a wandering P3pro owner...

[mixedmindz]

so,
I've been very unhappy with my support experience with DJI.
I preordered a P3pro and killed it in 4 days.
actually I had 4 crashes in 4 days.
nothing crazy, the worst (a gohomeintothetrees instead of autoland) didn't kill it,
but a slight bump into a wall and landing upside down, wedging the prop killed it.
upon startup it would pulse auto off. I figured it was either the motor, esc or both on that one arm.
so, as some of you probably know, you can only send in the Phantom to DJI for repair, no parts, no local dealer/repairs... 8 weeks later (yes the summer is almost gone) and the bill is $330.
turns out the esc is integrated with the main flight controller board.
my math had it @ $60+labor. I think it will be close to 9.5 weeks total.
anyways, I guess I'm looking for 3DR customers experiences with repair/support issues.
I'm not afraid of soldering (but am of the 'need instructions' sort)
as I'm considering throwing my Phantom on ebay.
Also, curious on whether you recommend the solo/Y3 if I'm interested in the nerd of it all. but want to get the best,
thank you for you input.
-MM-

 

[Toiletbowl]

thats why i give dji rubbish product my phantom suddenly crash cause of the wire soldering contact point was crack then the phantom suddenly out balance and plunge in the face of the earth. dji support asking 30% [EXPLETIVE REMOVED] discount for a repair blah blah

 

[Acroduster]

You will get varying replies, as with anything, but I've found that in general, 3DR has been responsive and helpful. There are posts with aggravation about delays in both product and response time, but I would attribute both of those to it being early in the process for them. I've contacted them on 3 occasions and have been very pleased with the response and service. My Solo has flown well and is intact after 50 flights or so. Just waiting on the final piece - the gimbal...

 

[rrmccabe]

Support is undoubtedly better than DJI. Course you are comparing to DJI support which could not possibly be worse.

The 3DR people are really nice and you probably will never get the feeling they don't care as you do with DJI.

3DR has their own set of problems though.

In your case I think the Solo will take a little more abuse than the Phantom as its proven to hold up better in a crash. The ESCs are easier to replace although have been hard to get if not impossible.

However the Solo ESCs wont take being stalled out as long as the Phantom in my opinion. Seems they burn up pretty quick if you flip it upside down.

The 3DR has the potential to do what nothing else in its price range can do. If these things are important to you then it might be a good choice for you.

I like the P3 but I know one thing for sure. I need to be prepared to buy a second one as I try to get the first one fixed. Because as you said, you lose a lot of your flying season if you don't. Course I can almost buy two Phantom 3 Pros for what I had invested in a Solo, gimbal and Hero 4+ with non fisheye lens.

Pick your battles !

 

[MarqueGlisson]

so,
I've been very unhappy with my support experience with DJI.
I preordered a P3pro and killed it in 4 days.
actually I had 4 crashes in 4 days.
nothing crazy, the worst (a gohomeintothetrees instead of autoland) didn't kill it,
but a slight bump into a wall and landing upside down, wedging the prop killed it.
upon startup it would pulse auto off. I figured it was either the motor, esc or both on that one arm.
so, as some of you probably know, you can only send in the Phantom to DJI for repair, no parts, no local dealer/repairs... 8 weeks later (yes the summer is almost gone) and the bill is $330.
turns out the esc is integrated with the main flight controller board.
my math had it @ $60+labor. I think it will be close to 9.5 weeks total.
anyways, I guess I'm looking for 3DR customers experiences with repair/support issues.
I'm not afraid of soldering (but am of the 'need instructions' sort)
as I'm considering throwing my Phantom on ebay.
Also, curious on whether you recommend the solo/Y3 if I'm interested in the nerd of it all. but want to get the best,
thank you for you input.
-MM-

Hey Bro I can Paypal you $450 today for your bird.

 

[DattaGroover]

You will get varying replies, as with anything, but I've found that in general, 3DR has been responsive and helpful. There are posts with aggravation about delays in both product and response time, but I would attribute both of those to it being early in the process for them. I've contacted them on 3 occasions and have been very pleased with the response and service. My Solo has flown well and is intact after 50 flights or so. Just waiting on the final piece - the gimbal...

That's been my experience with them as well.

 

[Raybro]

so,
I've been very unhappy with my support experience with DJI.
I preordered a P3pro and killed it in 4 days.
actually I had 4 crashes in 4 days.
nothing crazy, the worst (a gohomeintothetrees instead of autoland) didn't kill it,
but a slight bump into a wall and landing upside down, wedging the prop killed it.
upon startup it would pulse auto off. I figured it was either the motor, esc or both on that one arm.
so, as some of you probably know, you can only send in the Phantom to DJI for repair, no parts, no local dealer/repairs... 8 weeks later (yes the summer is almost gone) and the bill is $330.
turns out the esc is integrated with the main flight controller board.
my math had it @ $60+labor. I think it will be close to 9.5 weeks total.
anyways, I guess I'm looking for 3DR customers experiences with repair/support issues.
I'm not afraid of soldering (but am of the 'need instructions' sort)
as I'm considering throwing my Phantom on ebay.
Also, curious on whether you recommend the solo/Y3 if I'm interested in the nerd of it all. but want to get the best,
thank you for you input.
-MM-

