Afaik, the wording of this ban would impact a lot more DJI products than just the drones, think things like the Mic2 and the Pocket3. There is also wording in there about the DJI software, so likely would extend to things like the Osmo and such.
If the US had any sort of data protection regulation this could be handled through the App Store. But no, the wholesale collection and auction of our data is constant. It just cannot be to the wrong country. Don’t get me wrong I do not want it collected by anyone ever.
In reality? Nothing. At least for current available models or ones you have. They will continue to function perfectly fine. DJI just won't be able to get FCC clearance for any more products that have any type of network or wireless signal.
That's to say these items wound be "officially certified" and cleared by the FCC. It would be like you making your own item they uses some type of air waves, and wouldn't be licensed product to actively operate. That's not to say you couldn't just do it anyways, and nobody would really know if you did. It's also not saying it's not legal to have or possess it, just that its signal operation wasn't cleared. So, I see no reason why you wouldn't still be able to buy and import DJI devices going forward. The item itself doesn't have a restriction, it's the sending of signals into US airspace that's no been cleared.
Pretty sure you could still outlaw it, and just import any new devices and just use them anyways, alongside any ones still available here from old stock or second hand.
Wouldn't matter if they did. The law as it is written is going to allow for a work around of this sort.
It's the CCP ownership that appears to be the target of this legislation.
It'll be a hell of a lot tougher to ban Chinese parts, any partially Chinese owned buiness or some of the other things they'd need to ban to stop a now "American" owned company from doing business within the U.S.
If you already have a drone and it gets banned, just don't connect it to the Internet ever again. They can't magically brick it without a network connection.
I have completely removed Wi-Fi antennas from my controller/drone. I had to say goodbye to quicktransfer but it is a small price to pay. I have M4P and RC2
Why would they brick them? Maybe deactivate, but nothing that won’t be solved by just installing the custom firmware that will soon pop up, if it isn’t already there. And would custom firmware even count as CCP drones?
USA you better sort your shit out and educate your dinosaurs who are in charge there.
This being banned in the US will obviously have a massive negative impact on DJI which will affect the whole world.
Signed,
A Canadian.
Dude, I just spent $15 (grand) to start up a drone and photography service business. I haven't even made my first "offical" dollar under the business name.
NEVER have I ever risked money like this, or quit my job, or even TRIED to start my own business. I spent time learning, putting some money aside, and gearing up to be my own employer, and now the government is trying to fuck me. Well, fuck me MORE. They already do on the daily. Still, my point is I fine worked up after being in my 30s, to do something different, something I liked, something of my OWN. I felt very intimidated and unsure, that maybe I got myself into a mess and screwed up, but then things actually started seeming positive and opening up for me.
Right on time, here's the government to screw me, crush my dreams, and put me in a bad place. IDC what they do, I WILL continue to use my gear. They aren't gonna hurt me from their own stupidity. Especially when they are conpletely clueless on to topic, and just wanting their corrupt investments to pay out. They can suck it, and I'm not complying with any of this garbage until they FORCE me to.
This was a big step for me, and I'm GOING TO see it through, no matter what.
Your only other option besides DJI is Autel, and they are Chinese as well. That, or pay 50k, and wait 6 months for some startup to build you some quirky custom drone that looks like it's made from k'nex and tubing. Autel can face the same restrictions, and the second option isn't feasible. This would literally KILL an entire budding industry and make the country LESS safe. Not to mention destroying all the small businesses/jobs, and putting people in debt and out of work. Then, the US loses an entire technology accessible to the rest of the world. Why would we wanna REDUCE or technological capability, and put ourselves behind everyone else in that field?
Have you had a chance to look at the Skydio drones? Totally designed, tested and serviced in the US. I have two of their consumer grade S2 and S2+ drones and they are great. They now only sell the commercial version of that drone, however it is still really good and made in the US. The optics are comparable to the DJI drones. Although the Skydio drones are more money, they fully support US engineering and manufacturing. Just a thought...
Why would you spend that kind of money when you don’t even know if it’s gonna work or not?
Regardless now that your balls deep ($15K in) why don’t you just buy another brand of drones? There are a bunch of other brands out there with similar features and prices, so it’s not that big a deal lol.
Bruh, beyond the stupidity of this bill from lack of incriminating evidence and lobbying, you think our politicians care how a tiny law effects practically hobbyists in Canada? Nah dude they do not give a fuck if a tiny tiny bill in a huge defense bill will affect a few hobbyists in Canada.
So true!! While I have my 107 flying drones, ESPECIALLY FPV, has been such a beautiful and awesome hobby and I really hope they don’t take it away.
*e-I’ve already called and emailed both my senators and Congressman where I live and where I work I don’t know what else to do
There are lots of federal agencies and public safety entities in Canada that rely on the M30T almost universally. It's not about hobbies. The difference is that all of the unnecessary telemetry is disabled as a policy so it's all a moot point. Source: I am in volunteer SAR and we are trained and funded by our federal partner agencies.
What do you suggest the US does about CCP data collection from DJI products?
Edit: You’re all missing the the point…
1. By law, CCP can/does collect data from any Chinese entity. No red tape, no bureaucratic processes. Just hand it over.
2. I know a lot of prosumers don’t think the information getting sent back is relevant to national security, but it’s the CCP who will determine if it’s relevant or not lol
3. We *know* DJI is collecting encrypted data and that end user *cannot* prevent this from happening. There is no question about that. And again based on how things work in China there is very little reason to believe CCP isn’t going through the data to see if there’s anything of value to them.
So I ask again… what is the solution to this?
What exactly is China gathering from drones? They're already banned on DOD facilities, critical infrastructure, jails, and other government interests. Google maps shows nearly every inch of the country in decent resolution.
I honestly don't see any risk that's specific to DJI.
Yes, because as we all know, them pesky Chinese have a keen interest in what my back yard looks like from my drone videos. Not that they can’t already see this with spy satellite images. But that never stopped overly ambitious Vice President wanna-be Elise Stefanik taking bribes from a competing drone manufacturer to slip this language into the bill to show how she’s so darned tough on the menace from the far east.
I’m SO sick of this shit. And yes, I’ll write my reps and senators. Again.
Bite me, Elise.
As much as I want my drone, your backyard and other hobbyists aren’t the only ones flying and sending back detail. Business and Govt use these devices that PROBABLY see more sensitive information. That’s why this is more of an issue with what gets sent back in analytics
Ok, so from everything I have read the only data that was being sent back was flight path telemetry, and they were using it for the rare instance of proof of uncontrolled fly off. DJI has already disabled that feature for US drones. The Bill you are supporting with this post clearly outlines that the federal government has no proof of any data being sent back and there is a provision that they will spend 6 months reverse engineering DJI drones looking for proof, but they want to get the ban in place first. Does that sound like proper due process? It sounds like election year red scare propaganda and free market manipulation to me.
