Cobra SC-400 issue

[Bobbo]

I have owned a Cobra SC-400 for less than a year. Until recently, its screen would go black and display the current date and the speed that I am driving. Recently, it has stopped displaying the speed about 50% of the time. When it does display the speed, it slowly counts up from 1 to the current speed, but when I stop, the speed continues to show how fast I WAS driving. Does anyone know of a solution?

 

[Bobbo]

I opened a warranty claim on Sunday. Today, I got this email. Hopefully, it is fixed. I will know soon.

"Hi,

I'll be glad to assist. I believe I found an issue with your account that may cause the issue, and I've just corrected it.

You'll also want to ensure that Drive Smarter is running on the phone while driving, and that your phone has granted the Drive Smarter app the requested permissions, particularly Location (always on) is required.

After you have verified permissions, please try again.

If still not working, and you are using that email address to login to the app and do not see the posted speed limit on the map screen in the app, then the issue may be on our end, but please let us know and we can look into it.

Thanks,"

 

[Vortex Radar]

I wonder if there's a misunderstanding here. Are you saying your current speed is not updating correctly? Drive Smarter is for the cloud alerts and the speed limit display. The SC-400 has a GPS mount and so it should be able to display your current speed independent of what DS is telling you regarding the speed limit of the road that you're on.

 

[Bobbo]

Yes, that is my confusion. The problem is not fixed. I have responded to their email. I will see what they say next.

 

[Bobbo]

The company is replacing my dashcam under warranty. After a lengthy exchange of emails, they have agreed that mine is defective.

 

[pcfivez]

The company is replacing my dashcam under warranty. After a lengthy exchange of emails, they have agreed that mine is defective.

so did replacing the camera fix this issue or not? same thing is happening to me ... and they are telling me it is a firmware issue. please let me know.

 

[pcfivez]

Yes, that is my confusion. The problem is not fixed. I have responded to their email. I will see what they say next.

I opened a warranty claim on Sunday. Today, I got this email. Hopefully, it is fixed. I will know soon.

"Hi,

I'll be glad to assist. I believe I found an issue with your account that may cause the issue, and I've just corrected it.

You'll also want to ensure that Drive Smarter is running on the phone while driving, and that your phone has granted the Drive Smarter app the requested permissions, particularly Location (always on) is required.

After you have verified permissions, please try again.

If still not working, and you are using that email address to login to the app and do not see the posted speed limit on the map screen in the app, then the issue may be on our end, but please let us know and we can look into it.

Thanks,"

my SC400 does not display the screensaver with the speed and time on it while I am driving. the screensaver only appears when nothing is moving which renders the unit garbage cuz who needs to know the speed when you're not moving.

I tried to turn motion detection off but that does nothing since that is only meant for parking mode.

 

[Bobbo]

so did replacing the camera fix this issue or not? same thing is happening to me ... and they are telling me it is a firmware issue. please let me know.

Actually, no. What I finally figured out is that I had the unit mounted right up at the top of the windshield, and the truck roof blocked the GPS satellite signal to the receiver. When I moved the unit down about 8 inches below the top of the windshield, it started working.

 

[Bobbo]

my SC400 does not display the screensaver with the speed and time on it while I am driving. the screensaver only appears when nothing is moving which renders the unit garbage cuz who needs to know the speed when you're not moving.

I tried to turn motion detection off but that does nothing since that is only meant for parking mode.

Mine displays just fine while in motion. If the setting to keep the video view of the road on all of the time is not turned on, contact the company.

 

[pcfivez]

Mine displays just fine while in motion. If the setting to keep the video view of the road on all of the time is not turned on, contact the company.

the settings are the way they have always been when it functioned fine. the company told me it's a firmware issue that needs to be addressed. have you updated your firmware to v1.32?

 

[Bobbo]

I have no idea. The dash cam is in my truck, 400 miles away. It will be another week or 10 days before I get home where I can check.

 

[pcfivez]

I have no idea. The dash cam is in my truck, 400 miles away. It will be another week or 10 days before I get home where I can check.

so, any news? does your camera display the speed while driving or did you lose that ability too?

my camera used to go into standby after a few minutes WHILE DRIVING and it would display the time and my current speed.

and now, IT NO LONGER DOES THAT...instead my camera screen never goes into standby anymore while i am driving...screen just will not stay off the moment i start moving and constantly stays on even when i tell it to turn screen off.

 

[pcfivez]

PROBLEM SOLVED. JOHN SHAW 👍 at cedar electronics is the one dude who decided to do their job properly. read below to resolve my issue and perhaps other issues you other people are having.

Hi,

As luck would have it, I was able to obtain and personally test several prior versions of the firmware. Going back to v1.23 seems to have resolved the issue (as best as I can test at my desk.) I've copied you on the instructions with download link in order to downgrade below. I hope this resolves the issue until a new version can be released.

Instructions:
• Connect the camera to your computer using the included USB to Micro-USB cable, you should see a plug with a blue background on screen.
• The camera will be listed in Windows Explorer (or Finder on a Mac) as a "Removable Disk" or "USB Drive" or similar.
• Download this file: https://cedarelectronics.s3.amazonaws.com/firmware/sc400_main_v1_23.bin Note: you do NOT need to open this file on the computer.
• Copy/paste or drag the update file you downloaded .bin file into the root directory of the camera (e.g. "Removable Disk"). Note: If you download the file more than once, it will create file names for subsequent downloads with parentheses and a number on the end, for example "this file name (1).bin" but these files do not work for the update, it must be named "this file name.bin" without the " (1)" at the end, so be sure not to use those or remove that by renaming the file.
• Wait for the file to transfer and then safely disconnect the camera from the computer.
• Reattach the camera to it's window mount which should be powered with the cord that came with the unit, connected to your vehicle’s CLA (cigarette lighter style) adapter. The Dash Cam will turn on and automatically boot into the Firmware Update Menu.
• Follow the directions on the camera display to update firmware. The camera may restart several times, and it may be several minutes before the camera will accept a connection to the Drive Smarter app and stay connected. After the steps above, the camera will reboot a final time and return to normal operation (recording status.)

When the update is completed:
• We recommend to reset default settings from the camera's settings menu
• You may (or may not) need to re-pair it with the Drive Smarter app in order for the camera to connect properly again, as a firmware update can on rare occasion cause this to be necessary.

Re-pair instructions:
• Follow these steps ONLY if you can no longer connect to the device from the Devices section of Drive Smarter after the update.
• First, from your phone please remove the camera from the "Devices" area in Drive Smarter, if it is still there. After this, please check your phone's Bluetooth settings where you would find paired devices, and unpair/forget the camera if you see it in there (if prompted to pair after this, do NOT re-pair from the phone's Bluetooth settings, always use the app to initiate pairing.)
• To pair the device using Drive Smarter, from the map screen you'll tap the 3 bars on the top left and tap Devices, if not there already, add your vehicle, and app Add Device. then search. If your device isn't found at first, remove power to your device then plug it back in, wait 30-45 seconds, then search again from the app.

If you need assistance with the steps above, reply with details on where you're running into a snag. For a faster response, you may call 800.543.1608 Monday - Friday 9am - 5:00pm ET. Please note: Due to high call volumes, our phone lines may close earlier than posted times in order to accommodate those already waiting in queue.

* Note when prompted to "Update Firmware" in Drive Smarter, the new version of firmware isn't shown tap the "Update Firmware" button, then it will show you the new version, and you can tap "Remind Me Later" if it is still v1.32 which is the current version and still affected by this issue.

YOU ARE ALL WELCOME 🤣