REAL STORIES OF AFTERMARKET BATTERIES

[spacetrakker]

I have 3 Genuine DJI batteries and 1 aftermarket off Ebay. When I originally purchased, DJI batteries were priced in Australia at around AUD$279 each and my Ebay battery cost me AUD$85. All 4 perform absolutely the same to this day.
As I have never updated the P3A firmware (Cause it just works), I don't have any hassles with the later battery brand protection firmware requirements.

I think we are all being brainwashed by DJI's attempts to lock out competition and maintain their virtual monopoly.

When our car, watch or torch battery dies, do we all search the market for the same OEM or just buy an "equivalent" that carries similar specifications?
Amen

 

[Aussie markD1969]

What firmware are u running ?.. l have no probs with the latest update , just curious. Cheers

 

[Aussie markD1969]

Ah your from west aust too .. cool ..

 

[spacetrakker]

Ah your from west aust too .. cool ..

Hi Mark,
Yes WA..Perth...retired so travel a lot and fly the done wherever I can!
I posted the software info on your new thread.
Happy Flying...

 

[JoBe]

I'VE read good and bad here about using non DJI batteries. Would like some real life experiences about using non DJI batteries. I just can't believe that companies would make a product that will not work. Do you really think that DJI has a factory that makes just their batteries . Just from life experiences I seen a lot of products out there with different names but come from the same place. Sure sometimes they may use different materials
in a same item. Just trying to cutoff some of the responses here for things I know already. Finally what I want is actual problems you experience with batteries that you can directly relate to the battery not just opinions from what guys read, Sorry for carrying on , just want some honest good input. Thanks guys.

i tried a knock off battery and it worked for a minute until dji changed the fw and locked out the battery. now i'm scared to spend on another knock off in case it happens again and i waste more money. no sense spending good money after bad amirite?

 

[spacetrakker]

i tried a knock off battery and it worked for a minute until dji changed the fw and locked out the battery. now i'm scared to spend on another knock off in case it happens again and i waste more money. no sense spending good money after bad amirite?

Yes, I'm afraid that is very real problem now with the later versions of DJI firmware and their deliberate attempts to prevent DJI drone owners buying aftermarket batteries at less than 50% of their OEM prices !!

 

[solentlife]

Yes, I'm afraid that is very real problem now with the later versions of DJI firmware and their deliberate attempts to prevent DJI drone owners buying aftermarket batteries at less than 50% of their OEM prices !!

The number of this happening IMHO and judging by the few quotes, is very small ... there are thousands of non DJI batterys out there working fine.

It would be better if people would actually state the 'Label / Seller / source' of such batterys that fail instead of just making a statement leaving rest of people in the dark.

Nigel

 

[spacetrakker]

I agree with the previous post by Nigel.

My aftermarket battery (which performs identically to my DJI OEM batteries) is labelled "GiFi" on the side panel where the genuine DJI battery is labelled "Phantom". Apart from the label, the case including the Green and Red LED's appear physically identical in every way to the DJI product..

 

[grantiago]

I have 6 batteries: 5 aftermarket, one DJI. All fly perfectly; same flight time, same recharge time. All showing around 30 charges. My only complaint is the fit of the aftermarket ones is tight. They are from Mr battery -- off Amazon -- about 40% less $.

At times with the aftermarket ones, the drone makes a clicking noise after it's turned off. It happens when I have flown the ac hard (usually when trying to beat the return to home warning) and it comes in hot. I just take it out, cool it down, and recharge it.

There are plenty of quirks with the stock dji ensemble that are far more annoying than a click -- which is more than offset by the $avings and additional flight time.

 

[MotorCycle-Man]

You know whats so silly about all this.....this all has been discussed many many many times before...a post like this is Not a Thing new...wouldn't it been easier to post a few links of the aftermarket discussions and leave it be .
Just don't forget.....during the One Year warranty......If you crash and its a battery related issue.....Dji will Not repair your broken smashed to tiny pieces drone........i don't have a high buck drone.(P3 SE)...however i Still have to much at stake to mess UP my one year warranty with Dji.
Dji states in the warranty : Damage caused by reliability or compatibility issues when using unauthorized third-party parts.
So are these aftermarket battery units authorized By Dji as you named several of them above.....I guess Not.

we have a few members here that are with Dji off the Dji forum site........Hope one or more will respond here !

