Thinkware F800 64G Micro SD Card Formatting Question

plumber802

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St-Albans, Vermont USA
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Thinkware F800 Front/Rear
Hello fellow dash cammers. This is my first post on this forum. I just purchased (2) Thinware F800 (non Pro) dash cams for myself and my wife. I would like to upgrade the SD card capacity from the 16G that came with the cams to 64G. After a lot of research on here I settled on the Samsung Evo Select 64G from Amazon for $12.99 . I am somewhat confused as to the format process for the new SD card. Is this SD card "plug and play" where I can take it out of the package and pop it directly into the dash cam and nothing else or will it need to be formatted on my Macbook , or does it need to be formatted in the dash cam (by pressing the format button)? Sorry if this is a silly newb question but I can't seem to find a definitive answer. Thanks, Andy.
 
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In camera format are a must, on first time use, but also every 2-3 months or so.
As you say you have a mackbook, you need to know MAC computers put hidden files on memory cards connected to them, and in worst case scenarios that can create problems for the camera.
So a in camera format are often needed anyway when the card have been in touch with a Apple product.
I do think some cameras can handle that just fine, but just so you know if your thinkware are one of those that might be bothered by little hidden MAC files.
 
In camera format are a must, on first time use, but also every 2-3 months or so.
As you say you have a mackbook, you need to know MAC computers put hidden files on memory cards connected to them, and in worst case scenarios that can create problems for the camera.
So a in camera format are often needed anyway when the card have been in touch with a Apple product.
I do think some cameras can handle that just fine, but just so you know if your thinkware are one of those that might be bothered by little hidden MAC files.

Thanks for the quick reply. So are you saying that I should avoid formatting on my Mac and just put the new SD card directly in my dash cam and hit the "format" button?
 
Just in the camera should be fine.
Those MAC and apple thingies i don't know how they work, i am assuming they use the same file format systems as other devises.
 
Just in the camera should be fine.
Those MAC and apple thingies i don't know how they work, i am assuming they use the same file format systems as other devises.
Thanks kamkar1. I will format it in the device then.
 
You need to format the card as ExFat if you're using a Mac, for Thinkware devices!
 
well if in the cam don't work, then yes you will have to format the card on the MAC first.
Trying just in the camera first should not hurt anything.
And don't worry plumber, there are no stupid questions in here, at least not unless you ask the same again and again and expect different answers.
we will get you up and running and one more dashcam on the American roads. (y)
 
well if in the cam don't work, then yes you will have to format the card on the MAC first.
Trying just in the camera first should not hurt anything.
And don't worry plumber, there are no stupid questions in here, at least not unless you ask the same again and again and expect different answers.
we will get you up and running and one more dashcam on the American roads. (y)
Thanks bud. My dash cam only came with a "Quick Start Guide" so I have very little info on the details of how it works. I did check out a YouTube vid on how to format the card on my Mac. Easy enough but what is the purpose then for the "Format" button on my F800 dash cam?
 
As a dashcam constantly record & delete files when it is full, there are a risk of the File Allocation Table can get fragmented, and this in turn will slow down the cameras write / read performance.
But in general memory cards are plenty fast, but still it is not stupid to format the memory card every few months or so ( not terrible important but still )
In general i think the camera should be ready to go with its default settings, so it should start recording when you turn on can and stop when you turn off car.
You can always play around with the settings of the camera, using a phone and APP as i think you have to do with this model, in the settings menu there should also be a reset to default option if you have played around too much and cant recall what the setting was.
Most cameras now i think come with 3 minutes as the default segment size, this is also what i use and find best, other options may be 1 minute and 5 minutes.
Also some new cars can keep things like the cigarette lighter plug live for some minutes after stopping, and some even have that live all the time, but you will see this if the camera never stop recording as you cant by chance set it to never record.
Just like now you cant set the camera to just record with a button press, it should do that automatic when you start car as otherwise if you needed to press a button you might forget that one day.

I am not familiar with the thinkware cameras, but all dashcams are much the same
 
With a GPS camera all i do in settings when new or after updating firmware are
1: set image quality to high
2: set time zone to +2 ( Denmark map location are +1 & summertime +1 more so ATM we are GMT +2 hours in Denmark )
3: recording length / segment size : but on my cameras it have been 3 minutes as default.
4: set speed units to KMH
5: enable speed watermark

Thats the only changes i have had to do on my most recent dashcams.
 
Thanks for the advice kamkar1. I will keep this thread updated when I receive the new SD card.
 
Updating this thread to confirm that the Samsung Evo Select 64G micro SD that I bought from Amazon works perfectly in my Thinkware F800. It went directly from the package into the card slot on my dash cam without formatting. Thanks for the helpful advise.
 
(y) here to help getting more dashcams out there on the streets.
 
It is kind of like an addiction. I am already looking forward to my next one.7D2AF909-47ED-4CFF-AFBB-A2B03F7A9621.jpeg7D2AF909-47ED-4CFF-AFBB-A2B03F7A9621.jpegF6FA6E49-8181-4ECC-AF3C-44A12262EF4D.jpeg
 

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People have been known to show addiction like behavior with dashcams, normally by increasing numbers of cameras in the car.
 
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