Drone fell off the sky

[Eagle]

I own a parrot anafi for the last one and a half years. I ve done 26 flights with the drone (light use)
Today while I was flying the drone with a nice weather and no wind it just shut off and fell from the sky. Battery level was 37% controller battery 70%. I was running the latest version also
The drone was about 30 meters away from me and about 8-9metere height. The camera of the drone is damaged and it also has some bad marks on it. I didn't try to fly it again to check for any further damage.

Is this a common issue with a anafi drones?

 

[Jack Anon]

Ooof thats rough. I have seen people talking about bebop 2 and anafis free falling from the sky sometimes with as much as 50% battery life. From my understanding it has to do with the smart betteries either short circuiting or not showing correct procentage thus running out of power. But I don't have an anafi or a bebop 2 so I don't really know what i'm talking about and I am just curious as you

 

[Gipsz Jakab]

I own a parrot anafi for the last one and a half years. I ve done 26 flights with the drone (light use)
Today while I was flying the drone with a nice weather and no wind it just shut off and fell from the sky. Battery level was 37% controller battery 70%. I was running the latest version also
The drone was about 30 meters away from me and about 8-9metere height. The camera of the drone is damaged and it also has some bad marks on it. I didn't try to fly it again to check for any further damage.

Is this a common issue with a anafi drones?

Only common if you are running fresh firmware!
There are many of us who haven’t upgraded from 1.6.3 because there have been battery shutdown issues since then.

 

[zandoli]

My assumption is that your battery has deteriorated.
What is your Maximum Battery Capacity?

 

[Eagle]

How can you tell that a battery has deteriorated if it looks like new? Charging /working with out any issues? I have still the battery on the drone and the capacity after the crash is still 38%
I don't think is my fault and parrot should look into it seriously since this incident is happening often

 

[zandoli]

Have a look at the Maximum Battery Capacity in the drone settings.
I have had a similar experience before.
My suspicion is that the more you fly these batteries the better they work. The smart discharge feature does not work as intended and should be treated as normal lipos.
Store at 50% and do not depend on the smart features to be smart.

 

[Eagle]

I was storing the batteries at around 30% capacity. Even if the smart discharge does not work as intented is not any customer's fault to be blamed for a drone fall. For me as the anafi is not a cheap toy drone is a very serious matter as it could have ended in an injury or an accident etc.
what happened with your case? Did they replace the drone?

 

[zandoli]

Store at about 50%.

With my case, Parrot agreed to a replacement.

Kindly note that your warranty has been approved by our escalation team. We will be exchanging the following ( The Drone with 1 battery mounted on it and Skycontroller 3)

Please don't send any additional accessories with the package, because we will be sending the regular package not the extended.

Kindly reply to this e-mail with acknowledgment of the items that will be exchanged so we can process the return labels.

Parrot actually afforded me a concession because the rep knew that my battery warranty had already expired and chose this option to allow me a return.

-Kindly note that parrot's warranty for its products is 1 year for the product itself , except for consumable parts(like batteries) which are covered for 6 months.

I was unable to ship, through UPS or FedEX, from my location because of the lipo.
The freight forwarder I could have used to ship the drone (including battery) was not accepting outward shipments because of complications due to Covid19 (just my luck).

I decided to order one battery then another eventually out of my pocket after confirming via phone call that the battery was the likely culprit.

They were once great with the customer service, not sure how your request will go. Could be here or there.
Wish you luck.

 

[Eagle]

Parrot is really pathetic to say the least. They replied to me that they can not deal with the matter because I don't have the original receipt even if I gave them a proof of payment with description etc. But wait it gets more funny...I ask to send the drone and pay for the repair cost and also to investigate the cause of the fall..they replied saying "we are very sorry but our repair facility has closed down"
So be aware parrot doesnot offer any support you are left on your own to fix the drone etc. Really pathetic from a company that wants to be called professional. I will buy a new DJI drone and make sure I give them a lot of "advertisment" about how bad their customer support is

 

[BRC]

Yes it's pretty sad how customers are treated at times, and other times well.
very inconsistent - sorry to hear about your outcome

 

[Eagle]

Anybody has a working phone number for parrot? When dialing from my country the UK official parrot number I am getting the message: "the number is not available now please call later"
The France/ Paris number fails to connect
I am calling the numbers from a different country

 

[AnafiPilot1]

Parrot support is pathetic and they have themselves to blame here by not having a support service that was clear in what there purpose is and how they are supposed to help.

There are too many stories of people who somehow had drones replaced by Parrot and others who have been denied it - this has caused confusion amongst Parrot buyers. but (I assume you are based within the EU) the guarantee is always with the seller / retailer.

