# Sentry Mode: Empty Files, Corrupt Video



## simpsonhomer (Aug 29, 2018)

Roughly 1/6 of my Sentry Mode recordings are blank (0-byte) files. Each video stream is only 4 Mbps (total 1.2 MB/s) so it's certainly not a speed issue (any flash drive on the market will easily handle many times that). Plus, the recent clips (from the past hour) are all okay.

Many of the non-empty files have corrupt video (bottom half is a giant green blob and the rest is extremely pixelated).

The drives were freshly formatted (GPT partition) and a new TeslaCam folder was created before being re-inserted. These problems occur on multiple different flash drives.

Is anyone else experiencing this? I'm on 2019.8.2 but I saw this on 2019.5.15, too.


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## JWardell (May 9, 2016)

I have the same issue, though I assume it is speed related, don't forget it is writing three files at once. I'm going to try switching to my SSD to see if that solves it.


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## Bokonon (Apr 13, 2017)

simpsonhomer said:


> Roughly 1/6 of my Sentry Mode recordings are blank (0-byte) files. Each video stream is only 4 Mbps (total 1.2 MB/s) so it's certainly not a speed issue (any flash drive on the market will easily handle many times that). Plus, the recent clips (from the past hour) are all okay.


I'm seeing something similar. After the first few minutes of Sentry recording, about 1/6 - 1/8 of the left-repeater camera files are zero bytes. And I've seen video clips that are missing keyframes so they end up discolored or pixelated.

I suspect sustained (rather than burst) write-speed is the issue here... after a while, the flash drive gets too hot to handle the I/O. I'm considering either a UHS SD card or some kind of SSD setup.


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## cllc (Feb 14, 2019)

Yes, I have had the same problems with Sentry.


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## MelindaV (Apr 2, 2016)

yesterday about half of my passenger side repeater camera videos had similar distortion as this one (on 2019.8.2). I've emailed it to Tesla to ask if this is a MCU processing issue, camera hardware, USB recording, etc issue. Videos start out mostly ok, then get a little wavy, then totally garbled before returning to mostly ok.


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## SoFlaModel3 (Apr 15, 2017)

I am seeing similar corruption in the side cameras


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## JWardell (May 9, 2016)

MelindaV said:


> yesterday about half of my passenger side repeater camera videos had similar distortion as this one (on 2019.8.2). I've emailed it to Tesla to ask if this is a MCU processing issue, camera hardware, USB recording, etc issue. Videos start out mostly ok, then get a little wavy, then totally garbled before returning to mostly ok.


It's just bad/missing blocks in the file saved to the stick. Nothing to worry over with the car.
I bet eventually Tesla will combine these in the computer and write one clean video that will work better with most usb sticks. Question is if HW3 will be required to do so.


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## garsh (Apr 4, 2016)

simpsonhomer said:


> Roughly 1/6 of my Sentry Mode recordings are blank (0-byte) files. Each video stream is only 4 Mbps (total 1.2 MB/s) so it's certainly not a speed issue (any flash drive on the market will easily handle many times that).


I could easily imagine that Tesla's early coding attempts try to create a new file, and "time out" too quickly, then give up on writing to that file. In the meantime, the file creation actually finishes shortly after the code gives up waiting on it, leaving you with a nice, fresh 0-length file.

As you say, almost any USB drive nowadays can handle the requested throughput. But 0-length files probably aren't a throughput issue. But it could still be speed-related if the USB drive isn't very quick at "seeking" for some reason.

The "missing file blocks" that @MelindaV and @SoFlaModel3 are seeing sound like a possible throughput issue.

In either case, the quick & easy thing to try is a different USB drive. So far I appear to be 2-for-3. The first one I tried actually appeared to fry from overheating and I had to pitch it. The other two actually seem to be holding up well, even though they're probably at least 5 years old.


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## SoFlaModel3 (Apr 15, 2017)

garsh said:


> I could easily imagine that Tesla's early coding attempts try to create a new file, and "time out" too quickly, then give up on writing to that file. In the meantime, the file creation actually finishes shortly after the code gives up waiting on it, leaving you with a nice, fresh 0-length file.
> 
> As you say, almost any USB drive nowadays can handle the requested throughput. But 0-length files probably aren't a throughput issue. But it could still be speed-related if the USB drive isn't very quick at "seeking" for some reason.
> 
> ...


I actually have all of the files (I should have elaborated). What happens in my case is that a large portion of the clip will be covered by solid green and/or complete pixelation.


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## MelindaV (Apr 2, 2016)

garsh said:


> I could easily imagine that Tesla's early coding attempts try to create a new file, and "time out" too quickly, then give up on writing to that file. In the meantime, the file creation actually finishes shortly after the code gives up waiting on it, leaving you with a nice, fresh 0-length file.
> 
> As you say, almost any USB drive nowadays can handle the requested throughput. But 0-length files probably aren't a throughput issue. But it could still be speed-related if the USB drive isn't very quick at "seeking" for some reason.
> 
> ...


Mine is a USB3 scandisk ultra. scandisk gives read speeds (150MB/s), but lists write speeds as "varies by capacity". Since the car's ports are limited to USB2, the drive should be able to handle as much as the port and then some, in theory, right?
It also lists operation temps with a max of 118F. The only days I've noticed it like this has been the last few that were in the 70s, inside the car around 85F, so still well under the ambient temp but maybe temp was an issue. I've also not seen it do this when recording drives, just sentry.
The other high speed usb drive I have (can't remember what model it is), I can tell from how it reacts on my computer isn't as good as the scandisk ultra, but will try it today and see if it's the same or different.
(The scandisk is the one I've been using since the beginning, have never had a grey x, hasn't had any 0kb files since the very first TeslaCam release, so it has been pretty solid. Worked without issues for the 1 ½ day airport test on 15.5].


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## garsh (Apr 4, 2016)

SoFlaModel3 said:


> I actually have all of the files (I should have elaborated). What happens in my case is that a large portion of the clip will be covered by solid green and/or complete pixelation.


Right. Those are caused by missing MPEG frames.. Most frames of an MPEG file contain only delta (change) information from the previous frame. If the file is missing a frame or two, then your video remains corrupted until the next I-Frame is recorded (those contain complete frame information instead of a delta).


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## garsh (Apr 4, 2016)

MelindaV said:


> Mine is a USB3 scandisk ultra. scandisk gives read speeds (150MB/s), but lists write speeds as "varies by capacity".


And at the other extreme, all of my USB drives are crappy cheap ones that I bought 5-10 years ago, and they're either working wonderfully or dying from overheating.

I bought the Kingston seven years ago, and the Toshiba five years ago, both from Best Buy. They're both working just fine so far:


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## JasonF (Oct 26, 2018)

I have some familiarity with digital video recording in Linux-based OS's. The video above looks like it's being recorded at a variable bit rate (VBR), but the final output bit rate is too inconsistent for clean playback. You can see that effect if you watch a badly edited compilation video on youtube - as the bit rate changes abruptly from one to another, you get that pixellation/color shift/pause. If I'm correct about it, that's often done on low-power CPU devices (like dashcams, ironically enough!) to keep the video from freezing when CPU power runs out.

