Blackvue DR900S-2CH with Power Magic Pro Hardwire Kit 2-Channel | 4K Dashcam | 16GB SD Card

I've been using this camera for about a month now, and I have to say that I am really pleased with it. Having the front and rear cameras was a must for me, the parking mode was extremely important, as I have had several dings on my bumpers from having to park in a parking garage at my workplace, and having the best possible quality for the front facing camera was also pretty important. This was one of the few options that really ticked all of the boxes.The good:- All of the things I wanted in a dash cam that I mention above, this cam does quite well. Once you get the settings dialed in, the video is great and the Parking Mode works well.- The installation is fairly straight forward. It is going to be different from vehicle-to-vehicle, but installation on my 2016 F150 SuperCrew was simple. There is more than enough cable for the rear camera to run all of the way around the passenger side to the backThe not-so-good, but definitely not deal breakers:- The biggest and most frustrating issue with this camera is the method of viewing video with the Android app. I have a Google Pixel 3 XL running Android 10, and the only possible way to access the camera through the Blackvue app is to turn Airplane Mode on and reconnect to the WiFi signal from the cam. This makes accessing the cam a chore, and seems like something that should be an easy fix in the app. Further, I shouldn't have to risk missing important phone calls because I need to spend 15 minutes going through my footage. Looking through forums online, this seems to be an issue that has been around for over a year, but Blackvue has not fixed it. However, it is worth mentioning that it is likely not a problem for everyone, as it likely depends on your phone and OS version. You are just rolling the dice on whether this will happen to you.- The instructions for installation of the Power Magic Pro Hardwire Kit are decent, but not great. I spent a large chunk of time trying to figure out why I couldn't get power to the unit, and it turns out that you simply need to start the vehicle to get it all working. In hindsight, it should've been my first troubleshooting step, but since there is constant power coming from the fuses I was tapping into, I did not expect to have no power at first. It is very easy to state in the instructions that the car must be started after installation to make the Power Magic Pro kit function.- The included wiring for the Power Magic Pro is WAY TOO SHORT, and gives very limited freedom on placement of the switch. This is mainly an issue for people whose vehicles have the fuse box on the passenger side, as is the case in newer F150s, including my own. The best I could do is to stick the unit about dead center inside my glove box. Therefore, I have to open it and lean way over to switch Parking Mode on and off. I could solder additional wiring to give more length to the unit and put it someplace more convenient, but that defeats the purpose of easy installation. I may still do it at some point, but definitely a problem if your fuse box is on the passenger side.- Finally, it takes a too long for the camera to switch from Parking Mode to Driving Mode after starting up and moving. Further, that amount of time seems to vary. As long as the settings are set up correctly, you won't miss any video, but it is still a bit odd.Also, for what it's worth, the Blackvue Cloud is absolutely worthless unless:- You have a car that has an LTE connection and WiFi- You park obscenely close to a wireless network (which is not the case for those who can't park immediately outside the doors of their workplace)- You can park really close to their home (not an issue, I guess, if you have a personal garage, though then you likely don't need parking mode at home)All told, while I would absolutely buy this dash cam again, it is hard to recommend for an average user at the high price point. However, if you need/desire all of the functionality that it offers, and you can afford it, I absolutely recommend it!

My BlackVue DR900S-2CH 4K Dash camera was experiencing mounting issues with the double-sided tape provided to attach it to the windshield. The temperatures in Southern California are quite mild during the winter and early spring, so when the tape failed after a few hot days in the sun I knew I needed a mechanical alternative prior to the arrival of the summer heat. Although the original spring clip provided by Blendmount would've worked, and was quite adequate for the task at hand, I preferred to purchase and modify the BlendMount BBV-2000R bracket to work with the original DR900S-2CH base. I easily removed the spring-clip attached via the Allen-head screw, to make room to attach the original BlackVue camera bracket. I center-tapped the 2 convenient holes already existing on the BBV-2000R clamp-arm, which just happened to be the correct DIA. required for 6-32 UNF. Then it was easy to locate and drill 2 clearance holes in the BlackVue plastic base and attach the base with 2 qty 6-32x Phillips pan-head screws. (see last photo for screw detail) As you can see, the final result was a sturdy bracket, perfectly positioned, and easily adjustable. I have yet to utilize the battery back-up connection through the fuse box, and intend to do so at a later date, so I will do a follow up review at a later date. But currently, my experience with the BLACKVUE DR900S-2CH has been excellent, with no issues. I did want to mark it down 1 star for camera features due to no real time viewing via wifi connection, however it's other values overcame this arguable defect. ( It was a feature I had come to like with my previous BlackSys 1080P Dash-cam system.) Actually would've reduced it only 1/2 star, if that had been possible. Bottom line: quality video, reliable system, good value for your money spent.

