Dead/Defective Batteries

Had an incident occurred involving a loss to your bird or even worse, an injury to someone, there's no doubt you would have never admitted using anything but a genuine DJI product in order to place the blame solely on DJI rather than risk yourself being found negligent for using such product. There are many DJI haters out there however, most still continue to buy their products. The fact remains is that you have no idea as to exactly what you purchased although it appears identical and operates your Phantom much the same as an OEM. Aftermarket products can pose a nightmare of issues for manufacturers resulting in costly liability claims due to malfunctioning products caused by the use of non-oem components.
I totally agree with this post. Buying aftermarket battery can be dangerous. I personally think it's worth the couple extra bucks for a genuine DJI battery, although I think they are overpriced. If anything was to happen when using an aftermarket battery ,I'm sure DJI would be able to see it was not an OEM battery. Not completely sure about that,but if someone could chime in about that I would like to know if they are able to tell if you are not using an OEM battery, and if so I'm sure it would void the warranty. I think everybody would like to save a couple bucks on extra batteries, but is it worth possibly hurting someone or losing bird over couple extra bucks...


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I totally agree with this post. Buying aftermarket battery can be dangerous. I personally think it's worth the couple extra bucks for a genuine DJI battery, although I think they are overpriced. If anything was to happen when using an aftermarket battery ,I'm sure DJI would be able to see it was not an OEM battery. Not completely sure about that,but if someone could chime in about that I would like to know if they are able to tell if you are not using an OEM battery, and if so I'm sure it would void the warranty. I think everybody would like to save a couple bucks on extra batteries, but is it worth possibly hurting someone or losing bird over couple extra bucks...


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DJI can definitely tell when a non-OEM battery is being used. This is how they are able to prevent the use of non-DJI batteries.

Buying aftermarket batteries can be dangerous. True! Conversely - some aftermarket products can be better and more reliable than the OEM part they are designed to replace. It's no different than installing aftermarket props.

The incorrect assumption here is that the aftermarket batteries are unreliable and that using them will cause a crash. There is no evidence that an aftermarket battery is more likely to cause a crash than an OEM battery and it should be a personal decision for each pilot whether saving the money is worth the risk. DJI batteries are not crash-proof, but if a DJI battery fails, you are covered by DJI's warranty. Some of the after market battery manufacturers have warranties that offer coverage if they fail. There are already rules about not flying directly overhead of people or property - so those are not valid reasons to object.

Of course the manufacturers will engage in fear-mongering to convince you that their batteries are the only reliable options. They're not. If you choose to fall for it - or if you aren't comfortable giving up the DJI warranty for battery issues - then by all means - by DJI. But we each have our own appetite for risk - and our own ways of evaluating products. People will tear down and test the aftermarket batteries and report on quality. Batteries are a consumable product and customers should have the freedom of choice.
 
Perhaps you've never heard of patent laws. The batteries in question are only designed to work in a Phantom 3, no other products use this particular battery. The aftermarket batteries were solely designed to steal from the manufacturer that designed them for use in their product, no one elses.

You are really struggling to find a point - to find a way to defend the company. I suspect you are in some way affiliated with them.

I don't think the batteries are covered under patent law. If they were - then iPhone batteries, laptop batteries, other smartphone batteries, digital camera batteries etc would be equally protected - because they all use batteries unique to that product - yet there are also aftermarket alternatives available for all of them!

Chinese companies are notorious for the magnitude of their willful patent infringement. It sounds funny to hear someone try to defend one against it...lol

If you're not affiliate with DJI, I don't get why you are trying so hard to defend them for implementing a policy which is questionable at best and turned existing, working, reliable batteries into paperweights for existing customers that did nothing wrong by purchasing them.

Maybe they're within their rights to do this. It would certainly seem like they are - but that doesn't make it the right thing to do. The only reason for it - no matter how they try to spin it for the media - is higher profits.
 
Seriously build a flamewheel F450/550 if that's what ya want to do. But why rant about DJI not accepting cheap batteries? If it's my product I wouldn't either, here's why.