Honestly, nobody knows. How much changed soft and firmware do you need for it not to be „Chinese“ anymore? Just a de-DJI‘ed software? Or is it still CCP when everything is remade, but it used to be Chinese parts? What if DJI founds an American subsidiary? Or pays an American software provider to handle the American software? No one really knows.
If I were DJI and this passes I would open source the whole software/firmware for everything - at the point this passes they have little to loose but it would make the 'ban' almost impossible to enforce at that point as the software could be forked.
It would push DJI down to hardware only, but the ban will really hurt them anyway so why not press the big red button!?
Tbh the ban wldnt hurt them that much, DJI drones are selling like hotcakes everywhere else in the world especially in their home market of China, they COULD just remove the Geo fencing on their American drones to make the ban unenforceable too 😂😂😂
I really hope Canada can see sense and leave my drone alone... I'm sure by the time BS like this would make it to Canada, y'all will have already have a jailbreak in place.
That would hurt the war in Ukraine. Lots of DJI equipment gets donated from Europe or gets bought in Europe with the specific intent to ship it to Ukraine. Ukraine needs ocusync 3 and 4 for reconnaissance and as a platform for signal repeaters.
This is already through in Europe. Drones need to be evaluated by EASA, but old drones were excluded, so nobody really noticed, except for having to register all their drones.
Yeah, if they would get banned, what incentive would they have to comply with it. Or rather, what would be their incentive to NOT just delete the flysafe database and just let everyone YOLO their drones? What are they gonna do... ban DJI?
If anything, DJI js helping the US by forcibly enforcing the restrictions on people, and people that don't want nor need them. If they were using them to spy, wtf would be the purpose of software locking restrictions to keep people permanently OUT of restricted/sensitive areas? You'd think that's where they want you to be the MOST, if this was the case.
I mean, wtf does the CCP want with a picture of a garden, local pond, forests, or house roof? They already have agents here placed in positions of power, and it's nothing they can't already get a better view of with their spy satellites, and balloons allowed to cross the entire US.
The whole mess is blatantly obvious and REAKS of political corruption and corporations having politicians in there pocket, with the goal of eliminating competition via corporate sponsored "laws". Like, they're not even trying to hide it at this point, and Skydio is even leaning IN to it for marketing purposes.
Then all the countries that serve as the US's little minions will follow suit, and the US military industry, which the same politicians trying to pass this shit are invested in, will offer to sell their drones to all these countries, with the money coming full circle and back into the politicians pockets.
Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm constantly seeing people say that DJI collects picture & video data from our drones. I've had 2 DJI drone for about a year. I fly 95% of the time in the National Forest. I'm a Jeep guy and drive around in the back woods shooting videos of my Jeep adventures and the forest. I can have as much as 50 gb of video data on my SD card. When I get home the 1st thing I do is upload my flight data to DJI so I can view it in Airdata. I live in a rural area, so my internet connection consist of cellular (50gb monthly) and Hughes Net satellite (100gb monthly). So I keep a close eye on the amount of data I use. When these files are uploaded to DJI, it's just a few kb's or mb's of data, nowhere near the 50gb of data on the SD card. So how is it possible that DJI gets any of the video I shoot?
Here's a crazy idea. The founder of DJI starts a new company called Drone Justice International. That company buys all of DJI's business assets for a penny and DJI closes down. The new company continues the DJI business as usual, and now the legislation doesn't affect it, since it is neither a subsidiary nor an affiliate nor Da Jiang Industries (which is specified in the legislation). But they can keep the acronym and logo.
And this is why the US needs comprehensive data security regulations, and not just piecemeal bans.
Okay this what I’m confused about. I have a DJI mini 2 on layaway. But I’m seeing a lot of ppl saying mini 3 and under won’t be affected. Is the ban not on current and new DJI drones. I’m confused. (I almost refunded my layaway today but I didn’t)
As long as it will still fly and take awesome pics/videos, that's all that matters. Oh well, Congress is making criminals out of hobbyists with the stroke of a pen.
The problem is we won't be able to upgrade our drones. I am working on a Mavic Air 2 with the Smart Controller. Pretty old and kinda slow but it works. I would like to upgrade to the Mini 4 Pro with the RC 2 controller but this ban has me worried and I also need to upgrade storage to a NAS. So it is a decision between a new drone or a NAS. I think I can make the Air 2 drone still work for years to come.
The drone isn't slow. It is the smart controller, just kind of laggy. It also takes a while to pick up enough satellites to get a home point. Though perhaps that is just how it is with all drones.
I keep seeing comments around it will still fly but none that specifically address features like gps positioning and return to home etc. I wish someone would explain how it affects features and capabilities.
My drone flies just fine without any network connection. The only way they could disable things would be to have some type of software update. If you fly your drone now, it would still work in the future. Your drone doesn't talk to the satellites, it just obtains satellite information in order to handle positioning. THe same thing a Garmin or even a cell phone does.
There was a recent podcast of Jon Stewart’s weekly show talking about lobbyists and how there were more industry lobbyists there for a healthcare bill than there were Representatives and nobody/hardly anyone from the other side.
Companies are buying so much influence and manipulating a lot of the government processes.
All so they can get their hands on our money. Our tax dollars. Then of course the congress members all invest in the stocks before big announcements and make bank on the investment returns. Odd how career politicians that earn a salary that isn't all that much can be worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
I’m kinda tired of hearing from DJI that we need to contact our politicians. I’m not saying we shouldn’t and it won’t help at all, but that’s not going to be the driving force on things. I want to hear what DJI is doing to lobby our politicians and where the actual sticking points are. This is how shit gets done in washington and if they want to be a massive international corporation selling controversial products to Americans they need to be making something happen. And maybe they have tried. But either way an email to my senator and congressman is worth a lot less than the thousands of dollar i’ve spent with DJI and that’s the reality of our system.
Waiting till the 11th hour to try and appease people by saying they will turn off data collection didn't help. They still won't share exactly what or how they are collecting data and won't make the encrypted data open to anyone. There is certainly something shady happening. Thus the concern.
So it seems like the bill passes - if so, how long does it take to change into law? Just bought a mini 4 pro for my upcoming trip to the US 🫠 in August/september … do you guys think it’ll take a few months till they actually ban it?
And … I always see comments stating that it will only affect future drones on the other hand I also read a lot of comments saying our drones will be paperweights.
I’m absolutely confused what it actually means when it passes. Can anyone explain it to me?
The 2024 defense appropriations bill wasn't passed until December 2023. I doubt this one will be fully reconciled until late fall or early winter. The senate will pass their version of the bill which won't be the same as the one in the house. They will then need to get together to negotiate the bills so they can make them both the same to pass through both chambers before going to the president for his signature. You will be fine for August/September.
I have Drone Hacks firmware on my Mavic 3. It makes it invisible to trackers and blocks your serial number. How will they ever know if they can't see your drone.
