DJI Charge Hub bricks DJI's TB47/TB48 Batteries

[Michael Asgian]

Wow, can I call this a 'Flyaway'?

 

[Simplesolid]

Leaving Lipos connected on ANY kind of charger/power supply for a couple of weeks is unbelievably irresponsible. I'm surprised you still have a house!

I am totally with DJI on this and can see why they refuse to replace your batteries - I would as well!

Enjoy your time in court, I wouldn't mind betting DJI's pockets are deeper than yours when it comes to legal fees

People are such corporate protectors I usually discard all comments like this and just assume it's from someone working at DJI.

 

[The Editor]

People are such corporate protectors I usually discard all comments like this and just assume it's from someone working at DJI.

Do you? Well good for you Adrian.
I have stated again and I will do so for your benefit since this is your first post in five months of joining.
I do not currently, nor have I ever worked for or been affiliated to DJI. I do not receive any incentive or coercement to actively champion or advertise or endorse any of their products - nor have I ever done.
I DO have an NDA with them.
I DO beta test for them.
I DO probably have a better route into their senior management and R&D dept than most which I exclusively use for the benefit of this community.
I trust that makes my situation clear?
If you have any questions regarding my relationship with DJI please feel free to PM me or I am happy to answer on open forum since I have nothing to hide that can not be aired on the community.

 

[Stinkys]

Looks like it's time to unfollow this thread.

 

[Jeroen van Craaikamp]

I initially opened this thread to share what has happened to my batteries and warn others (like me) not to leave DJI batteries in the DJI Charging Hub for a longer period. Since then, I have bought four new TB48 batteries plus a Smart Power Charger (and no, I will not leave the new DJI batteries in the Smart Power charger, i have learned a rather expensive lesson).

I find it rather disappointing that some people in this group (who are not aware of my situation/experience) make all kinds of assumptions on what I have or have not read and what i know or don't know. Only rubbing it in that I should not have left the batteries in the hub in the first place or -according to some- that i should not be flying a drone at all, I don't find constructive, collaborative or stimulating. Hence, I have decided to stop discussing with people/companies who appear to appear to find it perfectly OK that CE-approved consumer products can blow up houses and/or who accept that chargeable batteries break if one leaves them connected with a charger for more than one week.

In the Netherlands, consumers are protected by law. No vendor can waive its responsibilities towards its consumers by simply stating "you should have read the manual". You don't have to believe me, just google around: Loads of jurisprudence exist in this area. Even though i'm still convinced that any Dutch Court will rule that leaving a chargeable consumer battery connected a consumer charger is deemed normal consumer behaviour, i have decided i will not pursue taking DJI to court. I will continue to enjoy my drone hobby, factoring in the current immaturity of the drone technology and its vendors. However, this does not mean that I suddenly find it OK that Drone products (that are sold as consumer products), cannot cope with normal consumer behaviour.

 

[CCTPREZ]

I initially opened this thread to share what has happened to my batteries and warn others (like me) not to leave DJI batteries in the DJI Charging Hub for a longer period. Since then, I have bought four new TB48 batteries plus a Smart Power Charger (and no, I will not leave the new DJI batteries in the Smart Power charger, i have learned a rather expensive lesson).

I find it rather disappointing that some people in this group (who are not aware of my situation/experience) make all kinds of assumptions on what I have or have not read and what i know or don't know. Only rubbing it in that I should not have left the batteries in the hub in the first place or -according to some- that i should not be flying a drone at all, I don't find constructive, collaborative or stimulating. Hence, I have decided to stop discussing with people/companies who appear to appear to find it perfectly OK that CE-approved consumer products can blow up houses and/or who accept that chargeable batteries break if one leaves them connected with a charger for more than one week.

In the Netherlands, consumers are protected by law. No vendor can waive its responsibilities towards its consumers by simply stating "you should have read the manual". You don't have to believe me, just google around: Loads of jurisprudence exist in this area. Even though i'm still convinced that any Dutch Court will rule that leaving a chargeable consumer battery connected a consumer charger is deemed normal consumer behaviour, i have decided i will not pursue taking DJI to court. I will continue to enjoy my drone hobby, factoring in the current immaturity of the drone technology and its vendors. However, this does not mean that I suddenly find it OK that Drone products (that are sold as consumer products), cannot cope with normal consumer behaviour.

