To "Sentry" or not to "Sentry"....that is the question

[Jason71]

That's a really smart tip - Thank you! If I set Tessie automations to enable Sentry Mode at say 0700 and then disable it again at 0900 do you know if it works even if I drive the car (school run!) During that time - i.e. does it re-enable after the drive as long as it is before 0900?

Cheers.

given the high cost of running Sentry. if you have a drive cheaper in the long run just to get a nest cam and put it on the house.
This does seem a good plan though for on street parking

 

[Grafix]

given the high cost of running Sentry. if you have a drive cheaper in the long run just to get a nest cam and put it on the house.
This does seem a good plan though for on street parking

True - but this way it automates sentry mode for when I've parked the car to walk my daughter the last quarter of a mile to the school. The car would automatically have sentry mode running through that period.

 

[MrBadger]

True - but this way it automates sentry mode for when I've parked the car to walk my daughter the last quarter of a mile to the school. The car would automatically have sentry mode running through that period.

Are you aware that Sentry Mode is location aware?

I've not followed your needs, but you can have sentry mode enabled/disabled for home and/or work/favourites and/or elsewhere. Can't remember the exact options, it will be in the manual.

So maybe sentry disabled for home, enabled for elsewhere? Or it might work if you stick school in as a favourite and enable it for that? Lots of different options based on location sets.

 

[Grafix]

Are you aware that Sentry Mode is location aware?

I've not followed your needs, but you can have sentry mode enabled/disabled for home and/or favourites and/or elsewhere.

So maybe sentry disabled for home, enabled for elsewhere? Or it might work if you stick school in as a favourite and enable it for that?

Are you aware that Sentry Mode is location aware?

I've not followed your needs, but you can have sentry mode enabled/disabled for home and/or work/favourites and/or elsewhere. Can't remember the exact options, it will be in the manual.

So maybe sentry disabled for home, enabled for elsewhere? Or it might work if you stick school in as a favourite and enable it for that? Lots of different options based on location sets.

Thanks - I think the ability to schedule sentry mode at certain locations and time periods is really useful to me (via Tessie) as opposed to just always on/off at set locations - but maybe that's also possible via Tesla's own software too and I just haven't found it?

 

[Grafix]

Are you aware that Sentry Mode is location aware?

I've not followed your needs, but you can have sentry mode enabled/disabled for home and/or work/favourites and/or elsewhere. Can't remember the exact options, it will be in the manual.

So maybe sentry disabled for home, enabled for elsewhere? Or it might work if you stick school in as a favourite and enable it for that? Lots of different options based on location sets.

Unfortunately I think (just reading the manual now) you can only exclude home/favourites from otherwise 'always enabled' which is probably very useful but not quite what I'd like to do by scheduling sentry mode periods at favourites and at home. Tessie lets you do that really slickly.

 

[s_zigmond]

Unless it got the license (licence) number Sentry mode can't help

Exactly this. I've found that even when sentry mode has recorded someone opening a door on the car etc, its stopped recording (or hasn't started) by the time you see the plate.

 

[MrBadger]

Unfortunately I think (just reading the manual now) you can only exclude home/favourites from otherwise 'always enabled' which is probably very useful but not quite what I'd like to do by scheduling sentry mode periods at favourites and at home. Tessie lets you do that really slickly.

Yep. Its very much location based and not time based. I have had on occasion used time based but via TeslaFi, but it was very rare to need to do that and sentry always on, exclude a couple of locations (ie at work it had to be off) pretty much covered 99.9% of anything else, although if I am away for a period of time I do sometimes toggle the exclude favourites depending on length of stay when 6% per day is a bit too much to lose.

 

[BillN]

That's a really smart tip - Thank you! If I set Tessie automations to enable Sentry Mode at say 0700 and then disable it again at 0900 do you know if it works even if I drive the car (school run!) During that time - i.e. does it re-enable after the drive as long as it is before 0900?

Cheers.

No idea, sorry best bet is to just try it and see what happens I think

 

[tivoboy]

Sentry mode requires an update to fix its constant incident alert that is just me walking back to the car. Seriously? It’s a simple programming so that no incident alert is created if, within 30 seconds or so, the car is unlocked by its owner. Then, it is clearly the owner and not a notable incident.

I hate scrolling to that little red dot only to find myself walking to the car.

