Is the Quadair drone a scam, or is it legit?
The other day I started researching drones for hiking and backpacking related videos, and photos. And having known nothing about the subject beforehand, it took a few days to get up to speed, on what features should be a what price points, and which brands made the best quality products.
Along the way I came across the Quadair drone, that has an absolutely beautiful product landing page, which looks like it’s modeled after some of the EXO brand drone product pages.
But the Quadair product page seemed like it’s designed to take advantage of first time buyers, that haven’t done any research on what’s a good quality drone, and what’s more along the lines of a kid’s toy.
Quadair says their drone is the ‘first high-end drone at an affordable price’. Indeed it’s the first thing you read in large font when you visit their page. Scroll on down, and they even say it ‘…uses advanced materials and proprietary control algorithms to fly like a $10,000 military-grade training drone.’
All that for only $149 retail, with a 33% discount, for a current price of $100!
But is that really the case?
Quadair Drone looks exactly the same as a toy E58 drone sold on Amazon for cheap
The Quadair Drone actually looks to be a rebranded E58 toy drone by Eachine, that you can buy on Amazon for around forty dollars (and was twenty bucks, back in December). And this E58 model drone item page, on Amazon, suffers from the familiar, but poorly written Amazon item descriptions, authored by non-native English speakers, working for a Chinese marketing agency.
Further, it has confusing copy, regarding its camera. It says it’s simultaneously a 1080 pixel HD camera, as well as a 4k pixel camera.
The reviews aren’t that great either: 3.5 stars with 30% of the reviews being 1 or 2 stars, secondary to quality control issues.
Go check out the Quadair product page, and look at the drone’s picture against the that of the E58. It’s the exact same drone, down to the yellow stripe detailing on its arms. The remote control is the exact same model too.
Is the Quadair Drone a high end drone?
Let’s do a comparison between a real high end, but lower priced drone, the DJI Mini SE, and the Quadair drone.
I would argue that the actual ‘high-end’ DJI model is its Mini 3 Pro, but that one is between $700 and $1000 depending on which set up you buy. The Mini SE is at least more closely priced to the Quadair, albeit still a ways away, at $399 on Amazon.
Still it’s a fair comparison because Quadair is advertising that it’s a high end product. Heck it even says in its copy, “The average drone costs $600. Ours is 6X cheaper,” implying it can do the same thing a $600 drone can do. And I actually found another Quadair product page that says,’At a price that is 6X cheaper than similar drones, we are the first brand that offers a high-end drone at an affordable price.‘
Quadair versus the DJI Mini Se
| High End Feature | DJI Mini SE | Quadair |
|---|---|---|
| GPS positioning and stabilization | Yes | No |
| SD memory card onboard for lossless video | Yes | No |
| 3-way gimbal | Yes | Claims to have a 3 axis gimbal, but camera just points to the ground, with no stability. The camera physically looks like it’s not on a gimbal. |
| 1/2.3″ sensor for camera (standard size for lower priced DJI and competitor drones) | Yes | Unknown, the manufacture doesn’t specify |
| gimbal mechanical range | Tilt: -110° to 35° Roll: -35° to 35° Pan: -20° to 20° | Unknown, the E58 clone claims 90° of range. |
| Smooth, stable footage | Yes | No, based on real world testing. |
| Return home function | Yes | Yes |
| Returns home when communication failure | Yes | No, several Amazon reviewers of the E58 clone lost their drones, after they flew out of range. |
| Max wind speed resistance | 8.5 to 10m/s, or 29 to 38kph (Scale 5) | No wind resistance, based on Amazon reviews of the E58 clone flying in the wind. |
| Max flight time | 30 minutes for 1 battery | 12 minutes for 1 battery; One Amazon reviewer of E58 clone said 6 minutes per battery, as did a BBB complaint filer. Another said batteries fail to hold any charge. |
| Max transmission distance | 4,000 meters | 30 meters; the antennae on the remote control are fake |
I could go on with the head to head specs, but the conclusion is the Quadair Drone doesn’t live up to its marketing. The company’s advertisers are selling a low quality toy drone, while hyping it that it’s just as capable as a DJI drone.
Quadair is doing SEO damage control
SEO, short for search engine optimization, is the art and science of writing an article focused on a particular subject or idea, and using clever techniques to make sure the article shows up on page 1 of Google, when a user searches for information on that subject or idea.
Quadair seems to have noticed a large group of people were calling their product a scam online. They’ve responded by paying for affiliate articles to be written, and placed on adequate traffic websites, that use the word ‘scam’ in their title, alongside the words ‘quadair drone’. And they have their SEO techniques down, as they know exactly how to get these articles to page 1 on Google.
When an inquirer googles whether or not Quadair is a scam, these articles are the first thing they see. And when they click on the article to find out whether or not the drone is a scam, the articles are just affiliate marketing fluff pieces, talking about how great the Quadair is. And there are multiple articles on page 1 of Google like this.
