I give up - another return for Halfords

[Barnsleyrob]

I’ve had the 522GW for around 10 months now and although it initially seemed to work very well, the performance has deteoriated significantly over the period of ownership.

Im using a 64gb nextbase pro card, the firmware is up to date (last updated a few days ago and now supports all the Alexa functions) but the video quality is now unusable.

At first I started getting artefacts in the recordings so I reformatted the SD card. Then I got video stutter where movements were quite jerky and that wasn’t great but still okay at a push.

Then it stopped recording so I swapped the mount from my other car which helped, so I carefully cleaned up the original.

Now, although it records in both cars, the video artefacts and stuttering have rendered the video unusable. The video seems to loop backwards a second or two but the interesting thing is that the audio carries on seamlessly.

So, after endless settings resets, SD formats, 4K vs 1080, mount cleaning etc. I’ve had enough.

Anyone Know what the process is like with Halfords ? Is it necessary to take in a laptop and prove the poor quality or do they take the customers side .

 

[Rickn55]

Sorry to hear you've had this experience with the 522, it is usually a fantastic Dashcam one of my mates has one and the quality of footage is as good as my 4K 612. I'm sure Nextbase will be along soon on here to offer advice on the situation, their customer service is fantastic.

But Halfords are usually great for taking stuff back no dramas when I've taken products back before for a refund. Never took anything back after 10months though, but on their website I believe it says everything sold comes with 12 months warranty. See you're from Barnsley I usually use the Halfords at Harb hills they're great there to deal with.

 

[Kremmen]

One thing you haven't mentioned is ... are you downloading the files to the PC hard drive or playing from the cam or card ?

 

[Barnsleyrob]

All 3 of the above. SD card first, then cam connected, then copy file to the desktop.

And it‘s a decent spec quad core PC that renders video files very quickly.

 

[Kremmen]

Fair enough

 

[Barnsleyrob]

To add insult to injury, the polarising filter fell off so the already dismal video was further degraded by a reflection from the dash. I found it in the footwell when I was dropping something off for a neighbour. Easy enough to put back on but as I remove the dashcam at night it could have ended up anywhere.

 

[Rickn55]

To add insult to injury, the polarising filter fell off so the already dismal video was further degraded by a reflection from the dash. I found it in the footwell when I was dropping something off for a neighbour. Easy enough to put back on but as I remove the dashcam at night it could have ended up anywhere.

Is the filter just the stick on type on the 522 or is it the screw type like on the old 612?

 

[Barnsleyrob]

Is the filter just the stick on type on the 522 or is it the screw type like on the old 612?

its a screw on Rick.

 

[Rickn55]

its a screw on Rick.

Yep same as my 612, My 522 arrived yesterday, Impressed with it and the rear cam just can't get Alexa to link to my account. Did yours work ok?

 

[Barnsleyrob]

Yes, eventually. And it’s still a bit hit and miss. There are some detailed instructions from support on this forum but in reality it’s just a case of keeping the Alexa app open on your phone once you’ve managed to persuade it to link.

I don’t use it to operate the cam as that’s a bit of a gimmick, but it’s useful for opening the garage door when I pull into the street.