# Can’t view Sentry mode or Dashcam on the screen



## Shawneetee (Oct 3, 2020)

I just got a new Model S and got a 128gb drive. It looks like it’s recording fine but I’m unable to view the clips or cameras on the viewer in the car. It tries to load and alternates between a white window and turns black occasionally but it never loads and the spinner keeps spinning. Help!


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## JasonF (Oct 26, 2018)

Re-format the USB stick in the Security settings. It should work after that - if not, it might be too slow.


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## Shawneetee (Oct 3, 2020)

What read/write speed should it be? Any specific model we know works?


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## TrevP (Oct 20, 2015)

You should format as ExFat for best performance and ensure you have a fast enough write speeds. Unfortunately USB keys are just not reliable enough for Sentry mode/dashcam use. I use a Samsgun T5 SSD and it's been flawless.


Might want to watch my tutorial on how to set one up for both sentry mode and music...


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## JasonF (Oct 26, 2018)

I've found that USB 3.1 sticks are usually fast enough. Unfortunately a lot of them are kind of unreliable...


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## garsh (Apr 4, 2016)

JasonF said:


> I've found that USB 3.1 sticks are usually fast enough. Unfortunately a lot of them are kind of unreliable...


Most of them aren't designed for sustained writing. They overheat.

Your best bet is to get a dashcam-grade MicroSD card and a quality MicroSD card reader, or get an external SSD drive.


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## NEO (Jun 28, 2017)

I haven't read this entire thread so I apologize if this has been answered before. Sometimes I come back from the store and have multiple instances of sentry mode. When I view them on screen I only see 1. How do I see the rest of them? Thanks!


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## Hemphill3 (Dec 29, 2021)

I recently took out my USB that came with my Model Y. I just got it on 11-30-21. When I first put the USB in my computer is said it needed to be fixed so I did the recommended. Once i did that I could see my recent dashcam drive. I put my USB back in the car but when I launch viewer the sentry and dashcam tabs are grayed out. I took a drive to see if it would record dashcam. When I came home, I still couldn't view it in car viewer but could from home computer. What is the problem?


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## tps5352 (Nov 1, 2019)

Hemphill3 said:


> I recently took out my USB that came with my Model Y. I just got it on 11-30-21. When I first put the USB in my computer is said it needed to be fixed so I did the recommended. Once i did that I could see my recent dashcam drive. I put my USB back in the car but when I launch viewer the sentry and dashcam tabs are grayed out. I took a drive to see if it would record dashcam. When I came home, I still couldn't view it in car viewer but could from home computer. What is the problem?


I am not an expert on this issue, the USB drive you have, or the Model Y. But here is what I suspect:

The USB drive used to save videos *must* be attached to a USB that can transmit data. That is your glove-box USB port, right?

That USB drive *has* to be formatted with FAT32 format. Windows operating system software will not by itself format in FAT32. Instead you need to use a third-party software like "EaseUS Partition Master." (There are other products. Use something that will format in FAT32.) (With the new Tesla holiday firmware, the car may be able to format a USB drive in FAT32, also. See the "Safety" screen and check under "Dashcam.")

The USB drive *must* have a directory named "TeslaCam" installed on it. (Once that is there, I think the car will later install two additional sub-directories.)
OK, since it used to work I assume your original USB drive already met those three requirements.

When you put the USB drive into your (I assume) Windows-based PC, you got that error message from Windows. I have seen that too.

So either try a second USB drive that meets the first three requirements, or first save all the video files you want to view onto your computer and then re-format the first USB drive with FAT32 format (it will erase everything) and add an empty "TeslaCam" directory back on it. (If the car will perform the FAT32 format, it may put the empty "TeslaCam" directory back on for you. If it won't format the drive, you'll have to do it on your PC using some aftermarket software.)

Try that and see if the second drive, or the first re-formatted drive will now work.
If yes, then ignore the Windows error message the next time you connect the working drive to your computer. (I.e., don't "fix" it.)
If no, then there may be some other problem, for example with your USB port.


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