Also, when I play the video, why do they start 20 min before the red dot incident? Just show me 15 seconds before the red dot. Sheesh this isn’t hard people!

that one alert that is created when the owner/driver comes up isn’t really causing any real issue, usage or overflow..

but, to your last point in my experience reviewing the sentry alert videos that are created at least in my car and SW build it DOES start just about 30-90 seconds before the RED DOT incident recorded. Maybe it’s some post processing that hasn’t yet been done on the last/final recording, that would normally take some additional processing time? but for the most part it’s scrubbed already right up to just before the incident.

 

[Grafix]

that one alert that is created when the owner/driver comes up isn’t really causing any real issue, usage or overflow..

but, to your last point in my experience reviewing the sentry alert videos that are created at least in my car and SW build it DOES start just about 30-90 seconds before the RED DOT incident recorded. Maybe it’s some post processing that hasn’t yet been done on the last/final recording, that would normally take some additional processing time? but for the most part it’s scrubbed already right up to just before the incident.

(Same experience here - about 30-90 seconds before the red dot).

 

[Porkalletta]

I used to keep Sentry activated whenever I was parked but for quite some time now, I have switched it off due to battery drain (particularly on longer trips away where I'm trying to avoid recharging away from home as the drain can reallly affect the range). As an aside, I also feel the flashing of the headlights each time Sentry is activated could attract some unwarranted attention and actually make the vehicle more at risk....I know there have been a few comments from others about this in the forum although who knows whether it really makes things worse.

Anyway, to cut a long story short, Sentry was off while I was parked for 4 days in a car park as I didn't want to come back to a low battery state. On return, I found was a deep scratch which I initially thought was malicious damage but on closer inspection, looks like it could have been from someone opening a car door (high type 4x4 or crossover's rear door) while the vehicle was parking/moving next to me. Whether that's the case of not, it doesn't really matter as it's likely to cost me £900 to fix according to a couple of body shops due to the difficulties in respraying the pearlescent finish.

It's more than likely that Sentry would have caught this if it was from another vehicle so in hindsight, my decision to leave it switched off has been somewhat of a false economy. There was no CCTV covering the area I parked in and the local Police have quite understandably closed the case due to lack of resources to investigate so I'll either need to claim on insurance (£250 excess and increased premiums for xx years) or pay out of my own pocket (any thoughts on this would be appreciated as it's a work lease car).

Plenty of "life lessons" here but I'm wondering how many people also switch off Sentry for the same reasons as me? I wish the drain could be optimised so that it didn't affect the battery as much but as you may have guessed, Sentry is going to be switched on from now onwards.


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I recently parked my 2022 MXP at Burbank, CA airport for a week. I decided to leave Sentry on for the first 2 days and then turn off everything. I figured since it was a holiday period there would be a limited amount of cars coming in and out. I especially paid attention to seat heat which seems to stay on after I leave the car and causes a significant battery drain. I lost an average of 2 miles of battery drain per day.

 

[tivoboy]

I recently parked my 2022 MXP at Burbank, CA airport for a week. I decided to leave Sentry on for the first 2 days and then turn off everything. I figured since it was a holiday period there would be a limited amount of cars coming in and out. I especially paid attention to seat heat which seems to stay on after I leave the car and causes a significant battery drain. I lost an average of 2 miles of battery drain per day.

that would be an incredible number, assuming it was on as expected. Normally one can count on something close to .5-1 MPHour of battery drain, sometimes less, sometimes more (certainly cold temps or high traffic areas - like a parking lot can INCREASE the Sentry usage). Your drain of 2 miles PER DAY sounds much closer to a regular phantom drain loss than a Sentry ON loss. Heck, I can have a M3 use 2 miles PER HOUR in high traffic parking lots.

Intrigued.

 

[Manbutter]

that one alert that is created when the owner/driver comes up isn’t really causing any real issue, usage or overflow..

but, to your last point in my experience reviewing the sentry alert videos that are created at least in my car and SW build it DOES start just about 30-90 seconds before the RED DOT incident recorded. Maybe it’s some post processing that hasn’t yet been done on the last/final recording, that would normally take some additional processing time? but for the most part it’s scrubbed already right up to just before the incident.

You're right that it's not a real issue other than annoyance.

What is weird though is that in the many times i've parked in a garage, I know that cars in front and to the side and back of me have moved in and out. And none of these triggers the incident alert notice. Yet when I walk back to the car, it almost always "catches" me in the act!

