Customer Ratings & Reviews

The internet doesn’t work. Actually I cannot view anything..

Good unit. Unfortunately, this unit's rearview camera will NOT broadcast a rearview mirrored image to a secondary device, e.g,, another smartphone or iPad.

Context: this was my first ever experience with a dashcam & I was eager/willing to try it out after a friend's recent involvement in a highway incident that clearly someone else's fault, but declared no-fault (?!?). So, I jumped at the opportunity to try one out. Given that context, I'm not comparing this particular camera's value & features to other units- I'm simply providing my assessment of its initial set up & early usage. On that front, it was easy to use, easy to install, easy to view videos & simple to save/edit those videos if needed. Installation: Out of the box, it has everything you need (minus the aforementioned MicroSD- I had one of those from another product that I was able to use). The mounting & calibration were simple; I did leverage the online manual for the calibration, though putting it on the window and getting it to be straight were relatively simple without it. I wasn't sure which car I wanted to keep it in, so I have yet to route the long power cable around the windshield (or other trim areas), but it was a nice touch that the camera comes with a plastic tool to help facilitate the cable routing. Also, because I was going to test it on multiple vehicles, I only used half of the adhesive pad (left the plastic cover on the other half) and the camera stayed perfectly steady and mounted for a day full of city & highway driving on what, after watching many of the clips, are rougher roads than I realized! Set-Up: I downloaded the app, paired the camera to my phone, installed an update to the firmware and had the camera recording in ~10 minutes. The set-up process takes you through the standard language, units & time zone questions- pairing it with the phone syncs the date/time, etc. Use: Once it's on & recording, you just drive! It came on each time I started the car & immediately starts recording. The default setting is to record in 1 minute increments (this can be changed) and once the card is full it will start to overwrite the oldest videos. I re-formatted/erased the card after a while just to test the feature and then drove ~1 hour & 15 minutes back home. This trip appears to have used about 25% of the space on the 64G card. If you're using this to record videos of you driving, then this whole set up may not be OK. I will use it as "insurance" and/or to capture small, finite bits of time, so I think it's great. On that note, you can "lock" a particular video with a simple push of a button on the back of the camera OR via the touch screen menus on the camera. Video Playback: Using the touch screen on the camera itself to playback & watch the videos is simple enough. Locking or deleting any of them are also simple from the camera menus. I also tested removing the SD card & viewing the files on my computer. When I did that, it was clear that both a low & high-res version of every minute of video was saved (this is a setting you can change if desired). The videos were clear, captured a great 140 degree view (I was pleasantly surprised at how wide this is!) and, because I had the microphone, even captured my poor attempts to sing along to the radio (can be edited out, if needed!) Overall, it was an easy introduction to the world of dashcams!

