ssontong A16W Dash Camera - set up instructions - Part 2 of 4 

Bargain for the price n great bit of kit.

Absolute bargain for $20. Wow!!

Thank you. The SD card only needs formatting when the camera is set up initially. But if you change the SD card for any reason make sure you format the new card. And your right it loop records.

Update. Apparently a message will appear on screen when the SD card needs to be re -formatted again.

Hi. Part 3 and 4 now available to view online. 1080P and 2.5K resolutions.

Hello from the UK. This camera was for my daughter. She is a new driver so a Dashcam was a must. We have it connected to the cigarette port and every time the ignition is switched off the dam cam turns itself off. To answer your question - if something is in constantly on it will be using some source of power for sure. How much I cannot answer. I’m sure if you google it you may be able to find more answers or if anyone on here can comment please feel free to free to assist.

Some of the reviews for the A16W on Amazon state that on certain car models (such as some Ford gas model cars) the cigarette lighter 12V power port in the car is an always on part. Which means if something is plugged into that then it will always be providing continuous power to the device, even when the ignition (ACC) is off (and will certainly drain your battery). Be careful with using devices in a port like that which provides continuous power when when the car is off. Ssontong sells a ODB2 port adapter that provides power the dash cam via USB-C cable for this A16W, that can deal with that better, as it will only power the dashcam (not just this brand and model, but many USB-C dashcams will work with it, unless they require more voltage, which some higher end dashcams, that normally are multi-channel, from other brands do require) while the ignition (ACC) is turned on, and will turn off the camera after 5 to 20 minutes (the time to turn off factor I believe is based on the revision of this model of adapter, as the latest revision that I purchased new in May 2024 has it stated in the included pamphlet that it will stay on for 20 mins, and that is exactly how long it stays powered on for after the car is turned off, when attached to the A16W with front and rear cams attached, when using the "ACC off" toggle on the adapter which is the default mode of operation). The ODB2 cable only contains 3 pins out of the full amount, on the Ssontong adapter I have verified myself, which are two ground pins and one power, so it has no chance of damaging the ODB2 system computer in your car to use it. It is only about $9 on Amazon. You could use that, for cars that are model year 1996 and newer (that all must have an ODB2 port, instead of the older ODB1 port in prior years). The advantage with the ODB2 based power cable is that it doesn't just instantly turn off the power to stop the recording when your car turns off (it stays on for 20 mins to keep recording) so think of if you are pulled over and the police tell you to stop your engine and you do, it would kill the power to the cam when using a cigarette adapter or a USB cable to power the dashcam, and that 20 extra mins could be valuable to have saved, or if you were in an accident, etc. It also may be somewhat useful for if you are going to run errands and need make a quick stop and get out for 5 to 15 to 20 minutes, it will keep the recording going for you in case someone for instance is snooping around your car or dings it with a shopping cart, etc. after you parked and went inside to run the errand, to be out of sight of your car, to be able to see that footage that otherwise would likely not have been recorded (unless you have another power up method, but that would be a hassle to have to disconnect and reconnect and then power back on the camera again, etc.) to make that work reliably for those scenarios. This model of dashcam doesn't take much power at all so I don't think I'd be worried about it running automatically for another 20 minutes after turning off the car. Also, one other advantage to the ODB2 adapter method of powering this dashcam is that it doesn't automatically power up until you do actually start the ignition, because the ODB port needs that to start feeding power to the attached device, as opposed to the cigarette or USB power from your car that likely will turn on the dashcam without actually running the engine, and there probably isn't a point to starting the dashcam until the car is actually running I think, and that guarantees at least initially that device won't be trying to use the battery power when the alternator is not running, at least until you do turn off your car ignition then it will run for 20 extra mins (too bad their model of ODB2 adapter doesn't have a way to change the turn off interval (to like 5 mins, 10 mins, 15 mins, etc.) as it is locked to a static 20 mins now for the latest revisions of this model of adapter as far as I can tell). You can always turn on the dashcam without any current power running to it, but since it only has a small 300ma battery it probably won't be able to record for longer than 10 or so mins before it has to shutdown itself.

@@jonferraez WOW. thank you for this information. Much appreciated.

Hi I’ve got an issue I’ve set this camera up absolutely fine, went and connected it to Wi-Fi and through the app. I’ve got it plugged into my cigarette socket and the dashcam wasn’t turning on, charged the dashcam overnight with the charger and turns on fine however now when plugging it back into the car it doesn’t turn on with ignition and it doesn’t seem like the cigarette socket charges the camera

@@kieranlivingstone5792 That’s odd. Reach out to where you purchased the dash cam from. You may have a faulty connection cable. Or Can anyone else comment on this issue here please feel free to comment.