Is it time to switch to DJI because of a lack of support?

[gschulzuio]

I am in the market for a new drone because my EVO II Pro crashed in the river. I wanted to replace it with a refurbished EVO II Pro but they are out of stock and apparently the new ones are out of stock also.

Not sure what's going on with Autel Support, have not called or emailed them since last summer when they did some repair service work for me. That experience went ok, however also understand that they are busy now with the nano/lite etc.

Having been using DJI for going on 7 years, do they respond faster and make you feel good they are responding quickly (e.g. email, online chat, phone, etc) Yes. However, just like calling or live chat with many other organizations these days, they may respond quick, however the substance, content quality or expertise of those responding is not of highest caliber. Otoh, in my interactions with Autel, took a bit longer to get a response, however the quality and caliber of the information was much better, and more convincing. YMMV.

My EVO IIs have been my goto's for over a year and continue to be, however also recently added a DJI M2P that replaced a P4P and MPP specifically for handling autonomous missions that require Litchi, DD or others that do not support Autel. The Autel mission capability has improved, however still issues with saving, export, import where while I can do those missions with the EVO IIs, its just easier with DJI+Litchi/DD/Others. Have also found the M2P better at saving/persisting some camera settings between photo and video modes vs. EVOII and explorer app.

Overall, my preference is still using the EVOII for indoor and outdoor except when need reliable autonomous missions, then its DJI M2P time.

Btw, want to talk about buggy or limited SW/FW, its not just Autel, if you were one of the first with DJI Mini among others, you will remember what those were like.

 

[pcphotoinc]

I made a tech enquiry to Autel last week and they responded within 24hrs. No problem. Love my Evo Pro 2, also love my Mavic drones! I rate both companies very highly.

 

[RareAirDennis]

I sent Autel Support a well-written and concise email about a concern I had. Never got a response. I don't have the time to send repeated emails in to a vacuum. When this one dies (only a year old, but still works) I'm done with them.

 

[VdoMemories]

I just got a Private message not to post any complaint about Autel from the one running this forum, I thought this was a forum to discuss issues we the drone community face and yes we need to stick together or else we need to go underground ! !
Is this a forum for our Drone community, yes or no ?

The message:
dirkclod started a conversation with you: "Hi"

dirkclod started a new conversation with you at Autel Drone Forum.

Hi
Due to your recent threads/post you have been reported several times for constant ranting about Autel.
Please keep this from our guidelines in mind when posting.
Manufacturer/Distributor/Vendor and Customer Disputes
This community is not intended to be a mechanism for people to vent frustrations about manufacturers,
distributors or sales from private parties. Please settle your differences with the seller, manufacturer and
distributors through other means but not through our community.


Thank you
dc

They are covering up for this scam from Autel against us.

My two Flagship EVO2 Pro have been grounded due to lack of support and A Patch to Re-vert back to previous firmware.

 

[Dave Pitman]

I just got a Private message not to post any complaint about Autel from the one running this forum, I thought this was a forum to discuss issues we the drone community face and yes we need to stick together or else we need to go underground ! !

You broke the forum guidelines (they are included with the message they sent you). That said, the mods are people too, and they let users vent and share their experience....to a point.

You go way beyond sharing you point about not being happy with Autel. We get it. You are not happy. The constant raving is not helping. Autel does not read this forum.. Do you understand that point??

Is this a forum for our Drone community, yes or no ?

Yes, it is. But it is not your personal soap box to rant about Autel all the time. The rest of us get tired of reading about it over and over. You have said your piece. Now we thank you for moving on to other topics.

 

[Eagle's Eye Photo]

@VdoMemories, Dirkclod is one of several moderators on this forum... as am I. If you mean that by running this forum, that we attempt to keep the forum operating with a minimum of a variety of distractions (spam, trolling... to name two), yes that is the role of the mods. Forum guidelines help members know where to draw the line.

The following is my own opinion and does not necessarily represent the views of the forum owners (which are not any of the moderators). YMMV.

The horse you have been beating is decomposing to a significant degree. You may feel you have the right to post ad infinitum on this subject. However continuously repeating yourself, will not gain you further support. Why not remove some significant stress from your life and move on to a different brand of drone that will meet your needs?

If you interpret this post to to be a coverup, so be it... I refer you to my signature.

 

[palo34]

I had an issue with an order that never was delievered.. was very hard to get across to someone, and it was through their sales line I could contact someone, and the company over the weeks I was dealing with them, gave me a taste of 4 or 5 employees in the US. I had to do a BBB complain, and they were fast to solve the issue after I complained. I would buy again at a lower price point from Autel. No Geo fencing, and the Autel Cameras have a coloring that I love.

