Customer Ratings & Reviews

I know that the DJI's are way popular than this drone. Especially now that news coming from the manufacturer 3DR are all coming in negatively. However, as far as the drone itself for my use and intention, it is enough for me to enjoy this for a long time. You definitely can't beat the price that best buy is offering right now. All you need is to buy the 3dr solo bag and some extra props. Maybe one more battery pack to have three ready for your disposal. Also, the solo does everything that I'm looking for and much more. It's easy to fly and once you have a nice 4k Go Pro you're all set to make your own cinematic videos.

Like many people I bought into the excitement with Solo based on marketing 3DR successfully pulled off dubbing Solo the first smart drone ever. This is based on Solo's patented Smart Shots that take the skill out of getting the perfect aerial shot, and was marketed to enable you to allow the drone to either control the camera while you fly the drone, or have Solo control the drone while you control the camera, conducting a two person task but requiring only one person to operate the drone, hence the name Solo. Though automated modes (like orbit, follow, and cable cam) are pretty standard now with most all drones available after 2015. Customer service is another thing that initially sold many people on Solo with their fly away protection that claims 3DR will replace your Solo and GoPro camera in the event of a fly away (thats not pilot error). Although, there are many other things that could cause you to need 3DR customer support which I will get into further down. Next lets talk flight times. Users were promised 20 minutes on a fully charged battery and when I first purchased my Solo I was getting around 17-18 minutes without a gimbal. 8 months later and I’m only around 11-12 minutes (without a gimbal) and light use. What’s the range? Solo is the worst drone amongst its competitors in regards to range. Without upgrading to better aftermarket antennas your looking at around 300-500 yards before Solo hits Return To Home mode (known as RTH), results improve if your in a rural area with virtually no wifi interference. If your in a really congested area like NYC, it could be substantially less. Some say you want to always maintain eye contact while flying but depending on the situation for the shot you need, this is a major problem because that range is also the same for altitude but less. You also have to consider limitations when flying a programmed mission. Upon Solo’s debut 3DR was scrutinized for pushing to release Solo in June 2015 despite complications with their camera gimbal that caused Solo users to wait months before it became readily available sometime in late August 2015, and still had serious bugs to be worked out. Even now users still casually report complications with Solo's gimbal.The major issue with the gimbal is that it produces a large amount of vibration and jello in your footage which is mostly due to the bad factory assembly of the gimbal's HDMI cable, which once in flight, picks up a ton of vibration thats seen in your recorded video footage. The only solution to this problem is to purchase an after market HDMI flat ribbon cable which is thin enough to pick up much less vibration and shake. It's now April 2016 and this issue has yet to be corrected by 3DR themselves. Solo also has an issue that requires it to take a much longer time than any of its competitor’s drones to get a satellite lock, and once again the only solution is to upgrade the satellite chip yourself. Also if you want to fix the range issue internally, you would have to upgrade the wifi card in both your Solo and the controller. Which brings me to my next point, unless you plan to modify/customize Solo to make it better, don't bother buying it. If your intimidated about taking things apart and putting them back together, I do not recommend buying Solo. 3DR also promised the addition of other camera gimbals to enable Solo users to mount other cameras besides the GoPro series action cameras. As we see at NAB 2016, that promise has not been upheld unless of course your looking for a strap on accessory to mount a 360 degree camera setup, or looking for a infrared camera that most civilian users have no use for, or even a commercial camera setup for 3DR's newest commercial software Site Scan, which retails at over $6,837-8,025. 3DR's spokesman Colin Guinn, mentioned several times last year and even at NAB 2015, that Solo users would see a gimbal coming for the new Black Magic Micro cams which has yet to be developed. As far as customer service, unfortunately for me back around January 2016, 3DR issued an update for the newly added Smart Shots and functionality of controlling the GoPro through the Solo app (which we were promised when Solo debuted in June 2015), after updating my only 5 month old Solo, it wouldn't connect with my controller when I would power up Solo, the controller, and the app. I would have to restart Solo several times before finally connecting, which if out in the field is not good at all, especially with the already long satellite locking times. Also during this same time while out flying Solo upon landing Solo touched the ground and out of no where went into RTH mode and shot straight up into the air nearly crashing into power lines and costing me the $1000 I spent for it. SoI called Solo customer support only to get a message that customer service is no longer available over the phone and is now email support only. Once I submitted a trouble ticket I was contacted two days later by Mike Martinez who required me to first send photos of my receipt, and Solo's serial number despite me having already registered my Solo online, I also had to send a video of the incident (thank God I recorded it), and a log report from the already not connecting Solo. If this wasn't already overwhelming, he said he never received the first 3 times I sent the logs from the controller (of course from the connectivity issue I mentioned), this process alone took a week to complete. I ended up having to do a process that was pretty technical requiring me to connect my Solo controller to my Mac, then enter a series of different code in a Linux based MS-DOS system, which if one character is entered wrong will cause you to have to restart the whole process. This was a very annoying process that was a headache to do, and afterwards Mike simply told me everything looked fine and that there was no issue. I complained that I still had the connectivity problem every time I turn on my Solo but he just continued giving me task to do that were very technical and later passed me on to a engineer named Francisco A.. Francisco was no different than Mike and again after 20 days of dealing with technical support he sent me an email informing that the code looked good and there was no connectivity issue. This infuriated me!!! This problem was never resolved, and I never had my Solo replaced with another one. So there's your report on customer service. Lastly lets talk about Solo's value, when I bought my Solo, I paid $1000 without the gimbal, and the gimbal sold for another $400. I wanted to shoot in 4k so I payed another $500 for my GoPro 4 Black and another $80 for a high bit rate 64GB SDChip. This doesn’t include the price of upgrades, so you see I spent over $2000 for my Solo. Then 5 months after I purchased it, for $1000 you get the Solo and gimbal, you talk about a punch in the face. Also Solo's resale value is really poor. Word has gotten around about the out of the box Solo performance and gimbal poor gimbal quality, and of course that means trying to sell Solo isn't an easy thing. I see guys online place their Solo's for sale and wait months with no buyer. Just go on Ebay and search used 3DR Solo and watch an item til it sells. You'll see guys selling Solo with a gimbal, backpack, and multiple spare batteries for only about $1100. Used Solo's by themselves are averaging about $500. And there's plenty of them for sale. Most guys put them up for sale on Facebook and forums and they never sell so they are forced to sell for nearly nothing or keep them. As a Solo user who's apart of all the Solo forums and multiple Solo Facebook groups, if I did it all over again, I would have bought a DJI Phantom 3/4 or Inspire 1 over Solo.

