New owner of Garmin mini. Confused on certain features

Jackmeister

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Saint Hubert
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Just purchased a mini and so far so good. I am testing it here and there and viewing videos on it. I admit that I am still confused on at least 2 elements

1) How does one capture an incident on the road? Can someone point me to a resource that fully explains it? I know it records when I start the car. But when I finish driving I see there is nothing in the footage. I am assuming it's because there was no incident detected. But if I want to record something I believe I need to press the SAVE button and it then captures about a minute of footage prior to having pressed the SAVE button. Am I understanding this well?

2) Viewing the footage on your iphone. I thought footage whether temporary or saved was always on your phone at all times which is not the case. In other words, if I record an incident correctly, I need to have the mini working and pairing with my iphone at at all times in order that the footage be viewable. To have it permanently on my iphone, I would need to have both devices open and save the footage to my iphone. Is that correct?

Thanks,
Andy
 
Welcome to the forum Jackmeister.

Not at all familiar with the Garmin cameras, but maybe if you have it set to G - sensor is the reason it dont trigger as it have not felt a event, if that is the case, when your camera are on you can try and flick it and see if that trigger a recording then.
But most dashcams record as soon as they are powered, and G sensor are only used to save events in a locked state so it dont get overwritten when the memory card fill up, or the G-sensor can also be used in parking mode, and start a event recording if the car get bumped.
G sensor however are a bit hit and miss in regard to sensitivity, some cameras are too sensitive so it trigger all the time, and some are too insensitive and so take a lot to trigger and so are of little use in parking mode as your car most often get dinged in a parking lot and not totaled.

So first of all turn off everything in the settings that is G-sensor related, this should force your camera to record all the time when you are driving.

Couple of additional questions.
A: Where did you get your memory card from ? and what brand / size / model is it ??
B: How do you power the camera ?
C: Have you formatted your memory card in the camera ( using the APP ) ?

2: the camera do not automatic backup files to your phone, anything you like to go there you have to DL manual, but be warned the wifi speeds on dashcams are often slow / moderate so not suited for bulk transfers, but a single file now and then will be fine.
But in general wifi in dashcams not least if it dont have a LCD like the mini, well it is for doing your settings and copy a file, and viewing on a larger phone screen are better than any dashcam LCD screen, but i dont recommend sharing footage with anyone at the site of a event, dont even recommend telling you have a camera.
So once set up you should not need to connect your phone unless to DL a file or change a setting ( like we have just changed daylights savings, in my case from +2 hours summer time to +1 winter / normal time )
 
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Welcome to the forum Jackmeister.

Not at all familiar with the Garmin cameras, but maybe if you have it set to G - sensor is the reason it dont trigger as it have not felt a event, if that is the case, when your camera are on you can try and flick it and see if that trigger a recording then.
But most dashcams record as soon as they are powered, and G sensor are only used to save events in a locked state so it dont get overwritten when the memory card fill up, or the G-sensor can also be used in parking mode, and start a event recording if the car get bumped.
G sensor however are a bit hit and miss in regard to sensitivity, some cameras are too sensitive so it trigger all the time, and some are too insensitive and so take a lot to trigger and so are of little use in parking mode as your car most often get dinged in a parking lot and not totaled.

So first of all turn off everything in the settings that is G-sensor related, this should force your camera to record all the time when you are driving.

Couple of additional questions.
A: Where did you get your memory card from ? and what brand / size / model is it ??
B: How do you power the camera ?
C: Have you formatted your memory card in the camera ( using the APP ) ?

2: the camera do not automatic backup files to your phone, anything you like to go there you have to DL manual, but be warned the wifi speeds on dashcams are often slow / moderate so not suited for bulk transfers, but a single file now and then will be fine.
But in general wifi in dashcams not least if it dont have a LCD like the mini, well it is for doing your settings and copy a file, and viewing on a larger phone screen are better than any dashcam LCD screen, but i dont recommend sharing footage with anyone at the site of a event, dont even recommend telling you have a camera.
So once set up you should not need to connect your phone unless to DL a file or change a setting ( like we have just changed daylights savings, in my case from +2 hours summer time to +1 winter / normal time )
Thank you so much.
1) I purchased a Lexar 64GB Micro SD as a temporary card
2) Power it when the car starts. I can then pair it to my phone and review the angle or take a quick snapshot. Technically it is recording the moment I start the car. It is just not saving it unless I press the SAVE button in the rear (or if it detects something).
3)Yes, the card was formatted by pressing the microphone button and the light went from green to red indicating success.

Good suggestions. Thanks again!
 
if you have been connected to the camera with the phone when driving, and having the preview footage going, on most cameras this mean you have to start a recording manual, normally there will be a little red dot flashing in the preview indicating recording ( just like old school camcorders ) most cameras also have a LED on the camera itself.

Lexar are no longer the best brand for dashcams, their quality declined rapidly after the memory card DPT was sold off.

Okay sound like you do not have it hardwired and are using the original power source, some have used a in car USB charge plug, but these are often not strong enough and can cause problems.

It should record and save on its own, thats kind of the prime feature of dashcams, starting automatic and not needing any human interaction people might forget.
By definition in here when we hear record a camera is recording it is putting stuff on the memory card, save is only a word we use if someone ask how to save a camera file to the computer or other devise.
 
Just purchased a mini and so far so good. I am testing it here and there and viewing videos on it. I admit that I am still confused on at least 2 elements

1) How does one capture an incident on the road? Can someone point me to a resource that fully explains it? I know it records when I start the car. But when I finish driving I see there is nothing in the footage. I am assuming it's because there was no incident detected. But if I want to record something I believe I need to press the SAVE button and it then captures about a minute of footage prior to having pressed the SAVE button. Am I understanding this well?

2) Viewing the footage on your iphone. I thought footage whether temporary or saved was always on your phone at all times which is not the case. In other words, if I record an incident correctly, I need to have the mini working and pairing with my iphone at at all times in order that the footage be viewable. To have it permanently on my iphone, I would need to have both devices open and save the footage to my iphone. Is that correct?

Thanks,
Andy
Hi Andy,
1. You are correct with your interpretation about saving an incident. If you insert the memory card in a PC, videos are saved in a folder called Saved Videos. The videos that are recorded when in normal use are in a separate folder labelled Unsaved Videos.
2. You are again correct. If you want footage on your phone you have to use the Garmin Drive App where you select the footage and trim as required before saving to your phone. The App is a bit clunky and slow however.
 
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hi,

with this model, is there a button to press to activate the event recording incase you see something on the road ?

Thanks
 
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