What do I do after I crashed my drone?

Accidents happen to everyone and we're here to help you in the event of an accident. 

What to do after you crash 

If you've just had an accident, immediately try and locate the drone through the DJI Applications (DJI Fly, DJI GO 4 or DJI GO) using Find My Drone. What this does is show the last known location of the drone before it lost connection. If the drone is still connected, it will show you where the drone is currently at and you may be able to get the drone to flash it's lights or make a noise. This is helpful when locating the drone amongst shrubs and rocks. 

If the drone falls into the water and you have care refresh, you could retrieve the drone as you will be able to make a care refresh claim. We've had a few customers find their drones washed up couple days/weeks later on the same beach. Even if that occurs, you will still be able to make your care refresh claim provided the care refresh has not expired during that time frame. 

The most important thing is your safety, if the drone is resting at a spot that is too dangerous to get to, we do not recommend retrieving the drone or to seek assistance in retrieving the drone. 

What to do next

Below you will see the different options you can take to ensure your drone is back up in the air in the smallest amount of time possible.

Care Refresh

If you purchased care refresh with the purchase of your drone, you will be covered for either 12 or 24 months from the binding date. If your care refresh has expired or have claimed more than the maximum claims, you will need to look at either the pair repair option of a warranty claim if applicable. 

To claim care refresh, you must have the drone body in order to do so, without the drone body you will be unable to claim care refresh. There is no limit on how damaged the drone is or if the drone is water damaged. This is a great advantage of having care refresh. 

However, with the recent drone releases, DJI have introduced Flyaway coverage which covers the drone in the even the drone is unobtainable. There is an increased cost compared to the normal care refresh excess, but allows you to get a replacement drone at a much cheaper price. 

Claiming care refresh is a straightforward process and is all done online. You will need to visit DJI's support website and submit an online repair request. https://repair.dji.com/repair/index

Simply follow the steps and make sure to tick and state that you have DJI Care Refresh. Basically, this will reduce the wait times as the drone will not need to undergo the normal repair assessment process. It takes approximately 5-7 business days to get the replacement product after it arrives at the DJI service centre. You will receive email notifications along the way and after each step of the service process is complete. 

Postage throughout this service is free of charge and DJI uses Australia Post, meaning they will be able to post to PO boxes across Australia. 

D1 Repair Services

D1 offers a pair repair centre out of its DJI Authorised Repair Centre located in Brunswick, Victoria. As an Authorised Repair Centre, we possess unparalleled understanding of the DJI eco-system to provide a comprehensive DJI Repair service. We only use genuine parts and will NOT void your existing warranty. However if your drone is out of warranty, our repair team will include a 3 month DJI warranty when the repair is completed. 

Our team has completed over 2000 repairs to date and serve multiple industries from hobbyist to large industrial drones used by some of the largest companies in Australia. Our team aims to fix all drones as quickly as possible to minimise down time and to get you back in the air. 

Below you will find the services our team offers. 

Same Day Replacement

Take advantage of our same day repair service found in all our stores across Australia. Essentially what happens is we will assess your drone to see what damage there is and add a small fee on top of the quote. You will hand over your damaged drone and will walk away with a brand new or like new drone. 

This is an easy way to get back in the air on the day and is especially helpful if you have an important job either on the day or in the coming days. The added bonus with this program means you will have a drone that rebegins its warranty period and you will be eligible to get the care refresh program. 

Do note that any pre-existing software that is bound to the damaged drone will not be transferrable. 

We recommended contacting the store beforehand to ensure there is stock available to complete the same day repair as this service is subject to availability. You can also call us on (03) 9288 7880 to learn more. 

Trade-In Program 

If you feel as though your damaged drone is not meeting your requirements anymore, you can trade in your damaged drone for a newer model! Perhaps the accident was a great excuse to upgrade your drone to up your game. The transaction will need to occur at the same time as the damaged drone will be converted into credit towards your new drone. 

This program also includes water damaged drones, albeit, the trade in credit will be reduced accordingly.

General Repair 

If you are not time conscious and would like to have the cheapest repair, this is the option to go for. This repair process is the standard repair where we will access your drone, quote you on the amount for repairs and then proceed with the repair. 

The total turn around time for this repair is anywhere between 1-3 weeks as there are different factors at play such as part availability and the amount of repairs. 

To get in contact with us with your repair, please click here to submit our repair form.

Alternatively you can call us here: (03) 9288 7880

Warranty Claim 

If you believe the fault behind your drone was not caused by pilot error, you may be able to submit a warranty claim with DJI to get your drone replaced. 

This is a simple process and is done online, you will need to submit an online repair request and create a claim under warranty. 

There are no guarantees whether the accident will be covered under warranty as they will be accessing the flight logs to determine the cause of the crash. 

The turnaround time for a warranty claim is around 2-3 weeks. 

Click here to be taken to the landing page.

Concluding Thoughts 

Accidents happen all the time and it isn't something to be disheartened by. Sometimes there are things that are also out of your control that can happen and cause the aircraft to go down. As with most things, practice makes perfect and the more hours you fly, the more experienced you will become. 

Our friendly repair team are available by phone or email and will be more than happy to take you through your options and find the perfect option to suit your needs. 

If you need any further information, please do not hesitate to contact us.