So, Can Your DJI Drones Still Get Firmware Updates in the United States?
It appears that the answer is “yes,” however, it’s a bit more complicated than you’d expect.
Well, we’re in it now. After a long period of hemming and hawing over whether it would come to be or not, the official “DJI drone” ban is now in effect. However, many questions remain.
One of the biggest questions off the bat was whether this drone ban applied to all DJI drones, new or old, or only to the newest ones. The answer to that is that the FCC’s “covered list,” which effectively bans DJI drones in the US, only covers new ones; your old DJI drones are still allowed to fly.
Yet, that raises other questions for current DJI owners. Namely, are you still allowed to get new firmware updates for these current DJI drones?
The State of Firmware Updates for DJI Drones in the US
According to a recent FCC notice, the answer to the question above appears to be yes—current DJI drone owners can still receive firmware updates for their products, even if they live and operate in the US.
However, if you’re not a lawyer or legal scholar, deciphering what this notice says and means can be quite tricky, and it’s really hard to be sure what’s clear or not clear at this point for DJI drones. It also appears this might not be a permanent decision by the FCC.
So, there are other concerns as well.
How Long Will the DJI Drone Ban Last?
According to the same document, this decision is granting a limited waiver that temporarily suspends the ban on these DJI drones if they were authorized before December 22nd, 2025. This limited waiver appears to be what is also allowing current DJI drone owners in the US the ability to still access, download, and install necessary firmware updates for their products.
However, the same document also states that this waiver only runs through January 1st, 2027, so—unless something else is presented or changes before then—things might still change further.
Overall, if you’re a DJI drone owner in the US, you’re likely still able to fly and use your drones for your personal and professional work—and you should be able to do so with the latest firmware updates and through the rest of 2026.
What the future holds beyond that is hard to say, though, but we’ll do our best to keep you up to date.
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