If I voided my warranty so be it. Once my phantom does, I will chalk it up as a loss and won't buy anything else. I'll wait until something local catches up. It will. Mark my words. DJI dictates what warranty is and because I tried to make a crappy situation better, so be it. Speaks to their character. I see parts for phantom 3 shells are at B&H and adorama. Will replacing the shell void your warranty? I guess if the process caused an electric problem but I don't see why it would. ...and you are right. It not if, it's when.
Well heres an update
Placed one ziptie per propeller to even distrbute weight etc.. the zipties are on tight enough that the cracks actually virtually dissapeared. If the cracks get worse I will take pics and report it. But, this is the only logical option I came up with to keep warranty fulfilled. I dont want to send it in for 2 months only to get another shell the same result will happen again. They need to come up with a better solution. Sending it away for 2 months and them guaranteeing it wont happen again is a different story. I will continue to fly like this and once the shell replacement is available I will epoxy the inner shell and replace my old one. Cant see any wrong in going this route, if holes get bigger even with zipties and they get big enough to make me scared to fly. I will cut zipties and send it in. The only thing I can think of the hole being bad is if it effects the screw causing the screw to come out which makes the motor more prone to coming loose. The ziptie is almost a permanent fix. Even if the hole gets bigger and screw does come out I cant see it being a problem with the zipties still on. If it crashes because it cracked too much. Ill cut zipties and send it in.
Placed one ziptie per propeller to even distrbute weight etc.. the zipties are on tight enough that the cracks actually virtually dissapeared. If the cracks get worse I will take pics and report it. But, this is the only logical option I came up with to keep warranty fulfilled. I dont want to send it in for 2 months only to get another shell the same result will happen again. They need to come up with a better solution. Sending it away for 2 months and them guaranteeing it wont happen again is a different story. I will continue to fly like this and once the shell replacement is available I will epoxy the inner shell and replace my old one. Cant see any wrong in going this route, if holes get bigger even with zipties and they get big enough to make me scared to fly. I will cut zipties and send it in. The only thing I can think of the hole being bad is if it effects the screw causing the screw to come out which makes the motor more prone to coming loose. The ziptie is almost a permanent fix. Even if the hole gets bigger and screw does come out I cant see it being a problem with the zipties still on. If it crashes because it cracked too much. Ill cut zipties and send it in.
As I view it, the only purpose of the screws is to hold the two shell haves together. Zip tie the two halves together and you perform the same function as the screws. You probably could remove the screws completely after using the zip ties and it will perform just fine forever. What do you have to lose. If it works, great, move on and enjoy your bird. If not, you are no worse off than you are now. As far as looking a little strange, you just tell anybody who ask you what's that all about, tell them that's part of the design. How will they know any different 
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It is a bit ridiculous that we have to resort to zipties on a product so expensive, but at least it's fixable without having to open the shell
As I view it, the only purpose of the screws is to hold the two shell haves together. Zip tie the two halves together and you perform the same function as the screws. You probably could remove the screws completely after using the zip ties and it will perform just fine forever. What do you have to lose. If it works, great, move on and enjoy your bird. If not, you are no worse off than you are now. As far as looking a little strange, you just tell anybody who ask you what's that all about, tell them that's part of the design. How will they know any different
Yeah thats the exact view I have toward this route. I think its a little silly to open it up and void warranty, yes you strengthen the shell where they are known to crack. But, God forbid something else go wrong with your Phantom 3 and results in a crash, there goes your warranty. Is there a reason you placed 2 zipties? I just feel 2 is overdose and unnecessary. I hope if anybody has advice for me they chime in.
I fully agree. But, to be honest when it comes to flying this thing and doing what I need it to do, then I really don't care about the zipties. I'm upset with DJI's lack of customer service and solution to this disaster. I don't even think they have a reliable solution as there still in denial that its only a few shells that have this problem. Guarantee if I send it in for 2 months, they will return it with the same quality shell it had on in the first place which will result into the same thing. I can certainly see DJI fixing this problem by discontinuing the P3 and coming out with a P3+ with a thicker shell. That way the people who have this crack issue will get resolved one case at a time.
Has anyone tried this fix? It doesn't void the warranty and looks better than zip ties:
https://store.3drobotics.com/products/solo
https://store.3drobotics.com/products/solo
Ha ha I knew it was coming. 3DR has a bunch of issues themselves that they need to fix lol. I'm sorry. But, spending $1,000 on a quad and it can't even film or shoot pics defeats the purpose of owning a quad for me. I'm not in this hobby to fly around like a little kid. I need it to shoot video and photos.
I'm not entirely convinced this is a problem that will happen to everyone. The people posting in these forums are still the vast majority relative to the total sum of Phantoms sold. And I've not seen stress cracks form on either of the two Phantom 2 Visions I've used. I think there may be other extraneous factors.. such as the batch of shells and or quality control. How much the user torques the body of the phantom when putting in and taking off props, as well as environmental factors such as temperature and storage. As well as flight conditions your Phantoms are flown in.
