Don't fall for 4k4less Autel EVO midnight "deal"

[safari]

Can I leave negative stars?...I wish.

I bought a drone (the Autel EVO) from them and they told me it was in stock so they could get the sale (deception)...6-days later with no communication I called them and and was told it was NOT in stock and they were not sure when it would be..This is UNACCEPTABLE. I cancelled my order and ordered elsewhere..6-days wasted of my time...Buyer beware !...and dont be fooled by the midnight special,it's just a gimmick to make you do a quick decision (more deception) I hope this helps someone before they are sucked in on a "deal"...Take your $$ elsewhere ...I did....Waiting on my EVO again...looking forward to it when I can get one...

 

[YuKay]

Bad luck. 4k4less don't look the kind of vendor I would want to do business with but, looking at Trustpilot reviews, they get a fairly good rating despite a few horror stories and quite a lot of slow deliveries. I suspect they don't order stock until they get the buyer's cash in their hands.

 

[safari]

Yes YuKay ,I am sure thats whats going on (but cant prove it)...Just want to warn people before they fall for it..I am now wondering how long it will take to get a refund...How are you liking your EVO?

 

[YuKay]

Even longer than getting an EVO delivered I suspect.

I like my EVO a lot - and it took even longer to arrive than yours. The few issues I have with it are probably universal - such as the crazy need to power everything up (and drain the RC battery) in order to run an EVO battery down to 8% once a month for optimal recharging.

 

[safari]

Even longer than getting an EVO delivered I suspect.

I like my EVO a lot - and it took even longer to arrive than yours. The few issues I have with it are probably universal - such as the crazy need to power everything up (and drain the RC battery) in order to run an EVO battery down to 8% once a month for optimal recharging.

Interesting...so the charger is not "smart" enough to do that?

 

[YuKay]

Apparently not. The method I described was recommended to me by Autel support. I have no idea how other manufacturers do it. If I were brave enough to keep flying past the 10% battery threshold, that would be a better way. But I think there should be a discharge button on each battery which rapidly depletes to 8% - although there must be a technical barrier to that.

 

[safari]

Apparently not. The method I described was recommended to me by Autel support. I have no idea how other manufacturers do it. If I were brave enough to keep flying past the 10% battery threshold, that would be a better way.

Maybe their new multi-battery charger will do this...hope so...sounds like a pain otherwise...Thanks for you quick replies !

 

[YuKay]

Just watching the British government having another Guy Fawkes day.

 

[forester801]

every lipo battery should be maintained this way. Autel simply told you to do it, other manufacturers won't. Why would they? That way they can sell more batteries.

 

[Hawkeye Alaska]

Can I leave negative stars?...I wish.

I bought a drone (the Autel EVO) from them and they told me it was in stock so they could get the sale (deception)...6-days later with no communication I called them and and was told it was NOT in stock and they were not sure when it would be..This is UNACCEPTABLE. I cancelled my order and ordered elsewhere..6-days wasted of my time...Buyer beware !...and dont be fooled by the midnight special,it's just a gimmick to make you do a quick decision (more deception) I hope this helps someone before they are sucked in on a "deal"...Take your $$ elsewhere ...I did....Waiting on my EVO again...looking forward to it when I can get one...

yeah, saw that too but was way too leery to send them money. had my identity stolen about 18 months ago and just now getting all that mess cleaned up.

 

[safari]

yeah, saw that too but was way too leery to send them money. had my identity stolen about 18 months ago and just now getting all that mess cleaned up.

Wow,...thats crazy..I better start checking now...good grief .

 

[Fly-a-holic]

Actually, as far as batteries go, If they are at storage charge level which is 3.85 volts per cell with no load, you can store them for a lot longer than a month without charging or discharging. Where the 8% comes in.... They say to discharge your batteries down to 8% every once in a while to further exercise the battery. The way I do it is make my normal flight bringing my drone in as I was going to land at say... 22% or better and just hover 2ft off the ground until the battery is at 8%. Personally i think 10% is sufficient. Once every 15 or 20 flights should be good enough.

I have an Evo and I noticed when it was new and before any updates, the automatic battery discharge would take it down to 3.5 volts per cell. Now and after a few updates, they discharge down to 3.85 volts or very close to it. Perfect for long time storage.

 

[YuKay]

I wasn't complaining about the need to discharge batteries - just the method. To me it's crazy that I have to run down my RC battery in order to discharge the EVO battery. How about instead making the test button on the battery lock on so that it discharges by itself and calibrating the battery lights so that one LED = 8%?

 

[Fly-a-holic]

I wasn't complaining about the need to discharge batteries - just the method. To me it's crazy that I have to run down my RC battery in order to discharge the EVO battery. How about instead making the test button on the battery lock on so that it discharges by itself and calibrating the battery lights so that one LED = 8%?

The Evo battery will discharge itself after the time has been reached. The time can be set from 1 day up to 10 days I think. I have mine set to 3 days. Default is 6 days.

 

[safari]

The Evo battery will discharge itself after the time


Question please:.....sooo..after 6-days every battery you have needs to be recharged fully?

 

[Fly-a-holic]

Yes. My experience has been this. I have three batteries and one stays on my drone. The one on the drone will not discharge as the other two did (at the set time of 3 days) but finally did a few days later. I'm not sure if I caused this or what.
They will only be discharged down to around 55% so charge time should be close to 40 minutes.

 

[YuKay]

The Evo battery will discharge itself after the time has been reached. The time can be set from 1 day up to 10 days I think. I have mine set to 3 days. Default is 6 days.

But it only discharges down to 70% - which is a long way from the recommended 7% level for a monthly maintenance charging cycle.

 

[Fly-a-holic]

No you have to do that yourself and not every time. That's just a maintenance thing. It won't hurt to charge your battery from any level.

 

[safari]

Yes. My experience has been this. I have three batteries and one stays on my drone. The one on the drone will not discharge as the other two did (at the set time of 3 days) but finally did a few days later. I'm not sure if I caused this or what.
They will only be discharged down to around 55% so charge time should be close to 40 minutes.

good to know...thanks!

 

[safari]

A follow up on the "4k4less.com" mess.....They have refunded my money after admitting they sold these without being in stock after stating it was to make the sale(deceptive).......stay clear of this company would be my suggestion...My EVO (ordered from Amazon) should be here tomorrow! Any tips for setting it up from you all ! Appreciate it.