Has anyone here sent a water damaged drone to Autel for repair?

[Steverino]

As I wrote in another post, my EVO II battery failed and suddenly went to zero. This caused the drone to go into automatic landing and unfortunately, it landed in the river. I was able to retrieve the drone within a couple of minutes of it being submerged. I quickly removed the battery and rinsed the drone and battery off in fresh water. I then placed the drone and battery in front of the fireplace overnight, occasionally changing its position and making sure they weren't getting too hot. The next morning, I tried to charge the battery and the leds never lit and it wouldn't charge. I don't really care about that battery because I would never use it again anyway. I inserted a different battery and I powered up the controller and then the drone. The drone powered on normally but the gimbal did not move and it was taking much longer than normal to connect. It finally connected and I noticed the image on the camera was blank and within a few seconds, the controller then disconnected from the drone. I powered the drone off and removed the battery. I removed the plastic shell from the drone and looked for moisture but did not find any. However, I could see rust had started to form on a couple of the screw heads. I didn't remove any other parts and I cleaned what I could of the mainboard with electronics cleaner. I then placed both the camera and drone in rice. That was 48 hours ago. I plan to test the drone again tomorrow. However, I'm really not expecting it to work. I suspect the camera and gimbal and mainboard were likely damaged.

My question is, What parts are Autel Repair likely to want to replace and what is the approximate cost going to be? I suspect they have a procedure in place for water damaged drones that probably consist of replacing both the electronics such as the main board, GPS, etc. and the camera. If so, the combined cost of that repair could exceed the value of the drone. I don't want to pay for shipping and have to wait another week only to find out that it's not worth fixing. Has anyone else sent a water damaged EVO II to Autel for repair? If so, what did they do and what did it cost.

TIA
BTW, if anyone is interested in seeing video of the crash, it's at

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The video was corrupt but I was able to repair it but did not get back the last few seconds so I added stock footage at the end to simulate the crash.

 

[Steverino]

It's been nine days since I submitted a ticket to Autel about my water damaged drone and I still haven't heard a word from them, other than the initial automated reply. I sent a follow up email 3 days later, still nothing. I just sent them another email and I'm hoping I can at least get a reply.

I asked if the repair department would replace just the part or parts that are keeping the drone from pairing or if in the event of a water crash, do they insist on replacing all of the electronics since they got wet and could develop problems in the future. I also let them know if the repair department would only replace what’s not working, I would not expect them to guarantee the parts of the drone that were not replaced and I would take my chances with it. I tested the camera and gimble on another EVO II and the camera and gimble are working fine. I hate to pay $40 for shipping and have to wait a couple of weeks only to find out they don't consider it to be cost effective to repair a water damaged drone. It seems they could tell me something.

The drone powers up and sound normal(you can hear the ESCs beep as if everything was okay and the gimble works) but I can’t pair the controller to the drone. I don't know if Autel is not interested in repairing a water damaged drone or if they are just way behind on replying to emails. I also find it odd that it appears no one on this forum has ever sent a water damaged drone to Autel for repair. Oh well, maybe Autel will at least reply to my third email. We'll see.

 

[SARty]

If you had an unavoidable loss due to an equipment defect or malfunction, Autel should give you a full replacement under warranty.

 

[Steverino]

Thank you for your reply. Unfortunately, both the drone and the battery are no longer in warranty.

 

[SARty]

Thank you for your reply. Unfortunately, both the drone and the battery are no longer in warranty.

How many cycles are on the battery? If it's under 200, there's no way they should leave you holding the bag on this.

 

[Steverino]

The battery had about a hundred cycles. I had the exact same thing happen with another battery a couple months ago, which also had about a hundred cycles on it. But the batteries were purchased over a year ago so the warranty has expired.

 

[dimitriskontis]

Έχουν περάσει εννέα μέρες από τότε που υπέβαλα ένα εισιτήριο στην Autel σχετικά με το κατεστραμμένο από το νερό drone μου και ακόμα δεν έχω ακούσει λέξη από αυτούς, εκτός από την αρχική αυτοματοποιημένη απάντηση. Έστειλα ένα email παρακολούθησης 3 μέρες αργότερα, ακόμα τίποτα. Μόλις τους έστειλα άλλο ένα email και ελπίζω να λάβω τουλάχιστον μια απάντηση.

Ρώτησα εάν το τμήμα επισκευής θα αντικαταστήσει μόνο το εξάρτημα ή τα εξαρτήματα που εμποδίζουν το ζευγάρωμα του drone ή εάν σε περίπτωση σύγκρουσης με νερό, επιμένουν στην αντικατάσταση όλων των ηλεκτρονικών εξαρτημάτων αφού βράχτηκαν και θα μπορούσαν να δημιουργήσουν προβλήματα στο μέλλον . Τους ενημέρωσα επίσης εάν το τμήμα επισκευής αντικαθιστούσε μόνο ό,τι δεν λειτουργεί, δεν θα περίμεναν να εγγυηθούν τα μέρη του drone που δεν αντικαταστάθηκαν και θα έπαιρνα τις μεγάλες μου μαζί του. Δοκίμασα την κάμερα και το gimble σε άλλο EVO II και η κάμερα και το gimble λειτουργούν μια χαρά. Δεν μου αρέσει να πληρώνω 40 $ για τη ναυτιλία και πρέπει να περιμένω μερικές εβδομάδες μόνο για να μάθω ότι δεν θεωρούν ότι είναι αποδοτική η επισκευή ενός drone που έχει υποστεί ζημιά στο νερό. Φαίνεται ότι θα μπορούσαν να μου πουν κάτι.