The Solo has been hyped so long as being the first smart drone, I expected something smoother. The app crashes, as does the video feed. The motors get hot and the reviewer that said he's getting 23 minutes flight time with some to spare must be flying on the moon where gravity is less. Many have run out of range at 60m and lost control. The thing that was the last straw for me was the arrogance of some 3DR employees who blindly defend the Solo instead of taking customer complaints seriously and not as an attack on them or 3DR. If you question something they don't believe it could happen. In the next year, the drone competition is going to markedly increase, you may want to wait. Check out the forums for a balanced view. Also, keep in mind, without the gimbal you have nothing really. The gimbal may not be out until mid-July.

this drone is made for non experienced pilots. Flying the helicopter on battlefield is more difficult.

As much as I wanted to love the Solo, I am 100% dissatisfied with the company's response time. Generally speaking, the Solo reacts very nicely to my commands and their gimbal worked great. Unfortunately, the Solo took off in the air when I had about 10% battery power left and the Solo crashed into the tree above. This "RTH" mode was not mentioned in any of their flight school videos or the enclosed pamphlets. I've tried repeatedly, over the course of a week, to obtain instructions on how to return it for repair, but they are not responding!!! I'm utterly frustrated with my purchase. I can't believe this is an American company. DJI, who's Chinese, offered better assistance than 3DR.

Bought this bundle (SA11A) and it came with: 1 drone, 1 battery, 1 controller, 1 gimbal for $299. If you buy the BB11A you get: 1 drone, 1 battery, 1 controller, 2 gimbals, and a backpack for $299. Why would they even offer SA11A bundle? The rep I reached couldn't offer an explanation. I'm returning my SA11A bundle and getting a BB11A. I have flown and built many drones over the years, and you simply can't beat this price, IF you already own a GoPro...

Only issue one to three minute GPS lock. Sometimes it locks in a minute at most takes three minutes. I've flown helis in the past this thing is beyond those. Very stable, very responsive just a great piece of equipment. If it could avoid obstacles I would take it over a phantom 4. Price just sealed the deal get the right model of go pro and you are set.

If you have a GoPro, this is the best starting drone. Very easy to fly right out of the box. Initial settings keep the drone well under your control. With the gimbal the shots are very stable.

I can't believe the reviews stating that this is the best gopro drone on the market. Every single video that is posted looks terrible. Without the gimbal we can not even make an honest review. As of today I give this product 1 star for a variety of reasons. 1. Free battery: There was a promotion for a free battery with purchase and the battery never arrived with the product. 2. Installing update to devices is extremely difficult and frustrating. It's not a simple click and done, Apple like update process. Think Windows 95. Very backwards. 3. Landing has it's problems after trying to land multiple times by using the land button it's come crashing down and bounced around on the ground only to fire the propellers back up and try to fly upward. 4. Fly-away; have noticed fly-away behavior when going into "follow me" mode. Once pressed the craft flew away 5 yards before I was able to hit pause and manually bring it back toward me. 3DR has marketed it self as a customer friendly company but is so completely snowed over by new customer issues that they can't keep up. The product is not complete without the gimbal and there are serious issues with the applications on iOs and Android. I'd wait until they figure all their issues out before spending any money on this product.

