Avoid Blackvue Dashcams!

[whitex]

I've had a lot of memory card problems with blackvue before... I have 650s 750s and 900s installed in different cars, and it's always the memory card error.. every time I have to pull the power on it to reset the cam, or reformat the card.. the problem pops up quite often in the summer.. almost daily... All my memory cards before were the samsung amazon evo plus models... and I kept thinking it's blackvue problem... since all my blackvues regardless of model did the same thing... I eventually got sick of having to reset the cams so often, but I still couldn't stomach the price that blackvue charges for their own branded one...so I decided to try the slightly more expensive samsung endurance version of the memory cards... and the problems completely stopped.. haven't had the memory card error problem since I changed to cards about 6 months ago....

>3 years on one car and 2 years on another, BV650 and 750, using V30 rated Sandisk Extreme 128GB, no problems so far (the latter survived an accident which totaled the Model S, but BV with memory card survived and now in a new one).

 

[SMAlset]

Update on my above post. Still using our 900-S 2-ch. Blackvue finally addressed how you set the time—yeah. One of our software pet peeves.

Had our Model 3 allowed for a hardwire solution like on our 2017 MS, we would have installed a 900-S 2-ch in that too. While Model 3 owners are getting TeslaCam and now Sentry mode (with surely updates as time goes on improving on it), it still IMO isn’t on par with the recordings we can get from our 900-S 2-ch. Based on our experience I’d have no problem recommending it.

BTW our micro SD cards have all been Blackvue. Still using our 128GB card and have the orig 32GB to pop in temporarily when we remove the 128GB to plug into our computer.

 

[SMAlset]

I know it seems super obvious, but the cameras ship with a plastic seal on parts of the cameras. This has caused some over heating and failure for some people since they didn't realize these were there. My installer left them on, but having researched the Blackvue before purchase I knew to look for it and immediately removed it.....

We were one of those people when we had our 650-S installed. And it was reading a post here on TMC that got me to look at our camera and sure enough the sleeve hadn't been removed. Caught it before it started getting hot otherwise I'm sure we would have overheated the unit and had it burn out.

You know with all the changes that are coming to Teslas and using the car's cameras for footage, I have to wonder how long dashcams will be needed on our cars. As it is the changes from the Model S to the Model 3 eliminated using the hardwire to the 12v. When the Model S gets refreshed I'm under the distinct impression that Tesla will make wiring changes more along the lines of the Model 3 and likely also eliminate that connection route. I wish they would plan for people to still be able to use a third party dashcam if they wanted without necessitating a separate battery pack to run it. I also suspect that with Tesla taking the lead in adding this capability to cars and improving on it with upgrades, that other manufacturers will be forced to follow suit, at least on the more expensive models.

As for the comments about those of us posting with our positive experiences, don't think it makes us fanboys by any stretch of the imagination. I don't think any of us have any ties to Blackvue swaying our purchase and certainly just because we bought their product don't feel compelled to favorably review them because what? we paid money for the product so it somehow reflects on our judgment? I certainly don't need to "support" a company or product that turns out to be a bad purchase and doubt others here feel the need. For us the Blackvue checked off more pros than cons compared to other dashcams we were considering and honestly for the needs we had there weren't too many out there we were considering.

 

[CameronB]

I have had mine for about 18 months. Software and ease of use have not been the best, but I have had no issues with it. I would keep on them to make it work right. If you just bought it, call your CC company.

This is my experience as well. Usability is poor. And I've lost the current date/time several times even though allegedly it is supposed to automatically sync that. But it has recorded fine for the year and a half or so I've had it. Happy with the overall video quality but wish their app was better and less clunky.

