Dash Cam Card Full Error: How to Fix 'Dash Cam Says SD Card Full'

Dash cam says memory card full all the time, and the memory card is filling up soon after deleting all the video clips. As you know, the full error could result from improper system settings, memory card corruption, or a faulty memory card.

This article provides three solutions to this problem that Nikon D3000 says the card is full. The table below gives an outline. Read the content for details.

3 Fixes for the 'Dash Cam Memory Card Full' Error.

You cannot ignore the importance of the dash cam memory card when it comes to collecting evidence in a car accident. Imagine, how dreadful it is if the scene of the terrible collision was not recorded nor saved in the dash cam's storage, only because the micro SD card is full. Anyway, it's extremely urgent to clear up the filled micro SD card (known as TF card as well) that is used by a dash cam in a car. To get rid of a continuously filling up memory card, there are some workarounds here that worth trying.

Fix 1. Shorten the 'loop recording' time

Almost all dash cams are featured with a 'Loop recording' function. When the memory card storage reaches full capacity, loop recording allows for a continuous recording by overwriting older files. This feature itself is designed to completely solve the SD memory card storage problem so the dash cam will be always recording even if the SD memory card reaches full capacity.

So, when your dash cam memory card says full, make sure that you didn't delete savings in the card storage by yourself, and the loop recording is turned on. Based on the fact that the loop recording is on, set the time of loop video to be shorter, particularly when you are using a low-capacity micro SD card. For example, you can choose from 1/2/3 minutes or 3/5/10 minutes mode on different dash cam brands. That is to say, choosing 1 minute over 3 minutes of loop recording time is better.

Fix 2. Reduce the sensitivity of G-sensor

The reason for a constantly filling up memory card storage is likely to be related to high sensitivity of G-sensor. Though we mentioned that loop recording will enable new videos to overwrite the old, the G-sensor triggered recordings will never be overwritten.

When you set the G-sensor at a high level, like 8G, a slight shaking will touch the G-sensor so that the current video is locked and can't be covered. After some time along with your driving, the more and more locked video files will quietly take up the memory card storage space, as a result, sending a 'memory card full' error.

Fix 3. Format a microSD card in your Dash Cam or PC

As you know, a short loop recording time can help record more videos to the limited storage, and reducing the G-sensor sensitivity can prevent more unnecessary recordings from being locked and permanently saved in the card. However, if you have made all those settings and still received the card full error, it's time to format the SD memory card at some point.

Besides, corruption issues would also cause SD card errors, not only on a dash cam but also on other digital devices like a smartphone, camera...Usually, disk formatting would resolve the problem.

When your memory card gets full, try to connect it to a computer. Some dashboards are WIFI enabled, which enables you to connect the dashboard directly with a phone/tablet to transfer useful videos from the dashboard to your mobile device. Afterward, go to format the memory card in the dash cam.

Don't have a WIFI feature in the dash cam? You need to connect the dash cam memory card to a computer. Transfer the useful video clips to other storage devices as a backup. To achieve a full format on a computer, you can format SD card using Windows, CMD and a formatting tool.

The demo version uncovers all data recovery features. You don't need to pay the full version until all the wanted videos are found and listed as recoverable.

To recover videos from the formatted/corrupted memory card, follow the steps.

Step 1. Run EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard and select the location or device where you lost/deleted videos. Click "Search for Lost Data" to find the missing videos.

Step 2. After the scan, choose "Videos" in the left panel. You can directly type the files name in the search bar if you remember. Select the found videos and click "Preview".

Step 3. Select the video files that you want to restore. Click "Recover" to save them to another secure location on your PC, external storage device or cloud storage.

Extra Tip: Choose a Standard Dash Cam Micro SD Card

Car owners should be very familiar with those dash camera brands, like Garmin, Nextbase, Thinkware, BlackVue, TaoTronics, Pilot, Binatone...But did you choose the right one? Not really if you insert the wrong micro SD card (formerly known as TF card)  in it. 

Technically speaking, the best dash cams have similar technology to one another, and they are all using a micro SD card to record and save continuous footages while you're driving on the road. To achieve the best performance of a dash camera when recording, the read/writing speed of the memory card is of vital importance. And, the ideal SD card that you should use in your dash cam should be Class 10 Write Speed. According to the 'best micro sd card for your dash cam 2019' research, the highly suggested card you should use in your dash cam includes:

• Samsung 64GB Evo Plus Micro SD Card (SDXC) UHS-I U3 + Adapter – 100MB/s
• Integral 128GB Ultima PRO Micro SD Card (SDXC) UHS-I U1 + Adapter – 90MB/s
• Samsung 256GB Evo Plus Micro SD Card (SDXC) UHS-I U3 + Adapter – 95MB/s
• Samsung 32GB PRO Endurance Micro SD Card (SDXC) + SD Adapter – 100MB/s
• SanDisk 32GB Extreme Pro Micro SD Card (SDHC) UHS-I + Adapter – 100MB/s

It's not to say you can only use these five types of memory card, but trying to inform you that choose a trustworthy branded one, at the same time, of Class 10 write speed, to ensure that the memory card won't generate a full error due to a lack of high-speed class.