Mach-E Dashcam and Sentry Mode Updates

generaltso

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To use the MME you would need a usb in the one by your phone charger inserted all the time (not a great solution).
They make some extremely low profile USB flash drives that wouldn’t stick out at all. The owners manual also mentions USB ports in the center console under the armrest, but the cars that were used for the roadshow tours didn’t have any in there.
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methorian

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They make some extremely low profile USB flash drives that wouldn’t stick out at all. The owners manual also mentions USB ports in the center console under the armrest, but the cars that were used for the roadshow tours didn’t have any in there.
The only issue with Flash Drives is that they may not last very long or have great performance as a video surveillance storage media. A portable SSD would be much better at this job, so having a data port in a closed storage compartment would have been ideal to store a portable SSD. (Isn't a huge deal in my opinion, but worthy of thought when planning these things out.)

Although the manual has weird mentions of more USB ports, I don't think we'll be getting more than the 4 we know about (2 in front, 2 in rear).
 

Plutoman15

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The only issue with Flash Drives is that they may not last very long or have great performance as a video surveillance storage media. A portable SSD would be much better at this job, so having a data port in a closed storage compartment would have been ideal to store a portable SSD. (Isn't a huge deal in my opinion, but worthy of thought when planning these things out.)

Although the manual has weird mentions of more USB ports, I don't think we'll be getting more than the 4 we know about (2 in front, 2 in rear).
I thought there was a usb under the arm rest as well? Am I remembering wrong?
 

ChasingCoral

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ChasingCoral

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I thought there was a usb under the arm rest as well? Am I remembering wrong?
That's what the manual says but we haven't found any there.
 


Jim Glass

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I don’t trust Ford and free updates. Or even any update based on track record. My 2016 Ford F-150!was supposed to have CarPlay. It arrived without it then they said coming soon with a software patch. 2 years later the software update came out and I had to purchase new USB ports.
Not too many things in life are free. I read that Tesla is going to charge $10,000 for the autonomous update!
 

BlueMach

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the tesla is in the under compartment. you can use a USB or a portable hard drive. really about how often to check it and erase it. If it's a USB it won't stick out much.
Starting with 2021 MY Model 3/Y the dashcam USB drive is in the glovebox.
 

BlueMach

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Yes I know I meant in the scheme for future updates because they can't update hardware. The Tesla one is a hidden USB port in the glove box (so I have heard). To use the MME you would need a usb in the one by your phone charger inserted all the time (not a great solution).
Yeah, I would prefer if they had thought about this for the US market - on the lowly EcoSport they put USB ports up near the windshield specifically for dashcams on Russian market units, but on the Mach-E we need to drape cables everywhere, it's frustrating.

If they could at least commit to a date where we get it via OTA I'd feel better. If it's 2 months after I buy it, I won't buy a dashcam... if it's 2 years, then I will. I'd like to know.
 

generaltso

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If they could at least commit to a date where we get it via OTA I'd feel better. If it's 2 months after I buy it, I won't buy a dashcam... if it's 2 years, then I will. I'd like to know.
They haven't actually committed to adding it at all, so I wouldn't count on it. As far as I know, the only thing they've actually committed to adding is Hand Free Driving. They've also said that they're hoping to restore the ability to open the frunk electronically, but that's not a sure thing either.

In my opinion, I don't think we'll see any other substantial new functionality added in the first year.
 

Jimrpa

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Anybody seen anywhere you possibly put a usb drive to save the videos to in the future? With Tesla’s I think you have to save to a USB.
What would be preferable would be if the Mustang Mach E were HomeKit compatible. That way, video could be streamed using HomeKit Secure Video and stored securely in iCloud - no messing around with USB sticks and you’d be able to view your camera in real-time, from anywhere, just as you can with a HomeKit video doorbell.
 

GoGoGadgetMachE

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What would be preferable would be if the Mustang Mach E were HomeKit compatible. That way, video could be streamed using HomeKit Secure Video and stored securely in iCloud - no messing around with USB sticks and you’d be able to view your camera in real-time, from anywhere, just as you can with a HomeKit video doorbell.
well that would be completely useless to me as someone not in the Apple ecosystem in any substantial way. I'm pretty sure that day to day I'd have no way to use this at all.

I'd much rather do a USB stick, and if live streaming is absolutely necessary, stream to the FordPass app and/or a web site. that would be a much better overall use of developer time since it wouldn't be locked in to a single ecosystem at that point.

Once they have something that basically everyone everywhere can use, then go back and add proprietary stuff.

I realize if you're one of the nine (*) people that has gone "all in" on HomeKit that wouldn't be as convenient, but it's a cost/benefit question.

(*) yes I'm being sarcastic - I know it's 10 people. (**)
(**) ha ha I kid again

(edit: added missing word)
 
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SashaLondon

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well that would be completely useless to me as someone not in the Apple ecosystem in any substantial way. I'm pretty sure that day to day I'd have no way to use this at all.

I'd much rather do a USB stick, and if live streaming is absolutely, stream to the FordPass app and/or a web site. that would be a much better overall use of developer time since it wouldn't be locked in to a single ecosystem at that point.

Once they have something that basically everyone everywhere can use, then go back and add proprietary stuff.

I realize if you're one of the nine (*) people that has gone "all in" on HomeKit that wouldn't be as convenient, but it's a cost/benefit question.

(*) yes I'm being sarcastic - I know it's 10 people. (**)
(**) ha ha I kid again
What about save to Dropbox or Google drive or one drive etc?
 

kdryden99

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What about save to Dropbox or Google drive or one drive etc?
Id be worried about the quantity of data transferred with this. Mobile data rates are not the same all over the world and id use this more often when im not home so wifi might not be available
 

Jimrpa

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The advantage to HomeKit Secure Video is just that - Secure Video. Apparently, other video systems have been providing your video to 3rd parties without necessarily letting you know. I'm not saying that the vehicle would have to stream the video back, but it would be nice to have that feature available for people who would take advantage of it - just like the vehicle has CarPlay compatibility for people who want to use that feature. As for data charges, I don't know how data plans in other countries work. I'm told the US has some of the most expensive data plans in the world (I pay $104/month for "unlimited" "4G/5G" for one phone and a companion watch. Note that, in the US, "4G" and "5G" are more marketing terms than actual technical standards.

What I envision is a scenario where, if the car is disturbed, you'd get an alert on your phone and be able to pull up a real-time stream from the camera(s) to see what's going on with the vehicle. Is it being towed? Is someone trying to break into it/steal it? You'd then at least be able to call emergency services and give them a description of what you're seeing on the video, in real-time.
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