Beat the Heat is Back | Thinkware U3000 4K Dash Cam | BlackboxMyCar

[@JP300blkout]

I live in Arizona and I bought my DR900S-2CH from you guys in 2019. I am so thankful for your camera, not only has it held up to the extreme heat but I was in a bad accident few weeks ago and if it wasn't for the video footage it captured I was going to be held accountable. A lady failed to yield at a light and t-boned me and pushed me into another car and totaled my car. Both parties involved lied from day 1 and said I ran a red light, her insurance was blaming me as well. Once her insurance saw my video they took full responsibility within minutes and I am working on getting the police report amended and getting whats rightfully owed to me now. Thank you for your quality cameras, if it wasn't for that footage I would have been blamed and probably facing lawsuits. I am looking to buy myself another Blackvue camera as well as my family cars, so worth the investment!!

[@ixyzyxi]

Its illegal to lie in a police report I think. You should press charges on the other people

[@blackboxmycar]

Very glad to hear we could keep your vehicle protected through the Arizona heat, and that it proved invaluable. Stay safe out there!

[@spencergs]

This is a great series to have, I can see it helping people in the market for dashcam make the perfect choice in their purchase.

[@blackboxmycar]

Thank you :) !

[@1Starscream117]

I live in FL, I have the Viovo A119 v2, and it's been great to me. Thanks for the content!

[@blackboxmycar]

Glad you enjoy it!

[@P_RO_]

Great seeing you not only heat test, but to also exceed the specs to add assurance that this cam can handle the heat. Overheating has always been a major issue with dashcams, especially with parking in many climates around the world. My first cam was one of the early supercap cams, chosen specifically because it could handle the heat where I live.

[@blackboxmycar]

No problem, exceeding the specs is the best way to put them to the test! We'll use this comment as fuel to run things a tad bit hotter next time :D

[@CaptainCJ97]

Finally this series is back! It's crazy how many dashcams can't handle 90 & up degrees. So far be sides yesterday for some odd reason my u3000 wont turn on for some reason it been better than my blackvue 900x plus it handle the summer 108 & up heat fine. 12:55 wow didnt know about the sun visor tip thanks for letting me know even putting that on the u3000 still worked fine

[@BrettL250]

You connect your BlackVue 900 X to the cloud? I do, and it overheats and shuts off when it’s directly in the sunlight every single time. I know this because the cloud tells me.

[@blackboxmycar]

Glad you could be here with us Captain!

[@CaptainCJ97]

​@BrettL250 I do but sometimes it drops the connection

[@phuocnguyen1191]

@@BrettL250hi, I have blackvue 900x connect to the cloud and it exactly shut down as you said when park directly the sunlight. Any tricks can help? I thought to switch to thinkware u3000. I need cloud to check footage video from inside not to run to dashcam for wifi.

[@ajaay9244]

My Blackvue DR750X Plus has been a soldier in the heat. Can sit in direct sun for hours and still record without missing a beat.

[@BrettL250]

Yeah, maybe in Alaska. I can speak from extensive experience in Florida, and your statement is not true. I’ve owned all the BlackVue cameras all the way up to the most advanced current one, and they all fail when they are directly in the sunlight anywhere above 88° outside. I know this because I have them all connected to the cloud and it tells me when they shut off.

[@ajaay9244]

@@BrettL250 One could argue "your statement is not true" as well. It's all anecdotal anyway, here we have two examples of two different people who have two different experiences with the same product. So far with my DR750x Plus and the new DR770x, they can sit in direct sunlight and not turn off. I don't know what to tell you, they just don't. Even when I had the CM100 module plugged in as well. However, my experience with the DR970x was much different. The morning sun barely had a chance to come out and it shut off due to overheating. This is why I ended up sending it back. Love the 4k quality, but couldn't always worry when the sun was out if the camera would work properly.

[@phuocnguyen1191]

@@BrettL250Have you ever experienced with the footage video could not playback due to the error call video has been overwrite or deleted. My blackvue has this issue especially when it started to get hot when park under sunlight

[@azarahwagner2749]

I would love to see more testing and I am interested in seeing how window treatments work with the cameras. I most interested in the 3M UV film ( clear ) does at blocking excess heat and light . Thank you for sharing 😊

[@blackboxmycar]

Very interesting thought there, thanks for the feedback! We'll see what we can do.

[@gsgs856]

Yes overall is thumbs up but the thinkware connected app is bad until today still cannot connect

[@blackboxmycar]

Thanks for the feedback. I recommend giving us a call if you're having connection issues, sometimes there can be interference that messes with the connection.

[@Dtats2]

How does the BlackVue DR970X-2CH Plus compare to the U3000 when it comes to withstanding hotter climates like Texas and Florida?

[@blackboxmycar]

Hi there! Both the BlackVue DR970X-2CH Plus and the Thinkware U3000 are designed to perform well in various climates, including hotter environments like Texas and Florida. The BlackVue DR970X-2CH Plus has a higher heat endurance, with a maximum operating temperature of up to 70°C (158°F) and a safe cutoff around 80°C (176°F). This means it can handle high temperatures effectively, making it suitable for hot climates. The Thinkware U3000 also offers good temperature resistance, but specific maximum temperature ratings may vary. Generally, Thinkware cameras are built to withstand high temperatures as well, but you would need to check the exact specifications for the U3000 to compare directly. If you're in particularly hot areas, both models should perform adequately, but the BlackVue DR970X-2CH Plus is noted for its robust heat endurance. If you have more questions or need further information, feel free to ask!

