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Dashcam implementation is idiotic

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Can anyone provide a single rational explanation why Tesla's dashcam implementation doesn't work like virtually every single commercial dashcam on the market (including every one I've owned) by automatically storing all footage on the flash drive? This honking the horn stuff is idiocy! Who's going to remember to do that in an emergency situation? What if you're knocked unconscious, or have a heart attack or whatever?

Tesla needs to start farming their s/w out to Apple

Just an FYI: I've owned a MS for 8 years, and just replaced it with a M3 -- so thrilled with the 'S' that I never considered anything other than another Tesla, but after about a week, I have to say it's been a disappointing and frequently frustrating experience, of which this is only one example.
 
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No, I actually had to call tech support, because the online manual is hopelessly out of date, and doesn't even mention the flash drive pre-installed in the glovebox; And the way the support person explained it, nothing is automatically stored on the drive unless you do the honk thing, so this is news to me. The Tesla phone support has been another of my many complaints in the past week -- they barely seem to know anything about the damn car! The first guy I reached was clearly looking everything up in the manual! This is a very different company than the one I purchased my MS from 8 years ago

New Info: OK, I just looked, and you're wrong -- there is NOTHING on the flash drive! (and yes, the red recording dot has shown on the icon since day one)
 
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They way I understand it is that it’s because it was an added feature at some point- it wasn’t designed as a dedicated dash-cam. They figured since they had all the cameras, why not allow them to be saved? So they added the code to allow the data to save to a flashdrive, but didn’t really do anything special. Then they added Sentry as well.

I look at it as a bonus feature, not a true dash-cam.
 
They way I understand it is that it’s because it was an added feature at some point- it wasn’t designed as a dedicated dash-cam. They figured since they had all the cameras, why not allow them to be saved? So they added the code to allow the data to save to a flashdrive, but didn’t really do anything special. Then they added Sentry as well.

I look at it as a bonus feature, not a true dash-cam.
no excuse -- I was a senior s/w engineer at Apple for 15 years -- pretty sure I could implement this the correct way in less than a week -- if you can't do it right, don't do it at all -- it just makes you look stupid.
 
I find it really hard to believe that you've been a software engineer for 15 years, let alone for a big name like Apple. You can't even find proper documentation. Page 70 from the Model 3 owner's manual, found on Google:

Screenshot_20210918-201715.png


The support person was either incorrect or you misunderstood them. The clips will be saved automatically when you honk if you have it configured, and a more recent software update enables automatically saving after an emergency event.

The dashcam not recording to the USB drive for your Model 3 is either a fault that should be fixed by service, or due to your own ignorance - neither of which are grounds for calling tech like this "idiocy."
 
Believe what you like, but my flash drive has nothing on it after a week, but 2 empty folders. I read the documentation — that’s why I called Tesla for help, as it made no sense, and still doesn’t. If yours is saving that last hour as you claim, then you must have a very different version of s/w than I have. My car is a week old, and there have been no s/w updates yet. Once more, I previously owned an MS for EIGHT YEARS, and in those 8 years, I had less problems with that car than I have had with this one in the first week. Tesla has gone seriously downhill.
 
OK, Let me just ask a simple question:

I have sentry mode turned off. If I don't honk the horn, or tap on the icon, does anything whatsoever get saved to the flash drive, that I can then eject, mount on my laptop, and copy over?

If the answer is yes, then mine isn't working. If the answer is no, then I maintain that my title for this thread is accurate, and this "dashcam" doesn't function like any of the hundreds that are available on the market.
 
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You should be able to view saved clips and sentry clips on your computer. You can also view the hour loop but the clips are broken up into multiple files.
If not working Suggest you reformat the drive with the car's UI and reboot the MCU by long pressing both buttons on the steering wheel. Then you should see the dashcam icon with a red dot and if sentry is on, it should have a red dot too. If still not working try a different flash drive. If still not working then make a SC appointment. This is pretty wild providing tech support to software engineer just sayin.
 
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OK, Let me just ask a simple question:

I have sentry mode turned off. If I don't honk the horn, or tap on the icon, does anything whatsoever get saved to the flash drive, that I can then eject, mount on my laptop, and copy over?

If the answer is yes, then mine isn't working. If the answer is no, then I maintain that my title for this thread is accurate, and this "dashcam" doesn't function like any of the hundreds that are available on the market.

Yours isnt working.
 
OK, Let me just ask a simple question:

I have sentry mode turned off. If I don't honk the horn, or tap on the icon, does anything whatsoever get saved to the flash drive, that I can then eject, mount on my laptop, and copy over?

If the answer is yes, then mine isn't working. If the answer is no, then I maintain that my title for this thread is accurate, and this "dashcam" doesn't function like any of the hundreds that are available on the market.
The answer to the question is Yes. So yours is not functioning as expected.

When it is working as expected, you should be able to launch the video clip viewer and see "Recent" video that's up to an hour long. On the USB stick you should find a Recent directory in the TeslaCam directory corresponding to that hour long video clips. These video clips should always be present regardless of Sentry status or whether you manually saved dashcam footages.

One simple thing to check is if your dashcam icon has a red dot on it. If not, the dashcam is not recording and you won't have anything on the USB drive.
 
The answer to the question is Yes. So yours is not functioning as expected.

When it is working as expected, you should be able to launch the video clip viewer and see "Recent" video that's up to an hour long. On the USB stick you should find a Recent directory in the TeslaCam directory corresponding to that hour long video clips. These video clips should always be present regardless of Sentry status or whether you manually saved dashcam footages.

One simple thing to check is if your dashcam icon has a red dot on it. If not, the dashcam is not recording and you won't have anything on the USB drive.
Thank You. That's the first and only reply here so far, that makes sense, and is actually helpful.
 
Thank You. That's the first and only reply here so far, that makes sense, and is actually helpful.

The thread title being what it is, does not ask any questions, nor invite people to try to assist you with it. You didnt asky any questions on if yours was working. Instead, you went for a clickbait style thread title designed to generate clicks to the thread, but not designed to try to help you get to any root cause.
 
The thread title being what it is, does not ask any questions, nor invite people to try to assist you with it. You didnt asky any questions on if yours was working. Instead, you went for a clickbait style thread title designed to generate clicks to the thread, but not designed to try to help you get to any root cause.
another useless, unhelpful reply. I am not an idiot -- I know how to download and read user manuals, and did so. I am extremely technically proficient in technology and have the bona fides to prove it. This was not posted as clickbait or any other bullshit like that. This was posted because I'm am very frustrated with my new M3 experience, after having been an extremely satisfied MS owner for EIGHT F'N YEARS. I will shortly be posting a lengthy description in this forum with the numerous issues I have had with this car in the short week that I owned it. Feel free to throw your bricks at that one too.
 
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