Tesla Sentry Mode – Info, Updates, and Keep Summer Safe

This episode is dedicated to Tesla Sentry Mode. With the release of 2019.16.2, we saw some great enhancements to Sentry Mode. A quick review of the feature plus what has been added is discussed in this video.

Need a formatted drive? puretesla.com/usb

What is Sentry Mode?

– Tesla’s Enhanced security system using the front left right cameras to record potential threats (called events) to your Tesla while it is parked.

How is it triggered?
– when Sentry Mode is on and motion around your vehicle is detected, Sentry Mode goes into alert status, showing the pulsing red eye from HAL 9000 on the screen and also saving footage of the event to your USB drive.
– If a window is smashed or the car is being attacked, it will enter alarm state. This honks the horn, plays classical music at full blast, and sends the owner a push notification.

How to turn it on
– first of all, you’ll need a properly formatted USB drive to record any events that Sentry Mode detects. The drive needs to be in FAT32 and a folder needs to be created named TeslaCam. You can find instructions on how to do this on my site, and I also sell a preformatted drive that works with Sentry Mode right out of the package – simply plug it in to your car and you’re ready to go. You can find this at puretesla.com/usb
– If you’re using a software version prior to 2019.16.2 you will need to enable Sentry Mode each time you park your car via the Security settings tab or your Tesla app in the controls menu.
– If your car has 2019.16.2 or later, you have a few more options that are really convenient.

Returning to your car
– when you return to your Tesla, the screen will show if any events were recorded and, if so, how many.
– If you’d like to review them, remove the USB drive and insert it into a computer or compatible device and open the TeslaCam folder and then the SavedClips folder. You will find folders of events in that location. Each folder contains clips from the front, left, and right cameras.