Sentry Mode Micro-SD (256GB vs 128GB)?

[sam2020]

looking to buy microSD for model y LR sentry model. Which one works best?
> And how many days worth of dashcam video can it save for continuous recording?
> And should i buy High Endurance or Pro Endurance?

SanDisk 128GB High Endurance Video MicroSDXC Card with Adapter for Dash Cam and Home Monitoring systems - C10, U3, V30, 4K UHD, Micro SD Card - SDSQQNR-128G-GN6IA - 25$ on amazon

vs
SanDisk 256GB High Endurance Video microSDXC Card with Adapter for Dash Cam and Home Monitoring systems - C10, U3, V30, 4K UHD, Micro SD Card - SDSQQNR-256G-GN6IA- 44$ on Amazon

vs
Samsung PRO Endurance 128GB 100MB/s (U1) MicroSDXC Memory Card with Adapter (MB-MJ128GA/AM- 19$

 

[jcanoe]

Since you only have 1 USB-A port that is data capable if you want to store your music library as well as saved Dashcam files and Sentry mode events on the same USB device then the 256GB might make sense. Otherwise the 128GB Endurance or High Endurance Micro SD card is more than enough for Dashcam and Sentry Mode.

 

[sam2020]

Since you only have 1 USB-A port that is data capable if you want to store your music library as well as saved Dashcam files and Sentry mode events on the same USB device then the 256GB might make sense. Otherwise the 128GB Endurance or High Endurance Micro SD card is more than enough for Dashcam and Sentry Mode.

Oh thank you. And any idea if i use just for Dashcam and Sentry mode, how long does the videos last wihtout rotating old recordings?

In case if i need to get USB hub should i look for 3.0? And also might split music on other separate USB.

 

[DaveORD]

All depends if the OP is going to use the wireless charger pad or not. They could put a USB-C hub on the USB-C port and get a couple more USB-A 3.0 ports and 1-2 USB-C ports. That way there is no need to fool around with dual partition single flash drive set up. Could use separate drives and keep it simple, provided the wireless charging pad is not needed. Put your music on the passenger side USB-A 2.0 port and the sentry mode drive off of the USB-C hub. And if they get lucky, perhaps they will find a USB-C hub with USB-C PD port that the wireless charging pad will like so they do not lose that capability, but I have not been able to make that work thus far with my USB-C hub. I have given up on that wireless charger and use a normal USB-A to lightning cable for charging.

 

[sam2020]

But is it recommended to use USB Hub 2.0 for sentry/ Dashcam or does the USB HUB need 3.0 with 2.0 support?

i was looking at tesla manual page 70 and looks like it supports only 2.0?
https://www.tesla.com/sites/default/files/model_y_owners_manual_north_america_en.pdf

 

[jcanoe]

Oh thank you. And any idea if i use just for Dashcam and Sentry mode, how long does the videos last wihtout rotating old recordings?

In case if i need to get USB hub should i look for 3.0? And also might split music on other separate USB.

Here is a thread on the video files that Tesla stores in the Active Clips and Saved Clips folders for Dashcam mode and Sentry mode; Sentry Mode USB Recording Question

The vehicle will save the most recent 1 hour of video clips from the left, right and front cameras in the Active Clips folder. (I'm not sure why the rear camera clips do not show in the example of the Active Clips folder shown.) If you press the camera icon on the screen or honk the horn or are involved in a collision then the most recent 10 minutes of video from each camera that is recording is moved from the Active Clips folder to the Saved Clips folder so you can review what happened just prior to the event. For Sentry mode, when a Sentry Alert is triggered, the Tesla vehicle will save the video clips from the front, left, right and rear cameras in the Saved Clips folder, you can review each Sentry Mode event when you return to the vehicle. Saved Dashcam events and Sentry Mode events are retained in the Saved Clips folder until you delete them.

 

[DaveORD]

The manual is assuming that you will leave the wireless charging pad connected to the USB-C on the driver's side and you will only connect up the passenger's side USB connector which is only USB 2.0.

USB specifications require backwards compatibility so newer spec devices need to support older spec devices, this applies to hubs (hosts) and flash drives (clients). So any certified USB 3.0 drive should also work in a USB 2.0 port, as long as that drive will work with the lower power that a USB 2.0 port can provide. Same thing goes for a USB 3.0 hub and a USB 2.0 drive, except the hub must be backwards compatible and drop down to USB 2.0 speed and power config.

The passenger side USB port is USB 2.0 so anything you connect on this port must be backwards compatible to USB 2.0, and most USB 3.0 drives will handle that just fine on the protocol side. The only issue you may run into is power on that side because you are limited to 5V and 500mA max. So make sure what ever you end up plugging into that side will work with that much power. Writing will require the most power, so it is the worst case. Not all drives are equal and if you try to connect something like a SSD, it may not work reliably on USB 2.0 due to not enough power to sustain the prolonged writes and it could have issues like only writing the first few seconds and then nothing. So double check the specs on the drive you plan on using to make sure it will work with 500mA or less. To be USB 2.0 compatible means speed and power. Most people seem to forget the power limits.

