List of problems & issues with the RC500S

Are there any issues with this cam? I'm considering to buy it as the best video quality camera. Does it record reliable all the time? The parking mode is started and ended as it should be and the normal recording starts immediately when starting moving?
 
Are there any issues with this cam? I'm considering to buy it as the best video quality camera. Does it record reliable all the time? The parking mode is started and ended as it should be and the normal recording starts immediately when starting moving?
Rubbish, after paying that much money, mine has stopped recording fullstop, and wouldn’t you know it, just after it ran out of warranty
 
Rubbish, after paying that much money, mine has stopped recording fullstop, and wouldn’t you know it, just after it ran out of warranty
I finally ordered the A129. I was deciding between the F800 Pro and A129 and the A129 won because of better video quality.
 
Just get a Street Guardian. Just the fact that Jokiin above is even here on the forum answering questions about it... is enough for me to buy one. The DOD app is friggin terrible and the camera has its glitches every now and then. But the DOD video quality at night is pretty damn good. After owning the DOD and a Street Gaurdian...it is the street guardian for me. I just Downloaded the DOD app on my new phone and it basically wanted access to my whole phone, contacts, photos, mic etc.. I mean come on, why the hell does it need access to my contacts???
When when I go to switch off the App permissions..it tells me "This app was designed for an older version of android and denying permissions will cause the app to no longer function" ?????
WTF DOD... your app will not run on the latest version of android which has been out for months...ummmm...ok...Get a Street Guardian guys.
 
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I finally ordered the A129. I was deciding between the F800 Pro and A129 and the A129 won because of better video quality.
Good camera but why not go with Street Guardian? just so we can all make educated decisions ..thanks :)
 
. I just Downloaded the DOD app on my new phone and it basically wanted access to my whole phone, contacts, photos, mic etc.. I mean come on, why the hell does it need access to my contacts???
I'd be inclined to think it doesn't need most of the stuff at all, not sure who they used to do the app but quite likely it's just lazy programming by the developer to just have it use full access to everything
 
I'd be inclined to think it doesn't need most of the stuff at all, not sure who they used to do the app but quite likely it's just lazy programming by the developer to just have it use full access to everything
I agree. Very poor form by DOD.
 
Good camera but why not go with Street Guardian? just so we can all make educated decisions ..thanks :)
Two issues with the Street Guardian:
  • The parking mode is only for 24 hours max
  • Lack of low bitrate parking mode
 
If anyone is thinking about buying this RC500S rubbish....DON'T! I thought I made the right choice when I bought it a little over 2 years ago due to it's video quality and all the reviews saying what a great dash cam it is. Back in 2017 it was rated as one of the top dash cams alongside Blackvue. I thought I could live without the lack of good support and regular firmware updates as long as it did what I wanted and lasted at least 5 years. But after 2 and a bit years later it has died on me. Decided not to turn on one morning last week...there is another post explaining the problem and the things I tried to get it working (with no success) from suggestions made by good members of this forum. You shouldn't have to throw away your money on such an expensive product when, after all, it only performs just as good or even worse than cheaper dashcams. For a $500+ dash cam you'd expect it to last several years at least. Better to go with Viofo or Street Guardian...not only are they more reasonably priced but they are also made just as good as the expensive ones and have better after sales support. Never ever again will I ever touch a DOD
 
If anyone is thinking about buying this RC500S rubbish....DON'T! I thought I made the right choice when I bought it a little over 2 years ago due to it's video quality and all the reviews saying what a great dash cam it is. Back in 2017 it was rated as one of the top dash cams alongside Blackvue. I thought I could live without the lack of good support and regular firmware updates as long as it did what I wanted and lasted at least 5 years. But after 2 and a bit years later it has died on me. Decided not to turn on one morning last week...there is another post explaining the problem and the things I tried to get it working (with no success) from suggestions made by good members of this forum. You shouldn't have to throw away your money on such an expensive product when, after all, it only performs just as good or even worse than cheaper dashcams. For a $500+ dash cam you'd expect it to last several years at least. Better to go with Viofo or Street Guardian...not only are they more reasonably priced but they are also made just as good as the expensive ones and have better after sales support. Never ever again will I ever touch a DOD
I agree. Mine is still ok. However, the lack of software updates and support is lacking. Also, After using it for 2 years and having a Street Guardian in my other car, I can honestly say I will stick to SG in the future. Why? Because using the WiFi to do a simple task like formatting on the DOD is a pain in the damn ass and I like having a front screen ON the unit. Instant feedback if I need it and no connection issues. Plus the fact the Jokiin from SG is here on the forum, is also enough for me to buy another SG.

