New battery counterfeit or have DJI started cheaping out? (pics)

That's what the seller tells me but dayum has quality gone downhill. I've arranged for an exchange but waiting for them to cover return postage.
I would have requested my money back if they said they were OEM batteries when they clearly are not. I went with one that didn't claim to be OEM batteries. No expectations of authenticity there.
 
Consider yourself lucky it works. I've just purchased a Phantom 2 from Ebay. The seller stated it had a "fault with the Video" I didn't mind that, I figured I could fix it. The P2 arrived with a faulty gimbal and a Fake battery identical to the OP's It will not run, I tried it in another P2 and again it didn't run. The seller swore and abused me when I politely mentioned the fact that he stated it was a "Genuine Phantom Battery" and threatened to ride his motorbike to my home and destroy the Phantom in front of me. Being disabled I definitely didn't wish to have him anywhere near my home.

I was intending to make inquiries as to whether it's possible to roll back the firmware as I read that DJI had put out an update which stopped fake batteries from working. I'm not sure if that's true because these batteries are being sold all over Ebay and Amazon. Is there any way to get these batteries to work as I'm a pensioner and can't afford another $150 for an original. Please don't give me a hard time, I had no idea the battery was fake. Thank you.
 
Yes Original DJI batteries for the P2 are listed anywhere between $150 and $256. The "fake" similar to the OP's are $178 for 2 or $89 for 1.Which tends to make buying 2 a better deal, but it's the same per each. Clever sales trick.
 
FYI - FWIW - The OEM battery that came with my brand new P3P back in June 2015 would not click shut. It wanted to - the tabs were moving outward when fully seated - just not quite enough. I trimmed the tab plastic with an x-acto knife very little and then got a solid firm click and seat. The battery and quad are still in use today with zero issues. So, occasionally, Stuff Happens. :)
 
Anything is possible. However, I've never seen a third party (or counterfeit) battery that looks nearly identical to a known OEM battery. I have seen OEM batteries that don't fit well though

Neither have I seen aftermarket batteries that are identical to aa OEM DJI battery. There are some subtle but clear differences, if you know what to look for. I suspect that the aftermarket companies are allowed to sell their "clone" batteries providing they're clearly distinguishable from the OEM batteries. That doesn't prevent sellers on eBay from intentionally misrepresenting their batteries as "genuine DJI" batteries.
 
I myself fly a DJI Phantom 3 Pro, so I cannot compare to mine, were the suspect batteries purchased direct from DJI, as from your pics there is a obvious difference which seems to be of a lower quality finish.
 
I first bought the Phantom 3 Pro from Jessops Local to where I live, and have purchased a further 3 Batteries over time and they have all looked the same, and fit without any problem.
 
Is it possible that it’s just a good counterfeit? I know from buying other types of batteries on eBay that some counterfeits are difficult to detect. Haven’t read that specifically about DJI batteries but something to keep in mind.
Absolutely.
I'd suggest anything that costs north of $100 and is relatively cheap to make is prone to counterfeiting.
 
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I purchased 2 of the third party batteries and they seem to work as well as the original battery does. The only difference I have have noticed is that the lights on the top of the battery are not as green as the original. Almost like a pale green but they snap in okay and have been using them for over a year.
 
I'm not going to tell the seller that i shaved anything. If they do not accept it there will be hell to pay via negative feedback and ebay and paypal's resolution centre.[/QUOTE said:
I think i see the problem here. If something i need MUST be genuine i never buy it from ebay. Too much of a crap shoot.
 
I'm in contact with seller and they are swearing that it's genuine. They want to send it to them, so they can send it to DJI for replacement. Sounds like a long process. I said I'm not happy about that and perhaps I'd just like a refund now. Im gonna talk to eBay and see what my rights are exactly.
 
My only other option apart from eBay is B&M store and their price is 259 AUD. This is bloody expensive so can you blame me for looking for a cheaper option? I too am not made of money and this was an Aussie eBay seller.
 
Consider yourself lucky it works. I've just purchased a Phantom 2 from Ebay. The seller stated it had a "fault with the Video" I didn't mind that, I figured I could fix it. The P2 arrived with a faulty gimbal and a Fake battery identical to the OP's It will not run, I tried it in another P2 and again it didn't run. The seller swore and abused me when I politely mentioned the fact that he stated it was a "Genuine Phantom Battery" and threatened to ride his motorbike to my home and destroy the Phantom in front of me. Being disabled I definitely didn't wish to have him anywhere near my home.

I was intending to make inquiries as to whether it's possible to roll back the firmware as I read that DJI had put out an update which stopped fake batteries from working. I'm not sure if that's true because these batteries are being sold all over Ebay and Amazon. Is there any way to get these batteries to work as I'm a pensioner and can't afford another $150 for an original. Please don't give me a hard time, I had no idea the battery was fake. Thank you.

Just open an "item not as described" case through ebay resolution center, or do the same thing through Paypal instead (if you paid with Paypal). You can choose either one, but only one of them.

If its a counterfeit battery it is not allowed to sell those through ebay, and in any case the items did not match the description in the auction ( a "faulty video" is not the same thing as a broken gimbal). You can also accept a partial refund from the seller and you get to keep the items, lets say for the amount that it will cost you to buy a new legit battery, if the seller accepts that solution?
If you can´t find a solution with the seller then just open a case against him.

Thats the easiest way for you to deal with this problem.
An ebay case must be opened within a certain time frame which are much shorter than Paypal cases.
Paypal cases must be initiated within 6 months from the purchase so there is plenty of time to open those cases.
 
