DJI's Nazi-esque usurpation of our drones...

[Donnie Frank]

Hey doods!

They'll never win with me, but not for a lack of trying. I fired up my Inspire 1 the other day and was met with the dreaded "Nazification" of my Go App, which attempted to force me to login to the mother ship. FU DJI. I'LL decide if I want to join your collective! NEVER!!

Fortunately, I have two iPads, so I simply compared the Go App "Nazified" files to the non-Nazified files. See below:

Pre-Nazified version:




And the new Nazified version:




The differences:



These files/folders are added/modified as soon as you deploy the app. So if you turn off your WiFi BEFORE you deploy the Go App, you don't get the "Nazification." You can then open WiFi so you can cache maps.

If you accidentally forget to turn off WiFi, you can simply uninstall and reinstall the Go App. Of course, you'll have to go through the settings and also reinstall the 32 channel hack (if you use that).

For the record, I use Go App v3.1.1 and Firmware version 1.8.1.00. This insures my Inspire is MINE and will REMAIN MINE for the duration of its lifespan. *I* control it, and fly it when and where I wish without the DJI Nazi's forcing me into a login situation (which disables your bird into you login and agree to a bunch of crap and/or take some BS test).

D

 

[Kirk Voclain]

I think I saw your drown flying around and over heathrow airport?????

Kirk

 

[Donnie Frank]

I think I saw your drown flying around and over heathrow airport?????

Kirk

If I could fly my drone to Heathrow from here, I'd be a gazillionaire by now.....

 

[Steve@AerialImagesPro]

Not sure why you take it so personally. With the number of idiots flying drones where they shouldn’t be,what would you expect? If DJI and other manufactures don’t do something the govt will have no choice but to ban them, then DJI won’t have a business.

What worries me is your statement that you’ll fly your drone wherever and whenever you want. That’s the exact attitude they’re trying to combat.

I know you don’t fly where/when you’re not supposed to, but DJI doesn’t know that, and you essentially just said you would.

 

[Donnie Frank]

Not sure why you take it so personally. With the number of idiots flying drones where they shouldn’t be,what would you expect?

I expect consistency. If anybody can buy a car, speed, trespass, crash, and run over people without having to download a login app to Ford, I expect to be able to use the property I pay for in the manner I wish to use it. I don't expect to be governed based on the bad behavior of a few. Seems reasonable to me.

If DJI and other manufactures don’t do something the govt will have no choice but to ban them, then DJI won’t have a business.

It's not DJI's job to police their buyers. It's not even their responsibility. Let's add to the **** pile that not one person has been killed by drone. Not one. Let's all let that sink in.

What worries me is your statement that you’ll fly your drone wherever and whenever you want. That’s the exact attitude they’re trying to combat.

Your assumption that the "way I want" must somehow be "dangerous" is highly erroneous. The "way I want" is to map and make a living. I should be able to do that without being stuck 40 miles from home with a disabled drone because I'm out of cell range and unable to login to their stupid mothership. Agreed?

I know you don’t fly where/when you’re not supposed to, but DJI doesn’t know that, and you essentially just said you would.

You're hearing what you want to hear. I know exactly where and when I can and cannot fly. I don't need you, DJI or anybody wiping my ***, thank you very much.

DJI already has the NFZ's hard-coded into the firmware. Isn't that enough? Now I have to login? And take a test or RE-agree to a bunch of crap AFTER I already purchased the drone? Name one product - any product - no matter how dangerous - that makes you take a test or agree to a NEW EULA YEARS after you purchased it???

Once I pay for the drone, the drone is my property. I'm not RENTING it or LEASING it from DJI. Once it's out of their hands, it's not their responsibility.

And, again, nobody killed by drone. EVER. I don't think we can stress that enough.

Fortunately, I hack around all that Nazi crap, and continue to fly responsibly and safely ALL ON MY OWN as I have FOR DECADES. Go figure...

Forgive the attitude, but nothing chaps me more than someone who enjoys having their liberties UNJUSTLY stripped from them.

