Solo has Returned to Home (From 3DR)

Joined
Jul 3, 2015
Messages
247
Reaction score
91
Age
53
Location
Atlanta, GA
My close friends - anyone who truly knows me - know I like to complain. I am a firm believer that anger turned inward leads to depression and so I am quick to wit and enjoy releasing negative energy to anyone willing or unwilling to receive. Complaining just feels good; and of course my complaints are always grounded in fact, sprinkled with analogy and emotion.

Some of you may recall my Solo crashed last month ... "Sorry for your loss" was the prevailing sentiment and I appreciate all your posts and condolences. I was on board for the pre-order... I waited and complained, and complained some more from the very beginning. When I received my Solo I was happy, but went on to complain about the gimbal debacle, the absence of my free battery, missing lanyard and a multitude of other Colin related issues. Life was good... complaining.

I entered into the 3DR RMA world last month... a place I envisioned when I first received Solo. I imagined piles of drones mixed with the skulls of their owners ... large vehicles rolling over and crushing the hope and bodies of those that once dreamed of flying ... It was Judgement Day ... and I began to complain.

This process began on 11/22 and I received Solo today - 24 calendar days later. I really wanted to ... I was looking forward to it ... but really ... I have nothing to complain about. Nothing...

Root cause of my crash ... Magic smoke release. Solo flew off and found a solid fixed object to interact with and ended up involved in an abrupt unintended landing. Doesn't really matter why ... Solo was all busted up good :mad:

This morning I pulled Solo out of the box, the same box I received Solo in back in June. 3DR repaired my Solo although I did not receive any description of what was required to reinstall the Magic Smoke. I do know 3DR installed a new gimbal and sent Solo back with a new battery and propeller set. This is MY Solo ... same body, although scarred from the crash. I could complain, but I feel like replacing the body would have taken away from our relationship ;)

Guys ... I have recorded some 80 flights with Solo since June. This sucker crashed at full speed into a fixed object, dropped 40 feet to the ground - concrete - bounced and grenaded into a bunch of pieces. The fuselage held together and is intact save a few new character marks. I really thought I was going to receive a new Solo ... and I was kinda sad. I'm kinda happy they fixed MY Solo.

Preflight, power-up, GPS lock and FLY ... really nothing to complain about. Really...

I am going to purchase a second Solo to back up my original. The RMA process is reasonable and I suspect future out of pocket repairs will go just as smoothly. As the holiday draws near and people search for that perfect drone I hope this post will allay fears and encourage people to choose 3DR and Solo. I think this company is in it for the long haul and believe support will improve with time. Products fail and I am not so naive as to believe there will ever be anything on the market that does not fail. I think the key to 3DR's success is their ability to manage problems when they arise. Take it from the guy who searched for an excuse to terminate Solo along with 3DR ... Solo is a BUY.

The Complainer
 
In addition to Flying Squirrel info, I had a RMA returned 14 Dec with 22 days turn around no complaints with 3DR.
This unit didn't crash but a range problem, they replaced a lot of parts, and reported the range was now 4500 ft, which would be out of sight...great. With the 333 exemption, line of sight must be maintained, but good to know.

This was SOLO #1, so far my other two have not had any issues with a combined total of just over 100 flights.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Flying Squirrel
I returned a bad gimbal over 3 weeks ago and have yet to receive a replacement. I understand things can go crazy during the holidays, but if I'm told 7-10 working days, then I expect it close to that estimate. A follow up email reply response was "We are working the best we can to fulfill all of the orders to try to make them arrive by Christmas time."
When I got the email from Colin with the generous 20% coupon, I replied to him that I'd rather just get my gimbal back. The response was another ticket opened with the help desk. So much for going to the top.
 

Members online

No members online now.

Forum statistics

Threads
13,096
Messages
147,751
Members
16,066
Latest member
apicasso