A hobby project on the side. I bought a Mavic Pro Gen1 shell and its GL200A remote for a few euros, sold as non-functional. Rather than just repairing them, I wanted to understand how they talk to each other. This is my logbook — and I want to be upfront that I'm a beginner at reverse engineering, standing on the shoulders of a community that did the hard work.
First: is this legal?
It's the question to ask before touching someone else's hardware — and in Europe the answer is nuanced but reassuring.
The EU Software Directive (2009/24/EC) explicitly allows you to observe, study and test how a program works to understand its underlying principles (Article 5). Decompilation (Article 6) is permitted without authorisation when it's for interoperability of an independently created program. Vulnerability research on a device you legally own fits this frame, as I understand it (and to be clear, I'm not a lawyer).
What you can't do: build a substantially similar commercial clone, redistribute the proprietary code you extract, or ignore patents. My case: I bought the hardware, I explore it to understand and learn, I don't resell anything, and I don't break DJI's firmware encryption. It seems within bounds — but if you do this, check your own jurisdiction.