The good news is that might be fixable in software by increasing caching so the bit rate doesn't have to change so abruptly when CPU usage goes up. Down side to that is if the MCU crashes, you can lose a few minutes of footage.


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## Skione65 (Apr 4, 2016)

MelindaV said:


> yesterday about half of my passenger side repeater camera videos had similar distortion as this one (on 2019.8.2). I've emailed it to Tesla to ask if this is a MCU processing issue, camera hardware, USB recording, etc issue. Videos start out mostly ok, then get a little wavy, then totally garbled before returning to mostly ok.


@MelindaV,

Thanks for this Data Point. Let us know (a) if you ever hear back from Tesla regarding their analysis of this and (b) what their actual interpretation of this is.

Ski


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## Mehul (Jun 9, 2018)

I love this sentry mode feature. I caught someone cleaning their car at work put a ding on my door. I know its a Nissan and have the person on video but haven't seen him since or the car. I guess he realized that I may be looking for him and started to park somewhere else. I wish the pillar cameras were also active as part of the sentry mode.


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## Skione65 (Apr 4, 2016)

Mehul said:


> I love this sentry mode feature. I caught someone cleaning their car at work put a ding on my door. I know its a Nissan and have the person on video but haven't seen him since or the car. I guess he realized that I may be looking for him and started to park somewhere else. I wish the pillar cameras were also active as part of the sentry mode.


@Mehul,

Great! Have the vid? You can always cruise the lot and see if you recognize his car.

Ski


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## MelindaV (Apr 2, 2016)

yesterday, I used my backup USB drive (32GB PNY USB3.0). It had similar results as my other. Always the passenger side repeater gets wonky, but only in Sentry mode.


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## JWardell (May 9, 2016)

I wrote this up to a write speed issue, but I noticed the activity light on my stick is off more than it's on...this may really just be a bug.
I may test with an SSD this weekend to be sure.


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## Bokonon (Apr 13, 2017)

Another data point that this may actually be a firmware bug...

Last night I was reviewing some fun dashcam footage (which I will share later  ), and noticed that the corruption in my repeater cameras follows a very simple and consistent pattern. When the car is in motion, there are no issues with the side cam videos, but as soon as the car stops, BAM, corruption starts to seep in. When the car starts moving again, the corruption immediately vanishes. This happens sometimes with the front camera video as well, but I never saw this happen when only the front camera was recording in 50.6 and prior. 

It's as though there's a firmware (over-)optimization in 2019.5 and later to minimize dashcam I/O by writing very few (if any) keyframes to the video files while the car is at rest. Or at the very least there seems to be some significant change/reduction in I/O activity that only happens while the car is at rest, and it can produce some buggy side effects.

Makes me wonder whether some of the zero-byte files have a similar cause, rather than being an issue with drive write speed that the firmware doesn't handle gracefully.


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## JWardell (May 9, 2016)

Tried sentry again today and strangely all files and video were perfect, nothing missing. I didn't change the stick or anything yet. Must be a bug.


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## Dale Gardner (Jul 1, 2017)

I also have this issue of empty files from Sentry Mode recordings. Not sure why many are suggesting the speed of the drive would be the issue. The same drive records from all the same cameras for the regular dashcam feature right?


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## undergrove (Jan 17, 2018)

Bokonon said:


> Another data point that this may actually be a firmware bug...
> 
> Last night I was reviewing some fun dashcam footage (which I will share later  ), and noticed that the corruption in my repeater cameras follows a very simple and consistent pattern. When the car is in motion, there are no issues with the side cam videos, but as soon as the car stops, BAM, corruption starts to seep in. When the car starts moving again, the corruption immediately vanishes. This happens sometimes with the front camera video as well, but I never saw this happen when only the front camera was recording in 50.6 and prior.
> 
> ...


I have been obsessively reviewing Sentry Mode and Dashcam videos for some time. I am seeing the same kinds of distortion that you all are describing, especially in Sentry mode.

I have a theory about this: In Sentry Mode the car is constantly writing the three cameras to a limited memory buffer, which is written out to our USB drives when Sentry Mode is triggered. It seems to tend to retain only video that has motion, although it seems to almost always retain the front view. Hence the side cameras frequently are zero. Sometimes the side cams only show a few seconds. This motion selectivity is not consistent--the right camera seems to be zero much more often than the left, but when there is a lot of large scale motion they both seem more likely to have good images.

I think this limitation is designed to use limited buffer memory efficiently. I am guessing that they do not want to allocate much memory so it can be used for more important functions--looking forward to Hardware 3.

The side cams are highly motion compressed with an apparent variable bit rate and seem to produce the best images when there is a lot of large scale motion in Dashcam mode as well as Sentry. When driving the side cams have good video quality, but if I come to a stop light and there is not much large scale motion, the image shows the same kind of deterioration as in the video above. I think the compression bit rate on the side cams is biased toward motion and does not deal well with static images.

In addition, since the 3 camera upgrade I have found that my USB drives, even the fastest, tend to need repair when I scan them on Mac Disk Utility. They don't stop working, and the video plays fine. I wouldn't notice it except I have been in the habit of verifying every time I look at the contents of a drive ever since the early Dashcam days when we got a lot of unreadable REC files. Later they became readable and then stopped occurring in 50.6.

It may be that we will have to go to even faster SSD drives, but at the moment I think most of the problems have to do with how they have written the software, and I expect it to get better like everything else--especially with Hardware 3.

Most of this is speculation. I am very interested in what the rest of you are able to figure out.


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## simpsonhomer (Aug 29, 2018)

I tried an SSD to prove that it's not a bandwidth issue per my original post; sure enough, it fared no better than a regular, modern thumb drive.

17.45% of the files in my SavedClips folder had zero-byte files. This is a brand-new 128GB Kingston A400 SSD in a Sabrent USB enclosure. Interior temperature ranged from 54.2 to 77.4 degrees F (digital thermometer placed next to it).

This was within a few percent of the Sandisk Cruzer Fits and Silicon Power flash drives I used before.

I also tried GPT and MBR partitions but they had about the same failure rate.

I noticed that recordings from the font camera are always okay—no 0-byte files there. My right camera consistently has nearly twice as many empty files as the left camera.

At no time did I get a grey dot on the dashcam icon; it always reported proper operation with a red dot.

Remember that the first few firmware versions with dashcam had even worse corruption problems (dashcam would stop working entirely). They eventually fixed it and so I'm hoping that they will soon fix it via software update this time around, too.


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## undergrove (Jan 17, 2018)

simpsonhomer said:


> I tried an SSD to prove that it's not a bandwidth issue per my original post; sure enough, it fared no better than a regular, modern thumb drive.
> 
> 17.45% of the files in my SavedClips folder had zero-byte files. This is a brand-new 128GB Kingston A400 SSD in a Sabrent USB enclosure. Interior temperature ranged from 54.2 to 77.4 degrees F (digital thermometer placed next to it).
> 
> ...


