Lite+ Gimbal Sway Continues in New 1.2.16 Firmware (Video)

bkushner · Apr 23, 2022

Correct. However it took me 2 1/2 months to get a response out of Autel and it wasn't until the BBB complaint.

DARKSeifer · Apr 23, 2022

surenmunoo said:
See my post which includes an email from AUtel saying they will deal with each complaint on a case by case basis. Meaning if no one complains and waits for the hopeful FW update that will magically fix this nothing serious will happen but if everyone that is having this issue start complaining to them directly on the email I posted, changes will happen fast.

I already sent a message about the gimbal issue a month and a half ago and they never answered.

Not going to send the drone back and forth to the manufacturer, that's not a serious behaviour, it can be more than a month without the drone. If there's no fix to the gimbal issue, I'll just return the drone at some point and get the full money back and try with Parrot or Skydio.

bkushner · Apr 23, 2022

You can send back for refund after 30 days?

surenmunoo · Apr 23, 2022

DARKSeifer said:
I already sent a message about the gimbal issue a month and a half ago and they never answered.

Not going to send the drone back and forth to the manufacturer, that's not a serious behaviour, it can be more than a month without the drone. If there's no fix to the gimbal issue, I'll just return the drone at some point and get the full money back and try with Parrot or Skydio.

I am sure there is a limited number of days before you can claim a refund. With Dji its 14 days not sure about Autel. I am lucky the dealer here is understanding, he will send the drone back for replacement but will not send me another until he gets an Evo 2 Pro V2 which is what I want.

DARKSeifer · Apr 24, 2022

surenmunoo said:
I am sure there is a limited number of days before you can claim a refund. With Dji its 14 days not sure about Autel. I am lucky the dealer here is understanding, he will send the drone back for replacement but will not send me another until he gets an Evo 2 Pro V2 which is what I want.

bkushner said:
You can send back for refund after 30 days?

For refounds (you don't want the product anymore but the product is working well and doing what it's supposed to do) is about 15 to 30 days, but warranty is by law two years in Europe for any product bought before 2022 and three years for products bought past January 2022. If the product is faulty (and the Lite+ is atm) you can return it either to where you bought it or to the manufacturer and you can choose between a repair, a change for a new unit or just put an end to the contract and get a full refund.

Gimbal wandering is a major issue that renders the drone useless and defeats its main purpose; it's not a little scratch in the paint or a minor problem is a big manufacturing failure. You paid 1700€ and received a drone that is not doing what it's supposed to do, it's half-baked and has a gimbal problem.

You always have to "fight" the sway whenever trying to take a smooth video, which always ends in a clunky video, Hyperlapse is not usable, long exposure (anything slower than 1/10 or 1/20 always ends in a blurry image) and even framing a photo becomes difficult sometimes as you have to wait a few seconds until the sway stops a bit (it goes to one side, stops, then to the other... but is quite random)... and as we all know it happens even when the drone is landed.

I "left" DJI and sold my previous Air2S mainly because any DJI drone violates your privacy with DJI Aeroscope, I'm trying to give an opportunity to Autel and my intention was to switch to the Evo 3 in the future, but if they don't fix the Lite+ within 2022 I'll be switching to another manufacturer. DJI drones I had (Air2S and Mini 2) and DJI Fly app were full of bugs, but at least you saw regular updates on the first months to try to address the issues.

If you use the drone as a tool for your work, you can't have the drone coming back and forth to the factory, you need it to work on a daily basis. I'm just keeping the Lite+ because I'm a photographer and I only use video as a hobbyst (and I'm quite patient), but if I were a videographer I'd had returned the Lite+ a few months ago.

DARKSeifer · Apr 24, 2022

PS: That being said, I hope they fix it, despite the sway and some other bugs I'm quite comfortable with the Lite+.

gophcc · Apr 25, 2022

Has anyone checked the gimbal dampers ? pls refer to the attached picture, can you see the problem?

I think it's easy to fix but I'll have my dealer send it back to Autel.

thiago.tba · Apr 25, 2022

Let's charge autel on Instagram Login • Instagram

thiago.tba · Apr 26, 2022

bkushner said:
Autel has finally responded to my BBB complaint. The "new" Tech support boss emailed me... Tom...Said return the drone and they will fix the sway which leads me to believe it isn't firmware.

Have you already sent the drone to Autel?

DARKSeifer · Apr 26, 2022

gophcc said:
Has anyone checked the gimbal dampers ? pls refer to the attached picture, can you see the problem?

I think it's easy to fix but I'll have my dealer send it back to Autel.

Yep, all my 4 dampers are OK.

gophcc · Apr 26, 2022

The dealer took off the gimbal module and replaced the damper.

My gimbal was always the last to pass the self check, it sometimes requires several tries.
Now that the missing suspension is replaced, it is normal now.

Obviously there are some careless operators out Autel factory and the QC was poor.

bkushner · Apr 28, 2022

thiago.tba said:
Have you already sent the drone to Autel?

yes

thiago.tba · Apr 28, 2022

bkushner said:
yes

what country are you from?
How was the shipment done, via support, did it cost?

bkushner · Apr 28, 2022

thiago.tba said:
what country are you from?
How was the shipment done, via support, did it cost?

USA. Yes shipped to Washington State.

thiago.tba · Apr 29, 2022

bkushner said:
USA. Yes shipped to Washington State.

I'll start the negotiations to send mine too. but i will wait for your response.
I am from Brazil.

bkushner · May 3, 2022

bkushner said:
USA. Yes shipped to Washington State.

Well been a week since Autel received the drone back and they have AGAIN GONE DARK. 3 emails 2 phone calls and I can't even get acknowledgement they have the drone. 3 months of this nonsense. The BBB complaint woke them up for a day or so and now gone again. I will never consider an Autel product again.

thiago.tba · May 3, 2022

bkushner said:
Well been a week since Autel received the drone back and they have AGAIN GONE DARK. 3 emails 2 phone calls and I can't even get acknowledgement they have the drone. 3 months of this nonsense. The BBB complaint woke them up for a day or so and now gone again. I will never consider an Autel product again.

The lack of information is terrible. question them on instagram, customers see it there.

bkushner · May 3, 2022

I did on Facebook. Didn’t matter. Tons of complaints there of no support.

bkushner · May 3, 2022

Do not send your drone to Autel for warranty work. They are not working on the drones. Spoke to BBB today about them getting my drone and then going dark and I'm told many people that sent drones in (mostly nano) are not getting them back so far. Some have been waiting 2 months. What a **** show this company is. I was dealing with Tom Wolfe the new (Mar 2022) cust service chief. He contacted me after my BBB complaint, arranged for me to send the drone back and now is unreachable. Not even sure if the office is being staffed at this point.

thiago.tba · May 4, 2022

bkushner said:
Do not send your drone to Autel for warranty work. They are not working on the drones. Spoke to BBB today about them getting my drone and then going dark and I'm told many people that sent drones in (mostly nano) are not getting them back so far. Some have been waiting 2 months. What a **** show this company is. I was dealing with Tom Wolfe the new (Mar 2022) cust service chief. He contacted me after my BBB complaint, arranged for me to send the drone back and now is unreachable. Not even sure if the office is being staffed at this point.

The truth is that they still don't have the solution to the case. They are getting the customer to understand that something is just being done.