Video Retrieval Before Moving a Dash Cam to a New Vehicle

If you are connecting a dash cam with a new Vehicle Gateway (VG) or cannot retrieve video using standard Video Retrieval Process methods because the VG is damaged or unavailable, you may still be able to recover the footage if you have access to the dash cam. To ensure all available footage is recovered, before you remove any devices, review Best Practices Before Connecting the Dash Cam with a New VG.

Best Practices Before Connecting the Dash Cam with a New VG

When a camera is moved from one VG to another, the camera automatically clears historical footage not already uploaded to your Samsara dashboard. If you need to move or replace a VG, review the following recommendations to retrieve all video footage on your current camera before you connect it to a new VG:

• Before you move or replace the camera, initiate footage retrieval.

  To retain important footage, request Video Retrieval Process from the dash cam storage before you disconnect the dash cam from the VG. To verify the amount of footage available, review Dash Cam Storage Capacity.

• If your VG was damaged, do not immediately reconnect to a new VG.

  When you connect the dash cam to a different VG, the dash cam automatically clears any stored footage. However, if your previous VG has damage and you have an alternate VG, you may still be able to retrieve available footage (see Retrieve Dash Cam Footage Using an Activated VG).

  If you are not able to connect the dash cam with a different VG, please contact Samsara Support for assistance.

After you retrieve available footage, you can move the VG to a different vehicle (see Move a Vehicle Gateway from One Vehicle to Another).

Retrieve Dash Cam Footage Using an Activated VG

If the VG paired with the dash cam is damaged or otherwise unrecoverable, such as a vehicle accident or theft, you may not be able to retrieve video footage through the Samsara dashboard. However, if you are able to recover the dash cam and have access to a vehicle with a working VG, you may still be able to recover the footage.

Warning

These steps only apply to dual and front-facing dash cams with AI capabilities. Following these steps with any other dash cam model will erase footage.

Complete the following steps in the order listed. Any other order may result in deletion of dash cam footage.

To recover the footage, use the following workflow to pair the new VG to the old vehicle in the dashboard and then connect the dash cam to that VG:

1. Retrieve the dash cam from the old vehicle.

2. Identify a new vehicle with an active VG.

3. Log in to the Samsara dashboard.

4. Select the Settings icon ( ) at the bottom of your Fleet menu to view dashboard settings.

5. From Devices > Gateways, locate the new VG.

6. Copy the Gateway Serial ID. You will use this ID later in this workflow.

7. From the same row, select more actions menu ( ⋯ ) > Deactivate Gateway.

8. Click Activate Devices in the top right of the Devices page. Paste the Gateway Serial ID copied previously in this workflow and follow the prompts to activate the VG.

   

9. Locate the gateway using the serial ID and click the more actions menu ( ⋯ ) > Pair Gateway. Pair the VG to the old vehicle.

   

   

10. Plug the dash cam from the old vehicle into the new VG.

11. After the dash cam is connected, you can retrieve the video footage using Video Retrieval Process.

12. After you obtain the footage, you can use the same steps in this workflow to deactivate the VG from the old vehicle. Then unplug the camera, if desired, reactivate the VG, and pair it back with the new vehicle.