DESCRIPTION: Video quality on this camera is very good. It gives a clear and crisp image. Since this has WiFi and Bluetooth you can automatically sync your dash cam video file to your phone using the Nextbase Connect App leaving more room for more recordings. You need to buy a microSD card for the camera so that your files will be saved. The normal size for a microSD card would be probably 32gb (4 hours) before recording over your files, but it will hold up to a 128gb microSD card. The 128gb microSD card that I bought can hold up to 16 hours of video footage. I like this option for when I go on long trips. FEATURES: This has a decent size 3-inch LED touch-screen which is used to change settings, for video playback and shows a live shot. Under video settings on the camera screen you can turn the microphone off or on. There are only two buttons on the camera. One is the power button which is on the side where the microSD card goes in. The other button is a long red button above the touch-screen that is used to save files from being deleted. The dash cam has a polarized filter to reduce sun glare, so that any footage is easily viewed, such as license plates, etc. ALEXA: Make sure you have the Alexa app on your phone along with the MyNextbase Connect app. Alexa allows you to start and stop recording with the sound of your voice. Alexa will act just like any Alexa device you would have in your home, such as listening to a playlist, audiobook or asking it questions. If you have your phone connected via Bluetooth to your car or aux cable, the audio will come through your vehicles speakers; otherwise, you will only hear it through your phone. It will be nice to turn my lights on as I pull up the driveway or use it to open the garage doors using Alexa (now I just need a smart garage door opener). The things you can do with Alexa in the car are endless. You can listen to music of your choice, ask for directions or even order a pizza to pick up on your way home. MOUNT: The mount that comes with the camera has a nice small base that you can either adhere to your windshield or dash by either a suction cup or an adhesive sticker. The camera is attached via a magnetic to the mount. POWER CABLE: The power cable this comes with is really nice. It has a small blue light that comes on so that you can tell if it is plugged in correctly or not and getting power. It is a nice long length, so that you can mount it properly if you prefer a more permanent setup. REAR CAMERA: If you want, they also sell a plug and play rear camera. This easily attaches to the camera making it so that you have a front and rear camera. This way you would be covering all angles around your vehicle. It is nice that this dash cam has the capability to add the rear camera. EMERGENCY SOS SYSTEM: For extra assurance of your safety, you can subscribe to this monitoring service. If an incident is detected, the Emergency SOS system will give you 150 seconds to deactivate the alert manually. Otherwise, you will get a call and you can tell the emergency services operator to cancel. If you do not deactivate it manually or respond to the follow up call, the emergency response operator will automatically begin dispatching an ambulance to the location according to your GPS. You would think that insurance companies would give you a break on your auto insurance if you had this in your car, since there is so much assurance of your safety involved with this particular dash cam service. RECOMMENDATION: They have thought of everything with this high quality dash cam. It is not just average because it does so much more than your normal dash cam. This company has thought of everything to protect you while in your car. BEWARE: This requires a microSD card not a regular size SD card like I bought by mistake.

Great buy it does as it is promise and great quality video. I had to replace and old camera and got this one. We will see house it work.

A few months back I was afforded the opportunity to try a Nextbase front & rear camera system which was the 320XR with the rear camera. I took the opportunity to try a name I hadn’t heard as I was still brand new into the dash cam world. I loved the products, I really enjoyed how easy they were to install in the vehicle, set up, and their ease of use every day because I just forgot about it. They would power on, record and shut off with no intervention from me. I knew my kids & my significant other would want the same type system because they don’t want to have to mess with anything once I’ve installed everything. Luckily, I was offered the opportunity to test the Nextbase 522GW with 3” touchscreen, polarizing filter built in, Alexa capability, SOS functionality and it was a no brained! I smashed that button telling them I want to take this bad boy for a test drive! I had a lot of fun playing with this system but it was also super easy to install and I was testing it in my car in no time! During testing I was deciding if it or the 320XR would be the dash cam to stay with me. The other would be the one to go with my kids in their car. The 522GW is similar enough to any other dash cam, especially Nextbase’s 320XR that setup & first usage was a breeze for me. It was also a breeze for my kids because I made sure to factory reset everything before putting it in their vehicle once my testing had wrapped up. Even having them set it up, for kids who are generally not very patient, was a breeze & went without a hitch. That is a huge win in my book! The major differences that stood out between the 320XR & the 522GW for me was the 1440p at 30 frames per second in the 522GW vs the 1080p at 60fps for the 320XR; that bump in resolution, even if at half the frames per second was really nice to see clean, crisp, detail on reviewing my drives. Next, the Alexa being built in was super cool. Having Alexa start my camera or stop and so on was pretty nifty. The kids enjoyed playing with the Alexa feature as well. Lastly, the SOS function meant it 100% was going in my kids’ car once I was done with my testing. In the event they are in an accident if will send out an SOS of my kids are unable to do so themselves. I was sold & continue to be to this day! Nextbase has a life long customer in me. I will be looking to them for two more Dash Cam systems. I’m hoping I can get the top of the line 4K system as I really wanna try theirs out. I just can’t justify the purchase right now, but who knows, birthdays and all that are right around the corner!

