Out of warranty question

[Ben180]

Hello,

I've had my camera since Feb 2020 so out of the 12 months warranty unfortunately.
The issue I'm having is the camera will at random intervals turn off. No response, no recording etc and only way to make it work is to pull out charger and put it back in - it's left plugged in on a live cigarette socket.
It usually happens within 24hrs but can be within 2-3 days occasionally.

I've been told it may be the battery and to do a test which I'm doing now.
If it ends up being the battery the customer service advisor told me 18 months is about right for a battery which I find hard to believe?
And I assume I'll have to fork out for the replacement too which I don't think is right.

Anyone heard of this?
Anything I can do other than potentially look at a different brand of camera, not sure if any consumer laws protect me?

 

[jokiin]

If you've been running it 24/7 no wonder the battery is dead, just as likely it's time for a memory card replacement as well, you're on borrowed time with that kind of usage

 

[Ben180]

If you've been running it 24/7 no wonder the battery is dead, just as likely it's time for a memory card replacement as well, you're on borrowed time with that kind of usage

Why?
Why can't a camera be plugged in 24/7 and last longer than 18m?
I need 24/7 recording because my car has been hit in the middle of the night before.
SD card was fine but replaced it as suggested anyway to rule that out.

 

[SawMaster]

Why can't a camera be plugged in 24/7 and last longer than 18m?

Some can, but not any using a battery. Even then it is very tough on the hardware and generally voids warranties. Dashcams aren't designed to deal with the kind of heat this usage can generate.

My original Mobius with supercaps fitted gave me 4+ years service running 24/7, it is the only dashcam I can recommend for this kind of use and yours may or may not do as well as mine did. It probably helped a G1W/S and a G1W/HC go wonky trying them 24/7, but a B1W and a B2W took it in stride for a few periods of several days use.

Today's cams run hotter than these older ones do so I doubt they can withstand anything like this nearly as well, and if after 18 months all yours needs is a battery I'd say you're doing OK with it.

Phil

 

[Ben180]

Some can, but not any using a battery. Even then it is very tough on the hardware and generally voids warranties. Dashcams aren't designed to deal with the kind of heat this usage can generate.

My original Mobius with supercaps fitted gave me 4+ years service running 24/7, it is the only dashcam I can recommend for this kind of use and yours may or may not do as well as mine did. It probably helped a G1W/S and a G1W/HC go wonky trying them 24/7, but a B1W and a B2W took it in stride for a few periods of several days use.

Today's cams run hotter than these older ones do so I doubt they can withstand anything like this nearly as well, and if after 18 months all yours needs is a battery I'd say you're doing OK with it.

Phil

Ah right okay appreciate this!

 

[jokiin]

Why?

your camera has a built in battery, not suitable for this type of use

 

[SawMaster]

Just FYI, don't know if the 522 can do it, but I've gone to "low bitrate" recording while parked, which lets cams run cooler and you still get 100% time coverage on the parking vids. May lose a little something on fast-moving cars but otherwise still plenty of detail. Cams which have this can be used 24/7 as long as you have enough car battery to cover the time you're parked.

Phil

 

[jokiin]

Just FYI, don't know if the 522 can do it, but I've gone to "low bitrate" recording while parked

not many cameras offer this option, it's more the exception than the rule

 

[Nextbase Support]

Why?
Why can't a camera be plugged in 24/7 and last longer than 18m?
I need 24/7 recording because my car has been hit in the middle of the night before.
SD card was fine but replaced it as suggested anyway to rule that out.

Hello,

If the camera is always recording, then it's constantly being supplied with power.

This can either be because the cigarette lighter port is a permanent live fuse (always powered) or the hard wire kit is on a permanent live fuse.

If you're using a cigarette lighter cable, then you can either unplug the socket every time you leave the vehicle which will stop your battery from draining, or you can use a Hard Wire Kit instead. Please be aware that the cigarette lighter cable could drain your battery if left connected to a permanent live cigarette lighter socket.

If you require your camera to be powered when the car is off, then I'd suggest a Hard Wire Kit instead.

The Series 2 Cameras have an internal lithium ion battery for emergency uses, such as the loss of power during an incident. This will allow the camera to continue recording to the end of the clip before switching off.
This internal battery has around 10-15 minutes of battery life. However with the Rear Camera added, the battery life is drastically reduced due to the additional power draw. This is usually 1-3 minutes if fully charged.

If you intend on using Parking Mode on your camera, then we'd instead recommend using a Hard Wire Kit, not the Cigarette Lighter Cable. The Hard Wire Kit will allow the camera to draw nominal current from the car's battery, preventing the cam's battery from being drained. The Hard Wire Kit has an in-built voltage cut off which protects the car's battery from being drained below 11.2V. We'd recommend using a Permanent Live fuse and enabling Parking Mode on the camera.