As I reported, earlier, my findings are consistent with yours.

I tested with 64 GB iDiskk USB drives, an SD card designed for video cameras which tested with a 50% faster write speed than the iDiskk, and a SanDisk Extreme GO 3.1 USB drive which has one of the highest speed ratings for USB drives--my tests showed it twice as fast as the iDiskk.

In all cases, I got frequent zero byte files on the side cams. What I am not sure about is whether this is by design--there is no motion in those cams for that minute--or is it due to write errors to the disk. I think we have established that it is not related to disk speed.

Sometimes one or more side cam views are just not present, which may be intentional. When there are zero byte files, I always find that Mac Disk Utility indicates that the disk needs repair--there are errors in the directory map--even though the disk is still working with a red dot and is readable. This suggests that the zero byte files may be due to write errors.

I would be interested to know if your SSD drive shows errors needing repair even though you are getting a red dot.

One way or the other I am sure we will see this all get better, as it has in the past.


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## JWardell (May 9, 2016)

I continue to get good video from all three cameras, so this is somehow a bug that fixed itself. I would suggest rebooting your car.

Also, I can't remember if it coincided, but with my wireless charger plugged into the other port, it was always resetting once or twice a minute. Maybe the whole hub was resetting and killing the files being written as well. I can't remember the timing, but I moved that charger to a pass-through battery and everything has been working great since.


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## undergrove (Jan 17, 2018)

JWardell said:


> I continue to get good video from all three cameras, so this is somehow a bug that fixed itself. I would suggest rebooting your car.
> 
> Also, I can't remember if it coincided, but with my wireless charger plugged into the other port, it was always resetting once or twice a minute. Maybe the whole hub was resetting and killing the files being written as well. I can't remember the timing, but I moved that charger to a pass-through battery and everything has been working great since.


To be clear, we are talking about video from Sentry Mode. I am getting all three cameras fine in Dashcam mode, with the caveat that the image in the side cameras tends to degrade if the car is stopped for very long--apparently due to the variable bit rate on the MPEG compression being biased toward motion.

What are you seeing when you look at footage saved from Sentry Mode? Do you always get all three cameras with no zero byte files? Have you run repeated disk checks on the drive with no repair suggested? What version of firmware do you have? What I am describing has been with 5.4 and 5.15.

I have the drive plugged into a hub connected to the right port with nothing else plugged into the hub or the other port when in Sentry Mode. I haven't tried plugging the drive directly into the USB port. Is that what you are suggesting?

I always reboot after an update and have rebooted a few times since the last update for other reasons.


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## JWardell (May 9, 2016)

Yes...while I had several Zero K and corrupted repeater cam files when I first tried Sentry, since that day, I have had clean and complete files from all cameras.

I have the Sandisk Connect 32GB Wireless drive along with a few other things plugged into an Anker USB3 hub plugged into the right port.

I am on a....later firmware that I can't mention.


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## simpsonhomer (Aug 29, 2018)

JWardell said:


> I am on a....later firmware that I can't mention.


If you're the only one having zero problems in this topic and you're the only one running an Early Access release then that's probably the key.


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## JWardell (May 9, 2016)

simpsonhomer said:


> If you're the only one having zero problems in this topic and you're the only one running an Early Access release then that's probably the key.


Maybe...but at least when it started I had the same problems as the rest of you and I think the Sentry functions are not any more mature/from the same build. Just trying to add more data to understand what is going on here, because I also can't understand why the problem went away. I'll continue to test some more.


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## MelindaV (Apr 2, 2016)

simpsonhomer said:


> If you're the only one having zero problems in this topic and you're the only one running an Early Access release then that's probably the key.


I've not had a 0kb video file since the early dashcam FW - not since sentry mode was released (currently on 2019.8.3 and have gone thru 5.15 and 8.2 also).


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## Kizzy (Jul 25, 2016)

I’ve had two sessions with Sentry Mode, one on 5.4 and the other on 5.15. When reviewing the files, I did not notice any 0KB files from the repeater cams.


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## Bigriver (Jan 26, 2018)

Bokonon said:


> Last night I was reviewing some fun dashcam footage (which I will share later  ), and noticed that the corruption in my repeater cameras follows a very simple and consistent pattern. When the car is in motion, there are no issues with the side cam videos, but as soon as the car stops, BAM, corruption starts to seep in.


Yes, movement is okay, stationary is problematic. Interestingly, for dashcam clips that start stationary and have the annoying green blocking the bottom half, if there is movement within that minute clip, and if I slide the playback video back to the beginning, the green is gone. Still pixelated and poor quality, but better than the green band. Green remains no matter what for clips that are all stationary.

And I just had a sentry mode session this morning that most of my left repeater files are 0 kB. I'm on 2019.8.3.


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## Thomajay (Mar 11, 2019)

Does anyone know how long you have to leave the flash drive in for it to put the file on it? 


So far I'm testing with a brand new Kingston DataTraveler 100 G3 64GB flash drive, I put TeslaCam folder in the flash drive after formatting to Fat32 and, admittedly I've only tried it twice but so far do not see any files at all in the flash drive.

I see that Sentry is active, I wait a few minutes, turn car off, pull out flash drive, put it in computer, and no files


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## japhule (Apr 14, 2018)

Thomajay said:


> Does anyone know how long you have to leave the flash drive in for it to put the file on it?
> 
> So far I'm testing with a brand new Kingston DataTraveler 100 G3 64GB flash drive, I put TeslaCam folder in the flash drive after formatting to Fat32 and, admittedly I've only tried it twice but so far do not see any files at all in the flash drive.
> 
> I see that Sentry is active, I wait a few minutes, turn car off, pull out flash drive, put it in computer, and no files


When you plug in your drive, a camera icon will pop up in the top right corner of your screen. If you see the camera icon with a red dot then it is currently recording. If you see a camera icon with no red dot (just all white or gray I think), then you need to press it to initiate the recording, the icon will then show a red dot to show it is now recording. While it is recording, tap the icon to save the latest footage, the icon will change to a save icon and then green check to confirm the save was complete.

To stop recording, hold down on the camera icon and it should change from the red dot to white/gray. Then you can safely remove the drive.

If you see a camera with an x then that usually means the drive is full or there are issues.


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## BluestarE3 (Oct 12, 2017)

Thomajay said:


> Does anyone know how long you have to leave the flash drive in for it to put the file on it?
> 
> So far I'm testing with a brand new Kingston DataTraveler 100 G3 64GB flash drive, I put TeslaCam folder in the flash drive after formatting to Fat32 and, admittedly I've only tried it twice but so far do not see any files at all in the flash drive.
> 
> I see that Sentry is active, I wait a few minutes, turn car off, pull out flash drive, put it in computer, and no files


In addition to enabling dashcam after inserting your storage device as @japhule mentioned above, did you do anything to trigger a Sentry Mode alert event? After arming Sentry Mode, exit and lock your car and walk away. Leave your phone somewhere outside of Bluetooth range or turn off Bluetooth on your phone. Return to your car and walk around it closely, peer through the windows, etc. (as if you're a would-be thief casing it). When Sentry Mode alert is triggered, you should see the car lights flash and the "HAL" warning display on your touchscreen. Now return with or re-enable your "key" and unlock your car, retrieve the storage device and see if there are any non-null files in the SavedClips folder.