I cannot guarantee that those batteries will function as ours. Their battery reading algorithms are fine tuned I'm sure to dji spec battery. Put in some cheap battery hoping for a quick sell, and perhaps it says "return to home" but the cheap battery voltage drops out 2 mins earlier! This would be very dangerous as there would be no real way to predict performance.

That's just my two cents. Rc truck, sure use whatever battery. Even using the naza mv2 flight computer you have to calibrate the battery you are using in a rather involved process.

On the matter yes a benefit is they sell batteries, but I do not believe its driven by greed, I actually think this is very smart.


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Seriously build a flamewheel F450/550 if that's what ya want to do. But why rant about DJI not accepting cheap batteries? If it's my product I wouldn't either, here's why.

I cannot guarantee that those batteries will function as ours. Their battery reading algorithms are fine tuned I'm sure to dji spec battery. Put in some cheap battery hoping for a quick sell, and perhaps it says "return to home" but the cheap battery voltage drops out 2 mins earlier! This would be very dangerous as there would be no real way to predict performance.

That's just my two cents. Rc truck, sure use whatever battery. Even using the naza mv2 flight computer you have to calibrate the battery you are using in a rather involved process.

On the matter yes a benefit is they sell batteries, but I do not believe its driven by greed, I actually think this is very smart.


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And if it was your product would you wait to introduce this policy until a number of your customers already went out and spent money on aftermarket batteries? Or would you introduce it with this policy firmly in place right from the product launch? But most importantly - if you had neglected to make this a policy right from product launch - and many of your customers had gone out and spent money on the aftermarket batteries - would you just go ahead and disable the batteries they bought before you had a rule against it - or might you do something to ease the pain for your "valued customers" and perhaps let them send in their aftermarket batteries in exchange for buying one of yours at a deep discount (your cost price for example)...?

I question the policy. The aftermarket batteries have proven to work fine - so speculate all you like about algorithms and such - people used the aftermarket batteries for many months and they worked fine. And "aftermarket" does not always mean "poor quality". This is clearly something that could be left to the user to decide - knowing that the DJI warranty does not apply to non-DJI products. A strongly worded recommendation is all that's called for here. Taking it beyond that is greed - not concern. I just can't believe they've got so many of you guys fooled.
 
And if it was your product would you wait to introduce this policy until a number of your customers already went out and spent money on aftermarket batteries? Or would you introduce it with this policy firmly in place right from the product launch? But most importantly - if you had neglected to make this a policy right from product launch - and many of your customers had gone out and spent money on the aftermarket batteries - would you just go ahead and disable the batteries they bought before you had a rule against it - or might you do something to ease the pain for your "valued customers" and perhaps let them send in their aftermarket batteries in exchange for buying one of yours at a deep discount (your cost price for example)...?

I question the policy. The aftermarket batteries have proven to work fine - so speculate all you like about algorithms and such - people used the aftermarket batteries for many months and they worked fine. And "aftermarket" does not always mean "poor quality". This is clearly something that could be left to the user to decide - knowing that the DJI warranty does not apply to non-DJI products. A strongly worded recommendation is all that's called for here. Taking it beyond that is greed - not concern. I just can't believe they've got so many of you guys fooled.
I can only speak for myself but I am not fooled by DJI. What I don't understand is why buy an aftermarket battery, when you know that using the battery will void your warranty. Yeah OEM batteries are more expensive, but for peace of mind to protect my investment I don't mind paying a couple extra bucks..


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I can only speak for myself but I am not fooled by DJI. What I don't understand is why buy an aftermarket battery, when you know that using the battery will void your warranty. Yeah OEM batteries are more expensive, but for peace of mind to protect my investment I don't mind paying a couple extra bucks..


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You know that it doesn't void your entire warranty, right? It only voids any issues caused by a defective battery - and some of the third party batteries have their own warranties...so you don't really lose anything !

I ended up paying about $56 US less or battery for a product that I believe is more well built and reliable than the DJI battery.

You seem to be taking it as a given that the DJI battery is more reliable than all aftermarket batteries - and that's an assertion that has not been proven and I for one don't believe it to be true!
 
