, I would gladly contribute in any way possible, including funding.

It is one thing to not allow drones to fly over airports, totally get it, I would add ballparks, stadiums, and anything else that makes sense. But having a one stop end all map with no fly zones over every single airstrip in the US, when you are located in China and haven't a clue to what is accurate and what is not, is just a way of both screwing their fan base, while encouraging people to circumvent their ********.

If you could do me a solid and give me your contact on the no fly team, it would be greatly appreciated since they still have yet to respond to my nearly two month old request. If not, I totally understand...

 

[method007]

There is no benefit to the end user with the new restrictions, it's clearly done in an effort to reduce DJI's liability. All the features stated as benefits can be provided without interaction from the end user. This is not a surprise however. With all of the "I wouldn't have bought a drone if I new I had to follow rules" people increasing their drone ownership, this will not be the tightest regulation from DJI. My personal belief is they will eventually be equipped with chips that allow them to upload their location in real time using cell towers, just like new cars do.

 

[_milo_]

If I could "unbuy" my Mavic I would, in a heartbeat... It is truly the coolest piece of tech I have ever owned, I have a blast with it when I fly, and I keep learning new things about it each flight. My issues all hinge on the stupid *** NFZ "feature". The US federal laws state that in order to fly around an airport, we need to get permission from the control tower. My house is 1.5 miles from a very small municipal airport where people get their pilots licenses, and that is about it. I called the tower, they were cool as ****, even write me permission to fly anytime I like, as long as I stay outside the fence line of the airport (one mile from my house) and never fly over 400 feet high when I can see a plane or helicopter nearby.

I emailed support and the fly safe group, sent photos, gps, googlemaps locations, and the letter from the traffic control tower. No response, so I called support, held for almost an hour, got a guy that said there was nothing he could do but let the flysafe team know that I was waiting for a waiver, or at least a ******* response...

7 weeks later, not a peep, no denial, no exception, no ****...

Without getting in my car to go somewhere to fly, my Mavic is a really cool talking piece, thats all I got for $1300... I feel for the poor souls that own a Mavic in DC... And the firmware updates, every single one since .400, has locked it down more and more. Those Circles on the map keep multiplying, and getting bigger...

I'm on the road, but when I get home I'll send you the email for getting DJI to unlock a red NFZ, there's some forms to fill out including a NDA, and when you fill everything out and send them those permissions you got, they will push a custom firmware to you.

 

[Bladzalot]

I'm on the road, but when I get home I'll send you the email for getting DJI to unlock a red NFZ, there's some forms to fill out including a NDA, and when you fill everything out and send them those permissions you got, they will push a custom firmware to you.

If this is true, you are my hero! Thanks so much!!!

 

[ReadyKilowatt]

DJI isn't a monopoly. Anyone can build and sell their own drone if they wish. They happen to have the best platform right now, but that could change at any time. Just look at what happened to Nokia.