So in summery, could the Phantom shells be made stronger and more durable? I'd say a big resounded yes to that. It would require a slight re-adjustment in design with extra thickness added to the weak areas. But is this problem going to happen to everyone? I'd bet you anything that's a no.
I used two ties because there are two gold stripes already there. Just trying to make it look like it was part of the design
We all have our opinions. I can tell you that I once was on your side. But, now that it happened to me too and I been seeing more and more threads of it happening to others. It took mine nearly 100 flights to see these cracks and they are very thin compared to others I seen which means it just started and I caught it very early. 100 flight is nothing. But, proves it is a time factor too. Not just DOA. Just wait what we can promise each other is more cases will pop up in time. The question is how many more?
As far as making a stronger more durable shell. I agree and stated that already. The thing is it might need new designs and screw replacements which will alter the whole P3 design. Thats why I said I can see them coming out with a P3+ very soon and discontinuing the P3. I also stated that I can see them handling those effected one case at a time by glueing the inner shell themselves. Which still keep warranty since DJI did it. Only time will tell.
Allegedly, as of today, DJI have only 20 confirmed cases of stress cracks out of 100,000 sold.
lol I giggle at that report. Theres probably 20+ on this forum alone. I can only imagine how many other people own P3's that don't even go on forums and know about the cracks. Time will tell
lol I giggle at that report. Theres probably 20+ on this forum alone. I can only imagine how many other people own P3's that don't even go on forums and know about the cracks. Time will tell
Or perhaps more worryingly people who don't go on the forums and don't know about the cracks...!
Yup and yup.
Most who have them will not yet be aware, it was only until I saw the one of he 'silly' threads that I checked myself. Before that I was only ever doing a cursory check of the props.
There are 45 who supposedly have cracks in this thread alone.http://forum.dji.com/thread-23532-1-1.html People have since stated that they have found the cracks having first voted that they hadn't.
But the DJI reps (who don't have the cracks - they add) have scoffed at the poll.
Most who have them will not yet be aware, it was only until I saw the one of he 'silly' threads that I checked myself. Before that I was only ever doing a cursory check of the props.
There are 45 who supposedly have cracks in this thread alone.http://forum.dji.com/thread-23532-1-1.html People have since stated that they have found the cracks having first voted that they hadn't.
But the DJI reps (who don't have the cracks - they add) have scoffed at the poll.
Just wondering my P3 is expected to come in tomorrow. What can I do to avoid this from happening? Slacken the screws and add zip ties?
Firstly check it over - I guess you can see from pics and video that have been posted to other threads, what you need to look for. Be sure to gently flex the arms while you are looking at the holes.
Then, yes, you can back the screws off and tighten gently (I'm not sure if the motor screws are also a problem).
If you have no cracks, just see how you get on I guess. Otherwise you could just put a cable tie on each arm, or just the 2 rear arms.
Loosening the screws and retightening them to hand tight is a suggestion I seen others advise. But, its still no guarantee. That is what this debate is about. Is it the screws too tight? Is it the shell designed poorly? The zipties won't really prevent it. Loosening screws and tightening them back to proper torque may prevent it. I don't mean to scare you away from this product. I think its a minor flaw right now that will be resolved sooner or later. Once DJI comes out of denial and starts working on a better shell then things will look better. To be honest even after seeing the cracks and throwing on zipties I can really careless now. I feel just as safe to fly again. Will test it tomorrow on my trip. You can always open up the P3 shell and glue the weak parts like other are doing. But, you void warranty doing so. To me, it seems these cracks or holes will only effect the screws keeping the top and bottom shell together. Meaning, the zipties will prevent the shell from coming apart. However, if I start to see more cracks or bigger cracks that effect the motor screws. Then, I'm sending this P3 to DJI. I can understand people raging about having to put zipties on their $1,000+ P3. But, to me it doesn't matter because I know this issue will be resolved sooner or later. Even if I have to buy a new updated shell in a couple months, which will void warranty if I install it myself or send it off to DJI so they can do it.
Yeah I am a little nervous after seeing all the things on here you guys have ran into if it's even worth the investment but it really helps hearing from experience people what to do or have to avoid things. I can't wait to get airborne. Thanks for the tip!
Yea I'm with you. I'm just in a position where I wouldn't be able to return even if I wanted to, whereas you still have the option. I will say it is a flaw that will get resolved just like the reported bugs in the firmware that nobody seems to talk about anymore. If it makes you feel any better I really hesitated buying this thing in fear of all the fly aways and other stuff I heard happening and my P3 treated me very nice so far. When I finally hit confirmation on in checkout I got over the fear of that stuff and simply told myself if it goes down and its not my fault, I will send back for warranty. If it goes down and its my fault, I'm out $1,259. I love this thing so much I already thought of getting another one just incase I do have to send one away for repair. But, after seeing this shell problem. I will hold on to my $1,259 until they come out with a more reliable version. I already spent $150 on SRP Lens, $239 on Airport Helipak. Another $300 for 2x extra batteries. I also got the $1,359 extra battery combo. Lets just say I don't plan on giving up that easy.
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