If you’ve ever been in a situation where your drone has literally flown away due to a system malfunction, or a challenging environment, DJI is now offering coverage for “flyaway” cases for the DJI Mavic Air 2 and Mini 2. The extended coverage is now available for users who have purchased the Care Refresh extended warranty, although you’ll need to pay a fee every time you make an application for a replacement drone.
These replacements won’t come cheap—although you’ll still be paying less than you’d need to if you purchased a brand new one from DJI. For the Mini, the replacement fee comes up to USD 225 (~RM909), while you’ll have to pay USD 399 (~RM1,613) to replace your Mavic Air 2. These fees do not include the price of the Care Refresh warranty to begin with, which comes up to USD 50 (~RM202) and USD 80 (~RM323) for the Mini and Mavic Air 2 respectively.
There is also a limited number of times that you’d be able to claim a replacement under the flyaway coverage. According to DJI, via DroneDJ:
“DJI Care Flyaway coverage takes effect when Care Refresh is purchased and customers sync their account and remote controller to the latest version of the DJI Fly App. In the rare case of a flyaway, customers can file a Flyaway report, pay any corresponding fees and receive a replacement product quickly. Existing customers who purchased DJI Care Refresh can add this service by binding their DJI account with the remote controller. The new service offers a 1 year plan that covers 1 flyaway, a 2 year plan that covers up to 2 flyaways and DJI Care Refresh+ which covers 1 fly away or 1 accidental damage incident.”
Will your drone really fly away?
It’s not something you hear about everyday, but based on what we’re seeing online, it is certainly a possibility. Despite the huge strides that drone technology has taken in the past few years or so, DJI reportedly says that accidents can happen when drones are flown in “complex environments”, or in area with “signal interference, strong winds, or obstructed views”.
Regardless, it’s a nice touch from DJI—especially considering how the coverage has been included into the Care Refresh extended warranty plan. You do need to pay an additional replacement fee if your drone actually flies away, but the extended warranty also covers damage from drop and accidents (which sounds a lot more probable, to be fair). There’s also a two-year version of the warranty that covers more cases of flyaways and accidents; the standard warranty only offers a one-time deal for flyaway cases, and a limit of two claims for damaged units—at a price, of course.
Unfortunately, the Care Refresh extended warranty only appears to be available in select regions, and Malaysia does not look to be on the list at DJI’s official store. If you’re keen to find out more, click here.