The driver's side is USB-C and it has a lot more power and speed available, more than you will ever use. A decent USB-C hub will give you USB 3.0 type A ports good for 5V 900mA and USB-C data port(s) and probably USB-C PD too. This is what I have.

I use a USB 2.0 flash drive on passenger side that is only used for music, so I am only reading files, no writing. And for writing sentry videos I have a USB 3.0 drive connected to a USB-C hub on the driver's side. The down side is that I lost the wireless charging pad since it does not seem to want to work via the USB-C PD port on my hub for some reason, probably some sort of handshaking issue.

Update: So if you plan on using a USB 3.0 drive in a USB 2.0 port then double check to confirm that it is backwards compatible. Most times it will be but that is not always the case. Sometimes manufacturers decide not to make it backwards compatible for some reason, like the drive would not work with the reduced power of USB 2.0 for example. Who knows. Double check before you buy...

 

[sam2020]

Here is a thread on the video files that Tesla stores in the Active Clips and Saved Clips folders for Dashcam mode and Sentry mode; Sentry Mode USB Recording Question

The vehicle will save the most recent 1 hour of video clips from the left, right and front cameras in the Active Clips folder. (I'm not sure why the rear camera clips do not show in the example of the Active Clips folder shown.) If you press the camera icon on the screen or honk the horn or are involved in a collision then the most recent 10 minutes of video from each camera that is recording is moved from the Active Clips folder to the Saved Clips folder so you can review what happened just prior to the event. For Sentry mode, when a Sentry Alert is triggered, the Tesla vehicle will save the video clips from the front, left, right and rear cameras in the Saved Clips folder, you can review each Sentry Mode event when you return to the vehicle. Saved Dashcam events and Sentry Mode events are retained in the Saved Clips folder until you delete them.

Is 1hr max limit?

If so It doesn't matter if we have 128GB /256Gb right (other than for using saved clips for longer)?

 

[jcanoe]

Is 1hr max limit?

If so It doesn't matter if we have 128GB /256Gb right (other than for using saved clips for longer)?

That is my understanding, only 1 hour of video is stored in the Active Clips folder. Saved Dashcam incidents and Sentry Mode events are stored until you either delete them or reformat the SD card or drive. You can also use the SD card or drive for storing music files.

 

[Cravey]

looking to buy microSD for model y LR sentry model. Which one works best?
> And how many days worth of dashcam video can it save for continuous recording?
> And should i buy High Endurance or Pro Endurance?

SanDisk 128GB High Endurance Video MicroSDXC Card with Adapter for Dash Cam and Home Monitoring systems - C10, U3, V30, 4K UHD, Micro SD Card - SDSQQNR-128G-GN6IA - 25$ on amazon

vs
SanDisk 256GB High Endurance Video microSDXC Card with Adapter for Dash Cam and Home Monitoring systems - C10, U3, V30, 4K UHD, Micro SD Card - SDSQQNR-256G-GN6IA- 44$ on Amazon

vs
Samsung PRO Endurance 128GB 100MB/s (U1) MicroSDXC Memory Card with Adapter (MB-MJ128GA/AM- 19$

Will a 512gb microsdxc work with a model 3? I can't get it formatted by the "format" option on the UI.

 

[brandon8387]

Will a 512gb microsdxc work with a model 3? I can't get it formatted by the "format" option on the UI.

Format it Fat32 on your pc first.

 

[Cravey]

Format it Fat32 on your pc first.

I bought a 2TB external hard drive with a USB connection, and formatted at Fat32 and it still didn't work. I'll try to format the 512GB on my pc, but another question. What size usb will the Tesla successfully format on it's own? I know it formats my 256GB Samsung 3.1 USB, but I'm getting (surprised) error messages on the UI saying the write speed is too slow. That's why I went the SD route but maybe 256GB is the max of what can be formatted by the car. Any insight? Thank you.

 

[brandon8387]

I bought a 2TB external hard drive with a USB connection, and formatted at Fat32 and it still didn't work. I'll try to format the 512GB on my pc, but another question. What size usb will the Tesla successfully format on it's own? I know it formats my 256GB Samsung 3.1 USB, but I'm getting (surprised) error messages on the UI saying the write speed is too slow. That's why I went the SD route but maybe 256GB is the max of what can be formatted by the car. Any insight? Thank you.

Should format any size as long u’ll as it initially recognizes/write to it

 

[mrwug]

You might try formatting ExFAT instead of FAT32.

 

[Cravey]

The car refuses to format it with the tool provided. But I examined a smaller USB the car did format and it's exFAT, not FAT32. So I formatted the 512GB micro card on my PC as exFAT, and the car accepted it.

So we're good, but to be clear, the "format usb" option from the car's UI doesn't appear to format 512GB on it's own.

You might try formatting ExFAT instead of FAT32.

Thanks, yes, I did, as posted earlier. exFAT works when formatted on my laptop. I'm just issuing a cautionary tale that the car itself, with the format tool provided, apparently won't format a USB larger than 256GB.