The only thing worse than hearing your car alarm go off is it not going off at all and becoming the victim of theft or vandalism. Fortunately, Teslas are outfitted with one of the most state-of-the-art anti-theft measures in the world: Tesla Sentry Mode. You may be wondering, if the system uses cameras to monitor the area, then what triggers the Sentry Mode alarm?
Sentry Mode alarm triggers if the vehicle is under physical threat. This includes (but is not limited to) a broken window, slashed tires, or even eggs being thrown at the vehicle. When triggered, the car alarm sounds, the display’s brightness increases, and the audio system plays at full volume.
Before the Sentry Mode alarm goes off, the vehicle will detect movement surrounding the car and switch from the “Standby” state to “Alert.” The “Alert” state will display a message on the Tesla’s main screen that cameras are recording the area surrounding the vehicle. The “Alert” state is a more discrete way to discourage anyone with malicious or mischievous intentions from following through with their plans. This system will also send alerts to your mobile device if the vehicle is in any kind of harm.
If you are a new Tesla owner, you may have some concerns about your vehicle’s security or you may even be shopping around for the right security system for you.
Sentry Mode uses eight cameras stationed along the exterior of all Tesla vehicles to constantly monitor and record the environment around the car. These recordings can be stored and saved for the driver’s use in the event of an incident involving your vehicle.
If you are looking to learn more about the specific features and uses of Sentry Mode, how you can access the system remotely, or even how to manage the system’s storage, stick around and read on! First, let’s get more familiar with the Sentry Mode system.
How do you use Sentry Mode?
While Sentry Mode is an incredibly innovative system, it does not come automatically enabled in the vehicle. It’s up to the driver to enable Sentry Mode and decide which settings within the system are best for them. Luckily, Tesla makes it incredibly easy to activate the security system. Here are three ways to start using Sentry Mode.
Three ways to activate Sentry Mode:
- Access the Controls menu on your Tesla’s main screen. In the Safety & Security tag, you may select the option to enable or disable Sentry Mode
- Access the vehicle’s voice command and say “Enable Sentry Mode”
- Through the Tesla app on your mobile device, you can go into Safety & Security settings to enable or disable Sentry Mode.
Once you have Sentry Mode enabled, you may choose to disable it at any time through your system settings. You may also choose for the vehicle to automatically turn off Sentry Mode when parked in certain set locations such as your home, work, or favorite saved locations.
When you have Sentry Mode enabled, the eight cameras on the exterior of the vehicle and the one interior cab camera will continuously record. These recordings get saved as encrypted and protected files directly to your USB storage device and will never be shared with Tesla or any other third-party without the consent of the driver. If you would like your footage to be shared with Tesla or another third party application, you must manually change your settings in the Sentry Mode menu.
If the cameras are recording but no threat is detected, Sentry Mode will remain in its “Standby” state. Once the cameras detect movement along the exterior of the vehicle, Sentry Mode will enter the “Alert” state. If the vehicle is under any physical threat, the alarm will trigger and the owner will be notified via the Tesla mobile app.
How often you choose to use Sentry Mode is entirely up to you, but many Tesla drivers choose to keep Sentry Mode on every time they park; you never know when you may need it! If you are curious about recording while you drive, Tesla’s Dashcam feature takes care of capturing driving footage and works independently from Sentry Mode.
So whether you decide to use Sentry Mode or not, you’ll always have access to your Dashcam footage in the event of a collision. In fact, you can even set your Tesla to record every time you honk your horn!
While you can technically leave Sentry Mode on indefinitely, the system will shut down automatically when your Tesla’s battery reaches 20%. This fail-safe feature ensures that Sentry Mode is never responsible for draining your Tesla’s battery.
If, for example, you are going on a trip and you choose to leave Sentry Mode on for the trip’s duration you can expect your fully charged battery to last about ten days before reaching 20%.
Generally, without Sentry Mode or any other background apps active, you can expect a fully charged Tesla to last about twenty days. A great way to avoid coming back home to a dead Tesla is to leave your vehicle plugged in while you are away or have a trusted friend or family member top up your battery for you.
Should your Tesla reach that 20% threshold and Sentry Mode is no longer activated, your car will still sound its standard alarm should an incident occur, so you will not be entirely without protection. The difference is, you will not have video evidence of the incident, so be sure to keep your Tesla charged as often as you can to reap the full benefits of Sentry Mode.
Using Sentry Mode on your Mobile Device
The Tesla app is a great way to access your vehicle remotely from your mobile device. From the mobile app’s main screen, you can manage your account information, see the car’s estimated distance from you, navigate the Tesla shop, and more. The Tesla mobile app opens up a whole new world of convenient capabilities including:
- Lock and unlock the vehicle
- Check the vehicle’s battery charge
- Open or close the charge port
- Open the trunk
- See the vehicle’s odometer, VIN, firmware version, and whether the car is in drive, park, neutral, or reverse
- Customize the vehicle’s climate (turn on the heat or air conditioning, defrost, or enable Dog Mode)
- Park or summon your vehicle and track its movement across a map
- Enable or disable Sentry Mode
Although using Sentry Mode can feel a bit limited on the mobile app when compared to accessing Sentry Mode directly on the Tesla main screen, mobile access is still a must-have and does come with more than a few useful features. Before we dive into those features, here’s how you can set up Sentry Mode on your Tesla mobile app.
