{"id":649807,"date":"2026-08-21T23:05:12","date_gmt":"2026-08-21T23:05:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/649807\/"},"modified":"2026-08-21T23:05:12","modified_gmt":"2026-08-21T23:05:12","slug":"hoverairs-transforming-modular-drone-has-already-been-halted-in-the-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/649807\/","title":{"rendered":"HoverAir\u2019s transforming modular drone has already been halted in the US"},"content":{"rendered":"

I am so sorry, fellow US gadget fans: the FCC\u2019s drone ban<\/a> appears to have struck again. The HoverAir Versa \u2014 a baby steadycam with snap-on propeller wings that transform it into a drone \u2014 has already stopped taking US orders just three days after its Indiegogo debut<\/a>, and may be forced to abandon shipping plans in the US.<\/p>\n

HoverAir is now telling backers<\/a> it\u2019s only shipping its camera to the US, not the piece that turns it into a drone, \u201cdue to a few remaining logistics updates with the Flight Kit.\u201d But those \u201clogistics\u201d may actually be a euphemism for \u201cwe\u2019ve been banned by the federal government.\u201d The FCC\u2019s database no longer has an entry for the HoverAir Versa at all, suggesting that its authorization grant has been pulled.<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, I told you how giving a camera wings probably wasn\u2019t a good enough loophole<\/a> to keep the FCC from feeling tricked. Even though the HoverAir Versa did make it through the FCC on August 9th, we confirmed, that approval was for a camera, not a drone. The Chinese company, Zero Zero Robotics, told the FCC\u2019s agent the camera shouldn\u2019t be blocked because Zero Zero isn\u2019t on the FCC\u2019s Covered List for cameras \u2014 which is true.<\/p>\n

But all companies are automatically on the FCC\u2019s covered list for drones and critical drone components, and the FCC explicitly defines cameras as one of those components.<\/p>\n

If HoverAir\u2019s camera authorization is now rejected, it won\u2019t just be the \u201cFlight Kit\u201d accessory that it can\u2019t import, market, or sell in the United States. The camera portion won\u2019t be legal, either, as it needs FCC authorization too.<\/p>\n

Currently, HoverAir\u2019s Indiegogo page no longer shows the \u201cFlight Kit\u201d as a selectable option to people browsing from the US, but it does still market it, and backers can order the camera portion. When I use a VPN to change my internet address to Canada, combos that include the Flight Kit suddenly appear.<\/p>\n

That won\u2019t help US residents buy one, though. In the Indiegogo comments section<\/a>, one backer who already ordered the camera wrote: \u201cWhen looking at my pledge, it shows that they can\u2019t ship to my address.\u201d<\/p>\n

HoverAir did not immediately respond to a request for comment. We\u2019ve asked the company whether it will commit to refunds more quickly this time around \u2014 when the brand failed to obtain certification for the waterproof HoverAir Aqua last December, it spent months telling backers it would ship as soon as possible<\/a> rather than revealing the truth.<\/p>\n

I tried to speak to the FCC about what\u2019s going on, but once again<\/a>, an agency spokesperson refused to go on the record.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"I am so sorry, fellow US gadget fans: the FCC\u2019s drone ban appears to have struck again. The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":649808,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[74],"tags":[11170,18,19,17,5,753,82],"class_list":["post-649807","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-technology","tag-drones","tag-eire","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-news","tag-tech","tag-technology"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/117136007368033560","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/649807","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=649807"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/649807\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/649808"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=649807"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=649807"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=649807"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}