Thinkware Cloud app will not connect to iPhone hotspot

g728229

New Member
Joined
May 11, 2021
Messages
8
Reaction score
2
Location
Pennsylvania
Country
United States
I just purchased the U1000, the camera seems to be working well. The dashcam is connected to a Cellink Neo which is hardwired to the car. I've gone through all the steps and troubleshooting methods I can think if. Also, I have been able to connect via Wi-fi, but still can't connect with a hotspot. The procedure I follow is -
1. I open the Thinkware App
2. At the bottom of the screen, I hit the "Not Connected..." button
3. Select "Connect with another device"
4. I click the "Connect via hotspot" option
5. Click the "Register a hotspot" option
6. I activate the wi-fi by pressing the the wi-fi button on the dashcam. when I hear the dashcam say "Connect to wi-fi network starting with name 'Thinkware'..." and hit "next"
7. I connect to the Thinkware network and return to the phone app, and the dashcam says "Connected to internet"
8. I enter my iphone SSID and PW and click "Input Complete"
9. I go to my iphone hotspot page and turn on the hotspot and REMAIN ON THE HOTSPOT PAGE until I hear it's connected.
10. Once I get the connection confirmation, I return to the app. After about 15-20 seconds a window pops up that says "Failed to connect to the network"

It seems like the dashcam thinks it's connected but the mobile app doesn't. The wifi light on the dashcam stays a solid blue color and if I turn off the car or the hotspot the dashcam will say "Disconnected from the internet". However, I can't use any of the cloud functionality on the app - no GPS, no Live view, cant access settings, etc. Also, I have no registered devices connected to the app and the app has never taken me through the registration process that would typically happen after your first connection.

I've tried downloading the latest firmware (1.00.15), reformatting the SD card, restarting the dashcam, reinstalling the mobile app. I'm kind of lost here. Any help is appreciated!
 
I am having the same problem. The saved hotspot get connected but the app does not connect to camera. No message- connected to smartphone.
I tried connecting again like new hotspot but still problem persist.
I upgraded the software via WiFi connection after formating SD card, still not able to connect via hotspot although hotspot is connected.
now I am thinking to doing reset next time.
 
The first wireless connection that has to be added and verified as working. Is to the phone’s hotspot. If you already have a wifi connection setup in the dash cam. You need to reset it to factory defaults and start over. Once you make sure the hotspot connection is working then you can add another connection.
also go through the process slowly. Once you advance a step. Give it a few seconds before you move to the next step.
and make sure you get to the page where you have to agree to like 3 things. If you don’t get that screen and past that. The dash cam is not getting registered with the cloud and it won’t work.
it took me a few times. And to top it off.. once you get past everything.. you might still have to wait and try to connect. It seems the cloud registration might not kick in right away.
the good thing is that once you get through all the hell.. it works flawlessly even with different networks. Jumping from one to the other as needed.
The only connection that was difficult was the initial hotspot. The other 2 I added was no problem at all.
One more thing. At least if using an iPhone. The hotspot on the phone should initially be off and turned on when the instructions tell you. Basically the instructions have to be followed to the letter.
 
Last edited:
The first wireless connection that has to be added and verified as working. ………. Basically the instructions have to be followed to the letter.
Whatever you have said is totally correct except that this is applicable for first time, when camera is not yet registered. For our case Camera is already registered. Till couple of weeks back, the app use to connect through hotspot but now app is not connecting although the camera connects to mobile hotspot flawlessly.

yes for iPhone you always have to switch on hotspot after camera starts as it will not connect to already on hotspot. We are doing that and hotspot connects but returning to app, it does not connect to smartphone. Live view is also available.

I will try to reset through WiFi and also planning to use 5G instead of 2.4G.
 
There is an Issue with connection since the iOS 14.5 update some Apple Policy has changed. The App is being worked on as a priority to meet the new Policy and will be submitted ASAP.

Apologies for the issue...
 
There is an Issue with connection since the iOS 14.5 update some Apple Policy has changed. The App is being worked on as a priority to meet the new Policy and will be submitted ASAP.

Apologies for the issue...
Thanks for the reply! Will the initial connection still work if I do a factory reset (as in2ndo detailed above) or should I wait until the app is updated? It's not super urgent because the dashcam is recording and I can access the video files if need be, but would like to have cloud connectivity (One of the main reasons I purchased the Thinkware). I just don't want to waste my time going through the factory reset and trying the process again if it's not going to work regardless of what I do right now because of the iOS 14.5 update.
 
