Buying Non-OEM Batteries

[RunningWithScissors]

So that's 30 batterys and 21 are non DJI. No reports of fails other than that DJI original.

Nigel,

I respect your position. That's why I preface my comments by saying that batteries are a personal choice. Clearly we have the OEM guys and the aftermarket guys represented on this forum. I'm genuinely glad to hear that you've had good success with the aftermarket brands, and I hope that success continues as long as you're able to fly. For now, I've been able to get new OEM batteries for what I feel is a very reasonable cost, so I've got the best of both, so to speak. Were I not able to get new OEM batteries at such a reasonable cost, I might have a different perspective. As always, just my two cents.

 

[kyrvas]

If the battery isn"t clearly identified as DJI brand, you need to know what a DJI brand battery looks like to tell them apart. You have to be careful because some less than honest sellers will go to great lengths to try and deceive you, sometimes by stating outright that it's OEM when it's not. I've seen it happen too many times. But, yes, you can find new DJI OEM batteries for something like 50% off list price. I've done it many times for both P3 and P4 batteries.



I've never had an issue using new batteries with legacy fm/sw. My P3S hasn't been updated in well over a year and it flies flawlessly. If I told you what I can get for range with it, you wouldn't believe me.



Yeah, I've always been one to push the envelope as far as I can (flying drones excluded).

I'm going with DJI OEM; found one in $80 range.

Thanks for putting my mind at ease RE: legacy fw/sw.

RunningWithScissors - like the name!

 

[MotorCycle-Man]

Has these guys ALL been taking the best care of them or not according to what you know. nigel and shared with the club...even those that know how to " Fail " !.....and battery life go's down the drain..Dji or not.....You know that Geeeeeeee too bad it got ripped open....dji would have replaced it Free and if they never wanted it they could have send it to me !

 

[RunningWithScissors]

I'm going with DJI OEM; found one in $80 range.

I use more of what I see in the photos to make my buy decision, rather than what the seller says about the battery. Based on my experiences, photos don't lie but some sellers do. Just my two cents.

 

[RunningWithScissors]

I'm going with DJI OEM; found one in $80 range.

There are some good deals on new DJI batteries if you know what to look for and have some patience. I recently bought two new in the box DJI P4 batteries for $150 plus shipping. That's like 50% off list price. They checked out fine when I got them and I've flown each one at least six times (I've got four P4 batteries).

 

[Deleted member 109724]

Nigel,

I respect your position. That's why I preface my comments by saying that batteries are a personal choice. Clearly we have the OEM guys and the aftermarket guys represented on this forum. I'm genuinely glad to hear that you've had good success with the aftermarket brands, and I hope that success continues as long as you're able to fly. For now, I've been able to get new OEM batteries for what I feel is a very reasonable cost, so I've got the best of both, so to speak. Were I not able to get new OEM batteries at such a reasonable cost, I might have a different perspective. As always, just my two cents.

You said it. Keep running with your scissors dude! The way I can tell if the battery is OEM or not is I compare the pictures to the battery that came with my bird. If every last symbol and word match up exactly, and the plastic and buttons as well, it's probably OEM.

 

[solentlife]

Has these guys ALL been taking the best care of them or not according to what you know. nigel and shared with the club...even those that know how to " Fail " !.....and battery life go's down the drain..Dji or not.....You know that Geeeeeeee too bad it got ripped open....dji would have replaced it Free and if they never wanted it they could have send it to me !

It was a decision to find out how the battery worked and to see if we could improve it - we are experienced LiPo users and not new kids on the block who need Nanny'ing on batterys.
The battery could have been sent back for replacement - of course. But you have to remember that we are in Latvia ... and we only have sub-agent DJI ... they refer back to Netherlands all the time. The time delay / the costs etc. - with price of the batterys we were already using (non DJI) being only 50% of DJI price ... its a situation that just bite bullet and move on.

People tend to forget that there is a wide world out there and not just USA ... things are not so easy when you have no direct dealer to work with.

The opening up in fact showed us a lot and also various tricks we could pull if needed. Please do not ask as I am not ready to have arguments about them. Lets just say we know how to reset the batterys .... balance them ... get max out of them ... but all tricks will null and void warranty's etc. and in wrong hands could be disaster.

On the point of taking best care etc. The failure of the DJI was the board itself and not any cell. Second that DJI batterys have built in overload / overdischarge / temperature cut-outs that effectively prevent most common mistakes of LiPo users. The P3 will not demand greater amps than the battery designed to supply - they are a matched system. The P3 will land out if you push the battery too long. The charge system is a power brick that cannot supply more amps than is safe to charge and the control board in the battery shuts off when total voltage is reached.
You would have to be pretty brutal and use some bad non DJI gear and tactics to NOT take care of the DJI battery. Even storing full charged is taken care of by auto-discharge !

