Stuck? Let an AI assistant troubleshoot with you
We keep a briefing file that explains exactly how Dashcam Downloader and the cameras behave – Wi-Fi and fixed-IP setup, why cameras drop off a network with no internet, what every bar colour and log line means, speed, SD-card failures, and where the files are. Give it to Claude (or any AI assistant that accepts a file) and it can work through your problem with you, reading your log file.
Ask Claude about Dashcam Downloader →
Opens claude.ai (sign-in needed) with the request already typed – add your problem and press send.
Or paste this into Claude (claude.ai, the Claude app, or Claude Code), followed by your problem:Read https://www.gizmocoding.com/BlackVueDownloader-CLAUDE.md and help me with Dashcam Downloader.It reads the latest briefing straight from this website, so it is always up to date.
Claude Code or the Claude desktop app: save this small CLAUDE.md into any folder and open that folder in Claude – it points Claude at the same briefing every time.
An assistant that cannot open web pages: download the full briefing and attach it to your chat.
Then:
1. In the app, tick Enable Debug Logging (About, the gear button), reproduce the problem, then About → Open Log Directory and attach the newest BlackvueDownloader.log (sort by date modified).
2. Describe what you expected and what happened, with the time. The assistant knows which log lines to look for.
It will never need your Wi-Fi or BlackVue Cloud password – if anything asks, don't give it.
How do I install it?
From the Microsoft Store, on Windows 10 or 11. There is a 7-day fully working trial. It does not run on a Mac, a phone, or Linux.
Which cameras work?
Every Cloud-capable BlackVue camera:
DR650S/GW, DR750S-1CH/2CH (incl. IR & Truck), DR750X-1CH/2CH/3CH (incl. Plus, IR & LTE), DR900S-1CH/2CH (incl. IR), DR900X-1CH/2CH (incl. Plus), DR970X, DR970X LTE/Plus, DR770X
ELITE series — ELITE 8, ELITE 9, ELITE 10, ELITE + Gold & ELITE Air.
Compatible with new BlackVue firmware (ELITE 10 v1.009, ELITE 8 v1.013, DR970X v1.014, ELITE 9 v1.010).
VIOFO cameras (version 5.5 and later) with Wi-Fi station mode: A329, A329S, A229 Pro, A229 Plus, A139 Pro, A119 Mini 2, and VIOFO's new T330, T340 and A149 Pro Duo (VIOFO says yes, awaiting user feedback – see VIOFO's reply). Station mode, and Wi-Fi staying on in parking mode, depend on the camera's firmware and are set up by you – see Setting up a VIOFO camera below. Please try your camera with the 7-day trial before you buy.
What do I actually need before it will work?
Three things, and the first two are done in your router and the BlackVue phone app, not in this program:
1. The camera must be joined to your home Wi-Fi (so it is on the same network as your PC).
2. The camera must always get the same IP address (a "fixed" or "static" IP). Without this it stops working the first time the camera reconnects.
3. Your home Wi-Fi must have a working internet connection. The camera checks, and switches its Wi-Fi off if there is none – even if you never use Cloud. See "My camera keeps dropping off Wi-Fi" below.
The steps below walk through each one for a BlackVue camera. VIOFO cameras have their own section after Step 4.
Step 1 – Join the camera to your home Wi-Fi
Out of the box the camera only makes its own Wi-Fi network (the one your phone joins to use the BlackVue app). That is not what we need. The camera has to join your home Wi-Fi, like a laptop would.
1. On your phone, connect to the camera's own Wi-Fi and open the official BlackVue app.
2. In the camera's settings find the Cloud / Wi-Fi section and enter your home Wi-Fi name and password.
3. Save. The camera restarts its Wi-Fi and joins your home network.
You do not need a Cloud account or subscription for this program – that screen is simply where BlackVue put the Wi-Fi settings.
Tip: if the car parks a long way from your router, the camera may not reach the Wi-Fi at all. A cheap Wi-Fi access point or mesh unit in the garage fixes this and makes downloads far faster.
Step 2 – Find the camera's IP address
An IP address looks like 192.168.1.57. Every device on your Wi-Fi has one, and this program needs the camera's.