A dash cam is a great thing to have nowadays, which is why I have one in all of my cars. With dash cam technology evolving so much, I wanted something with Wi-Fi/Bluetooth capabilities. The Nextbase - 522GW Dash Cam has just that, and I recently picked one up. The setup was pretty straight forward. A few on-screen questions at first, but I also downloaded their app to make use of all of the added features. The app itself was really easy to navigate. Pair the device, answer a few questions, and update the software. This is also where you will setup the Wi-Fi/Bluetooth features for the Nextbase - 522GW Dash Cam. The camera does have a touchscreen, which is accurate and responsive as well. As to the features, one of the most important features to me was easy of access to saved video. This is one of the reasons why I needed something with Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. I am able to access the video directly from my phone via the app. Another great feature is the ability to lock video with the press of a button (on the camera) to ensure/preserve evidence. Video quality is great, and must be calibrated to ensure the best video quality. This was a simple process that required a white piece of paper and the turning of the camera lens. The instructions can be clearer, but you'll figure things out once you have it. Another thing that I love about the Nextbase - 522GW Dash Cam is the magnetic mount that attached to the front of the camera. The magnet is very strong and hold the camera in place very sturdy. The power wire will be directly connected to the mount, as opposed to on the camera like most others. I really like this because it made for a cleaner install. On to the downside of the Nextbase - 522GW Dash Cam... no rear camera! You have to buy it separate, which is really inconvenient. Most other dash cams in the market come with a rear camera. For the price of the Nextbase - 522GW Dash Cam, you would think it came with it. To make things even worse, the rear camera is another $100! This is the reason for the three star review. Instead of throwing in a "free" sd card, maybe throw in the rear cam instead. If you don't mind the missing rear camera, and added cost, the Nextbase - 522GW Dash Cam works great and the video quality is also good.

AT first thought this was a top notch dash camera After a year started over heating and malfunctioning i do not recomend

The Nextbase 522GW dash cam is built out of quality materials. It's nicely finished, and comes in a well protected but small box. The quick start manual was easy to follow and has several various languages if you prefer something other than English. I like the neat way the camera attaches to it's windshield mount, however the magnet is much to powerful to remove the camera from it's mount with one hand... it basically just rips the entire mount off of the windshield, and then you have to wrestle with it to get it to detach... which wouldn't be a big deal except that Nextbase recommends that the camera be removed every time you park the vehicle so that the camera doesn't get to hot or cold. After ripping the mount off the windshield a couple of times I decided the heck with it, and just leave the camera in place on the mount. Getting the camera up and running the first time was a major pain in the rear... the Bluetooth connected practically instantly to my phone, but the WIFI connection would not connect no matter how I tried. The first night I ended up giving up and went to bed. The second night I approached it with a calm clear head and a sense of optimism, and it still took me over an hour to get the Wifi to connect and hold a connection. Then the connection kept failing when I was trying to upload the firmware update. It took at least 15 tries, and multiple restarts of my phone and trips to my phones settings before everything finally started playing nice with each other. Far and away to worst experience I've ever had getting a piece of electronic gear set up and running. Now that it's all set up and running, it works well. It has multiple settings including sound, sensitivity, resolution, frames per second, GPS, time stamp, plate number stamp.... There is a red button that when pressed will lock the previous recording and prevent it from being recorded over etc.. Also the camera will store a video and lock it if it thinks you've been involved in an incident based on it's shock and speed sensor information. Overall I like this camera, and I want to get the rearview camera add on to be able to record the vehicles behind me as well as the cars in front. Hopefully if I'm ever in an accident I can use the camera to prove my innocence. What I don't like about the camera was it's very difficult set up process, and I don't like that it is constantly posting a message on my phone... I'm very OCD about checking and clearing my phone notifications, but the Nextbase notification has no way of clearing... it's very needy and annoying... It's a little fance "N" symbol where the notifications emblems show up on my phone, and when checked it reads " MyNextbase Connect, looking for dashcam " There's no OK button to press, or go away, or clear... it's just there always now.... Another cool thing is the camera comes with the ability to use Amazon Alexa to control varous things and playlists etc... I haven't used this feature because I don't have anything Amazon Alexa, but it is kinda cool and I can see how it could be very useful. Another slightly annoying thing is that the screen goes black when I'm wearing my polarized sunglasses... if I tilt my head at 90 degrees I can see it again... the screen in the dash of my truck is opposite. It stays viewable when I put on my glasses, but vanishes when I tilt my head. The screen on the camera would be more useful if it didn't blank out when wearing polarized glasses. And the last thin that bothers me is that there are no screen protectors or lens protectors for when the camera is unmounted and being stored in the glovebox, or where ever else someone might store it when not using it. A nice clip on cover set would have been welcome. Overall I can't decide if I would recommend this or not... I'm pretty much straight up the middle on this. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone over 45 as the set up is way complicated and doesn't seem to work very well.

