Customer Ratings & Reviews

Did not work. Couldn't get past the pre flight update. It wouldn't recognize the solo wifi. After wasting hours messing with it finally just returned the whole thing.

I returned the item because I couldn't get timely support on issues with my video quality the price on sale was great and was hoping that I got a good deal

Manufacturer went out of business and you cnnot purchase required equipment to even start up the drone. Returned and purchased DJI PHANTOM 3 Standard

Really wanted to try it out everyone was saying it was a great drone but it lacks stability and also didn't like that it doesn't come with camera.

I purchased a very early unit.... I waited to write this... had a few issues in the beginning... "Stick Error"; however, after a call with 3DR customer service, the issue was resolved. I also did a "Level Calibration" - very easy... Since then, I have flown quite a few times and Solo has preformed excellent including over the ocean in a pretty significant wind. Great Fun! I have had it up to the maximum legal altitude, tried features such as follow me, etc. Recommendation: Make sure you do the software updates, follow the directions and if you are new to drones (like me), take is slow at first... and set the Solo performance on Slow. As you gain experience, speed it up!

Appears that it was returned item, has scratches all over the drone and transmitter, that sucks big time, I gonna returned for sure

DO NOT buy this drone. There really isnt enough space here to detail my entire experience, but I have listed some of the main issues myself and many others have experienced. Check the forums for verification. GPS - Out of the box the Solo takes a very long time to get a GPS lock, sometimes not at all. This seems to be due to a manufacturing error that places the shielding to close to the GPS unit. I had to cut out a piece of cardboard to insulate it, and this helped a bit but not what I was expecting for a solution that in its entirety is over $2,000. RANGE - The range for the Solo controller is very bad. Stock it was only going 700-800 feet before it dropped signal. I had to purchase directional antennas that cost another $150 to get even 1/4 the range of the Phantom and being directional antennas the Solo would lose signal with the new antennas anytime it went above me. MANUAL FLIGHT - The Solo does not operate as advertised, and although 3DR claims that it holds altitude without GPS, it does so sporadically at best. FOLLOW ME - Pretty much useless since you need to have the controller on the subject being followed. TOP SPEED - I was never able to get to the advertised 55 mph, and buyer beware, this is the speed advertised ONLY when flying without GPS GIMBAL - Installation is not nearly as easy as it should be due to poor placement and routing of the HDMI cable. People are selling alternative cables to remedy this, but again should not happen in a $2000 drone. There are also many faulty gimbals that 3DR shipped. I was hoping this drone would be all that they advertised it to be, but it is not even half. Do not buy this thing, you will regret it.

This item is the wrost i have buy in a long time. I won't recommend to anyone

Updated out of the box as it should, has a lengthy online manual that needs to be read PRIOR to use, after that it should be smooth sailing. Now, it's a drone, and they readily sell replacement propellers... for a reason, the Solo itself is built solid and 3DR's commitment to customer service and the outstanding warranty on this item is reason alone to buy one without worry... oh, and they are fun!

No wonder this model is discontinued GPS tracking is slow ,flew away never be seen again

Drone crashed due to system malfunction and was given the runaround by support.

First Off I have been flying RC planes and gliders and stuff for over 35 years and I'm not new to the world of Quadcopters! That being said and Knowing what I know about the Hobby the Solo Is Not Designed to be a first Quad for anyone who has never flown before. This is a professional Video Platform and used in the right hands will delivery what it's designed to deliver, Can a new Pilot fly this Yes! With all the built in features like GPS and return to home and ORBIT and CableCam this will do some amazing thing. but you should have a basic understanding of flight before you fly any RC item they are not toys and can hurt people and property, to get the Solo to do all the stuff that the videos online show you will need a few Items a Gopro3 or above a Smart phone or tablet that runs the Solo App you can see a list on 3dR's website (they are updating it as fast as they can) the Gimbal is not going to be out until July 2015, the stock unit comes with a Frame Gopro Mount that works well to get you started. You will need to upgrade the firmware before the very first flight and the GPS will only find Satilites if you are in a open area trying to find them indoors will not work if there is any medal structures. the battery takes about 1 hour to charge and will work for about 20+minutes based on how you fly. I would watch all the videos on youtube before buy and ask yourself is this going to be what I want to use there are other Quads that will give you good basic result for half the price but if your a film maker this is a game changer you can now do shots that would take a team to setup and you can pull it off in a few minutes.. 3DR and the solo when used in the hands of a skilled pilot is the GAME Changer Quad..

Got my New 3DR Solo drone last week and it did not work. Returning to store.

Nothing but problems. Doesn’t connect to remote satellites

I bought this about a week ago and have had a few dozen flights. No problems at all. I've read the manual a lot and continue to read it. It's kept accessible on my phone just in case. If you fly smart and read the manual you should have no problems. If you do then it's probably not your fault and 3DR has you covered.

I have some experience flying these things but the solo by far is the easiest one to control. The smart shots are useful for those tricky maneuvers I couldn't do on my own. Even the box it comes in makes it easy to throw in a trunk and setup in a couple minutes. Don't have a gimbal yet but so far so good.

The 3DR Solo is great at what it's designed for... shooting aerial video. The automated shots ( cable cam and orbit) allow you to get some fantastic, creative shots. It's important to understand how Solo works. Having good GPS signal is very important. If you don't know how to fly manually and GPS is lost, you will have a problem.