Oh, and one more thing. I can easily remove the SG from the car if I need to, but with the DOD, it is a bit harder to get it out, due to the design. Also, with the Street Guardian.. I can remove the memory card really easy (good on stinking hot days) because the memory card is on the OTHER side NOT near the cables, but with the DOD RC500s.. you need to pull the cables out just to get the memory card out. Hey, they may be little things, but they turn out to be major annoyances after a while.
 
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DOD does have good support
Questions are answered very quickly and firmware updates are still coming out, the latest being from 2019-05-09 Firmware updates DOD RC500S
Few updates come out because there is little to improve and few complaints about it

There is also little complaining about defects about the DOD on this and other forums and that is usually a good sign
A few who have the misfortune that he suddenly does not work anymore
 
Rubbish, after paying that much money, mine has stopped recording fullstop, and wouldn’t you know it, just after it ran out of warranty

Yep mine died right after the warranty finished too. Just decided not to start up one morning and even DOD support said it sounds like a component has failed after suggesting things to do to start it up. So I bought a Viofo A129 Duo and at less than half the price of the RC500S it is just as good and much better support. I won't be buying any expensive dash cams ever again
 
My 1'st 500s died year ago. Things start pretty usual, did not start with car. After searching and digging for solution I realise that pins in usb did not have connection. After small operation with bending male part, whole usb socket died. Ofc tried to recover that with hardwired solution but my skills just destroy dashcam.

Got 2nd one, and after year same story happening, connection is bad after all. May by wd40 will help or golden plated pins in dash and usb cable. For now thinking about that (what to do), but this is going worst every day.

Another thing is my 2019 firmware )NT0pi-prj_rc500s_CB170524-1904301fw_A0E) did not update dashcam.
 
Mine is still doing fine after a year and a half
I will also update my 500s tomorrow with that new firmware EDIT: the firmware doesnt load into camera, it start recording right away
Does anyone know what the changes are?

I saw that the RC600S will also be released soon, but little has improved compared to the 500S
 
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May by wd40 will help or golden plated pins in dash and usb cable. For now thinking about that (what to do), but this is going worst every day.

Instead of WD40, use an electrical contact cleaner spray (sometimes called TV tuner cleaner). It is far more effective for the purpose. If you have a loose connector, very slightly bend the 'long' side of the miniUSB connector inward using pliers. About twice the thickness of the metal itself seems to be a good place to start. Go carefully as it bends easily and is tough to get bent back if you go too far. If it doesn't want to go back into the socket do not force it, but lessen the bend with a small screwdriver, being careful to not disturb the contacts inside. I've fixed several of my cheaper cameras with this trick ;)

Phil
 
I just sent an email to DOD about not being able to flash the new firmware and I got the message below
I have now succeeded with a smaller sd card

Thanks for the inquiry.

Please follow the below steps to see if you can update your firmware.

1. Please prepare one SD Card (at least 8GB but not large than 32GB). Reformat SD Card and put the Loader reset file (the attachment) into SD Card.

2. Put the SD Card inside RC500S. It will automatically turn on when the machine is connected to the power cord (the reset process should be fast, it may not take a second).

3. Reformat the SD Card again and also delete “Loader reset file”. And put the newest RC500S firmware into your SD Card.

4. Upgrade according to the normal upgrade procedure



Please try it, if you need further help, please let us know ASAP.



Thanks and Best Regards,

Tom

DOD Tech Taiwan Headquarters
 
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