Afraid to order with all these problems. .

[witold]

What do you propose to do ? Stay away from P3P for a while until Dji solves the problems or go to another solution like Solo ?

Eddie

There are 2 rules for buying Phantoms:

1. Buy from the best shop. Not some random shop that just opened their doors recently and is selling drones. NOT DJI where you need to ship it back to China. Buy from a place that has a great return policy. If something is not perfect out of the box, easy solution: exchange.

2. People experiencing issues mostly didn't get one of the approved devices. On DJI web page, it clearly states which IOS and which Android tablets have been tested and recommended. Get the one that has the best reputation: Ipad Air 2.

Most of the crashes and problems are our mistakes. There is only 1 guy who says he has had a real 'flyaway' and he has been experimenting with untested alpha software and doing things that almost no one does. (Although he claims to have multiple units and the unit that flew away is the one that was 100% stock...)

Comparatively speaking, SOLO is a joke. All hype. Did they release the gimbal yet?

 

[SouthernPhantom]

To add to the above... Quite often you see here the few positive posts and so many people jump all over it. Its almost not worth trying to be positive! I cant say that I have even once had a problem with my bird. She has flown like a dream in every situation she has been put in to. Range issues are non existent, in all directions. Video is near perfect. Stable out of the box. And I have never had problems with updates. 100% satisfied?? Absolutely!! Cant wait to start testing the new features coming!

I agree with you 100%. It's a great new product, with amazing technology at an affordable price. I'll also chime in about the surprising negativity and hostility on this forum. Even so, there are a lot good people and great advice here. Of course, the problems that are inherent in any new technology are worth exposing and discussing. But don't get sucked into the denigrating and mudslinging sessions that are too common.

 

[JohnK]

This forum has made me nervous as well. Seems like I get a lot more apprehensive with flights now than I did before I starting reading this forum. Just need to remember that very few people report uneventful smooth flights.

Wow those could be my exact words!! I have only had 28 flights so far, and the only problem I had was caused by me, and solved by my P3 when auto RTH engaged and it came buzzing back to me after a few minutes of "omg what did I just do"? I get especially nervous when flying over water, and my BIG test is coming this fall when I take it out on a road trip across the plains to Seattle. Can't wait ... but I'll nervous while flying until then!

 

[JohnK]

Man oh Man-- Refreshing to hear some good news for a change-- I thought for a minute, that I was on a different forum. I want to echo the positive remarks--- for all of those who have had negative experiences, there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Ditto that!

 

[SouthernPhantom]

Wow those could be my exact words!! I have only had 28 flights so far, and the only problem I had was caused by me, and solved by my P3 when auto RTH engaged and it came buzzing back to me after a few minutes of "omg what did I just do"? I get especially nervous when flying over water, and my BIG test is coming this fall when I take it out on a road trip across the plains to Seattle. Can't wait ... but I'll nervous while flying until then!

I fly mine over a small lake all the time. Not one issue. Just make sure the GPS is working and stable over open land first. And I agree about the RTH. Even if the mobile device gets flaky, it always reconnects and brings the P3 home. And as most of you know, you can even shut off your phone/tablet, reboot it, and reconnect!

 

[JohnK]

I fly mine over a small lake all the time. Not one issue. Just make sure the GPS is working and stable over open land first. And I agree about the RTH. Even if the mobile device gets flaky, it always reconnects and brings the P3 home. And as most of you know, you can even shut off your phone/tablet, reboot it, and reconnect!

Nice. I fly over the Hudson River and up and over the beautiful Walkway Bridge. It is a HUGE metal structure, so I don't get too close, but I have flown over it numerous times (getting happy waves from people walking on it) and have had absolutely NO issues. I even chased a few jetski users (with permission) and shared the video with them. It really is quite a remarkable machine, and everyone who sees it hover on takeoff for the very first time is blown away by how stable it is.

 

[imadago]

I wonder if he's reading the same forums as I am?! Nothing but complaints around here!

Well then pick another forum. People have a right to complain. The fact that you said that complaining is all you hear on this forum, should tell someone like yourself that knows everything, that people will always complain. This country is made/built on diversity. Nothing changes without it.

 

[atki]

Well then pick another forum. People have a right to complain. The fact that you said that complaining is all you hear on this forum, should tell someone like yourself that knows everything, that people will always complain. This country is made/built on diversity. Nothing changes without it.

Think you took his comment completely out of context.

 

[Harleymhs]

I am 100 % happy with my P3P .. Really love it! I had a Blade 350 QX3 AP combo and a 3DR Solo. #50 sold and Solo returned to Best Buy ! I really love everything about my P3P .. And never had a issue at all! If you buy from a good dealer you will be fine! I got my from Copter Shop and they are GREAT! My orig came DOA and they sent me a replacement OVERNIGHT with out waiting for the old one to get back to them! I had my new one the next day at 8:30 AM! Great customer service! I will only fly DJI after having 2 other quad's .. Really love mine!

