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I am thinking to purchase the dashcam app from Mercedes store on my 2024 GLB. My main concern is if it does not start automatically every time I turn on the car. Does anyone know for sure if it starts recording automatically when I turn on the car, or has to be started manually?
I use a FitcamX on my EQB. The thing that I really like about it is that it looks like an OEM fitment that seamlessly blends in with the car while the MB Dashcam is a separate attachment. Resolution is also 4K and I can view the files from my phone. Happy to share my experience if anyone is interested.
Please provide a link so we can see the specs + add commentary/experience during the install. Thanks
You can purchase a FitcamX from their official online store: https://fitcamx.com/collections/merc...glb-amg-glb-35
They have different models of dashcams based on the type of cover that you have on your rain sensor. If you send them a picture of your rain sensor cover, they will recommend the correct dashcam for your particular GLB model.
I have a 3 camera setup in my EQB. I got the front 4K + rear FHD but I found that routing the cable to the rear wasn't as easy as I thought as it would require taking off a couple of panels. I did not want to do that in the fear that I would end up breaking a tab or two or causing rattles in the long run. So I decided to use the real camera as an internal camera. I purchased another 4K dashcam from Amazon and used the 12V outlet in the cargo area to power it. That is really easy to do and highly recommended for anyone who doesn't want to route the camera from the front of the car to the back.
Quality is pretty good though night time performance is lacking a bit. Does not do as good a job in reading license plates in low light as the Viofo A229 Pro in my other car, which is in a different league. Shall post pictures along with my experience in a couple of days.
So before one goes down the FitcamX route, you may want to just check if your car supports the "Dashcam" app and purchase that instead. Pity you have to remember to start recording every time before your start driving and screen res is only FHD. Not sure if it has been resolved by MB yet. I find Nick O'Leary's videos really helpful:
And if you want some more, without the hassle of routing cables then FitcamX is likely the way to go. Sharing my experience:
1. Box: FitcamX Box
2. Contents
3. Power Tap
4. Front Camera:
As installed:
1. Installation is fairly straightforward. You use the provided pry tool to gently push the rain sensor cover down from all sides and it will drop onto the rear view mirror. Then you push on the locking clips to release the small cover and take off the rain sensor cover.
2. Then you unlatch the power cable from the rain sensor, plug it into the power tap, and push the plug into the rain sensor and connect the far end of the tap to the camera. Attach the locking clip, arrange the cables to fit in the gap of the rain sensor, and push fit the camera back and you are done.
3. Plenty of installation videos on YouTube.
Installation notes:
1. The cable to power the camera is fairly long and tends to foul with the locking clips. So I found that folding it and using tape to attach it to the base of the camera module really helps with a clean and quick installation.
2. I did not use the cable for the rear camera as i did not want to remove any panels to route the cable as I was worried about the wire fouling with Airbags and the panels developing rattles later. So I directly connected the rear camera to the power tap coming from the main camera and used it as an 'internal camera'.
3. I feel that with this setup, the camera neatly tucks in behind the rear view mirror and as the internal (rear) camera is black, it blends in with the plastic panel and roof liner, making the whole setup look OEM.
Camera performance.
1. Front is 4K and rear is FHD. Both day and night recordings offer very good clarity. It can be a bit difficult to make out license plates sometimes in the night due to headlight glare at certain angles but overall its not an issue.
2. Mic recording works well with good clarity and recording volume is good as well.
3. I did not use the provided micro SD Card but instead purchased a "SanDisk Extreme micro SDXC UHS-I, V30, 190MB/s Read,90MB/s Write" card for use with the camera.
Issues:
So one day I wanted to review some footage and noticed that the camera was missing clips and would intermittently start and stop recording, and the recording had 'gaps' every 10-15 mins or so. Camera would become extremely hot too. Some posts mentioned that this could be due to a faulty SD card so I switched cards, but the issue persisted. Wrote to FitcamX, their customer support was fairly responsive, asked me to perform a couple of tests, but nothing helped. They were happy to send me a replacement unit. That one worked perfectly.
Overall:
Its been close to a 18 months since I started using it, and so far so good. The newer Starvis 2 sensor based dashcams (Viofo A229 Pro in my wife's car) are way better, but this one does the job well too. Fairly satisfied with my purchase.
08-24-2024, 01:19 AM