How many lives have these logins and/or tests saved? NONE. Not one.

D

 

[huppe]

Hey doods!

They'll never win with me, but not for a lack of trying. I fired up my Inspire 1 the other day and was met with the dreaded "Nazification" of my Go App, which attempted to force me to login to the mother ship. FU DJI. I'LL decide if I want to join your collective! NEVER!!

Fortunately, I have two iPads, so I simply compared the Go App "Nazified" files to the non-Nazified files. See below:

Pre-Nazified version:

View attachment 24850


And the new Nazified version:

View attachment 24849


The differences:

View attachment 24851

These files/folders are added/modified as soon as you deploy the app. So if you turn off your WiFi BEFORE you deploy the Go App, you don't get the "Nazification." You can then open WiFi so you can cache maps.

If you accidentally forget to turn off WiFi, you can simply uninstall and reinstall the Go App. Of course, you'll have to go through the settings and also reinstall the 32 channel hack (if you use that).

For the record, I use Go App v3.1.1 and Firmware version 1.8.1.00. This insures my Inspire is MINE and will REMAIN MINE for the duration of its lifespan. *I* control it, and fly it when and where I wish without the DJI Nazi's forcing me into a login situation (which disables your bird into you login and agree to a bunch of crap and/or take some BS test).

D

Totaly agreed.I have the same feeling and fly with the same firmware and app.
Still flying my Inspire 1 with the old speed and only because I want this because it's mine Inspire.
Also flying where I'm allowed to fly and on many occasions I have told other "pilots" that they fly where not allowed.
Have a dedicated tablet which I only use for my Inspire.So no updates for me because I have never had any problem or whatsoever.
I believe it's my responsibilty to fly safe and so I do.
And I live in an area with 2 airports and a Navy area.So I'm pretty much restricted in my own area.

 

[Scotflieger]

This is the most stupid diatribe I have read for some time. DJI is responding to a global call for better control over the use of drones due the irresponsible attitude of a small number of users who, like the OP, think they can do what they want where they want. Drones are potential deadly weapons and have been used as such (in Syria). Fly within the rules and regulations and there are no problems. DJI are making it safer and easier to fly within the law. That has nothing to do with Nazification or government control. If you don’t like find a manufacturer who doesn’t annoy you so much.

 

[EagleVisionAerial]

I completely get where you are coming from. I understand safety issues and there's no lack of idiots behind the sticks but it does get very frustrating as a professional taking proper safety precautions and following guidelines when I'm on a job for a client about to take off and I get notifications of updates, and then restrictions after the update that won't let me take off or restricts me to under 200 ft altitude. Then I go through the annoying unlocking process only to get "failed to unlock". My old school S1000 w the A2 and AVL58 never failed to take off!

 

[The Editor]

Since this thread has the potential to go south very quickly.......watching

 

[Donnie Frank]

This is the most stupid diatribe I have read for some time. DJI is responding to a global call for better control over the use of drones due the irresponsible attitude of a small number of users who, like the OP, think they can do what they want where they want. Drones are potential deadly weapons and have been used as such (in Syria). Fly within the rules and regulations and there are no problems. DJI are making it safer and easier to fly within the law. That has nothing to do with Nazification or government control. If you don’t like find a manufacturer who doesn’t annoy you so much.

Please cite a single example where the *manufacturer* takes responsibility for POLICING their customers and their products POST-Purchase. Dangerous cars? Dangerous motorcycles? Guns? Lawnmowers? Slippery showers?? All dangerous. All cause fatalities. Not a single one - not one - police their products or customers post-purchase. Let that sink in. This is the JOB of the POLICE and FAA and FCC and EPA and all manner of government factions. NOT the manufacturer. If you can cite even one example - Ford? Chevy? Glock? John Deere?? - I will concede. If you can't, then I hope you reread the "diatribe" with a different set of eyes.

And before you cite "object avoidance," that is NOT shutting down the product, forcing the user to create a login account, download a new EULA, and/or take a test. NOT the same thing.

