Parking mode is an often brought up subject in regards to dash cams, and it generally encompasses these three points:

• The ability for the camera to record when parked/vehicle is switched off
• Separate video files tagged/labelled as parking mode files for easy search
• Safeguarding your vehicle with footage capture overnight

How and where it is enabled is often asked, so let's dive in and cover some basic definitions to better our understanding of this BlackVue dash-cam feature.

Do all BlackVue models come with Parking Mode?

Technically, yes. Parking mode is automatically enabled when the camera can't sense movement for more than 5 minutes.

For example, let's imagine the scenario of you driving to the shopping mall. You pull in to the parking space and immediately get a phone call. You put your car into park and lift up your handbrake, and accept the phone call. During the 5 minutes (while your car is on and camera is operating) your camera will announce 'Parking Mode enabled.' This will happen as long as the camera has power, which must be a result of the car being on if there is no battery-backup device.

Long story short, all cameras have parking mode built in. It is better to be thought of as a specific mode of the camera, rather than it simply referring to your camera working when you are away from the vehicle.

How does my camera go into Parking Mode?

In short, your BlackVue camera will enter parking mode after the in-built accelerometer notices 5 minutes of motion inactivity. To reiterate, the camera must not have moved for 5 minutes. It can still detect motion, for example, someone walking past the camera or trees moving in the background, but as long as the camera itself does not move it will automatically enter parking mode. It must have power to go in to Parking Mode.

There are two types of parking mode

1. Motion Detection
   • The camera will continually record and only save the recording to the SD card when motion is detected. If motion is detected by the front or rear camera, then a parking mode file is saved which contains 5 seconds of buffered footage is saved as part of the file, so that way you can catch the evidence before the motion detection starts. Detection is also arbitrary and it does not distinguish between a person walking past the vehicle or a tree blowing in the wind.
2. Time Lapse
   • In this mode the camera will record at 1 FPS (one frame per second), which is then played back at 30FPS. This translates to 30 minutes worth of time-lapse footage in a 1 minute viewable file (the file will be played very quickly).

As an aside, the Motion Detection setting draws a little more power than the Time Lapse mode.

How does my camera leave Parking Mode?

As soon as your camera starts to experience motion again, e.g. driving off, it will automatically leave parking mode and begin normal recording.

If your camera has turned off over night, when you get into your car and turn it on the camera will begin to automatically record in Normal Recording mode.

Can Parking Mode be disabled?

You can disable Parking Mode in the camera's firmware settings. This means your camera will only record in Normal recording mode, even when parked up. You must re-enable Parking Mode if you wish to use it again by changing the options in the camera's firmware settings.

I do not have the Power Magic Pro or B-124X, will my camera still have Parking Mode?

Yes. Although if your camera turns off when your vehicle switches off, then it will not have an opportunity to enter Parking Mode and will not be recording when your vehicle is switched off. Your camera must have power for it to record in Parking Mode. If you do not have the PMP or a battery backup, we strongly advise finding out whether or not the cigarette socket in your vehicle is always-on (stays live when the vehicle is off or not), as without the use of a battery saver device (PMP or B-124X) you run the risk of letting your car battery go flat.

How long does Parking Mode last?

Parking Mode is active until the camera detects motion from the time it has entered Parking Mode. Remember, your camera must have power for it to be able to run in Parking Mode. Unfortunately, there are no modern or practical solutions that will provide weeks upon weeks of available recording time for your camera, and the actual range/duration of Parking Mode varies from vehicle to vehicle, and whether or not there is an external battery pack such as the BlackVue B-124X. If your BlackVue is installed with the Power Magic Pro hard-wiring kit, then your camera is going to be able to record in Parking Mode until the 12.5V battery threshold is reached.

If your BlackVue has the B-124X installed with it, it will record depending upon the available charge from the time of recording in a non-active charging state. 

Make sure to consult your installer/parts provider to know for sure which hard-wiring solution your BlackVue has.

We can see how much power the camera's draw through this table:

On mobile? Make sure to scroll left to right!

Again, the run time of the cameras will depend on a number of varying factors, including:

• Battery size
• Battery level of charge
• Battery age
• Battery temperature

It is important to remember that the Power Magic Pro is not a battery. It is only a wiring-kit that allows your camera to take power from the car's battery. It is also used to prevent the car battery from going flat.

There are a few battery back up options available, including the B-112 and B-124X.

The B-112 has 3000mAh / 38.4W when fully charged. The B-124X has 6000mAH / 76.8W when fully charged.