How to set up Sentry Mode on your Tesla mobile app:
- Download the Tesla app from your app store
- Link your accounts by entering your Tesla account information
- Enable mobile device access in your Tesla’s system settings
- Pair your mobile device through Bluetooth and set your device as a key
Make sure that your mobile device always has the most recent updated version of the application installed. Without the latest update, you may not be able to view your Sentry Live Mode feed. You may also experience issues with Sentry’s mobile features or even not be notified if there is an incident with your vehicle. If your mobile device has an option to automatically update applications, the Tesla app is certainly one you should add to that list.
Once your Tesla account is linked to your vehicle, you will receive notifications if your vehicle is under any threat. You will have access to your vehicle’s live feed, which allows you to see exactly what’s happening to your vehicle from a safe distance. You can watch this live feed for up to an hour depending on the region you are in.
Tesla models are also equipped with the Pedestrian Warning System, which will allow you to transmit your voice through your Tesla’s speakers from the mobile app. This can certainly come in handy if someone is trying to break in or vandalize the vehicle – there’s nothing scarier than being caught in the act!
While the Tesla mobile app does have incredibly useful capabilities, it cannot review saved video recordings, only the current live feed. If you need to view saved footage, you can do so directly on your Tesla’s main screen, or through a computer. To do this, you will need to remove the USB drive that contains your Sentry Mode storage and insert it into your computer. From here, you may also choose to save these files to your computer and free up some space on your drive.
How much memory does Sentry Mode use?
In order to use Sentry Mode and the Tesla Dashcam, you will need to have a properly formatted USB drive inserted into one of the Tesla USB ports in the front of the console. Tesla recommends that drivers use the USB port inside of the glove box for easy access. Without a USB, Sentry Mode will technically record but none of those recordings can be saved or accessed again. So, while it may still scare away any nefarious individuals, you will not have any saved footage of the encounter.
Sentry Mode and Dashcam alike have the potential to take up a lot of memory. The amount of memory Sentry Mode uses depends entirely upon how often it’s activated and how many clips get stored. So if you frequently park in a high-traffic area, your Tesla is more likely to store recordings more frequently. The same goes for driving in aggressive or high-traffic areas.
Generally, a 10-hour recording through Sentry Mode will need approximately 80GB of storage. The more storage you have, the more footage you will be able to capture before having to delete recordings. Having ample space will also keep you from running out of space when you need it most.
Tesla recommends that drivers use a USB drive with at least 128GB of space, however, many Tesla drivers opt for much larger drives or even solid-state drives in the 500GB to 1T range. When shopping for a USB drive, look for drives with a sustained write speed of at least 4MB/s. Keep in mind that many USB drive advertisements will boast their peak speed; be sure to look for their sustained speed.
Once you have your USB drive, you can format it automatically or manually. Generally, owners only opt to format their drives manually if, for any reason, the drive is unable to format automatically.
To format your USB drive automatically, simply insert your drive into your USB port, then access “Format USB Drive” through the Tesla’s controls and settings menus. If the drive does not format automatically, you can format the USB drive manually on your computer by following these steps:
- If you are using a Mac computer, format the USB drive as MS-DOS FAT. If you are using a PC format the drive as exFAT, ext3, or ext4
- Create a standard folder labeled TeslaCam. If you are using Track Mode on your Tesla, create another standard folder and label it TeslaTrackMode
- Insert the USB drive into a front Tesla USB port (rear ports are used for charging and will not work)
- Once the drive is recognized (which may take a few minutes), make sure that the icons for Dashcam and Sentry Mode are available in the Controls menu.
Once the USB drive is formatted, leave it in the USB port and your vehicle will be able to record and save video footage. This saved footage can be accessed directly through your Tesla or on your computer once the USB drive is inserted.
How expensive is Sentry Mode?
For a system with as many features as Tesla Sentry Mode, you might expect to pay a fortune. It’s no secret that Teslas are absolutely jam-packed with fantastic features, and the best part is that the majority of those features operate under one subscription price of $9.99 a month or $99 a year.
Like most other Tesla features, in order to use Sentry Mode, you will need to pay the $9.99 monthly or $99 yearly fee for access to Tesla Premium Connectivity. Tesla Premium Connectivity is a data usage subscription much like paying for data for your phone or Wi-Fi for your home, but for your car. The Premium subscription gives drives access to a litany of features including the following
All Tesla Premium Connectivity features
- Music streaming
- Internet Browser
- Navigation
- Live Traffic Visualization
- Video Streaming
- Sentry Mode/Dashcam
- Satellite-View Maps
- Caraoke
- Video Streaming
- Web Conferencing
- Calendar Access
- Making and Receiving Phone Calls
Based on that list alone, many Tesla drivers find the Premium Subscription to be well worth the price. Plus, if you order a Tesla Model S, Model X, Model Y, and Model 3, you should have access to a free Premium Connectivity trial at delivery. This would mean that all of these features, Sentry Mode and Dashcam included, are free of charge for the duration of your free trial.
If you are a new Tesla owner and haven’t subscribed to Premium Connectivity, you are likely currently using your Tesla with Standard Connectivity. Standard Connectivity is available for free with all Tesla models for the first eight years on the road. If you have purchased or plan to purchase a used Tesla, be sure to check with the seller or dealership to find out how much longer you’ll have access to Standard Connectivity since this free connectivity is dependent upon how long the vehicle has been on the road, not how long an individual has owned it.