 

[solentlife]

You know whats so silly about all this.....this all has been discussed many many many times before...a post like this is Not a Thing new...wouldn't it been easier to post a few links of the aftermarket discussions and leave it be .
Just don't forget.....during the One Year warranty......If you crash and its a battery related issue.....Dji will Not repair your broken smashed to tiny pieces drone........i don't have a high buck drone.(P3 SE)...however i Still have to much at stake to mess UP my one year warranty with Dji.
Dji states in the warranty : Damage caused by reliability or compatibility issues when using unauthorized third-party parts.
So are these aftermarket battery units authorized By Dji as you named several of them above.....I guess Not.

we have a few members here that are with Dji off the Dji forum site........Hope one or more will respond here !

If you read through DJI full clauses - its wonder they honour warranty anyway !!

But your post in fact says it all - BATTERY RELATED CRASH ... WHEN USING 3rd PARTY PARTS ....

Doesn't matter if its Samsung or DJI ... that's standard Warranty talk ...

Like most people I reckon ... during warranty period you stick to servicing your car at official dealer ....... the day after warranty expires - you stuff the official dealer where he belongs - in the high priced monopoly bin - and find a better priced service.

Nigel

 

[grantiago]

You know whats so silly about all this.....this all has been discussed many many many times before...a post like this is Not a Thing new...wouldn't it been easier to post a few links of the aftermarket discussions and leave it be .
Just don't forget.....during the One Year warranty......If you crash and its a battery related issue.....Dji will Not repair your broken smashed to tiny pieces drone........i don't have a high buck drone.(P3 SE)...however i Still have to much at stake to mess UP my one year warranty with Dji.
Dji states in the warranty : Damage caused by reliability or compatibility issues when using unauthorized third-party parts.
So are these aftermarket battery units authorized By Dji as you named several of them above.....I guess Not.

we have a few members here that are with Dji off the Dji forum site........Hope one or more will respond here !

The title is "Real Stories of Aftermarket Batteries." Not "How to post like a forum troll."

 

[MotorCycle-Man]

Yep.....your right

What This After-Sales Policy Does NOT Cover
This policy does not cover the following:
× Crashes or fire damage caused by non-manufacturing factors, including but not limited to, pilot errors.
× Damage caused by unauthorized modification, disassembly, or shell opening not in accordance with official instructions or manuals.
× Damage caused by improper installation, incorrect use, or operation not in accordance with official instructions or manuals.
× Damage caused by a non-authorized service provider.
× Damage caused by unauthorized modification of circuits and mismatch or misuse of the battery and charger.
× Damage caused by flights which did not follow instruction manual recommendations.
× Damage caused by operation in bad weather (i.e. strong winds, rain, sand/dust storms, etc.)
× Damage caused by operating the product in an environment with electromagnetic interference (i.e. in mining areas or close to radio transmission towers, high-voltage wires, substations, etc.).
× Damage caused by operating the product in an environment suffering from interference from other wireless devices (i.e. transmitter, video-downlink, Wi-Fi signals, etc.).
× Damage caused by operating the product at a weight greater than the safe takeoff weight, as specified by instruction manuals.
× Damage caused by a forced flight when components have aged or been damaged.
× Damage caused by reliability or compatibility issues when using unauthorized third-party parts.
× Damage caused by operating the unit with a low-charged or defective battery.
× Uninterrupted or error-free operation of a product.
× Loss of, or damage to, your data by a product.
× Any software programs, whether provided with the product or installed subsequently.
× Failure of, or damage caused by, any third party products, including those that DJI may provide or integrate into the DJI product at your request.
× Damage resulting from any non-DJI technical or other support, such as assistance with “how-to” questions or inaccurate product set-up and installation.
× Products or parts with an altered identification label or from which the identification label has been removed.

This All Above is from Dji.......not me a member here

 

[Chrislaf]

I have 4 batteries for my P3S. Three are PowerExtra ones I got off of Amazon.ca and the other is the original one that came with my P3S. I have not had a single problem with any of the aftermarket batteries and they look and perform just like the DJI one. The only issue I have with the aftermarket ones is that the battery LEDs are not as bright as the DJI one and are next to impossible to see in bright sunlight. But for a fraction of the cost of the DJI branded one, they are worth it.