Sorry but there is a lot of BS spread about these batterys ....


Final point : I would always but DJI Original batterys - IF I can buy at sensible price. But considering that DJI do not manufacture the batterys and buy in from 3rd party factorys ... at last count I found 3 different factorys supplying ... then I am sure there are plenty of non genuine out there working just as good as the ones myself and others in our club use.

On the point of warranty of the P3 ............ when I presented my P3P for repair when FW bricked it ... they noted my non DJI battery (I forgot to remove from my back-pack). They made comment ... but warranty went through and P3P was repaired FoC.

Maybe myself and club are lucky ... who knows ... but I know this. I have no worry to go out there and fly with any battery I have ... genuine and non-genuine.

Nigel

 

[solentlife]

Its actually interesting that so many keep using term OEM.

You aware that DJI do not have a single source contract for their batterys ? That at present count I note 3 different factorys .... supplying DJI

Nigel

 

[RunningWithScissors]

Its actually interesting that so many keep using term OEM.

You aware that DJI do not have a single source contract for their batterys ? That at present count I note 3 different factorys .... supplying DJI

That is true, and I was aware that the batteries are outsourced, as is the norm these days. As you're likely aware, the term "OEM" dates back to a time when many manufacturers made their own product components. With the wholesale global outsourcing effort seen during the latter part of the last century, that''s rarely the case today. In practice, there's still a legitimate use for the term although, these days, it's generally used to distinguish between those items supplied by the "manufacturer" and parts supplied by aftermarket companies. The auto industry is likely the leading example of that situation. Depending on the industry, many aftermarket suppliers actually supply products to the "OEM", as is likely the case with the aftermarket batteries. Again, glad to hear that you've had a good run of success with the aftermarket batteries.

 

[RunningWithScissors]

Final point : I would always but DJI Original batterys - IF I can buy at sensible price. But considering that DJI do not manufacture the batterys and buy in from 3rd party factorys ... at last count I found 3 different factorys supplying ... then I am sure there are plenty of non genuine out there working just as good as the ones myself and others in our club use.

That's a valid point, Nigel, which is why I include the disclaimer that a (Phantom) battery purchase is a personal choice. Included in that choice are the means and wherewithal to obtain a suitable battery. If obtaining one or more "DJI" batteries at a hefty price is not a viable option for someone, then you have to go with the next best choice. For many pilots, that's an aftermarket brand. I have never belittled anyone who chose an aftermarket brand battery. As long as I can obtain new "DJI" batteries at an affordable price, that will be my preference. If that situation changes, then I'll burn that bridge when I get to it.

 

[kyrvas]

I use more of what I see in the photos to make my buy decision, rather than what the seller says about the battery. Based on my experiences, photos don't lie but some sellers do. Just my two cents.

I agree, the photos are helpful; plus the seller's sales record.

 

[kyrvas]

It was a decision to find out how the battery worked and to see if we could improve it - we are experienced LiPo users and not new kids on the block who need Nanny'ing on batterys.
The battery could have been sent back for replacement - of course. But you have to remember that we are in Latvia ... and we only have sub-agent DJI ... they refer back to Netherlands all the time. The time delay / the costs etc. - with price of the batterys we were already using (non DJI) being only 50% of DJI price ... its a situation that just bite bullet and move on.

People tend to forget that there is a wide world out there and not just USA ... things are not so easy when you have no direct dealer to work with.

The opening up in fact showed us a lot and also various tricks we could pull if needed. Please do not ask as I am not ready to have arguments about them. Lets just say we know how to reset the batterys .... balance them ... get max out of them ... but all tricks will null and void warranty's etc. and in wrong hands could be disaster.

On the point of taking best care etc. The failure of the DJI was the board itself and not any cell. Second that DJI batterys have built in overload / overdischarge / temperature cut-outs that effectively prevent most common mistakes of LiPo users. The P3 will not demand greater amps than the battery designed to supply - they are a matched system. The P3 will land out if you push the battery too long. The charge system is a power brick that cannot supply more amps than is safe to charge and the control board in the battery shuts off when total voltage is reached.
You would have to be pretty brutal and use some bad non DJI gear and tactics to NOT take care of the DJI battery. Even storing full charged is taken care of by auto-discharge !

Sorry but there is a lot of BS spread about these batterys ....


