Gimbal Saga

[Bigcovert]

I recieved my long awaited solo for Christmas. I have purchased 3 gimbals and every single one of them. Does not produce live feed. I do however get live feed strait from the solo without the gimbal. I have borrowed a gopro and still have the same issue. I have also tried my note 4 a galaxy tab 4 and IOS 6 and still nada. I do however have all the functional pan record and all functionality but live view.
So I borrowed a Gopro 4 silver and installed no live view. I also changed my phone to an IOS Ipad, still no live view. I then utilized a Galaxy tab still no live view. But some how I have live view directly plugging Gopro to HDMI of the Solo. With all that, 3DR asked me to send my Gopro, third gimbal, and Solo back to 3DR. Now, I am having to wait for my Solo to get inspected and possibly a resolution. I am to say the least very frustrated. Has anyone had to send there Solo back to 3DR? Did they repair and send any extras back to you? (ie: battery, props, ect.)

Now I have to wait which really sucks

 

[Eric Sheehan]

I RMA-ed my Solo and gimbal, no extras or ever any hint that would be warranted to mitigate the inconvenience factor.

 

[SteveP]

I recieved my long awaited solo for Christmas. I have purchased 3 gimbals and every single one of them. Does not produce live feed. I do however get live feed strait from the solo without the gimbal. I have borrowed a gopro and still have the same issue. I have also tried my note 4 a galaxy tab 4 and IOS 6 and still nada. I do however have all the functional pan record and all functionality but live view.
So I borrowed a Gopro 4 silver and installed no live view. I also changed my phone to an IOS Ipad, still no live view. I then utilized a Galaxy tab still no live view. But some how I have live view directly plugging Gopro to HDMI of the Solo. With all that, 3DR asked me to send my Gopro, third gimbal, and Solo back to 3DR. Now, I am having to wait for my Solo to get inspected and possibly a resolution. I am to say the least very frustrated. Has anyone had to send there Solo back to 3DR? Did they repair and send any extras back to you? (ie: battery, props, ect.)

Now I have to wait which really sucks

I have purchased two Solos with gimbals , both through Amazon. The first was purchased in November and the second in December for a Christmas gift. The gimbal purchased in December has never worked with either Solo and after contacting 3DR and sending them video taken with the faulty gimbal, 3DR confirmed the gimbal is bad but inform me that Global Distributors(Amazon seller) must provide the replacement. Global Distributors is telling me that 3Dr must replace the gimbal. It has been a constant flow of emails back and forth and looks to me like I will be stuck with a gimbal that I can use for spare parts. My recommendation on purchasing any 3DR products is that you purchase directly from 3DR. Although you might have to wait for a replacement, at least you will receive one.

 

[Maddog]

I have purchased two Solos with gimbals , both through Amazon. The first was purchased in November and the second in December for a Christmas gift. The gimbal purchased in December has never worked with either Solo and after contacting 3DR and sending them video taken with the faulty gimbal, 3DR confirmed the gimbal is bad but inform me that Global Distributors(Amazon seller) must provide the replacement. Global Distributors is telling me that 3Dr must replace the gimbal. It has been a constant flow of emails back and forth and looks to me like I will be stuck with a gimbal that I can use for spare parts. My recommendation on purchasing any 3DR products is that you purchase directly from 3DR. Although you might have to wait for a replacement, at least you will receive one.

That totally sucks- I think 3DR should step up and take care of this. It was their bad gimbal that caused the problem!
Just my .02 cents...

 

[pyrate]

3DR's track record is pretty good.
Anecdotal cases of issues are going to happen. No company is 100%
I have no idea what the total story is other than what was posted on an open forum by a person with a total of 7 posts.

Having said that, no one on this forum has the power to resolve it.
Best escalate it with 3DR

 

[Bigcovert]

Just got a reply back from 3DR

Your product has been repaired! It has been fully tested and in perfect working order. Please see below for a description of what was done:

Replaced HDMI cable. Live feed works. Flight test all check out.


All products go through our comprehensive repair process and calibrations. A flight test has been conducted to ensure your vehicle functions and performs as intended.


It won't be long until your copter is on its way to you! Please allow an additional 1-2 business days for us to carefully pack it and ship it to you. Please do not hesitate to let us know if there is anything else we can do for you. We are always happy to help.


Well I guess that's it.

 

[SteveP]

This was my reply from 3DR:

Casey (3D Robotics)

Dec 31, 4:20 PM

Hi, Steve.

Thank you for contacting 3DR, hope you are doing great.

We truly apologize for the inconvenience that you are experiencing with your Gimbal.

We are more than glad to help you, you have 2 options.

