The 522GW is really good....

[vibeone]

Just thought I'd post something positive. Weirdly despite the poor reviews here I decided to purchase anyway - expecting the worst.

To note: I have multiple Alexa devices, home automation products and had the app installed already, logged in etc. I installed the MyNextbase app, connected to the camera and alexa first time and It's not dropped once. I am running iOS13 Beta2 (so again was expecting more problems).

I haven't had the weather or driving to test the dashcam quality yet but the comments here seemed to suggest the addon functions were the problem. Maybe I've just been lucky but despite not being a nextbase fan - first impressions are good.

 

[psychosax]

can I ask if you have enabled Parking Mode? I find that having it enabled means when I open car door the dash cam starts recording before I even start the ignition, which means every time i get in to car the recording is protected! wouldn't this mean the memory card is goin to fill up pretty quickly? I've reluctantly decided to turn off Parking Mode on my 522GW

 

[vibeone]

Not yet. Not a massive fan of parking modes - but will try and test it. Why is it protecting - due to G sensor of you opening the door/getting in? I'll try it soon - weather not good enough here for dashcam fitting though!!

So far all I've done is use the suction mount to trial it. I think I'm going to try and file down a viofo usb plug to fit in the powered mount for the final install.

 

[psychosax]

afaik all recordings made by G Sensor activation are protected!!

I had the dash cam hardwired to car battery to get rid of cable hanging down to cigarette lighter powerpoint, but decided to go with the suction mount rather than the more permanent adhesive option just I case we want to change it to my wifes car!!

 

[vibeone]

Found my first potential bug (ish).... if parking mode isn't on, and the camera is connected to a hard wire kit with battery saver (a viofo one), the camera stays on but annoyingly puts a big red display on brightly saying SOS isn't connected. I know it isn't - my phone is in the house

Turned parking mode on so hopefully they've thought of it.

 

[Tony lovelock]

I’ve got a 2 meter mini usb lead from Lindy cables & I had to file down both sides of the plastic outer body just so it fitted snugly within the mount on my new 422gw otherwise it’s the faff of having to remove my existing 2 meter lead & re route a 5 meter new style nextbase series 2 mini usb lead lol

 

[psychosax]

can I ask if you have enabled Parking Mode? I find that having it enabled means when I open car door the dash cam starts recording before I even start the ignition, which means every time i get in to car the recording is protected! wouldn't this mean the memory card is goin to fill up pretty quickly? I've reluctantly decided to turn off Parking Mode on my 522GW

Sent an email yesterday to NEXTBASE outlining my worries about my sd card filling up with protected recordings, got this reply -


Thank you for contacting us regarding your 522GW.

1) What brand and size SD card do you have? Are you able to provide a photo of both sides? How often have you been formatting the SD card? (NEXTBASE 64GB)

2) What phone do you have? (iPhone XS Max)

No the card won't fill, it will only allow a certain percentage to become full of protected files.
Regards

 

[vibeone]

I'm starting to regret starting this thread....

SOS does keep disconnecting at random, and worse sometimes the red warning screen crashes the camera and can't be removed.

and

All footage is seemingly out of focus? I assume it's actually a defective unit because theres no way this would be acceptable. Lens is clean but the camera was extremely hot this lunchtime when I took the footage off.

 

[Spuds]

Hi @vibeone , I gave a like to your original post. All the issues I had with the 522GW have been sorted, apart for one intermittent problem where if I receive an SMS message while Alexa is speaking or playing music then the camera locks up and the only way to make it responsive again is to press the reset button underneath. It has only happened twice and I find my confidence in the unit, and Nextbase's ability to action customers problems, have been restored. I must admit that I have not tried the SOS function, nor does it appeal to me, but the camera is sold with that being one of it's main bullet points and as such should be working satisfactory.
I wouldn't loose heart too soon. Contact @NextBase Support , they are a friendly bunch and always go the extra mile to help customers.

Regards Spuds

 

[vibeone]

Hi Spuds,

I'm not gonna go too crazy yet - but I'm pretty sure from past experience (with other brands) that the focus issue is a hardware fault

The question is... do I try again or not.

 

[psychosax]

I’ve found thankfully that my issue of red screen of death has been resolved by goin thru steps given by NEXTBASE support

1. Make sure that the camera is not recording, if it is then simply tap the red recording icon in the bottom left of the screen to stop it.