Easiest: open your router's admin page or app (the address is usually printed on the router – often 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.0.1 – or use the maker's phone app: TP-Link Tether/Deco, Netgear Nighthawk/Orbi, Asus Router, eero, Google Home, Telstra/BT/etc.). Look at the list of connected devices. The camera shows as Pittasoft (BlackVue's company name) or BlackVue. Write down its IP address.
Can't find it? Run a free scanner such as Advanced IP Scanner on your PC – it lists everything on your network, and again you are looking for the maker Pittasoft.
The camera must be on and connected to your Wi-Fi while you look (sit in the car with the ignition on if needed).
Step 3 – Make that IP address fixed ("static IP" / "DHCP reservation")
Why: your router normally hands out addresses first-come-first-served. Next time the car comes home the camera might get 192.168.1.58 instead of .57, and this program would be looking in the wrong place. Fixing the address makes the router give the camera the same number every time.
Where: this is a router setting. It cannot be set in the camera and it cannot be set in this program.
How: in the router admin page or app, find the camera in the device list, then look for an option called one of:
- DHCP Reservation or Address Reservation (TP-Link, Netgear, D-Link, most ISP routers)
- Manually Assigned IP (Asus)
- Reserve IP / Static IP (eero, Google Wifi/Nest, Deco, Orbi apps – usually under the device's own page)
- Static lease (OpenWrt, pfSense, Mikrotik)
Pick the camera and keep the address it already has (simplest). Save, then restart the camera (or just drive the car away and back) and check it came back on the same address.
Some routers call the device by its MAC address instead of a name – it is the same thing, a 12-character code; the scanner above shows it next to Pittasoft.
If you really cannot find the option, search the web for your router's model name plus "reserve IP address". It exists on practically every router made in the last 15 years.
Step 4 – Add the camera in Dashcam Downloader
Run the program and press Add camera (Add Dashcamera in the Classic layout):
This box appears.
The two that matter are the camera's IP address (from Step 2) and the Save Directory – the folder on your PC where the videos go. Everything else can be left at its default and changed later with Edit details on the camera's card.
Press Add. The program pings the camera straight away; its card turns blue while it reads the camera's file list (the bar, in the Classic layout), then shows how many new files it found.
Setting up a VIOFO camera (version 5.5 and later)
VIOFO cameras are harder to set up for automatic downloads than BlackVue cameras. Two things are needed and neither is the default: the camera has to join your home Wi-Fi (station mode), and it has to keep its Wi-Fi on while the car is parked. Both are set up by you, in the camera and the VIOFO app – not in this program.
1. Station mode. Out of the box a VIOFO camera runs its own hotspot. From VIOFO's guide: connect your phone to the camera's Wi-Fi and open the VIOFO app, stop recording, choose Settings → Wi-Fi Station Configuration and enter your home Wi-Fi name and password. Then turn the camera's Wi-Fi off and hold REC + Wi-Fi (or MIC + Wi-Fi – it depends on the model). The camera says "Wi-Fi Station Mode Enabled", then "Wi-Fi Connected".
2. A fixed IP address. The camera's address on your network is shown on its screen; for models without a screen (A139 series) look in your router's list of connected devices. Reserve that address in the router (as in Step 3) and enter it when you add the camera. The program recognises a VIOFO camera when it connects – there is nothing to choose.
3. Wi-Fi when parked. With standard VIOFO firmware, expect the camera to switch its Wi-Fi off when parking mode starts. It then cannot be reached once the car is parked, so downloads only happen while the car is running – for example for a few minutes after arriving home. VIOFO support has told us that for its new T330, T340 and A149 Pro Duo it can prepare a special firmware that keeps Wi-Fi always on, so parking mode and station mode work together (VIOFO's answer, on the T330 page) – see VIOFO's reply. Ask VIOFO support whether such a firmware exists for your model, and check it on your own camera before relying on it.
4. Rejoining after a drive. Check that the camera rejoins your home Wi-Fi by itself. Owners of some models (for example the A139 Pro) have reported station mode switching off after about 10 minutes away from the home network, and having to turn it on again with the camera's buttons.
