Wireless USB stick for dashcam possible?

[Rudolf]

The November 2018 version of the manual says this:

To access the video footage from dashcam,
pause the dashcam, then remove the flash
drive and use a personal computer to access
the video files located in the “TeslaCam”
folder.​

Is anybody using a wireless USB stick? I have seen information about the SANDISK CONNECT WIRELESS STICK but would it work? It looks rather long and uses USB 2.0, whereas USB 3.0 would be preferable. It would be great to be able to transfer files from the USB stick in the car via my WLAN to my desktop computer or my laptop.

P.S. I expect delivery of my car in April (in Switzerland)

 

[chronopc]

I don't see why it wouldn't work. As long as you can format it to FAT32, it should be fine.

I'm guessing you would need the car to be on in order to access the file wirelessly via your desktop or laptop.

 

[Atari2600]

I own one of those sticks. Want me to try it? Instead of laptops I used to use it with my Android and Apple phones. I've had mine in a drawer for a while though hopefully the battery in it still works.

 

[chronopc]

I own one of those sticks. Want me to try it? Instead of laptops I used to use it with my Android and Apple phones. I've had mine in a drawer for a while though hopefully the battery in it still works.

The usb drive has a battery in it?

 

[whatthe2]

The usb drive has a battery in it?

Would have to in order to use it via WiFi.

 

[Shygar]

I bought one of those. The app that comes with it expects it to be in the exfat format to read it. It won't read it in FAT32.

I thought about setting up a Raspberry Pi to read from the USB stick after I get home and automatically take off the videos over my wifi, but I just haven't got around to mess with it to see if it would work. Some people have actually put a Raspberry Pi as the USB stick in the car.

 

[Atari2600]

I found it. I had forgot you cannot use the USB and WiFi at the same time so it is not worth it. SanDisk Wireless Stick Support Information Page
It's supports webdav and HTTP as it has a built in DHCP and web server. Default config is not secure and you have to setup WPA2 manually. The last firmware update is 2015 so WPA2 has security issues.

The good.. you can configure it to connect to your WiFi network and you can configure a power save timeout. But you would have to select the WiFi power button on the USB stick every time you exited your car which I would not do.

Use a normal USB drive. I bought a handful of Samsung Bar plus 32 GB flash drives for $10 each. I benched them at 200 MB/s download speed.

 

[Atari2600]

I bought one of those. The app that comes with it expects it to be in the exfat format to read it. It won't read it in FAT32.

I thought about setting up a Raspberry Pi to read from the USB stick after I get home and automatically take off the videos over my wifi, but I just haven't got around to mess with it to see if it would work. Some people have actually put a Raspberry Pi as the USB stick in the car.

Mine is FAT32. Are you sure you have the same thing?

 

[Knightshade]

The November 2018 version of the manual says this:

To access the video footage from dashcam,
pause the dashcam, then remove the flash
drive and use a personal computer to access
the video files located in the “TeslaCam”
folder.​

Is anybody using a wireless USB stick? I have seen information about the SANDISK CONNECT WIRELESS STICK but would it work? It looks rather long and uses USB 2.0, whereas USB 3.0 would be preferable. It would be great to be able to transfer files from the USB stick in the car via my WLAN to my desktop computer or my laptop.

P.S. I expect delivery of my car in April (in Switzerland)

Unrelated FYI- the USB ports in the Tesla are USB2- there's no value in USB3 sticks there (other than I guess for loading up a music stick from a PC with USB3... but it won't be of any benefit when plugged into the car)

 

[trisk]

Mine is FAT32. Are you sure you have the same thing?

The manual says: "The 64GB and higher capacity drive can be formatted as exFAT. 16GB & 32GB devices must be formatted as FAT32."

This seems to suggest the larger drives can use both FAT32 and exFAT, but maybe it's just badly worded.

And yeah you definitely cannot have the drive actively recording and accessible over WiFi at the same time, and it seems you'd have to turn on the WiFi on by hand when you want to use it, so it's not quite that useful.

