Please visit the Where to Buy page for a list of authorized dealers and online sellers who sell Thinkware Dash Cam and Thinkware accessories.

Thinkware Memory Card is highly recommended as it is the only brand that is guaranteed to be compatible with our dash cams.

 

Even though third-party memory cards meet the SD card requirements, each manufacturer uses slightly different file settings and systems that vary between batches. As such we cannot guarantee the performance or recommend third-party memory cards with our products.

 

Why use a Thinkware SD Card?

 

A reliable SD card paired with the dash cam is vital because many lower-end SD cards fail quickly and risk the loss of crucial footage. In our experience, the best SD card for your Thinkware Dash Cam is Thinkware Memory Card.

 

Thinkware Memory Card features our "SPOR" technology. This "Sudden Power Off Recovery" ensures that no footage is lost due to corruption if power is lost suddenly.

 

Will a third-party SD card work in Thinkware Dash Cams?

 

Third-party SD cards may potentially cause rebooting, lost footage, gaps in recording, and corrupting the SD Card itself. This depends solely on the type and brand of SD card used. Please note that using a third-party SD card is at your own risk. 

1. Check if SD card is inserted properly.
Try to re-insert it two or three times if it's not working

 

2. Remove contaminants on the SD card.

It can be contact failure of the terminal section of the SD card.

Clean the terminal section of the SD card with a dry cloth and then insert the SD card back into the dash cam.

 

3. Format the SD card.

Refer to “How can I format the SD card?”

 

4. Diagnosing for a Faulty SD Card.
Refer to “How can I diagnose for faulty SD card?” 

If you hear the message "Memory card error", it means your dash cam has encountered an error with the SD Card and can't start recording.

 

To solve this issue, ensure that you are using the original Thinkware Memory Card and format this in your PC/Mac using the following settings:

 

SD Card Size	File System	Allocation Unit Size
16GB	FAT32	32kb
32GB	FAT32	32kb
64GB	ExFat	64kb
128GB*	ExFat	128kb

 *Compatible with select dash cam models.

 

The SD cannot be formatted.

 

If the SD is unreadable in your computer or cannot be formatted, this SD card has become corrupt and can no longer be used.

 

You will need to replace this SD card before the dash cam will be able to operate normally again.

 

I formatted the SD card and the error persisted.

 

If the issue persists, and if this is a third-party SD card, unfortunately, this SD card is incompatible with our dash cam.

 

For information on compatible SD cards, refer to “What type of SD card should I use?”

 

If you are still experiencing issues with your Thinkware Memory Card, please contact our support team on the Email Support page for further assistance. 

Diagnosing on Windows OS

1. Insert the SD card into your PC.

 

2. Check the drive name of the SD card. (e.g. “E:”)

 

3. Click the “Start” button and type “CMD” to run command prompt.

 

4. Enter “chkdsk” followed by space button and drive name of the SD card (e.g. “chkdsk E:”).

Press the “Enter” key to check whether the SD card is faulty. 

 

5. If the file is corrupted, proceed with recovery. 

 

6. If the following problem persists, format the SD card.

If impossible to format it, please replace it with an original Thinkware Memory Card. 

 

Diagnosing on Mac

 

1. Insert the SD card into your Mac.

2. Go to “Finder”, and then select “Applications” on the left side bar. Search for the “Utilities” folder and open it. 

 

3. Double-click on “Disk Utility” to run it. 

 

4. Look for the drive name of the SD card for the dash cam and select it.

5. Select “First Aid” at the top of the screen and click “Run”.

6. The app will scan your SD card and check whether the SD card is faulty.

7. If the following problem persists, format the SD card.

If impossible to format it, please replace it with an original Thinkware Memory Card. 

"Format SD card for data integrity" issue

If you are hearing the phrase "Format SD card for data integrity" from your Thinkware Dash Cam, it means that the SD card in your dash cam needs to be formatted.

 

Formatting SD card on Windows OS

1. Locate the full-sized SD card adapter provided in the original box.

 

2. Insert the SD card into the adapter, and then into your PC.

 

3. Locate the SD card under the “My PC” section of File Explorer.

 

4. Format the SD by right-clicking the name and selecting format, then start.

 

**Please save all crucial footage beforehand as formatting your SD card erases the entire SD card.

 

Formatting SD card on Mac

 

1. Locate the SD card into the adapter, and then into your Mac.

 

2. Go to “Finder”, and then select “Applications” on the left sidebar. Search for the “Utilities folder” and open it.

 

3. In “Utilities”, search for “Disk Utility” and open it.

 

4. In “Disk Utility”, select SD Card whose name should be the dash cam model. Select “Erase” located on top of the page.

 

**Please save all crucial footage beforehand as formatting your SD card erases the entire SD card.

 

5. Select “ExFAT” for memory card sizes 64GB and above.

Select “FAT32” for memory card sizes 32GB and lower.

Click “Erase”, and then select “Done” once completed.

 

6. Safely eject the SD card. 

Please note that SD cards are consumable items. Due to the stress and build-up of bad blocks (spaces on the memory card that files can no longer be stored) due to constant overwriting cycles, SD cards typically have lifetime of 6 months to 1 year with regular formatting.

 

When corrupt memory cards are inserted to Thinkware Dash Cams, our dash cam continually restarts in attempt to allocate space on the card to save its files.

 

The dash cam may also state "Format SD card regularly for data integrity" upon each startup. Another indication that the SD card has gone corrupt is hearing the device say "Memory card error."

 

If you believe that the SD card is beginning to become corrupt, insert the card into your PC. If the SD card is unable to be properly formatted it is time to replace this SD card.