Sentry is one of my favorite features in the car, but I really wish it handled the lighting differently. When you enable Sentry I wish there were these 4 options (mostly to do with lighting):
No Lights: This would cause Sentry to record everything but not flash lights at the slightest activation. This option is needed when you are parked at a busy area such as close to a hotel lobby or charging spot near an entrance. In such a case, you DO NOT want the car to flash lights at everyone that moves and cause unnecessary attention when some of that attention might not lead to anything good.
Flash: This is what we have now and it is fine in most situations where Sentry would flash lights when it detects anything concerning. This light option could remain the default option.
Extended Lighting: This is the lighting option I wish was available when you park the car in a dark area where you know the car should not be normally disturbed at all. Extended Lighting would turn the front and rear lights on for 1 minute when triggered the first time and 2 minutes any subsequent time. If you park the car some place dark, the Sentry footage is just about useless because you can't see anything. The Extended Lighting option would properly illuminate whatever caused Sentry to be triggered and the video will then have a clear image of who triggered Sentry. This is really essential for certain parking situations. An added benefit is that whoever triggered Sentry Mode might think the owner of the car is approaching, as the lights coming on is the default behavior for most cars when the owner approaches.
Sentry with Valet: And finally, just as importantly, there has to be a way to enable Sentry Mode with Valet Mode, perhaps with the No Lights option. Sentry is especially essential when your car is in the hands of a valet. When it valet mode, I wish TeslaCam would not just buffer the last hour but would record EVERYTHING while the car is in the hands of the valet and store everything in the Saved Folder. When the car is parked, Sentry should still record everything, with perhaps the No Lights, option so that if there is any damage you know how it happened and who was responsible. For example, if a valet irresponsibly opens the door of the car next to you and dings your door, you need to know who was responsible.
As it is, I never use Valet Mode any more because Valet Mode turns off Sentry. They should really change this behavior.
What I do when I valet the car now is turn of Speed Limit Mode so the car is in Chill Mode and Sentry is on but I receive none of the other protections of Valet Mode and they can simply go into the menus and fish any information they want (my addresses, phone numbers I've called) or just turn off Sentry Mode or mess with any other settings.
I wish Valet Mode includes Sentry Mode, at least as an option. Not sure why they disable Sentry Mode with Valet Mode, as that's when you most need Valet and TeslaCam IMHO.
No Lights: This would cause Sentry to record everything but not flash lights at the slightest activation. This option is needed when you are parked at a busy area such as close to a hotel lobby or charging spot near an entrance. In such a case, you DO NOT want the car to flash lights at everyone that moves and cause unnecessary attention when some of that attention might not lead to anything good.
Flash: This is what we have now and it is fine in most situations where Sentry would flash lights when it detects anything concerning. This light option could remain the default option.
Extended Lighting: This is the lighting option I wish was available when you park the car in a dark area where you know the car should not be normally disturbed at all. Extended Lighting would turn the front and rear lights on for 1 minute when triggered the first time and 2 minutes any subsequent time. If you park the car some place dark, the Sentry footage is just about useless because you can't see anything. The Extended Lighting option would properly illuminate whatever caused Sentry to be triggered and the video will then have a clear image of who triggered Sentry. This is really essential for certain parking situations. An added benefit is that whoever triggered Sentry Mode might think the owner of the car is approaching, as the lights coming on is the default behavior for most cars when the owner approaches.
Sentry with Valet: And finally, just as importantly, there has to be a way to enable Sentry Mode with Valet Mode, perhaps with the No Lights option. Sentry is especially essential when your car is in the hands of a valet. When it valet mode, I wish TeslaCam would not just buffer the last hour but would record EVERYTHING while the car is in the hands of the valet and store everything in the Saved Folder. When the car is parked, Sentry should still record everything, with perhaps the No Lights, option so that if there is any damage you know how it happened and who was responsible. For example, if a valet irresponsibly opens the door of the car next to you and dings your door, you need to know who was responsible.
As it is, I never use Valet Mode any more because Valet Mode turns off Sentry. They should really change this behavior.
What I do when I valet the car now is turn of Speed Limit Mode so the car is in Chill Mode and Sentry is on but I receive none of the other protections of Valet Mode and they can simply go into the menus and fish any information they want (my addresses, phone numbers I've called) or just turn off Sentry Mode or mess with any other settings.
I wish Valet Mode includes Sentry Mode, at least as an option. Not sure why they disable Sentry Mode with Valet Mode, as that's when you most need Valet and TeslaCam IMHO.