Chris

 

[RunningWithScissors]

In the absense of any hard, empirical evidence, battery brand probably comes down to personal choice. I have 4 batteries for each of my two Phantoms (P3S, P4). All batteries are OEM DJI batteries. I verify that prior to purchasing any new batteries. Other than the batteries that came with the drones, I've bought all the other batteries new in the box on eBay and didn't pay more than $85 for any of them, and they're all performing as expected with very little degradation, and with numerous flights and charge cycles on each of them. I'm very happy with my choices.

 

[bullerman1946]

In the absense of any hard, empirical evidence, battery brand probably comes down to personal choice. I have 4 batteries for each of my two Phantoms (P3S, P4). All batteries are OEM DJI batteries. I verify that prior to purchasing any new batteries. Other than the batteries that came with the drones, I've bought all the other batteries new in the box on eBay and didn't pay more than $85 for any of them, and they're all performing as expected with very little degradation, and with numerous flights and charge cycles on each of them. I'm very happy with my choices.

You can buy the OEM DJI batteries off Ebay. I looked at them and some of them do say OEM DJI batteries with pictures so I guess they are. I would much rather pay 90.00 than 150.00. That is steep. Any information appreciated. New to the sport.

 

[gingerbloke]

For my P3A I used 4 genuine and 1 Lumsing (marked as 'Compatible with PH3). Two OEM came with the P3A kit (UK reseller), two OEM and the Lumsing came with a P3S I bought from ebay.

The Lumsing runs just the same as the others (slightly tighter fit), the only failure I've had was with one of the original OEM bought as part of the P3A kit and just over a year old.

 

[xrider]

hello

thats my tiny story.. few months ago i decided to buy a used battery to conserve some money.. no problem since one day that ive powered my p3 on and a battery error came up.. my first reaction was "okay.. lets restart" ... nope.. message came up again.. "now what??!! am i goin to be with one battery again?? noooo... NOOOO.. need some more time up there.. come ooooon" ... tried to make a short test to understand what was goin on.. battery was getting low pretty fast from the other while on flight.. same flight conditions.. no wind.. no full speed.. everything same... "whooow... battery is dead on 60 charges.. gonna pull it out and put it on charger" .. but after that flight i understood that i have to send the battery for disposal... it was tricky to pull it out because it started becoming like a ballon.. finally ive pulled it out veeeery carefully.. felt like a surgeon... and put it on charger.. it took about 3,5 hours (!!!) to fully charge... so ive called dji and told what was goin on.. the polite man said "im sorry for that.. send me its s/n to see if its original" .. i did.. and then an answer "it seems that the battery you ve bought its an aftermarket and its dead.. sent it here for disposal" ... so i did... note that this battery was almost same with the original one..

lesson learned and never ever again tryied to buy a used battery or an aftermarket.. if i didnt know how dangerous is flyin with a damaged battery i may have faced great troubles..

thats my little story..

 

[MotorCycle-Man]

Plus : If your using a aftermarket battery and have a battery related failure and C r A s H.....If your still under the years warranty....Well now with a aftermarket battery you have " no warranty " !...i got that in a message message Dji....But even with a aftermarket battery You might never Ever ever ever have a issue.....i might use a after market when my warranty is over....a BIG MIGHT !
2 very important Drone things are the props and battery's !

Good Thinking xrider....yaaaaaaaaa !

 

[RCP1]

I've had terrible results with aftermarket flight batteries on both my P3 ADV and P3 PRO and P4. Of three P3 batteries total (2 I bought new and 1 that came with the P3 ADV) all have less than 10 charges on them and both show "Broken Cell" under the battery >advanced tab. I have seen at least one fully charged battery show as 0 Volts on the Dji Go main screen until I removed and reinserted the battery. Bottom line is I will not trust my expensive A/C's to a possibly defective battery. I have bought used Genuine Dji 3 batteries with low charges (10 or less) for $60-$70 and they work perfectly.
As for my Phantom 4 which came with one Dji battery and two aftermarket batteries, one of the aftermarket batteries is cracked on the LED end and has a bad pin. It's pushed in further than the rest of the pins and is distorted. The remaining non Dji battery seems to work fine but I won't fly with it. I use it on the bench only.
Again, I went the used route with low charge number P4 batteries for $75 each or so and they work great. Just make sure that the ad lists the # of charges, the seller accepts returns and pays for return shipping in case you do have a problem. So far I have bought 6 used low charge # OEM Dji 3 and 4 batteries with zero issues.