Το drone παίζει και ακούγεται κανονικά (μπορείτε να ακούσετε τους ήχους ESC σαν να ήταν όλα εντάξει και το gimble λειτουργεί) αλλά δεν μπορώ να συνδέσω το χειριστήριο με το drone. Δεν ξέρω αν η Autel δεν ενδιαφέρεται να επισκευάσει ένα drone που έχει υποστεί ζημιά από το νερό ή αν μένει πολύ πίσω στην απάντηση στα email. Επίσης, μου φαίνεται περίεργο που φαίνεται ότι κανείς σε αυτό το φόρο δεν έχει στείλει ποτέ ένα drone κατεστραμμένο από το νερό στην Autel για επισκευή. Λοιπόν, ίσως η Autel να απαντήσει τουλάχιστον στο τρίτο μου email. Θα δούμε.

It's been nine days since I submitted a ticket to Autel about my water damaged drone and I still haven't heard a word from them, other than the initial automated reply. I sent a follow up email 3 days later, still nothing. I just sent them another email and I'm hoping I can at least get a reply.

Ρώτησα εάν το τμήμα επισκευής θα αντικαταστήσει μόνο το εξάρτημα ή τα εξαρτήματα που εμποδίζουν το ζευγάρωμα του drone ή εάν σε περίπτωση σύγκρουσης με νερό, επιμένουν στην αντικατάσταση όλων των ηλεκτρονικών εξαρτημάτων αφού βράχτηκαν και θα μπορούσαν να δημιουργήσουν προβλήματα στο μέλλον . Τους ενημέρωσα επίσης εάν το τμήμα επισκευής αντικαθιστούσε μόνο ό,τι δεν λειτουργεί, δεν θα περίμενα να εγγυηθούν τα μέρη του drone που δεν αντικαταστάθηκαν και θα έπαιρνα τις ευκαιρίες μου μαζί του. Δοκίμασα την κάμερα και το gimble σε άλλο EVO II και η κάμερα και το gimble λειτουργούν μια χαρά. Δεν μου αρέσει να πληρώνω 40 $ για τη ναυτιλία και πρέπει να περιμένω μερικές εβδομάδες μόνο για να μάθω ότι δεν θεωρούν ότι είναι οικονομικά αποδοτική η επισκευή ενός drone που έχει υποστεί ζημιά στο νερό. Φαίνεται ότι θα μπορούσαν να μου πουν κάτι.

Το drone ενεργοποιείται και ακούγεται κανονικά (μπορείτε να ακούσετε τους ήχους ESC σαν να ήταν όλα εντάξει και το gimble λειτουργεί) αλλά δεν μπορώ να συνδέσω το χειριστήριο με το drone. Δεν ξέρω αν η Autel δεν ενδιαφέρεται να επισκευάσει ένα drone που έχει υποστεί ζημιά από το νερό ή αν μένει πολύ πίσω στην απάντηση στα email. Επίσης, μου φαίνεται περίεργο που φαίνεται ότι κανείς σε αυτό το φόρουμ δεν έχει στείλει ποτέ ένα drone κατεστραμμένο από το νερό στην Autel για επισκευή. Λοιπόν, ίσως η Autel να απαντήσει τουλάχιστον στο τρίτο μου email. Θα δούμε.

Γεια σας! Μπορείτε να μου πείτε τι έγινε τελικά; Σας απάντησαν; Έχω ένα παρόμοι
πρόβλημα και μόλις έστειλα το πρώτο μου e-mail και περιμένω απάντηση!

 

[Detritalgeo]

I would doubt they would touch a submerged aircraft as it would be difficult to warranty the repair given the potential hidden damage in multiple areas. I think DJI refuses water-damage repair requests also.

I would not try powering on the aircraft until all circuit boards are removed and gently scrubbed with isopropyl alcohol and small (tooth)brush. This should displace most of the residual water under the board components and will help to remove salts and hard water residues that can disrupt the electrical signals. Also make sure the scrub all connectors as these can quickly foul-up with while calcium/magnesium scale (depending on how hard the water was the drone landed in) and interrupt signals including the gimbal data. Use some compressed air to gently blow off the isopropyl and let the board(s) dry completely in the sun.

Here is a decent video description:

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[davshev]

I recently had an Evo 2 land in a lake. I contacted Autel and explained that it was water damaged, but that it still had some functionality, i.e it would power up and take off, but would not connect to the app. They created an RMA and had me send it in. They just contacted me back and said they could not repair it. I was a bit surprised by this. Two years ago I had another Evo 2 which crashed to the ground and had parts that were physically broken. It would not even power up, yet when I sent it in to Autel for repair they fixed it!