D

 

[Donnie Frank]

I completely get where you are coming from. I understand safety issues and there's no lack of idiots behind the sticks but it does get very frustrating as a professional taking proper safety precautions and following guidelines when I'm on a job for a client about to take off and I get notifications of updates, and then restrictions after the update that won't let me take off or restricts me to under 200 ft altitude. Then I go through the annoying unlocking process only to get "failed to unlock". My old school S1000 w the A2 and AVL58 never failed to take off!

Try that on a film set sometime when the director screams, "Action," and your response is, "Hold on a minute...my drone won't take off..." You'll never be called again.

You hit the nail on the head. You totally get it. I keep my old P1's around for the same reason.

For now, I've hacked around DJI's control-freak issues, but it's an arms race. They keep upping their game. So far, I've been able to avoid being stuck out in the field having to login or agree to their NEW EULA or take their tests <knock on wood>. Legacy FW and software is the key.

D

 

[Donnie Frank]

Since this thread has the potential to go south very quickly.......watching

I think this is an interesting subject. Doing my best to stay on track and keep this from going South...

D

 

[EagleVisionAerial]

Try that on a film set sometime when the director screams, "Action," and your response is, "Hold on a minute...my drone won't take off..." You'll never be called again.

You hit the nail on the head. You totally get it.

D

Yea man I can understand a post like this stirs emotions and can be interpreted in different ways but the manufacturer should really keep out of "safety issues" beyond maybe offering prop guards lol. I would have lost my #1 client if I didn't have a backup plan (my S1000) when my I2 wouldn't take off. They don't want to hear any excuse. You're their professional "drone guy" and they need the job done. As a professional, we as operators should have the discretion to determine if a shoot/situation is safe or not, not the manufacturer on the opposite side of the globe.

 

[Scotflieger]

Stop hacking and live with it! Read the EULA.

 

[Yellow Fellow]

Donnie I agree with you. There's too much hysteria around drones and I've had the experience of being unable to fly when on a job with a client even though the app told me I had unlocked the location! When I queried how this could have happened with DJI they told me I must have done something wrong... Of course they couldn't tell me what though...

 

[Donnie Frank]

Yea man I can understand a post like this stirs emotions and can be interpreted in different ways but the manufacturer should really keep out of "safety issues" beyond maybe offering prop guards lol. I would have lost my #1 client if I didn't have a backup plan (my S1000) when my I2 wouldn't take off. They don't want to hear any excuse. You're their professional "drone guy" and they need the job done. As a professional, we as operators should have the discretion to determine if a shoot/situation is safe or not, not the manufacturer on the opposite side of the globe.

Bingo.

 

[Donnie Frank]

Donnie I agree with you. There's too much hysteria around drones and I've had the experience of being unable to fly when on a job with a client even though the app told me I had unlocked the location! When I queried how this could have happened with DJI they told me I must have done something wrong... Of course they couldn't tell me what though...

Exactly. Not only is their Nazi-like usurpation of your drone UNRELIABLE, but their support lackeys don't even know how it works. Like I've said a hundred times; DJI hardware is second to none. Software and support? Not so much. That's okay. I manage my own Firmware, software and support.

D

 

[Donnie Frank]

Stop hacking and live with it! Read the EULA.

If I were a hobbyist, I would agree with you. But I'm a professional. My drone is my tool...my equipment. And I need it work 100% of the time. Because I hack it, it does.

D

 

[Scotflieger]

This is the professional user's threads. I also work commercially in the UK within the rules. I plan my tasks and check my equipment and software beforehand. Simples.

 

[Yellow Fellow]

This is the professional user's threads. I also work commercially in the UK within the rules. I plan my tasks and check my equipment and software beforehand. Simples.

So what do you do when, having checked all your equipment and software beforehand, the unlocking fails to work - as happened to me?

The whole point of being a "professional" is that we have an understanding of the regulations and are therefore trusted to adhere to them ourselves. Car manufacturers don't embed this kind of thing in their products (although they are far more dangerous) and if you've passed your test, it's assumed you understand and will follow the rules.