Submitted by shamrck3 on April 29, 2019
I'm using a huge thumb-drive for my M3 dashcam storage. The camera keeps disabling because the thumb-drive is full. When I check there are a ton of files - NOT initiated by me. I thought it only downloaded video to the USB port when I pressed the SAVE icon on the screen. How do I disable this AUTO-RECORD...??
THNX 3SHMRCK
Are you turning on sentry mode when parking? That takes up a lot of space if you're in a high traffic area.
If you're using Sentry mode, it records from all six cameras. You can't disable it.
Sentry mode videos don't get overwritten like the dashcam videos (those do a 1 hour loop). So, if you use Sentry often, you'll need to remove it and clear the non-events regularly.
@alisse, only records main front camera and the two rear facing side cameras. Also "all 6 camera's" is wrong as there are 8 total.
@shamrck3, define "huge" thumb drive?
TY for responses..
F/U - its over 16GB drive and SENTRY Mode is OFF..? I am seeing 3 files for each session (front and 2 sides)
My dear, 16 gb is the opposite of huge. The video quality is pretty good so 16 gigs is not nearly enough.
Go 128 to be safe.
Yep, it's kind of useless right now. Obviously Tesla will update it at some point. How many people want to take the time to pull it out every day and clear out the files? If you want to use Sentry mode, that appears to be your only option until Tesla fixes it. Otherwise, if you want the regular front camera footage, best to shut off Sentry Mode.
@P90Dl - every day? I'm parked on the street for work M-F using Sentry Mode the whole time and I took out my drive this weekend after a month to clear it. It was about 80 gigs full.
Sure there's room for improvement but calling it useless for having to clear it once a month - when it was a FREE upgrade after the fact - is a bit much.
@derotam I was only 3 and 2 off. No big deal. :)
@derotam - "there are 8 total." is wrong. There are 9.
@derotam - "there are 8 total." is wrong. There are 9.
8 GB or 16 GB should be fine for Dashcam functions. Recording all three cameras takes about 5 GB for the hour's worth of stored video, plus about 1 GB each time you save. No problem.
Sentry mode, as others have noted, is a different animal, and is pretty much useless for daily use unless you're willing to regularly remove the flash drive, clean it out, and reinstall it. Note that, because it fills up the drive, it'll also shut down the dashcam as you noted. If you're going to use Sentry, buy a big drive (128 or 256 GB), and plan on pulling it anywhere from daily to weekly to clean it out until Tesla gets around to fixing its issues. TeslaTap has a good writeup on the steps necessary to prepare a big USB flash drive to use:
https://teslatap.com/articles/usb-flash-drives-for-tesla-dashcam/
And by the way: "...There...are...four...(cameras)..."
https://youtu.be/o_eSwq1ewsU?t=198
@charles...yeah that was a wrong key hit that I didn't catch...
@alisse, Well the difference between the car recording 6 cameras vs 3 cameras is a big deal in regards to your complaint...even more so when you say you have a "huge" "over 16GB" thumb drive. You should definitely look into getting a bigger thumb drive. Hopefully there will be an update eventually to allow the management of that drive from the touch screen so we don't have to take it out to clear out old footage.
@charles, I only count 8 cameras, unless there are 3 in the front?
There are 3 up front, 2 on each sides, a back one AND the interior one!
It’s the 3 in the front I missed. Thought there was just 2
On the Model 3 there is a 9th camera that currently isn't enabled above the rearview mirror that can see inside the car. This was added with the Tesla Network in mind after the FSD is available. This camera could also be used as additional rearview camera as well.
Yes, Tesla needs to fix this issue with Sentry Mode. I want to keep Sentry Mode ON, but I certainly shouldn't be expected to manually clear my flash drive (32GB) every day!
buy a bigger drive
32 gb is way too small. I have the 256gb Sandisk, it's been in the car for 3 months and have used about 30gb of space. Spend the extra $25 it's worth it.