U3000 rear camera RADAR does not work

[RickZ]

Hello, if you are having issues with your U3000 rearview camera, please send an email to support@thinkware.com with the subject line " Issues with U3000 rearview camera radar"

Hi, as per my post I've been in contact with Thinkware who have advised me that this is a known issue in the US not the UK, I'm in the UK and asked in my post if anyone knows if this claim is true. They've agreed to send me replacement front and rear camera's once I've returned mine, due to a recent no fault accident I don't want to be without a dash cam and explained the situation to them and asked if they send them to me to swap out with mine which I'd return unfortunately and understandably company procedure disallows this but I had to ask. Fortunately the retailer I purchased the U3000 from has agreed to send me new camera's with a rear camera cable and free return postage label if I leave a £250 deposit I get back once they have my camera's. Given there's a number of reports of multiple rear camera replacements not working I'll clarify what happens if the replacement camera's or cable make no difference.

 

[Vortex Radar]

I wonder what’s different about the UK. Do you all have a different firmware or something?

 

[RickZ]

I wonder what’s different about the UK. Do you all have a different firmware or something?

It maybe something to do with different laws regarding radar frequency.

 

[Dashcamtalkfan]

Anyone tried, or heard feedback from a U3000 owner if the rear radar works on a truck cab with rear vertical glass. OR some SUV's like 4runner have rear vertical glass? Those are two Vehicles I have and the posted youtube rep interview said it might not be good for the rear radar, Thanks.

 

[RickZ]

This is news to me, in the UK i have not had a single Rear Radar issue reported. I know my one works as the Security LED on the Rear camera comes on when i walk past (i can see it when it's dusk/dark).

I'm in the UK and my rear camera in parking radar mode doesn't react to movement and record. I own a Hyundai Ioniq 5, I installed my U1000 first and the rear camera LED used to illuminate when I moved in front of it. I replaced the U1000 with the U3000 for the rear radar function but it doesn't work. The retailer I bought it from sent me another rear camera plus cable and front camera, I've tried them all but movement at the rear still isn't sensed and recorded on impact plus the rear camera LED doesn't illuminate when I move in front of the camera. It seems to work OK if I remove the rear window from the equation. If I change parking mode from radar to motion the rear camera LED stays on continuously and movement is recorded through the back window. I don't understand why in radar mode the LED doesn't light when I move in front of the camera behind the rear window surely it should sense the movement and the LED come on even if there's a radar issue. It's as if there's a design issue with the rear camera.

 

[Nigel]

It seems to work OK if I remove the rear window from the equation.

What do you mean by that? Have you tested it with the glass removed? And is your rear window tinted?

 

[Dadi_T]

Manual of the classic radar detectors does have an warning for those with front heated windshield cars. They specify that the radar detection may not work correctly.
Maybe that is the issue with this back cam, because all cars have back heated windshield.

 

[RickZ]

What do you mean by that? Have you tested it with the glass removed? And is your rear window tinted?

Rear windows tinted like many are these days and I tested the rear camera with the rear window removed from the equation by placing the camera on a rear seat and moving directly in front of it through an open door. Tinting shouldn't affect radar.

 

[RickZ]

Manual of the classic radar detectors does have an warning for those with front heated windshield cars. They specify that the radar detection may not work correctly.
Maybe that is the issue with this back cam, because all cars have back heated windshield.

I wondered if the rear screen heater elements were an issue but my rear camera is positioned in a large gap at the top. Somebody has posted in this thread that they had to position their rear camera with a heater element in front of the lens and the camera senses fine. It's also been mention that those heat reflective windscreens with a blue shiny coating can cause issues, my rear window doesn't look like that, it looks like a normal tint. I don't understand what's going on especially as my U1000 rear camera senses movement through the same rear window fine.

 

[Nigel]

. It's also been mention that those heat reflective windscreens with a blue shiny coating can cause issues, my rear window doesn't look like that, it looks like a normal tint.

Metallic film tint, where there is a layer of metal covering the whole window could certainly cause problems, but that would, as you say, look bluish.
Heater wires shouldn't cause any problem, they are far too far apart to stop radar.

I tested the rear camera with the rear window removed from the equation by placing the camera on a rear seat and moving directly in front of it through an open door.

I don't know how you know that it wasn't the front radar that was detecting you, in fact I think it was very likely. If you could extend the cable out the back of the hatch and more or less close the hatch with the camera/radar outside the rear window then that would be a much better test.

I don't understand what's going on especially as my U1000 rear camera senses movement through the same rear window fine.

Nobody seems to understand!

