Garmin Dash Cam Mini 2 Delayed Recording

[RonnieJM]

I have two Garmin Mini 2 dash cams in my car.
The front camera operates correctly.
The rear camera takes about four minutes after the car ignition is switched on to start recording.
During this time the recording light shows green, (the manual says this means the SD card is being formatted)
(I have tried three 64Gb SD cards in the camera, with the same result, these cards all work fine in the front camera.)
After this time the the recording light turns red, the camera beeps and the camera records normally, until the next time the car is turned off and then back on
when the process is repeated.
This is not a huge problem, but I do miss the first four minutes of every journey.
I can't be absolutely sure on this point but I think I started noticing this around the same time as the last Garmin software update,
around early March 2023.

Nothing in the manual about this and contacting Garmin direct seems difficult/impossible here in the UK

Any suggestions would be helpful.

 

[lacibaci]

I would try to do factory reset and update the firmware. Next, I would connect it to the same power as the front one. (Unplug the front first) Also, you could flip-flop them to see if the behavior is the same.

 

[kamkar]

Not familiar with these cameras power options, but if the rear camera are on a very long USB cable from the front, well doing that with a dashcam lost me video of when my car was rear ended the first time 5-6-7 years ago.
And as these are single cameras the #1 culprit in dual systems ( rear camera ) can not be used in the investigation of the problem.

Back in the day i put a 3 socket 12 V outlet in the back of my car, and after that i had no problems testing any camera back there, and my 4 M long USB cable, well it is hopefully recycled now.

I am pretty sure if you swapped the 2 cameras around, the the before good front camera was in the back, it would probably flip to being the bad camera all of a sudden.

You can also try a shorter USB cable and a power bank as power source

The camera on the long SUB cable i had problems with, well it was startup issues ( some times ) and irregular reboots while driving

 

[RonnieJM]

Hello kamkar and lacibaci, thanks for taking the time to reply and for the very useful ideas.
I hadn't thought to swap the cameras (seems obvious now) to see if the different usb cable lengths make a difference.
The cameras have been fitted for some time with no issues, this issue only started recently, but I will swap them over to see if that changes things
I will also try the factory reset. If I can find that on the app, I will have a look tomorrow.

I kind of have it in my mind that this started around the same time as the last software update for Garmin, but that doesn't really make sense as both cameras have the same software version (3,2) and the front camera works fine.

Anyway I'll update you, let you know how it goes.

Thanks again
cheers
Ronnie

 

[RonnieJM]

No luck...

I reset the rear cam to factory settings.....same issue
I swapped the front and rear cameras over, now the camera in the front position has the issue
So it looks like something (hardware or software) in the camera itself.

I will try and contact Garmin to see if they can assist.

Thanks again for your help
Cheers
Ronnie

 

[RonnieJM]

Just another update.
I talked to Garmin Service via their online chat, it took a while, I explained the issue and all the steps I had taken
The guy had never heard of this issue.
He requested and I sent them video of the camera from ignition switch on until the light changed from green to red (the four minute period)
The guy has arranged for a new camera to be sent and I have returned the camera in question.

Cheers
Ronnie