5. Power. The camera has to stay switched on while parked: a hardwiring kit with parking mode, or a battery pack.
In the program: Live view shows the camera's single live stream (which lens it shows is set in the camera). Speed, Drive Analytics and Track Data come from the camera's GPS; clips recorded without a GPS fix have no speed. For a folder of VIOFO footage added with Analyse Folder Only, press Process VIOFO GPS on its card once. The same tips are in the program: About → VIOFO camera set-up tips.
User beware: VIOFO's firmware and support are outside our control. That is why the 7-day trial is fully functional – please make sure your camera downloads with it before you buy.
My camera keeps dropping off Wi-Fi – it connects, then a few minutes later it is "Not Connected" again
This is the single most common problem, and it is the camera, not the program.
Whenever a BlackVue camera joins a Wi-Fi network it checks that the network can reach the internet – it tries to contact google.com and then BlackVue's own server. If neither answers, it keeps trying for about a minute, then switches its Wi-Fi off for about ten minutes, then tries again. It does this whether or not you use Cloud. The effect you see: the camera appears, you start a download, and the camera vanishes.
So the Wi-Fi the camera uses must have a working internet connection. Specifically the camera must be able to reach google.com (secure web, port 443). That is the whole requirement – it does not need the BlackVue Cloud and it does not need to upload anything.
Things that cause this:
- A separate "garage" or "IoT" Wi-Fi that has no internet behind it.
- A router rule, parental control or guest network that blocks the camera from the internet (see the next question).
- A Wi-Fi extender or access point whose own internet link is down.
- Your internet being out. The camera will drop off Wi-Fi during an outage and come back afterwards.
Quick test: join a phone to the same Wi-Fi and open google.com. If the phone can't, the camera can't either.
Should I block the camera from the internet?
Only if you know how to block it partly. Earlier versions of this page said "yes, block it" – that advice is withdrawn, because of the check described above: a camera that cannot reach google.com turns its Wi-Fi off and you lose your downloads.
- If you are not sure, do not block anything. The camera's internet use is small.
- If you do want to keep the camera off the BlackVue Cloud, block it at the router but allow it to reach google.com (secure web / port 443). Most home routers cannot make that fine a rule; firewall-style routers (pfSense, OPNsense, UniFi, Mikrotik, OpenWrt) can.
- Never put the camera on a Wi-Fi network that has no internet at all.
The camera stays red / "Not Connected" and never changes
Work down this list – it is nearly always one of these:
1. The car is not home, or the camera is off. A parked camera on a hardwire kit may have switched itself off to protect the battery. The card (the bar, in the Classic layout) is simply telling you the truth; while the camera is away its card folds down to one line.
2. The camera is not joined to your home Wi-Fi (Step 1; station mode for a VIOFO camera). Connecting your phone to the camera's Wi-Fi is not the same thing.
3. Wrong IP address, or the address changed because it was never fixed (Steps 2 and 3). Check the router's device list again.
4. The camera keeps dropping off because the Wi-Fi has no internet (the question above).
5. Your PC is on a different network from the camera – for example the PC on a guest Wi-Fi, a VPN switched on, or an "IoT" network that is walled off from the rest of the house. Both must be on the same network (the first three numbers of the IP addresses match, e.g. 192.168.1.x).
6. Weak signal. Park closer, or add an access point near the car.
7. A firewall on the PC blocking the program (rare, but third-party security suites do it).
My transfers are really slow
The camera's Wi-Fi is the weak link, not your PC or the program. In order of effect:
1. Distance and walls. A camera on the far side of a brick garage from the router gets a tiny fraction of the speed. An access point or mesh unit in or near the garage is the single biggest improvement you can make.
2. 5 GHz, not 2.4 GHz. Cameras that support 5 GHz (most from the DR900S / DR750X generation onward, and all ELITE models – check your model's spec) are several times faster on it. If your router offers both bands under one name, you cannot choose; many routers let you give the 5 GHz band its own name – then join the camera to that one. On the router, a wider channel (80 MHz / "VHT80") helps further.
3. More than one camera at a time. These cameras have a single small antenna. Two of them downloading at once through the same router talk over each other and both slow to a crawl – together they finish later than one after the other. Turn on About → Settings → One download at a time per transfer group (version 5.2 and later). Leave every camera on the "Default" group unless they use different access points.
