Wired vs Wireless Dash Cams: Which One for a Fleet?

A wired dashcam saves footage only to a memory card that someone collects by hand. A wireless dashcam adds Wi-Fi or 4G, so footage and alerts reach a phone or a fleet platform. Both take their power from the vehicle. For a fleet that needs to see an incident while the vehicle is still on the road, a 4G dashcam is the one to choose.

"Wireless" suggests a camera with no cables. In practice it describes how the footage leaves the camera. We do not sell an offline-only dashcam: nine of the ten models in our range have 4G, and the tenth, the B5, has Wi-Fi.

How each type works

• Wired (offline) dashcams plug into vehicle power and record to a microSD card. To see footage, you remove the card or connect the camera to a computer.
• Wi-Fi dashcams also record to a card, and connect to a phone at the vehicle. The B5 works this way, with no SIM card.
• 4G dashcams have their own SIM card and connect wherever there is mobile coverage, sending live video, clips and alerts to an app or a fleet platform.

Key differences

What a 4G connection adds

1. The clip arrives by itself. When an alarm fires, the device uploads a short clip, and the manager sees the event and the footage together in the platform.
2. Footage survives the camera. A clip that has been uploaded is still there if the camera or the card is damaged or removed.
3. Nobody collects cards. Finding one clip no longer means visiting the vehicle.
4. Settings and firmware change remotely. The A5, A3, A6 and A18 update over the air, and the D9's stream settings can be changed from the platform.

Common misunderstandings

• "Wireless dashcams don't need power." They do. A supercapacitor or a small battery only gives the camera time to save the last file when power is cut.
• "Wireless means no installation." Wi-Fi and 4G dashcams mount and wire up exactly like wired ones; a 4G model also needs a SIM card.
• "4G uses a lot of data." Recording uses none. Fifteen minutes of sub-stream live view and five 15-second clips a day come to about 1.1 GB a month. The 4G data calculator works out your own figure.

Which model

• D9. 4G, 1080p road and infrared cabin lenses, ADAS and DMS, two-way voice. For taxis, ride-hailing and delivery fleets that want road and driver coverage.
• WD02. 4G, up to four channels, optional ADAS, DMS and BSD, and IO and RS232 ports for a panic button or a sensor. For fleets wiring cameras into other equipment.
• B5. Wi-Fi only: three cameras, viewed on a phone at the vehicle with no SIM or data plan. For vehicles that return to a depot each day.

For four 1080p inputs, eight cameras or a hard disk, look at an MDVR. Compare our 4G models and Wi-Fi dashcams, or contact us for a recommendation.