Ready to pick up Solo but worried I will be stuck without any support ,warranty or parts. Does anyone have a feeling or knowledge of the future of this platform or should I not pickup an get my money back? Any help would put a smile on my face and a load of my back. This is to bad I live the idea of this Quad
Just bought Solo and found out 3dr leaving drone world
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Look at it this way, you've got a good quad at a good price. There's a lot of support here, and 3DR is still supporting for bad units (I think).
Eventually all of the quads flying now will go obsolete, Solo not as quickly though since third parties are writing code for it and there are third party add-ons,
If you decide to stay with it I'd stock up on spare parts. I've taken advantage of sales to stock up on propellers, I have a spare gimbal, and I've got a spare Solo that I use on flights that don't require a gimbal.
Eventually all of the quads flying now will go obsolete, Solo not as quickly though since third parties are writing code for it and there are third party add-ons,
If you decide to stay with it I'd stock up on spare parts. I've taken advantage of sales to stock up on propellers, I have a spare gimbal, and I've got a spare Solo that I use on flights that don't require a gimbal.
Welcome, Newbie. I think most of us who have been with Solo from the beginning, will stick with it. Agreed, a lot has happened to maybe sway some folks away from Solo, but there is a lot to say about going with Solo as well. As a video/pics platform, most people on here will say Solo still has the best features, and is hard to beat by anything else out there. With the price of Solo so low, many of us are taking advantage of it and are investing in multiple Solo's for backup quads and parts. Also, with the open platform Solo offers, you have some great people coming out with new ideas and programs that you can take advantage of. A good example is Kelly Schrock, who came out with Solex, which is an alternative app for Solo on Android. It has many features added the the original Solo app doesn't have, and Kelly is constantly adding new features and updates for any problems that are reported. As for support, 3DR still has live chat available to us, and some who have had problems with their new Solo have had them replaced under warranty. So, I would say that Solo is still a good choice for an aerial photography platform. I wish you luck in your decision, and fly safe.
Welcome Newbie!
That is a difficult and much discussed topic.
3DR is still in business because of their Sitescan system which uses a Solo with a different camera. Some people are reporting good experiences with tech support- some bad.
3DR doesn't seem to be as generous with their warranty policy- seems like they are trying to avoid replacing birds by claiming, sometimes, it was pilot error. In some of those cases the flight logs indicated a Solo malfunction.
The CEO told Forbes magazine 3DR is getting out of the consumer drone business and won't be making any more Solo's. Apparently they had one production run of 100,000 units. Don't know how many were sold or where the rest are.
Spare parts are getting harder to find. Many owners, myself included, have been buying complete Solos from Best Buy to use for spare parts. eBay is one of the better sources for spare parts.
There is a readily available motor from T-Motor that can be used to replace stock motors. It does require removing the stock motor from the ESC and soldering in the new one.
I don't have a good answer for you about the future- I recommend you google "3D Robotics" and read some more if you're still unsure.
There are also many threads here discussing why Solo is better than other drones in spite of these issues.
Hope this helps.
That is a difficult and much discussed topic.
3DR is still in business because of their Sitescan system which uses a Solo with a different camera. Some people are reporting good experiences with tech support- some bad.
3DR doesn't seem to be as generous with their warranty policy- seems like they are trying to avoid replacing birds by claiming, sometimes, it was pilot error. In some of those cases the flight logs indicated a Solo malfunction.
The CEO told Forbes magazine 3DR is getting out of the consumer drone business and won't be making any more Solo's. Apparently they had one production run of 100,000 units. Don't know how many were sold or where the rest are.
Spare parts are getting harder to find. Many owners, myself included, have been buying complete Solos from Best Buy to use for spare parts. eBay is one of the better sources for spare parts.
There is a readily available motor from T-Motor that can be used to replace stock motors. It does require removing the stock motor from the ESC and soldering in the new one.
I don't have a good answer for you about the future- I recommend you google "3D Robotics" and read some more if you're still unsure.
There are also many threads here discussing why Solo is better than other drones in spite of these issues.
Hope this helps.