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## garsh (Apr 4, 2016)

japhule said:


> If you see the camera icon with a red dot then it is currently recording.


I don't think that's quite correct. The red dot means it's activated. But if the car is in park, and sentry mode isn't activated (and senses someone moving nearby), then it's not going to be recording anything. You either need to activate sentry mode & have somebody walk by the car, or put the car in drive for it to start recording.


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## Scubastevo80 (Jul 2, 2018)

Is anyone having issues where your USB doesn't even recognize the thumb drive? I've had two that work from time to time, but I feel like they only work if I (1) reformat them, (2) plug it into the right port, (3) let the car go into deep sleep, and (4) when I get back in it will recognize it. I'm not getting the red X or the grey dot, in the upper portion of the display... I litterally get nothing.


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## Long Ranger (Jun 1, 2018)

garsh said:


> I don't think that's quite correct. The red dot means it's activated. But if the car is in park, and sentry mode isn't activated (and senses someone moving nearby), then it's not going to be recording anything. You either need to activate sentry mode & have somebody walk by the car, or put the car in drive for it to start recording.


I'm pretty sure @japhule was correct. In my experience, if the car is awake, it's recording video regardless of whether or not Sentry is active. Sentry just keeps the car from sleeping and copies files to SavedFiles upon an event. With Sentry disabled, I still see RecentFiles recordings (for the last hour) of my parked car.


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## garsh (Apr 4, 2016)

Long Ranger said:


> I'm pretty sure @japhule was correct. In my experience, if the car is awake, it's recording video regardless of whether or not Sentry is active. Sentry just keeps the car from sleeping and copies files to SavedFiles upon an event. With Sentry disabled, I still see RecentFiles recordings (for the last hour) of my parked car.


I'll have to double check. When I tried it this morning with the car parked, the activity light on the USB drive was not flashing, so I assumed nothing was being written. Perhaps I needed to wait a full minute for the first files to be written.


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## JWardell (May 9, 2016)

Funny after corrupt and 0k files in the first week, Sentry had been working very well with all files perfect. In the last few days it is back to corrupt and 0k side repeater files.
It has to be some bug. Maybe a reboot helps.


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## Skione65 (Apr 4, 2016)

So quick question....haven’t had quite the opportunity to play with Sentry Mode yet. Leaving it at the airport for a few days (armed) so we’ll see what happens. Anticipating 1mph draw/drain while gone. My question is....if you get an ‘alert’ due to Sentry Activation or a so called “triggered state”......how LONG does the alarm/horn sound? A specified duration then it quits? One minute? Two Minutes? OR do I have to physically get the alert......then enter the app and turn off or disable Sentry to stop the lights/horn from blaring? So as to not drain the battery?
Again I’m going to be out of town and not sure how it all works, do we deactivate to stop the Horn/lights and then ‘reactivate’ Sentry? Or does it time out after a specified time duration? What is the Protocol?

Regards,

Skione65


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## BluestarE3 (Oct 12, 2017)

Skione65 said:


> So quick question....haven't had quite the opportunity to play with Sentry Mode yet. Leaving it at the airport for a few days (armed) so we'll see what happens. Anticipating 1mph draw/drain while gone. My question is....if you get an 'alert' due to Sentry Activation or a so called "triggered state"......how LONG does the alarm/horn sound? A specified duration then it quits? One minute? Two Minutes? OR do I have to physically get the alert......then enter the app and turn off or disable Sentry to stop the lights/horn from blaring? So as to not drain the battery?
> Again I'm going to be out of town and not sure how it all works, do we deactivate to stop the Horn/lights and then 'reactivate' Sentry? Or does it time out after a specified time duration? What is the Protocol?
> 
> Regards,
> ...


IIRC, someone posted in this or the other forum that the alarm sounds for 30 seconds and then stops and rearms itself.


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## Skione65 (Apr 4, 2016)

BluestarE3 said:


> IIRC, someone posted in this or the other forum that the alarm sounds for 30 seconds and then stops and rearms itself.


@BluestarE3,

As it should be! Thanks for the follow up. In my mind that makes the most sense from a useability standpoint.

Ski


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## Mehul (Jun 9, 2018)

Mehul said:


> I love this sentry mode feature. I caught someone cleaning their car at work put a ding on my door. I know its a Nissan and have the person on video but haven't seen him since or the car. I guess he realized that I may be looking for him and started to park somewhere else. I wish the pillar cameras were also active as part of the sentry mode.


So I found the guy. He denied it initially but after watching the video all he could say was "oh!" 😀. Estimate came out to be $262 which he ended up paying.

Love this feature. Wish it used the pillar cameras and the backup cameras as well. I have a 256 SSD so it should be good enough to record min 2 weeks.


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## Needsdecaf (Dec 27, 2018)

Chalk me up to another one who's thumb drive bit the dust. Worked fine yesterday morning. I went to save a clip on the way home yesterday and noticed the gray X. Brought it inside and plugged it in, the computer said "corrupted" then asked if I wanted to fix, which I did. I was able to view the files from yesterday. A few blanks, but mostly there. 

Plugged it in this morning and still the gray X. 

Any good solution to this?


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## japhule (Apr 14, 2018)

Needsdecaf said:


> Chalk me up to another one who's thumb drive bit the dust. Worked fine yesterday morning. I went to save a clip on the way home yesterday and noticed the gray X. Brought it inside and plugged it in, the computer said "corrupted" then asked if I wanted to fix, which I did. I was able to view the files from yesterday. A few blanks, but mostly there.
> 
> Plugged it in this morning and still the gray X.
> 
> Any good solution to this?


Are you able to format or delete the files? My drive that went bad couldn't do either. Look into using SSD drives or dash friendly microsd cards with USB adapter (Samsung Pro Endurance) instead. What flash drive were you using?


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## Needsdecaf (Dec 27, 2018)

japhule said:


> Are you able to format or delete the files? My drive that went bad couldn't do either. Look into using SSD drives or dash friendly microsd cards with USB adapter (Samsung Pro Endurance) instead. What flash drive were you using?


I'm able to delete them.

I was using a PNY 64GB drive I got at Office Depot. Nothing Fancy.

I should note, something I forgot. I haven't used Sentry Mode but once to try it out after I first got it. Yesterday while at lunch, I activated it. I notice that the last recordings on the drive were an hour or so of my car being driven to lunch and sitting in the parking lot. Then nothing, and now it doesn't work.

So i wonder if this is an issue with Sentry Mode, not the upgraded Tesla Cam?


----------



## Vegita2201 (Nov 30, 2018)

I think this (Green Blob on the side recordings) is a bug too. Seen it on both Model3s one with an ADATA SD600 256GB SSD and a SanDisk 1TB SSD. I do also share the opinion that it happens when the car is stationary for a period of time. I wonder whether it also has to do with putting the car into a sleep or lower power mode?