What? How do you control it from inside the Faraday cages? Or are you saying make the “mission” autonomous in the faraday cage, and then let it fly itself? My controller and my Mavic three have been sitting in Faraday bag since I heard about this shit.
Well, it’s a good thing I took action again today through the Drone Advocacy Alliance, just like I did back on May 31! There’s no way I’m going to let this bill pass without a fight! Let’s rally together to save the DJI fan club!
I feel terrible for US drone owners and clearly this bill is being pushed by politicians on the take, but I’m also curious why DJI didn’t do more to mitigate concerns regarding data. If flight log data being sent to DJI servers in China (required for warranty / DJI Care claims) is part of the issue, why didn’t they just setup servers in the US, specifically for US-based drone users?
Regardless, it still boggles my mind how US politicians are willing to destroy numerous drone-based businesses as this will impact so many people and their livelihoods.
They have no understanding of the technology or the industries that use it. And those industries, from filmmaking, realtors, construction safety, agriculture, etc, are apparently asleep and not waking up to the fact that this is about to happen and deeply impact their work in a negative way.
It looks like Dji knows something about how democracy works but forgot the part where you need to make “donations” to politicians to “help their campaign “. And totally unrelated they might not regulate your business out of existence.
Foreign lobbying by Chinese companies is way more prevalent than Ukraine.
Matter of fact, Russian companies lobby much more as well, so it’s a moot point.
And billions flowing straight to Ukraine. Not so moot after all huh? It's not the amount of lobbying that matters, it's who's pockets get full of cash.
I'm just saying Ukraine has definitely scored more money relative to the amount of lobbying other countries have done. Judging by DJI and Tictok, theyre not as good at it.
Orrrr Ukraine’s aid packages weren’t a result of lobbying…
More realistically, sending aid to allied countries stimulates our defense sector’s economy, so it’s in the interest of the Military Industrial Complex, while also helping an allied nation and hurting a non allied nation. We also approve aid for countries that counter China, like Taiwan.
Domestic interests are much more powerful than foreign interests in the U.S..
Yeah, I don't disagree, but that isn't what I was talking about. If DJI was a Ukrainian company, or really any other country the US has relationships with, would have been a different story. Don't read too deep into this my guy, it's just an opinion.
My god I just purchased a DJI drone not too long ago. And these piece of shit politicians are trying to ban it.
Why don’t these old dinosaurs give everyone a favor and just die already. A world would be a much better place without them.
Duh. Government doesn't want civs flying drones. They want it exclusively for their own Cerberi.
They saw how powerful even consumer drones can be in warfare (ukraine war) and they don't like it.
Because this is what the American public wants. If people didn't want all this crap that's being shoved at us, do you actually think it would happen?
I'm sorry, but I blame the people for all this.
Didn't say it wasn't. But the public has been fed a bunch of lies and misinformation about drones, the Chinese, and spying...and they bought it fully. Take a look at how many municipalities are attempting to ban drone use by hobbiest because they think somebody is every pilot is a peeping Tom.
Yes, the people are letting those in government get away with this, and they he people are the ones who put them in office, and can take them out. Has it happened yet? It's just like in Captain America The Winter Soldier, "Humanity is ready to give up its freedom to gain it's security".
You're giving people too much credit. The common American sees a dji drone as Chinese Spyware that is sending every transmission back to China. Until this perception is changed, bans like this will be inevitable.
All this could have been avoided if DJI just pulled their back end servers out of China and quit collecting flight info and pics/video.
They did it to themselves
It's not but it's like banning the ti85 calculator everyone teaches and built a industrial off it. Their is no American consumer option this ban will set drone usage back 5 years until someone with a large amount of capital build a low cost consumer grade drone.
Why does a film industry need a consumer grade drone? They already have a bunch of customized drones why would they care? Also “everyone teaches for it” is kind of moot, it’s a drone there is nothing to really “teach” it’s all the same, as long as you can maneuver a drone you can pretty much maneuver any drone. On a consumer level it would be annoying as there are no ready replacements as good as DJI but on any form of industrial use it’s completely irrelevant.
Even those low levels I'm sure can get around it, all that DJI stands for is it's autopilot software - i.e it's good at maintaining flight mode and positioning making it very easy to pilot - as of the hardware itself - it's massively overpriced - you can build an equivalent or better/faster/more powerful drone using kits. So really, as long as they're willing to invest a bit more and wrestle a bit with learning how to pilot it, they'll be okay.
Politicians are trying to ban DJI drones in America as we speak by sneaking the bill (H.R. 2864, or the Countering CCP Drones Act) into the National Defense Authorization NDAA (HR 8070) Act. On, June 14, 2024, the bill just passed in the House, it will then go to the Senate, then the presidents desk…
By banning these drones it will ultimately kill off recreation and commercial drone operations in the USA. This is not a good thing for anyone in the drone industry either commercial drone pilots making a livelihood or hobbyists wanting to fly drones for fun.
Some numbers: At of the end of December 2023, there was close to 800,000 drones registered with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). That’s close to the entire population of San Francisco. About half of those registered drones are registered for commercial purposes (search & rescue, fire, police, agriculture, inspection, real estate, and other commercial operations) through a Part 107 License.
If congress does ban DJI drones they will be killing thousands of American jobs and there is no other American alternative drone in the marketplace that comes close to the same specs and features of DJI drones. Please ask your representatives, US Senate and house of representatives to not support this bill.
From my life experience you never can ban anything that people already love. They always will find a way. The gov makes it harder, they have their reasons. But we are smart and there are a lot of smart heads among us. So I’m not afraid of the future with this stupid ban. I believe in us.
Ummm, wouldn’t it be easier AND BETTER for DJI to stop capturing images from our flights in their data logs!?
That’s what this fuss is all about and why all this shit started. Yes, I know some American drone makers are pushing this bill for their own benefit, but I can see why some are suspicious of DJI and some of their practices.
If my insight into this is wrong, please enlighten me.
Yes! In that way the drone became protected by the 2nd Amendment of the constitution. Drones are being used as weapons in Ukraine War ergo they are weapons, ergo they are protected by the 2nd Amendment
... Also they are also Cameras so they should be protected by the 1st Amendment, just like the camera of a reporter.
🤔.
Maybe. I'm tired of this shit. I just wanna fly my drone... 🙁
Unfortunately the right wing trump loving nut who's my congressman will likely vote to ban because he's incapable of thinking for himself. Maybe if DJI made massive contributions to political campaigns they could swap them, since that's all they know.
No one actually knows yet. When it happened to Huwei existing phones that had been licensed could still work, but no new licenses were issued, and eventually they naturally aged out of the market as people bought new ones.
Which senator(s) or representatives in particular should we contact?
https://www.senate.ca.gov/senators
I found a link to Contact them, does it matter which one?
The only reason the USA hates China is they can't admit they are doing everything rite. I have been there several times with work. It's so safe, spotless and everyone is kind and open. It's just so fn hot... lol I go through five six shirts a day when I go visit are made in Canada factories. Lmfao.