 

[supratachophobia]

I've had a lot of memory card problems with blackvue before... I have 650s 750s and 900s installed in different cars, and it's always the memory card error.. every time I have to pull the power on it to reset the cam, or reformat the card.. the problem pops up quite often in the summer.. almost daily... All my memory cards before were the samsung amazon evo plus models... and I kept thinking it's blackvue problem... since all my blackvues regardless of model did the same thing... I eventually got sick of having to reset the cams so often, but I still couldn't stomach the price that blackvue charges for their own branded one...so I decided to try the slightly more expensive samsung endurance version of the memory cards... and the problems completely stopped.. haven't had the memory card error problem since I changed to cards about 6 months ago....

There is a site that goes through and recommends the best memory cards for dashcams. I will say this, the Blackvue seem to be MLC memory which we would normally think is the highest quality. But I replaced mine with the Sandisk Ultra for the size upgrade. I then used the Blackvue card in a Raspberry Pi and had nothing but random lockups every 2 days or so. I thought, surely it can't be the MLC memory card? But guess what, it was. Go figure.

 

[BEEZR]

I have a 2013 and powered my blackvue with the spare connector. He means the grill in the headliner. It's a plastic grill, like a speaker grill, same color as the headliner near the rear view mirror. When you sit in drivers seat look up and to the right. Give a good tug on it from the side that faces the rear of the vehicle(away from the rear view mirror). It just pops off and easy to snap back in. You should see a spare wire.
See step number two here: Dash Cam | TeslaTap

Thanks. Yeah, I've pulled that grill off but there's no spare wire

Thanks. Yeah, I popped that piece off previously just didn't see the spare connector right away, but I didn't dig around too much. Will look further.

Dug around again, with a flashlight, too. Pulled on any wire I could see on either side -- no spare wire.

 

[zoeconner]

Get a new card

 

[DroMike]

Replaced with Blacksys dual camera setup and zero issues in over one year....

I also purchased a BlackSys ("BS") camera. Before doing do however, I made feature-by-feature comparisons of it with BlackVue ("BV") and ThinkWare ("TW"), and these were the items that swung it for ME (in no particular order):

1. Parking Buffer (allows/shows extra recording BEFORE the actual hit or incident): TW has it (seconds unknown), BV has a 5 second buffer, BS has a 10 second buffer.

2. Time Lapse Mode (while parked, can record at certain # of frames per second instead of storage-chewing continuous recording): TW has is at 2FPS, BV does NOT have it, BS has 1FPS.

3. ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance System -- basically supplemental and helpful road warnings): TW has it, BV does not, BS has it.

4. Storage (based on acquisition of a 128GB memory card): TW and BV (memory card NOT included but can be purchased for $40; 128GB is largest these two devices will accept), BS (64GB memory card IS included AND this is the ONLY dashcam that will accept a 256GB card!!).

5. Price (1 year ago WITH memory cards): TW-F800 ($380), TW-F800P ($450), BV 750S ($400), BV 900S ($450), BS Ch 200 ($300)

All of the models will give you crystal clear videos (w/BV's pricier 4K 900S model, license plates will be slightly easier to read). For driving in my Chrysler 300S, I've plugged my dashcam into a switched (which runs only when the car is on so doesn't draw amperage when idle) outlet; and when I DO find a parking situation where I feel the parking mode should be employed, I use a separate JNC770R battery starter/charger from a switched (always on) outlet. Otherwise I've had my BlackSys Ch-200 for a year now and it has run flawlessly and seamlessly. These are the reasons why I came to the conclusion that the BlackSys Ch-200 was a better value than the ThinkWare and BlackVue cameras and a much wiser decision overall.

 

[Myfirstone]

If you have the rebooting issue then the problem is heat! I have opened my 900S and removed al the metal covers from the chips and processor!!!! If you take a look under the microscope you can see that the memory chips a a little band and the solder isn’t that great. This is not only a problem with BlackVue hardware but the reason it that the lead free solderpast is less effective.

The PN26G01AWSIUG 3.3V 1G-BIT SPI NAND FLASH MEMORY chip you can resolver but the rest is too tricky for me.