----------



## jsanford (May 24, 2016)

Needsdecaf said:


> Chalk me up to another one who's thumb drive bit the dust. Worked fine yesterday morning. I went to save a clip on the way home yesterday and noticed the gray X. Brought it inside and plugged it in, the computer said "corrupted" then asked if I wanted to fix, which I did. I was able to view the files from yesterday. A few blanks, but mostly there.
> 
> Plugged it in this morning and still the gray X.
> 
> Any good solution to this?


I'm on my fourth one. They seem to die every 2-8 weeks.


----------



## Needsdecaf (Dec 27, 2018)

jsanford said:


> I'm on my fourth one. They seem to die every 2-8 weeks.


I bit the bullet and got an SSD off of Amazon. We shall see how long this lasts.


----------



## GDN (Oct 30, 2017)

Needsdecaf said:


> I bit the bullet and got an SSD off of Amazon. We shall see how long this lasts.


You won't regret it. $49.99 - Adata 256 GB SSD. Built in to a rugged case, has never even gotten warm on me. I've been running it 5 or 6 weeks.


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## gene1138 (Oct 13, 2017)

Having similar issues. My left repeater would be 0 bytes and my front cam the bottom half of the image would be garbled. So far after getting 12.1.2 no longer getting 0 byte files and front cam seems fine. Though the left repeater sometimes gets the bottom 1/2 of image garbled pixels. Hopefully Tesla keeps working to fix the bugs in Sentry mode.


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## vanzandtj (Apr 20, 2019)

On this evening's half hour ride home, I got good recordings for a while, then zero length files:


```
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 29893460 May 14 10:30 2019-05-14_17-30-front.mp4
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 29882604 May 14 10:30 2019-05-14_17-30-left_repeater.mp4
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 29880060 May 14 10:30 2019-05-14_17-30-right_repeater.mp4
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 29901807 May 14 10:31 2019-05-14_17-31-front.mp4
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 29921494 May 14 10:31 2019-05-14_17-31-left_repeater.mp4
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 29623349 May 14 10:31 2019-05-14_17-31-right_repeater.mp4
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 29816909 May 14 10:32 2019-05-14_17-32-front.mp4
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 29637459 May 14 10:32 2019-05-14_17-32-left_repeater.mp4
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 29835648 May 14 10:32 2019-05-14_17-32-right_repeater.mp4
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 29679768 May 14 10:33 2019-05-14_17-33-front.mp4
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 30018545 May 14 10:33 2019-05-14_17-33-left_repeater.mp4
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 29984971 May 14 10:33 2019-05-14_17-33-right_repeater.mp4
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 29952685 May 14 10:34 2019-05-14_17-34-front.mp4
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 29720103 May 14 10:34 2019-05-14_17-34-left_repeater.mp4
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 29550191 May 14 10:34 2019-05-14_17-34-right_repeater.mp4
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 29848400 May 14 10:35 2019-05-14_17-35-front.mp4
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 29797354 May 14 10:35 2019-05-14_17-35-left_repeater.mp4
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 29840853 May 14 10:35 2019-05-14_17-35-right_repeater.mp4
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 29767032 May 14 10:36 2019-05-14_17-36-front.mp4
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 29774106 May 14 10:36 2019-05-14_17-36-left_repeater.mp4
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 29634318 May 14 10:36 2019-05-14_17-36-right_repeater.mp4
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  3276800 May 14 10:37 2019-05-14_17-37-front.mp4
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root        0 May 14 10:37 2019-05-14_17-37-left_repeater.mp4
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root        0 May 14 10:37 2019-05-14_17-37-right_repeater.mp4
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root        0 May 14 10:38 2019-05-14_17-38-front.mp4
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root        0 May 14 10:38 2019-05-14_17-38-left_repeater.mp4
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root        0 May 14 10:38 2019-05-14_17-38-right_repeater.mp4
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root        0 May 14 10:39 2019-05-14_17-39-front.mp4
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root        0 May 14 10:39 2019-05-14_17-39-left_repeater.mp4
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root        0 May 14 10:39 2019-05-14_17-39-right_repeater.mp4
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root        0 May 14 10:40 2019-05-14_17-40-front.mp4
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root        0 May 14 10:40 2019-05-14_17-40-left_repeater.mp4
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root        0 May 14 10:40 2019-05-14_17-40-right_repeater.mp4
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root        0 May 14 10:41 2019-05-14_17-41-front.mp4
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root        0 May 14 10:41 2019-05-14_17-41-left_repeater.mp4
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root        0 May 14 10:41 2019-05-14_17-41-right_repeater.mp4
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root        0 May 14 10:42 2019-05-14_17-42-front.mp4
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root        0 May 14 10:42 2019-05-14_17-42-left_repeater.mp4
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root        0 May 14 10:42 2019-05-14_17-42-right_repeater.mp4
```
This is in a brand new Model 3 with 2019.12.1.2 and a SanDisk Extreme Go USB 3.1 Flash Drive 128GB (SDCZ800-128G-G46).

Next time, I'll check whether the drive feels hot.


----------



## DannyHamilton (Jul 9, 2018)

JWardell said:


> Funny after corrupt and 0k files in the first week, Sentry had been working very well with all files perfect. In the last few days it is back to corrupt and 0k side repeater files.
> It has to be some bug. Maybe a reboot helps.


I've definitely found that whenever I notice the 0-byte files or the bottom half of a clip green/corrupted, it seems to go away for a while if I reboot (I hold down the brake AND both scroll wheels until the Tesla logo appears).


----------



## Taxed2Death (Mar 4, 2019)

Not adding much value here, but will say I experience the same issues (0k files, pixelated/distorted/greenbar video) intermittently. I can't seem to determine a pattern as to when it works vs. when it doesn't. Hopefully this will get fixed at some point.
I guess the question I have to the forum is - does anyone not have these issues?


----------



## simpsonhomer (Aug 29, 2018)

My numbers are all over the place but the one consistent thing is that my right repeater has far more 0-byte files than my left repeater. I did a little drive type/format experimentation but couldn't conclude anything.

My last pull was pretty good-only 2.11% of the files were bad (all from the right-side camera). But I have no idea what I'll get next time-I think Forrest Gump once said, "Sentry Mode files are like a box of chocolates..."

FYI, these are Mac/Linux commands you can run to count 0-byte files from the front, left, and right cameras, respectively (plus a count of all files). I run them from TeslaCam/SavedClips but you can run from TeslaCam if you want to also consider the continuous captures.

find . -type f -size 0 -name *front*.mp4 | grep -c mp4
find . -type f -size 0 -name *left*.mp4 | grep -c mp4
find . -type f -size 0 -name *right*.mp4 | grep -c mp4
find . -type f -name *.mp4 | grep -c mp4


----------



## Chip Douglas (Jan 3, 2019)

Currently using a Sandisk Cruzer 64gb stick but always seem to be getting the "green blob" on one of the side cameras. I understand this may be the drive just being too slow. Is there a recommended drive that people are using out there?