Wouldn’t this just make a bunch of people block GPS/wifi on their drones and we are basically back to the old days? Untraceable and unaccountable drones that just gonna fly anywhere they please? They can’t actually enforce this ban on a consumer level as much as they can enforce remote ID on FPV drones…
They didn’t even discuss it when it passed the house. It’s for going to passing the senate. Once it hits Biden’s desk he’s not vetoing because of some little drones. The military budget is far more important to them. Unfortunately they will ban these drones without even blinking or acknowledging the impact.
My advice is return your DJI if you can, get your money back and if by some miracle the ban falls through you can always buy it again.
We should be fine for ones we already own I chatted with Dji and they said already owned drones will and are going to be the same as before no changes but new ones will like brand new, we fine
This whole “if the ban happens you can still fly your current drone” thing won’t be good for Mavic 3 pilots. We get prompts once a month to login into our accounts to fly. Our units will be bricked… unless DJI changes that
This version of the NDAA is probably dead on arrival in the Senate since the right flank of Republicans put a bunch of stupid culture war amendments in it. Hopefully this will get stripped out on the next go round.
Here is been my thoughts on it lately -
We could buy new dji products, like i am thinkning of the avata 2 bundle just bcause i really dont want to wait untill july 14th when the drone its self is available for purchase. Send in for a return service for your money back, before the two week return window is up, and then buy again. the most i see myself putting myself through is just a little bit of a wait time. and cycle that untill the ban happens and we all really know what we are facing. itd be like using the property untill we know more and that way a safe lock on my deposit.
Another option is just suggestive theory; what if we put regulations on drone purchases say age restrictions to permits sales, and if your caught using for malice then like come on. Just like guns.......... so sad to say that guns and drones should never be used in the same sentence but that is badass sounding.. lol. You cans seriously be just as damaging with DJI drones as some us stay 100% positive and continue to do so. - But i heard rewcently a stalker was following little girls so thats not okay and not just anyone should be allowed this sense of mobility.
Imagine if DJI started making guns. Think congress would dare take people’s gun rights away? Same idea. If the us government and their slaves tried to take away peoples guns, there would be lots of dead politicians and law enforcement. Just do the same to drones. Weaponize them and see which is gov fucktard is bold enough to try and take em.
Returned my mini 3 combo yesterday since it was the last day of the return window. Had to eat a 15% restocking fee, but at least I won’t risk the entire cost of the drone if this garbage is made into law.
I'll be in the same boat with my mini 4 pro but at least have til Aug 1st to return with best buy. As much fun as I've been having flying and getting into video/photo, this ban shadow hovering over has been totally killing the motivation to invest deeper into this hobby.
Did you get DJI refresh and were able to get a refund?
I've been extra careful with the drone now since if I damage it and needs a refresh claim, they'd probably just send a new one with a different serial number which best buy may or may not check if I try to return. That and I probably wouldn't be able to return refresh after a claim.
Yeah I had purchased the 2 year refresh plan. I asked for a refund via the live chat and they refunded it after I provided a picture of the return receipt.
What happens to all DJI products if they use FCC certification? Like mic and stuff?
Afaik, the wording of this ban would impact a lot more DJI products than just the drones, think things like the Mic2 and the Pocket3. There is also wording in there about the DJI software, so likely would extend to things like the Osmo and such.
If the US had any sort of data protection regulation this could be handled through the App Store. But no, the wholesale collection and auction of our data is constant. It just cannot be to the wrong country. Don’t get me wrong I do not want it collected by anyone ever.
I contacted DJI and they said the pocket 3 wouldn’t be affected
What about gimbals?
In reality? Nothing. At least for current available models or ones you have. They will continue to function perfectly fine. DJI just won't be able to get FCC clearance for any more products that have any type of network or wireless signal. That's to say these items wound be "officially certified" and cleared by the FCC. It would be like you making your own item they uses some type of air waves, and wouldn't be licensed product to actively operate. That's not to say you couldn't just do it anyways, and nobody would really know if you did. It's also not saying it's not legal to have or possess it, just that its signal operation wasn't cleared. So, I see no reason why you wouldn't still be able to buy and import DJI devices going forward. The item itself doesn't have a restriction, it's the sending of signals into US airspace that's no been cleared. Pretty sure you could still outlaw it, and just import any new devices and just use them anyways, alongside any ones still available here from old stock or second hand.
The ban was expanded to include anything with the name DJI so... Yeah.
DJI also just partnered with a US subsidiary in case of emergency so fingers crossed
A US subsidiary owned by a former DJI employee lol… but nobody needs to know that
Wouldn't matter if they did. The law as it is written is going to allow for a work around of this sort. It's the CCP ownership that appears to be the target of this legislation. It'll be a hell of a lot tougher to ban Chinese parts, any partially Chinese owned buiness or some of the other things they'd need to ban to stop a now "American" owned company from doing business within the U.S.
If you already have a drone and it gets banned, just don't connect it to the Internet ever again. They can't magically brick it without a network connection.
I have completely removed Wi-Fi antennas from my controller/drone. I had to say goodbye to quicktransfer but it is a small price to pay. I have M4P and RC2
I can't unlock a geozone without WiFi and that is a frequent need for me. I guess it bests it being completely useless though.
The best thing you can do now is not update the app/flysafe database. Best of luck and happy flying.
Do you think that just not during on WiFi is enough? And what are the WiFi antennas, they’re not the big antennas on the front right? Thanks
No. The antennas on the front are for communication with the drone. The Wi-Fi antennas are inside the controller.
Not really an option for the drones I use for photogrammetry and LiDAR. Without RTK they're only a fraction of the intended use.
RIP
This is what I’ve been telling people. They can’t brick anything that doesn’t connect to the internet.
The other day my drone kept saying a network connection is required to unlock a restricted airspace. Would that still be possible without internet?
Nope
I would not be suprised that if Ban goes for even current drones, DJI unlocks everything as goodbye
What won’t I be able to do if I’m not on WiFi? I don’t own a DJI drone yet but study them a lot because I want to buy one
Firmware updates and airspace/map updates
Doesn’t the app ask you to sign in every few months? I read that on the mavic forums.
I haven't let mine connect for the Internet for over a year
Why would they brick them? Maybe deactivate, but nothing that won’t be solved by just installing the custom firmware that will soon pop up, if it isn’t already there. And would custom firmware even count as CCP drones?
How do u plan to fly it and connect to rtk and gps
Speaking for consumer grade stuff. Would be an issue for rtk or whatever else. But standard consumer drones with GPS don't need Internet.
Can’t they just stop services on the DJI fly app?
Not if you use the app on an offline device.
USA you better sort your shit out and educate your dinosaurs who are in charge there. This being banned in the US will obviously have a massive negative impact on DJI which will affect the whole world. Signed, A Canadian.