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I'm in contact with seller and they are swearing that it's genuine. They want to send it to them, so they can send it to DJI for replacement. Sounds like a long process. I said I'm not happy about that and perhaps I'd just like a refund now. Im gonna talk to eBay and see what my rights are exactly.

Like i recommended the other member in this thread, just open a case against the seller, you can always close down a case if the seller gives you an acceptable solution, for example a partial refund and you keep the battery. Note that if you want a complete refund you must ship the battery to the seller before you get the refund, and if i remember it correctly you as a buyer must pay the return shipping costs (i´m not totally sure on that though).
Never close down a case before its completely resolved though, sometimes the sellers promises to refund your money if you close down the case against them first, but thats a no no.
A closed down case can not be opened again and you can not open a new case against the seller.
 
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Maybe not buy from Ebay and buy from a reputable dealer, I pay around £120.00 for my batteries from my local Jessops Photgraphic retailer, and I am not a millionaire but I need to know my aircraft is going to perform and not fail from a possible counterfeit battery.
 
Just open an "item not as described" case through ebay resolution center, or do the same thing through Paypal instead (if you paid with Paypal). You can choose either one, but only one of them.

If its a counterfeit battery it is not allowed to sell those through ebay, and in any case the items did not match the description in the auction ( a "faulty video" is not the same thing as a broken gimbal). You can also accept a partial refund from the seller and you get to keep the items, lets say for the amount that it will cost you to buy a new legit battery, if the seller accepts that solution?
If you can´t find a solution with the seller then just open a case against him.

Thats the easiest way for you to deal with this problem.
An ebay case must be opened within a certain time frame which are much shorter than Paypal cases.
Paypal cases must be initiated within 6 months from the purchase so there is plenty of time to open those cases.


My problem is the seller keeps quoting the fact that he openly stated the Phantom was faulty, no returns etc. He's showing himself as a nasty piece of work with foul language and threats, not to myself but to the Phantom and battery. He has offered a refund, but I don't wish to give up the Phantom, because if I have to I'll replace the gimbal if I can find one at a reasonable price. I'm just angry about the battery. My wife said to me "what if you can't repair the Phantom" my reply was, well at least I got a decent battery. What I ended up with is a Phantom with more problems than just a video one and a battery which won't work.

A friend turned up this morning with his P2 and although the battery wouldn't work in his Phantom, his battery did get mine to boot up and operate correctly. We didn't have time to look at the video side of things as his wife was waiting for him. So at least I have a flyable P2 once I get a battery and as we all know one isn't enough :) Although I did threaten to use Ebay or Paypal I don't really want to send him back the P2, plus pay another $30 for postage.I guess it boiled down to principle. After the abuse I got, combined with the fake battery, I feel he deserves the angst for knowingly sending a battery he must have known wouldn't work.

He stated it was the only one he had, so why didn't he see the DJI Battery Error warning which is displayed in a separate pop up? He says he used the DJI software to tell him it had a Video fault. Which was something I never saw , the only reference was "Video OFF" in the software. I honestly would have a clue how I'd be able to turn it back ON. It was the first time I ever used it.

By the way, where are the flight logs etc stored? If it's in the NAZA FC module I have a new one coming next week. If that's where the firmware is stored maybe the one I'm getting hasn't been updated to where DJI made the fakes unusable. It's worth a try I guess. :)
 
Perhaps THEPILOT could give us a verifiable occasion where a "Fake" battery caused a Phantom to fall out of the sky. Has he actually experienced it or seen a video where the Phantom owner states it was the batteries fault. Even then we all know it's often a case of blame everything except the pilot. But what I'm getting at is these "stories" we keep hearing about when there's been absolutely no concrete proof they're legitimate. Phantoms are always "falling out of the sky" on YouTube and yet I haven't heard of any of them being attributable to it's non-DJI battery.

I see no reason why any of them should cause a failure, it's only electricity from a LiPo and although I've gone through hundreds of them, I've never had one fail during a flight. All my failures only show their faces when being charged and usually after they've not been used for some time. I can't recall a cell collapsing at any other time and definitely not whilst in the air. Maybe I'm just lucky, but even so I can't believe every Phantom failing in the air is due to it's battery failing. It's certainly no as prevalent as any other reason.

By the way, by adding just a very small amount of marine grease to the slots on the back end of the battery I find mine always clicks easily when it's pushed into my Phantom. Try it, those very thin slots on either side at the rear (the end opposite from the on button) add just a dab of grease, push it in a few times and it'll make that comforting insertion click. And it's much easier to withdraw as well :)
 
Like i recommended the other member in this thread, just open a case against the seller, you can always close down a case if the seller gives you an acceptable solution, for example a partial refund and you keep the battery. Note that if you want a complete refund you must ship the battery to the seller before you get the refund, and if i remember it correctly you as a buyer must pay the return shipping costs (i´m not totally sure on that though).
Never close down a case before its completely resolved though, sometimes the sellers promises to refund your money if you close down the case against them first, but thats a no no.
A closed down case can not be opened again and you can not open a new case against the seller.
Thanks for the advice. The seller is playing hard ball and repeatedly saying it's genuine and a DJI warranty issue and they must send it to them once they get it. Sellers rating is 99.3% and 19k sales/fb ratings. A couple if the "Negs" mentioned product quality and knock offs although some were other electronic items. I also forgot to mention that the box had creases and some type of water stains on it. Looked grubby and old. All a bit suss but drone doesnt tell me its not legit. It works but doesnt sit well enough in the drone.

Anyway, i have been forced to go the resolution centre route with PP.
 
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