I'm not going to rant like crazy about this ....
I accept all responsibility for my own decisions ...
I thought I had read enough to convince myself that this what the right decision (as far as what product to purchase)
!st comment that may help others in the future ... Don't buy directly from the 3DR website ... shipping takes to long and your Money Back Guarantee time-frame will be consumed... it is for 30 days ... not a moment longer. So buy your product from some retailer ... they aren't very helpful ... but be realistic ... if you've had any interest in this type of thing then you are probably more knowledgeable about the product than the people in "Big Box Stores" anyway.
2nd ... if you still believe the Solo is the right option for you (such as I thought... and still do to some degree). Then if you have any reason to send the product back due to some manufacturing flaw of something out of your control (then just ask for your money back)... there is nothing preventing you from buying another item at another retailer with the same 30 day money back guarantee, At least this will give you an option to bail out if you deem necessary.
3rd ... don't get me wrong ... I liked the co-operation of 3DR support ... but with everything I've received to date (this is the second unit) nothing has worked out.
a quick run down of the situation.
1) I bought directly from their site.
2) I live in Canada
3) the first unit was a complete failure ... it never flew. ( i received it with a gimbal )
4) they offered to take it back and replace it with another unit... I accepted the offer and shipped it away on their dime.
5) Received the unit back ... by this time the money back guarantee time frame expired. The unit flew well ... but the gimbal provided in the first order (which was never sent back at their request) provided no control over the camera... I mean none ... the option to even record video didn't work , much less anything else.
6) I raised this issue with tech support on-line ... they instructed a factory reset ... which was done ... the reset ended up with the controller and solo not being able to pair with each other (this was done with 3dr support online ... no mistakes were made)
7) now they have offered to replace the unit and gimbal again ... I asked to make sure the money back guarantee was still in place considering I have had no luck at all with this product and may have to resort to this option.
8) I was informed its no longer an option (time frame expired with all the shipping... first from San Diego to British Columbia after the purchase (about 10 days) then from British Columbia to SanDiego to have them do what they do to fix it (about 2 weeks) then back here to Brithish Columbia again. That pretty much kills the 30 day money back guarantee. I'm not always home,so my first opportunity to use the Solo was about a week after it had arrived. ( My fault I guess... life gets in the way.)
Try to imagine yourself in all kinds of situations before purchasing anything ... A company that will stand up behind their product is extremely important. As much so as a company that allows it's employees to make judgment calls, based on a situation which is out of the normal
Myself ... it isn't the end of the world ... but statements of this nature can tend to be a little damaging to the bottom line of a company... especially when it comes to inheriting a reputation. I believe their customer support did what they could within the company's guide lines.. but policies , guidelines , regulations , laws ,.... whatever you wish to call them... they are all temporary and for the most part written by those who wish to hide behind them.
I hope the 3rd unit that arrives works well ... I also hope people from 3dr read this ... I really don't think this is the type of situation they want (or at least.... I hope not ).
I still think this will eventually be the best option for what I want ... If I can can a unit that functions correctly ... sites like this ... in the end ... have a lot of value as long as the members contribute to the difficulties.
Take care
Hal
I accept all responsibility for my own decisions ...
I thought I had read enough to convince myself that this what the right decision (as far as what product to purchase)
!st comment that may help others in the future ... Don't buy directly from the 3DR website ... shipping takes to long and your Money Back Guarantee time-frame will be consumed... it is for 30 days ... not a moment longer. So buy your product from some retailer ... they aren't very helpful ... but be realistic ... if you've had any interest in this type of thing then you are probably more knowledgeable about the product than the people in "Big Box Stores" anyway.
2nd ... if you still believe the Solo is the right option for you (such as I thought... and still do to some degree). Then if you have any reason to send the product back due to some manufacturing flaw of something out of your control (then just ask for your money back)... there is nothing preventing you from buying another item at another retailer with the same 30 day money back guarantee, At least this will give you an option to bail out if you deem necessary.
3rd ... don't get me wrong ... I liked the co-operation of 3DR support ... but with everything I've received to date (this is the second unit) nothing has worked out.
a quick run down of the situation.
1) I bought directly from their site.
2) I live in Canada
3) the first unit was a complete failure ... it never flew. ( i received it with a gimbal )
4) they offered to take it back and replace it with another unit... I accepted the offer and shipped it away on their dime.
5) Received the unit back ... by this time the money back guarantee time frame expired. The unit flew well ... but the gimbal provided in the first order (which was never sent back at their request) provided no control over the camera... I mean none ... the option to even record video didn't work , much less anything else.
6) I raised this issue with tech support on-line ... they instructed a factory reset ... which was done ... the reset ended up with the controller and solo not being able to pair with each other (this was done with 3dr support online ... no mistakes were made)
7) now they have offered to replace the unit and gimbal again ... I asked to make sure the money back guarantee was still in place considering I have had no luck at all with this product and may have to resort to this option.
8) I was informed its no longer an option (time frame expired with all the shipping... first from San Diego to British Columbia after the purchase (about 10 days) then from British Columbia to SanDiego to have them do what they do to fix it (about 2 weeks) then back here to Brithish Columbia again. That pretty much kills the 30 day money back guarantee. I'm not always home,so my first opportunity to use the Solo was about a week after it had arrived. ( My fault I guess... life gets in the way.)
Try to imagine yourself in all kinds of situations before purchasing anything ... A company that will stand up behind their product is extremely important. As much so as a company that allows it's employees to make judgment calls, based on a situation which is out of the normal
Myself ... it isn't the end of the world ... but statements of this nature can tend to be a little damaging to the bottom line of a company... especially when it comes to inheriting a reputation. I believe their customer support did what they could within the company's guide lines.. but policies , guidelines , regulations , laws ,.... whatever you wish to call them... they are all temporary and for the most part written by those who wish to hide behind them.
I hope the 3rd unit that arrives works well ... I also hope people from 3dr read this ... I really don't think this is the type of situation they want (or at least.... I hope not ).
I still think this will eventually be the best option for what I want ... If I can can a unit that functions correctly ... sites like this ... in the end ... have a lot of value as long as the members contribute to the difficulties.
Take care
Hal