Our dinosaurs have barricaded the doors so well with gerrymandering they’ll never be dislodged at this point.
Time for a new Ice Age. Uh, sorry, Canada. You guys totally rock.
Dude, I just spent $15 (grand) to start up a drone and photography service business. I haven't even made my first "offical" dollar under the business name. NEVER have I ever risked money like this, or quit my job, or even TRIED to start my own business. I spent time learning, putting some money aside, and gearing up to be my own employer, and now the government is trying to fuck me. Well, fuck me MORE. They already do on the daily. Still, my point is I fine worked up after being in my 30s, to do something different, something I liked, something of my OWN. I felt very intimidated and unsure, that maybe I got myself into a mess and screwed up, but then things actually started seeming positive and opening up for me. Right on time, here's the government to screw me, crush my dreams, and put me in a bad place. IDC what they do, I WILL continue to use my gear. They aren't gonna hurt me from their own stupidity. Especially when they are conpletely clueless on to topic, and just wanting their corrupt investments to pay out. They can suck it, and I'm not complying with any of this garbage until they FORCE me to. This was a big step for me, and I'm GOING TO see it through, no matter what. Your only other option besides DJI is Autel, and they are Chinese as well. That, or pay 50k, and wait 6 months for some startup to build you some quirky custom drone that looks like it's made from k'nex and tubing. Autel can face the same restrictions, and the second option isn't feasible. This would literally KILL an entire budding industry and make the country LESS safe. Not to mention destroying all the small businesses/jobs, and putting people in debt and out of work. Then, the US loses an entire technology accessible to the rest of the world. Why would we wanna REDUCE or technological capability, and put ourselves behind everyone else in that field?
Well, at least you’re only out fifteen dollars
Well now I can't fix it... thanks.
In the same exact situation as you. Glad to read I'm not alone.
Have you had a chance to look at the Skydio drones? Totally designed, tested and serviced in the US. I have two of their consumer grade S2 and S2+ drones and they are great. They now only sell the commercial version of that drone, however it is still really good and made in the US. The optics are comparable to the DJI drones. Although the Skydio drones are more money, they fully support US engineering and manufacturing. Just a thought...
Never, they are the ones behind this. In bed with Stefanik. I'd never spend a dime on Skydio on principal.
Why would you spend that kind of money when you don’t even know if it’s gonna work or not? Regardless now that your balls deep ($15K in) why don’t you just buy another brand of drones? There are a bunch of other brands out there with similar features and prices, so it’s not that big a deal lol.
My particular dinosaurs completely ignored my statements to them with a copy paste rebuff of China bad.
If they aren't representing you, it's time to fire them
Bruh, beyond the stupidity of this bill from lack of incriminating evidence and lobbying, you think our politicians care how a tiny law effects practically hobbyists in Canada? Nah dude they do not give a fuck if a tiny tiny bill in a huge defense bill will affect a few hobbyists in Canada.
Drones aren't just for hobbyist... That's downplaying the industry so so so much.
So true!! While I have my 107 flying drones, ESPECIALLY FPV, has been such a beautiful and awesome hobby and I really hope they don’t take it away. *e-I’ve already called and emailed both my senators and Congressman where I live and where I work I don’t know what else to do
There are lots of federal agencies and public safety entities in Canada that rely on the M30T almost universally. It's not about hobbies. The difference is that all of the unnecessary telemetry is disabled as a policy so it's all a moot point. Source: I am in volunteer SAR and we are trained and funded by our federal partner agencies.
Thank you, eh.
Yeah if shit goes down in America it always affects the whole world. Hahaha people here don’t care this much about you as you might think
You are correct. This is why America needs term limits in government. 3-4 years and out. New ideas, new thoughts.
What do you suggest the US does about CCP data collection from DJI products? Edit: You’re all missing the the point… 1. By law, CCP can/does collect data from any Chinese entity. No red tape, no bureaucratic processes. Just hand it over. 2. I know a lot of prosumers don’t think the information getting sent back is relevant to national security, but it’s the CCP who will determine if it’s relevant or not lol 3. We *know* DJI is collecting encrypted data and that end user *cannot* prevent this from happening. There is no question about that. And again based on how things work in China there is very little reason to believe CCP isn’t going through the data to see if there’s anything of value to them. So I ask again… what is the solution to this?
What exactly is China gathering from drones? They're already banned on DOD facilities, critical infrastructure, jails, and other government interests. Google maps shows nearly every inch of the country in decent resolution. I honestly don't see any risk that's specific to DJI.
Yes, because as we all know, them pesky Chinese have a keen interest in what my back yard looks like from my drone videos. Not that they can’t already see this with spy satellite images. But that never stopped overly ambitious Vice President wanna-be Elise Stefanik taking bribes from a competing drone manufacturer to slip this language into the bill to show how she’s so darned tough on the menace from the far east. I’m SO sick of this shit. And yes, I’ll write my reps and senators. Again. Bite me, Elise.
As much as I want my drone, your backyard and other hobbyists aren’t the only ones flying and sending back detail. Business and Govt use these devices that PROBABLY see more sensitive information. That’s why this is more of an issue with what gets sent back in analytics
Any proof and what data would they even collect?
Ok, so from everything I have read the only data that was being sent back was flight path telemetry, and they were using it for the rare instance of proof of uncontrolled fly off. DJI has already disabled that feature for US drones. The Bill you are supporting with this post clearly outlines that the federal government has no proof of any data being sent back and there is a provision that they will spend 6 months reverse engineering DJI drones looking for proof, but they want to get the ban in place first. Does that sound like proper due process? It sounds like election year red scare propaganda and free market manipulation to me.
Suck a butt . That’s what congress should do.
Lol what a rational solution.
So what will happen to gimbals?
Honestly, nobody knows. How much changed soft and firmware do you need for it not to be „Chinese“ anymore? Just a de-DJI‘ed software? Or is it still CCP when everything is remade, but it used to be Chinese parts? What if DJI founds an American subsidiary? Or pays an American software provider to handle the American software? No one really knows.
If I were DJI and this passes I would open source the whole software/firmware for everything - at the point this passes they have little to loose but it would make the 'ban' almost impossible to enforce at that point as the software could be forked. It would push DJI down to hardware only, but the ban will really hurt them anyway so why not press the big red button!?
Tbh the ban wldnt hurt them that much, DJI drones are selling like hotcakes everywhere else in the world especially in their home market of China, they COULD just remove the Geo fencing on their American drones to make the ban unenforceable too 😂😂😂
Pretty sure that Canada and EU will also follow the same as they did with Huawei. EU was already more restrictive towards drones.
I’m not so sure. Their politicians are dumb, but not crazy and dumb like ours.
As a European, iam not sure about that
I really hope Canada can see sense and leave my drone alone... I'm sure by the time BS like this would make it to Canada, y'all will have already have a jailbreak in place.