2. Tap the settings cogwheel in the top left and select 'setup'.

3. Scroll to page four and tap 'Keep User Settings' and turn it off.

4. Go to 'Default Settings' and select yes, this will set the camera back to defaults.

5. When the camera turns itself back on you will need to go through the first time setup again.

6. When you get to the 'Connecting' page then open the Bluetooth settings on your phone.

7. You will need to 'Forget' the camera from within the Bluetooth settings

8. Uninstall and reinstall My Nextbase Connect (and Alexa if applicable)

9. Open My Nextbase Connect and tap 'Connect to dashcam', as long as your camera is still displaying 'Connecting' you should be able to connect the two.

10. After a successful connection has been established then tap 'learn more' for Alexa, enable it and then select 'Open Alexa App' at the bottom of the screen.

11. Tapping 'Open Alexa App' should open up the app and take you straight to connecting page for your camera.

12. PLEASE NOTE : If you wish to use Alexa, please ensure that both Alexa and My Nextbase Connect are kept open in the background on your phone.

 

[Kremmen]

Is it a dashcam or a computer

 

[Spuds]

@Kremmen the distinction between camera and computer is now blurred. So many devices have other devices integrated. I do think that Nextbase have it right with the 522GW, for me. The image quality is acceptable both front and rear. Alexa integration is something I already had in the car with the Amazon Echo Dot. Now I have it all on just the one device, well done for that Nextbase. I realise that this may be over the top for some users but for me it is awesome.

 

[kamkar]

Clearly people should start to distinguish what kinds of technology they would like in their life.
Those talk to thingies using alexa or google or amazon whatever i would never in a million years go near, i would not buy a TV with a camera and or microphone in it, or i would have to disable those in some manner.
I personally also pretty much don't need a phone in my pocket, i have one now and it is constantly undermining my good mood.
I do have a robot that sweep my floor, i am okay with that.
And i have cameras in my car and even CCTV cameras at home ( facing out ) in also okay with this and at the moment also okay with cameras on the streets.
I do not need a sensor in my underwear to tell me to change it or lower the temperature, so much of IOT i am probably never going to use as its just down right stupid much of it.

So the dashams i look for are the ones that just record as good as possible footage, all the other stuff are useless to me.

 

[Steven1105uk]

I followed all nextbases advice on resetting the dashcam but it is still as useless as ever. I have full home automation through Alexa so I’m not a novice to setting these things up.i think I got it to respond once to a voice command then it never came back on again. I tried it on my partners samsung phone and my own iPhone but it behaved almost exactly the same on both phones. Constantly dropping the connection to the dashcam and wanting to be set up again as if it was just plugged in. This is the first Alexa device I have ever had this issue with but I’m putting it down to an extremely bad app. The camera itself seems to record fine but as the app doesn’t work I’ve found it difficult to retrieve the videos. The only way I can view video is to remove the SD card. Hopefully my Very refund will come through shortly. I won’t be falling for a connected dashcam again although my last DDpai dashcam was fantastic. Best £80 I ever spent compared to the £170 plus U3 SD card.

 

[psychosax]

follow up email from Nextbase support recommending I return the SD card for a replacement as Im unable to view recordings on the dash cam most times! Cam freezes and needs to be restarted

 

[psychosax]

after using new sd card same problem, rang nextbase support and guy tried some procedures but in the end just advised I return the unit as it doesnt operate as expected! went back to halfords today and swapped for new dash cam no hassle whatsoever, amazing difference in using dash cam so far. well worth pursuing

 

[Paul Iddon]

Good to see positives being shared.

It is human nature to openly (in forums, in shops, to friends and on social media) when something is not performing. Unfortunately, it isn't human nature to praise in the same areas!

I read somewhere that for every one good point in a thousand seen (here or elsewhere) there would be 10 saying bad things. Statistically, that would be awful for manufacturers but seeing as only the odd one person mentions it as good (the other 989 do not) the bad seems to outweigh the good, when in really doesn't.

I know Nextbase, Viofo, Blackvue, etc will never tell us how many sales they make, or how many are defective) but it's likely to be many thousands that are working well compared to few hundreds which are not, or they would not be trading any more...

BTW, mine works (522GW) as did my 612GW. (And so do my Viofos)....

 

[jokiin]

I read somewhere that for every one good point in a thousand seen (here or elsewhere) there would be 10 saying bad things. Statistically, that would be awful for manufacturers but seeing as only the odd one person mentions it as good (the other 989 do not) the bad seems to outweigh the good, when in really doesn't.

A happy customer tells nobody, an unhappy customer tells everybody

 

[Paul Iddon]

A happy customer tells nobody, an unhappy customer tells everybody

Exactly.