Wife got in accident this morning, can't retrieve video

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semantics

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We have two B1W cameras, one in my car and one in her car

She got in accident this morning. I went to the scene and tried to download video and clicking Video Playback only showed three really old videos from a couple months ago

I got home and unplugged MY dashcam, brought it inside, plugged it in, and I keep getting an error that says "USB device not recognized" and that the device malfunctioned

Will we be able to retrieve our videos? Are our dashcams broken? Afraid that we trusted cheap Chinese junk and got screwed when we needed it the most
 
Try removing the card from the camera and putting the card directly into your computer (you will probably need to use the little adapter that came with the card) instead of using the usb to the camera. Then you can see exactly what is on the card without going through the camera.

Also, has the light on the camera been flashing recently to indicate that it is recording and not in parking mode?
 
The B1W isn't junk - it's remarkably good for the price especially.

Best to check for user errors first - if it is set up wrongly, then the makers are not going to be at fault. That's not to say there isn't a problem with the hardware - but 2 at the same time is highly unlikely. Once you have checked the memory cards (which are more than likely going to be faulty before the camera is) double check your settings through the app.
 
Which cards are you using and where did you get them?
 
Cant you Dl the footage to a phone via wifi ? i assume you had that connected to set up the camera in the first place.
Going cheap can be problematic, but as i have not managed to break my B1W it cant be half bad cuz i am good at braking cameras in testing, also have not heard of many people breaking theirs.
But i have to admit i have never tried to connect the B1W to the computer, in general i dont do that as all dash and action cameras make up for lousy mass storage devises at least when it come to the speed you can get stuff off the cameras.
I have always used my trusty USB 3.0 card reader, it give me the MAX speeds ( read / write ) the memory card are able to give.

you might also be able to put the memory cads in your phone, if you have a phone that have a slot for memory cards.
 
onceuponadashcam said:
Try removing the card from the camera and putting the card directly into your computer (you will probably need to use the little adapter that came with the card) instead of using the usb to the camera. Then you can see exactly what is on the card without going through the camera.

Also, has the light on the camera been flashing recently to indicate that it is recording and not in parking mode?
Click to expand...

I'll need to find the adapter, don't remember if it came with the card. The card was purchased through a package deal on aliexpress from the manufacturer, don't believe it came with a reader.

The light has been solid green the entire time. I don't believe I can go into parking mode since it's plugged into the lighter, and not hard-wired.
 
Paul Iddon said:
The B1W isn't junk - it's remarkably good for the price especially.

Best to check for user errors first - if it is set up wrongly, then the makers are not going to be at fault. That's not to say there isn't a problem with the hardware - but 2 at the same time is highly unlikely. Once you have checked the memory cards (which are more than likely going to be faulty before the camera is) double check your settings through the app.
Click to expand...

You are right that it could be user error if both cameras are malfunctioning, but both cameras could also be fried since we live in a hot area. I also did not change any settings since purchasing the cameras in March, when I made sure that everything was working as intended.
 
Harsh said:
Which cards are you using and where did you get them?
Click to expand...

They were purchased on Aliexpress in a package deal with the camera directly from the manufacturer. I don't recall the name but can check when I go to my car this evening.
 
kamkar1 said:
Cant you Dl the footage to a phone via wifi ? i assume you had that connected to set up the camera in the first place.
Going cheap can be problematic, but as i have not managed to break my B1W it cant be half bad cuz i am good at braking cameras in testing, also have not heard of many people breaking theirs.
But i have to admit i have never tried to connect the B1W to the computer, in general i dont do that as all dash and action cameras make up for lousy mass storage devises at least when it come to the speed you can get stuff off the cameras.
I have always used my trusty USB 3.0 card reader, it give me the MAX speeds ( read / write ) the memory card are able to give.

you might also be able to put the memory cads in your phone, if you have a phone that have a slot for memory cards.
Click to expand...

I can't download footage as it's not showing any recordings available. I'm able to connect via the wifi just fine.

I will consider getting a SD card reader to see what's on the card
 
semantics said:
The light has been solid green the entire time.
Click to expand...
They flash when recording!

Do they not speak to you at all?

And have you never checked to see if they are working?
 
okay that sound weird, i am inclined to say broken memory card, but normally when that have happened to me there have always been some files on the memory card.
when you have nothing in the memory card, or at least nothing you can access via the wifi and phone, that leave me a little perplexed.

My B1W only coughed out one time and that was when i put a memory card in it i knew had issues, and sure enough in the B1W too the car worked for some days and then the B1W also said card error.
Funny thing is the memory card test out fine on my computer using H2testw and sdformatter 4.0 to verify its integrity, this is the #2 time this happened to me, normally failing cards have just moved into read only mode on me.
But with working memory cards mine have been running like clockwork since i got it 3 - 4 months ago.

Are you having the same issue with both cameras ?
The other camera can you access and playback files on it okay ??
If you can maybe you could try putting the memory card from the crash camera into the other camera and see if you can get footage of it that way around.

But if you just have those few readable files on the memory card, then i am afraid the memoru card have died back then, that happen, i had a few ( funny enough high end all of them ) die pretty fast on me, even before i got to fill one of them up one time ( 64Gb cards )
This is why it is imperative to keep a eye on ones cameras / memory cards, even the best dashcams it might not be the camera but then the memory card are always the weakest link.
So unless the dashcam have a audio alarm that go off when the memory card malfunction, then i would not trust any brand of cameras even if they claim to be format / maintenance free.

