Review Vantrue E360 Ace 5.2K 360° Panoramic Dash Cam

[bhb]

I received an invitation from Jeff from Vantrue to try the E360 and write a review about it, which I gladly accepted. Thanks to Jeff and the team at Vantrue.

I bought my first dashcam from another brand last September, so I have some experience whit installing and using a dashcam.

The dashcam, the E360 Ace arrived packed in a sturdy transport box together with a 128GB MicroSD card. The box of the dashcam itself and the separate packaging inside are also sturdy so that any damage during transport is kept to a minimum. A few days later I also received a hardwire kit, for connecting the power supply for the dashcam to the fuse box of the car. This is also packed in a sturdy box.




The built quality seems good, and all connections are in the right place. However, the on/off button is large and can be used to take a photo. Due to the size of this button, I have accidentally taken a photo several times without intending to. The dashcam has a lens on two sides, one for recording outside and one for recording inside the vehicle. These two lenses together create a panoramic image. The lenses of both the outside camera and the inside camera protrude from the dashcam and have a convex surface which requires some caution to prevent the lens from getting damaged with scratches or other damage.

At the bottom there is a threaded connection where the handheld mount can be attached. This mount consists of two parts, a handle with rechargeable batteries to power the camera and a tripod. The tripod has extendable legs so that the dashcam stands firmly. Attaching the mount and tripod is easy. Charging the batteries of the mount is done via the supplied USB-C (mount) to USB-A (adapter, not included). Also included is a cloth bag to store the handheld mount in.

The Quick User Guide contains information on how to install the dashcam and the supplied cable with cigarette plug connection in the car and how to install the handheld mount. The cigarette plug has an extra USB-A connection so that another device can also be connected to it. It also contains information on how to start operating the dashcam. The manual can be downloaded using the QR code on the back of the guide. The manual is clearly divided into chapters and reads smoothly. There are also QR codes to contact Vantrue in case of questions. On a separate flyer is a QR code for downloading the app.



Before I installed the dashcam in the car, I tried it at home so that I could become familiar with the operation and possibilities. This is possible by connecting the supplied USB cable with a normal 5V adapter with USB-A connection (not supplied) to the dashcam. Or just use the handheld mount.



The dashcam uses a touchscreen for the settings. This works quickly and precisely. Swiping from left to right (or right to left) changes the display view of the camera from front, cabin, rear and all together. Swiping from top to bottom opens the extensive settings menus and from bottom to top the Quick settings menu for recording modes in handheld mode or drive mode. The manual gives a clear description of this.

I then downloaded the app and connected it to the dashcam via WiFi. The connection is easy to do and takes up to 5 seconds. Once the app has made connection with the dashcam, operation is only possible via the app. Any operation via the touchscreen of the dashcam will result in the connection with the app being broken. The app should check for firmware updates and will display a message in the app as soon as a firmware update is available. This message can be ignored, but if the update is not installed, the message will appear every time you restart the app and makes connection with the dashcam. However, it is wise to install the firmware update because it contains improvements and possible new applications. Installing the new firmware update is completely automatic via Wifi (OTA, over the air) and is simple and fast. It is also possible to update the firmware via the MicroSD card. The app has a live view, buttons for microphone on off, file list access, take a screenshot and cycling the recording views. The app can also be used to adjust settings. The app also works fast and is easy to operate.



Review continued in next post.

 

[bhb]

Installing the dashcam in the car requires a few tries to get the camera in the right position on the window. The static stickers are handy because you can easily detach them from the window and use them multiple times for a different position. Cables are long enough for a normal car and flexible to hide them behind trim. The camera turns on automatically and starts recording as soon as there is power via the cigarette lighter. So you can drive away without having to perform any further actions on the dashcam. Once turned on, the camera quickly establishes a GPS connection. Voice commands for the camera are possible, and this works perfectly if the radio or music is not too loud when you drive.



Next videos taken with the E360.

 

[bhb]

 

[bhb]

 

[Nigel]

This seems rather jerky, there are no duplicated frames, but the frames are not evenly spaced...

 

[bhb]

This seems rather jerky, there are no duplicated frames, but the frames are not evenly spaced...

Yes, I agree. The original video is also jerky. At the moment I don't have other parking videos to compare.

 

[TonyM]

This seems rather jerky, there are no duplicated frames, but the frames are not evenly spaced...

The video title says 1980x1060 15fps.

EDIT - The actual resolution appears to be 1920x1080 15fps

 

[bhb]

The video title says 1980x1060 15fps.

I have checked this, must be 1920 x 1080 15fps.

 

[Nigel]

The video title says 1980x1060 15fps.

EDIT - The actual resolution appears to be 1920x1080 15fps

Yes, I realise that it is 15fps, but the frames are not all at intervals of 1/15th second, on some of them the amount of movement is a lot more than on others.

 

[captain69]

I’m not sure what the point of having an LTE module is if you can’t ever connect to it to see what’s going on. Every once in a while, when the thing is in parking mode, I’ll get an alert that it has detected motion, but I am never able to connect to the thing. Sometimes it will show the LTE module is connected, but the E360 never “wakes up.” I believe I was ONCE able to connect to it when it was in driving mode.
After a month and a half dealing with defective hardware, I’m getting close to the end of my rope with Vantrue.