4. The camera is busy. While recording and especially while the car is being driven, the camera gives Wi-Fi less attention. Parked and powered is best.
Typical real-world rates: 2–5 MB/s on 2.4 GHz, 8–15 MB/s on 5 GHz close to the access point. A one-minute clip is 60–100 MB, so a day's driving can be many gigabytes; the program is designed to be left running and catch up in the background.
My transfers keep timing out
Each camera has a Download Timeout (secs) in Edit Details. It means: if no data at all arrives from the camera for this many seconds, give up on that file and treat the camera as gone. It is not a limit on how long a file may take – a big file on a slow link can take as long as it likes as long as data keeps coming.
Leave it at the default (120 s) unless the camera genuinely goes quiet for longer than that mid-file, which usually means the signal is dropping in and out. Fix the signal first; raising the timeout only makes the program wait longer before noticing the camera has gone.
It is not downloading all my videos
Check, in Edit Details for that camera:
- Download Priority – any type set to "Ignore" is skipped on purpose.
- Days to Download – how far back it goes. Older clips are left on the camera.
- Ignore footage between (hours) – clips recorded in that window are skipped (Event/Impact/Manual are still kept if that box is ticked).
- The save folder has hit its size limit, or the drive is full – the bar turns magenta.
Front and rear are separate files and both are downloaded. If some files repeatedly fail, open the camera's Overview (see below) – it lists each failed file with the reason.
Some files always fail. Is my SD card dying?
Quite possibly. On the camera's card press Overview and health (the Details tab → Overview in the Classic layout; version 5.2 and later). Its Failed files page lists every failed file with the reason the camera gave, and in 5.3 the Health check page flags it for you when the same files fail again and again:
- "Not found on camera (404)" – the camera has already recorded over it. Normal on a full card if the program has been away for a while.
- "500 Internal Server Error" – the camera could not read the file from its own card. One or two now and then happen; the same files failing every time, or the count climbing week by week, is the classic sign of a worn-out SD card. Format it in the camera first; if it continues, replace the card (BlackVue cameras are hard on cards – use a high-endurance one).
- "No data received for 120 s (timeout)" – Wi-Fi dropped mid-file. Signal, not the card.
Failed files are retried at the next check, so a one-off failure sorts itself out.
Is my camera set up correctly? / I have forgotten my camera's Wi-Fi password
On the camera's card press Overview and health (the Details tab → Overview in the Classic layout) and use the arrow buttons (version 5.3 and later):
- Health check (last page) looks over the camera's set-up and history and lists anything likely to cause trouble, worst first, with what to do – e.g. the time zone was never set, the camera is on a different network from the PC, the drive is nearly full, or the SD card keeps failing on the same files. It only looks; it never changes anything.
- Camera settings shows what the camera itself is set to, read from it the last time it connected – including its time zone. If clip times look hours out, check this first.
- Wi-Fi passwords shows the passwords saved in the camera: its own hotspot password and the home Wi-Fi it connects to.
The camera settings and passwords appear after the camera has connected at least once with 5.3.
What is Drive Analytics?
Press Drive Analytics on the camera's card (in the Classic layout, click the camera's picture or the Drive Analytics button). It reads the GPS and G-sensor data saved with your clips and shows the top speeds and hardest impacts for today, yesterday and overall, plus the most recent Event, Impact and Manual recordings. Click any entry and the clip opens at that exact second – in the built-in player, or VLC / MPC-HC if you prefer (chooser at the top of the window). The Time frame selector (default 5 days) limits how far back it reads, which keeps it fast on cameras with years of footage. The right-hand All Clips column (version 5.3 and later) lists every recording in that time frame, day by day, with links to the front and rear files.
Can I look at footage that was downloaded on another PC (or a NAS)?
Yes. Add a camera and tick Analyse Folder Only. Give it a name and point it at the folder (the folder itself or its "Record" subfolder – either works). That entry never downloads, checks or deletes anything; it just gives you Drive Analytics and the player for that folder. Typical use: one PC in the garage does the downloading to a shared drive, and you review on the laptop in the house.
Can I see the live picture?
