"It defaults to off is the correct term, the camera defaults to Wi-fi off each time."
No, it is not the correct term and I have just explained why. Default implies one predetermined CHOICE out of many. That's not what we have here.
The camera REVERTS to wifi off is the correct term, because it goes back to something other than what we set it up for.
When the camera defaults, you have a say in what that choice would be.
When the camera reverts, you don't.
What we have here is a particular behavior preprogrammed from the factory which we cannot change (the behavior) even if we tried.
I am talking about the ability to change the factory predetermined behavior (ON or OFF), not what the feature actually does (activate Wi-Fi).
I need BOTH the ability to start/stop WiFi at will and ALSO the ability to choose which status should be the default when I turn on the camera. We cannot do the latter. The factory/camera has made that decision for me, and that's not OK.
There is a difference between us manually turning a function on or off at will, and having the camera constantly assuming as predetermined choice the one it thinks we should have and not the one we want and respecting that preference.
It does not respect or consider my preference and decides for me.
I don't spend my money on a device so it will dictate to me how I have to use it or which settings I have to set up. That's for me to decide!
Default
: a preselected option adopted by a computer program or other mechanism when no alternative is specified by the user or programmer.
This is the incorrect term because we don't have the ability to specify the alternative. There's no true alternative. It's a single choice: OFF.
To revert (v): return to (a previous state, practice, topic, etc.).
This is exactly what the camera does: always revert to its original status despite any changes we make.
"A setting would be to change the default option to default to on."
Agreed! We don't have that setting at all. There is nothing built into the firmware to tell the camera to always turn wifi on on boot up.
"Do you genuinely have to adjust your settings or view your screen every time you start your car?"
Absolutely Yes! You cannot project your own personal way of using the product unto others who may have different needs or their own ways of using the product.
I will explain why.
When I'm doing ridesharing, I don't need to activate 3 channel recording all the time. I don't need to activate the internal camera when I'm in between rides and there is no rider in my car.
I don't need to activate 3 channels when I'm off work and I'm driving myself, family or friends around on private driving. In both of those circumstances I only need front and back channels.
Those circumstances change back and forth multiple times during a typical day.
Recording a channel constantly when it isn't truly necessary consumes more power, generates more heat, wears out the camera more and shortens the useful life of the microSD card when we record and rerecord gigabytes of useless data (internal camera videos of empty seats).
I want to make sure that the camera is only writing to that card files that are necessary and relevant.
This is even more important considering the fact that the camera is limited to 256GB cards so we are forced to manage the space and retrieve files more often.
Ideally, we would need a simple button to switch back and forth between "Driver mode" (front and back) and "Rideshare mode" (all channels on) at will without having to fiddle with WiFi and using other phones or gadgets.
It's a waste of time we don't have when we are busy and the only way around it is to leave 3 channel on permanently, a less than ideal scenario. This is us users suffering from the technical limitations of the device and us adapting to the device when it should be the device adapting to our needs instead.
"Normal operation of a dash cam is you start your car and it starts to record... "
This is your own supersimplifed opinion about "normal operation". Normal operation is a lot more than that.
Normal operation is everything that we need to do to make the product work as intended, including settings, functions and controls, to produce the results we seek.
Everything and anything that I need to do, change, press, activate, deactivate, setup or configure so I end up with a useful video file at the end of the day is normal operation.
"On the occasion settings need to be checked or changed then you just turn on Wi-fi, it’s a button press and takes a matter of seconds to do, connect and open the app."
The WiFi procedure is an authentic torture, considering the fact that wiring is incredibly finicky. Cameras are constantly disconnecting and every time a camera goes offline you have to start the whole process all over again to visually confirm if they reconnected, or which one reconnected and which one didn't!
Just hearing "recording 2 channels" without actually seeing which ones are recording is not enough. These cables are atrocious and we don't know which camera is the one disconnected. If wiring was more reliable we wouldn't need a live view, but we can't trust these wires.
If I was to switch between 2 channel and 3 channel modes (Driver mode vs rideshare mode) as I would like and as efficient camera use would dictate, I wouldn't have the time to follow that convoluted wifi process so many times in the day. I'm way too busy for that!
That functionality needs to be programmed into a one touch button.
This camera has an optional Bluetooth button. Why not program that button to choose between video recording lock or video recording channel swap?
It's perfectly doable!
"ultimately if that’s not what you want then buy a different camera."
Out of the available choices in the market to satisfy Uber drivers needs, this the product that gets the closest, but it is still falling way short of expectations and needs to mature a lot to get there.