You know that it doesn't void your entire warranty, right? It only voids any issues caused by a defective battery - and some of the third party batteries have their own warranties...so you don't really lose anything !

I ended up paying about $56 US less or battery for a product that I believe is more well built and reliable than the DJI battery.

You seem to be taking it as a given that the DJI battery is more reliable than all aftermarket batteries - and that's an assertion that has not been proven and I for one don't believe it to be true!
Don't get me wrong I like aftermarket products. I have a number of aftermarket products on my P3P and I love them all. I also have aftermarket battery for my phone, and they have lasted longer than the OEM battery. But there's just something about aftermarket batteries, u just don't know what your getting. I'm sure that the majority of them are just as good as OEM. I guess I would rather be safe than sorry..


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You know what Tenley, we're all wrong and you're right. The following is what you've been preaching throughout this thread: Aftermarket batteries are never inferior to OEM, they're at least the same if not better. Hey, you've already tested 2 of them therefore, you're an expert. According to you, It doesn't void anyones "entire" DJI warranty, only affects "some" of it. Even though DJI can somehow tell that one was using an aftermarket battery, they won't deny warranty claims they possibly consider weren't the result from the use of non-oem equipment. DJI as well as most manufacturers, wouldn't never think about denying coverages if there was even the slightest possibility that a required repair may have somehow come from a power supply, this in itself was worth your $50 saved. We all back your theory that this somehow is a conspiracy of DJI to screw you and everyone else who bought these batteries solely for the purpose of making more money, not the fact that they could "possibly" not be of the same spec as an OEM. In addition, we can all agree with you that DJI was somehow supposed to have some "catch all" in place before releasing the Phantom 3 to prevent the use of such products, even before these aftermarket products had come on the market. I apologize, but now I fully understand where you're coming from. Thanks so much for making it clear that your expertise, especially when it comes to your extensive battery testing with those 2 paperweights you once used as batteries, far out weighs everyone elses knowledge on this forum. When you win your class action suit against DJI, please let us all know.
 
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I have a quick question that I think you guys could answer. I don't know much about the Phantom 2, but my question is, did DJI through the same thing with the Phantom 2. Meaning are you able to use aftermarket batteries with the Phantom 2, or did they pull the same ****...


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Tenly: "The only reason for it - no matter how they try to spin it for the media - is higher profits."
(emphasis mine)
DFD: "are you able to use aftermarket batteries with the Phantom 2, or did they pull the same ****..."
(emphasis mine)
  1. same ****: There's nothing wrong with making a profit. In fact, sales on accessories can be the main source of profits for a lot of products. It's called a business model.
  2. The only reason besides making a profit (which is not inherently evil)? DJI tests their products with their own batteries. Not having tested their UAVs using 3rd party batteries, they understandably cannot warranty their product if the 3rd party battery contributes to a crash or other malfunction that requires repair.
Tenly has been out here on these boards for about a week now pushing his case on how evil DJI is for having done this (upgrading the firmware to not allow 3rd party battery use).

How much money did he save buying those 2 knock-off batteries?

The concept of 'profit' aside, how much does he consider that just his free time might be worth, I wonder, that he can afford to put so much effort into this campaign? To him.

Chris
 
Tenly: "The only reason for it - no matter how they try to spin it for the media - is higher profits."
(emphasis mine)
DFD: "are you able to use aftermarket batteries with the Phantom 2, or did they pull the same ****..."
(emphasis mine)
  1. same ****: There's nothing wrong with making a profit. In fact, sales on accessories can be the main source of profits for a lot of products. It's called a business model.
  2. The only reason besides making a profit (which is not inherently evil)? DJI tests their products with their own batteries. Not having tested their UAVs using 3rd party batteries, they understandably cannot warranty their product if the 3rd party battery contributes to a crash or other malfunction that requires repair.
Tenly has been out here on these boards for about a week now pushing his case on how evil DJI is for having done this (upgrading the firmware to not allow 3rd party battery use).

How much money did he save buying those 2 knock-off batteries?