 

[kenautelevo2pro]

I had an issue with an order that never was delievered.. was very hard to get across to someone, and it was through their sales line I could contact someone, and the company over the weeks I was dealing with them, gave me a taste of 4 or 5 employees in the US. I had to do a BBB complain, and they were fast to solve the issue after I complained. I would buy again at a lower price point from Autel. No Geo fencing, and the Autel Cameras have a coloring that I love.

that's good to hear. anyone who is prepared...you can buy anything you want from anywhere in the world if you know how to handle your business. 50% of the people cannot figure it out and end up being a victim and this is who the unscrupulous merchants prey on. fortunately the cards are stacked in favor of the buyers. you don't have to buy directly from autel. there are plenty of good merchants who are authorized to sell autel drones and in fact, it's probably better if you can buy from them. @advexure comes to mind. it's hard enough dealing with the ever changing global environment, fedex/ups deliver issues, local drone laws, etc. why not eliminate some of the risk in your life and support the people who have a proven track record? i agree with you, autel cameras are the best and one of these day, the no geo fencing is really going to become a critical issues. i have several dji drones and i have no restriction problems but i'm not naive into thinking those drones represent "freedom." we need autel to succeed!

 

[phantomrain.org]

I also have had a rough go with the Evo 2 and Updates and have completely stalled my plans on making the Rescue Jacket .
However I have also has a rough way to go with the Mavic 3 as well , and waiting for yet another update to make it usable.

The Shining Star is the DJI Air 2S has been a work horse for price and quality features and recommend that drone to heal most wounds.

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly in the Rain. Land on the Water.

 

[advexure]

you don't have to buy directly from autel. there are plenty of good merchants who are authorized to sell autel drones and in fact, it's probably better if you can buy from them. @advexure comes to mind. it's hard enough dealing with the ever changing global environment, fedex/ups deliver issues, local drone laws, etc. why not eliminate some of the risk in your life and support the people who have a proven track record?

@kenautelevo2pro We appreciate the shout! Thank you very much. Our team is always happy to help and our reputation of 10 years speaks for itself. Same price, expert service, industry SMEs, better availability and supporting small business in the US of A.

 

[Probass]

I just bought a dji air 2s and semi retired my autel evo 1. I would have preferred an evo 2 but lack of spare parts, support, ect. Sent me to dji. Which isn't perfect either by any stretch. First problem is I needed a phone or tablet with a 64 bit processor to get the dji fly app. The phone I had at the time was 32 bit. So add a couple hundred on to the dji price tag. And that was the cheapest 64 bit phone I could find. Might be cheaper alternatives that I wasn't aware of at the time. But anyway going from autel evo to dji air 2s, second issue is I live near an airport so basically everytime I want to fly in my area I need to unlock a geo zone. The drone will not take off until you so so! It has been self unlocking so far but you have to get on their website and tell them where and when you want to fly. They need the serial number for your drone, your name etc. It seemed very intrusive to me. Also a 400 foot altitude limit. That's the biggest difference to me and why I would have liked to get an evo 2. No geo fencing. But the dji air 2s is an awesome drone and the dji fly app is good too. That's my two cents. To make a long story short.... I would have preferred another evo, but bought a DJI because of autel robotics short comings

I understand your frustration trying to use your phone. The DJI software is much more advanced than the Autel. I do use my phone when flying one of my Evo 1 but I fly all 6 of my DJI drones using a 10" Lenovo tablet, Have no issues at all on both DJI Go ( Inspires ) and DJI Go 4 ( P4P ). I have had numerous issues over a couple years trying to get anywhere with Autel Customer Service and that made me uneasy enough to go to DJI. DJI is fast, courteous and extremely reasonable with every issue. Plus, we have a local pro that repairs DJI for our over 5,000 members at Georgia Drone Pilots. He will not repair Autel drones because he can't get parts reliably. As much as I loved my Evo 1 I am not going to invest money or my business in Autel. It is too bad because I really did want an EVO II Pro but Customer Service has been a daily problem with Autel for YEARS.

 

[Junior]

I have always have had timely and knowledgeable responses from Autel customer support in the past, but after reading this post I sent Autel support a email about a v2 Live Deck for the Evo 2 Enterprise just to see their response time. For a request made on the weekend, I would not say it was slow. Maybe the response from the enterprise side is faster?


For reference, your ticket number is #227654

On Sat, Mar 12 at 10:45 AM , Thomas <tleedom@!@#$%.com> wrote:
What is the status of a Live Deck solution for the Evo 2 Enterprise?

Tom

Mon 3/14/2022 12:16 PM


To:
You

Hello Thomas,

Thank you for contacting Autel Robotics.
No Live Deck is set to be released in the near future.

There were talks a few months ago but haven't heard any updates since.
Some alternative methods may be possible depending on your use case.
1. The Smart Controller with the Enterprise model has an HDMI port that can be connected to a video caster.
2. There is a "Live" feature to stream the feed to an RTMP enabled web address.

