Droid Dashcam FAQ (answers to frequently asked questions)

Q: Video Stabilization (EIS, Electronic stabilization) is not available in the app.

A: Video stabilization is not supported by the currently selected camera in the app settings (not all cameras support stabilization), or it is restricted by your device manufacturer (which is very common). Manufacturers often limit its use to their own Camera app and do not allow it for third-party apps from Google Play. You can read more about these limitations here: https://stackoverflow.com/a/66234509/7767664

It is known that the Samsung S23 Ultra supports stabilization for all apps. Many newer phones now allow it as well. On most older phones, however, it will not be available.

Q: Multiple cameras / Ultra Wide Lens camera not available in the app.

A: Access to all cameras can be restricted by your device manufacturer. They may not expose every camera to third-party apps. In such cases, additional cameras (like the ultra-wide lens) will only be available in the manufacturer's native Camera app.

Usually, all cameras are available to third-party apps on Samsung and Pixel devices.

• On Pixel phones, zoom out on the main screen to switch to the ultra-wide camera.
• On Samsung phones, you can also change the camera in the app settings.

Most other manufacturers (especially Chinese brands) hide the ultra-wide camera from third-party apps. The app tries to access non-exposed cameras, but if it fails, you will see a camera error. In that case, you can only use the default back or front cameras.

Q: Battery usage is high, battery drains fast, device becomes hot (overheating).

A: This is a dashcam app that uses many device modules simultaneously:

• GPS module (for speed and coordinates shown as overlays on the video / the main screen — you can disable this)
• Network/cellular module (used by GPS and to fetch current address from coordinates — you can disable this)
• Camera sensor (video recording)
• Microphone (audio recording — you can disable this)
• Android media recorder (uses CPU and GPU to encode video and draw subtitles on every frame)

All these components consume significant battery power when all enabled and can cause the device to heat up.

To reduce battery usage and heat, try the following:

• To help reduce overheating, we strongly recommend using a cooling car mount.
  Phones are often dark-colored and absorb a lot of heat when placed on the dashboard in direct sunlight. A protective case can further reduce the phone’s ability to dissipate heat. Consider using a thinner case or removing the case during recording if possible.
• Close other apps if possible, especially navigation (Google Maps, Waze, etc.) and music streaming apps. Running the dashcam together with navigation + music dramatically increases CPU usage, which leads to faster battery drain and much higher heat.
• Disable GPS completely if you only need timestamp information (disable in both Subtitles settings and Interface settings).
• Lower the video resolution in App → Settings → Video Settings → Video resolution.
  Higher resolution dramatically increases processing load because the app has to capture, process, and encode far more pixels every frame.
  For example:
  • 1080p (1920×1080) ≈ 2 million pixels per frame
  • 4K (3840×2160) ≈ 8 million pixels per frame → 4× more pixels (2× width × 2× height) This roughly quadruples the GPU/CPU work for encoding, leading to much higher battery drain and heat.
• Reduce the maximum FPS in App → Settings → Video Settings → Max frames per second (e.g., set to 30 or 24 instead of 60).
• Recommended: Disable address subtitles in App → Settings → Subtitles Settings → Subtitles Address Overlay and in Interface settings. Address lookup uses cellular data. Or you can increase the update frequency to reduce usage.
• Disable audio recording (if not important) in App → Settings → Audio Settings → Audio recording.
• Record with the screen turned off or reduce screen brightness.
• Use only GPS satellites for location (disable cellular network assistance): go to App → Settings → Recording Settings, set Location provider method to "Location Manager", and enable Update location using GPS only. This can also improve GPS accuracy and speed calculation.
• Always use a good quality car charger to ensure the phone charges properly while recording (to prevent it from charging too slowly).
  Note: Recording + charging at the same time generates extra heat, so we especially recommend using a cooling car mount in this case.
• You can also disable Keep the CPU on (Wake Lock) option in App → Settings → AutoStart Recording to save battery while the app is waiting for trigger events (Bluetooth, AUX, charging) to start recording.

