Tactacam XB - Set date/time with no data plan?

[GreginPA]

Hey guys. So I had a XB that apparently I didn't shut the door the whole way and it got some water in the batteries. I decommissioned it from my data plan while I dried it out and tried to figure out if it will still work. The good news is that it still works.

While playing with it at home, I discovered that I can change settings via the wifi option. So that is great news for anyone who wants to run their cameras in non cellular mode during the off season and save a few bucks.

The kicker is that the camera has the wrong date and time on it and I haven't been able to figure out a way to set the date/time. I'm guessing that if the camera had battery life when I shut off the data, the date and time would have persisted. But the batteries went dead quickly after I didn't shut the door correctly and then it was a month or so until I got to the camera to see what was going on.

So..... can anyone with a tactacam that is not on cellular service tell me if their date/time is correct after turning the data plan off but keeping a power source? And/or does anyone know how to set the date/time without a data plan?

Thanks.

 

[bowhuntr09]

I had one on a cell plan that got way off on time by years. I had to reset it with a paper clip in the small hole under the door. There is no way to manually set the time on them, but it may update when it connects to check service.

 

[GreginPA]

yes, I've had to do that too. I was just hoping there was a way to set the date/time and/or confirm the date/time will remain if the power source remains once you take it off the data plan. That way I can run it all of the off season as a dumb camera.

 

[GreginPA]

Just to update this. I spoke with Tactacam. There is no way to set the date and time without the data plan.

However, the camera seems to hold the date and time if you cancel the data plan and do not remove the power source.

If you do remove the power source, mine defaults to 1/1/21 00:00 when the power source is reinstalled.

So - with a little record keeping, pre planning and math, you can keep the date/time while not paying for the data plan in the off season.

Going forward this is my plan:
Option 1 - replace batteries immediately before cancelling a data plan - date/time will remain correct until the power source dies
Option 2 - if the power source on a camera with no data plan dies then I will record the date and time of when I power the camera back on and use a spreadsheet to auto calculate the date/time of the pictures when I manually pull the sd card
Option 3 - if the above is too annoying to keep track of, shell out the $5/month per camera to keep them smart year round and call it a day

 

[DTech]

As a new member, I wanted to thank GreginPa for providing the only definitive answer that I was able to find regarding setting the XB date and time without a data plan -- as he stated, the bottom line is that it's not doable without a data plan.

In an effort to avoid record keeping, and especially math, I developed a semi-automated version of his Option 2, that while still rudimentary. seems to be promising. The basic approach involves saving an "Insertion Date" on the SD card when it's inserted in the camera and then as in his Option 2 auto calculating the date/time of the pictures and videos when the card is pulled. Based on the SD card insertion date and creation date of each file, the corrected date/time of when the image/video was actually taken is watermarked directly onto the image or video.

Happy to provide additional information if anyone is interested in what I'm calling "Option 4"

 

[GreginPA]

Glad I could help!