 

[tivoboy]

You're right that it's not a real issue other than annoyance.

What is weird though is that in the many times i've parked in a garage, I know that cars in front and to the side and back of me have moved in and out. And none of these triggers the incident alert notice. Yet when I walk back to the car, it almost always "catches" me in the act!

I do think that over the past couple years the systems HAS evolved with some AI or better logic to filter out or elevate what triggers a recording. I park often in a lot where I KNOW that many ppl pull in and out of the spots to my right and left, and yet these days I get only 2-3 alerts in a three hour time span with ppl who either linger, where their door comes close to the FQP cameras, or they loiter in front of the car.

Which also begs the question to. WHY isn’t the B pillar cam used for Sentry mode or the REAR camera. Shouldn’t all the cameras be in the array for capturing sentry mode violations?

 

[Porkalletta]

that would be an incredible number, assuming it was on as expected. Normally one can count on something close to .5-1 MPHour of battery drain, sometimes less, sometimes more (certainly cold temps or high traffic areas - like a parking lot can INCREASE the Sentry usage). Your drain of 2 miles PER DAY sounds much closer to a regular phantom drain loss than a Sentry ON loss. Heck, I can have a M3 use 2 miles PER HOUR in high traffic parking lots.

Intrigued.

With Sentry on I lose 8 to 10 miles per day.

 

[Manbutter]

I do think that over the past couple years the systems HAS evolved with some AI or better logic to filter out or elevate what triggers a recording. I park often in a lot where I KNOW that many ppl pull in and out of the spots to my right and left, and yet these days I get only 2-3 alerts in a three hour time span with ppl who either linger, where their door comes close to the FQP cameras, or they loiter in front of the car.

Which also begs the question to. WHY isn’t the B pillar cam used for Sentry mode or the REAR camera. Shouldn’t all the cameras be in the array for capturing sentry mode violations?

!!? I thought cameras in all directions were used for sentry? Which ones are active?

 

[tivoboy]

!!? I thought cameras in all directions were used for sentry? Which ones are active?

Well, all directions maybe yes but it’s really only the front windscreen cam/s, the two front quarter panel cams, and the rear - although I have never had a rear cam be the alerting cam. The two B pillar cams - and for now at least the internal RVM cam does not record - or at least doesn’t show up as a recording.

The B pillar cams MAY possibly be USED for some type of proximity or attack monitoring, but they don’t seem to be recorded by a sentry alert capture.

 

[TacoGuy]

I used to keep Sentry activated whenever I was parked but for quite some time now, I have switched it off due to battery drain (particularly on longer trips away where I'm trying to avoid recharging away from home as the drain can reallly affect the range). As an aside, I also feel the flashing of the headlights each time Sentry is activated could attract some unwarranted attention and actually make the vehicle more at risk....I know there have been a few comments from others about this in the forum although who knows whether it really makes things worse.

Anyway, to cut a long story short, Sentry was off while I was parked for 4 days in a car park as I didn't want to come back to a low battery state. On return, I found was a deep scratch which I initially thought was malicious damage but on closer inspection, looks like it could have been from someone opening a car door (high type 4x4 or crossover's rear door) while the vehicle was parking/moving next to me. Whether that's the case of not, it doesn't really matter as it's likely to cost me £900 to fix according to a couple of body shops due to the difficulties in respraying the pearlescent finish.

It's more than likely that Sentry would have caught this if it was from another vehicle so in hindsight, my decision to leave it switched off has been somewhat of a false economy. There was no CCTV covering the area I parked in and the local Police have quite understandably closed the case due to lack of resources to investigate so I'll either need to claim on insurance (£250 excess and increased premiums for xx years) or pay out of my own pocket (any thoughts on this would be appreciated as it's a work lease car).

Plenty of "life lessons" here but I'm wondering how many people also switch off Sentry for the same reasons as me? I wish the drain could be optimised so that it didn't affect the battery as much but as you may have guessed, Sentry is going to be switched on from now onwards.


View attachment 872448

It is inconsiderate of people not to know the stop limits of their own car doors, and damage other people's property in the process of getting in and out of their own car. Similarly, I have zero respect for people who cannot seem to park squarely in the provided space inevitably leaving the neighboring parked cars vulnerable to damage.