Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

June 14, 2022 edit: Annoying start-up sound still exists. I do not recommend that the average user buy this camera. I used this dash cam for five minutes and was going to return it. The issue is the boot sound that can't be turned off in settings. I found a hack online (for Androids and maybe for iPhones) which worked and I've decided to keep it because of the great video and ease of use of the device. Also, the sub-$100 value for front and rear cameras is superb! In short, if you can tolerate this start-up sound or use the hack (instructions below) to disable it, I think you will really like this device. When I turn on my car, the dash cam powers up and plays an extremely audible and short jingle. It is very loud, and there's no option to turn this off without downloading an app to "hack the system." [See end of review for steps] Even if the volume were low, I still wouldn't want it. I drive almost every day and prefer quiet so I get annoyed extremely easily. I've read accounts of other people who don't like this as well. However, some people may want to know that their dash cams are turning on and working... but the sound is still way too loud. [The company is going to update firmware for future products but this one is stuck with this issue.] In addition, when you set up this camera, there's a deafening beep when you toggle through options. I've never heard anything this loud. I don't know what the product people were thinking! I have several other quibbles. This dash cam takes 19 seconds from boot up to start recording. Seriously??? This is 10 seconds longer than my cheaper dash cam. Also, the cables are on the right side of the dash cam - I prefer that they be center or on the left so that they are more concealed in my car and less visible to the passenger. Your mileage may vary. What do I like about this dash cam? It is well designed. It looks fine in a minimalistic way - nothing too pretty about it but nothing hideous. The buttons are an absolute joy to press and operate. I've owned three dash cams and these buttons are by far the best. The video quality is fantastic. I played some videos on my computer and I could see houses and cars pretty sharply. I'm sure 4K will be nicer (and at least twice as expensive) but the current resolution is more than sufficient for me. In order to view the videos on your computer, you may need to download a codec (Microsoft.HEVCVideoExtension_1.0.43421.0_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe) or a free video player like VLC, otherwise the footage will be black and you will only be able to hear audio. Newer computers probably don't need this. I haven't used GPS but it's one thing I was excited about. The price: you get a front and rear camera for under $100. This is remarkable and I applaud the company for this. The rear camera is 1080p and isn't amazing but it's good enough. If you don't want to go through the below steps and disable the sound (some people who aren't tech savvy or don't have Androids may be screwed), you can spring for a different dash cam. There are many out there to choose from - many cheaper ones. Even if the quality is lesser, these cheap cameras will still work and not have the annoying start-up sound. The main purpose of the dash cam is to prove that you are not at fault, and most dash cams will do this. Secondary is capturing license plates. The bottom line: I've decided to keep this dash cam set because I found out how to fix the initial deal-breaker. It's not hard but you do need to connect to your dash cam and be a little patient. I have an Android and I'm good with tech so this took 10 minutes for me. I'm not sure if the app is available for the iPhone. When you update the firmware, the dash cam settings are factory reset so you'll have to go through this process again which is very frustrating. 1. Connect to the camera via hotspot with your phone's wifi. 2. Download the "Mobile Telnet" app from the Play Store 3. Telnet settings ---> Remote host name: 192.168.0.1 port: 23 (this is the default) 4. Connect Should display the NVTEAM login label Type "root" and then ENTER Then type this command (in one "sentence" and press ENTER at the very end) with a space between "mv /" and "raw /mnt": mv /mnt/app/res/voice/public/bootsound.raw /mnt/app/res/voice/public/bootsound_1.raw Then ENTER IMPORTANT: If you want to put the sound back, you must type this: mv /mnt/app/res/voice/public/bootsound_1.raw /mnt/app/res/voice/public/bootsound.raw