FAQs

FAQ & Troubleshooting

Dash Camera FAQs

Drive Smarter App FAQ

Only Cobra's SC Series cameras (SC100, SC201, and SC200/200D) are compatible. Drive Smarter does not support legacy Cobra dash cameras (DASH Series, CDR Series) at this time.
 

No, the Drive Smarter app is free to download and use. All users who use Drive Smarter in conjuction with compatible Cobra devices, such as the SC-series Dash Cams, are entitled to free service at the Standard level - video recordings created via the Dash Cams and uploaded directly by the Dash Cams or the Drive Smarter app are stored upto 7 days from creation. The storage limit per user is 5 GB. Stay tuned for Premium services and features in the upcoming months.
 
 

- First verify that you have a compatible Dash Cam.
- Ensure that the Dash Cam is turned ON and within 6 feet of your smartphone.
- *Only for Android users* If you have Drive Smarter running on an Android phone, please go to the Bluetooth Settings screen on your smartphone and check if the Dash Cam you are trying to connect to may have previously established a Bluetooth connection with the camera; i.e. it shows as "paired" to your smartphone. If this is the case, please go into your phones OS Bluetooth menu and 'Unpair' your camera from your phone.

Simply enable the G-Sensor and Mayday setting on your camera, and enter your Emergency Contact info into Drive Smarter. From there, Drive Smarter and the Dash camera will take care of the rest. If the camera detects that you have been in a serious collision, it will automatically lock the latest recording and notify your emergency contact.

The Drive Smarter mobile app makes it extremely easy to connect your Dash Cam to your Drive Smarter account. Once you have created an account, you will see a series of steps

You do not need to manually establish a WiFi connection to your Dash Cam. Drive Smarter does that for you as needed. The Dashcam uses Bluetooth to coordinate with the Dash Cam, and if needed, initiates a high speed WiFi connection.

Note: Older Android Operating systems (Android 6, 7, and 8) may prompt the user to exit the app and connect via the OS WiFi menu. If this occurs, please follow on-screen prompts to connect to the Dash Cam's access point by opening WiFi Settings on your Android Device and picking the appropriate Access Point name. For instance, for the SC-series cameras, the Access Point to connect to would be SCXXX-YYYYYYYYYYYY where XXX is the model number, such as 100, 200 or 201, and YYYYYYYYYYYY is the serial number of the Dash Cam. If prompted for a WiFi password, use '12345678'.

Your Drive Smarter comes with the following free services:
- Mayday Emergency Notifications: Text and/or email a designated contact in case you are in a serious accident. collision or if you hit the red Mayday button on your application.
- You will also be able to ensure communication with your Insurance provider is a snap. A convenient report is generated with relevant details about the collision or other emergency; so at your discretion, you can send it via email or text to your insurance carrier.

Dash Camera Specific FAQ

- Power on your dash cam so you can see the camera’s view while mounting. We recommend centering your camera and mounting under the rear-view mirror.

- If your unit has a display, you can use the camera’s “Calibrate” feature found in the ADAS menu to line up your view. SC100 users can use the Drive Smarter app to get a live-view of what the camera is seeing to help with mounting.

Model:
SC100 - 128GB
SC201 - 256GB
SC200 - 256GB
 
 

-Please ensure your unit is properly connected. If you have turned the unit off, press and hold the power button to turn on again.

-If you are using Parking Mode and Motion Detection Mode with a hardwire kit, the unit might not “wake up” when you enter. Simply begin driving and when your unit detects this it will wake up and begin recording.

This is normal operation of the Infrared LED night-vision camera. Infrared recording allows the camera to accurately record your vehicle’s cabin in low-light conditions. You can turn Infrared recordings off in the settings menu.

Parking Mode and Motion Detection can be turned on in the camera’s settings. These two features will monitor your vehicle automatically when the unit is connected directly to the car’s vehicle via hardwire kit (part CA-MICROUSB-001 available at www.cobra.com) for SC100 and SC201. Hardwire kit for SC200 and SC200D is coming soon.
Note: When the car is parked your unit will go into a low-power “standby”/sleeping state where it monitors for activity. The unit will automatically wake up when it detects significant motion or driving.

The GPS inside the device locks in with the satellite best when you are on the road. You may not be able to get a GPS lock while in your garage, parking structures, or if testing the camera in your home.

Via App
- Simply connect your camera to the Drive Smarter app and the app will check if there is an update available for your camera. From there you will be asked to update and can push update firmware to your camera straight from your app.

Manually
• View the current firmware version under the About menu item on the Dash Cam
o Stop loop recording
o Press the MENU button, cursor down to the ABOUT item
o Note the firmware version shown on the screen
• Connect the Dash Cam to your computer using the included USB to Micro-USB cable.
• The camera will be listed in Windows Explorer/Finder.
• Download the update file from www.drivesmarter.com and save it to your computer. It will end with “.bin” as the file extension. Note: You do not need to double click or open this file on the computer.
• Copy/paste or drag the update file you downloaded .bin file into the root directory of the Camera’s SD Card (by root directory we mean directly onto the SD card, do not place into a folder such as 'Normal' or 'Events')
• Wait for the file to transfer and then safely disconnect the Dash Cam from the computer. The Dash Cam will turn off.
• Plug the Micro USB cord into a reliable power source such as your home’s outlet or your vehicle’s CLA adapter. The Dash Cam will turn on and automatically boot into the Firmware Update Menu.
• Follow the directions on the camera display to update firmware if the unit has one. Units without displays will update automatically. You will see blinking LED's when the FW update is installing
• You can check if your camera is up to date by checking the firmware in your camera’s ‘About’ setting submenu in the camera or via the app.

Troubleshooting

Drive Smarter App Troubleshooting

- Check to make sure Dash Cam is powered On

- Make sure BT is ON on your smartphone

- If you have an Android phone, check to make sure the camera is not already paired. You can do this by visiting your Bluetooth Settings screen on your Android device, and checking if your Dash Camera model shows up as "paired" device. If paired, please unpair it (tap wheel next to the listing, tap "unpair". Now repeat the process of connecting your dash cam using the Drive Smarter app.

- Make sure your Dash Cam is turned on.

- Ensure you are in proximity of your dash cam. While the wireless technology used does extend to several feet, please make sure your phone and dash cam are within 6 feet of each other.

- If you use more than one smartphone, please ensure you do not have Drive Smarter running on your other phone(s), in case they may be connected with your dash cam.

- If the "Out of Range" state persists, quit the Drive Smarter application and re-start.

- Restart dash cam

- Tap on the camera icon (if it still showing "Out of Range") on your home screen.

- If none of these steps work, delete the Camera via the Drive Smarter Home screen, and go ahead and "add camera" again.

- Logout and Login