Q: The app, camera, or GPS does not work in the background. The app turns off after a while or stops recording in the background.

A: This is usually caused by system-level restrictions that the app cannot fully control.

Samsung (S series) and Pixel devices generally handle background operation well by default.
However, many other devices (especially Chinese brands) may aggressively kill background apps or restrict camera and GPS usage when the screen is off.

Most of these devices offer options to allow background activity and auto-launch, but they are usually disabled by default for newly installed apps.

Solutions:

• Exclude the app from battery optimization and set it to Unrestricted (or "Don't optimize" on some devices).
• For Motorola, Oppo, realme, Honor and OnePlus devices, open App → Settings → Allowing background and off-screen work — the app shows specific instructions there.
• Go to App info (long-press the app icon → App info, or via System Settings → Apps → select the app) → Battery usage section and enable Allow background activity (or Allow background usage) option.
• In System Settings → Battery (check "Battery Saver", "More settings" subscreens if available), look for "Manage background apps", "Limit background activity" or "App battery management" and allow background activity, add the app to the exemption list. Disable options like "Use Manage background apps" and "Improve battery while inactive" if available.
• Allow Background autostart (may also be called "Autolaunch" or "App launch") for the app in System Settings (often available on Xiaomi, Huawei, and Honor devices). At System Settings → Apps → Background autostart or System Settings → Battery → App launch.
• The app also has an option "Automatically resume video recording after unexpected app process restart" in App → Settings → Recording Settings (disabled by default). It can automatically detect when the system restarts the app and will suggest enabling this option.
• Disable "Manage app if unused" in App info (this prevents the system from putting the app into deep sleep mode). This is recommended if you don’t use the app for long periods but want it to start instantly when needed (for example, to begin recording right away with all previously granted permissions). Leaving this option enabled can put the app into deep sleep mode, causing delays or failures when you need it.
• Read detailed instructions for your specific device: https://dontkillmyapp.com/

Allow background activity (Motorola, Oppo, realme, OnePlus) at App info → Battery usage:

Allow Background autostart (Xiaomi / Poco example) at System Settings → Apps → Background autostart:

Q: Recording from two cameras (back and front) at the same time.

A: Not all phones support simultaneous recording from two cameras.
Android 11+ added the ability to check whether a device supports dual-camera recording.

Performance is significantly affected when using two cameras (higher battery drain and device temperature) because the app must process frames from both cameras, draw subtitles, and encode two separate video files.

Dual-camera recording is currently low priority but is in the backlog. It will be added later for supported devices.

In the meantime, you can try our other app "Dual Camera Video Recorder", which supports dual-camera recording but does not include dashcam features (GPS, subtitles, autostart). It works mostly on Android 12+ and devices such as Samsung S series and Pixel phones:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.helge.dualcameravideorecorder

Q: Problems with the memory card (microSD) — does not delete files / no files visible but memory is full.

A: Some memory cards or smartphones do not handle continuous loop recording and frequent file deletion well.

Solutions:

• Try formatting the SD card (back up important files first).
• Limit the maximum memory used for videos in App → Settings → Recording Settings → Max memory of all videos. Do not let the app fill the entire card.
• Try a different, higher-quality SD card (better speed class or different brand).
• Record to the phone's internal storage instead of the microSD card.
• Some users have fixed corrupted cards by connecting them to a PC and deleting the latest problematic recordings (without full formatting).

Q: 4K/8K resolutions, 60 FPS not available in the app.

A: Many phone manufacturers restrict high resolutions (4K/8K) and high frame rates (60 FPS) for third-party apps. These features are often available only in the manufacturer's native Camera app. We do not impose these limits — they are set by the manufacturer.

For example, 4K and 60 FPS are available in any app on modern devices such as the Samsung S24 Ultra.

Q: GPS — incorrect speed values, poor coordinate accuracy, or no GPS updates at all.

A: GPS speed and coordinates come from your device's GPS module. Test GPS outside the building, as indoor testing will give poor results. Vehicle chargers, head units or other interference can also reduce GPS accuracy.

