Last week I deposited my Mini 2 eight metres up a spruce tree.I had given up hope of rescuing it and made a claim for replacement. DJI dealt with this very promptly and courteously but pointed out that I had not done the binding process so my claim was invalid.
That focused me into trying harder. I located where it was stuck using binoculars and then unsuccessfully tried the weighted string method to shake the branch. I ordered a nine metre extendable pole from Amazon, but rain was threatening, so I taped together some eight foot bamboo poles and I was able to dislodge the drone which had a soft landing in a bush.
Other than the obvious lesson this has taught me about flying, I have also learned to make sure the drone is bound to the controller and to my DJI account. That may be a lesson which would be useful to other owners.
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Sorry for your incident 
Were there no tree surgeons you could call?
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I’m not sure how you were able to fly a DJI drone if it wasn’t 1) bound to a controller and 2) activated and therefore linked to your DJI user account 
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…that’s just what I thought. It seems that you can link any controller with any appropriate drone and account and fly it with no problem. What you must do prior to flying in order to validate any claim for a flyaway is to have the drone “bound” to your account/email address and the controller “bound” to the drone which is covered by “Care/Refresh”. This is to prevent a found or recovered drone which was replaced by DJI being used again if found by anyone.
Having a professional recover the drone was a logistical nightmare; the loss occurred seventy miles away from home in a tree which was inaccessible to any access equipment. It also required the consent of two different landowners. The thought of the cost of recovery or replacement really focussed my mind. 
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Where do I check if I’ve done this 
I think the drone needs to be connected via the remote to do this.
Go to the opening screen of the “Fly” app and click on “Profile” at the bottom.
Next screen click “Device Mangement”
You should see in red type “Remove Device from account”…if so, don’t
Otherwise the prompt will be to bind the device…do!
Then go to “Value added service” where I think you’ll get a prompt to bind the controller to the aircraft or if already done it will say “Replacement service valid”; mine is now done so I don’t know the exact wording.
There are DJI and other videos which walk you through this better than me…just important to know about it.
Go to the care refresh page on DJI and enter your serial number
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That will tell you if your Care/Refresh is active but it won’t tell you if the drone is “bound”.
The point is that if lost when unbound you aren’t covered for a replacement. For repair or replacement when damaged and the drone can still be sent to DJI I don’t think binding is needed. As there are two actions required from within the operating software in order to bind your hardware and account I believe this is likely to catch out a lot of operators.
Having said that, if the drone is irretrievably lost in a “flyaway” you will still have to stump up a lot of cash for a replacement.
When your drone/controller/account are bound together, making a claim is easy and it immediately deactivates the drone’s ability to take-off…I know, I’ve tested it. 
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What about SC users who may use more than one controller ?
Are you not binding it to the account rather than the controller?
Seems daft to bind it to a controller when you might have more than one.
I’m assuming ‘controller’ in this sense means the internal flight controller on your drone, not the physical remote controller.
On DJI Fly, click Settings > About > Flight Controller SN.
It’s this FC number that DJI need when unlocking their NFZs for you and so is independent of all/any remote controllers.
Logically, in order to be able to claim a replacement drone should the one covered be lost in flight, you would need to bind it to whichever controller you were using at that time.
DJI need to have a physical remote control “bound” to the aircraft in flight prior to take-off. It is not sufficient to have the aircraft bound to the account. I didn’t make the rules but I have tested them. It’s not a nice feeling getting the email which cheerfully tells you "the required appropriate binding of your Remote Controller and Aircraft have not been performed therefore the required flyaway report can’t be filed on your application. "
Was about to post that link myself, but as always I get to see these posts too late. .Yeah, this is the quickest way to check that your care refresh is valid.
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It wouldn’t take off if you didn’t have a bound controller surely? 
If my FPV drone wasn’t bound to my radio I wouldn’t be able to arm it or control it as there wouldn’t be a radio link… pretty sure it’s the same case with a DJI drone.
…it’s not; I’ve done 157 days flying with the controller not bound to the aircraft. They have been linked but not dedicated to each other. Once bound, the drone will only operate with its own controller unless unbounded.
That makes no sense… the controller has to be bound to the drone to fly it… otherwise your controller would control any random drone and would make flying with others impossible 
It’s binding it to the value added service the care refresh, it’s all in the video 
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OK got ya so your binding your care refresh to the controller. That makes sense.
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