Press Live view on the camera's card, or right-click the card (Classic layout: Camera Details → Show Live Window, or right-click the camera's bar). Front, rear and interior cameras are selectable at the bottom, with a mute button; a VIOFO camera has one live stream. The camera must be connected at the time. A download running on the same camera will slow the live picture, and vice versa.
Can I stop a download, or make one camera go first?
Right-click the camera's card (the camera's bar, in the Classic layout). The open card also has Check now, Cancel download, and an arrow beside Check now for Download this camera now and Download by date:
- Cancel download stops that camera (the half-finished file is discarded – a partial video is unplayable). It is picked up again at the next check.
- Download this camera now (version 5.2 and later, with one-at-a-time switched on) moves that camera to the front of the queue; whichever camera is downloading pauses at the end of its current file and carries on afterwards.
- Check now makes it look at the camera immediately instead of waiting for the timer.
- Download by date... downloads a chosen date and time range.
- Open download folder opens the folder where that camera's videos are.
What do the colours mean?
Each camera's state is shown as a colour behind its picture on its card (and a solid strip along the bottom of the card); in the Classic layout it is the progress bar. Blue – working (checking, downloading, or reading GPS). Green – up to date. Amber – finished but some files failed, or you cancelled. Red – camera not reachable. Magenta – a problem on this PC: save drive full or the save folder/network drive is missing (the camera is fine). Lavender – a date-range download you asked for. Steel blue – an "Analyse Folder Only" entry. Hover over any card for the full text.
Every colour, movement and message is explained, with a live demonstration, in the Progress Bar Guide.
Watch a camera come home. This is how one camera's card changes as it comes home, downloads and leaves again. It repeats automatically – click a step to jump to it.
The main window looks different since 5.5. Can I have the old one back?
Yes. About → tick Classic layout, then close the program (right-click the tray icon → Exit) and start it again. Untick it to return to the new layout. Everything else – cameras, settings, downloads – is the same in both.
In the new layout:
- Each camera has a card. Its state is the colour behind the camera's picture and the strip along the bottom of the card (see "What do the colours mean?" above).
- A camera that goes away (red) folds down to one line, and opens again by itself when it comes back or starts downloading. Click the line to open it yourself; the last of the small buttons on the right of a card (after Live view, Drive Analytics and Overview and health) folds it down.
- Light or dark follows your Windows setting (Settings → Personalisation → Colours).
- To change the order of the cards, right-click a card → Move up, Move down, Move to top or Move to bottom. This only changes the display; it does not change which camera downloads first.
- The bar at the bottom of the window shows the latest log line; click it to see more of the log.
Where does it go when I close it?
The red X minimises it to the Windows system tray (the little icons by the clock) so it keeps downloading in the background. Double-click the tray icon to bring it back; right-click it → Exit to quit completely. Tick Run at Windows Startup in About (the settings button at the top right; the About tab in the Classic layout) and it is always there.
My settings keep disappearing
Settings save automatically. The usual cause was two copies of the program running at once, each overwriting the other's settings file. Current versions stop a second copy from starting – make sure you are up to date and that an old sideloaded copy is not still installed alongside the Store version. About → Backup Settings saves a copy you can restore later.
The folder is using more space than the GB limit I set
The limit controls what the program deletes to make room. Files marked Never Delete (Events, Manual recordings and so on, per camera) are kept regardless, so a camera with many of those can sit above the limit. Either allow more space or untick some Never Delete types. The number shown is the real space used.
"HDD Used" keeps changing – is something wrong?
No. It is the free space on the save drive, which moves as Windows and other programs use the disk.
How do I switch between mph and km/h?
The program follows your Windows region: a metric region shows km/h, an imperial one mph. Windows Settings → Time & Language → Region → Regional format, then restart the program.
There is a big box covering the screen / it will not start properly
Your 7-day trial has ended. Press the Purchase button, or buy it in the Microsoft Store. Nothing is lost – your cameras and settings are still there afterwards.
Does it run on Mac or Linux?
No – it is a Microsoft Store app for Windows 10 and 11 only.
I want feature X!
Send me an email – always happy to consider additions within reason. If something is not working, turn on Enable Debug Logging (About tab), reproduce the problem, then About → Open Log Directory and send the log with your email. It saves a lot of back and forth.