I own the Evo 2 Dual. The USA version. The most expensive drone they sell outside the dragonfish. They claim USA made despite simply putting a FLIR thermal on a stock Chinese Drone and charging $3000 more for it. My drone hasn't flown right since purchasing new. Spiraling around the sky with nearly complete compass errors on every flight. Send drone back. Receive a new hull in relatively quick order. GREAT!? No, still problems. Now RC inputs barely register to the craft. This craft is used in law enforcement. Do they care? No. Send drone back again stating I need clear communication of the process as I need a working drone for a deadline in 2 weeks. Drone goes back and mostly crickets. Calls put you on hold for 20 mins then just hangs up, fun. Told i would get drone back more than once. Today was the last straw. Finally got through and they stated they couldnt fix drone until they hear from engineers in china, 3 days after an email asking for status. I would have had enough time to acquire new drone by deadline. They nearly sent the drone back just swapping antennas until I told them I had already replaced those to verify. Now the deadline I needed drone back is 24 hours away. Begged for a solution, they said they would backdate firmware and send back so I could use it. But looks like it never shipped. Straight lie. No drone, no tracking, no response from anyone other than "we understand your frustrations." This company has serious issues. Whats worse is they dont seem to care. Understaffed is my guess. But any enterprise or law enforcement customers looking to invest in this company, Id give it SERIOUS thoughts.
Autel Service has destroyed any respect I may have had for their products
- Thread starter jzobel
- Start date
That is a very unfortunate experience but it does not surprise me a bit. I can say the one thing I would have done differently instead of sending in a brand new drone for repair is I would have immediately sent it back to the vendor that I purchased it from; and either gotten a completely new drone or gone with a different vendor; I don't believe in sending in brand new products for repair, that's what the 30/60/90 day return policy from the vendor is for and if they don't have one then I don't shop there.
In my opinion neither DJI nor Autel have true enterprise class drones; the DJI Matrice series comes close but my biggest problem with them is they do not offer flight motor redundancy. If you truly want an enterprise class drone you are looking at $20K plus for something like the Prism X8.
Personally not surprised but as @herein2021 later said, I wouldn't have sent it for repair unless it's DJI. Instead of repairing your drone, DJI will ship you a new or refurbished one. Never dabbled with Autel because of the bad reviews (I'm not sure if they're true or not but don't want to test for myself. I'm fine with DJI).
I'd go with the DJI Matrice 300 but I heard rumors of DJI drones not being allowed in law enforcement. Not sure if they're true though.
Firstly, it was my bad not sending it in right away. But I was coming from DJI and assumed the issue might be on me. I also continually waited for firmware updates assuming it was a firmware issue. By the time it was clear that the issue wasn't me, it wouldn't have been fair to push against the vendor, who did their job well.
And yes DJI is pretty much off limits for law enforcement. But after this experience I don't see how Autel will have a market either. Good luck pushing the dragonfish if even the Dual guys don't have working drones.
And yes DJI is pretty much off limits for law enforcement. But after this experience I don't see how Autel will have a market either. Good luck pushing the dragonfish if even the Dual guys don't have working drones.
DJI being off-limits is simply stupid in my opinion. They're basically the best venue for drones at the moment.
With something like compass errors, unless you are taking off from cement or near rebar there's no way it is the operators fault and there's no way I would wait for firmware if the drone is that unusable. Compass errors are the worst and you are lucky you didn't end up with a flyaway.
It is not stupid at all, DJI is one huge spying apparatus for the Chinese government and every second of recorded footage and flight logs are sent back to the Chinese government whenever possible. There are far better enterprise class drones out there you just don't hear about them because they are in the $20K range and your typically consumer/prosumer isn't willing to spend that kind of money.
Over in Europe they are far more advanced than the USA when it comes to using drones for enterprise tasks and DJI isn't even on their approved list for many of those tasks. Everything from fully automated farm spraying projects to topological diagnostics. DJI's drones did not even meet their regulations for Enterprise reliability with the very first rule being redundant flight motors.
This drone was $10,000, $13000 when you add live deck, smart controller, and accessories....whats another $7k for reliability and service. Was told again this morning Id get a call today. Nothing. Its comical. They literally know how important this was and dont care, and now actually lie. Hopefully this drone is the last one purchased for law enforcement work. How did they think they'd penetrate this marketshare with such issues like this?
And yes compass errors made the drone fly in a toliet bowl fashion all over the sky. It could not hover without lurching 10' intoa random direction. It was a miracle on many occasions it was not crashed.
And yes compass errors made the drone fly in a toliet bowl fashion all over the sky. It could not hover without lurching 10' intoa random direction. It was a miracle on many occasions it was not crashed.
I'm impressed with the EVO 2 Enterprise, and their new small platforms.
Although Autel has SW, Distribution, and Service issues to improve and cooperation with 3rd Party developers. I will probably add an EVO2 Ent to my inventory. I have a EVO1 but never really used due to issues not resolved.
But that doesn't correlate to DJI being disliked or poor option. Regarding data compromise; That's not accurate... no factual evidence ever produced on Data collection. The congressional bill to ban, didn't pass. Remains multiple Govt entities, including military have DJI inventory and purchases. Some states jumped on the Fed Ban before it passed, and after it failed several states continued with no true reason.
Also not true Law Enforcement doesn't use... that is a State or County decision and the Mavic & Matrice series continue to be sold and used in State & Federal agencies. The local US Marshals uses Mavic series (among other tools).. the Marshal himself has a Mavic series in Office.