 

[RickZ]

It wasn't the front radar as I was behind and the radar projects in front of the camera. Thinkware told me that this issue is only in the USA and Canada due to differences in the law concerning radar, I'm beginning to think that's not true.

 

[Nigel]

It wasn't the front radar as I was behind and the radar projects in front of the camera.

Normally, these radar modules can see 360°, but can see much further in the forwards direction. There is also the possibility of the radar beam bouncing back into the car, maybe off another vehicle, or maybe just off your own A-pillars. Either way, there is a likelihood of the front radar seeing people in the front seats, and I wouldn't rule out it seeing people in the rear seats.

 

[Nigel]

due to differences in the law concerning radar,

I'm not convinced that there are relevant differences, it is using a radar band that is globally available for this type of sensor. There are different regulatory bodies that need different tests done, so it is possible there are two versions, but that doesn't normally seem to be the case for these sensors.

 

[RickZ]

That's interesting and proves my rear camera isn't sensing movement in any direction.

 

[Vortex Radar]

So with respect to radar, here's the things that we see cause issues with radar detectors and what works fine. The U3000's radar also operates on K band so the exact same principles apply here.

Good:
-Most windshields
-Non-metallic tints including ceramic tints

Bad:
-Heated windshields
-Some thermal/acoustic insulated glass
-Metallic-based tint

A common factor here is metal because metal blocks radar. It's also an issue we see with installing radar detectors in your grill. You want to avoid installing behind anything metal or even metallic paint.

As far as the rear heating strips, they're super thin so I'd be a little surprised to see it make a huge issue, but to be fair the rear cam's radar module is right up against the rear window (not up on the front window like a radar detector) and so if the alignment is just right, perhaps one of the lines runs right through the radar transmitter or receiver so it could be possible.

Certain higher end luxury vehicles to have heated windshields (which I believe also have teeny metallic strips running through them) or different types of acoustically insulated glass that could cause issues for radio waves. If this is the case, there's usually 1-2 cutouts on the window, perhaps near the RVM or the bottom center of the window, where you can place a toll pass, GPS receiver, or phone. These are areas with little cutouts designed to let radio waves pass through unimpeded. I don't think I've ever seen similar cutouts for rear windows since people don't stick toll passes or phones back there.

 

[Nigel]

The heater lines on the rear windows are far too far apart to block radar frequencies, and the transmitter antennas are significantly bigger than the lines, so even if placed directly behind a line, it will not make a big difference.

The front heaters have much thinner and more closely spaced lines, I think they are still too far apart to be a big problem, but they also tend to be wavy so maybe they can cause problems, but it is not the front that people are having issues with!

These radar waves are 10x smaller than microwave oven waves, they would easily escape through the grill in a microwave oven door window!

 

[rcg530]

My replacement U3000 rear camera and connecting cable still does not work in radar parking mode.

My U3000 rear radar tests from 2023-11-28

 

[Chuck McCoy]

Would it make any sense to duplicate this malfunction by temporarily mounting the rear camera on the outside of the rear window?
Sorry, just thinking out loud.

 

[rcg530]

Would it make any sense to duplicate this malfunction by temporarily mounting the rear camera on the outside of the rear window?
Sorry, just thinking out loud.

That was my next thought on testing the U3000 rear radar issue.

Since the radar feature is in the fixed portion of the camera body, the challenge is getting the rear face of the U3000 rear camera pointing in the correct / rearward direction to allow the radar to be facing in the correct direction.



I'll try to come up with something to temporarily hold the camera on the outside of the rear window glass to run a test in my driveway. No way to drive to another location with it mounted like that without some additional work to make camera and the cable stay in place while driving. 🙂

 

[RickZ]

That was my next thought on testing the U3000 rear radar issue.

Since the radar feature is in the fixed portion of the camera body, the challenge is getting the rear face of the U3000 rear camera pointing in the correct / rearward direction to allow the radar to be facing in the correct direction.

View attachment 69497

I'll try to come up with something to temporarily hold the camera on the outside of the rear window glass to run a test in my driveway. No way to drive to another location with it mounted like that without some additional work to make camera and the cable stay in place while driving. 🙂

I placed my rear camera on a back seat and monitored movement through an open door and my rear camera responded to movement shown by the LED illuminating. The issue seems to be related to the angle of the rear window and the radar position, I'm not sure if the rear camera radar moves when I adjust the camera position. My experience is that in motion mode all movement in front of the rear window is recorded but in radar mode the rear camera LED doesn't light on sensing movement in front of the rear window and recording only takes place from the point of impact proving that the issue is the rear camera not sensing movement in radar mode when looking through the rear window. As far as I'm aware my Hyundai Ioniq 5 has a standard tinted rear window with no additional coatings.