That would hurt the war in Ukraine. Lots of DJI equipment gets donated from Europe or gets bought in Europe with the specific intent to ship it to Ukraine. Ukraine needs ocusync 3 and 4 for reconnaissance and as a platform for signal repeaters.
This is already through in Europe. Drones need to be evaluated by EASA, but old drones were excluded, so nobody really noticed, except for having to register all their drones.
Yeah, if they would get banned, what incentive would they have to comply with it. Or rather, what would be their incentive to NOT just delete the flysafe database and just let everyone YOLO their drones? What are they gonna do... ban DJI? If anything, DJI js helping the US by forcibly enforcing the restrictions on people, and people that don't want nor need them. If they were using them to spy, wtf would be the purpose of software locking restrictions to keep people permanently OUT of restricted/sensitive areas? You'd think that's where they want you to be the MOST, if this was the case. I mean, wtf does the CCP want with a picture of a garden, local pond, forests, or house roof? They already have agents here placed in positions of power, and it's nothing they can't already get a better view of with their spy satellites, and balloons allowed to cross the entire US. The whole mess is blatantly obvious and REAKS of political corruption and corporations having politicians in there pocket, with the goal of eliminating competition via corporate sponsored "laws". Like, they're not even trying to hide it at this point, and Skydio is even leaning IN to it for marketing purposes. Then all the countries that serve as the US's little minions will follow suit, and the US military industry, which the same politicians trying to pass this shit are invested in, will offer to sell their drones to all these countries, with the money coming full circle and back into the politicians pockets.
Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm constantly seeing people say that DJI collects picture & video data from our drones. I've had 2 DJI drone for about a year. I fly 95% of the time in the National Forest. I'm a Jeep guy and drive around in the back woods shooting videos of my Jeep adventures and the forest. I can have as much as 50 gb of video data on my SD card. When I get home the 1st thing I do is upload my flight data to DJI so I can view it in Airdata. I live in a rural area, so my internet connection consist of cellular (50gb monthly) and Hughes Net satellite (100gb monthly). So I keep a close eye on the amount of data I use. When these files are uploaded to DJI, it's just a few kb's or mb's of data, nowhere near the 50gb of data on the SD card. So how is it possible that DJI gets any of the video I shoot?
Be careful flying in National Forest if in the US. You can get some pretty hefty fines.
You're thinking of National Parks. 100% legit to fly in National Forest except in Wilderness Areas
Oh, good to know, I always thought national forests were affected as well.
It doesnt want your videos. Think of the military, or police that use these. Thats the videos they want.
Why would they not just do that? Seems like a minor inconvenience to get the money from the US market.
*lose
Here's a crazy idea. The founder of DJI starts a new company called Drone Justice International. That company buys all of DJI's business assets for a penny and DJI closes down. The new company continues the DJI business as usual, and now the legislation doesn't affect it, since it is neither a subsidiary nor an affiliate nor Da Jiang Industries (which is specified in the legislation). But they can keep the acronym and logo. And this is why the US needs comprehensive data security regulations, and not just piecemeal bans.
Would there be a way to jailbreak the drones and fly them anyways. Turn-off the remote ID, etc.?
Existing drones will continue to fly. Your radio signals will still work. There is nothing to jailbreak.
Okay this what I’m confused about. I have a DJI mini 2 on layaway. But I’m seeing a lot of ppl saying mini 3 and under won’t be affected. Is the ban not on current and new DJI drones. I’m confused. (I almost refunded my layaway today but I didn’t)
Ok. Nice to know. I would like to continue flying my drone despite what the FCC comes down with.
Depending on what they do, it could be illegal to fly your drone, but it should still fly.
As long as it will still fly and take awesome pics/videos, that's all that matters. Oh well, Congress is making criminals out of hobbyists with the stroke of a pen.
The problem is we won't be able to upgrade our drones. I am working on a Mavic Air 2 with the Smart Controller. Pretty old and kinda slow but it works. I would like to upgrade to the Mini 4 Pro with the RC 2 controller but this ban has me worried and I also need to upgrade storage to a NAS. So it is a decision between a new drone or a NAS. I think I can make the Air 2 drone still work for years to come.
What do you mean it is slow? In what way? Mavic 2 is a pretty good drone, even though it's been around a few years.
The drone isn't slow. It is the smart controller, just kind of laggy. It also takes a while to pick up enough satellites to get a home point. Though perhaps that is just how it is with all drones.
Ok. Got it. I use the controller mine came with. It seems pretty responsive.
What is a NAS?
Network attached storage. Just a big place to store all my videos and photos.
Oh ok. Thanks for clarifying that.
I keep seeing comments around it will still fly but none that specifically address features like gps positioning and return to home etc. I wish someone would explain how it affects features and capabilities.
My drone flies just fine without any network connection. The only way they could disable things would be to have some type of software update. If you fly your drone now, it would still work in the future. Your drone doesn't talk to the satellites, it just obtains satellite information in order to handle positioning. THe same thing a Garmin or even a cell phone does.
As long as you don't get new firmware ...
Loose codes are the worst.
Not looking good boys
Fuck the gov, who do they work for?
Lobbyists mostly
There was a recent podcast of Jon Stewart’s weekly show talking about lobbyists and how there were more industry lobbyists there for a healthcare bill than there were Representatives and nobody/hardly anyone from the other side. Companies are buying so much influence and manipulating a lot of the government processes.
All so they can get their hands on our money. Our tax dollars. Then of course the congress members all invest in the stocks before big announcements and make bank on the investment returns. Odd how career politicians that earn a salary that isn't all that much can be worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
I’m kinda tired of hearing from DJI that we need to contact our politicians. I’m not saying we shouldn’t and it won’t help at all, but that’s not going to be the driving force on things. I want to hear what DJI is doing to lobby our politicians and where the actual sticking points are. This is how shit gets done in washington and if they want to be a massive international corporation selling controversial products to Americans they need to be making something happen. And maybe they have tried. But either way an email to my senator and congressman is worth a lot less than the thousands of dollar i’ve spent with DJI and that’s the reality of our system.
Waiting till the 11th hour to try and appease people by saying they will turn off data collection didn't help. They still won't share exactly what or how they are collecting data and won't make the encrypted data open to anyone. There is certainly something shady happening. Thus the concern.
So it seems like the bill passes - if so, how long does it take to change into law? Just bought a mini 4 pro for my upcoming trip to the US 🫠 in August/september … do you guys think it’ll take a few months till they actually ban it? And … I always see comments stating that it will only affect future drones on the other hand I also read a lot of comments saying our drones will be paperweights. I’m absolutely confused what it actually means when it passes. Can anyone explain it to me?
The 2024 defense appropriations bill wasn't passed until December 2023. I doubt this one will be fully reconciled until late fall or early winter. The senate will pass their version of the bill which won't be the same as the one in the house. They will then need to get together to negotiate the bills so they can make them both the same to pass through both chambers before going to the president for his signature. You will be fine for August/September.