Parrot state a warranty on their website but that is only for drones bought directly from them (because they are the seller in that situation) - they do not provide a manufacturers warranty and (they do highlight this in relation to purchases via Amazon) - there biggest failing is that they do not make this clear when someone contacts support.

Another thing we see constantly - people mix up warranty and guarantee - in the EU the minimum guarantee you have is 2 years, but guarantee means that you have 2 years to show that an item was faulty or defective when you RECEIVED IT, not that it has stopped working after using it for a while - now most sellers/retailers provide warranty which is normally 6 to 12 months, which includes cover if an item stops working or fails within that time.

If you believe the drone you received was faulty or had a fault when you purchased it - then you really should take it up with the retailer/seller - as they are the ones who are meant to provide you with the guarantee within the EU, and you need to refer to them about their warranty policies if any for your purchase.

If you paid using a credit card, then your country laws may give you the right to claim from them for goods which are not fit for purpose.

 

[Eagle]

Parrot support is pathetic and they have themselves to blame here by not having a support service that was clear in what there purpose is and how they are supposed to help.

There are too many stories of people who somehow had drones replaced by Parrot and others who have been denied it - this has caused confusion amongst Parrot buyers. but (I assume you are based within the EU) the guarantee is always with the seller / retailer.

Parrot state a warranty on their website but that is only for drones bought directly from them (because they are the seller in that situation) - they do not provide a manufacturers warranty and (they do highlight this in relation to purchases via Amazon) - there biggest failing is that they do not make this clear when someone contacts support.

Another thing we see constantly - people mix up warranty and guarantee - in the EU the minimum guarantee you have is 2 years, but guarantee means that you have 2 years to show that an item was faulty or defective when you RECEIVED IT, not that it has stopped working after using it for a while - now most sellers/retailers provide warranty which is normally 6 to 12 months, which includes cover if an item stops working or fails within that time.

If you believe the drone you received was faulty or had a fault when you purchased it - then you really should take it up with the retailer/seller - as they are the ones who are meant to provide you with the guarantee within the EU, and you need to refer to them about their warranty policies if any for your purchase.

If you paid using a credit card, then your country laws may give you the right to claim from them for goods which are not fit for purpose.

Probably you haven't read my original threat ?

 

[Rodrigo del Pedregal]

I did a complain about terrible support through European Consumer Center and Parrot just ignored, didn't show up with any explanation, we have not right with them

 

[Eagle]

They even don't accept my paypal transaction that shows that the drone was bought new . how can this company even exist and still selling drones if they don't bother even to look at the cause why so many drones fall off the sky with no reason? My only option is to start contacting uk drone shops in case they might have an invoice for my drone .
I tried dronesdirect but didn't replied to me
are there any other shops in uk to contact that sell the anafi?

 

[d95gas]

The simple answer is "They don't give a ****" about us hobby flyers. They have had their eyes on lucrative government contracts possibly going back as far as the original release of the Anafi.

They needed a testing ground and guinea pigs to test just how bad they had developed this drone.

We were in effect their "R&D".

Very hacked with "Parrot" these days, in fact not touched the drone for ages, My interest has gone back to DJI and the likes of the Air 2 and Mini 2 which are both getting very good user reviews.

 

[Gipsz Jakab]

The simple answer is "They don't give a ****" about us hobby flyers. They have had their eyes on lucrative government contracts possibly going back as far as the original release of the Anafi.

They needed a testing ground and guinea pigs to test just how bad they had developed this drone.

We were in effect their "R&D".

Very hacked with "Parrot" these days, in fact not touched the drone for ages, My interest has gone back to DJI and the likes of the Air 2 and Mini 2 which are both getting very good user reviews.

So far I have had no problems with Anafi (1.6.3 FW). Aside from the problem of a weak, early-wearing, and expensive battery, it’s a lovable little drone. But I agree that DJI will be my next drone if something happens to Anafi. Mavic Air 2 knows as much as Anafi so I wouldn't feel such a step backwards ... Although I don't miss a lot of whistling and blinking ...

 

[Eagle]

So far I have had no problems with Anafi (1.6.3 FW). Aside from the problem of a weak, early-wearing, and expensive battery, it’s a lovable little drone. But I agree that DJI will be my next drone if something happens to Anafi. Mavic Air 2 knows as much as Anafi so I wouldn't feel such a step backwards ... Although I don't miss a lot of whistling and blinking ...

My anafi was flying with out any issue for 15 months and it suddenly crashed. The thing is when you will need support in case something happens parrot will not be there to assist you. DJI takes customer service very serious my next drone will be for sure DJI