Lost Pin

danfo · Aug 21, 2019

Well I have an evo and the antenna pin on the remote controller fell out on me and I lost it. I know this is a common problem, I've read about it many time on this forum and others. Well I call Tech Support (IT'S STILL UNDER WARRANTY)and they had me send my drone with the remote controller. Two weeks in their possession and not a word, so today I called and they said "oh we sent you two invoices" I have not received anything from Autel since they sent me the shipping label and RMA. Well, it turns out I had to pay them $51.60 to ransom my drone that's under warranty that they have not even started to repair yet!!! This is really piss poor service and I told them so. I have filed a Better Business Bureau complaint against them and I would advise all to steer clear of this company. DJI's customer support service may be a pain but not this bad!

Ansia · Aug 21, 2019

Did you ask your drone back? Will they send it, since you haven't paid them?

danfo · Aug 21, 2019

Ansia said:
Did you ask your drone back? Will they send it, since you haven't paid them?

I have paid them!!! Had to so they would repair and get it back to me! I paid them $51.60 because of their design flaw.

Ansia · Aug 21, 2019

danfo said:
I have paid them!!! Had to so they would repair and get it back to me! I paid them $51.60 because of their design flaw.

Try these. A fellow member makes them to prevent the pins from falling. I have them and they work great. They are snugged on the antennas and I no longer worry for the pins to fall.

Autel Evo Antenna Pin Retainer & Swivel protection - 3D Printed Drone Mods

Autel Evo Antenna Pin Retainer & Swivel protection4.6 (92%) 10 votes A simple solution to retain and prevent loss of the antenna retention pin for the Autel Evo RC controller. In addition to helping retain the pin for the antennas these additions also help reinforce the weak and sometimes...

hypedphoto.com

danfo · Aug 21, 2019

Ansia said:
Try these. A fellow member makes them to prevent the pins from falling. I have them and they work great. They are snugged on the antennas and I no longer worry for the pins to fall.

Autel Evo Antenna Pin Retainer & Swivel protection - 3D Printed Drone Mods

Autel Evo Antenna Pin Retainer & Swivel protection4.6 (92%) 10 votes A simple solution to retain and prevent loss of the antenna retention pin for the Autel Evo RC controller. In addition to helping retain the pin for the antennas these additions also help reinforce the weak and sometimes...

hypedphoto.com

Wish I would have known about these before I sent my drone back to Autel! The base of my antenna appeared to have hairline cracks around the pin hole and it's not even a year old.

Ansia · Aug 21, 2019

danfo said:
Wish I would have known about these before I sent my drone back to Autel! The base of my antenna appeared to have hairline cracks around the pin hole and it's not even a year old.

Mine is the same. Autel replaced my antennas and the new ones also came with hairline cracks. I asked them about it. Now, they won't reply to my emails... Great drones, but their CS leaves so much to be desired.

Tufargon · Aug 21, 2019

It seems to have changed since the XSP days. Back then we only had false promises but insane great support.

Ansia · Aug 21, 2019

Tufargon said:
It seems to have changed since the XSP days. Back then we only had false promises but insane great support.

Now we get false promises and insane support. They haven't changed THAT much! ??

RCAdik · Aug 21, 2019

danfo said:
Wish I would have known about these before I sent my drone back to Autel! The base of my antenna appeared to have hairline cracks around the pin hole and it's not even a year old.

Mine was less than 6 months old and they wanted to charge me also. I asked them how much to send it back as I wasn't about to pay $50+. They folded and fixed it as a one time courtesy for free.

Wayne Maine · Aug 22, 2019

I seems that Autel has gone from the Customer to themselves first.

danfo · Aug 22, 2019

Wayne Maine said:
I seems that Autel has gone from the Customer to themselves first.

Yeah, and unfortunately that was one of the very few things they had that was better than the competition, now that seems to be fading fast or gone. Now days it seems their "warranty" is meaningless.

mjbok · Aug 22, 2019

I got an Evo when they first became available. On the controller there are rubber feet that hold the phone in place. Somehow one of those feet fell off. I talked to their support asking for just a new rubber foot. They said they weren't available and sent me an entire new controller for FREE. This blew me away as why would you send a several hundred dollar item because of a several penny item? I didn't complain as I was back to where I started (with an additional controller). Funny story is that I ended up getting a THOR tablet holder so I didn't even need the repair.

Sad to see that they have changed this much.

Tufargon · Aug 22, 2019

mjbok said:
I got an Evo when they first became available. On the controller there are rubber feet that hold the phone in place. Somehow one of those feet fell off. I talked to their support asking for just a new rubber foot. They said they weren't available and sent me an entire new controller for FREE. This blew me away as why would you send a several hundred dollar item because of a several penny item? I didn't complain as I was back to where I started (with an additional controller). Funny story is that I ended up getting a THOR tablet holder so I didn't even need the repair.

Sad to see that they have changed this much.

They would never send out parts before either unless it was a battery. They always wanted you to send it in.

mjbok · Aug 22, 2019

Tufargon said:
They would never send out parts before either unless it was a battery. They always wanted you to send it in.

They didn't make me send my original back, just sent me a new controller. I thought it was weird, but wasn't going to argue with it.

Jagerbomb52 · Aug 22, 2019

What people seem to not realize is this, these things that we fly are like Bic lighters. Throw away items. It is cheaper for them to send you a new one then have to pay a tech guy to replace something on your UAV that might take a few hours. Cost of the part, cost of his or her wages and hopefully the repair solved the problem.

Hey Fred just send him a new one and he will be happy and I don't have to pay you over time fixing his broken stuff.

Tufargon · Aug 22, 2019

mjbok said:
They didn't make me send my original back, just sent me a new controller. I thought it was weird, but wasn't going to argue with it.

Sorry, I misunderstood your post. That's great that they did that for you!

Ansia · Aug 22, 2019

Problem is, they have changed this point of view. They require you to send in the broken stuff for repair or replace.

Jagerbomb52 · Aug 22, 2019

Ansia said:
Problem is, they have changed this point of view. They require you to send in the broken stuff for repair or replace.

It has always been that way since day one. If you are lucky to get a part from them consider your self one of the lucky ones as they screwed up and that fellow is not working there any more as he screwed up big time. LOL

Tufargon · Aug 22, 2019

I can see them sending a part for a unit that is out of warranty but still then if the person doesn't install it properly it can come back on them for selling a faulty part etc... I can see why they would rather do in house repairs.

Ansia · Aug 22, 2019

All I can say is that those who fear this happening to them, should buy @gustofusion's 3D printer antenna protector. Even if the antenna does break under pressure, the 3D printed piece should hold it in place and prevent further damage.

On another note, I ordered mine and 1 came broken. They sent me replacements for free, so I can say the service was good.

My only complaint is that the antennas no longer fold on top of one another, like it did in the photo, but meh, I can live with that.