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

Posted by BeauHD on from the draconian-step dept.

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."

12 of 192 comments (clear)

  1. In The News by fyngyrz · · Score: 4, Funny

    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.
    1. Re:In The News by cookiej · · Score: 5, Insightful

      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.

    2. Re:In The News by NewtonsLaw · · Score: 5, Interesting

      DJI are cunning like a fox. Since the FAA's compulsory registration scheme has been nixed by the courts, DJI realizes that if it implements its own compulsory registration scheme (via the mechanism just announced), they can go to the FAA and say "we've got your back".

      There is already huge concern in the industry that DJI collects so much data about your flights and then reserves the right (it's in the TOS to which you agree) to send that data back to its servers in China!

      By collecting all this data and demanding mandatory registration of customers (if they want their drones to fly "as advertised") then DJI can provide the FAA (and other law-enforcement agencies) with an astounding amount of detail whenever there's an "incident report" that involves one of their craft.

      The ultimate outcome of this is probably that the FAA will grant special concessions to DJI which will allow their customers to do things that other drone users will not. This may well be in the form of a "certified drone" accreditation which provides exemptions from some of the more onerous new rules that are to come if the FAA manages to convince the Senate to overturn section 336 of the 2012 Modernization and Reform Act.

      Personally, I'm more than happy with DJI's move -- because I build all my own craft and therefore am not reliant in the least on them.

      Another positive is that this might encourage others to start learning more about drone technology and build their own craft rather than just buying a turnkey solution from DJI. Learning about the technology makes you a safer operator because you better understand the strengths/weaknesses of the gear and you are also more aware of the importance of preventative and remedial maintenance for for the purposes of safety.

  2. Mislabeled by Notabadguy · · Score: 5, Insightful

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

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

  3. You keep using that word ... by ScentCone · · Score: 5, Informative

    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.
    1. Re:You keep using that word ... by ScentCone · · Score: 5, Interesting

      There are plenty of people who deliberately operate their DJI gear on older firmware and alongside an older app on their phone/tablet ... with that device in "airplane" mode to avoid any internet awareness. Of course that also costs you all sorts of nice mapping features and other goodies, but it just comes down to your priorities.

      --
      Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
  4. Someone hasn't learned the lesson of Sony by Pliny · · Score: 5, Insightful

    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
  5. Sadly, here's how they make it stick by Catbeller · · Score: 4, Insightful

    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.

  6. Demand a refund! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    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.

  7. Nothing new here by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    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.

  8. Re:The Sun is not a source by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

    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.

  9. Here's the email DJI sent out by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    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