 

[King Luff]

I was almost ready to order my P3P before few days until I came here to this forum and reading all these hundreds of posts with Dji's problems.

Drones missing, uncontrollable phantoms, flyaway, apps crashing in both I ios and Android, etc. ..

Finally is there anyone satisfied 100% with no problems or there ?

When spending almost 2000€ for the bird with batteries and case, such problems are not acceptable, righ or not ?

What do you propose to do ? Stay away from P3P for a while until Dji solves the problems or go to another solution like Solo ?

Eddie

Haven't read through the replies but I can say that 2 weeks ago I was in your exact position.

I bought the Phantom and it's brilliant, best purchase I've made in years

 

[JohnK]

I have to say, as someone with only 28 flights, I'm pretty encouraged and relieved by the replies here. I'm sure I'm not alone in that feeling!!! Thanks to all who took the time to report good news.

 

[Harleymhs]

Haven't read through the replies but I can say that 2 weeks ago I was in your exact position.

I bought the Phantom and it's brilliant, best purchase I've made in years

+1

 

[atki]

Some people don't seem to realise a high tech drone like a p3 is not like a painting you hang on the wall. It's a highly complex flying machine and the fact it does all it does with only a few incidents in thousands is remarkable. So far the solo has proven nothing and I find it quite odd hearing someone mention that as an alternative.

 

[Harleymhs]

Took these last weekend! This is why I love my P3P ..

 

[SouthernPhantom]

I have to say, as someone with only 28 flights, I'm pretty encouraged and relieved by the replies here. I'm sure I'm not alone in that feeling!!! Thanks to all who took the time to report good news.

Had mine for four months now, and have flown almost every day with no bad incidents. Even with the occasional (frequently reported here) flaky phone signals, once I learned that it always reconnects and comes home, I've been 100% fine.

 

[King Luff]

Some people don't seem to realise a high tech drone like a p3 is not like a painting you hang on the wall. It's a highly complex flying machine and the fact it does all it does with only a few incidents in thousands is remarkable.

This is true. I can imagine many people just buying these and flying it out the box without researching or taking the time to learn. Most of them probably go without incidents too which is a credit to the P3 however there will be the ones that don't calibrate, tighten props etc that have them fall out the sky. I'm not deluded in thinking that there aren't defective units out there either because they do exist as well but you'd be very unlucky to get one

 

[Bambola]

8 hour and 15 mins of absolutely fantastic fun (apart from one little incident that was totally my fault) covering 64.45 Kilometres.

 

[cleaner1369]

I've bought 3 DJI UAV's in the last year from a supplier who shall remain unnamed. They've done a good job for me, BUT after the P3 firmware "F----(oul) up", ALL of my future purchases WILL be made through my Amazon Prime account.

No insult to my supplier, but Amazon doesn't question returns of Prime members. If it doesn't work as advertised, it gets shipped back.

If DJI won't support their product, their customers, and their distributors, Amazon Prime and Visa will.

 

[JKDSensei]

Ya... Gotta disagree. This is coming up constantly. And frankly, there is no way suddenly "police" it now. We have had cameras on RC aircraft for 20+ years. For better than 10 years we have been able to fly literally MILES without radio issues. Drones are nothing special, just slower moving. Congress will have to make the move before the FAA can even talk.. and they couldnt care less.
Just my 2 cents though.

I respect your opinion and your points may be valid. Disagreeing is fine.
I do think drones are "special" in many ways such as dedication to camera platform, huge growth in popularity and so easy to fly long distance by complete newcomers to name a few.

The other thing is that I feel the FAA already has legal authority over the skies. Part 91.13 pertaining to models in particular. What "might" come out of all this as the dust settles (and I'm afraid of this outcome)...is that all this drone stuff may cause the FAA to evolve into a much more aggressive and in our faces gubbmnet bureaucracy.
Somewhat like the EPA has become along with the IRS etc.

There seems to be an alarming trend toward bigger Federal government and tighter Federal government control.
Federal government really should only be heard from in case of war and a few other national urgencies. The States should be handling the rest.

 

[JKDSensei]

I've bought 3 DJI UAV's in the last year from a supplier who shall remain unnamed. They've done a good job for me, BUT after the P3 firmware "F----(oul) up", ALL of my future purchases WILL be made through my Amazon Prime account.

No insult to my supplier, but Amazon doesn't question returns of Prime members. If it doesn't work as advertised, it gets shipped back.

If DJI won't support their product, their customers, and their distributors, Amazon Prime and Visa will.

I have found this to be true. Amazon will even provide a return shipping label and free shipping back in most cases. I would buy a P3P through Amazon if only for the reassurance.