DJI Threatens To 'Brick' Its Copters Unless Owners Agree To Share Their Details (thesun.co.uk)

schwit1 quotes a report from The Sun: A top drone manufacturer has warned that customers' expensive gadgets will be crippled if they don't register their details on its website. DJI drones -- which cost between $1,200 and $3,000 -- won't be able to fly to their full potential or beam back footage if their owners don't sign up next week, the company warned. Those who splashed out for the snazzy gadgets will find they are limited to a teensy 50m radius and it won't be flying higher than 30m if they don't play ball. The company said on its website: "DJI will soon introduce a new application activation process for international customers. This new step, to take effect at the end of next week, ensures you will use the correct set of geospatial information and flight functions for your aircraft, as determined by your geographical location and user profile. All existing flight safety limitations, such as geofencing boundaries and altitude limits, remain the same. Even if you have registered when activating your aircraft upon purchase, you will have to log in once when you update the new version of DJI GO or GO 4 App."

Comments

Mislabeled

[Notabadguy]

Summary should read, "A former top drone manufacturer..."

There's nothing better for your competitors than fucking your customers.

Re: Mislabeled

[Type44Q]

You might find that (soon to be former) DJI customers aren't as stupid as Keurig customers.

And you wanted a cloud

[U8MyData]

There is no real ownership of anything anymore. I'll be really surprised when you have to agree to a EULA upon entering this messed up world. Unbelievable.

Someone hasn't learned the lesson of Sony

[Pliny]

The PS3 wan't jailbroken until Sony tried removing features. This is going to lead to some great advancements in open source drone firmware.

Re:Someone hasn't learned the lesson of Sony

[Ungrounded Lightning]

Right NOW there are arguably MORE drones flying open-source firmware than any other! In fact open-source started the whole thing and DJI probably wouldn't even exist if it weren't for open-source.

[partial list of such projects]

Maybe the maintainers / copyright holders of those projects will think this is a good time to check the code on the DJI drone for license violations. B-)

Sadly, here's how they make it stick

[Catbeller]

Here's how this works for them in the end:

THE FREE MARKET! As in There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Market.

  ** Every other drone manufacturer requires that you do the same. The end. **

It's how we have encrypted BIOS, encrypted car engine diagnostics, and cell phones that don't have manual cutoffs on the camera and mic. How we have no choice in internet and cell phones providers when it comes to privacy. They just copy each other's requirements. Emergent multopoly.

Demand a refund!

[Anonymous Coward]

Demand a refund!

Call, ask for the process to get a full refund since these terms and conditions weren't known at the time of sale.

Make it a hassle for the company. The bigger the hassle, the better.

Re:In The News

[cookiej]

Yeah. The consumers are all drones, anyway. Seriously, I have been eyeing the DJI line and was getting close to pulling the trigger on the Mavic Pro. Now, I will move on. There's no way I'll put up with crap like that. Plus, the drone market is quite full of high-quality alternatives. I certainly will not purchase from this Orwellian, fascist corporation. They are vastly underestimating their market and the consumers who buy their product. I'm sure it's a drop in the bucket to them but they just lost $1K (+ accessories) with this policy. NOT bending over.