Extended Range After-Market Phantom 3 Battery

Billie Nelson · Dec 17, 2023

I own three old Phantom 3 Standards and one Phantom 3 Pro. Given that I fly Litchi autonomous missions exclusively, I am always looking for after-market batteries that offer an extended range compared to the original DJI battery for the Phantom 3 series drones. I just stumbled on this battery offering 5 minutes extra flight time on Ali Express, so I thought I'd post the link here to find out if anyone has purchased one of these batteries for the Phantom 3 drone. and if so I am curious to hear their review of this battery that is amazingly priced way cheaper than a stock DJI battery for the same drone.

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256805055492182.html?spm=a2g0o.detail.0.0.1d56NR4DNR4Doo&gps-id=pcDetailTopMoreOtherSeller&scm=1007.40050.362094.0&scm_id=1007.40050.362094.0&scm-url=1007.40050.362094.0&pvid=26721a40-ccad-4694-ba39-4c2ec182b907&_t=gps-id:pcDetailTopMoreOtherSeller,scm-url:1007.40050.362094.0,pvid:26721a40-ccad-4694-ba39-4c2ec182b907,tpp_buckets:668%232846%238110%231995&pdp_npi=4%40dis%21USD%2189.98%2144.99%21%21%2189.98%21%21%402101e5f717028153645228879ec30f%2112000032333767071%21rec%21US%21865320506%21#nav-review

If nobody has experience with this particular battery I would still like to hear if there are alternative brands of Phantom 3 batteries that offer comparable or greater increases in battery duration. Thanks in advance for any insights that can be offered.

Chrislaf · Dec 17, 2023

Hi Billy, I have been using aftermarket batteries for my Phantom 3 Standard since I bought it 7 years ago. I retired my original DJI battery that came with the drone years ago after it began to swell. I have 4 aftermarket batteries - 3 PowerExtra and 1 FlyHi battery with the FlyHi battery being the newest. All 3 of the PowerExtra batteries have outlasted the original DJI battery. The oldest PowerExtra one has almost 200 charge cycles on it and still shows 61% reported life at 7 years old! I am just now deciding to retire it as I noticed that it was starting to swell the last time I used it and was harder to remove from my P3S.

With that being said, I would definitely buy PowerExtra batteries again for my P3S as they have been reliable (I did have one I had to return to Amazon for replacement). The FlyHi battery although cheaper than the PowerExtra, I would not buy again as it is hard to read the status lights and according to AirData is not as reliable even though it is my newest battery.

The Ali Express battery definitely is a good price, but will the battery really give you 5 minutes extra flight time and even more important, will it be reliable? Also, there is only one rating with no comment - why? You can look up PowerExtra on Amazon and check the ratings - some are good, some not - all I know is that the 3 batteries I have, have been extremely reliable. Batteries is one thing you do not want to be taking chances on as you are likely aware of.

Good luck,

Chris

Billie Nelson · Dec 17, 2023

This vote of confidence for PowerExtra P3S batteries is appreciated Chris, and your note of caution about FlyHi brand batteries for the same drone is a timely insight I hadn't encountered before. The absence of any user reviews on the P3S battery whose Ali Express link I posted above is a red flag, as is the conspicuous absence of any brand name on that Ali Express battery being advertised at such a low price.

An additional five minutes aloft, while the drone cruises at the 25 mph speed assigned for all my Litchi waypoint missions, means two additional miles can be covered on a single battery charge, and that flight plan range boost makes these no-name brand after-market P3S batteries a very tempting gamble. Since these batteries are dirt cheap I may go ahead and buy one to run a few longevity tests before buying any more IF the batteries perform as advertised.

Chrislaf · Dec 17, 2023

If you do purchase one, let us know what you think and do they actually give 5 minutes extra time. I don't use my P3S as much now but my batteries are getting old and I would consider picking up another reliable battery at a good price to keep it going especially if it gives more flight time as I do use it for Light Painting/timelapse missions when I get time.

Chris

Billie Nelson · Dec 17, 2023

I will report back when I've tested this battery in one of my P3S drones. I have high hopes for Ali Express batteries for DJI drones because I purchased a "hump-back" extra range battery for my Mavic 1 Pro from Ali Express, and was astounded to see the round-trip distance covered by the M1P more than DOUBLE from 6 miles round trip to over 13.46 miles round trip, with no overheating evident on the battery surface or the drone's motors after landing from several consecutive missions over 12 miles long round trip.

If anyone reading this topic happens to own a Mavic 1 Pro or Mavic Pro Platinum, I highly recommend these affordable $76 extra-range batteries from Ali Express, which are amazingly CHEAPER than a DJI OEM battery for the same drone.

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256804687665541.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.main.37.1b9a7dff7Lf1YW&algo_pvid=1e3aa63e-8c02-462a-9f39-ce23a190c1e1&algo_exp_id=1e3aa63e-8c02-462a-9f39-ce23a190c1e1-18&pdp_npi=4%40dis%21USD%21147.98%2173.99%21%21%21147.98%21%21%402101f49817028167497221174e8b6a%2112000030842857538%21sea%21US%21865320506%21&curPageLogUid=0IJf44oYGsDn

Chrislaf · Jan 26, 2024

Hi Billy,
Have you had a chance to try out that battery that you listed above? I am looking at getting one or two new batteries for my P3S because all of my batteries have lots of charge cycles on them and I am considering retiring them soon. Plus the price of the Aliexpress ones are a fraction of the cost of the PowerExtra on Amazon.

Chris

N3NTJ · Mar 9, 2024

Just curious.. Not that the Std 3 is under warranty anymore but if aftermarket batteries were used when the units were still within warranty and the unit malfunctioned, would the after-market battery have voided the drone's warranty with DJI?

Chrislaf · Mar 9, 2024

N3NTJ said:
Just curious.. Not that the Std 3 is under warranty anymore but if aftermarket batteries were used when the units were still within warranty and the unit malfunctioned, would the after-market battery have voided the drone's warranty with DJI?

If it was the aftermarket battery failure that caused the crash then yes I would say the warranty would be void.

FWIW while my P3S was under warranty I had a number of aftermarket batteries in addition to the original supplied DJI battery and used them just as much as the original without any problems. I still have and fly my P3S. My original DJI battery was retired due to swelling long before any of my aftermarket batteries.

Chris