Mini 2 Battery protection for parked vehicles

Gazwould

Active Member
Joined
Jan 10, 2018
Messages
221
Reaction score
63
Country
United Kingdom
Hi guys , first post here .

On updating to the latest firmware v3.5.2.27 gave me options to increase the snap shot video length which it does and a battery protection for parked vehicles setting that cuts power after setting a period of time .

Power is from a permanently live cigar lighter socket , I did previously try a Ddpai hardwire kit but more on that later .

The camera switches off perfectly for the specified time , however it does not wake up again with a G shock or starting the vehicle .

It only wakes up with unplugging cigar and plugging back in , I assume also this would work with the micro USB unplugging / reconnecting .

As some illustrations from Amazon and Ebay sellers suggest .

71n-vCRy8mL._SL1200_.jpg

Confusingly this illustration is not on the Ddpai website for any of it's camera's , has someone made it up !?

I've asked the sellers where they got it from without reply and Ddpai themselves , as some will know Ddpai answer promptly and politely but never actually directly answer the question , perhaps they should enter politics !

All they said was to when it's recording hit the camera to trigger G shock and file lock and if it didn't to get a refund .
Nothing about the illustration or battery protection auto shutdown mode .

So in it's current form I set it to not switch off and just pull the cigar plug if parking on the relative safety of the driveway rendering the vehicle completely camera unprotected .

If re-hard wired this wouldn't be an option as a switch would have to be installed or I awkwardly disconnect / reconnect the micro USB as it's at the very top of the windshield against the headlining delightfully showing no wires whatsoever .

Ddpai hardwire ! Well I bought the correct kit with the right angled micro USB when it was running on the previous v3.0.5.10 firmware as some have observed it didn't have the advert displayed inline fuse so a fuse tap was added , everytime the car was started the camera powered down and then rebooted not getting footage for up to a minute later up the road .

I gave up on this and reverted to the permanently live cigar socket with no cutting of power , the whole Ddpai hardwire kit is pretty useless as no inline fuse and voltage protection cut off is too low at 11.6V .


So guys what's your camera doing post Auto shutdown ?
 
Very quiet in here , lol .

Another sellers illustration .

616CDplIOhL._SL1500_.jpg
 
Hi guys , first post here .

On updating to the latest firmware v3.5.2.27 gave me options to increase the snap shot video length which it does and a battery protection for parked vehicles setting that cuts power after setting a period of time .

Power is from a permanently live cigar lighter socket , I did previously try a Ddpai hardwire kit but more on that later .

The camera switches off perfectly for the specified time , however it does not wake up again with a G shock or starting the vehicle .

It only wakes up with unplugging cigar and plugging back in , I assume also this would work with the micro USB unplugging / reconnecting .

As some illustrations from Amazon and Ebay sellers suggest .

71n-vCRy8mL._SL1200_.jpg

Confusingly this illustration is not on the Ddpai website for any of it's camera's , has someone made it up !?

I've asked the sellers where they got it from without reply and Ddpai themselves , as some will know Ddpai answer promptly and politely but never actually directly answer the question , perhaps they should enter politics !

All they said was to when it's recording hit the camera to trigger G shock and file lock and if it didn't to get a refund .
Nothing about the illustration or battery protection auto shutdown mode .

So in it's current form I set it to not switch off and just pull the cigar plug if parking on the relative safety of the driveway rendering the vehicle completely camera unprotected .

If re-hard wired this wouldn't be an option as a switch would have to be installed or I awkwardly disconnect / reconnect the micro USB as it's at the very top of the windshield against the headlining delightfully showing no wires whatsoever .

Ddpai hardwire ! Well I bought the correct kit with the right angled micro USB when it was running on the previous v3.0.5.10 firmware as some have observed it didn't have the advert displayed inline fuse so a fuse tap was added , everytime the car was started the camera powered down and then rebooted not getting footage for up to a minute later up the road .

I gave up on this and reverted to the permanently live cigar socket with no cutting of power , the whole Ddpai hardwire kit is pretty useless as no inline fuse and voltage protection cut off is too low at 11.6V .


So guys what's your camera doing post Auto shutdown ?


I’ve just hardwired my mini2 up but I’m having the same problem. After auto shutdown the camera does not start up again unless usb is unplugged and plugged back in again, this is crazy because the only other option is continuous recording and I’m worried that will kill the car battery. Am I doing something wrong or did you solve this problem.
 
The image does not belong to the mini or any other DDPai camera and is made up , and is simply pulled from Google images and copied to an advert for the mini's , despite logic , the facility of smart G shock or vehicle starting switch on , the unit does not switch on after auto shutdown.


I installed a push button switch under the dash to break and switch off power with my choosing the permanently live hardwire .

The power down interval settings part is true and works .
 
The image does not belong to the mini or any other DDPai camera and is made up , and is simply pulled from Google images and copied to an advert for the mini's , despite logic , the facility of smart G shock or vehicle starting switch on , the unit does not switch on after auto shutdown.


I installed a push button switch under the dash to break and switch off power with my choosing the permanently live hardwire .

The power down interval settings part is true and works .

Yes I’m considering a switch too, I’ve tested it several times and once auto switchoff kicks in the camera does not start up again. I may return it and just stick with the mini one as I already have 1 of them and it works fine. I bought the mini2 for the auto switchoff but that’s pointless when it doesn’t switch back on,
 
Stick with the mini2 the 1440P resolution spanks the mini's poor 1080P .

