Broken V+, thoughts about this?

[Jozii]

So the GPS function on my Phantom broke. It flew perfectly fine manually but I sent it to a repair shop to see what could be done about the GPS. They said that a specific part was indeed broken and replacing it would cost me around £150. I paid, they replaced it, so far all good.

They then wrote saying that now when they were trying to test fly it wouldn't start at all and that they would investigate what was wrong.

Today, they sent me this:

"Hi Johan,

In my opinion there is no way of fixing your drone without replacing the majority of the parts, the compass and GPS are both dead, the IMU is dead, the naza is most likely dead and the receiver board is as far as I can tell, dead.

The total price of these parts is:
gps: 116
compas: 15
Naza: 191
main board: 49
receiver board: 28
labour: 80
postage: 10

The total cost of this repair will be upwards of 489 GBP, because of the situation with the magnets we cannot guarantee that this is all of the damage and the price may keep going up. I'm my opinion it is worth selling the quad for parts on ebay and using the money to buy a phantom 3 standard, the quad itself probably has a value of 200-300GBP as it is so I would sell the quad like this, the gimbal and wifi are both still working, when they are new they are worth 623GBP so you would easily be able to sell it for 300.

Please let us know how you want to proceed.

-Dan"

I don't know what to say. Only the GPS was broken when I sent it, and they even confirmed that when they first tried it out. So what on earth has happened in between?

This sucks. I'm not sure what to do next. Anyone interested in buying some parts?

 

[robsquad]

where in the UK are you ?
sounds like someone tying to shaft you tbh.
did it crash ?

 

[750r]

If it was fine before and GPS was the only problem now it won't fire that's very odd . How well do you know this shop to me it sounds like dirty pool on there part . This is the exact reason I do not trust people funny how they are trying to push a new bird . I would want it back . You should learn how to work on your bird we have a lot of posts on moding and fixing yourself . Sorry your in a spot GL!

 

[robsquad]

if your near to me i got compass and gps units we can try on it if your stuck.

 

[Jozii]

I'm in London but sent it to Dronedoctor in Brighton because they were recommended on this forum. I trust them, I'm sure they're not trying to trick me or anything, but what have they done with the drone to break it even more?

They say it can be interference from the magnetized business cards I store in a separate compartment in the Vision+ carry bag I store the drone in, and which i used to send the drone in. But they have been there all the time and it has never been a problem. The gps broke because i flew and crashed it in snow, which is totally my own fault obviously,

I think I'm going to ask for a refund for the part I already paid for and just ask them to send it back. Or see if they want to buy some of the parts.

 

[robsquad]

if you want to come up this way you are welcome to try these parts on it.
if it flew before why has it all gone balls up ? dont make sense to me that you now need every part inside

get it back and upload a video so we can see whats happening

 

[Jozii]

Here's an update:

They offered a refund of the repairs that I've already paid for plus £100 for the drone as I guess they can still use some of the parts. I replied to them saying that I think they should either replace all the things they listed that are now broken since it's pretty clear that it was damaged while in their care, or replace it with a new drone.

Waiting for their response

 

[robsquad]

i have a v+ without camera if your interested, not crashed just no camera

 

[discv]

Something odd going on here. In order to diagnose the original fault ( which I would guess would be a cracked GPS module) the craft must have been working to the extent that you describe when it left your care.

This assumes that they powered it up as normal. And it must have proved functional.

If however they simply plugged it in to the Naza assistant- even then the problems that they say now are present would have showed straight away. And they would not have proceeded with any repair.
If I may be so bold, I would suggest that you relay the above observations to the repairers, and add that you would like the quad back to submit it for a post mortem to DJI.

I suspect an extra ordinary board meeting will take place!

 

[Jozii]

OK, I need some help! They are now saying that the fault is mine because of some magnetic business cards that were in the same bag as the drone. But the thing is they have been in the bag for many months and it has never been an issue. Why would it suddenly be an issue when the drone came to them? On top of that they're saying that they will need to test fly the other drones in the building to see if they need to charge me for any additional damage done to them as a result of the cards.

