How to Get DJI to Fix your Drone (Solved!)

It isn’t unusual for a DJI drone to get damaged because sometimes drones can crash when they are not flown carefully, or sometimes when things happen outside of your control. This is why you need to be able to get DJI to fix a damaged drone. After all, they are the best at knowing how to repair their own products. So, in that regard, how do you get DJI to fix your drone?

There are three main ways to have DJI fix your drone. Malfunctions that are covered under warranty will be fixed or replaced by DJI for free. If your drone is damaged in use, you can have DJI repair your drone through DJI Repair Service (not free). You can also purchase a DJI Care Refresh plan to cover repairs or replacements.

A damaged drone is not uncommon because drones regularly get damaged. Luckily for you, DJI will always be there to repair your drone if it does get damaged or if the damage is covered by the product’s warranty. However, just be ready to shell out some money because your drone’s damage might not be covered by the warranty or by DJI Care Refresh.

What’s covered under warranty? #

A DJI drone getting damaged isn’t unusual because it’s fairly common for these flying vehicles to run into a few problems here and there such as when they get caught up in trees or if you made a mistake and the drone crashed. Sometimes, the damage might in fact be a defect in the materials or software of the drone. In all such cases, the good news is that you have DJI as an option to repair your drone for you. And you will be able to enjoy free repair or replacement as long as the drone is still under warranty.

But what is covered under DJI’s warranty for drones?

Under DJI’s limited warranty (which may vary depending on the store), DJI guarantees that the drones you purchased from them are free of defects and that the parts will always function normally as long as you are using the drone for its intended normal purposes. 

However, if the DJI drone that you purchased does not function in the way that it is supposed to and that it has some defects, then that is where you will be able to go to a DJI service center or send the drone back to DJI to avail yourself of the limited warranty. But it is best to contact DJI first because they will try to help you find a solution over the phone before agreeing to a repair or replacement.

What happens here is that they will try to diagnose your drone to see what the problem is so that they can dispense with the need of actually repairing your drone. They will ask you a few questions and then instruct you to perform certain steps that may help make the drone function normally. If all that fails, then the option you have is to send the drone back to DJI or go to a service center to have it repaired.

Again, what is covered by the warranty only covers factory defects and not simple damage that may have happened while you are using the drone. That’s because the warranty only guarantees that all of the parts of the drone and the drone itself are working as long as they were used for their intended purposes. So, if your drone failed to function in the way that it was advertised to, then that is the time that you may be able to send the drone back to DJI for repairs.

Remember that, as long as the damage to your drone is due to factory defects, you will incur no costs whatsoever. And if DJI fails to repair your drone, they will in most cases send you a new one without asking for any extra outlay on your part.

How DJI Repair Service works and how much it costs  #

So, if the damage to your drone was not caused by factory defects but was caused by a crash or a mistake on your part, you can still have the option to have DJI repair your drone. This is where the DJI Repair Service comes in. So, how does DJI Repair Service work and how much is it?

The first thing that you need to do is to find a DJI service center. These service centers are not rare or difficult to find because DJI has service centers in over 100 countries around the world. You may need to do a simple Google search or go to DJI’s website to find a service center that is near your location.

Once you are in the service center, all you need to do is to allow a representative to look at your drone so that they can diagnose and hopefully repair your drone depending on what the problem is and how damaged it is. When the representative asks you about the cause of the damage, it pays to be honest. DJI drones have details of their flight record, which DJI can use to assess the damage and the cause of the damage, so if you’re not ‘fessing up to your role in the harm caused, you’ll likely be found out.

Depending on your drone model, here are some of the more common costs of DJI Repair Service jobs:

Repair Part
Cost

Gimbal Camera Component
$101

Camera Flexible Flat Cable
$3

Back Left Motor Arm
$19

Gimbal Vibration Damping
$2

Gimbal Mounting Bracket
$1

Camera Co-axis Cable
$5

Front Left Motor Arm
$22

Service cost
$65 per hour

So, as you can see, getting your drone repaired can be quite expensive especially if you consider the service cost alone. Most of the parts themselves don’t cost a lot, but the longer it takes to repair your drone, the more you will end up paying. And if your drone has a lot of different damaged components, expect the overall costs to be quite hefty.

Repairs covered by DJI Care Refresh #

So, because having a drone repaired through the DJI Repair Service can be quite expensive, you might be wondering whether or not there are alternatives. Thankfully, DJI offers a package called DJI Care Refresh, which is a comprehensive one-year service plan that you can use to cover damage caused by accidents. 

The repairs that are covered by the DJI Care Refresh plan include damage that is caused entirely by accident, user error, signal interference, collisions, water damage, or drop damage. It is as comprehensive as any care package can be. So, if you were flying your drone responsibly and it happened to run into an accident, whether you were at fault or not, that is where you can claim your service under your DJI Care Refresh subscription. 

If you look at it, DJI Care Refresh can be worth your money because, as long as the damage was caused by any of the abovementioned incidents, you will be able to get your drone repaired or replaced for a lower fee than you might pay for DJI Repair service, or certainly for a new drone. 

But, the price you will pay for DJI Care Refresh depends on the drone model that you have. Check out our article on DJI Care Refresh for a list of how much Care Refresh will cost for the drone that you own, and more about how it works. For example, the Mavic Air 2 will cost you $79 for a DJI Care Refresh subscription. Of course, the price of the care package will depend entirely on the cost of your drone because more expensive drones will naturally have more expensive repair costs.