Get a part refund for the mini2 ( like I did for the hardwire kit as no in-line fuse ) as it's false advertising , Ddpai should do more to pull the post Auto shutdown fake illustrations down .
 
Last edited:
Just to lend weight to this issue - I'm having exactly the same problem with a newly purchased Mini 2. It's hardwired to a supply that NEVER goes off (I'm confident of that). When it turns itself off (no LEDs), it will NOT come back on again without a power cycle (pull the micro-USB out). That's mighty inconvenient and not how it's supposed to work, surely?
 
As per other thread , that particular image is a fake illustration just repeatedly copied by other sellers .

The illustration doesn't appear on the Ddpai website for any of it's cameras and Ddpai should make efforts to pull that particular illustration down .

I've installed a push button switch .
 
Last edited:
Just to lend weight to this issue - I'm having exactly the same problem with a newly purchased Mini 2. It's hardwired to a supply that NEVER goes off (I'm confident of that). When it turns itself off (no LEDs), it will NOT come back on again without a power cycle (pull the micro-USB out). That's mighty inconvenient and not how it's supposed to work, surely?

Unfortunately it’s exactly how they are. Me and my friend both bought the mini 2 and they both fail to switch on again after an auto shutdown. Rather than send it back I bought a rocker switch as it’s easy to fit in my taxi but I certainly wouldn’t want that in my car. Ddpai failed to respond to my email and on Twitter which means they must be fully aware of it. I bought mine from Amazon so in about 8 months time I’ll return it for a newer model (mini 3), after all it is faulty and does come with a 12 month warranty.
 
Thanks Dazza - it’s really useful to know that it’s not just me. Pretty frustrating behaviour though. I might return mine too...
 
Ha , ha , Dazza , I like your style .

My ebay purchase didn't have that fake illustration at the time but some do now .

Not familiar with Amazon policy but normal UK Consumers Rights Act of 2015 usually means a product is declared faulty by the consumer without question by the seller within 6 months , but after 6 months , you have to prove it's faulty !
 
It's worth mentioning that apart from my switch the phones WiFi will connect with the camera a maximum of 10 metres away ( seems to do this best from upstairs ) and change the setting so the camera powers down , saves me physically having to go out in the evening and use the switch .

I have to remember to set it back to not to switch off for the next day .
 
Little update from me. I reviewed the product on Amazon, pointing out very clearly (ahem!) that the flowchart diagram is wrong. I was then contacted by the UK seller (Wankaku) to tell me that, no, the diagram is correct - the camera WILL return from auto shutdown on a g-shock. When I protested, they contacted the manufacturer, who confirmed that, yes, that is the way it is SUPPOSED to work (wakes up from auto shutdown with a g-shock as in the diagram) BUT that they have had other reports of this not working properly!

So it seems that the camera is SUPPOSED to work per the diagram, but in practice it does not. The good news is that the manufacturer has indicated that they may be able to fix the problem via a software update. How long that will take to become available I don't know, but I will keep chasing the UK vendor to get this fixed. The UK vendor (Wankaku) are extremely responsive and eager to help, so I have some optimism that this MIGHT get fixed.
 
Last edited:
I’ve actually reviewed this product twice on Amazon to warn others but for some reason it does not go onto the list of reviews. I’ve fitted a switch and set it for 15 minutes and it didn’t even power down. I still like the camera because the WiFi is so much better than the Transcend Drivepro I had and also that snapshot button is really the main reason I bought it. Hopefully a firmware update will fix everything.
 
Tried mine on all the different intervals and they work , it shut down on 15min setting from phone to camera WiFi stood upstairs yesterday evening.

This morning I know it worked as looking out the car is covered in condensation , if camera were on it would clear a small porthole with it's heat on the windscreen .
 
Nice one Si (y)


2018-04-16 07.52.32.png
2018-04-16 07.55.35.png



It's a good camera on the whole and spanks the Blueskysea B1W for image quality for just a tiny bit more money .

Form factor is great and having the micro USB connect up higher in the mount shows less wire .
 
Oh really, I’ll try mine again as I’ve only tried once since putting the switch. So you have parking mode set to normal record and preserve battery life when not in use set to 15 minutes yes.
 

Attachments

  • 10027034-3AED-4DAE-81DC-71558419BC73.png
    10027034-3AED-4DAE-81DC-71558419BC73.png
    854.8 KB · Views: 23
Hi Daz , I've normally got it not to switch off so I can use parking monertering time lapse recording 1f/s so as not to gobble/ overwrite the SD card too much .

Occasionally I set the auto shutdown depending where I'm parked or just push the breaker switch to switch off.

You want your G shock on ( mines middle ) if you go time lapse recording so with G shock activation the camera comes out of time lapse to record normal 25 f/s for 15mins before going back into time lapse 1f/s which is called Park Guard for the M6+ and also locks the file.

This would also happen on re-entering the vehicle time lapse recording ( blue light ) and definitely with the thud of closing the door.

A periodic reformatting of the SD card clears it down .

Park Guard as detailed here by Mat for the M6+
( same chipset as mini2 )

Skip to 19:14 mins .

 
Thanks for that, I’ll have a play around with mine. I’m always worried how much battery they consume so testing is best done during the day.
 
Thread starter Similar threads Forum Replies Date
J DDPai Other 1
D DDPai Other 31
R DDPai Other 0
Back
Top