The NextBase 522-GW Car Cam is a really nice piece of equipment, one that records at a resolution of 1440 @30 fps. They have a lot of good things stuffed into this small camera and a good number of settings for you to use to customize it to your needs. Included with this unit is a “Click&Go” Pro mount with 3M tape, a suction cup to be used in place of the 3M tape, a 12-24V car power cable, a separate USB charging cable, a power cable fitting tool, and an owner’s manual. The USB connector – a mini type B – was a bit surprising since this is only the second piece of technology I’ve purchased in the last three to four years that has one. Virtually all other devices I’ve owned have been either Micro USB or – like my Pixel – type C. Now that I’ve used the 522-GW, I can confirm that the USB type wouldn’t have changed my mind about buying this unit, but it does seem like a step backwards based on industry direction. I installed the NextBase App on my phone while initially charging the 522GW for 2 hours (per their recommendation). App setup and pairing to my phone was easy as pie, as was working my way through the apps various settings. Once pairing is accomplished between phone and this unit, a live stream video of what the NextBase sees is projected to the phone. My older car cam can’t seem to connect to my phone when I want it to, so the NextBase’s almost transparent ability to do so is most welcome. The NextBase App offers a good number of configurable options, like video length, audio (on/off), Timestamp (on/off), GPS Stamp (on/off) and much, much more. The 522GW feels especially well built; not flimsy in any way. And on the back side of the unit is a 3” screen for viewing live video or reviewing earlier saved videos. Should you need to protect a video so that it doesn’t get deleted, such as following a car incident, a press of a red button at the bottom center of the unit will protect the video for you. The rear facing screen is very responsive to touch and offers great clarity. At the top left of the screen is a Settings icon that takes you to a sub-menu allowing changes to video settings, Driver’s Assistance options, and a second Settings Icon. This second Settings icon leads to a number of sub-menu pages permitting configuration changes. I especially like the ease of movement and flexibility these sub-menus offer. I haven’t had any opportunity to try out the SOS feature, thank goodness, which is supposed to contact your local emergency services in the event of an accident. Handy feature, for sure! The camera lens itself has a feature I really like. Since outside glare while driving can impact your videos, rotating the tip of the lens clockwise or counterclockwise helps minimize the glare. As noted above, you can affix the unit to your windshield using either the suction cup or the 3M adhesive tape. I used the suction cup for all my testing and will continue as such until I’m sure where I want to permanently locate the unit on the windshield. And, the suction cup works quite nicely. But, with it being so hot outside lately, I have to wonder if the suction cup will have problems adhering to the windshield. Should it start to lose its grip, I’ll revert to the 3M tape. One of the options available under Settings is Auto-Power-Off. I turned this to “On” to ensure that the unit turns off after the car itself is turned off, which will keep the unit’s internal battery from depleting. Another option worth looking at is Parking Mode, which should record video in the event your car is damaged while parked. From an internal storage perspective, the 522GW can handle USB cards up to 128gb in size. Obviously, the smaller the USB card the fewer number of videos that can be retained. Recording at 1440 resolution will consume a lot of storage, for sure. I would recommend using a high-performance USB card since the unit is writing a lot of data at that resolution. The 522-GW has a 140-degree viewing angle, the touch screen is 3” in size, and Alexa is built into the unit. It also supports Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, and has a built-in G-Sensor which supports video file backup should you have an auto accident. Overall, there are so many positives with the 522-GW that I’m giving it 5 stars. I really like it and I think it’s a good buy!

