Broken USB port

[lazibayer]

I bought an SG9665GC last September from pier28inc@ebay. Last week I tried to export some video and found it not working, and the last video was recorded in April. After further investigation I found the culprit to be its collapsed USB port.

So I contacted the seller and the seller told me I can't insert the cable after the camera has been mounted on the base, otherwise such move will damage the port. I was surprised because I've never heard of that kind of restriction on a dashcam, or any USB device, and I don't recall any warning of this kind on the quick installation guide. Here are the 6 steps of installation:

To my understanding, attaching the camera to the base (Step 1) happens ahead of cable insertion (Step 3), but the seller told me Step 1 only asks us to wait 20 minutes, not to attach it. The seller also mentioned that the online manual spells out of this clearly and offered a 50% discount on purchasing a V2 version of this dashcam.
I am disappointed in this product and lost trust in this brand. It's a bizarre to have such weakly soldered USB port and it's another bizarre to have such important messages printed only on online documents but not on the ones coming with the product.

 

[Street Guardian USA]

I just spoke to the factory. As a one time goodwill gesture we will replace your camera if you agree to take care of the new one by only inserting cables before mounting the camera to the glass moving forward. Sorry for your frustration but the Clearance is too tight to force-push the cable in while already mounted without mangling / catching the standard mini USB port. We will enhance the quick start guide and full user manual where we can.

 

[jokiin]

please contact @Pier28 I have authorised a replacement for you, as I understand they have made you aware of how to attach it correctly so if it breaks again it won't be covered a second time

 

[kamkar]

I have tried to plug in the USB plug and GPS while the camera was installed on the mount, but it have only taken me a few seconds to figure out "this is not going to work" and then i have taken the cam off the mount, plugged in the 2 wires and then put camera back on mount.

You should monitor your camera and not least memory card more closely ( last file recorded in April )
At this stage most cameras are not quite set and forget, keeping a tap on it is a good idea, even if you are using the best possible camera and memory card.

On average i check my SD cards every time they have filled up 2 times ( use 64 Gb for the most )

I then verify.

Recorded files match what i have been driving lately ( by time / date name on files ) this off course is dependent on my old brain that forget mundane things really fast, but for the most i can remember my drives from the past week ( don't drive much )
Look for files not the normal size, for the most this will be files where you have stopped car, but if i see such a smaller file in the middle of a session of normal sized files then it can be a problem.
Test if some of the files can launch in my player on the computer, don't watch all 3 minutes off course, just make sure they can launch and if they can do that there is no file corruption.
During this test launch of files i test launch all the last files in every session on the SD card, i do this as i think finalization of last file is where camera issues might pop up first.

And then i do a in camera format of the memory card to make sure FAT is restored.

In total this take me 5 - 10 minutes on the computer, and a few seconds on the camera formatting SD card.

 

[lazibayer]

I just spoke to the factory. As a one time goodwill gesture we will replace your camera if you agree to take care of the new one by only inserting cables before mounting the camera to the glass moving forward. Sorry for your frustration but the Clearance is too tight to force-push the cable in while already mounted without mangling / catching the standard mini USB port. We will enhance the quick start guide and full user manual where we can.

Thanks that's very nice of you. Sure I would proceed with caution since I am aware of that.

 

[lazibayer]

please contact @Pier28 I have authorised a replacement for you, as I understand they have made you aware of how to attach it correctly so if it breaks again it won't be covered a second time

Will do!

 

[jokiin]

Thanks that's very nice of you. Sure I would proceed with caution since I am aware of that.

that's all we ask, I'm sure now you're more aware of it you won't have a problem with it in future

 

[Sunny]

Interesting!
It looks similar to A118C/B40C.
Maybe I should be careful on the A118C or does the SG have even less clearance?

 

[jokiin]

Interesting!
It looks similar to A118C/B40C.
Maybe I should be careful on the A118C or does the SG have even less clearance?

clearance is the same

 

[Sunny]

clearance is the same

I see.
I did find it little bit hard but once you line up properly, it's not too difficult to put the mini USB cable in.

 

[jokiin]

I see.
I did find it little bit hard but once you line up properly, it's not too difficult to put the mini USB cable in.

I think it's more logical to unclip it off the mount, we've had two people break the USB port out of more than 10,000 pieces so I guess most people are not forcing it