I've only had this camera (two cameras, I suppose, with the front and rear) installed for a couple of days now, so this review is primarily about the installation process and my experience getting it up and running, along with first impressions. If anything meaningful happens with it after this point, I'll update the review.In terms of installation - I cheated. I made an appointment at and took the camera to Best Buy to have it professionally installed. Unless you're quite comfortable with the prospect of installing this yourself, a professional installation is highly recommended. In my case, it only cost $59.99 to have it professionally installed, and I also wanted to be sure it was installed in a way that left no wires dangling around or visibly snaking through the car.To make the installation process as simple as possible, I brought with me to Best Buy some spare automotive fuses, as well as two add-a-fuse/fuse tap devices I purchased separately (fuses are cheap, and fuse taps are also cheap at < $10 each). I made sure I had these to provide the installer because, as mentioned, I wanted the camera and Power Magic Pro plugged in to and integrated with the fuse panel, with no dangling or visible wires (which is what using the cigarette lighter/12V outlet would have involved).Took Best Buy's/Geek Squads professional installers a couple of hours to fully install it (added bonus - installation warranty, and the install doesn't void the cars warranty). They were familiar with this model dash cam and my model car, so did a great job.First impressions of operating the unit:- Camera comes on when I turn the car on, starts recording automatically. Very set-it-and-forget-it, in that sense. I've yet to use the Power Magic Pro, but it's easily accessible near the interior fuse panel and in the footwell.- Operating the mobile app was very easy. I did not have any of the issues connecting to the unit's own WiFi that I see repeatedly mentioned in reviews here - first try, connected fine. Note there is a round button on the unit to turn on/off WiFi, and a light (as well as voice prompts) let you know when you turn it on and off. After pressing the button to turn on the WiFi, wait until the light stays on to connect. Wifi, and the rest of the set up process (pairing it to the app with the QR code, etc) was all simple enough and all done in one try. I believe settings in the app allow you to have WiFi turn on automatically when the unit turns on, and I have left that setting off - pressing the button to turn it on manually has worked for me perfectly, every time.- Its automatic "Event" recording feature is quite sensitive - sometimes an "Event" is just passing or being passed by another car, or other seemingly inconsequential, even uneventful events. Mind you, this makes sense to me - with a device like this, you'd likely design it to be overly sensitive and record some unnecessary stuff, as opposed to less sensitive and more discerning and potentially missing stuff. You can always ignore and delete "Events" that aren't important, but you can't recover something that was never recorded in the first place.I have not tried to subscribe to Blackvue's cloud subscription service beyond the free account you get with a single dash cam, and have not bothered paying for a WiFi subscription for my car. One of the reasons I bought this unit in particular is the free cloud-based services seemed more than adequate. Quite frankly, requiring some sort of subscription for cloud-based services on devices like this is common enough - smart doorbell cameras and indoor home cameras (think Ring, Nest, et al), home security systems, thermostats and the like often have subscription options or even requirements; the Owl cam and many other dash cam providers have subscription plans.I anticipate downloading clips from the camera to be a fairly manual process for me, given much of the above - since the Event trigger is sensitive, I don't want it to automatically upload to the cloud every clip of every car that passes me or that I pass on the freeway; since I had no problems connecting to the unit with its built-in WiFi, it'd be easy enough retrieving clips I want if/when something happened while driving; parking at home and work are both quite secure, so Parking Mode was not a big motivation for my buying this unit (I'm sure I'll use it at some point, but it's not why I wanted a dash cam). In terms of retrieving clips manually, you simply connect to the unit's WiFi (you can give it an SSID and password of your choosing), move it in to the Internal Memory on the app, then from there "Share" it to your phone's gallery (I'm on iOS). The entire process takes perhaps 30 seconds.TL;DR - So far, so good. Having it professionally installed made the hardware process a breeze; have had no issues so far with the software elements, and getting the camera set up and operating. Reason I'm only giving it 4 stars is because I had it professionally installed and can't speak at all to however easy or difficult that process might be for someone who attempts it themselves.