So I got this on sale for 399 with the backpack, the drone, extra battery and propellers. What a great deal. I took it out updated the gopro, the solo, the app etc. The first flight was great. Very easy to fly and great range. The next day I took it out again. First the range went down to 500 feet. (was 1500 to 2000 feet day before) after a while it started working better. I was out 1500 feet 160 ft high. All the sudden gps gone. A good gust of wind as i was tryibg to land and it blew into a tree. Broke it but good. Bestbuy returned my money immediately. So 5 stars to bestbut for that. But 1 star for 3dr loosing gps signal. I really liked it for a day.

Great Drone. Check out reviewingdrones.com they have a full work up on this drone.

i have a P3 pro and Bebop 2, for more than a year, i would say i'm above average in drone use. this however, i had to use full utilization of tech support of a company, which i haven't done before. i would commend their tech support for the fast reply and also the support chat for their impeccable knowledge. if you're connecting the FIRST TIME, after connecting to the solo controller wifi, the APP WON'T SHOW YOU'RE CONNECTED. you need to update the controller and solo thru the settings. IF YOU'RE USING A SMARTPHONE, DISABLE MOBILE DATA FIRST before connecting thru the app. after updating, and necessary restarts, it will show you're connected. these instructions are not on the quick setup guide. after that, vehicle is awesome. one star off because of the incomplete guide.

Easy to learn and functionality is great. For people who take a risk and crash it does not mean the product is bad but that they took a chance and lost. If you stay in clear areas and fine weather doubtful you will have issues. Smart shots really makes a difference and GPS keeps this baby steady. Get at least a Gopro hero 3 plus black edition otherwise it can't be controlled through the Drone system.

Amazing at first sight!!!! Follow Review Live with unboxing then Live Chat!!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAVqddIqkag http://youtu.be/jbU6wzXiVL4 THANK YOU 3DR!!!

Really easy to setup. Will not take a GoPro 5, I used a GoPro Hero 4 Black and the video was amazing. The go home feature is really helpful, just in case if you lose signal. There are amplified antennas out that you can get to extend range. The fly time was right about 17 minutes. For the price this is an awesome drone.

The 3DR is the best drone on the market for the first time buyer looking for a photography drone that comes out of the box. All you need is a GoPro. Get the GoPro 4 Black so you don't have any issues.

Good drone, if it works. Pick up at the store before 4th of july for fireworks. Struggling to start. I did calibrations several times, but keep showing "GPS Searching", "magnetic interference". after 20 mins tried, finally Solo was in the air. Then Signal lost, Red lights are blinking (just 100 ft away), fortunately, it came back on launching point. I did return it next day. It seems like there are lots of logic check before starting and current version is not stable (1.01). If there is no error, it might be a good drone for beginner. Selfi / Orbit function is pretty cool. (Gopro Hero 3 is not compatible, you can see the picture, but no remote record function)

I have flown smaller toy grade quadcopters for about a year to learn flight orientation basics etc. before getting a unit of this caliber. Initially, I was drawn to the DJI platform, but after some research found this machine to be superior. For the current sale price, I firmly believe that if you already own a compatible gopro, this is the best quadcopter on the market. Despite the reviews commenting on gps lock time etc...I have never experienced any of these issues, and think it most likely amounts to operator error/misunderstanding. This is not a toy, and should not be a quick take out and fly sort of system. Appropriate pre-flight checks, maintenance, and environmental awareness should be top priorities. If a 2 minute gps lock time is an issue, I suggest reconsidering this hobby.

Ive had several Syma drones and figured after 2 years I was ready to upgrade ... WRONG. I figured I could buy a knock off Go Pro . The solo only works with a Go Pro 3 or higher. Drone + camera = $. A Go Pro will set you back another $200-$300. I am used to drones that the props stop spinning in a matter of seconds. 1st day took drone up and tried return home feature ... drone went up , came down crooked near a driveway flipped sideways and broke 2 props. I did get 2 spares . 2nd day drone landed , props still spinning at top speed landed crooked on return home feature ... all 4 props broke. As it was landing 1 prop caught yard and pulled it completely over and began to till the yard. Good solid flight in winds , easy to control . I just do not like the way the props do not slow down upon landing. It drops like a rock due to its weight and sits with the gimbal almost touching the ground. To expensive for me to have as a "toy". I am sure most of my issues are due to my lack of experience with a drone this size. If you are looking for a drone to just mess around with .. This is not a good option. Im sure if you are into serious photography.. Then this would be a good choice.

I had been fly rc Helicopter , air plane and rc car truck many years, before I don't think I will buy and fly the drone but when I saw BestBuy sale 3DR-solo .just try to buy one with good price and after few more fly I really like the way 3DR control and fly , bought two more one for my son and another one for me to set up just sport fly no camera on it . reffer to my two friend to buy this drone too if you want to begin or fly drone,this 3DR is a good drone to fly only problem I have to buy new gopro hero 4 but I can use on the motorcycle ride , highly recommend this drone , Don't listen someone talk bad about it, just fly and made any adjustment by yourself and enjoy to fly