My apologies for the negative contributions I made regarding your know-how etc. if you truly are aware of what you're doing. It's hard not to assume things when I myself have been flying these or something similar for over 20-years and know very well not to leave these batteries unattended due mostly to racing RC cars. My biggest frustration with your post was the threats of lawsuits. Here in the US, we have so many people that try to literally make money by finding reasons to sue, even if that means they can pretend to not know better, or lack basic common sense. It's going to be a disaster come Christmas when all these inexperienced people start getting drones into bad situations and creating major negative publicity, stiff rule changes, and lawsuits galore. I feel IMO it's the responsibility of the user to know what they are doing, and shouldn't get to point fingers due to carelessness or ignorance! Maybe it was only bricked batteries this time, but what if you'd have burned your home down, or worse, someone was hurt or killed due to your negligence? I just don't see the fault being of a company for misuse or ignorance of the consumer. Just because you CAN sue, doesn't make it right, they didn't make you buy it, and they didn't expect that you'd skip reading the manuals or online instruction. What else can a company do to avoid a lawsuit, make you take a training course? Assume you listened? With your mentality, we wouldn't be able to have nice things, and still playing with rocks and other forms of natural resources so companies don't have to deal with the likes of those willing to blame others for what they have chosen (or not) to do with the products you decided to buy. In your country, I can't imagine there are a lot of successful businesses. Lastly, how does someone sue a company from another country due to another countries laws, unless those laws also apply in the country of manufacture? You can't sue the 3rd party, they didn't make it, they just sold it. If I sold it to you from the US, you couldn't sue me, if those laws do not apply here. Just my opinion, but I may be in the minority that takes responsibility for my own actions, rather than blame others for my carelessness.

 

[Jeroen van Craaikamp]

In the Netherlands we don't have a suing culture such as in the USA, we have rigid consumer protection laws instead. 20 product groups require CE approval before they may be sold in Europe by European importers/distributors. Amongst other things, CE Approval is to ensure that those products are save when being used as may be expected of a normal consumer. In the Netherlands, RC vehicles and consumer drones are sold in toy stores. All toys that are sold in those stores require CE certification. Purchases of the finished products are governed by DIRECTIVE 2009/48/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL. Other EU directives may also apply for consumer drones, such as Directive 2011/65/EU which regulates restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment.

Even when no CE certification is needed, the consumer products and its European importers/distributors shall adhere to the European rules and standards. Consumer law is described in a lot directives/legislations produced by the European Parliament. Member countries may produce additional rules, and they did...

Companies that sell via Internet, and that are not based in EU, are not governed under European laws. I have thoroughly read the Terms of Use of DJI.com website and concluded that the site (incl. purchases via its web-shop) are governed under Chinese Law. Albeit, this may legally be disputed since DJI is represented by its importer/office in the EU and since the products do have a CE certification, it is highly unlikely that DJI will gladly adhere to European consumer obligations. Me successfully taking a Chinese company to court under Chinese law is even more unlikely

I bought the inspire-1 plus its batteries via a Website in the Netherlands and these purchases are governed under Dutch/EU law. The default EU consumer warranty period of 24 months applies. Of course the Dutch DJI Dealer may try to hide behind DJI's 3 month policy on LiPo's, but 3 months product warranty on a consumer product is not legal in Europe, especially if that warranty period is not mentioned on the website..

My case would be based on the assumption that is not abnormal for a consumer to leave a chargeable unit connected to its charger for more than a week. If the judge agrees with this, the dutch company would have to replace or repair the batteries at no charge and pay for all legal fees incurred. If the judge would rule that "As a consumer, I reasonably should have known better than leaving the batteries connected to the charger", then I would have to pay for all legal fees and replace the batteries at my own cost. Given that I maintain a quite extensive website about (the use of) hobby drones and regularly warn people of the use of LiPo's, it is likely a judge will say "although regular consumers reasonably should not have to know better, you should have known better!!". In all fairness, (s)he may have a point there, albeit I then would then argue that according to Dutch law, i'm still a consumer and should be protected by EU/Dutch law.

To cut a long story short: Under EU/Dutch law I MAY be able get my 6 months old batteries (that I bought from a Dutch Company) replaced free of charge, but to do so I may have to take my local dealer to court who has always been kind/helpful to me. The outcome of such legal preceding would be unsure and my relationship with the dutch dealer will probably not improve. Hence, I decided to let go.

Lessons learned:

1. Do not leave SMART DJI batteries in the DJI Charging Hub.The mechanism is not that SMART yet.
2. Even though they are sold as such, do not treat DJI products as normal Consumer goods.
3. Read the DJI Manuals, the wiki and the release notes, but don't believe all that is promised in it.
4. As consumer, do nut buy DJI products directly via DJI.com website, since these purchases and its product warranties are governed under Chinese Law and European Consumer Protection Laws do not apply then.

 

[Kilrah]

Aren't batteries considered as consumables, and thus sold without or with limited warranty?

 

[Jeroen van Craaikamp]

I don't know if this applies worldwide but rechargeable batteries that are sold with a consumer product, under EU law, are considered to be integral part of that product. It does not matter whether the LiPo battery is part of a phone, a laptop or a drone.