Come on over to the light side. There is not a whole lot you would have to send a Solo back for but if you had problems, they would gladly replace it in a very short period. The motors are PnP with integrated ESC's.
I have not had to contact support yet but I think if you email them it usually takes a few days for them to respond.
They are experiencing growing pains right now but I think in a few months, after the gimbal gets out and everything starts to settle down they will be on top of things.
I think you will see a big difference in dealing with 3DR vs DJI......big!
With the available software for the Solo, it makes for some interesting things that can be done with it.
Welcome to the forum!

 

[MarqueGlisson]

That's been my experience with them as well.

I have the Solo and have already had to replace the #1 motor (They are $75 from 3DR) I have NEVER been able to have live view so I will have another rep email me this week regarding the HDMI cord insicde the bird- It's been over a month now and I only have maybe 7 minutes on the Solo total - Nothing but problems However I'm not giving up on this but let's not fool ourselves this thing is not perfect. I have found that the 3dr people respond quickly but after that 2 days goes by before the next communication but they are consistent!

 

[Axidrain]

if you're a bad pilot, it doesn't really matter what brand you fly. you're gonna end up destroying it anyway. a general suggestion is to get a cheap small quad and practice before going for any of these flying cameras.

 

[Raybro]

I have the Solo and have already had to replace the #1 motor (They are $75 from 3DR) I have NEVER been able to have live view so I will have another rep email me this week regarding the HDMI cord insicde the bird- It's been over a month now and I only have maybe 7 minutes on the Solo total - Nothing but problems However I'm not giving up on this but let's not fool ourselves this thing is not perfect. I have found that the 3dr people respond quickly but after that 2 days goes by before the next communication but they are consistent!

I thought the pods were $59.95. Did you order a gimbal? If so just wait and get that and not worry about the HDMI cable.

 

[Ian [P13]]

The motor pods, which include the motor and ESC and LED are $59.95, they're in stock now:
https://store.3drobotics.com/products/3dr-solo-clockwise-motor-pod?taxon_id=66

It's worth ordering 1 of each as a spare for when you need them as you'll be waiting at least a week for them to arrive.

The next firmware includes an auto cut off after a crash to prevent motor damage.

 

[MarqueGlisson]

I thought the pods were $59.95. Did you order a gimbal? If so just wait and get that and not worry about the HDMI cable.

I got jacked. It cost me $75.46 - maybe the shipping was the difference.
I did order the gimbal but does that mean that the HDMI cable will no longer be needed?

 

[1264_Solo]

so,
I've been very unhappy with my support experience with DJI.
I preordered a P3pro and killed it in 4 days.
actually I had 4 crashes in 4 days.
nothing crazy, the worst (a gohomeintothetrees instead of autoland) didn't kill it,
but a slight bump into a wall and landing upside down, wedging the prop killed it.
upon startup it would pulse auto off. I figured it was either the motor, esc or both on that one arm.
so, as some of you probably know, you can only send in the Phantom to DJI for repair, no parts, no local dealer/repairs... 8 weeks later (yes the summer is almost gone) and the bill is $330.
turns out the esc is integrated with the main flight controller board.
my math had it @ $60+labor. I think it will be close to 9.5 weeks total.
anyways, I guess I'm looking for 3DR customers experiences with repair/support issues.
I'm not afraid of soldering (but am of the 'need instructions' sort)
as I'm considering throwing my Phantom on ebay.
Also, curious on whether you recommend the solo/Y3 if I'm interested in the nerd of it all. but want to get the best,
thank you for you input.
-MM-

from my own personal experience with DJI, I had a problem with my DJI Ronin-M and their customer service was horrible. Thankfully a friend of mine is a techy and was able to fix my issue but never again. never ever again.

 

[MarqueGlisson]

I received my Inspire back from repair 83 days after sending it in - Iv'e never crashed it - but the last firmware update did something to it to render it useless. they do respond to emails within 36 hours. 3DR (For me) has responded but Not Acted on emails sent i.e..."We are having a heavy demand and will get back to you ASAP. I have used my Solo for apx 7-10 minutes on July 14th I flew it the first time (and last) could not see live view so I sat it down and tried to figure out this issue ever since. So that's over a month now in which 3DR and I have been trying to resolve my Solo problem (I have been in contact it seems about every 3 days but it's always someone saying that they will have an agent contact me, (well the last couple of emails anyways). So for me it's a toss up neither company is heads above the other.

 

[rrmccabe]

@MarqueGlisson Couple things. I am pretty sure 3DR support will get better and back to what they are famous for. Might take a couple months as right now they just bit off more than they can chew. I am also pretty sure DJIs lack of support will never change. So consider that.

I though you Inspire boys were supposed to get better support? Priority stuff?