Should you Get DJI Care Refresh Plus?
Whether you fly a drone for fun or to earn money, crashing your drone and damaging it beyond repair will hurt. Unfortunately, crashes are so prevalent in the field of drone flight that the best we can do is to prepare for them. For this reason, firms offering drone insurance services have popped up seemingly everywhere.
One of the most popular options for drone insurance, and arguably one the best is the DJI Care Refresh policy offered by DJI. More recently, DJI has also provided an opportunity to extend the validity of this policy, called DJI Care Refresh Plus. Is getting DJI Care Refresh Plus a good idea? Aside from a policy extension, what else does DJI Care Refresh Plus offer?
What is DJI Care Refresh?
Before offering DJI Care Refresh, DJI has provided a more basic form of drone insurance, which was called DJI Care. This old policy operated much like a traditional insurance policy: by paying a fixed premium, the policy provides financial coverage for any repairs that need to be done on your drone. Any repair costs will be charged to this financial coverage until the whole coverage has been consumed or the period of validity of the insurance expires.
As its name implies, DJI Care Refresh offers a massive improvement to DJI’s original drone insurance policy. Instead of providing a set coverage amount, Care Refresh instead gives the drone owner an option to receive a refurbished drone in place of the drone that has been damaged. Not only does this make turnaround times much shorter, but drone owners also get to enjoy a drone that has been so thoroughly repaired and tested that it’s almost good as new.
Recently, the DJI Care Refresh policy has been upgraded to allow drone owners who have received refurbished drones to return the replacement device if they have found that it has a manufacturing defect. This puts to rest any concern that a policyholder will receive a refurbished drone that is also defective.
What does DJI Care Refresh Plus offer?
Since the release of DJI Care Refresh, it has received a lot of acclaim from drone pilots and business owners. In fact, it’s been so well-received that there has been a long-standing clamor for DJI to allow policyholders to extend its validity.
The response from DJI came in the form of Care Refresh Plus, an option for current holders of DJI Care Refresh to extend its validity by a year. This is on top of the original policy’s one-year coverage. With Care Refresh Plus, you get one additional opportunity to get a replacement refurbished drone should your drone get damaged.
Furthermore, signing up to Care Refresh Plus extends the manufacturer’s warranty for your drone by at least 12 months. With the manufacturer’s warranty, you can receive a free repair service if you find that your drone has a manufacturing defect.
What is the coverage of DJI Care Refresh Plus?
DJI Care Refresh Plus carries over all the conditions and requirements of DJI Care Refresh that makes you eligible to receive a refurbished drone. This is excellent news, as the extensive coverage of DJI Care Refresh was what made it such a great insurance product.
Unlike many other drone insurance policies, any damage due to external factors or pilot error is covered by DJI Care Refresh. This includes damage due to collisions, signal loss, random crashes, or even the drone getting knocked out of the sky by a strong gust of wind. One of the strongest suits of DJI Care Refresh is that it covers water damage, which is essentially irreparable. You still have to send the damaged drone to DJI, though, so you will need to recover it even if it crashes at the middle of the ocean.
How do I sign up for DJI Care Refresh Plus?
If you have an active DJI Care Refresh policy, then you can sign up for the Care Refresh Plus at any point. When buying the Care Refresh Plus, you will need to provide the serial number of your drone so that the policy can be bound to your device. You don’t need to worry about the validity of Care Refresh Plus overlapping with the original policy, as it only takes effect once the Care Refresh plan has expired.
Take note that Care Refresh Plus will not take effect if your existing Care Refresh is still valid. This means that if you had already availed of two product replacement under Care Refresh, then you cannot use Care Refresh Plus to get a third replacement while the original Care Refresh is still in effect.
DJI has made it easier than ever to get a Care Refresh Plus by allowing it to be purchased along with the original Care Refresh plan. There isn’t any financial benefit of doing this, but it is pretty convenient. If you are wholly convinced that Care Refresh and Care Refresh Plus are great products, then taking advantage of this option gives you two years of worry-free drone flight.
If your Care Refresh plan has already expired, then you no longer have the option of extending it with the Care Refresh plus. DJI provided a 30-day window for holders of expired Care Refresh to sign up for Care Refresh Plus back when it was first announced. Unfortunately, that was almost a year ago, and drone owners no longer have this option.
Which drone models can be insured with DJI Care Refresh Plus?
As Care Refresh Plus is merely an extension of an existing insurance plan, all drones for which the original Care Refresh was offered are eligible to receive Care Refresh Plus. The list of eligible drones includes all the modern offerings from DJI and even some of the high-end Zenmuse cameras. Whether you have the beginner-friendly Spark, any entry in the super-popular Mavic series, or a pro-level model such as the Inspire 2 or Phantom 4 Pro, you can extend your drone insurance policy with the Care Refresh Plus.
How much does DJI Care Refresh Plus cost?
The table below summarizes the cost of getting a Care Refresh Plus for each drone model and the amount that you will need to pay to get a replacement unit. We also included the cost of getting the original Care Refresh for each model, as it provides an interesting contrast.
| Model | Care Refresh | Care Refresh Plus | Replacement Fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spark | $59 | $39 | $39 |
| Mavic Air | $89 | $69 | $69 |
| Mavic Pro | $99 | $79 | $79 |
| Mavic Pro Platinum | $129 | $99 | $89 |
| Mavic 2 | $139 | $119 | $119 |
| Phantom 4 Pro | $149 | $119 | $119 |
| Phantom 4 Advanced | $139 | $99 | $99 |
| Inspire 2 | $299 | $249 | $229 |
| Phantom 3 SE | $59 | $49 | $49 |
| Zenmuse X7 | $499 | $229 | $229 |
| Zenmuse X4S | $59 | $49 | $49 |
| Zenmuse X5S | $189 | $159 | $149 |
It’s interesting to note that getting the Care Refresh Plus is significantly cheaper than the original Care Refresh policy across all devices. This speaks to DJI’s confidence in the quality of their products, believing that they can still function normally up to two years after they have been purchased.
In a way, the prices for Care Refresh Plus also indicates that DJI believes that drone pilots who have had more than a year of experience flying a specific drone model are more unlikely to get into a drone-related accident. This show of faith from DJI is quite admirable as it is more rewarding of long-time drone owners.
More than anything, the very idea of offering an extended warranty speaks volumes about DJI’s commitment to quality and customer service. These two characteristics have allowed DJI to stand out from other drone brands and cemented their place on top of the drone market.
Should you get it DJI Care Refresh Plus?
If you are an owner of a DJI drone with a currently active Care Refresh insurance policy, then you probably need very little convincing to extend your plan. Not only does Care Refresh Plus give you an additional chance for a replacement drone, but it also extends your drone’s standard warranty just in case problems start to come up after a year of ownership. Considering that a Care Refresh Plus is much cheaper compared to the original Care Refresh insurance that you got, getting the extension is practically a no-brainer.
The thing about drone crashes is that they will almost inevitably happen. Despite all the advanced sensors and powerful motors of drones, they can still be easily downed by a loss of signal, a strong gust of wind, or even a momentary lack of attention from the drone pilot. These crashes can be very stressful and anxiety-inducing moments for any drone pilot, especially when you’re faced with the prospect of losing your thousand-dollar investment.
What Care Refresh (and the Care Refresh Plus extension) really provides is peace of mind that you can still pick up the pieces of your drone off the ground, send them to DJI, and get a perfectly functioning drone in return. In our opinion, this peace of mind is priceless. If you’re still on the fence on whether you are going to extend your existing Care Refresh or buy Care Refresh Plus with your brand new drone, then we strongly recommend that you go ahead and get them.