My first DashCam and so far I’m very happy! I’ve wanted a dash cam for some time now and finally got my hands on one and so I’ve been very excited to learn about it and use it! So from the first day I received it, like most things took a few hours to get used to. The packaging is decent and inside it contains the Camera, Windshield mount, spare sticky mount, cigarette lighter adapter with a very long cord and a USB cable. Now I did charge the camera for the recommended 2 hours and then I attempted to install onto my windshield. The sticky mount has a very strong spin le sided tape and what I believe is pressure activated. So once installed on the windshield I ran the power cord from the camera mount to my cigarette lighter in my glovebox and it powered right up and started recording. Here’s what I really like about the camera. It senses power and turns on and starts recording instantly. Once you turn the car off it senses it and turns off. The camera also has a parking mode which can detect motion when powered off and automatically turn on and start recording. This is handy in case someone bumps into your car while it’s off and parked. At first this seems like a great idea and it is except where the camera has a big negative and hinders this feature completely. The battery only lasts about 15 minutes of recording on a full charge in optimal circumstances. I am lucky to get 5-7 minutes and that’s by me just testing it. If I leave the car for about 8 hours and the parking feature is needed the battery is usually too low to record more than a few seconds before the battery becomes exhausted. To me the parking feature is a HUGE benefit and the battery is terrible. They should Of made the battery like better even just enough for two recordings over 12 - 16 hour period this way the car is protected from when you park it in the afternoon till the next morning. So far the Battery Life is the ONLY negative I can mention. Let’s talk more features. The Dash Cam has Bluetooth and Wi-Fi which allow transfer of files wirelessly to your phone. The speeds are not fast nor slow, somewhere in the middle. This is a nice feature and allows you to get the footage you need right from your windshield. The camera also has a neat little protect button which you can press at any given time in order to lock the video file your currently recording. This is a great way to mark and protect that specific file for use later on. The camera also had a Shock sensor and can detect aggressive body roll and impacts. There’s an option for SOS where the camera will call emergency services if it detects your in an accident. I have this turn off at the moment but it does sound like it can be very useful. I love how the camera attaches to the windshield mount. It uses very strong magnets and just snaps right to the mount and is very secure. I wish they would have included a carry case for when you don’t want to leave the camera mounted to the windshield but they make you purchase separately. They also make a hardwire kit which I installed yesterday and have to say it’s a really great design and works very well. I’m really impressed with this company and their products, especially because I have never heard of them before this product. If your looking for a solid Dash-Cam I would highly recommend you give this one a try!! Cheers

Does not stay connected to wifi. Would not be able to show to police on scene

Crap!!! Please quit selling as your customers expect a better experience when doing business with Best Buy. Had to give a star to submit review.

Very poor. Does not work most of the time and the record button doesnt work like it should.

