DJI P3 batteries vs Solo

KRO506 · Dec 31, 2015

Hello Guys

I need your help , i Just sell my p2 and I'm very dissapointed with the quality of the batteries from DJI , I have doubs in order to pay for p3 or solo , could you please tell me your Point of View for these drones and also if the batteries , firmware , app etc in the solo is good or have issues?

pyrate · Dec 31, 2015

All drones have issues but hands down i find solo to be solid

Chuck · Dec 31, 2015

I am with pyrate. Solo is far better than my previous P2. You may sacrifice a little battery time with Solo, but to have full control over the GoPro is well worth it. Plus, you will be getting far superior customer service.

RichWest · Dec 31, 2015

I'll chime in, DJI batteries are marginal at best in regards to life expectancy. You can read a buddy's dissertation on batteries over at PhantomPilot's forum, Yorlik. I'm sure they will improve on this issue, but again you'll be holding the bag to obtain improved product.

Overall I'm pleased with Solo and the battery performance. Solo is heavier, so you should expect reduced flight times. The Solo batteries are predictable on their discharge rate, very consistent battery to battery, even after 3+ months of moderate usage.

Jubalr · Dec 31, 2015

KRO506 said:
Hello Guys

I need your help , i Just sell my p2 and I'm very dissapointed with the quality of the batteries from DJI , I have doubs in order to pay for p3 or solo , could you please tell me your Point of View for these drones and also if the batteries , firmware , app etc in the solo is good or have issues?

This comes up every now and then....Solo vs The "White" guy... | 3D Robotics Drone Forum

Gary Burch · Dec 31, 2015

I also had a p2. I had some problems with the original dji batteries. I had a battery fail after 3 months. I had better luck with 3rd party batteries. I have had no problems with my solo batteries yet. I have had no problems with sudden loss of power in flight. This can be very scary if you are flying over water. I hope that we can buy a battery, with more flight time in the future.

erikgraham · Dec 31, 2015

KRO506 said:
Hello Guys

I need your help , i Just sell my p2 and I'm very dissapointed with the quality of the batteries from DJI , I have doubs in order to pay for p3 or solo , could you please tell me your Point of View for these drones and also if the batteries , firmware , app etc in the solo is good or have issues?

One thing I will give the Phantom is that their smart batteries are "smarter." After 10 days without being used, they will discharge to 40 or 50 percent, which is much better for long term storage of LiPos. With the Solo batteries, if you don't plan to use them for awhile, you haven't remember to discharge them yourself.

On the other hand, there seem to be consistent issues with firmware upgrades on phantom batteries, which is just a pain in the ass, and largely due to DJI's attempts to prevent the use of third party batteries. Like everything else DJI, it's a closed platform and they really only want you to buy their products. That would be fine if it guaranteed quality and reliability (like Apple's closed garden approach), but in DJI's case it seems to be more about a money grab.

franknitty69 · Jan 1, 2016

erikgraham said:
One thing I will give the Phantom is that their smart batteries are "smarter." After 10 days without being used, they will discharge to 40 or 50 percent, which is much better for long term storage of LiPos. With the Solo batteries, if you don't plan to use them for awhile, you haven't remember to discharge them yourself.

On the other hand, there seem to be consistent issues with firmware upgrades on phantom batteries, which is just a pain in the ass, and largely due to DJI's attempts to prevent the use of third party batteries. Like everything else DJI, it's a closed platform and they really only want you to buy their products. That would be fine if it guaranteed quality and reliability (like Apple's closed garden approach), but in DJI's case it seems to be more about a money grab.

actually solo batteries do self discharge to storage levels.

Chuck · Jan 1, 2016

Mine never have. How long do they have to sit before going to storage level? This is the first I have heard this.

Ian [P13] · Jan 1, 2016

The Solo batteries do discharge as I've seen it happen, it may well be a slower discharge than DJI but I've seen it happen on batteries left over a week.

J R · Jan 1, 2016

Happy New Year Fella's! Been away awhile. Actually had to jump out of retirement and go back to work for a couple of weeks. Fully charged a Solo Battery on December 18th and had this "surprise" business situation come up that afternoon. I've been at it since and didn't get to fly or use the battery. Put it in the Solo this morning and it showed 84%. So that's 14 days to "self-discharge" by 16%. Not scientific but perhaps useful to know.

Jerry

Marich · Jan 1, 2016

An interesting tidbit: after 8-10 days one of my batteries will show about 85% on the Solo app, but all the the best charger's indicator lights happily come on.

J R · Jan 1, 2016

Marich said:
An interesting tidbit: after 8-10 days one of my batteries will show about 85% on the Solo app, but all the the best charger's indicator lights happily come on.

Marich,

Same with the one I posted about. All LED indicators on the battery were lit but app showed 84%. Good point.

Jerry

erikgraham · Jan 1, 2016

franknitty69 said:
actually solo batteries do self discharge to storage levels.

I checked with 3DR directly, and they were very specific that the batteries do NOT self discharge.

They do loose charge over time. But that's different.

I would LOVE to be proved wrong on this by the way. I may have given too much credit to the knowledge/experience of the 3DR customer service rep I spoke to.

Bigskyflyer · Jan 1, 2016

erikgraham said:
I checked with 3DR directly, and they were very specific that the batteries do NOT self discharge.

They do loose charge over time. But that's different.

I would LOVE to be proved wrong on this by the way. I may have given too much credit to the knowledge/experience of the 3DR customer service rep I spoke to.

I agree Erik, my solo was put away almost a month ago with a full charge, I pulled it out today and the app shows 83%. Seems like natural discharge not a programmed discharge.

Raybro · Jan 2, 2016

Pretty disappointed with my P2 batteries. Was flying it the other day with one that has only been used about 15 times. When it hits 30% you need to get it on the ground because it will suddenly drop to Zero. Had a scare with it as it tried initiating an RTH and my initial reaction was thinking it was the classic "DJI FlyAway". Managed to get manual control and get it on the ground before the battery died. It was coming in hot and tipped it on landing but no damage was incurred.
No problems with my Solo batteries although the run time is slightly less that the DJI.

Bigskyflyer · Jan 2, 2016

Raybro said:
Pretty disappointed with my P2 batteries. Was flying it the other day with one that has only been used about 15 times. When it hits 30% you need to get it on the ground because it will suddenly drop to Zero. Had a scare with it as it tried initiating an RTH and my initial reaction was thinking it was the classic "DJI FlyAway". Managed to get manual control and get it on the ground before the battery died. It was coming in hot and tipped it on landing but no damage was incurred.
No problems with my Solo batteries although the run time is slightly less that the DJI.

I don't know anything about the p2 batteries, never owned a p2, but my p3 batteries have been fine. No drastic voltage drops, I get 16-20 minutes per battery depending on temp, wind, etc. My oldest battery has well over a hundred charge cycles. My solo batteries are also very stable but I only get 12 to maybe 15 min. flight time. Both flight times are landing at 25%-30% battery left. I hope someone comes out with a larger capacity battery for the solo at some point. 12 minutes isn't enough time to do much.