Oh and I also noticed on a few occasions that the video would stop recording and the icon would turn to a gray X. Ejecting and re-inserting the stick seems to help. Not sure if this is a sign that the drive may be dying or a problem with the latest update???


----------



## GadgetMan (Jul 25, 2018)

I have the same issues with Sentry recordings - mostly issues with the Right repeater camera showing bottom half of screen as green and/or no video and many times, frozen repeater camera video etc. My assumption was my USB drive is too slow or something, but dashcam video seemed to behave better, but not perfect.
I actually made an appointment with Tesla Service to check the right camera as I also noticed that Auto Lane changes to the right seemed to abort more than when going left.

The Service tech told me that the Sentry camera issue is a firmware problem that they are aware of - so that will get fixed eventually.

My steering control module was showing errors which were causing the aborted lane changes.
They replaced the steering control module - glad I made that appointment!


----------



## GDN (Oct 30, 2017)

GadgetMan said:


> I have the same issues with Sentry recordings - mostly issues with the Right repeater camera showing bottom half of screen as green and/or no video and many times, frozen repeater camera video etc. My assumption was my USB drive is too slow or something, but dashcam video seemed to behave better, but not perfect.
> I actually made an appointment with Tesla Service to check the right camera as I also noticed that Auto Lane changes to the right seemed to abort more than when going left.
> 
> The Service tech told me that the Sentry camera issue is a firmware problem that they are aware of - so that will get fixed eventually.
> ...


Nice to have this confirmation. The description on your right camera is exactly what I have and I'm still seeing reported by others. Using a bigger/faster SSD drive though I rarely have any other kind of problems. Once in a blue moon a 0 byte file, but not often.


----------



## Rusty (Sep 9, 2017)

Well, last night my son was driving our Model 3. After dinner, he was backing out of his parking spot when a large SUV also started backing out. The SUV dented our rear passenger side door and then drove off. He followed them attempting to get their license plate number. He phoned, and I told him to tap the camera icon and call the police. When he got home we reviewed the camera files. Half of the files had no data. Of course, the ones of the accident were empty. The only useful file is the front camera recording of my son following the SUV in the parking lot. Here is a photo of the license plate. We can’t make out the state. I will upload the video later today. Anyone out there with better video editing able to read the state? Very frustrating. I may visit the parking lot again today to see if they come back. We are on vacation in Pigeon Forge, TN. There are a lot of out of state visitors here. I don’t think it is a TN plate.


----------



## Rusty (Sep 9, 2017)

Rusty said:


> Well, last night my son was driving our Model 3. After dinner, he was backing out of his parking spot when a large SUV also started backing out. The SUV dented our rear passenger side door and then drove off. He followed them attempting to get their license plate number. He phoned, and I told him to tap the camera icon and call the police. When he got home we reviewed the camera files. Half of the files had no data. Of course, the ones of the accident were empty. The only useful file is the front camera recording of my son following the SUV in the parking lot. Here is a photo of the license plate. We can't make out the state. I will upload the video later today. Anyone out there with better video editing able to read the state? Very frustrating. I may visit the parking lot again today to see if they come back. We are on vacation in Pigeon Forge, TN. There are a lot of out of state visitors here. I don't think it is a TN plate.


Here is the video of the license plate and a picture of the damage. Any ideas what model SUV this is? I ordered a Transcend USB stick recommended by https://teslatap.com/articles/usb-flash-drives-for-tesla-dashcam/.


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## Rusty (Sep 9, 2017)

Rusty said:


> Here is the video of the license plate and a picture of the damage. Any ideas what model SUV this is? I ordered a Transcend USB stick recommended by https://teslatap.com/articles/usb-flash-drives-for-tesla-dashcam/.
> View attachment 27921


It is not letting me attach the mp4. Any suggestions?


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## garsh (Apr 4, 2016)

Rusty said:


> It is not letting me attach the mp4. Any suggestions?


Upload your video to YouTube, then paste the YouTube link here, and the forum will embed the video in your post.


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## MelindaV (Apr 2, 2016)

in other words, you can not host a video here. it has to live somewhere else and be linked to it here.


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## JWardell (May 9, 2016)

That totally sucks @Rusty ! Sadly sentry still suffers occasional corrupted and empty videos once in a while, more likely while parked. Honestly I think it occurs no matter what media you have. This is why I still also run my two dedicated dash cams as well. If the files actually have some amount of data in them, maybe they can be deciphered better in another player?


----------



## Rusty (Sep 9, 2017)

JWardell said:


> That totally sucks @Rusty ! Sadly sentry still suffers occasional corrupted and empty videos once in a while, more likely while parked. Honestly I think it occurs no matter what media you have. This is why I still also run my two dedicated dash cams as well. If the files actually have some amount of data in them, maybe they can be deciphered better in another player?


 Thanks. I will let you know if I have better performance from a $70 Transcend vs my $12 Sandisk.


----------



## Rusty (Sep 9, 2017)

garsh said:


> Upload your video to YouTube, then paste the YouTube link here, and the forum will embed the video in your post.


Thanks for the info. Does this work?

https://www.icloud.com/sharedalbum/#B0fGWZuqDeehAe


----------



## Rusty (Sep 9, 2017)

Vid


Rusty said:


> Thanks for the info. Does this work?
> 
> https://www.icloud.com/sharedalbum/#B0fGWZuqDeehAe


Video wouldn't share using iCloud. Here is YouTube link.


----------



## Rusty (Sep 9, 2017)

Rusty said:


> Well, last night my son was driving our Model 3. After dinner, he was backing out of his parking spot when a large SUV also started backing out. The SUV dented our rear passenger side door and then drove off. He followed them attempting to get their license plate number. He phoned, and I told him to tap the camera icon and call the police. When he got home we reviewed the camera files. Half of the files had no data. Of course, the ones of the accident were empty. The only useful file is the front camera recording of my son following the SUV in the parking lot. Here is a photo of the license plate. We can't make out the state. I will upload the video later today. Anyone out there with better video editing able to read the state? Very frustrating. I may visit the parking lot again today to see if they come back. We are on vacation in Pigeon Forge, TN. There are a lot of out of state visitors here. I don't think it is a TN plate.


After doing lots of looking, I believe this is a Mackinac Bridge plate from Michigan BNE-461. Any other suggestions?


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## MelindaV (Apr 2, 2016)

Rusty said:


> After doing lots of looking, I believe this is a Mackinac Bridge plate from Michigan BNE-461. Any other suggestions?


it looks like the graphic is heavier on the bottom (especially the bottom left) than that MI plate


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## garsh (Apr 4, 2016)

Maybe this slightly different version?
The black splotch in the lower-right matches up better.


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## Rusty (Sep 9, 2017)

garsh said:


> Maybe this slightly different version?
> The black splotch in the lower-right matches up better.


Great! I appreciate the help. I have sent the info to the police department and insurance.


----------



## slasher016 (Sep 12, 2017)

I'm using TapTes wireless charger with a Anker hub and everything has been working fine up until this release. Sentry/Dashcam is recording a bunch of 1kb files that are inaccessible. I'm on 24.4 (that's what it says in my car anyways) but it actually said that update failed even though I have the new features for 24.4. So I'm not sure what to do next.