Please reply directly to this email with any additional questions, happy to help!
Mariah May
Enterprise Support Agent | Autel Robotics USA
844.692.8835

AutelRobotics.com | AutelDrones.com
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube

 

[VdoMemories]

Those Ticket # are sleeping pills to put you to sleep till your warranty runs out.
Take a nice deep nap.
Best regards,
Ajay

 

[Dougcjohn]

If you're considering Yuneec, that may be a few steps backwards.
Yuneec has been suffering for several years.
I had the Tornado H920, still have the Typhoon H480 & H520.
The Radio is extremely short range and getting everything fired up & connected to fly can often be a chore.
The H480 & H520 do fly smooth and great in wind, batteries much better priced... but the pains associated with Yuneec, minimal support channel, practically zero 3rd Party Apps, FW rarely released and more internal support & technical miss-communication than Autel. I could overlook much of this if the RC range was even marginally as good as an older DJI LightBridge 2 transmission. The ST16 & ST16S Radios are similar to a Crystal Sky, an older Android OS and slow performance.

Have no knowledge on the newer H520E, but Yuneec wouldn't be a path I'd pursue.

 

[VdoMemories]

I too have a Typhoon H and love it but it needs software updates to iron out the glitches.

When Autel came out with EVO2 Pro they were advertising to buy this drone as your best platform, later as the newer cameras come out all you would need is to switch out the camera.
A. The Autel EVO2 Pro was just the right size, not too small or too big.
It was a great idea.

The main basic fixes are still pending attention and we all did good by working for Autel as field tech. if only they listened !

Now we need a 6 X zoom lens camera but the drone EVO2 Pro needs firmware up dates addressing those very issues.
Once the drone issues are fixed to finally be able to slow the movements with a delay, gradual movements gradually picking up speed with user selectable o to 8 seconds delay at the beginning and the same at the tail end of the shots.
Name it " Cinematic Mode "
No need to buy another drone platform, just switch to Zoom cameras and I still would like a 24 MP, 32 MP or 36MP camera with a 6 X Optical zoom and built-in ND filters like our Prof. Video cameras always had .

GPS must lock-in within 15 to 20 seconds of powering up, improve the video feed quality and range.

The 8 GB flash card should have been at least 32 GB, able to hold the previous firmware to help us jump back to the older firmware if and when things go wrong updating the firmware.
Tell us how can I change it to 32 GB, show us.

My remote would not power up and now I got it to power up I can't shut it down the last 2 days no matter what I do, Help get my drone working by deleting the last firmware or issue a " Patch " to remove the firmware and the re-install 2.7.2.5 Firmware. I'm still waiting for help before my warranty runs out. Amen.

March 17th-2022
All things are possible in todays world.

**--** Have you ever wondered may be " Our Autel Customers Support Team could be on DJI payroll to Sabotage Autel "

*--* I have no doubts by now.
A. Autel customers Service back stabbing Autel while on DJI payroll to destroy Autel.
Fire them all away with bonuses to go back to DJI and sabotage them, in stead !
B. Extend our warrantees and replace those " Grease Monkey Goofier."

We have put up for so long and will wait another 6 to 8 months for Smart, Efficient , Honest Customers Service Team ! !
Amen to Gods Grace & Glory.

I don't believe in starting newer post for every little thing and will keep adding to this very post.

 

[Dave Pitman]

For a request made on the weekend, I would not say it was slow.

Agreed

 

[Paulr]

Autel now is the worst drone company on earth!!!!!!!!!! Every update i have somehow managed to download and load has made my Evo 2 enterprise worse and now I cannot take the drone back to factory reset!!!!!! thanks A** Autel!!!

 

[unit1249]

i have had many dji drones.Got a evo because it had no nfz installed on it. Had 6 batterys 5 are bad,wasted my money, not taking chance on there future drones having battery problems.

 

[jlanni]

I am in the market for a new drone because my EVO II Pro crashed in the river. I wanted to replace it with a refurbished EVO II Pro but they are out of stock and apparently the new ones are out of stock also.

Ive been a loyal Autel Robotics Robotics customer since the X-Star Premium was released, I'm now thinking of switching to DJI because I'm concerned about the future of Aitel Robotics. The last few times I needed tech support it literally took weeks and several emails to get a reply.

I can't even replace my drone or get an answer from tech support and I'm growing impatient. With each passing day, I'm having second thoughts about investing this much money in a drone if the company can't support it.

I suspect others here have had similar experiences and I'd love to hear your thoughts. Do you think the problems with Alltel Robotics are temporary or, is it a sign of the way things are going to be from here on? This is been going on for at least a couple of months. I realize they are extremely short staffed but you would think they could hire some extra people if they are serious about the drone business.

I've been trying to get an answer from tech support for over a week now and I've decided to give them one more week before I move to DJI to get my replacement drone. You would think they wouldn't want to lose long-term customers who give them repeat business but it appears that's not a priority for them. However, I'm hoping they will come through for me so I can continue to be in Autel Robotics customer because I have really enjoyed their drones. We will see.

Autel is in a self induced death spiral. I wish I could say I'm sorry to see them go this way but I can not. They have treated their loyal customers shabbily to say the least. I don't see how they can pull out of this. The damage is done.

 

[bkushner]

Autel is in a self induced death spiral. I wish I could say I'm sorry to see them go this way but I can not. They have treated their loyal customers shabbily to say the least. I don't see how they can pull out of this. The damage is done.

I returned my first Autel drone (Lite +) after 6 weeks to respond to a support email with a non response. I had always heard they had great support.