DJI Shows Pocket 4P in Canada With 17-Stop Range as US Ban Blocks New Sales

Q: If an independent U.S. audit found no major security risks, why is DJI's new camera still banned?

DJI’s new camera is still banned because the legal trigger was not “any audit shows it’s safe,” but a specific U.S. government process that was never completed on time. Under the 2024 NDAA, DJI had to be reviewed by a designated national security agency by late December 2025 or be placed on the FCC’s Covered List. That government audit was not completed by the deadline, so DJI was automatically added. Once on the Covered List, new DJI products that use wireless radios cannot get FCC equipment authorization, which is required for import and sale in the United States. That is why DJI’s own third-party security evidence did not lift the ban. DJI published an independent assessment by U.S. cybersecurity firm OnDefend that reported no critical, high, or medium-risk findings and no evidence of hidden backdoors or data transfers outside the U.S. But that review was commissioned by DJI, not the formal federal audit required by the statute. In regulatory terms, it did not substitute for the missed government review. The Pocket 4P is also caught by the breadth of the restriction. Although the policy debate centered on drones, the FCC action reaches other DJI devices with radio hardware, including cameras and gimbals. DJI is not covered by current exemptions such as the Defense Department’s Blue UAS pathway, and it is challenging the designation in court. Until that changes, the camera remains blocked from U.S. sale even without publicly proven major security flaws.

2 articles · Updated · PCMag · Jun 12

Toronto became the test site for DJI’s new Osmo Pocket 4P because US law now bars sales of all newly released DJI products, including cameras and gimbals.
17 stops of dynamic range is the headline spec PCMag could disclose, alongside a new 1-inch sensor and DJI’s D-Log 2 profile, which is needed to capture the camera’s full tonal range.
Two visible lenses suggest DJI may be adding a wider or telephoto option, but the company has not announced pricing, launch timing, or full specifications for the Pocket 4P.
The sales block stems from a late-2024 NDAA provision that put new DJI products on the FCC Covered List after a required security audit was not completed within a year.
DJI is suing to overturn the action, while the case highlights how a drone-focused US crackdown is also shutting out the company’s non-drone creator devices.