 

[jlanni]

As I wrote in another post, my EVO II battery failed and suddenly went to zero. This caused the drone to go into automatic landing and unfortunately, it landed in the river. I was able to retrieve the drone within a couple of minutes of it being submerged. I quickly removed the battery and rinsed the drone and battery off in fresh water. I then placed the drone and battery in front of the fireplace overnight, occasionally changing its position and making sure they weren't getting too hot. The next morning, I tried to charge the battery and the leds never lit and it wouldn't charge. I don't really care about that battery because I would never use it again anyway. I inserted a different battery and I powered up the controller and then the drone. The drone powered on normally but the gimbal did not move and it was taking much longer than normal to connect. It finally connected and I noticed the image on the camera was blank and within a few seconds, the controller then disconnected from the drone. I powered the drone off and removed the battery. I removed the plastic shell from the drone and looked for moisture but did not find any. However, I could see rust had started to form on a couple of the screw heads. I didn't remove any other parts and I cleaned what I could of the mainboard with electronics cleaner. I then placed both the camera and drone in rice. That was 48 hours ago. I plan to test the drone again tomorrow. However, I'm really not expecting it to work. I suspect the camera and gimbal and mainboard were likely damaged.

My question is, What parts are Autel Repair likely to want to replace and what is the approximate cost going to be? I suspect they have a procedure in place for water damaged drones that probably consist of replacing both the electronics such as the main board, GPS, etc. and the camera. If so, the combined cost of that repair could exceed the value of the drone. I don't want to pay for shipping and have to wait another week only to find out that it's not worth fixing. Has anyone else sent a water damaged EVO II to Autel for repair? If so, what did they do and what did it cost.

TIA
BTW, if anyone is interested in seeing video of the crash, it's at

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For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

The video was corrupt but I was able to repair it but did not get back the last few seconds so I added stock footage at the end to simulate the crash.

Autel who?

 

[Bookwurm]

I would doubt they would touch a submerged aircraft as it would be difficult to warranty the repair given the potential hidden damage in multiple areas. I think DJI refuses water-damage repair requests also.

I would not try powering on the aircraft until all circuit boards are removed and gently scrubbed with isopropyl alcohol and small (tooth)brush. This should displace most of the residual water under the board components and will help to remove salts and hard water residues that can disrupt the electrical signals. Also make sure the scrub all connectors as these can quickly foul-up with while calcium/magnesium scale (depending on how hard the water was the drone landed in) and interrupt signals including the gimbal data. Use some compressed air to gently blow off the isopropyl and let the board(s) dry completely in the sun.

Here is a decent video description:

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my EVO 2 640T went down in the river, had an overheated battery warning and it didnt make it over dry ground, it was submerged for about 35 miniutes in about6 ft of water before it was rescued. is the camera waterproof? i see what was being done with the DJI rescue and dissassembly and will follow the same procedure. i took canned air to the motors and body of the drone, an will disassemble drone body once i find my torx screwdriver set.....does any body have any ideas?

 

[Detritalgeo]

If the battery was next to dead when it went into the water you have a decent chance as there would be much less corrosion that way.

If you can carefully disassemble try a mixture of 80% isopropyl and 20% distilled water and scrub components and connections with a soft toothbrush with the solution. Then use the air can to dry.. Let the components fully dry in the open for some time then reassemble and hope for the best.

Obviously look for any fried or shorted IC or surface mount component in this process.

 

[Bookwurm]

the battery was freshly charged about 12 hours before the flight,had about 25 min charge, all the indicator light were lit when i removed the battery right after recovery i bough the drone back in November and have been flying it regularymybig concern is the thermal camera

 

[davshev]

When my Evo 2P went down into a lake last year it was submerged for about an hour. Everything was fried....but the camera still worked!

 

[Borealis]

My EVO Lite Plus decided to dive into a crystal clear river 2 feet deep with gravel bottom a few days ago. I was sitting in a boat about 100 yards away. It took about 1.5 minutes to get to it and then fishing it out with a dip net. The drone was still on with beacon lights and fan but disconnected from the controller.
I was out on a camping trip and all I could do was take off the still functioning battery and just shake out some water and let it sit in the sun for a while. Camera was fogged up and so were some of the sensors. Two days later I got home and took the housing off to dry off some more water... Today it looked good to go so I put all back together and started it up. Drone functions 100% normal so far. Records video and images and they appear as good as ever. So far so good, I'm hoping that no corrosion etc comes up in the future.

 

[davshev]

My EVO Lite Plus decided to dive into a crystal clear river 2 feet deep with gravel bottom a few days ago. I was sitting in a boat about 100 yards away. It took about 1.5 minutes to get to it and then fishing it out with a dip net. The drone was still on with beacon lights and fan but disconnected from the controller.
I was out on a camping trip and all I could do was take off the still functioning battery and just shake out some water and let it sit in the sun for a while. Camera was fogged up and so were some of the sensors. Two days later I got home and took the housing off to dry off some more water... Today it looked good to go so I put all back together and started it up. Drone functions 100% normal so far. Records video and images and they appear as good as ever. So far so good, I'm hoping that no corrosion etc comes up in the future.

Consider yourself very lucky!