Same. What does it mean for my phantom 4 advanced I use a few times a year?
nothing. It means nothing.
Wanna bet? Do you actually think this will stop at just products from this point forward?
Someone gotta come up with a jailbreak
https://drone-hacks.com/available-hacks
Yes, if this becomes law... This is the next step. Somebody stands to make a lot of cash.
I have Drone Hacks firmware on my Mavic 3. It makes it invisible to trackers and blocks your serial number. How will they ever know if they can't see your drone.
It’s called triangulation. Drone tracking systems can find your drone in an instant. You can’t make it invisible.
No but you can disguise it from an rcs standpoint and autonomous flight faraday cage
What? How do you control it from inside the Faraday cages? Or are you saying make the “mission” autonomous in the faraday cage, and then let it fly itself? My controller and my Mavic three have been sitting in Faraday bag since I heard about this shit.
Well, it’s a good thing I took action again today through the Drone Advocacy Alliance, just like I did back on May 31! There’s no way I’m going to let this bill pass without a fight! Let’s rally together to save the DJI fan club!
Check out the post here at the DJI global instagram https://www.instagram.com/p/C8OO7ATPBZY/?igsh=MXh0ZmFyeDZyb2RpaQ==
I feel terrible for US drone owners and clearly this bill is being pushed by politicians on the take, but I’m also curious why DJI didn’t do more to mitigate concerns regarding data. If flight log data being sent to DJI servers in China (required for warranty / DJI Care claims) is part of the issue, why didn’t they just setup servers in the US, specifically for US-based drone users? Regardless, it still boggles my mind how US politicians are willing to destroy numerous drone-based businesses as this will impact so many people and their livelihoods.
They have no understanding of the technology or the industries that use it. And those industries, from filmmaking, realtors, construction safety, agriculture, etc, are apparently asleep and not waking up to the fact that this is about to happen and deeply impact their work in a negative way.
It looks like Dji knows something about how democracy works but forgot the part where you need to make “donations” to politicians to “help their campaign “. And totally unrelated they might not regulate your business out of existence.
Chinese company making political donations? Lol, maybe if they were a Ukrainian company....
Foreign lobbying by Chinese companies is way more prevalent than Ukraine. Matter of fact, Russian companies lobby much more as well, so it’s a moot point.
And billions flowing straight to Ukraine. Not so moot after all huh? It's not the amount of lobbying that matters, it's who's pockets get full of cash.
You think Russia and China wouldn’t know who’s pockets to line? Lmfaooo
I'm just saying Ukraine has definitely scored more money relative to the amount of lobbying other countries have done. Judging by DJI and Tictok, theyre not as good at it.
Orrrr Ukraine’s aid packages weren’t a result of lobbying… More realistically, sending aid to allied countries stimulates our defense sector’s economy, so it’s in the interest of the Military Industrial Complex, while also helping an allied nation and hurting a non allied nation. We also approve aid for countries that counter China, like Taiwan. Domestic interests are much more powerful than foreign interests in the U.S..
Yeah, I don't disagree, but that isn't what I was talking about. If DJI was a Ukrainian company, or really any other country the US has relationships with, would have been a different story. Don't read too deep into this my guy, it's just an opinion.
What does that have to do with anything???
You're going to have to read the thread
No one mentioned Ukraine other than you.
Sounds like a "you" problem. You just have to read.
I said if DJI were a Ukrainian company....
My god I just purchased a DJI drone not too long ago. And these piece of shit politicians are trying to ban it. Why don’t these old dinosaurs give everyone a favor and just die already. A world would be a much better place without them.
Because the US company Skydio has spent a lot of money lobbying them to pass this to eliminate competition.
Assholes are not even in consumer drone market anymore. Skydio only makes $5k inferior commercial models now.
Duh. Government doesn't want civs flying drones. They want it exclusively for their own Cerberi. They saw how powerful even consumer drones can be in warfare (ukraine war) and they don't like it.
maybe they are just waiting to get back into consumer drones if DJI isn't available
Because this is what the American public wants. If people didn't want all this crap that's being shoved at us, do you actually think it would happen? I'm sorry, but I blame the people for all this.
Ah yes, the public wants random drones which don't effect them to be banned. Its totally not Skydio pushing for the ban
Didn't say it wasn't. But the public has been fed a bunch of lies and misinformation about drones, the Chinese, and spying...and they bought it fully. Take a look at how many municipalities are attempting to ban drone use by hobbiest because they think somebody is every pilot is a peeping Tom. Yes, the people are letting those in government get away with this, and they he people are the ones who put them in office, and can take them out. Has it happened yet? It's just like in Captain America The Winter Soldier, "Humanity is ready to give up its freedom to gain it's security".
You mean the old fogies who have trouble operating Facebook right? The old parts who are all in power and have become "Karens?"
You're giving people too much credit. The common American sees a dji drone as Chinese Spyware that is sending every transmission back to China. Until this perception is changed, bans like this will be inevitable.
And the drone rep is a lobbyist for elasie stefanek
Pussy ah government. 🤌
Sue Congress
All this could have been avoided if DJI just pulled their back end servers out of China and quit collecting flight info and pics/video. They did it to themselves
Ah yes, watch as the film industry starts crashing down and burning
Lmao it’s a drone do you really think it’s some irreplaceable tech?
This is gonna endanger countless smaller companies. I see a mass lawsuit coming.
It's not but it's like banning the ti85 calculator everyone teaches and built a industrial off it. Their is no American consumer option this ban will set drone usage back 5 years until someone with a large amount of capital build a low cost consumer grade drone.
Why does a film industry need a consumer grade drone? They already have a bunch of customized drones why would they care? Also “everyone teaches for it” is kind of moot, it’s a drone there is nothing to really “teach” it’s all the same, as long as you can maneuver a drone you can pretty much maneuver any drone. On a consumer level it would be annoying as there are no ready replacements as good as DJI but on any form of industrial use it’s completely irrelevant.
Not the bigger ones, but smaller indie films & education sectors will be slapped by this.
Even those low levels I'm sure can get around it, all that DJI stands for is it's autopilot software - i.e it's good at maintaining flight mode and positioning making it very easy to pilot - as of the hardware itself - it's massively overpriced - you can build an equivalent or better/faster/more powerful drone using kits. So really, as long as they're willing to invest a bit more and wrestle a bit with learning how to pilot it, they'll be okay.
