Tesla is set to roll out an awesome new feature with Sentry Mode, allowing owners to watch the video clip recorded by the car on their phone.
Sentry Mode is a security feature on Tesla vehicles that records instances and events that occur near the car. It has helped solve things as simple as petty vandalism, like keying, and even liability in accidents.
For years, it has been available on Tesla vehicles. Yet, people are still not aware of this capability and continue to commit crimes on the cars, not realizing they are being recorded.
For a while, though, the clips recorded by Sentry mode have not been available for viewing remotely. Instead, they are able to be watched in a car, or on a laptop or computer through the use of a USB device.
Now, it appears remote Sentry Mode clips are on the way, according to an app de-compile performed by Tesla App Updates:
Still working on the de-compile,but remote sentry mode clips are almost here.@teslascope @WholeMarsBlog
“When Sentry Mode records and sends you a preview of an event, those preview videos will appear here. Preview videos are end-to-end encrypted and can’t be accessed by Tesla.”
— Tesla App Updates (iOS) (@Tesla_App_iOS) April 16, 2024
It appears the feature will be available on iOS, Apple’s operating system. There is no word on whether the feature will be present on Android or other operating systems.
Sentry Mode has gone through numerous improvements through the years, including more refined incident detection to better detect vehicle break-ins.
Additionally, in February 2024, former SVP of Powertrain Drew Baglino said that Tesla was working to improve Sentry Mode battery consumption, which owners have complained about.
Although the security feature is handy and somewhat necessary, it takes a lot of battery life to operate, and some complained of excessive vampire drain.
“Sentry Mode power consumption needs improvement,” Baglino said. “The team is working to reduce by ~40% in a Q2 software update.
Agreed, sentry mode power consumption needs improvement, the team is working to reduce by ~40% in a Q2 software update.
— Drew Baglino (@baglino) February 22, 2024
Tesla will roll out both remote Sentry Mode viewing and battery consumption improvements this quarter.
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