Permanent Power vs Switched Power

What's the difference between permanent live power and switched live power?

• Permanent live power - Power is sent to the Dash Cam 24/7, even when the car ignition is off.
• Switched live power - Power is only sent to the Dash Cam when the vehicle ignition is turned on.

How to see if your Dash Cam is on a permanent live, or switched live power supply

If your Dash Cam is hardwired

In most of our Dash Cams, the blue LED indicates the Dash Cam is charging, you should also see a charging indicator when the Dash Cam screen is turned on in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen (see below).

If you are using the 12V Power Supply

If your Dash Cam is fitted using the 12V power supply (provided in the box), you should see an LED light on the cable, this LED light will be illuminated when power is being sent through the cable (see below).

if the LED light on the cable is illuminated when the ignition is off, this usually means that the 12V port is permanently live. 

Please note:

In some vehicles, the 12V port can remain live for up to 10 minutes after the ignition has been turned off and the car has been locked.

What's better, switched live, or permanent live?

The answer to this question usually depends on whether or not Parking Mode is turned ON or OFF.

• Parking Mode ON - Permanent live (recommended).
• Parking Mode OFF - Switched live (recommended).

Why does Parking Mode make a difference?

When parking mode is turned ON and the camera is on a permanent power supply, the Dash Cam will go into standby mode if no physical movement is detected. Whereas if the Dash Cam is fitted to a permanent power supply and parking mode is OFF, the camera will continuously record 24/7 and never shut down, this is not recommended, as it puts a lot of stress on the Dash Cam and SD card.

If parking mode is turned ON, and the Dash Cam is powered using a permanently live power supply, your car battery will act as a backup for the camera, meaning if a physical impact is detected, you won't be relying on the small internal battery inside the Dash Cam to record an incident.