HoverAir Versa's US launch halted amid FCC drone crackdown
HoverAir Versa, a modular camera-drone hybrid, has stopped accepting US orders just days after its Indiegogo debut. The FCC database no longer lists the device, suggesting its approval has been withdrawn.
The HoverAir Versa — a compact steadycam with snap-on propeller wings that turns it into a drone — has already stopped taking orders from the United States, only three days after its debut on Indiegogo. The company is telling backers that it will ship only the camera portion to the US, not the add-on that converts it into a flying machine, citing "a few remaining logistics updates with the Flight Kit."
That explanation may be a polite way of saying the device has run into a federal ban. The FCC's database no longer contains an entry for the HoverAir Versa, indicating that its authorization grant has been pulled. Earlier this week, a report questioned whether giving a camera wings would be enough of a loophole, and despite passing through the FCC on August 9, the approval was for a camera, not a drone.
The Chinese company behind the product, Zero Zero Robotics, argued to the FCC's agent that the device should not be blocked because the company is not on the FCC's Covered List for cameras — a technically accurate point. However, all companies are automatically subject to the covered list for drones and critical drone components, and the FCC explicitly includes cameras among those components.
If the camera authorization is now rejected, it would not only affect the Flight Kit accessory; the camera itself would also be illegal to import, market, or sell in the US, since it requires FCC authorization as well.
On the Indiegogo page, US visitors no longer see the Flight Kit as a selectable option, though it is still advertised. Switching an IP address to Canada via VPN brings back combo packages that include the Flight Kit. One backer who had already ordered the camera noted in the comments that their pledge showed the company could not ship to their address.
HoverAir did not respond immediately to a request for comment. The outlet has also asked whether the company will commit to faster refunds this time around — last December, when it failed to obtain certification for the waterproof HoverAir Aqua, it spent months telling backers that shipping would happen soon rather than disclosing the real situation. An FCC spokesperson again declined to comment on the record.