 

[CCTPREZ]

In the Netherlands we don't have a suing culture such as in the USA, we have rigid consumer protection laws instead. 20 product groups require CE approval before they may be sold in Europe by European importers/distributors. Amongst other things, CE Approval is to ensure that those products are save when being used as may be expected of a normal consumer. In the Netherlands, RC vehicles and consumer drones are sold in toy stores. All toys that are sold in those stores require CE certification. Purchases of the finished products are governed by DIRECTIVE 2009/48/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL. Other EU directives may also apply for consumer drones, such as Directive 2011/65/EU which regulates restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment.

Even when no CE certification is needed, the consumer products and its European importers/distributors shall adhere to the European rules and standards. Consumer law is described in a lot directives/legislations produced by the European Parliament. Member countries may produce additional rules, and they did...

Companies that sell via Internet, and that are not based in EU, are not governed under European laws. I have thoroughly read the Terms of Use of DJI.com website and concluded that the site (incl. purchases via its web-shop) are governed under Chinese Law. Albeit, this may legally be disputed since DJI is represented by its importer/office in the EU and since the products do have a CE certification, it is highly unlikely that DJI will gladly adhere to European consumer obligations. Me successfully taking a Chinese company to court under Chinese law is even more unlikely

I bought the inspire-1 plus its batteries via a Website in the Netherlands and these purchases are governed under Dutch/EU law. The default EU consumer warranty period of 24 months applies. Of course the Dutch DJI Dealer may try to hide behind DJI's 3 month policy on LiPo's, but 3 months product warranty on a consumer product is not legal in Europe, especially if that warranty period is not mentioned on the website..

My case would be based on the assumption that is not abnormal for a consumer to leave a chargeable unit connected to its charger for more than a week. If the judge agrees with this, the dutch company would have to replace or repair the batteries at no charge and pay for all legal fees incurred. If the judge would rule that "As a consumer, I reasonably should have known better than leaving the batteries connected to the charger", then I would have to pay for all legal fees and replace the batteries at my own cost. Given that I maintain a quite extensive website about (the use of) hobby drones and regularly warn people of the use of LiPo's, it is likely a judge will say "although regular consumers reasonably should not have to know better, you should have known better!!". In all fairness, (s)he may have a point there, albeit I then would then argue that according to Dutch law, i'm still a consumer and should be protected by EU/Dutch law.

To cut a long story short: Under EU/Dutch law I MAY be able get my 6 months old batteries (that I bought from a Dutch Company) replaced free of charge, but to do so I may have to take my local dealer to court who has always been kind/helpful to me. The outcome of such legal preceding would be unsure and my relationship with the dutch dealer will probably not improve. Hence, I decided to let go.

Lessons learned:

1. Do not leave SMART DJI batteries in the DJI Charging Hub.The mechanism is not that SMART yet.
2. Even though they are sold as such, do not treat DJI products as normal Consumer goods.
3. Read the DJI Manuals, the wiki and the release notes, but don't believe all that is promised in it.
4. As consumer, do nut buy DJI products directly via DJI.com website, since these purchases and its product warranties are governed under Chinese Law and European Consumer Protection Laws do not apply then.

Well I must say, that although this discussion was initially a bit negative, I learned a lot about the differences in other countries laws regarding buyers protection etc.

When I first read through the posts, all I was thinking about was US laws, and the sue happy people that literally look for things to sue about, for easy (lazy) money.

I do see your point based on what you're used to and have as protection in your country. While I'm glad you made the choice to realize it would probably end up costing you even more in court fees etc. in the long run due to the exact reasons you pointed out above, I think it's also a lesson learned for me as well as other people here that not all people/places are out for the easy dollar/fix, but rather a fair solution to a problem that many may not otherwise know. You (as you also admitted) did know for the most part, and is understandably while you're choosing to back off. However, maybe they'll be better warnings placed on the batteries/chargers etc. due to the problems people are incurring.

It was nice to see some good insight from other users from other areas that have the ability to explain things in real terms and thoughts rather than name calling and turning a thread into a nasty fight.

Thank you for "debating" this with me, as I said, learned a lot regardless of personal opinions on the matter.

CCT

 

[Jeroen van Craaikamp]

Differences in culture and habits in combination with unfortunate choice/tone of words (I'm not a native english-speaker), as I now know, can easily trigger conflicts and mis-conceptions. I'm very happy with CCT's last post. I also learned a lot, regardless of personal opinions on the matter.

 

[The Editor]

OK guys - glad it's all group hugs all round and to the OP I understand your reluctance to persue this through the courts - I thinks that's a wise decision and will have to put this one down to experience.

Thank guys

Thread now closed.