Blackvue 650 2 ch cloud questions

[ed94582]

For those who have the Cloud enabled version:

How can I connect in Cloud mode using just the LTE in my mobile phone. I have the default setting in the Cloud for my home wireless. That is only good when I'm at home and so is my car. But if my car is parked somewhere and I'm not near it -- I would need to use the LTE in my mobile phone (iPhone) to connect to the Blackvue in my car. How do I set that up?

Also I noticed in Cloud mode -- the map for the recording is a map in Korea. The Live view map works (I'm in the San Francisco Bay Area) but the recordings -- the map still shows Korea,

Also I noticed that the recordings are only happening when I open the app. Is there a way to continuously record in parking mode?

Thanks!
Ed

 

[Soolim]

use your phone to set-up a mobile hotspot for your dashcam to connect as wifi. Beware of the exorbitant data charge you may incur in doing so. It can be done, but it is expensive. Is it worth it? Not in my opinion.

 

[ed94582]

thanks -- but forgetting the cost for a moment given i'm on a "unlimited" plan. does that mean my phone would need to be in my car which would also defeat the purpose? perhaps I'm missing something. or do I need to get one of those mobile hotspots separate from my phone and leave it in the car and turned on at all times.

 

[Brightonuk]

I was contemplating doing the same an get a mobile hotspot
Anyone done this?

 

[sbradbury]

thanks -- but forgetting the cost for a moment given i'm on a "unlimited" plan. does that mean my phone would need to be in my car which would also defeat the purpose? perhaps I'm missing something. or do I need to get one of those mobile hotspots separate from my phone and leave it in the car and turned on at all times.

Your phone would need to be in range of the car to keep the blackvue connected to the internet. Yes you could use a mobile hotspot and leave it in the car to keep the blackvue connected.

Personally, I just have it setup to connect to an access point in my garage while the car is home. When I leave it disconnects and when I return it goes back online allowing me to browse/download video without sitting in the car. This doesn't give you the ability to monitor the car while it's parked somewhere away from home which is kind of a bummer, but trying to keep it connected via phone/mobile hotspot is just too much of a hassle.

 

[MarkS22]

Like, sbradbury, I just have it connect to my home wifi when in the garage. It would be nice if they upgraded the firmware to allow multiple hotspots. My goal would be having the home wifi and then using the cable company hotspots as a secondary.

The Korea map is because the GPS can't get a good signal through the windshield. Every once in a while it pops to my location, but mostly it's Korea by default. Some have had success with a GPS amplifier.

 

[bmah]

I'll be totally off-topic, but my brain somehow misread "650 2" as "6502" and I was trying to figure out why my favorite microprocessor from the 1980s was showing up here. Sigh.

 

[K-MTG]

The only benefit with cloud access that I find is the ability to view live footage while my car is parked away. I use mine just for notifications using a Mi-Fi hotspot that is on no contact and it uses very little data. Primarily I use it so I can be notified if a impact is detected while my car is parked.

 

[msnow]

I sure am glad the OP posted this. I was seriously considering buying this product but I had thought I could monitor my car while it was parked away from home. Now that I know you can't unless you are in relative close proximity I know it's not for me. Perhaps the next iteration will do this.

 

[Maximus8]

...Now that I know you can't unless you are in relative close proximity I know it's not for me. Perhaps the next iteration will do this.

You may need to wait a while. In order for the unit to provide a connection to the net it will require some form of cell connection at the very least (in the case WiFi is not available). As it was mentioned before, this will require a large of data being uploaded to the BlackVue cloud service. At HD quality, a 1 minute clip is over 20MBs.

 

[1NJ85D]

The Blackvue has two "connectivity" modes:

1) In what they call they "WiFi" mode, the camera continuously acts as a WiFi access point, broadcasting its own SSID. You need to be in close range to the camera, and it is a pain on iOS devices because you need to switch to the camera's WiFi network and then launch the Blackvue app.

2) In what they call the "Cloud" mode, the camera acts as an WiFi client and therefore needs to connect to an external WiFI network. As said before, the camera's current firmware supports connection to only a single WiFi network (no multiple WiFi profiles). Not sure of what would be the purpose of connecting to the iPhone in your pocket, given that you would be in the car already. You can connect only to your home network (obvious limitations) or use a mobile WiFi hotspot. I've tried a an AT&T Unite Pro and do NOT recommend it because it is not happy staying on 24x7. I am currently using a Cradlepoint CBR 400 with an AT&T USB stick and have found the combo to be way more stable than the AT&T Unite Pro. Given that the Cradlepoint CBR 400 has been EOL for a couple of years and the replacements by Cradlepoint itself are rather expensive, I am considering the Pepwave Surf On-The-Go The advantage of using one of these routers is that you can configure it to connect to one of a list of pre-configured WiFi networks and when none is avaialbe, use an USB LTE external modem. I am currently powering the router from the OBD port with circuitry to limit voltage to 12V.

 

[K-MTG]

I sure am glad the OP posted this. I was seriously considering buying this product but I had thought I could monitor my car while it was parked away from home. Now that I know you can't unless you are in relative close proximity I know it's not for me. Perhaps the next iteration will do this.

You can monitor away from home! I will post a video regarding this

 

[tfung]

just curious.. anyone have the issue with the Blackvue cloud mode that it will only connect to a WiFi SSID of 5 letters or more? My wifi network SSID is only 4 letters, and it refuses to connect to it.. I'm not going to change my SSID just because of some stupid limitation with the blackvue firmware....

 

[K-MTG]

Adjust it using the blackvue cloud app and it will be fine. My ssid is 3 characters

 

[Brightonuk]

I am considering the Pepwave Surf On-The-Go The advantage of using one of these routers is that you can configure it to connect to one of a list of pre-configured WiFi networks and when none is available, use an USB LTE external modem. .

Please let me know if you use this setup and how you configure it, I was looking to add an AT&T Mobile Hotspot to take advantage of the Blackvue Cloud now reading your suggestion to use the Pepwave seems like a good alternative.

A walkthrough on how to set it up would be appreciated (-:

 

[K-MTG]

I use the Netgear mingle from freedompop which offers 500MB per month for free. I hard wired the mifi to my car's battery.

Free Wireless Internet | Free Internet | 4G Wireless Internet - FreedomPop

 

[petfansNetwork]

I use the Netgear mingle from freedompop which offers 500MB per month for free. I hard wired the mifi to my car's battery.

Free Wireless Internet | Free Internet | 4G Wireless Internet - FreedomPop

Just used your link to order a Netgear Mingle from FreedomPop. Hope to get my rush order this Sat and have it installed with Blackvue 650 2-CH in a shop in Huntington Beach. Thanks.

 

[K-MTG]

Just used your link to order a Netgear Mingle from FreedomPop. Hope to get my rush order this Sat and have it installed with Blackvue 650 2-CH in a shop in Huntington Beach. Thanks.

Thanks, I will try to post a video showing my current setup on my YouTube channel this weekend. The Netgear mingle is powered by USB so also have them hard wire a USB charger with the dash cam

 

[K-MTG]

Also, what is the name of the shop? I need a pro to install the dash cam on my X after I take delivery

 

[K-MTG]

In addition, under your freedom pop account make sure you disable auto top off so they don't recharge you for data if you exceed the 500MB free allowance. They are sneaky at collecting extra money