Awesome drone, love the automated shots. It does have some minor issues, as do most of these devices, but no where near the issues some are claiming. 3DR customer service is good, unlike other manufactures, so if i have an issue I know it will be handled quickly. Now for the real issue, there is a legitimate effort being put forth by a few individuals to discredit this drone and 3DR. It seems they have had past dealings with members of 3DR's management personnel, and some of the software developers. They have taken it upon themselves to do as much as they can to discredit using social media and some large online forums. Do yourself a favor, if you have questions, go to one of the Solo owner forums, and talk to legitimate 3DR Solo Owners. So the reason I gave it 4 stars? I think the price is a little high, but currently no other drone has these automated shots, so maybe it is worth the extra money.

Please beware, that out of the box this drone is very likely not safe to fly, unless you're lucky and get a perfect unit. Quality control is not good. Make sure you're capable/willing to do the following mods if you want to buy this drone: - GPS mod (Mini uBlox M8N or similar M8N) for quick and precise GPS lock - Cardboard mod for GPS - to fix the problem with interference - WIFI mod (R11e-2HnD) for both controller and solo to double otherwise mediocre range and improve signal quality - ALFA antennas are highly recommended to extend the range/quality of signal - You will need leg extensions, otherwise your GoPro will be to close to the ground. These will cost you additional 120-200$. Vibrations are a different story. You might have to to install an aftermarket HDMI cable, since the original cable is too stiff and adds micro (and sometimes macro) vibrations to the camera. Props have to be balanced out of the box and sometimes motors have to be balanced to. There are plenty of topics discussing these online. I've had two of these. First one would not lock on GPS for like 5 mins and would constantly loose wifi when in air. Even if it was just 70ft over me. Due to my mistake I crashed it sideways into a tree. There was no impact to the frame, but 2 props broke. Later I found out that one of the motors got fried and it would always start with a delay. Pretty surprising for such a minor impact. At one of the starts there was a delay and it flipped over upside down. Even in this position the motors kept spinning for 5-7 seconds, ruining all 4 or the propellers. Second one would lock on GPS faster, but would randomly loose GPS during the flight. I've had the WIFI mod (R11e-2HnD) installed in both remote and the drone and ALFA antennas, when I flew to 3500 ft where it lost GPS and switched to Manual. After a second it also lost WIFI and started to land. I was lucky, cause it regained WIFI and I flew back Manually. Second drone also had enormous vibrations on the gimble right out of the box, making the jelly like and shaky videos and it was not the HDMI cable issue, but rather faulty motor(s)/gimble. So I returned that one for an exchange. Yet to try 3rd one. There are so many problems with reception, it always makes me think DJI Phantom 3 would be a better deal. Flight time was not 20 minutes too. Rather 16-17. No surprise it can't compete with DJI and they had to discontinue. Even for 350$ it almost looks like too much hassle with mods. Please beware, that out of the box this drone is very likely not safe to fly, unless you're lucky and get a perfect unit. Quality control is not good. Make sure you're capable/willing to do the following mods if you want to buy this drone: - GPS mod (Mini uBlox M8N or similar M8N) for quick and precise GPS lock - Cardboard mod for GPS - to fix the problem with interference - WIFI mod (R11e-2HnD) for both controller and solo to double otherwise mediocre range and improve signal quality - ALFA antennas are highly recommended to extend the range/quality of signal -Vibrations are a different story. You might have to to install an aftermarket HDMI cable, since the original cable is too stiff and adds micro (and sometimes macro) vibrations to the camera. - Props have to be balanced out of the box and sometimes motors have to be balanced to. There are plenty of topics discussing these online. These will cost you additional 120-230$. I've had two of these. First one would not lock on GPS for like 5 mins and would constantly loose wifi when in air. Even if it was just 70ft over me. Due to my mistake I crashed it sideways into a tree. There was no impact to the frame, but 2 props broke. Later I found out that one of the motors got fried and it would always start with a delay. Pretty surprising for such a minor impact. At one of the starts there was a delay and it flipped over upside down. Even in this position the motors kept spinning for 5-7 seconds, ruining all 4 or the propellers. Second one would lock on GPS faster, but would randomly loose GPS during the flight. I've had the WIFI mod (R11e-2HnD) installed in both remote and the drone and ALFA antennas, when I flew to 3500 ft where it lost GPS and switched to Manual. After a second it also lost WIFI and started to land. I was lucky, cause it regained WIFI and I flew back Manually. Second drone also had enormous vibrations on the gimble right out of the box, making the jelly like and shaky videos and it was not the HDMI cable issue, but rather faulty motor(s)/gimble. So I returned that one for an exchange. Yet to try 3rd one. There are so many problems with reception, it always makes me think DJI Phantom 3 would be a better deal. Flight time was not 20 minutes too. Rather 16-17. No surprise it can't compete with DJI and they had to discontinue. Even for 350$ it almost looks like too much hassle with mods.

I have now flown this drone 6 times and its so user-friendly. Flying a drone can be nerve racking. Not the solo. If you feel you are out of control just let go of the controls and it flies perfectly still. Press a button and she lands for you. The follow-me settings are super easy to use and it does what you want it to. It's very easy to fly smoothly in manual setting too. Super smooth. I do hear the battery last about 13 minutes, not the 20 they claim. My beginner footage looks totally smooth and professional. This drone builds flying confidence. Flight range is about 1/2 mile. But for $20 you can upgrade the antennas to 2.5 miles. This drone combo pack is awesome at an untouchable price. Get the backpack carry case too. Sadly I paid $499 for this kit and $100 for the case from Best Buy. Now its $399 and $70 for the case. Jump on this before they are gone. Note that SOLO as a company may not be around much longer so who knows if customer support has much life left. I'd chance it.