Sometimes Not Recording on Startup - Nextbase Support Useless

[sidepipe]

My 522gw has started intermittently not entering record mode when first powered up. It used to be reliable, and I don't think anything's changed. Sometimes, you get a message saying the card needs to be formatted, but if you dismiss that and press record everything works fine ( as it does if the request to format doesn't appear but it doesn't record on its own. ) Any ideas? It's not the end of the world, but obviously could be an issue if I forget to check that it's recording....

Nextbase support have been worse than useless, claiming my Sandisk High Endurance 128Gb card isn't good enough - I've pointed out that a) It works fine once the camera actually starts to record and b) its minimum write speed is around 8x faster than is actually required They also repeat the mantra about formatting the card every 2-3 weeks, despite the fact I've told them it often doesn't get more than a few hours use in that time..... ( but in any case, the card was formatted in the camera. ) I did try a new card ( admittedly of the same type, but as I say, I know the specs are fine! )

 

[Spuds]

My camera is mounted behind the rear view mirror so I do not see if there are any messages on start-up. Today there was a police incident, locally, that I was driving past around the time of the event. When I got home this evening I decided to download the footage. The morning journey to work was not recorded nor were other morning journeys. All the return journeys recorded normally. I am not sure how long this has been the case. I am using the Nextbase SD card (128gb). My first step is to fully format the sd card and reset the camera to default then check for firmware updates. This is the first time I have had reason to doubt the camera but it does not fill me with confidence that in the case of an accident the camera will have recorded.

 

[jokiin]

What condition is the camera battery in, reliability can take a hit if the battery is starting to get old

 

[Spuds]

This is the 522GW camera. Under 12 months old. How do I determine the condition of the battery? Apart for charging fully indoors then switching the camera on and timing the minutes until it switches off to give me an indication. Either way I would expect the battery to be good for more than a few months.

 

[jokiin]

How do I determine the condition of the battery? Apart for charging fully indoors then switching the camera on and timing the minutes until it switches off to give me an indication.

that would be a good start

 

[Spuds]

I fully charged the 522GW then removed the power plug and timed how long before the low battery warning showed. (This was with just the screen on but not recording and no screensaver). The warning alerted me after 17 minutes and switched off 2.5 minutes later. Does this indicate that the battery is good or not?

 

[jokiin]

that sounds ok, standby doesn't use as much power though, try recording and see how long it goes, if it still comes up good then the memory card is the next thing to look at

 

[Spuds]

From fully charged (all three bars showing) to the low battery alert, whilst recording, was just over 13 minutes. In anticipation to you suggesting to try an different memory card, from the Nextbase one I currently use, I wonder what you think of this one https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/B07NY23WBG.
It is quite reasonably priced.
Many thanks for your helpful suggestions @jokiin.
Spuds

 

[jokiin]

battery sounds fine from your test, a few reports of Nextbase cameras being fussy with some cards though so not sure if this is a preferred choice or not for your particular camera, that said they are very good cards

 

[Spuds]

Thanks for your help @jokiin. I have ordered the memory card for a tomorrow delivery. If I still have problems then I think I will migrate away from Nextbase altogether and perhaps try Garmin or VIOFO. The 56 & A119 V3 both have positive reviews.

 

[jokiin]

if it doesn't pan out you'll still have a good card you can use in your next camera

 

[sidepipe]

My feeling is the initialisation sequence of the camera is too short - it seems as though it's right on the limit in terms of how long it takes before the card is readable after power up. Since all hardware has tolerances and these things vary with temperature amongst other things, every now and again it falls the wrong side and thinks the card's faulty. Whilst swapping the card might seem to "fix it" ( even to another seemingly identical card ) this isn't the real fix, which would be dead simple in software.

 

[jokiin]

which would be dead simple in software.

very little is 'dead simple' in software, that said it's likely they have some firmware issues which is the root cause of the grief people have with these with memory cards

 

[sidepipe]

very little is 'dead simple' in software

The software change will be as simple as it gets versus any other changes they ever make. There will already be a delay in the initialisation process for the microSD hardware which waits for the device to settle so it's probably just a case of increasing the number, and even if not, or they don't have access to the SD driver code, calling usleep before the first read of the card isn't difficult. This change isn't particularly critical the other way either - i.e. even if they added a second of delay at startup it wouldn't really affect operation of the camera ( in reality we're talking mS. ) The real difficulty is it's always nice to be able to replicate the issue and know that it's fixed, which would be solved by giving a test version to someone experiencing the issue.

Of course, that says nothing about the processes they have in place to actually implement and test the change, then release the code, but frankly they do those things all the time whenever new firmware is released, so the additional burden of a change like this would be minimal.

Anyway, that's all moot really - the fact is it appears there might be an issue, and if so it'll probably be annoying a lot of people - it's the sort of thing you might not even notice until you need the footage, or you do notice and make a mental note to check every time, get annoyed about it and think "why can't this stuff just work," press record and get on with it.... until the next time it happens.

 

[Spuds]

New memory card arrived and fitted on Sunday evening. Monday morning set off to work and noticed while stood at traffic lights that the Speed screensaver wasn't showing. Arrived home from work and checked recordings. Still no outward journey recording but full homeward recording. This is now too unreliable to trust. I will not contact Nextbase, even though it is still under warranty, but will go with my instinct and buy a different make. I have had a long relationship with Nextbase but this is finally the end of the road.

 

[sidepipe]

I will not contact Nextbase, even though it is still under warranty, but will go with my instinct and buy a different make. I have had a long relationship with Nextbase but this is finally the end of the road.

To be fair to Nextbase problems like this are difficult to spot when testing by the manufacturer, it's only feedback from users that gets them fixed. They're being a bit more helpful with me since I pointed out what my background and day job are ( though shouldn't have been necessary ) so I'm still hopeful my issue can be resolved. There's no guarantee it's the same as yours, though it seems possible based on the little evidence I have. All manufacturers of electronic/software products have issues, the main thing is how they're dealt with and resolved.