Thoughts about this? Should I accept the refund+100 for them to buy the drone, or should I stick to it and demand that they pay for the full repairs or replace my drone free of charge?

 

[Jozii]

Something odd going on here. In order to diagnose the original fault ( which I would guess would be a cracked GPS module) the craft must have been working to the extent that you describe when it left your care.

This assumes that they powered it up as normal. And it must have proved functional.

If however they simply plugged it in to the Naza assistant- even then the problems that they say now are present would have showed straight away. And they would not have proceeded with any repair.
If I may be so bold, I would suggest that you relay the above observations to the repairers, and add that you would like the quad back to submit it for a post mortem to DJI.

I suspect an extra ordinary board meeting will take place!

I didn't fully follow you there. Yes, they originally confirmed that only the GPS was broken but they didn't specify how they tested it. I assume they actually flew it. Any additional damage was discovered after they had order the spare part, replaced the GPS and thought everything was fine.

Bottom line, I'm not at all technically interested and I just want an easy solution. I'm not in the mood for sending it back and forth to different places. I'm leaving the UK for good on Wednesday to go travelling for a year.

They are now blaming the magnetized business cards as mentioned in my previous post. Not sure what to make of that...

 

[robsquad]

i will buy it if it for sale. message me if your interested

 

[saylor]

tell them i just shipped a giant speaker magnet to their warehouse.

 

[discv]

I didn't fully follow you there. Yes, they originally confirmed that only the GPS was broken but they didn't specify how they tested it. I assume they actually flew it. Any additional damage was discovered after they had order the spare part, replaced the GPS and thought everything was fine.

Bottom line, I'm not at all technically interested and I just want an easy solution. I'm not in the mood for sending it back and forth to different places. I'm leaving the UK for good on Wednesday to go travelling for a year.

They are now blaming the magnetized business cards as mentioned in my previous post. Not sure what to make of that...

Ok, let me try it another way- your being mugged!
For them to be able to diagnose a faulty GPS, however they tested it, the craft must have been in working order.
Under any circumstances a magnetic influence would only give problems with the compass- and unlikely to be terminal.
Any chance they are aware that you're off travelling and an easy target?

Shame really- this situation would be simple to resolve. Their own missives prove that the craft was not bricked. But if you do not have the dedication it would take-----

 

[Jozii]

They know that I'm leaving. It was taking long so I messaged them saying I'm in a hurry and explained why. They are sticking to the story that it was the cards and it's now word against word. I find it very odd that the cards would destroy all those things, especially since they haven't been a problem before. I'm not technical enough to know if it could be true or not.

It's Drone Doctor in Brighton, UK, we're talking about. Anyone have experience with them?

 

[discv]

They know that I'm leaving. It was taking long so I messaged them saying I'm in a hurry and explained why. They are sticking to the story that it was the cards and it's now word against word. I find it very odd that the cards would destroy all those things, especially since they haven't been a problem before. I'm not technical enough to know if it could be true or not.

It's Drone Doctor in Brighton, UK, we're talking about. Anyone have experience with them?

There is no chance whatever that a magnetic influence caused the problems. And they know it.

 

[discv]

Look. I'm also in South London. I'm retired so have the time. Fair knowledge of Phantoms etc. I I do like a tear up with blaggers!

I'd be happy to pick up the gauntlet and take these folk on while you roam the world.
I used to race Karts back in the day.

 

[Jozii]

They asked for the link to this thread. I hope they read all your comments above and look forward to their response

 

[Milly]

If they are trying to blag you out of more money I would tell them that your on route to collect your drone with a phantom expert with you, ( perhaps discv would ride shotgun with you). If they are trying to give you a load of flannel I think that would make their arse twitch a bit.

 

[750r]

So he offer a 100 but you can easily get 300 according to your firs post . They screwed something up or they see easy money . After reading this I would never ever use them if I was in the UK they tried to push that P3 to quick . Greed is what I see and no your cards did not do what they are trying to clame . I'd bet nothing is wrong and they see a way to fix other birds and make a sale . I call BS on them .