[@BrettL250]

Thank you for this experiment. I live in Florida and the dash cam overheating was a concern of mine. I really wish you guys would do an in-depth video on how the camera works with the cloud as well as the backup battery and all the settings that go along with it. Even the Thinkwear customer service people don’t know all the settings. Like for instance, with BlackVue, you can see how much percentage of the battery is left. Can you do that with this one also?

[@blackboxmycar]

Thanks for the feedback, I'm glad it proved useful! With the Thinkware Cloud app, you aren't able to remotely check the battery capacity in the same way you can with the BlackVue camera + battery combo, however the app will tell you how long parking mode has lasted, as well as the voltage level of it's power source, while allowing you to turn off the unit remotely, which is not an option with BlackVue. Monitoring the voltage level is more useful when connecting to your car battery directly, though you can technically use this to infer the battery pack's health as well, albeit not too accurate. To be clear, I'm unsure about the new Thinkware iVolt Xtra as we don't have one to test, but I don't believe it can supply this information remotely either.

[@vancouversworstdrivers]

It's been so long!

[@blackboxmycar]

Too long :)

[@carlosz114able]

Thank you for the video, the temperature in my car so far is at 158 fahrenheit , in my driveway. So far I'm thinking of getting U3000.

[@blackboxmycar]

Glad to hear it was helpful! It's supposed to be a hot one this summer!

[@kennethl4172]

Thanks Broseph, love these torture tests. Just wondering if you will do a torture test on backup battery cell since it will be inside the vehicle as well. Will the LiFePo4 battery can withstand the heat to keep the dashcam running?

[@blackboxmycar]

A great question, and thanks for the feedback, Torture tests XD, I love it! On paper, batteries should perform better as LiFePo4 is more durable, and they get to hide in the shade under the seat, but we'll see what we can cook up.

[@hopeaceverything]

Planning to buy U3000. But I keep on wondering if it will work in Middle East Temperature which could easily rise up to 55 degrees celcius.

[@blackboxmycar]

Hi there! The Thinkware U3000 is designed to operate within a temperature range of -10°C to 60°C (14°F to 140°F). While it can handle high temperatures, 55°C (131°F) is close to the upper limit. In extremely hot climates like the Middle East, it’s important to consider that prolonged exposure to temperatures at the high end of the operating range can potentially affect performance. To help mitigate heat issues, you might want to ensure that the dash cam is installed in a location that minimizes direct sunlight exposure, or consider using a heat-blocking film on the windshield. If you have any further questions or need assistance with your decision, feel free to ask!

[@dillingerdan]

Is it possible the radar functionality kept the camera from entering smart parking mode?

[@blackboxmycar]

Interesting theory! We actually had the camera set to time-lapse, which shouldn't actually utilize the radar, but I'll see about testing that.

[@maxrobbins8872]

Can you please do a video on the thinkwhere U3000 in a extreme cold test like -20 or colder. There aren’t any videos at all online. I wanna know if this camera will be able to hold up to COLORADO winters before I go out and spend over $500.

[@blackboxmycar]

Thanks for the feedback! We'll see what we can do.

[@gerryjohnson]

I don't have the U3000, but I do have the U1000. The U1000 cannot handle the Texas heat. The bluetooth, used for connecting to a hotspot, has stopped working after being in Texas temperatures between 100 degrees and 118 degrees for weeks. The WiFi connection is still working, and that would be more important than the bluetooth since WiFi is needed to connect the dashcam to my phone.

[@blackboxmycar]

Thanks for the feedback! This definitely goes to show that we should be more cautious in ensuring that cloud and other advanced features stay up and running in future installments during testing, as the U3000 did for this test. I'm glad your U1000 is still running with it's wifi, at least, either way the real-world experience is invaluable.

[@Bearsfan920]

I wish you did this with BlackVue, I wouldn’t have bought it. I would’ve got the thinkware instead. My BlackVue Dr900X plus is junk when it’s 80 degrees or hotter. I bought a Redtiger F7NS 4K & it works much better in the heat. I’ve never had RedTiger go to low power mode even in 100 degrees.

[@anuragpandey7552]

How Iroad will do the job ?

[@blackboxmycar]

IROAD cameras are actually quite heat resistant overall. We aren't able to test their cameras at the moment though.

[@misakomoko]

My thinkware (old version ) broke no longer recording its all black. probably overheated

[@davidluong5651]

“Smart” parking mode is not so smart after all. Either there’s a bug that prevents it from kicking in or false advertisement. I have a U3000 and not impressed or biased.

[@BrettL250]

I just bought mine and I’ve only been using it for three days and so far I like it much better than any of my BlackVue cameras. What don’t you like about it?

[@davidluong5651]

@@BrettL250 Check the video about “Smart Parking”. Blackboxmycar tried to test it and it doesn’t function according to its specs on extreme high temperature - even up to 80+ degrees celsius. Hence, my comment.

[@BrettL250]

@@davidluong5651 doesn’t function because it obviously isn’t experiencing a high enough temperature where it needs to kick in. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t function. It just means that these guys haven’t figured out what that temperature is yet.