The European Govt's have multiple Law Enforcement agencies equipped with large inventory of DJI. Specifically M210 / M300. Recall the M210v1 battery ordeal... that was originally identified by UK Law Enforcement. Last time I checked, not many have flushed their large inventory for higher priced solutions.
DJI continues to hold 70+% of the Drone market. Are there other options, maybe better in some roles, probably but at a significantly higher cost without a significant gain.
Redundancy may not include Redundant motors, no Quad does! Although Matrice series does include Redundant Electronics all the way to the motors, and Flight Electronics. This covers the high majority of possible & most likely failure points that are recoverable and allow mission to continue. Rarely does a physical motor fail, and if it's a strike that breaks a prop... the Hex or Octals don't always recover if in tight quarters. The failure of DJI hardware is extremely low, and if in a fleet the maintenance procedures reduce further. Side note, the M600Pro does have Redundant motors, Electronics and GPS systems.
DJI makes Ag spray drones extremely popular in Asian, Africa, several countries and gaining popularity in USA for smaller fields... vineyard on hillsides as example. Several Dealers in USA sell several DJI Ag platforms.
Agri Spray Drones – Products – Sprayer Drones
Agri Spray Drones was founded with the farmer in mind. We're bringing this technology to Rural America to empower farmers with leading edge drones!
agrispraydrones.com
Overall, if data compromise and Chinese components were a concern... a drone with limited access of physical locations, and physical time to collect: 20 min x few times a day. Compared to millions of cell phones online 24x7 being carried into practically everywhere, videos always being captured, and smart TV in multiple locations... some sensitive. Webcams, WiFi systems, surveillance cameras, car electronics, etc all made in China that present infinite more ability to collect Audio & Video data. If that was truly the concern, many more devices need to be banned or monitored than a relatively low density drone population. I see it more as a position to attempt to alter market share.
Last time I saw this much artifical hype over non-usa (Asian) vs over-priced failing USA product were the multiple attempts (1960-1980's) to save Harley Davison by tax, forced competitive price increases, and some bans to some entities to purchase without additional penalties. HD was bought & sold multiple times, near Bankruptcy more than once; received Govt support (grants), and had defense actions against other competition. They did succeed, product is very popular... not an attack on HD, just the methodology. The DJI company holds a strong competitive advantage... multiple ways to attempt to change that position.
Real major bummer on your departments ordeal with this drone. I agree with a few posters, I'd exchange/return with Vendor... let them with their relationship sort it out... actually surprised they didn't step in with replacement to a law enforcement entity.
That doesn't excuse the poor service by Autel. That is very disappointing and you're not the only one I've read about with Autel. That is the main reason I've held off on EVO2 purchase.
I've read several bits indicating Autel Management is in a spiral downward. Several decision makers have departed, which is another indicator of major problems within the Company. It sounds like the Engineering Department is strongest division, which doesn't help produce, support or distribute product.
Good luck on your outcome.
This is off topic, but a blanket statement cannot be made for all law enforcement. Our city PD is considering a Matrice 300 RTK. The State Police have Matrice 210's. A county I know of has a Matrice 210. Our Fire Department is also considering a Matrice 300 RTK.
There are numerous police agencies from city/municipal to county to state, and 50 states. Policies concerning DJI will vary in a countless fashion.
yrless
Well-Known Member
I work in the commercial drone space and I can tell you unequivocally that DJI is in no way off-limits for public safety operations. Every major PD in the US owns DJI equipment and uses it daily. There have been non-binding statements issued from the Commerce Dept and FCC which are opinion driven only and do not constitute policy. So far very few organizations have heeded advice to avoid DJI products including law enforcement....fact.
Totally disagree! Unreliable is a better word with their unreliable geo fencing crap! I’ve had two shoots with clients I had to cancel on the spot because there was a glitch in their system even though I had permission to fly. Drone wouldn’t start up. Embarrassing to say the least. This is why I would never fly a DJI product again for work as a main drone.
I am a recreational flyer, EVO 1. Your closing comment seem to be on the mark, spot on," This company has serious issues. Whats worse is they dont seem to care. "
Not being able to fly in a zone is frustrating as heck... and can be embarrassing as well. That doesn't have anything on reliability of the craft, radio and the supporting apps.
The Geozone is a problem, and I totally agree it shouldn't be a DJI decision... no other Brand enforces. It is more of a liability protection for their high market density... and I disagree with it strongly and fly multiple DJI platforms.
There is a relatively easy solution to stop the GeoZone issue on many DJI platforms. If that doesn't satisfy, then other Brands as you indicate are available... although they have their software, service, stability and various issues too that need resolved.
I have an EVO first generation and have had no issues with it but then all it does is recreational flying and crop and field management.
Will say that Autel makes a fantastic OBD scanner. I have one.
Will say that Autel makes a fantastic OBD scanner. I have one.
The complete lack of communication and any action whatsoever is the exact experience I’m getting from Autel support is a joke, and a bad one. Problems with my Evo Enterprise go back over a month and they’ve accomplished exactly nothing. That said, if you can talk to @Blade Strike , he likely can help you. He helped me despite the overly aggressive greeting I gave him after being ignored by Autel for a month: still have issues, but they’re being worked on.
Dji does not care about our everyday flights,and they certainly have better things to do than try to monitor our flights.
Even China has better things to do than watch my drone footage of neighborhood homes. And if they want to watch it, who cares? Obviously the military and agencies dealing with secret material would (and do) need to make sure there are safeguards, but 99.999% of users are not in that boat. As far as law enforcement goes, China could care less about local police matters unless it has something to do with our government -- like surveilling a Senator or something.
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