My RC500S Dual Channel Dash Cam not powering on

Just got a response from DOD Tech on my issue and they pretty much advised to do everything that members of this forum suggested. They said if it still doesn't turn on then the internal battery must be faulty or some other hardware. They suggested I send it off for repairs and that it would still be cheaper than buying a new one. Well I suppose this is the end of the road for me with any DOD products if their most expensive dash cam only lasts 2.5 years. It would actually be cheaper for me to go with Viofo or even Street Guardian than get it repaired and then I'd still be risking having it die on me again. For anyone that is looking at buying a DOD RC500S think twice before you do. Their after-sales support is atrocious and firmware updates are very few compared to the likes of other well known brands
 
Modest to none existing support and customer care seem to be the norm in dashcams.
 
Modest to none existing support and customer care seem to be the norm in dashcams.

You can get away with less than decent support if these so-called premium products lasted more than a couple of years and did what it meant to do. I'd expect a budget dashcam to die after a year or two...and it would still be cheap to replace them. Bur for an expensive AU$500+ dashcam like the RC500S it should have the best of the best materials for the money spent and outlast the budget dashcams. Otherwise what's the point of spending that amount? If Viofo can offer the same quality, if not better, at a fraction of the price of DOD why the hell is the RC500S considered a premium dashcam over the Viofo? If it's to do with "high quality" materials it's built with then my RC500S should've lasted another 2 to 3 years at the very least
 
why the hell is the RC500S considered a premium dashcam over the Viofo? If it's to do with "high quality" materials it's built with then my RC500S should've lasted another 2 to 3 years at the very least

DOD is a marketing company, seem to have done their job well if you believed you were buying a premium product
 
DOD is a marketing company, seem to have done their job well if you believed you were buying a premium product

DOD didn't convince me, it was all the reviews online that boasted about it's "premium" features and most users gave it high scores that made me decide to buy it. If it's not an actual premium dashcam then perhaps they should sell it a budget price. For what it's worth it's a big ripoff
 
"premium" features

If you was looking for that, then i can see why you was roped in, but really in dashcams features you want to walk around and just focus on what matter.
And that is 1 : image quality - 2 : i want to say product longevity, but really as most are buying a new product that have not yet been established, so instead i will place company / brand support and service,,,,,, which on the other hand can be hard to research unless you stumble over this site.
 
Appreciate your feedback @kamkar1 . It was my first ever dash cam I bought in 2017 and you can say I was very naive in dash cam technology back then. I suppose I relied too much on youtube and online reviews, which could've been biased for all I know. Hopefully I am better equipped now to make a more informed decision and being part of this forum is a huge help, as I only stumbled across this site last year. My journey in search of my next dash cam has well and truly started
 
Hi everyone,
Sorry if this has been posted elsewhere, but I couldn't find a solution for my problem after doing several searches. I've had my RC500s dual channel dash cam for about 3 years now. It's hard wired with the DOD hardwire kit and I have the latest firmware FWI5GEMI installed. Until this morning it has been working perfectly without a glitch both in driving and parking modes. However, when I got in the car this morning, I noticed the lights on the dash cam were not illuminated. When I checked the DOD hardwire kit, the green light was on and the light on the cigarette lighter power socket was on too. I switched the hardwire kit off and back on several times without success. I reformatted the SD card and copied the latest firmware on the root thinking that might get the cam to start but still no luck. There is obviously power going from the hardwire kit to the dash cam but I'm baffled as to why it won't turn on. Am I missing something or has the dash cam just decided to die overnight? As this model is one of the best dash cams on the market I thought it would last longer than 3 years. I would appreciate if anyone would know why this might be happening. Thank you all in advance!

Hi Eric
found your issue and registred just because of this.
I have the same issue - Dashcam doesn't boot up if I try to upgrade firmware. None of new works.
2019-05-09FW for NA/EU/NO1904301
2018-10-25FW for NA/EU/NO1809200

Last working for me is ver. 1805100
No clue why - if it is related to certain hardware combination.
 
Hi Eric
found your issue and registred just because of this.
I have the same issue - Dashcam doesn't boot up if I try to upgrade firmware. None of new works.
2019-05-09FW for NA/EU/NO1904301
2018-10-25FW for NA/EU/NO1809200

Last working for me is ver. 1805100
No clue why - if it is related to certain hardware combination.

Hi dadabear,

Is yours still working with firmware 1805100?

I've tried every firmware version and mine still doesn't boot up / switch on. I have resigned to the fact that it has completely died. It won't even reset with the hard reset button.

I bought a Viofo a129 Duo last week and installed it over the weekend using my existing DP4 hardwire kit. So far I'm loving it! Easy to setup and the android app works really good and it has a far better interface than DOD. For half the price of the RC500s the video quality is fantastic and even surpasses the DOD. The parking mode comes on after 5 minutes of non movement as I'm using the DP4 hardwire kit but the RC500s did that too so that doesn't bother me. I won't be going back to DOD ever again!
 
Hi dadabear,

Is yours still working with firmware 1805100?

I've tried every firmware version and mine still doesn't boot up / switch on. I have resigned to the fact that it has completely died. It won't even reset with the hard reset button.

I bought a Viofo a129 Duo last week and installed it over the weekend using my existing DP4 hardwire kit. So far I'm loving it! Easy to setup and the android app works really good and it has a far better interface than DOD. For half the price of the RC500s the video quality is fantastic and even surpasses the DOD. The parking mode comes on after 5 minutes of non movement as I'm using the DP4 hardwire kit but the RC500s did that too so that doesn't bother me. I won't be going back to DOD ever again!

OK :)
Just wanted to let you know as this was only indication of issue I also have.

Yes. I am on 1805100. Everytime I try to upgrade camera seems to be dead with firmware on SD - no light / no sound / nothing. I also tried different SD card. I also thought it's in silicon have but then I try to reboot with previous firmware version - and ohhallaa.... (ok with some juice reconnecation and reset button pressing) - but working good.

One day I will try it again. I will try to contact support and local seller again with this query.
 
OK :)
Just wanted to let you know as this was only indication of issue I also have.

Yes. I am on 1805100. Everytime I try to upgrade camera seems to be dead with firmware on SD - no light / no sound / nothing. I also tried different SD card. I also thought it's in silicon have but then I try to reboot with previous firmware version - and ohhallaa.... (ok with some juice reconnecation and reset button pressing) - but working good.

One day I will try it again. I will try to contact support and local seller again with this query.

Thank you for letting me know you have the same issue.

Glad you can get it to work with a previous firmware. But you shouldn't have to rely on an old firmware version to have your expensive dash cam work with less features. Is yours still under warranty...how long have you had it for?
 
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