RECORD STORE TALES #1222: Replacement Ruko

Earlier in 2025, I was sent a new drone to test.  I was very excited to receive my U11Mini 4k drone from Ruko, but struggled to keep it flying straight.  I crashed it once in the summer.  I thought my issues were due to user error, weather, or bad calibration.  I didn’t think it was due to a faulty drone.  I tried it once more in early October.  The flight started well enough, but I lost control of the drone during the return. It started veering to the left and losing altitude. I managed to bring it back to the beach and land it in the sand, but I thought for sure it was going to hit the water or trees.

I figured three strikes and you are out – I didn’t plan to fly the Ruko again, despite its awesome 4k camera and ability to hold a level image even if the drone is flying on a 35 degree angle.  I packed it up.  My dad talked me into changing my mind.

“Why don’t you just contact their customer support?” he asked.

“Because this drone was a free review copy,” I answered simply.   “I did the review and gave it a passing mark.”  As a creative individual, I like to make my own videos, and edit them how I please.  Working with Ruko, they encouraged me to film different landmarks and objects from the drone.  I prefer working independently on my videos, so I didn’t really want to go back to them.  Yet, my dad was right.  What harm could come from submitting a ticket for customer support?

Ruko came through.  All they asked for was the flight log for the most recent video where I encountered troubles. You can see in the video below, I flew fine and straight for the outbound flight. Upon my return, the drone started veering off to the left, and losing altitude. I could not control it, but barely managed to land it in the sand without hitting the water, rocks, or trees. Ruko had a look at the flight log and determined that it was not user error. They offered to send me a new drone!

“Just the bare drone,” they said, and I agreed.  I didn’t need new batteries, a new case, or a new controller.  Just the drone itself.

Two days later, there was a parcel!  And it wasn’t just the bare drone.  It was the whole package – cables, case, batteries, controller, and everything else you need.  I now had two complete drone sets, one that didn’t work and one that was brand new out of the box!

The only unfortunate thing is the time of year.  I let Ruko know that in Canada, it was fall turning into winter, and the window for good flying days was over.  They said “no problem”.

While I still have not had a chance to test the new Ruko drone, I can give their customer service a 5/5 star rating.  Fast, hassle-free and helpful.  Hopefully I will get a chance to fly again before the spring.  If not, thank you Ruko and we’ll see you next year!

 

CRASH!  Language!