Mr Batt on Amazon: 3rd party Phantom 3 battery review

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Hello all,

I know that 3rd party batteries are generally frowned upon around here, but I wanted to offer some of my recent testing/information. As many of you know, a few updates ago DJI locked 3rd party batteries out of the device and rendered them unusable. Since then, most have believed that all new 3rd party batteries are no longer compatible with current firmware or DJI Go app. I was the same, and then when browsing Amazon i saw a seller, Mr.Batt, who advertised 3rd party batteries which were compatible with latest firmware and DJI go update. On a hunch, I pinged Mr.Batt: and questioned their claims that the battery works on the latest firmware/DJI go updates and asked them to send me one to prove it. I was surprised, they responded back and offered to send me a battery. As a result, I'm posting a follow-up here and on Amazon. The battery I received is linked here:
https://www.amazon.com/Mr-Batt-4480mAh-Replacement-Battery-Phantom/dp/B01CJMRPUE

Please know, I havent ever advocated for the usage of 3d party batteries. I only wanted to know if these actually worked, and they do .. so I wanted to post and share information with the community.

Be aware, using 3rd party batteries probably voids your DJI Phantom 3 warranty. Either by flying, or crashing, if DJI see's its a 3rd party battery they won't honor any warranty claim. You are a grown adult, you can make a decision on whether to use these or not, and if the cost merits the value/risk.


The Pro's
- The battery works and flies fine with firmware 1.8, 1.9 on Advanced and Pro
- The battery works and flies fine on DJI go iOS 2.9.1 and Android 2.9.0 on Advanced and Pro
- The LED's are a lighter/not as bright shade of green, the red LED is a tad dimmer as well.
- The battery is physically exactly the same as the DJI battery, except for some printing on the battery label.
- Battery charges in about the same timeframe as stock battery
- The battery gives about 18-20 minutes of flight down to 10%
- The battery seems to operate/function just as well as the stock battery. Altitude and throttle work just fine even with low battery percentages.
- Battery time in DJI Go counts down perfectly like stock battery

The Cons
- The batteries are breaking in less easily than DJI batteries. When i first powered it on, it showed 4300mah available. Now its up to 4400mah. Its breaking in, but should have shown full mah at the get go.
- The batteries, when running, dont like to run >4.0v even when charged to 100%. They slip down to 3.8-3.9 volts for the entire flight until they drop down to lower and then go down to 3.5 like normal. Odd.
- The battery log shows cell errors some time back in the battery history. I pinged the seller and they responded with "Please charge the battery and try one flight, it will clear up errors in the log for battery and regain capacity, which will make the battery to be more compatible with Phantom 3 drones.". The battery history still shows cell errors, but there are no new cell errors and no cell problems. Batteries work fine.

Summary/TLDR:
I'm still a tad hesitant to fly them too far away, but so far they are flying really well. Do I trust them? Yes. I can easily get 18+minute flights out of them, and they charge in similar time frame as stock. I ran with my externals and got good time, so they work well there too. So far, so good. Would i buy one? At $80, I dunno. But, if the price came down to $60, i absolutely would.

Pictures:

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Mr Batt battery installed, compared to Stock battery sitting on top.
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You forgot what is probably the biggest con.... you stand a _good_ chance of DJI not honoring the warranty is a 3rd party battery is used. Given DJI's history this may be true even when the battery is not to blame.
 
As it is DJI is known for not honoring warranty claims they should be honoring. If someone uses this battery and the drone crashes DJI is going to point that as the reason for the incident, thus voiding and denying the warranty claim. DJI's customer service and warranty process is broken and needs to be improved.
I am going to keep it in mind though for when my drone is out of warranty.
 
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Yes -- a few bad reviews sometimes turns people into skeptics ;)

If you're worried about it, spend $3 more and get it from this authorized DJI dealer.
 
I would like to compare the flight log file from two of your flights being before ever using the new battery, and one since being shipped to you. As you know you can upload the .txt file to each one in a post here in this thread.

Btw, do these batteries come with their own firmware to load in the aircraft? It would be nice to also see what your P3X_FW_LOG_AB.txt has to show before and after using the new battery.

Edit: Thanks for sharing your info on the experience, it's much appreciated.
 
I am very curious about the firmware thing as well. Will these accept a DJI firmware update?
 
I would like to compare the flight log file from two of your flights being before ever using the new battery, and one since being shipped to you. As you know you can upload the .txt file to each one in a post here in this thread.

Btw, do these batteries come with their own firmware to load in the aircraft? It would be nice to also see what your P3X_FW_LOG_AB.txt has to show before and after using the new battery.

Edit: Thanks for sharing your info on the experience, it's much appreciated.

HI Frank - i'll have some logs posted this afternoon, life has been crazy. I have atleast 4 flights i can find the logs for (I fly ALOT and don't always keep track) and one where i ran it with externals . Here's the HD links for those until i can get the logs from my Tablet.

HealthyDrones.com - Innovative flight data analysis that matters
HealthyDrones.com - Innovative flight data analysis that matters
HealthyDrones.com - Innovative flight data analysis that matters
HealthyDrones.com - Innovative flight data analysis that matters

And this one was the Mr Batt 3rd party battery, with my Horizon 5200 external battery strapped.

HealthyDrones.com - Innovative flight data analysis that matters
 
Yes -- a few bad reviews sometimes turns people into skeptics ;)

If you're worried about it, spend $3 more and get it from this authorized DJI dealer.

Received my battery from Amazon today and its charging right now.
Like msinger said above...$105 shipped from Amazon for an OEM battery. Hard to justify $80 for a 3rd party that may get locked out if you update.
 
HI Frank - i'll have some logs posted this afternoon, life has been crazy. I have atleast 4 flights i can find the logs for (I fly ALOT and don't always keep track) and one where i ran it with externals . Here's the HD links for those until i can get the logs from my Tablet.

HealthyDrones.com - Innovative flight data analysis that matters
HealthyDrones.com - Innovative flight data analysis that matters
HealthyDrones.com - Innovative flight data analysis that matters
HealthyDrones.com - Innovative flight data analysis that matters

And this one was the Mr Batt 3rd party battery, with my Horizon 5200 external battery strapped.

HealthyDrones.com - Innovative flight data analysis that matters

Posting the files is great, but could you post the .txt extension . Now this only applies to as long as you are using GO app version 2.8.3 and before.
 

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