I look over my memory cards on the computer every 2 - 3 months at the latest, and it take me about 5 minutes to confirm a 128 Gb memory card to be working as it should. ( testing if first and last files in a drive session can launch / play on the computer, and then drive sessions dont start or end in strange places like the middle of a road.

I am also inclined to think since you have not gotten a alarm on the B1W camera not able to record, then i think you might have some older firmware on the cameras, the latest B1W firmware are called 20180528
http://www.blueskysea-inc.com/down.aspx?TypeId=14&FId=t14:14:14
 
Yeah the B1W always say " memory card detected recording started" if you haven't disabled voice of course, and i think with the failing memory card in mine it said "card error", and i think it will repeat that.
But if you have voice off then i dont think you get any alert not even if the memory card fail ????? or maybe the voice on/ off only remove the welcome MSG at the start of a recording.
In early firmwares the B1W also had a shut down MSG saying "camera going down" when it was shutting down, the shut down MSG have been removed in newer firmwares.
 
semantics said:
The light has been solid green the entire time. I don't believe I can go into parking mode since it's plugged into the lighter, and not hard-wired.
Click to expand...
The led light should flash when recording! If you do not use this beta 0614 auto parking firmware, it indicates camera to stop recording if the led light was solid green on! And please check your memory card with the third tool T2testw, and also please tell me its reading speed and writing speed details to me, thanks!
semantics said:
I can't download footage as it's not showing any recordings available. I'm able to connect via the wifi just fine.

I will consider getting a SD card reader to see what's on the card
Click to expand...
Please tell me the time stamp on the latest video in its "normal video" folder, thanks!
 
I formatted the SD card in my car, brought the camera in, plugged it in, and the camera does not recognize the SD card -- keeps saying "insert SD card" and "invalid SD card." I'm pretty sure this means the card is corrupted (it's a Kingston 32 gb) -- I've just ordered a Sandisk that should be here by Friday. Will provide update. A bit upsetting as this card was delivered by the manufacturer only a few months back.

On my wife's camera I did the same thing, plugged it into my computer. Here the computer recognized the SD card and I was able to see the events folder -- but no recordings after August 21. I then formatted the SD card, updated the firmware, and set the camera up again, this time with voice alerts on to inform us that the recording is taking place (and ensuring that the light is flashing)
 
Best to format cards either in the camera itself or using a formatting tool from the manufacturer. There are many different versions of FAT32 / ExFAT formatting and pc formats in my experience rarely work.

Also, memory cards should always be Endurance type memory and U1 / V30 minimum, although it's always best to check data rates rather than ratings as actual data rates specified can vary wildly from what the U / V rating suggests.

The fact 2 different cameras have failed to work suggest user error somewhere. Have you never tried to view video before from either camera?
 
semantics said:
I formatted the SD card in my car, brought the camera in, plugged it in, and the camera does not recognize the SD card -- keeps saying "insert SD card" and "invalid SD card." I'm pretty sure this means the card is corrupted (it's a Kingston 32 gb) -- I've just ordered a Sandisk that should be here by Friday. Will provide update. A bit upsetting as this card was delivered by the manufacturer only a few months back.

On my wife's camera I did the same thing, plugged it into my computer. Here the computer recognized the SD card and I was able to see the events folder -- but no recordings after August 21. I then formatted the SD card, updated the firmware, and set the camera up again, this time with voice alerts on to inform us that the recording is taking place (and ensuring that the light is flashing)
Click to expand...


Hopefully you ordered the Sandisk High Endurance card and not the Ultra as well as a reliable seller and not some third party seller who is selling fake cards.
 
I had a lot of kingston cards go bad on me, but to be honest it was all i had at one time. some i even did RMA on 2-3 times.
The cards that have all gone bad on me stupid fast ( faster than any kingston ) have been high end PNY and Trancend U3 cards, the most expensive cards i have ever gotten, but lucky Amazon got me hooked up with new ones in not times and the replacements have been performing well.

I only use local Danish stores, or Amazon in Germany or UK for memory cards.

I have a few card models that have not gone bad on me yet, but i am pretty sure its just a matter of time before it happen, also before it eventually is time for any memory card as they after all have a finite number of read / write cycles.
I know its a lot of work for a stupid little dashcam, but sadly there are no set and forget cameras out there ( tho some claim to be )

But damn tough luck you had there semantics :( but you are far from the first one and you will not be the last one either.
I will agree dashcams makers could do better in keeping people updated on the quirks and dos and donts of dashcams, it might not be a problem to get a camera toss it in the car, toss in a memory card and BAM it is recording, but after that there are a few things to be aware off to get the most smooth experience.
 
I doubt that it's heat related. Mine went through this whole summer without a glitch except when the locked files section filled, being in a dark closed minivan and recording constantly. Interior temps had to reach at least 110f for several days on end. Samsung Evo Plus 64GB did most of the work but a Transcend 400X also saw several hot days in a row. Also be sure that you are also looking in the saved files folder which is separate from normal driving files. Ask any friend with a smartphone for a card adapter, someone will have one to give you, then use a PC to look at what's going on. That eliminates interface problems and buggy apps giving trouble.

Doesn't matter what dashcam you've got, it is extremely important to check the card regularly to be sure everything is working as it should be. With a new cam that should be weekly or more often until it establishes a pattern of reliability when once every 2-4 weeks is usually good enough. Dashcams are close to "plug and play" but are never "set and forget".

Phil
 
Did you go to the command prompt and run chkdsk for the drive of the card say it is e: drive? Chkdsk e: /f
 
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