For Parking Mode, if the camera is completely still for five minutes (the car is parked), then the camera will 'hibernate' in Parking Mode.
If your car is bumped and the G Force sensor registers movement then the dash cam will automatically turn on, record for 30 seconds and then shut back down again. If you are unlucky enough to be hit twice in a row then the dash cam would automatically record again and capture both events.
Here's some more information about Parking Mode: https://www.nextbase.com/en-gb/dash-cam-features/parking-mode/

Regarding the recording lengths, the camera will record continuously in small segments (1,2, or 3 minutes). It will record these segments consecutively until the SD card is full. Then the oldest piece of footage will be deleted and the newest will be saved in it's place. This will continue looping and is called Continuous Overwriting. The Dash Cam does this automatically to allow for more footage to be recorded and the old, unnecessary footage to be deleted without manual intervention.

However Protected Files are not overwritten in the same way as normal files. If you do not format regularly, these files can build up and reduce the capacity of storage available for normal footage. It is essential to format every two weeks to delete any protected files and clear the card ready for continued usage.

If you leave the camera on recording 24/7 by the time you come to look at footage, the majority of the period will already have been overwritten. However by using Parking Mode, only the required footage will be recorded when the vehicle is parked.

Kind regards,
Millie

Nextbase Technical Support

 

[Ben180]

your camera has a built in battery, not suitable for this type of use

Any suggestions on a camera that's designed to be run 24/7 but still has a reasonable recording time?
I think I get about 11 hours out of mine currently which is fine as it covers a large enough time frame if something happened overnight?

While parking mode sounds good if it doesn't capture movement I can't see how it would capture somebody keying your car for example as they're very unlikely to set off the g sensor.

 

[jokiin]

Look for a camera that uses capacitors instead of a battery, from memory Nextbase do have one like this but not sure that two channel is an option or not for that model

As to your car getting keyed if using a front/rear camera setup it's not going to see what's happening at the sides, even if they come into frame and it's obvious who it was you still may lack the proof you need anyway

 

[Ben180]

Look for a camera that uses capacitors instead of a battery, from memory Nextbase do have one like this but not sure that two channel is an option or not for that model

As to your car getting keyed if using a front/rear camera setup it's not going to see what's happening at the sides, even if they come into frame and it's obvious who it was you still may lack the proof you need anyway

Cheers.

We've had all sorts on our street and although I now park around the back, it doesn't stop some people going a step further

 

[kamkar]

If possible i would aim a CCTV camera of some sorts at the parked car, though even that and zoomed in making a ID at the hardest times of the day ( low light ) will be hard.
Where i park my car ( back yard ) it is pitch black not least in the winter months, the yard do now have a PIR LED light, but it is just back lighting anyone approaching my car, so i dont have any trust in parking guard.

I am using a IP camera system, which have smart motion detect, so only human or vehicle shapes near my car trigger a notification on my phone / tablet on my bedside table.
Those 2 videos are a little zoomed out, i am normally zoomed in a bit more to have a higher chance of making a identification.
My camera is a 20 X optical zoom Pan Tilt Zoom camera mounted to my #2 floor balcony door and it is about 20 M from the parked car.

 

[Ben180]

If possible i would aim a CCTV camera of some sorts at the parked car, though even that and zoomed in making a ID at the hardest times of the day ( low light ) will be hard.
Where i park my car ( back yard ) it is pitch black not least in the winter months, the yard do now have a PIR LED light, but it is just back lighting anyone approaching my car, so i dont have any trust in parking guard.

I am using a IP camera system, which have smart motion detect, so only human or vehicle shapes near my car trigger a notification on my phone / tablet on my bedside table.
Those 2 videos are a little zoomed out, i am normally zoomed in a bit more to have a higher chance of making a identification.
My camera is a 20 X optical zoom Pan Tilt Zoom camera mounted to my #2 floor balcony door and it is about 20 M from the parked car.

That is on my to do list.
Which camera is that as quality looks really good!

I bought a Yi Nightscape dashcam as well as it was a capacitor instead of battery, so far quite impressed but not done a drive to see what footage is like. £50 from Maplin so a bargain too

 

[kamkar]

My new PTZ camera is a 1440p one from Dahua in their cheapest range, it is paired with a cheap 4 channel Dahua NVR which have a 2 TB drive inside

My car was broken into in January, but i had been without a camera on my balcony door for a while as the old one broke, so i had to jump into action and get this new camera, but sadly too late this time around.
I moved to this smaller town from the #2 largest town in Denmark, where i never had any påroblems, but moiving here i saw multiple cases of vandalisem ( keyed car 2 days before i was to sell it, window broken in next car, just broken window nothing missing, and then new ( 2012 ) car have a dent in the roof from someone throwing a D cell into the air which then landed on my car )