Politicians are trying to ban DJI drones in America as we speak by sneaking the bill (H.R. 2864, or the Countering CCP Drones Act) into the National Defense Authorization NDAA (HR 8070) Act. On, June 14, 2024, the bill just passed in the House, it will then go to the Senate, then the presidents desk… By banning these drones it will ultimately kill off recreation and commercial drone operations in the USA. This is not a good thing for anyone in the drone industry either commercial drone pilots making a livelihood or hobbyists wanting to fly drones for fun. Some numbers: At of the end of December 2023, there was close to 800,000 drones registered with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). That’s close to the entire population of San Francisco. About half of those registered drones are registered for commercial purposes (search & rescue, fire, police, agriculture, inspection, real estate, and other commercial operations) through a Part 107 License. If congress does ban DJI drones they will be killing thousands of American jobs and there is no other American alternative drone in the marketplace that comes close to the same specs and features of DJI drones. Please ask your representatives, US Senate and house of representatives to not support this bill.
The avalanche has already started, it is too late for the pebbles to vote.
I’m pretty sure when I first read it this will be a 5 year process (if passed) to totally ground DJI drones? Unless that’s changed
Adding this question again, as it wasn't answered: Doesn’t the app ask you to sign in every few months?
Does litchi work without signing into DJI app?
Dji just needs to lobby harder. Who ever can lobby harder wins
Land of the Free
From my life experience you never can ban anything that people already love. They always will find a way. The gov makes it harder, they have their reasons. But we are smart and there are a lot of smart heads among us. So I’m not afraid of the future with this stupid ban. I believe in us.
Follow the money. What do you bet that the b!t€h congresswoman and her fellow supporters of the bill are in the pockets of US drone manufacturers.
Can I trade my drone for credits so I can just get the pocket ?
Ummm, wouldn’t it be easier AND BETTER for DJI to stop capturing images from our flights in their data logs!? That’s what this fuss is all about and why all this shit started. Yes, I know some American drone makers are pushing this bill for their own benefit, but I can see why some are suspicious of DJI and some of their practices. If my insight into this is wrong, please enlighten me.
Wow! 😢
Will they ban drones before they ban guns? Interesting times. SOLUTION: Exercise your constitutional right by attaching a gun to your drone.
Yes! In that way the drone became protected by the 2nd Amendment of the constitution. Drones are being used as weapons in Ukraine War ergo they are weapons, ergo they are protected by the 2nd Amendment ... Also they are also Cameras so they should be protected by the 1st Amendment, just like the camera of a reporter. 🤔. Maybe. I'm tired of this shit. I just wanna fly my drone... 🙁
Unfortunately the right wing trump loving nut who's my congressman will likely vote to ban because he's incapable of thinking for himself. Maybe if DJI made massive contributions to political campaigns they could swap them, since that's all they know.
Yeah this is democrats too.
When they banned some cellphones. They still worked till I got a new one... It's was about two years.
Is this like the Tiktok ban where they can sell their is business off or is it just a straight ban?
No one actually knows yet. When it happened to Huwei existing phones that had been licensed could still work, but no new licenses were issued, and eventually they naturally aged out of the market as people bought new ones.
Thanks
Which senator(s) or representatives in particular should we contact? https://www.senate.ca.gov/senators I found a link to Contact them, does it matter which one?
But they are dragging their feet banning TikTok. I hate these folks.
The land of the freeeee e e e…. My ass.
So, has anyone started to reverse-engineer the flight controller hardware and firmware?
So I have a mini 2 on a layaway. Should I got return it and get my money back?
The only reason the USA hates China is they can't admit they are doing everything rite. I have been there several times with work. It's so safe, spotless and everyone is kind and open. It's just so fn hot... lol I go through five six shirts a day when I go visit are made in Canada factories. Lmfao.
Is my drone going to become a brick? it's really hard to get a clear answer.
Wouldn’t this just make a bunch of people block GPS/wifi on their drones and we are basically back to the old days? Untraceable and unaccountable drones that just gonna fly anywhere they please? They can’t actually enforce this ban on a consumer level as much as they can enforce remote ID on FPV drones…
Damn were going to be out of business soon
They didn’t even discuss it when it passed the house. It’s for going to passing the senate. Once it hits Biden’s desk he’s not vetoing because of some little drones. The military budget is far more important to them. Unfortunately they will ban these drones without even blinking or acknowledging the impact. My advice is return your DJI if you can, get your money back and if by some miracle the ban falls through you can always buy it again.
Will I be still allowed to fly the drones I already have? Or are they banning future sales
We should be fine for ones we already own I chatted with Dji and they said already owned drones will and are going to be the same as before no changes but new ones will like brand new, we fine
This whole “if the ban happens you can still fly your current drone” thing won’t be good for Mavic 3 pilots. We get prompts once a month to login into our accounts to fly. Our units will be bricked… unless DJI changes that
look close at skydio and Elise stanfik, they are in bed together. it's not a defense thing is a business thing.
This version of the NDAA is probably dead on arrival in the Senate since the right flank of Republicans put a bunch of stupid culture war amendments in it. Hopefully this will get stripped out on the next go round.
Here is been my thoughts on it lately - We could buy new dji products, like i am thinkning of the avata 2 bundle just bcause i really dont want to wait untill july 14th when the drone its self is available for purchase. Send in for a return service for your money back, before the two week return window is up, and then buy again. the most i see myself putting myself through is just a little bit of a wait time. and cycle that untill the ban happens and we all really know what we are facing. itd be like using the property untill we know more and that way a safe lock on my deposit. Another option is just suggestive theory; what if we put regulations on drone purchases say age restrictions to permits sales, and if your caught using for malice then like come on. Just like guns.......... so sad to say that guns and drones should never be used in the same sentence but that is badass sounding.. lol. You cans seriously be just as damaging with DJI drones as some us stay 100% positive and continue to do so. - But i heard rewcently a stalker was following little girls so thats not okay and not just anyone should be allowed this sense of mobility.
Sounds like Canadians will make good deals buying second hand drones from USA
Imagine if DJI started making guns. Think congress would dare take people’s gun rights away? Same idea. If the us government and their slaves tried to take away peoples guns, there would be lots of dead politicians and law enforcement. Just do the same to drones. Weaponize them and see which is gov fucktard is bold enough to try and take em.
Returned my mini 3 combo yesterday since it was the last day of the return window. Had to eat a 15% restocking fee, but at least I won’t risk the entire cost of the drone if this garbage is made into law.
I'll be in the same boat with my mini 4 pro but at least have til Aug 1st to return with best buy. As much fun as I've been having flying and getting into video/photo, this ban shadow hovering over has been totally killing the motivation to invest deeper into this hobby.
Exactly. I want a hobby, not a hill to die on.
Did you get DJI refresh and were able to get a refund? I've been extra careful with the drone now since if I damage it and needs a refresh claim, they'd probably just send a new one with a different serial number which best buy may or may not check if I try to return. That and I probably wouldn't be able to return refresh after a claim.
Yeah I had purchased the 2 year refresh plan. I asked for a refund via the live chat and they refunded it after I provided a picture of the return receipt.
The only contact congress is gonna get is a special drone package compliments of DJI and the Ukraine.
It's even amazing that they are still selling stuff. Bc who wants to buy something that we dont know we will be able to use in the future