You can check GPS accuracy using the app GPS Status & Toolbox (you can test it while walking and while in a vehicle):
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.eclipsim.gpsstatus2

In Droid Dashcam, you can switch location providers in App → Settings → Location (GPS).

If the speed values are bad, try the old Location Manager provider.

If the values are always zero or are rarely updated, then try the new Fused Location Provider API provider.

For best accuracy:

• Set Location provider method to Location Manager.
• Enable Update location using GPS only.

Avoid testing while the phone is connected to the vehicle head unit via USB or Bluetooth, as it can cause signal interference.

Power Saving mode must be turned off to receive reliable GPS updates in the background.

Q: Head Unit / Car radio support

A: The app was designed for smartphones. It is not guaranteed to work on Android head units, especially with external cameras, because many head units use custom Android implementations that do not fully follow official Android specifications.

Some users report it works on their head unit, others say it does not — results vary.

A dedicated task to improve support for external cameras on head units is in the backlog, but there is no timeline yet.

Q: Backup / Restore a deleted video file

A: All recordings are stored locally on your device. The app does not have built-in cloud backup. We recommend using a cloud service such as Google Photos, Google Drive, or OneDrive. Simply select your recordings folder for automatic backup and sync.

Google Photo folder sync:

Q: Can't play video, broken video file, how to restore

A: Try playing the video on a PC. You can also use video repair tools available for Android, Windows, macOS, or Linux. These tools may require a second unbroken video of similar quality from the same recording folder to help repair the corrupted file.

You can also try the online tool https://fix.video/, but local repair apps are usually more reliable.

Q: Start/stop recording from another application (Tasker, Automate) — works on Android 14+ as well

A: You can control recording from other automation apps by starting an Activity of the app using the Intent:

Package: com.helge.droiddashcam
Activity class: com.helge.droiddashcam.ui.ActivityStartRecording

Actions:

• com.helge.droiddashcam.START_RECORDING — start recording
• com.helge.droiddashcam.STOP_RECORDING — stop recording
• (empty) — toggle recording
• com.helge.droiddashcam.START_RECORDING_SERVICE — start the AutoStart recording service

You can also add the extra parameter CAMERA_ID (String) to use a specific camera. You can find the Camera IDs in the app's camera selection popup.

Examples:

Automate: (add App start action block)

CAMERA_ID example:

{"CAMERA_ID": "0"}

Tasker: (add Sent Intent action)

CAMERA_ID example:

CAMERA_ID:(String) 0

Both Droid Dashcam app and your automation app must be granted the "Appear on top" (overlay) permission.

Q: Night recording

A: To improve low-light recording, choose an FPS range where the first (minimum) value is low, for example: 8-30, 8-24, 5-24, or 10-24. Lower minimum FPS usually helps in dark conditions. You can also try setting infinity focus for night mode if the camera continuously changes focus between different light sources.

Q: Phone calls — audio recording does not work during a call (some devices may also disable the camera)

A: During a phone call, most devices in many countries do not allow other apps to use the microphone. This is a system limitation. In some countries (e.g. India) call recording may be allowed, but it still depends on the specific phone model.

Q: Restore purchases / Ads are still displayed after purchase

A: If you made a purchase but still see ads (e.g., this can happen during updates on Google Play if you have multiple Google accounts on your device), do the following:

1. Clear the data and cache of the Google Play Store app.
2. Uninstall the app.
3. Open Google Play Store and make sure you are signed in with the correct Google account used for the purchase.
4. Reinstall the app.

Q: Reversed / mirrored video (common on some Xiaomi devices)

A: Enable "Reversed video (mirroring)" in App → Settings → Video Settings to fix this in recordings.

Q: Hide videos from media scanner so they do not appear in other gallery apps

A:

• Choose a private folder (not DCIM or Movies) for recordings in App → Settings → Recording Settings.
• Or create an empty file named .nomedia (with dot prefix) inside your recordings folder. This prevents other media apps from scanning and displaying the videos.