Final point : I would always but DJI Original batterys - IF I can buy at sensible price. But considering that DJI do not manufacture the batterys and buy in from 3rd party factorys ... at last count I found 3 different factorys supplying ... then I am sure there are plenty of non genuine out there working just as good as the ones myself and others in our club use.

On the point of warranty of the P3 ............ when I presented my P3P for repair when FW bricked it ... they noted my non DJI battery (I forgot to remove from my back-pack). They made comment ... but warranty went through and P3P was repaired FoC.

Maybe myself and club are lucky ... who knows ... but I know this. I have no worry to go out there and fly with any battery I have ... genuine and non-genuine.

Nigel

Nigel - I do appreciate the education!

 

[kyrvas]

Its actually interesting that so many keep using term OEM.

You aware that DJI do not have a single source contract for their batterys ? That at present count I note 3 different factorys .... supplying DJI

Nigel

Yes, this is information that I only suspected about DJI's battery suppliers. Since I don't know who they are or how to buy directly from them, I now like the idea of buying ones with the DJI name, at a reasonable price, from sellers with a published reputation, and a return policy.

 

[MotorCycle-Man]

Nigel...You are In the wrong business...we all want you to work at the tech dept of DJI........you got my vote....100% !
we have a few members here on this forum form Dji......hope that they take note and send you a application for employment and starting pay to exceed what you make now.

 

[solentlife]

Nigel...You are In the wrong business...we all want you to work at the tech dept of DJI........you got my vote....100% !
we have a few members here on this forum form Dji......hope that they take note and send you a application for employment and starting pay to exceed what you make now.

Thanks for the Vote ... but believe me - I am only a Hobbyist like all others. I just have a character that wants to know all about what I use. I am a real Sherlock Holmes when it comes to this. Partly due I think to my job where I have to solve serious Petroleum problems and supply ...

As to DJI giving me a job - they couldn't afford me !! AND I think I would upset a few of the bosses because I do not subordinate well !!

Cheers
Nigel

 

[solentlife]

Thanks for the Vote ... but believe me - I am only a Hobbyist like all others. I just have a character that wants to know all about what I use. I am a real Sherlock Holmes when it comes to this. Partly due I think to my job where I have to solve serious Petroleum problems and supply ... before that I was a career Professional Navigator.

As to DJI giving me a job - they couldn't afford me !! AND I think I would upset a few of the bosses because I do not subordinate well !!

Cheers
Nigel

 

[Drone Dude 765]

In all the threads I have read on this, never yet had someone say, I used a non-DJI battery and it destroyed / crashed / inverted/ flipped or any other issue. A few oh I heard of one guy... type but never from an actual owner who had a Drone damaged by using non-DJI.

Now there are at most maybe 5 manufactures out there of Lipo packs. so the battery in yours is probably off the same line as one in a DJI branded, one. Its pretty easy to build up a battery pack these days.

On the DJI batteries on EBAY for $60. Would love to hear the tale of how the seller is selling so cheap and if its not at a loss, its just a good copy. Which again, not hard to do with them shipping out of 3 factories. So much counterfeit stuff out of Asia, most is impossible to tell. Sure there are the honest knock off's (Which is what i would buy if gong that way - hey at least they are honest that its a copy) then there are the ones that just deceive you well if your going to go that far to fakeit, you must be putting crap in it cause you want me to think you didn't make it.

Anyhow, always entertaining to read these threads.

 

[Southam Creative]

Looking for advice buying P3 4480 mAh batteries at good price from eBay. They are Brand New, Fully Decoded for $64.

Even OEM batteries from DJI are troublesome and they won't stand behind their product. I have two new-condition batteries and when DJI did a firmware update, it disabled these two batteries. Months later, they still don't work. DJI's response was, "too bad, wait for another firmware update and it MIGHT fix the problem." This response, combined with the $300 they STOLE from me when I had to buy new ones makes me believe DJI is a terrible company. Too bad I am forced to use their stuff. Companies like this don't last though, a drone company will come along that cares about their users and acts with integrity and DJI will end up on the Sears/K-Mart/Woolworth pile.

 

[Kwas]

I have 2 aftermarket Phantom 3 batteries, a Powerextra and a Odec that I got at great prices that I have been using for about a year. They perform no different than my DJI battery.

 

[Drone Dude 765]

Southam Creative, who and how are you forced to use DJI products? Personally I choose them cause they had the best product for the price. I don't think anyone can compete right now. I cant get a picture out of my mind of you flying your drone and a guy is got his gun on you telling you to keep flying...