For clarity it stopped working once I "installed" 24.4.


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## Rusty (Sep 9, 2017)

Well I got my $70 Transcend thumb drive and tried it. I still get several empty video files. Mostly from driving (recent videos). The sentry mode files were complete. That may have just been a coincidence. It does not appear to be a thumb drive read write speed or temperature issue. The Transcend is rated for over 140 MB/s and a broader temperature range 32-160F.


----------



## Jarettp (Dec 1, 2018)

My sentry mode videos from the last couple weeks are all blank. My recent videos are working as expected, though. Any idea wth is going on?

I'm using this ssd drive;


----------



## Frédérick St Laurent (Jul 7, 2018)

Hi everybody,

Since the latest Firmware updates I am not getting 0 bytes or corrupted files anymore for the Dashcam or Sentry mode. That is a great improvement. However I am now having trouble seeking in the .mp4 files (am I the only one?). I found an easy fix to that problem by using ffmpeg to fix the files. I tried to make the fix as easy as possible to use for Windows user by creating a small powershell script that "takes care of everything".

Simply download the .ps1.txt attachment of this post
Rename it to .ps1 (instead of .ps1.txt since the forum does not allow .ps1 attachments)
Run it an follow the instructions
For people that never used powershell scripts before, simply right click on it and choose "Run with PowerShell"

For curious people, the .ps1 simply download ffmpeg for Windows, search for the usb drive and run the following ffmpeg command on each .mp4:
ffmpeg -i _original.mp4_ -c:v copy _new.mp4_
The quality of the clip will stay identical as it does not re-compress the file, it only "re-index" it to fix the seeking problem.


----------



## JustTheTip (Jun 7, 2018)

Blame Tesla for using USB 2.0. It wouldn’t have cost them any more $ to use 3.0/3.1.


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## MelindaV (Apr 2, 2016)

JustTheTip said:


> Blame Tesla for using USB 2.0. It wouldn't have cost them any more $ to use 3.0/3.1.


USB2.0 has enough transfer/write speed for the cameras. The issue is something else, or every single video would have issues, instead of just some.

each complete 1min file is 29-30MB. So over the 3 cameras, that is 90 MB / minute.
USB2.0 is capable of 60MB / second (3,600 MB / minute) so the camera's video is only using 2.5% of the USBs capable data speed.


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## zosoisnotaword (Aug 28, 2017)

I also had clean Sentry files this weekend from the repeater cameras. First ones I've looked at since updating to 24.4. Small sample size, but I had already deleted without viewing the ones that recorded while parked at work last week.


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## JustTheTip (Jun 7, 2018)

MelindaV said:


> USB2.0 has enough transfer/write speed for the cameras. The issue is something else, or every single video would have issues, instead of just some.
> 
> each complete 1min file is 29-30MB. So over the 3 cameras, that is 90 MB / minute.
> USB2.0 is capable of 60MB / second (3,600 MB / minute) so the camera's video is only using 2.5% of the USBs capable data speed.


Aware. But still. What about future proofing. They should have gone with USB 3 anyways. It seems like a camera/firmware issue to me. Hopefully it doesn't take them forever to figure this out. I'd rather they concentrate on bugs like this than farts and games.


----------



## garsh (Apr 4, 2016)

JustTheTip said:


> Aware. But still. What about future proofing.


I would have preferred that they skip USB-A and went with USB-C ports.


----------



## Franklin L (Sep 23, 2017)

I’m also noticing my Sentry mode videos are sometimes corrupt on the (left) repeater. I’m using a good Samsung USB drive and swapping out the USB drive for another one did not help. I’m currently trying to plug them directly into the port instead of using a splitter. 

On a similar note— do we still need to turn off the camera on the touchscreen before unpegging the USB stick or did that problem get patched/ fixed? I haven’t read of people complaining about total USB drive corruption lately.


----------



## zosoisnotaword (Aug 28, 2017)

I'm on 24.4 still. I had been getting good files since updating, but now I am now getting mostly 1kb files for all cameras. Even my recent files where I was driving are 1kb, which has never happened before. Maybe 1 out of 5 of the saved Sentry events from the last three days are complete files. I'm using a Samsung Pro Endurance micro sd. Hopefully this goes away with 28.2.


----------



## NR4P (Jul 14, 2018)

I am very disappointed in Sentry in general.
WIth 24.4 and now 28.2, most dashcam and most Sentry videos are useless.

Earlier this week I had some stupid antics recorded by the dashcam. So I tapped to save them.
Two nights ago I went to retrieve them to post here and youtube and the files were garbage. Most 1kb, some 600kb. 

So I looked at some Sentry recordings, like others maybe 20-50% were usable.

I tried different USB-3 memory sticks, I tried it without the USB bridge and its hit or miss.

These same memory sticks were used with Dashcam before Sentry so its not them, Dashcam was 90% + back then.

Where is Tesla QA?


----------



## Alighieri256 (Oct 14, 2017)

NR4P said:


> I am very disappointed in Sentry in general.
> WIth 24.4 and now 28.2, most dashcam and most Sentry videos are useless.
> 
> Earlier this week I had some stupid antics recorded by the dashcam. So I tapped to save them.
> ...


Yeah, I'm still having garbage Sentry and Dashcam files on 28.2 as well. Occasionally, I'll just get folders and folders of all 1kb files. I know my thumb drives are good, but just to be absolutely sure, I put in an M.2 SSD to make damn sure the drive itself wasn't bottlenecking. Same result. Maybe V10 will offer some relief. Dashcam and I witnessed an accident, and I tapped to save so I could provide the video to the victim, but those came out blank as well.


----------



## zosoisnotaword (Aug 28, 2017)

Alighieri256 said:


> Yeah, I'm still having garbage Sentry and Dashcam files on 28.2 as well. Occasionally, I'll just get folders and folders of all 1kb files. I know my thumb drives are good, but just to be absolutely sure, I put in an M.2 SSD to make damn sure the drive itself wasn't bottlenecking. Same result. Maybe V10 will offer some relief. Dashcam and I witnessed an accident, and I tapped to save so I could provide the video to the victim, but those came out blank as well.


The worst part is that even when the repeater files were sucking with Sentry Mode, everything still worked while the car was in motion. Now we've lost that assurance completely.


----------



## undergrove (Jan 17, 2018)

zosoisnotaword said:


> The worst part is that even when the repeater files were sucking with Sentry Mode, everything still worked while the car was in motion. Now we've lost that assurance completely.


Since the update to 28.2 we have had no 0 Byte files and all cams have been glitch free. The side cam files are the same size as the front cam and have many more MPEG key frames-- much better video quality with very few compression artifacts. There seem to be little or no time gaps between successive files.

This is with at least a couple of dozen Sentry incidents on both video SD cards and an SSD drive. So far for us 28.2 is a major improvement.