So just on those first few articles, the SEO writers for Quadair are trying to get you to read a fake review, and fake ‘exposed scam’ type articles. What they also are trying to do is crowd out the real articles, rightly calling the drone over-hyped or a falsely advertised product, so that you don’t see them on page 1 of Google.
Better Business Bureau Complaints
Even with Quadair eating up Google real estate on page 1, the Better Business Bureau page on Quadair does get through, where you can get the real low down on the company:
Total scam. The advertising video promised the drone would have many features that the drone actually cannot perform. I believe there is fraud involved. Fake websites are everywhere touting the incredible features that are all false claims. I did a great deal of research before I purchased this and every site gave rave views and false claims about the drones capabilities. Several sites had all the exact same reviews from the same people, and I believe that Quadair planted the phony websites to defraud consumers.
Michael C. – reviewer on the Better Business Bureau’s Quadair webpage
I purchased drones from this company, and when I received them, straight out of the box, they did not work, and I contacted them immediately to tell them, and all they did was offer me a 25% discount, no more drones for my kids, or anything, for Christmas. I paid $167. I even had insurance on the drones through their company, in case my kids ran into problems with them, for a whole year, but they did not work right out of the box, and all the company wanted to do was give me 25%, and say keep the drones; nothing for my kids to open up for Christmas…just, ‘25% there you go,’ and this was well within the 30 day money back guarantee no questions asked… thank you for the time and looking into this matter.
Complaint on BBB’s website
Countering Quadair’s scam SEO optimized articles
In order for this particular article to make its way up the rank and file of Google articles, I’m going to have to reverse engineer their SEO and add some of the topics they covered on their articles. You can stop reading at this point.
The verdict is Quadair over promises on a low quality product, using borderline, if not outright, false advertising. It flies decently for a cheap toy drone, but cannot do serious videography like a DJI consumer drone can, due to poorly designed camera mounting, and lack of stability in the air.
The Quadair drone is at best a toy, and at worst a scam.
What is Quadair Drone Pro?
A Quadair Drone Pro is the same exact product as a quadair drone. An affiliate marketer has just renamed it ‘Quadair Drone Pro’ to copy the DJI Mini model naming, that sometimes use the ‘Pro’ moniker to signify extra camera control features.
How to Setup a Quadair Drone Pro?
To set up the Quadair drone, charge its batteries, if and when it arrives, and check that the 3 AA batteries are in the remote control.
Also you can download their phone app, to see if that unlocks any other features not available on the remote control itself, but you don’t need it to fly the drone. Just use the QR code on the instructions to get to the app. Find the drone’s wifi name on your phone, connect, then launch the app, and hit ‘start’ to get the camera to come on and show on your phone.
Before flying, of course unfold its arms in the proper order: front arms first.
Turn on the drone while it’s resting on a level surface, then turn on the remote. It will take a few seconds to auto calibrate. After this calibration process you’re ready to fly.
How Does QuadAir Drone Pro Work?
The Quadair drone works just like any other similar toy drone. It has a barometric sensor to keep it stable at a given altitude. However it doesn’t connect via GPS to satellites so it doesn’t fly as stable as a GPS drone.
Like may others it uses 4 brushless motors to keep it in the air and steer it.
Quadair Drone Pro Features
- cheap 1080 pixel camera that is mounted at a downward angle, such that the drone can’t see directly in front of it.
- auto calibration on a flat surface so that you don’t need to adjust the trim right away when launching
- decent flying for a toy drone; responsive to the controls on the remote
- auto launch and auto land buttons
- 30 meter range; outside the range it will not return home, and can be lost, based on Amazon reviews of the E58
- batteries can last 6 to 12 minutes, with many customer claims that theirs only lasted around 6 minutes
- 3 flying speeds
Foldable Drone
The Quadair does fold down to a small size, that you can easily pack away in a backpack or large pocket on a jacket.
HD Photos and Video
I encourage you to seek out video footage from the Quadair drone on YouTube. There you’ll find poor quality video along the lines of that from a toy drone. The difference between this drone’s footage and that of a DJI is night and day.
Can It Fly In Extreme Weather Conditions
No, the Quadair drone cannot fly in extreme weather conditions. It has no wind resistance algorithms in its flight software. It can easily lose stability even in mild to moderate wind, based on E58 reviews on Amazon.
Is QuadAir Drone A Worthy Investment?
If your objective is to cheaply fly a drone for fun for a few minutes, and not worry about video footage, then the Quadair could be a worthy investment. However due to its poor quality control, it’s hit or miss on whether you’ll get a copy that can provide months of enjoyment.
Is the QuadAir Drone Pro too expensive?
Yes, the Quadair drone is too expensive. It retails for around $150 and is on perma-sale for around $100. However if you just buy the E58, which is the same exact drone, off Amazon, you can get it for around $40, and sometimes it can be as low as $20 during the holidays.
Further Reading
Thanks for reading my article on how the Quadair drone is a scam. I’m covering more serious drone topics from the perspective of hiking and backpacking related drone videography of natural landscapes. Check out the ‘Live’ section on my main page for more drone articles. See ya out there…