Thank you for you insite I am new to all this.I was a Graphic Artist in my past life and looking to use my expertise going forward . Money is a concern so buying another is a no go (for Parts).I have also looked at a DJI Phantom Standard Refurb $350 but I feel the 3DR is a better platform and more like my personality.I am handy and try to keep things going. I am attracted to the beauty of the images and looking at how they can be used to cover my costs. I am also looking at a refub GOPRO Hero Silver $250 I think this will work with soft and hardware? Thanks again it is helpful to know there will be others to help, I do not like being on a island alone.
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Trust me, you are not alone on this island. There are plenty of other "castaways" beside you....
I am always skeptical of these posts
do people really buy things without researching things first?
do people really buy things without researching things first?
I don't get it... there is just too much info on the web (some of it even correct...) to not do your due diligence before a purchase. When I buy a vehicle, a vessel, a house... I already know more about that product than any 10 sales people.Seems to me that's what he's doing!
Started researching drones with the original Phantom, then still researching through Walkeras, then researching Solo before its actual introduction, then reading this forum for several months before my (first) Solo purchase this past June. Four Solos later, I suppose I'm convinced I bought the right drone... uh, drones.
Research is best done prior to purchase.
Have been doing my research and that is why I am on this forum. Had made my choice but you have to wonder when a company who you thought was committed to its product and users leaves the market . Every review post one reads the users number one complaint is customer service and technical support. A site like this is ones only hope of getting value out of a product like a drone, which is important when your income has ended.
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I hope you're not planning to use the drone to replace your income. There's a large learning curve and the buy in is much more than the price of a drone.
But 3DR essentially gave up on consumers months ago, and what CS remains, is gradually slipping away. That's been documented here for months.
Your best support will come from these forum pages. IF you crash or lose your Solo, AND it is unequivocally NOT pilot error, 3DR will still replace it... today at least. They will NOT replace your GoPro AND it is highly unlikely that ANY software/firmware updates will ever be released again by 3DR - or at least you should proceed with that belief.
Trust me, you are not alone on this island. There are plenty of other "castaways" beside you....
I actually like the idea of "castaways" more than "fan boys/girls" for some reason. ;-)
ok I will call troll on this one. 3dr even as a defunct company has better support than DJI
Man you made one big mistake, you bought something then discovered it was not supported.
Having said that, even with 3DR out of the consumer market, if you got this thing for less than 600 bucks you got a deal. Especially if this is your first drone. In spite of all the slick advertising by competitors copying solos features the solo still destroys the others for auto flight (smart shots)
Having come to drones via the video production world.
Don't sweat it, learn to fly the solo and move to something else if you out grow it
Not nieve enough to think of replacing income but to offset some cost of materials. I am a professional fine artist and had to earn money as a graphic artist, 60 magazine covers a month,60-70 hours a week for 30+ years. We all know what has happened to that industry. I do have a good amount of high end Mac computers and I know the limitations of 4k file size,thus looking at 4 silver go pro . My best friend and nephew are both graduates of NYU school of Cinematography and I would never consider myself proficient in video but I have sources to ask for post production. I was going to go w/Husban 502?$250 thinking my other choices were out of my range but Solo $349 w/extra batt,prop,gimble was to close in cost to not go for it. I look at the Solo as a piece of clay or a brush,everything I look at is a composition. The images that I have seen shot with the Solo impressed me and got my creative blood flowing.Mr. Pyrate you are a tough person I was well aware of 3DRs problem well before laying out the bucks but it can always be returned until I use it ,which is why I am here. Your statement of being smarter than 10 salesmen may be true but a smart man would never say so.
newbie. return it, then go buy two on ebay. wait until after christmas when used prices drop.
either way, you got a great deal on probably the best user-maintainable drone on the market. it will survive harder crashes than competitors, it's easily repairable. parts can easily be sourced from used solos on ebay. motors can be replaced with sunnyskys or upgraded with t-motors. this is the best time to get into 3dr solos, $50 batteries, $5 props, $75 3 axis gimbals. nothing to fear.
either way, you got a great deal on probably the best user-maintainable drone on the market. it will survive harder crashes than competitors, it's easily repairable. parts can easily be sourced from used solos on ebay. motors can be replaced with sunnyskys or upgraded with t-motors. this is the best time to get into 3dr solos, $50 batteries, $5 props, $75 3 axis gimbals. nothing to fear.
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