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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."
Dateline 2018:
In other news, DJI sales dropped off to near nothing, and the company filed for bankruptcy today. The unexplained failure of customers to buy an intentionally crippled product was cited as the primary reason for the company's failure.
Angry stockholders had to be prevented from physically assaulting the corporate board, who were seen running to their limousines behind heavy security.
I've fallen off your lawn, and I can't get up.
Summary should read, "A former top drone manufacturer..."
There's nothing better for your competitors than fucking your customers.
That's not what "brick" means. And the summary's assertion that people will have to sign up by next week doesn't even survive the rest of the summary, where it's made clear that the issue only comes up if you decide to change the firmware and companion app you're using. If you don't change them, there's NO CHANGE. If you DO change them, they want to pair the user of the device with a known account. Because they need to CYA should somebody do something especially douchey with one of their flying robots.
Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
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.
The PS3 wan't jailbroken until Sony tried removing features. This is going to lead to some great advancements in open source drone firmware.
What does this button d$#%* NO CARRIER
What's sarcastic about this?
I suspect that DJI wouldn't have taken these steps if it itself wasn't being pressured to do so. I also wouldn't be surprised if the FAA was involved, given the nature of the increasing regulations on various unmanned flying machines.
One of the recent documentaries that Frontline showed featuring the fight between the Iraqi government and ISIS showed ISIS using cheap off-the-shelf quadcopters to attempt to stealthily bomb Iraqi units with hand grenades. Fly high, operate the mechanism that drops the grenade such that its release activates the timer, and by the time anyone on the ground is aware of the danger there's no time to react to it.
Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
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.
I have always felt that DJI was way to eager to embrace regulations and exert factory control over the drones. Geofencing should be a warning, It should be up to the operator to proceed or not. No pilot would accept an airplane that simply refused to fly arbitrary places.
Good-bye
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.
The DJI Go app already collects location, phone numbers, live flight metrics, serial numbers, and other data. And you need to sign up and let the app forward all that data to DJI at least once to "activate" a drone (they come deactivated and won't fly until you do it). Fortunately, the application itself, or at least the Android version of it, is written in a rather crappy way by kindergarten-grade programmers, and all their pathetic attempts to obfuscate data before it goes to China are trivial to bypass. The app also uses static hardcoded encryption keys, so whoever intercepts its traffic in transit can easily decrypt it.
Somebody with skills and time should look at the firmware itself. The history says that most of the Chinese devices have laughable if any protection and it should be possible to customize the firmware.
Meanwhile the recommendations are: 1. do not DJI Go on your phone. Use a tablet that does not have cell/mobile network connectivity or sensitive data on it. 2. Do not upgrade or update firmware unnecessarily. 3. Complain as much as possible online, including to regulatory bodies (FTC, etc.) to encourage DJI to change their idiotic policies.
Fuck. Off.
By forcing people to register, DJI can alter the drone’s settings dependant on where the customer lives. That means it can make sure drones are flying by rules set by each nation.
Soon, phone and tablet manufacturers will push out updates to prevent you from taking pictures that might be considered pornographic, sacrilegious, or disrespectful to God or some other supreme leader in the jurisdiction you happen to be in. And when you move to a different jurisdiction, any such 'violations' already on your device will automatically be erased.
Many commenters so far have talked about how DJI is going to have their asses handed to them by their current and potential customers. What most here are missing is that this is the wave of the very near future - it's a trend, and it shows no signs of reversing. We truly live in a corporatocracy, and it's getting more and more entrenched, more invasive, and bolder by the day. Even if DJI loses this one, it's just a skirmish in a much bigger war that we are currently losing, and losing badly. When we lose control over the things we buy, we lose ownership, and everything we have is rented. Losing control over our own lives and our own destinies won't be far behind.
'The Economy' is a giant Ponzi scheme whose most pitiable suckers are the youngest among us and the yet-unborn.
Spoofing GPS data is trivial with a HackRF...
Only the State obtains its revenue by coercion. - Murray Rothbard
I found the official announcement on the DJI forums, posted by DJI Joe. Took me about a minute, but I'd never been to the site before.
Hate to say it, but this time Sun's got it about half right. The next round of firmware / apps will require you to register to download appropriate GEO info for your location, or the device will be restricted in height and range.
They don't answer what happens if you try to fly it somewhere you weren't registered from however. While the company is almost certainly engaging in CYA mode, it seems that this is a knee-jerk "least possible" response.
I very recently bought and paid for a DJI Mavic Pro. I received an email from DJI 2 days ago about this. Here's the email:
Dear Customers,
DJI will soon introduce a new application activation process for international customers. This new step, to take effect at the end of this 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. If you have forgotten your password since your initial login, you can reset it using a function within the DJI GO and DJI GO 4 apps.
You will need a data connection to the Internet for your smartphone or tablet when you log in, in order to verify the account information and activate the updated software or firmware. If this activation process is not performed, the aircraft will not have access to the correct geospatial information and flight functions for that region, and its operations will be restricted if you update the upcoming firmware: Live camera streaming will be disabled, and flight will be limited to a 50-meter (164-foot) radius up to 30 meters (98 feet) high.
The feature applies to all aircraft (except standalone A3 and N3) that have been upgraded to the latest firmware or when using future versions of the DJI GO and GO 4 apps.
DJI encourages pilots to always follow applicable laws and regulations in the countries where they operate, and provides information about these regulations on its FlySafe website at flysafe.dji.com.
Sincerely,
Your DJI Team