The concept of 'profit' aside, how much does he consider that just his free time might be worth, I wonder, that he can afford to put so much effort into this campaign? To him.

Chris
I think you got me wrong there. I mean did DJI pull the same **** with the Phantom 2, meaning did they have a firmware updates that caused people to not be able to use aftermarket batteries?


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I think you got me wrong there. I mean did DJI pull the same **** with the Phantom 2, meaning did they have a firmware updates that caused people to not be able to use aftermarket batteries?

No, I understood you perfectly. DJI releasing "a firmware updates that caused people to not be able to use aftermarket batteries" is not "****".

Re-read my post again. Is it profitable to them? Yes. Is that bad? No.

Do they also have a valid business justification for doing so aside from profit? Hell yes.

Chris
 
I would also like to add a huge thank you to all the people on here that do all The research on these products that go on our phantoms. I would be in the dark without you. Thanks again..


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No, I understood you perfectly. DJI releasing "a firmware updates that caused people to not be able to use aftermarket batteries" is not "****".

Re-read my post again. Is it profitable to them? Yes. Is that bad? No.

Do they also have a valid business justification for doing so aside from profit? Hell yes.

Chris
So I'm trying to understand, u think it's right for DJI to prohibit, in their way using aftermarket batteries?


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So I'm trying to understand, u think it's right for DJI to prohibit, in their way using aftermarket batteries?

Put in my own words, yes, I believe that DJI is perfectly within their rights to restrict battery usage in their products to official DJI batteries.

It's time to move on.
 
You know what Tenley, we're all wrong and you're right. The following is what you've been preaching throughout this thread: Aftermarket batteries are never inferior to OEM, they're at least the same if not better. Hey, you've already tested 2 of them therefore, you're an expert. According to you, It doesn't void anyones "entire" DJI warranty, only affects "some" of it. Even though DJI can somehow tell that one was using an aftermarket battery, they won't deny warranty claims they possibly consider weren't the result from the use of non-oem equipment. DJI as well as most manufacturers, wouldn't never think about denying coverages if there was even the slightest possibility that a required repair may have somehow come from a power supply, this in itself was worth your $50 saved. We all back your theory that this somehow is a conspiracy of DJI to screw you and everyone else who bought these batteries solely for the purpose of making more money, not the fact that they could "possibly" not be of the same spec as an OEM. In addition, we can all agree with you that DJI was somehow supposed to have some "catch all" in place before releasing the Phantom 3 to prevent the use of such products, even before these aftermarket products had come on the market. I apologize, but now I fully understand where you're coming from. Thanks so much for making it clear that your expertise, especially when it comes to your extensive battery testing with those 2 paperweights you once used as batteries, far out weighs everyone elses knowledge on this forum. When you win your class action suit against DJI, please let us all know.

With this post sir, you have demonstrated to the entire forum that your comprehension skills are zero. Not one of those statements you made is true. Not one! You've missed point after point that I've made - and whether they disagree with my position or agree with it - the other members of this forum that read my posts know that I didn't say any of those things and that none of those statements are my position! You are either trying to be a jerk by intentionally twisting my position or you genuinely believe that those are the things I said - and if the latter is the case, I encourage you to find a grade 5 student to help re-read my posts to you and explain what they actually mean because they certainly don't mean what you typed out. So it turns out that this whole time you've been railing against things I didn't even say! Hilarious!

It's okay though. I've got messages of support and agreement - publicly and privately - so i know that some of the smarter folks here do understand and agree.

With this post of yours, I've learned your a lost cause and can't possibly be part of any intelligent discussion about this, so I shall ignore any further comments you have unless of course they start with "I'm sorry..." - but don't worry - I won't be holding my breath! lol
 
I'm shocked eBay and Amazon still let vendors sell these DJI knock off batteries on their sites, when everyone knows they no longer work (post update)
 
Tenly: "The only reason for it - no matter how they try to spin it for the media - is higher profits."
(emphasis mine)
DFD: "are you able to use aftermarket batteries with the Phantom 2, or did they pull the same ****..."
(emphasis mine)
  1. same ****: There's nothing wrong with making a profit. In fact, sales on accessories can be the main source of profits for a lot of products. It's called a business model.
  2. The only reason besides making a profit (which is not inherently evil)? DJI tests their products with their own batteries. Not having tested their UAVs using 3rd party batteries, they understandably cannot warranty their product if the 3rd party battery contributes to a crash or other malfunction that requires repair.
Tenly has been out here on these boards for about a week now pushing his case on how evil DJI is for having done this (upgrading the firmware to not allow 3rd party battery use).