EDIT: so, it appears that the 🤬 Vantrue app sign you out randomly and silently. There’s no indication that you’ve been logged out, which is apparently why I was completely unable to contact the device, even though it was frequently showing “connected”. I just stumbled across finding out that I was logged out by going to look at the messages. Vantrue really needs to hire a software engineer. Just throwing code Monkeys at a program ends up with junk like this.

VANtrue, if you’re listening, there’s absolutely no reason to be signed out of an app that lives on your personal secured iPhone!! 😡. FIX THIS

 

[Jeff_Vantrue]

I’m really sorry to hear about the frustrating issues you’ve been facing. I completely understand your frustration with the LTE module and the app. We’ve sent you a direct message, so please check your inbox, and we’ll do our best to assist you further.

View attachment 76657I’m not sure what the point of having an LTE module is if you can’t ever connect to it to see what’s going on. Every once in a while, when the thing is in parking mode, I’ll get an alert that it has detected motion, but I am never able to connect to the thing. Sometimes it will show the LTE module is connected, but the E360 never “wakes up.” I believe I was ONCE able to connect to it when it was in driving mode.
After a month and a half dealing with defective hardware, I’m getting close to the end of my rope with Vantrue.

EDIT: so, it appears that the 🤬 Vantrue app sign you out randomly and silently. There’s no indication that you’ve been logged out, which is apparently why I was completely unable to contact the device, even though it was frequently showing “connected”. I just stumbled across finding out that I was logged out by going to look at the messages. Vantrue really needs to hire a software engineer. Just throwing code Monkeys at a program ends up with junk like this.

VANtrue, if you’re listening, there’s absolutely no reason to be signed out of an app that lives on your personal secured iPhone!! 😡. FIX THIS

 

[bhb]

Finally I found some time for an update.

In the meantime I have also received the suction cup mount. Unfortunately it cannot be adjusted far enough to place the dashcam horizontally. Too bad, I would have liked to use it. It is also noticeable that the dashcam is better secured in the holder of the suction cup mount than that of the mount with the stick pad.

Further analysis of the footage over the past period, I find the footage somewhat disappointing. This is partly because I compare them with the images of another dashcam that I have with the same IMX675 image sensor for the front camera. License plates are also not clearly readable under various circumstances, where I often can with my other dashcam. But for someone else it can be good enough. Maybe Vantrue can enhance the video quality through firmware updates but that is something to wait for. As far as I'm concerned, this also applies to the rear camera. I can not compare the rear camera of the E360 with the rear camera of the other dashcam I have, because it has a different image sensor, but it struggles to deliver good quality footage under various circumstances.

As for the 360 degrees recordings in general, also in parking mode, I find this dashcam great. You get a all around view of your car. I have to say that in parking mode, EDIT: in dark conditions, the images are black and white due to the IR function, "EDIT: with the IR leds on the images are black and white." But clear enough. "EDIT: with the IR leds off all images are in colour. (see post #23)

For the rest this dashcam works great and so far I encountered no problems.

Now I have to wait for warm weather to see how it perfoms with high temperatures.

 

[TonyM]

In the meantime I have also received the suction cup mount. Unfortunately it cannot be adjusted far enough to place the dashcam horizontally.

I have seen a sample of a revised suction cup mount and it should have enough angle adjustment for you.

 

[bhb]

I have seen a sample of a revised suction cup mount and it should have enough angle adjustment for you.

Thanks Tony, great news!

Meanwhile I looked at the mount to see if I can make some space in the joint to make the angel bigger. Unfortunately no screws on that part to dismantle and little space to work with tools on it. That's going to be hard to edit. I'll have to think about that before I start.

 

[Julian23]

Thanks Tony, great news!

Meanwhile I looked at the mount to see if I can make some space in the joint to make the angel bigger. Unfortunately no screws on that part to dismantle and little space to work with tools on it. That's going to be hard to edit. I'll have to think about that before I start.

I had the same thoughts to increase the angle.
Maybe a Dremel would work to make the gap bigger?

 

[bhb]

I had the same thoughts to increase the angle.
Maybe a Dremel would work to make the gap bigger?

Yes, good idea. I have some tools like on the picture.

 

[bhb]

I did some editing and managed to increase the angle of the suction cup mount.
The Dremel cutter was not a success, probably due to the poor quality of the cutters. It was hard to cut off the metal with the Dremel.
Then with a mini hacksaw and a mini metal file, with better results. Problem solved!

 

[HUMMER_EV]

I ordered a vantrue on Amazon, installed it, worked fine then did an update and killed the rear camera. Returned and now I run thinkware 3000

 

[captain69]

Beware: if you set the thing up for parking mode and use “motion detection“ it turns on the infrared lights, which means your video is completely useless if you have a windshield. 🤦

I’ve reset the thing to do low bit rate five FPS in parking mode. Alas, that means I don’t get to hear what people are saying when they stick their head in the car. sigh.

I don’t know why motion detection can’t operate without cranking the super bright infrared lighting. I don’t think people who designed these products actually ever USE them in the real world.

 

[Karagandinez]

Beware: if you set the thing up for parking mode and use “motion detection“ it turns on the infrared lights, which means your video is completely useless if you have a windshield. 🤦

I’ve reset the thing to do low bit rate five FPS in parking mode. Alas, that means I don’t get to hear what people are saying when they stick their head in the car. sigh.

I don’t know why motion detection can’t operate without cranking the super bright infrared lighting. I don’t think people who designed these products actually ever USE them in the real world.

Are you saying that if the IR illumination is turned off in the menu, it will still turn on in parking mode: "motion detection"?