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Content creators and drone enthusiasts who thought that DJI had figured out how to sidestep its position on the FCC Covered List will have to think again. The FCC has started revoking existing authorizations for products from nine other companies, all of which market what are essentially clones of DJI products in the United States.
Showing up on the Covered List is a big deal; it's essentially a death sentence for a brand in the US, since nearly every consumer electronics item requires FCC approval before going on sale, and Covered brands aren't eligible to apply.
The FCC plans to add nine new companies to the list, all of which have brought seeming clones of DJI products to market over the last year. We'll break down each addition later on, but there are two that stand out for consumers: Skyrover, which markets clones of DJI's Mini series drones, and Xtra, which sells rebranded Osmo action and vlogging cameras.
It's a big move; not only is it the first time that the FCC has leveraged its ability to pull approval from products it had previously vetted as safe to use, but it's also another escalation in the ongoing battle between the federal government and China's most successful camera brand. Skyrover and Xtra won't disappear from US stores immediately; the FCC's rules require a 30-day waiting period for public comment. But assuming an outcry doesn't change the agency's decision, previously approved DJI clones will land on the Covered List in mid-August.
DJI's Trojan Horses Didn't Fool Us, or the Feds
DJI clones didn't come out of nowhere. Products like the Skyrover X1 (which looks like the DJI Mini 4 Pro drone) and Xtra Muse (a clone of the ultra-popular Osmo Pocket 3 vlogging cam) appeared for sale on Amazon in the summer of 2025, months before DJI was added to the Covered List.
At the time, it looked like a savvy move from DJI, which had good reason to expect that it would be added to the Covered List by the end of 2025. The 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), a law passed by Congress in late 2024 and signed by President Biden before he left office, stated that DJI wouldn't be able to market new products in the US unless it passed a security audit within a calendar year. By mid-2025, it was pretty clear that the government had no intention of performing the audit.
If you're not up on the saga, read my interview with DJI's Adam Welsh from last year to learn about the lead-up to the DJI ban, and my FAQ about its aftermath.
Of course, DJI has never acknowledged having a hand in making Skyrover drones or Xtra cameras. I reached out to both DJI and Xtra for a comment on this story and didn't receive an immediate response from either company. So, it's been up to tech journalists to investigate and connect some dots, but there's certainly reason to believe that Skyrover and Xtra are true clones, not knock-offs or imitations.
A report from DroneXL found that the Skyrover X1 app makes the same API calls as the DJI Fly control app, and that the user interface is identical. From a hardware perspective, the X1 matches the DJI Mini 4 Pro perfectly; it has the same camera specs, dual aspect gimbal, and 249g folding airframe. The biggest difference? The X1 is yellow, and the Mini 4 Pro is gray.
Oddly enough, the DJI Mini 4 Pro and other original versions of many other DJI clones are still approved and on sale in the US. For now, the FCC is only going after the clone brands, but it may only be a matter of time before it starts to roll back approvals for DJI's back catalog.
US Creators Won't Get Xtra's Pocket 4P Clone
The story is similar with the Xtra Muse. I'm holding it in my hand as I write this, and aside from logos, it's the exact same camera as the Pocket 3. It works the same, the video looks the same, and the interface is the same. To quote Pam from The Office, "they're the same picture."
It's easy enough to find a one-to-one for all of Xtra's cameras: the Xtra Sphra360 is the DJI Osmo 360, the Edge is the Osmo Action 4, the Edge Pro is the Osmo Action 5, and the Atto is the Nano. All of these cameras were previously approved for use and sale in the US, but are now set to be added to the Covered List once the 30-day clock runs down.
And since Xtra is going on the Covered List, its upcoming Muse 2 and Muse 2 Pro cameras won't be coming to the US either. It's an open secret that these are clones of the DJI Osmo Pocket 4 and 4P, vlogging cameras that are a huge hit with creators living outside the US, but are banned from sale stateside.