How much money did he save buying those 2 knock-off batteries?

The concept of 'profit' aside, how much does he consider that just his free time might be worth, I wonder, that he can afford to put so much effort into this campaign? To him.

Chris

You've mixed up my points - which may not be entirely your fault. There are 2 of them and they are somewhat related and intermixed. On one of them, I simply have comments. The other one pisses me off.

First of all, there is the decision to not allow after-market batteries to be used.

I don't like that decision and I don't think it's necessary - but I do acknowledge that it may be legal for them to do so and a good business decision. I am genuinely trying to understand why - if it is legal - more companies don't do the same thing - because as we all agree, doing so will certainly increase profits. I don't think they are evil for doing so and the reason I point out that it was done solely for financial reasons is to counter the suggestion that they are doing it for safety reasons as they have tried to spin it. It's not about safety. It's about selling more batteries.

So - to avoid mixing things up - I'm disappointed that they've chosen to implement such a policy - especially since I think the vast majority of us were using all DJI or mostly DJI batteries even without this policy in place. (I had 6 batteries, 4 OEM and 2 aftermarket)

The thing that really pisses me off is the way they did it. I've explained this a number of times already so I doubt that explaining it again is going to help with anyone's understanding - but - people immediately after the Phantom 3's release, people were allowed to use aftermarket batteries, and some of us purchased them. But the WAY that DJI chose to implement this policy instantly destroyed the value and usefulness of the batteries that their customers had previously purchased which for some may have amounted to several hundred dollars. A company that cared about its customers would have introduced some program to at least make it look like they cared about its customers and that they were sorry about the financial impact of their new policy. The simplest thing they could have done - as a token gesture -would have been to allow any customer that sent in an aftermarket battery with a dated proof of purchase for it - to purchase an OEM battery for cost ($50?). This would not have cost DJI anything except the cost of administering the program - and it would have shown that they do care about their customers. (It's the minimum I would have done if it were my company - but honestly, I would have probably done more.)

But DJI did nothing except say tough luck - you're going to have to purchase OEM batteries at full price - and *THAT* is why I'm angry and ranting - and I have the right to rant and be upset. This is very nearly theft. Ranting - sharing stories, and sharing information are some of the reasons this forum exists. If people get tired of reading my rants - they can unsubscribe from this message thread and enjoy the rest of the forum. I'm not flooding every message thread with anti-DJI rhetoric. I've kept my comments limited to this message chain that I created.

If people keep jumping in with incorrect information -I'll keep rebutting and correcting them. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion - and if they don't want to risk flying with aftermarket batteries - nobody is forcing them to do so - but claiming that DJI is doing this because they are a) getting burned on warranty repairs, or b) because it's a safety issue or c) that all aftermarket batteries are inferior and prone to failure is simply not true - and in my thread people are not allowed to present an untruth as if it were a fact -without it being challenged.

In between conference calls, I sit out on my back deck and I drink wine or coffee and smoke cigarettes. While I do so, I read forums, watch YouTube tutorials, I shop on Amazon and I respond to this thread. Rebutting the misinformation people are trying to pawn off as fact here - and calling out DJI for customer-unfriendly behavior is therapeutic for me. Each time I press send, i feel a wave of calm wash over me. I don't expect DJI to change any of their policies based on what I write. It's enough for me to put the truth out there. Perhaps some future potential DJI customer will stumble upon this thread and decide to go with Yuneec instead of DJI because of this discussion about the way they treat their customers....and maybe they won't! It doesn't matter! I feel good about it and it is after all - my time and I have it to spare!
 

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