Contixo F18 2K FPV RC Drone with Camera for Adults - Quadcopter with Brushless Motor - Beginners GPS Drone for Kids-5G WiFi- Follow Me - Auto Return - Point of Interest - Modular Battery with Backpack

The Contixo F18 is my first drone, which I received as a Christmas gift. After reading the manual times, I found the assembly of the props easy. You do have to pay attention to the "A" prop and "B" prop positions on the drone as well as the particular screws for each. Paying attention to the direction to tighten the props, i.e., clockwise and counter clockwise is important in order to avoid stripping the screws/prop post.After the assembly, the start up is pretty straight forward. Charge the drone battery for approximately 5 hours and install four new AA batteries in the controller. The next step was a little confusing at first but after watching several videos on YouTube from other F 18 users, it all became clear. I recommend that any new users take the time to watch these videos!Starting the drone was a easy as was the first flight. I do recommend that the new user become familiar with the controller before the inital flight. I also recommend getting in multiple practice flights before pushing limits.The wifi signal on my unit has been exceptional each time out. You do have to wait a couple minutes for what ever number of satellites there are to connect to the remote/F18 before flying. I've had my unit up as high as 395 and never lost a bar of the 5 bars of signal strength.The RTH (Return Home) has worked well each time out with my unit. The unit will rise after pushing the RTH button as it hovers above the landing site. This is for GPS positioning. My landings have consistently been within 6 feet of the take off point. I have not yet tested the low battery return home function.I recommend caution when flying in wind speeds of 7 plus mph as the drone will tend to drift. While it does test piloting skills, it can cause a little anxiety. Making sure the GPS mode is on will greatly help prevent drift. I also recommend that when piloting, remember that as the orientation of the drone changes, i.e., north to south, east to west, the control joystick will change. Not paying attention to this could be a problem if the user needs to avoid obstacles quickly. For example, if the drone camera is facing away from you the joystick will work as described, i.e., up is north, down is south, left is east, right is west. If the camera is facing the user, the controls would work in opposite. Sounds a little complicated but not so much as long as the user is paying attention to drone orientation.The headless mode can be helpful with this issue but read the warning about using this mode before turning it on.I read a few concerns about some danger the F18 can pose. I can say from first hand knowledge that you should be aware that the propellers are turning at a very high rpm and can cause serious damage to a finger, or any other part of the body it may come into contact with. The F18 is small but I would not classify it as a child's toy. For this reason, proceed with caution with small children and pets nearby. First time users would be better to gain skills in an wide open area. If not in the countryside, then a high school football field, etc. when few people are around.The 1080p camera does a better job than I expected. The range is great and for basic photography from above, the quality is fairly good. The camera does okay in low light photography, much better in daylight. The examples are from 300 to approximately 375 ft. The drone holds altitude very well and can hover at any altitude for photography. The camera does well with video photography as well given it is only 1080p. If you want a high resolution camera or at least 16mp, expect to pay $500 or more. For a starter, the camera in the F18 is better than expected.The F18 is a great starter drone especially with its features and for the price. I cannot compare this drone to any other but I have no problem recommending it to someone looking to get started.

I could NOT be more satisfied with Contixo. As a first-time drone buyer, I was nervous about finding the right product for a Christmas gift, but Jerry at Contixo went above and beyond to help me find the right product. I ended up getting both the F17+ and F18 for recipients with different needs. At this point, I've spent a couple months researching drones, and both the F17+ and F18 are the only two drones with all the following features:- Under $500 (I broadened my search to up to $500, but Contixo was still the best for what I was looking for)- Compatible travel/storage case- High quality camera: 4k camera (F17+) or 1080p camera (F18)- Extended battery life (nearly ~20 min. ea)- Brushless motors- Lights for night flying/general awesomeness- Attractive design- Excellent reviews(Although both models have many more awesome features, I was looking for this specific combination)Since these are Christmas presents, I haven’t been able to play with them yet. However! I want to give a specific and well-deserved shout out to Contixo’s business model and customer service. There are so many companies that produce drones; I knew there was a spectrum of customer service quality that went along with the many options the internet has to offer. But simply due to the extraordinary experience I had with Contixo over the past two months, I have complete confidence in their products going forward.Responsive – Per the suggestion from another Contixo customer review, I reached out via messenger on their Facebook page. I didn’t expect a response, but heard back in an hour! Every time I messaged, I heard back in an hour or much sooner.Accessible – No red tape. Hit up their Facebook page or give them a ring and you’ll get to speak to a real live human ASAP. No robots. No holding music.Above and beyond helpful – I had a lot of questions for Jerry and he answered every single one with much more info than expected. He even gave me his direct line so he could hear out my concerns. Turns out, Jerry isn’t even in the Customer Service department—he just wanted to help me! To top it off, I decided I wanted to swap out one of the F17+’s I bought for an F18, but it was past the return window. I asked Jerry if he had any suggestions, and he is having Contixo issue me a full refund! No hassle, just a 5 minute phone call. Now if that isn’t a culture of customer service, I don’t know what is.________Update:Both the F17 and F18 have been fantastic hits with their recipients. The features, power, and control are all awesome. Set up and usage for both have been very user friendly thus far. Unfortunately, after a week of successful flying, the F18 malfunctioned and plummeted into a river despite full battery, 15 satellites connected, and less than a 100 foot range. We were devastated when we were unable to retrieve it, but Contixo again came to the rescue with their fantastic customer service.I was able to speak with Jerry about our malfunction and how to prevent something similar in the future. After asking detailed questions about our experience, he assured us that this should have not happened. He also pointed out that although it seemed to be an issue with the drone itself, it may have been an error on the remote side. Thanks to Jerry and Contixo's outstanding customer service, Contixo will be sending us a replacement drone and remote. We could not be happier and look forward to many more flights with our Contixo F18!