We sent PCMag's Will Greenwald to Canada to test the Osmo Pocket 4P, and while we can't share complete findings until the embargo lifts, we're impressed by its 17-stop dynamic range and dual-camera system. Vloggers who live in the US will just have to be happy with the Insta360 Luna Ultra, which is similar in concept and made by a Chinese company that has, to date, avoided the wrath of the FCC.
The loss of Xtra is a bigger blow than Skyrover because the FCC banned all foreign drones last December, meaning that new Skyrover clones were not going to make it to the US, no matter what, but there was still a way for vloggers and videographers to get their hands on new DJI cameras. Up until now, it appeared that the FCC was targeting DJI's drone business and that banning its cameras was simply collateral damage, but by specifically targeting Xtra, the FCC has placed a target on DJI's entire business, not just its drones.
Which DJI Clones Are Going to Be Banned?
The FCC is adding nine companies to its Covered List, all of which it claims rely "on substantial design, manufacture, assembly, or development by entities listed in section 1709 could still be considered 'produced by' such entities." There's some legalese there, but the entity it's referring to is DJI. Section 1709 of the NDAA is written broadly and doesn't just cover DJI products; it also extends to "subsidiaries, affiliates, partners, joint ventures, and any entity to which they [DJI] have a technology sharing or licensing agreement."
- Cogito: This company sells two drones, the Specta Mini, a clone of the DJI Mini 4K, and the Specta Air, a version of the DJI Air 3. The Mini is still available to purchase at Amazon at press time, but the Air looks to be out of stock. The Specta website includes an FAQ that states that its drones "closely mirror DJI models...in hardware and features, but are offered at a significantly lower price point." Both Specta drones are going to be added to the Covered List.
- Fikaxo: This company lists five drones on its website, all of which are listed as coming soon. The FCC is adding one Fikaxo drone to the Covered List, and while I can't match it up to a listing on the company's website, the photos in its FCC filing appear to be the DJI Lito X1 with a blue chassis.
- Lyno Dynamics: Lyno has three items going on the Covered List: its LD220 Agricultural UAV drone, remote control, and an accessory that I think is a real-time kinetic (RTK) positioning accessory. The LD220 appears to be based on a DJI Agras-series crop-spraying drone.
- Skyhigh Tech: I couldn't track down a public-facing website for Skyhigh Tech, but FCC filings show that it has one affected drone, an agricultural crop sprayer that appears to be a version of a DJI Agras.
- Spatial Hover: This company sells versions of the DJI Mavic 3 Enterprise drone built for surveying and industrial inspections. It lists two models on its website, the T series with a thermal camera (useful for inspections and search-and-rescue operations) and the E series with a camera made for surveying and mapping. The FCC lists only the T in its Public Notice, likely because the E is not in its database.
- SZ Knowact: This is the brand behind the aforementioned Skyrover X1, a version of the DJI Mini 4 Pro with a yellow finish.
- WaveGo: Curiously, the Skyrover S1, a variation on the DJI Mini 3, previously received certification under WaveGo's FCC credentials. Like the X1, the S1 is going on the Covered List.
- Xtra: The only company on the list that sells handheld cameras instead of drones, all of Xtra's products are affected by the FCC's actions. Models currently on the market include the Atto, Edge, Edge Pro, Muse, and Sphra360.
- XAG: This is another brand that sells agricultural drones. While its aircraft don't look like DJI Agra models, the FCC asserts that the underlying tech is from DJI and is revoking authorization for its entire catalog.
More FCC Bans Are Likely
It's not a good day for companies that sell clones of DJI drones and cameras, and the FCC's actions are sure to irk others, too. Content creators who have been waiting for the Xtra Muse 2 Pro are now out of luck—the only silver lining is that the Insta360 Luna Ultra is as good a performer as it is. Drone pilots looking to pick up good performing off-brands at a discount are left in the cold, and anyone in need of an upgrade should pick one up now just in case the agency decides to go after DJI's back catalog and revoke its certification too—a scenario that's looking more and more likely.
Meanwhile, the FCC is targeting other UAV brands. In a separate action, the commission announced that it is revoking approval of a drone from Odyssey Robot, which had received approval earlier this year.