1- If the item was purchased trough any of our third party vendors you can return the item with your proof of purchase and get it replace right away

2- If the item was purchased thoug our website we need the order number, address and callback number.

Once we submit the request item will take 2 weeks to be shipoped out.

In case you have other questionplease let me know.

Best regards,

Casey Zamora
3DR Technical Support
Supporting you 24/7
(858) 225-1414
(855) 982-2898

 

[Bigcovert]

I received the same email before I spoke we it a rep from 3DR. Since I did purchase through a 3rd party online (Bestbuy). Our Bestbuy's within my local area do not carry Solo. My best option was to request to send it back to 3DR for support. Did you ever get your issue resolved?

 

[SteveP]

I received the same email before I spoke we it a rep from 3DR. Since I did purchase through a 3rd party online (Bestbuy). Our Bestbuy's within my local area do not carry Solo. My best option was to request to send it back to 3DR for support. Did you ever get your issue resolved?

Haven't yet. Still working on it.

 

[Bigcovert]

Good luck. Keep us posted on your experience.

 

[pyrate]

got mine at Best Buy, absolutely no trouble taking a battery back there and getting a new one.
Why are you trying to deal with 3DR if you bought at Best Buy, they have a return policy

 

[Bigcovert]

Our Best buys does not carry the Solo probably due to their store size. My wife order this for me for Christmas off their website. For me to send this back and wait for a return then receive another in 5 to 7 days then another 5 days Would be forever. Plus working with 3DR troubleshooting this problem. I thought it would be best for them to troubleshoot from a possible production stand point. Call me crazy but I am an aircraft mechanic, this is what we refer to as a DDR which is a Data Defencency Report. That way 3DR has a record of this problem and if and when some other user has this problem there is a record of a known issue. Plus if we all spend over 1k for this Aircraft then we should treat it as such. Hope that helps.

 

[pyrate]

Hats off to 3DR
they sure deal with a lot

 

[Bigcovert]

Sure they do. But I have to say they were on top of this situation, and came with a solution. This is probably the #1 reason I choose to go with 3DR in the first place.

 

[BlackHawk]

I made a return due to a faulty GPS cable. I told the 3dr rep that I bought it at REI. After providing 3dr the REI reciept, they accepted the faulty solo and had a new one on my door step in 6 business days.

 

[Mauiwind]

Support was very iffy at the beginning but they've really stepped up and brought it to a much more robust level. What I don't get it, "you bought 3 gimbals and it was the HDMI cable? I'm wondering why it would work with a direct from Solo to Gopro but not connect through the gimbal?
Oh, some of the guys here feel that 3dr owes them for actually bringing customer care to a level that's Waaaaay beyond anything their competitors have goin. I say, "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth." If you and I and everyone else on this forum was running 3DR, we couldn't even begin to put together the company they've managed to. I used to be pissed as shit about this company. Now i see that it's all hands on deck and everyone is at battle stations.

 

[SurfnSkate81]

As outlined on a previous post I have also had issues with Han Solo and Garry Gimbal.

I had both replaced four times, I was also pretty pissed but have to again give my credit to both the retailer and 3DR. Each and every time these were replaced until we got it right.

I hope to see everyone throwing their support behind 3DR, I believe they can really be the game changer over the white guys.

And look at what's coming up with the CES 2016 announcement: The new Smart Shot functionality - Multipoint cable cam and Follow with Free Look.

This is why I have invested in an open platform that has room to grow.

Yeah there will be problems and yeah I guess us early adopters will be the test pilots ironing out the bugs for those who come on board in the future. But I'm here for the long ride.

Happy & safe flying and please don't be that guy that ruins it for everyone else.

 

[faroutmatt]

Back in oct 2015 I had a gps problem, purchased drone via london drugs and gimbal from bestbuy, both in Canada.
Contacted 3DR and they accepted the drone back, repaired it in 2 weeks and shipped back to Canada. They forgot to send me back a battery I had sent with the drone and shipped me another very quickly.
So glad I chose 3DR!!!!
Now I just need a camera that lets me control the exposure...(gopro 4 user)

 

[Bigcovert]

Update.........

Solo has been returned back issue was a bad HDMI cable. Just FYI to those sending Solo back to 3DR for repair they are in the process of moving shipping locations which will cause some delays on the return of your drone. As for the repair everything seems to be working as advertised.

 

[Troiano27]

Waiting for my replacement solo to be shipped. Recieved an email yesterday saying they recieved my RMA and would be shipping no the replacement within 1 to 3 days. They are replacing my GoPro as well. I'm wondering if they will ship me a new camera or send a voucher for purchase someplace else?