 

[Shygar]

Mine is a 64GB, so that must be why. Makes sense.

 

[Silicon Desert]

Would have to in order to use it via WiFi.

Really? the wifi USB stick needs a battery? Doesn't sound right. I would think it would just use power from the USB connection to transmit WiFi.

 

[whatthe2]

Really? the wifi USB stick needs a battery? Doesn't sound right. I would think it would just use power from the USB connection to transmit WiFi.

If it's not plugged in to a USB port, how does it have power if it doesn't have a battery?

 

[Silicon Desert]

If it's not plugged in to a USB port, how does it have power if it doesn't have a battery?

Well it wouldn't of course ;-) I am not familiar with such a device. I would just assume that it draws power from the port so it can Wifi to yet another device while plugged in. Another thought is that maybe it just has an internal small rechargeable battery that gets charged while it is plugged in. I am curious as it sounds like a neat device

 

[whatthe2]

Well it wouldn't of course ;-) I am not familiar with such a device. I would just assume that it draws power from the port so it can Wifi to yet another device while plugged in.

Exactly. It's a storage device that can be used to connect via WiFi to a phone (which of course doesn't have a USB port), so it needs a battery when you want to use if via WiFi for devices that don't have a USB port.

• • Capacity: 200GB
• • SD Adapter: Wireless Network Protocol 802.11n
• • Interface: Wi-Fi + USB 2.0
• • Form factor: USB flash drive
• • Charging:USB port for charging, up to 2 hours for a full charge; up to 4.5 hours of continuous usage(4)
• • Maximum File Size: <4GB (16GB, 32GB versions), limited only by capacity (64GB+ versions)
• • Dimensions: 0.82 x 3.08 x 0.48 in. (20.83 x 78.21 x 12.19 mm)
• • Weight: 0.048 lb (21.76 grams)
• • Operating temperature: 32° - 113° F (0° – 45° C)
• • Storage temperature: -4° - 158° F (-20° – 70° C)
• • Connection: 802.11n 2.4GHz Wi-Fi and USB 2.0
• • Mobile device: iOS version 8.0 or higher, Android version 4.2 or higher
• • Wi-Fi enabled devices: Web browser
• • PC or Mac computer: Windows® 8, Windows 7, Windows 10, Windows Vista®, or Mac OS 10.6 or higher
• • Security: Optional Wi-Fi password protection

 

[DrTaras]

More than what WE can record with a USB for the native Dashcam/DVR, do we know how far back the Tesla can store events that maybe THEY can access?

 

[israndy]

I have been using said USB stick for a few weeks now. The advantage is that I can check the footage w/o taking the stick inside. I can pair it with my phone and watch it on the app they provide. I had to buy a new device as my original SanDisk device that gave me the idea was only able to play off an exFat disk. It was $19 on eBay for the one that works.

When I want to look at it I press the power button on the side and leave the car. I can sit in a restaurant or stand at a Supercharger and access the videos. I can even do it at home and the stick connects to my home WiFi, so I can be on my phone or iPad anywhere in the house and retrieve the file for up to an hour after turning the stick on. That feature is the coolest. Though I do love that wherever I go there is a WiFI hotspot in my car's name.

If I don't leave the car I get a message that it's in USB mode. I can pause the recording and eject the stick if I wanna look at the videos in the car. That works too.

-Randy

 

[israndy]

The one I got: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ZCFYF2W

-Randy

 

[ccjw33]

The one I got: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ZCFYF2W

-Randy

Is the USB 2.0 fast enough to record videos without lagging? I am little worry about the video speed that's why still have not pull the trigger to get SanDisk wireless USB drive.

 

[Nate977p]

Is the USB 2.0 fast enough to record videos without lagging? I am little worry about the video speed that's why still have not pull the trigger to get SanDisk wireless USB drive.

Yes, the Tesla port is only USB 2.0 I believe.