----------



## DanTez (May 8, 2017)

Hello All. Ever since 2019.24.4 my sentry mode has not been working properly or mostly not at all. I've tried all the popular fixes like: turning off Sentry Mode for 24 hours, reformatting the drive, power-off the vehicle and reboot monitor. Last time I inspected the SanDisk 64 Gb drive and found all corrupt 595 kb files in the RecentClips folder. (See attachment) The files in the SavedClips folder were still fine for the most part. The biggest issue is that when car is locked it rarely triggers any activity. I just finished chatting with Tesla Support and they recommend using a drive no bigger than 32 Gb and preferably a 8 Gb drive with at least 4 Mb/s write speed to fix my problem. That would be such a hassle formatting that 8 Gb drive every couple of days!!

Does anyone have experience with the Samsung Portable 500 Gb T5 SSD Drive?? Was thinking of replacing with this drive and portioning a small amount for music in the car. Thanks Kindly!


----------



## DanTez (May 8, 2017)

undergrove said:


> Since the update to 28.2 we have had no 0 Byte files and all cams have been glitch free. The side cam files are the same size as the front cam and have many more MPEG key frames-- much better video quality with very few compression artifacts. There seem to be little or no time gaps between successive files.
> 
> This is with at least a couple of dozen Sentry incidents on both video SD cards and an SSD drive. So far for us 28.2 is a major improvement.


That's great to hear! 
How does your SSD drive work? 
I was thinking of upgrading to an SSD instead of USB.

Thanks!


----------



## Bokonon (Apr 13, 2017)

DanTez said:


> Does anyone have experience with the Samsung Portable 500 Gb T5 SSD Drive?? Was thinking of replacing with this drive and portioning a small amount for music in the car. Thanks Kindly!


I bought this drive on a recommendation and have been very satisfied with its performance and utility. Mine is partitioned into three logical drives (32 GB music / 32 GB dashcam / the rest) has worked well for audio and video storage. I like that it comes with both a USB-A-to-C and USB-C-to-C cable, so I can leave both in the car and just plug the drive into my (Android) phone to review / edit / archive video anytime I want.

If they're still on sale on Amazon for 80 bucks, it's a pretty good deal.


----------



## undergrove (Jan 17, 2018)

DanTez said:


> That's great to hear!
> How does your SSD drive work?
> I was thinking of upgrading to an SSD instead of USB.
> 
> Thanks!


It is 256 GB with a long slim form factor--quite small. I am not at home now so I can't give you the make and model. It was recommended earlier in this thread or the USB drive thread. I formatted it as FAT32 in one partition on my Mac. Plug it in and it just works.


----------



## MelindaV (Apr 2, 2016)

DanTez said:


> Hello All. Ever since 2019.24.4 my sentry mode has not been working properly or mostly not at all. I've tried all the popular fixes like: turning off Sentry Mode for 24 hours, reformatting the drive, power-off the vehicle and reboot monitor. Last time I inspected the SanDisk 64 Gb drive and found all corrupt 595 kb files in the RecentClips folder. (See attachment) The files in the SavedClips folder were still fine for the most part. The biggest issue is that when car is locked it rarely triggers any activity. I just finished chatting with Tesla Support and they recommend using a drive no bigger than 32 Gb and preferably a 8 Gb drive with at least 4 Mb/s write speed to fix my problem. That would be such a hassle formatting that 8 Gb drive every couple of days!!
> 
> Does anyone have experience with the Samsung Portable 500 Gb T5 SSD Drive?? Was thinking of replacing with this drive and portioning a small amount for music in the car. Thanks Kindly!
> 
> View attachment 28384


Ive been using the T5 (500G) for a few months now. It overall has been great. I have 3 partitions - two large for the cam and music and one small for 'etc' - that I mostly use to save 'processed' videos when combining them to view. all are well over 32G, and certainly over 8G  
I think once since using it, I've had a day of the dreaded 595b files, but after clearing the drive (not sure that made a difference) and going back to it the next day all was good again.


----------



## DanTez (May 8, 2017)

MelindaV said:


> Ive been using the T5 (500G) for a few months now. It overall has been great. I have 3 partitions - two large for the cam and music and one small for 'etc' - that I mostly use to save 'processed' videos when combining them to view. all are well over 32G, and certainly over 8G
> I think once since using it, I've had a day of the dreaded 595b files, but after clearing the drive (not sure that made a difference) and going back to it the next day all was good again.


Thanks for the opinion on the T5 SSD! When you format it, does it wipe the security feature off the drive also? Does it matter for the performance? Thanks in advance again.


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## DanTez (May 8, 2017)

Bokonon said:


> I bought this drive on a recommendation and have been very satisfied with its performance and utility. Mine is partitioned into three logical drives (32 GB music / 32 GB dashcam / the rest) has worked well for audio and video storage. I like that it comes with both a USB-A-to-C and USB-C-to-C cable, so I can leave both in the car and just plug the drive into my (Android) phone to review / edit / archive video anytime I want.
> 
> If they're still on sale on Amazon for 80 bucks, it's a pretty good deal.


Is there a reason you only allocated 32 Gb for the dash cam video? Seems like you'll be formatting it often?? Much appreciated.


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## MelindaV (Apr 2, 2016)

DanTez said:


> Thanks for the opinion on the T5 SSD! When you format it, does it wipe the security feature off the drive also? Does it matter for the performance? Thanks in advance again.


any portable drive I have, I've always wiped out whatever the manufacture installs on it.
also, here's the post from a few months back on formatting the T5
https://teslaownersonline.com/threa...atting-partitioning.11828/page-11#post-235899


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## DanTez (May 8, 2017)

Awesome thanks Melinda!!


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## Bokonon (Apr 13, 2017)

DanTez said:


> Is there a reason you only allocated 32 Gb for the dash cam video? Seems like you'll be formatting it often?? Much appreciated.


A while ago, when I first setup the drive, some (but not all) owners reported problems with the car accessing partitions over 32 GB in size. At the time, I was also having issues with my dashcam files (which turned out to be firmware related), so I figured I'd keep the partitions to 32 GB to avoid introducing other issues. I don't run Sentry Mode often, and 32 GB is plenty for my needs... So I've haven't bothered to repartition the drive.


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## GDN (Oct 30, 2017)

NR4P said:


> I am very disappointed in Sentry in general.
> WIth 24.4 and now 28.2, most dashcam and most Sentry videos are useless.
> 
> Earlier this week I had some stupid antics recorded by the dashcam. So I tapped to save them.
> ...


While it is a little frustrating, keep in mind it wasn't an advertised or even foreseeable future feature when many of us bought our cars. I'm very happy to have something like this as I had no plans to purchase or install an aftermarket dash cam. It's 99% software, it can and will improve, but may be two steps forward and one step back. You can ignore the dash cam for a few months and not be disappointed nor frustrated with it and when it gets better come back to it.

I also had a few 0 byte and 595 byte files from a few weeks ago, something new to my setup, but I know it will once again improve and in a few more months we'll forget how buggy it once was.

Remember the horrible to use hands free phone echo? Nope, most don't because it has been almost perfect now for many months, but there once was a time it was really unusable it was so bad.


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