Thanks for the reply! Will the initial connection still work if I do a factory reset (as in2ndo detailed above) or should I wait until the app is updated? It's not super urgent because the dashcam is recording and I can access the video files if need be, but would like to have cloud connectivity (One of the main reasons I purchased the Thinkware). I just don't want to waste my time going through the factory reset and trying the process again if it's not going to work regardless of what I do right now because of the iOS 14.5 update.
Being 100% honest with you i'm not too sure, one issue i heard is that once the Phone hotspot is programmed the camera will say 'connected to the internet' but when you open the Cloud App it doesn't detect the camera connection. I'm not 100% sure if the actual Cloud Part is affected or not. TW are on it though (i'm sure Nextbase, Blackview etc will have the same issue we usually get problems together when it's Apple!) from past experience i would expect a new version of the app within a couple of weeks
 
Being 100% honest with you i'm not too sure, one issue i heard is that once the Phone hotspot is programmed the camera will say 'connected to the internet' but when you open the Cloud App it doesn't detect the camera connection. I'm not 100% sure if the actual Cloud Part is affected or not. TW are on it though (i'm sure Nextbase, Blackview etc will have the same issue we usually get problems together when it's Apple!) from past experience i would expect a new version of the app within a couple of weeks
Okay, thanks for the quick response. I'll give it a try and report back.
 
I have seen this kind of problem with blackvue as well on iOS upgrade. In fact I shifted from blackvue while I was trying to figure out a major issue with iOS 14 and decided may be a change would keep me interested in cloud cam but I can now say that blackvue cloud is much better. Hope Thinkware catches up.
 
Being 100% honest with you i'm not too sure, one issue i heard is that once the Phone hotspot is programmed the camera will say 'connected to the internet' but when you open the Cloud App it doesn't detect the camera connection. I'm not 100% sure if the actual Cloud Part is affected or not. TW are on it though (i'm sure Nextbase, Blackview etc will have the same issue we usually get problems together when it's Apple!) from past experience i would expect a new version of the app within a couple of weeks
So I just attempted the connection again, multiple times. I started from scratch - I uninstalled the Thinkware Cloud App, Forget the thinkware network from my iphones wi-fi list, and did a factory reset for the dashcam. No luck. I followed instructions very precisely and took @in2ndo advice and was very patient between steps. I tried it multiple times. Seems like I'll have to wait until the update for the app is out. Thanks for your help everyone!
 
I have seen this kind of problem with blackvue as well on iOS upgrade. In fact I shifted from blackvue while I was trying to figure out a major issue with iOS 14 and decided may be a change would keep me interested in cloud cam but I can now say that blackvue cloud is much better. Hope Thinkware catches up.
Yeah, I hope so too. The dashcam itself is working great and the video quality is awesome. Just hope this app is improves quickly. When I was researching dashcams, it seemed like their mobile app has always been a thorn in user's side. So I kind of expected it, but didn't realize I would be without the functionality for some time...
 
Yeah, I hope so too. The dashcam itself is working great and the video quality is awesome. Just hope this app is improves quickly. When I was researching dashcams, it seemed like their mobile app has always been a thorn in user's side. So I kind of expected it, but didn't realize I would be without the functionality for some time...
meanwhile here is what you can do.
you can still access dash cam through WiFi. Everything is available through WiFi.

the dashcam also connects to mobile hotspot. You need to start pairing through hotspot if it’s first time. The mobile hotspot will connect but will not connect to dashcam files or settings in app (for these use WiFi)
Once connected to hotspot you can have live views and alerts.
However, if the dashcam is not registered so far, you can register on Thinkware site after login using app email id and password.
Connection through hotspot route only offers advantage of having mobile data on and still connected to dashcam but again you can use any other hotspot ( other than the mobile in which you are using app) you just have to add hotspot credential of other hotspot while pairing.
Hope it helps.
 
FYI - New Version of the Cloud app for iOS is now available V1.2.30 i'm told the hotspot connection issue is now fixed. I haven't personally tested it. (y)
 
FYI - New Version of the Cloud app for iOS is now available V1.2.30 i'm told the hotspot connection issue is now fixed. I haven't personally tested it. (y)
Wow, good timing! I saw that and just got it all set up not even 5 minutes ago. Everything connected great! the only issue, is on the cloud page it says "The device cannot be located" So I've been trying to play around with some settings but haven't got it working yet. Any tips?
 
Make sure 'Network Functions' in the camera setting are Enabled. Guessing you have set up a Thinkware Account via the App / Online and logged the App into that account?
 
Wow, good timing! I saw that and just got it all set up not even 5 minutes ago. Everything connected great! the only issue, is on the cloud page it says "The device cannot be located" So I've been trying to play around with some settings but haven't got it working yet. Any tips?
You have to register the camera for first time. Simple way is to go to Thinkware site and login using same credentials and add camera. Registering the camera through App is little tricky.
 
Make sure 'Network Functions' in the camera setting are Enabled. Guessing you have set up a Thinkware Account via the App / Online and logged the App into that account?
Yes I set up an account through my apple ID. Enabling the network functions worked. Everything seems to be good now. Thanks for your help!
 
You have to register the camera for first time. Simple way is to go to Thinkware site and login using same credentials and add camera. Registering the camera through App is little tricky.
Yep, I got everything registered. I replied to Maddog, his suggestion for turning on the network functions worked. Thanks for your help!
 
I’ve been trying to connect via the hotspot, the camera says ‘connected to the internet’ but the wheel on the app just keeps spinning and won’t open.
 
I’m on app version 1.2.33 if that makes a difference?
 
Back
Top