Not the best choice in the market go for something else

Do not buy, doesn't do well in hot temperature, camera stops working

I'm giving the camera itself 5 stars, the software and connectivity get 1 star. I've had the camera over a week now and made two road trips with it. Initial setup would have been perfect if not for the firmware update. My phone said, on the same screen, firmware update complete and in another spot that it was working on the firmware update. It stayed in this state for over two hours. I don't know whether it really took that long or if this is a software glitch. Pairing with my phone and setting up Alexa was simple and quick. My first outing with the camera was a two hour trip to Dallas from East Texas. After about a half hour I switched the camera to time lapse mode The time lapse function was an unexpected bonus (I love time lapse and have done time lapse video of trips with other cameras). I made a fuel stop, taking my phone in with me. When I got back on the road the camera was frozen and not connected to the phone. I could do little other than try to cycle the power switch (which didn't turn it off) while driving. When I reached my destination I unplugged the camera and held the power button for a couple of minutes before it finally turned off. When I turned it back on it worked fine. This never happened again. I have had a number of occasions where I had to reestablish the phone and Alexa connection to the camera, at times it just doesn't reconnect. At other times I return to my car with my phone and it's ready to go. I used the viewing/editing software a couple of times. The only time I tried to edit I wanted to stitch together time lapse videos of a trip to The Arkansas Ozarks. The video would have been about 45 minutes when stitched together. When I hit the process button I got a message telling me that the process had begun and the remaining time was being calculated. I let it "process" for a day and a half with no change. I could tell from the task monitor that something was happening in the program but nothing CPU, memory or disk intensive. I finally killed the operation. I haven't really used the phone app other than to connect and reconnect. All of the above being said, I love the camera itself. The video is great in regular and time lapse mode. The camera can stamp the videos with GPS coordinates, speed, time, date and the camera model. The polarizing lens is a nice bonus. Besides cutting glare, it can make the sky a deeper blue which looks great in my videos. The wide angle lens covers a large area around my vehicle. Due to the wide angle being filmed I'm not sure one could read a license plate if necessary. I love being able to tap the screen to take a still shot. I am extremely pleased with the video quality. If you want to use this as a stand alone dash cam I think this is a great one and recommend it. If your interested in being connected to a phone app and Alexa (which is really on your phone anyway) or doing a lot of editing with the included PC software you may find it frustrating.

Absolute crap. A lot of money that stopped working a few weeks after I bought it. The BestBuy website now says I can’t return it. Stay away.

The connectability for this camera is absolutely junk do not buy

In the box you get the camera, two mounts (permanent glued on and suction cup. There's also a charging cable (cigarette lighter to USB), a micro USB to USB cable, start guide, and a warning sticker. At least in my area, the warning sticker should be a theft sticker. It just screams, "break window and steal high end dashcam" YMMV. The F1.3 lens and 1440p @ 30fps records clear video. You can set it at 1080p @ 60fps should you wish to. The unit has Alexa and you can ask her to play music, make a call or send video to your phone. The touch screen works flawlessly. I scrolled through all the settings and nothing needed to be changed. It just works out of the box. You could turn on parking mode so it records if you get hit while parked. The internal battery will start recording, but it only has limited battery life. I wish it had a bit more. I chose to mount it with the 3M taped permanent mount. The magnetic mount works very well. Just get the camera close to the mount and the magnet "sucks" it in place. With the permanent mount, the USB cable inserts into the mount so you don't have to mess with it when you remove the camera. There are contacts in the mount and camera so the USB stays with the mount. For reference, I installed the cam in my 2007 GMC Sierra full size truck and mounted the cam just left of the rearview mirror. There was way more than enough to tuck the power cable under the headliner, down the a pillar and into the left fuse box on the dash. I could route it to the power outlets under the stereo, but I chose to install a power outlet next to the interior fuse panel under the cover. Having it fused to the accessory lets the unit power off when the key is turned off and to turn on when the key is turned to accessory or run. I have another well known brand in my daily driver and this camera has much better video. My other one does record in 1080p with both front and rear cams. That's my only negative comment about the NextBase unit. I wish it came with the rear facing camera and that it wasn't an additional cost. Other than that, I'd recommend this cam to anyone that drives on a daily basis.