A lot of higher-end dashcams these days come with their own mobile apps. But if the model doesn’t support an app, you’re out of luck. My Mercedes came with the factory-fitted Starview S MB-900S8. It used to have a mobile app, but it looks like support was dropped—maybe due to bugs or heavy data use.
Most of the time I don’t touch the dashcam. But if the car gets scratched, damaged, or I’m in a fender-bender, I need the footage—and that tiny screen with clunky buttons is a pain to use. Sure, I can pull the microSD card and check it on a PC, but that’s not helpful when I’m standing at the scene.
Ideally, the footage would play on the built-in navigation screen. Since that’s not an option, here’s how I view Starview S MB-900S8 recordings on my phone right away.
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Remove the dashcam to access the card
With the unit installed, the card is awkward to reach. Grip the front camera and slide it to the right to release it from the mount. To reinstall, line up the rear housing with the groove and slide left until it locks.
Eject the microSD card
On the back-right side, open the rubber cap. Press the card inward with a fingernail and it will click out. The card is tiny—watch you don’t drop it.
Grab an OTG card reader
- For Android: a USB-C OTG card reader (with slots for SD and microSD) works great.
- For iPhone: you’ll need a Lightning OTG reader.
Tip about phone cases: a reader with a slightly longer plug is easier to seat if you use a thicker case. With soft jelly cases, the connector sometimes won’t go in all the way—you may need to pop the case off.
Use a memory card type and capacity the dashcam officially supports.
Plug it in and confirm the phone sees it
Many phones pop up a prompt to open Files/My Files.
If you don’t get a prompt, open your file manager manually and look for USB storage (often shown as “USB storage 1”).
Open that drive—you should see your dashcam folders and files.
By default files may be sorted by name. Tap Filter/Sort → Date so the newest clips show first. Most dashcams save in 2-minute segments, so you’ll have several clips around the time of the incident.
Open a file and it should play in your phone’s video player right away.
Zoom in, save, and share on the spot
On a phone, it’s much easier to scrub through the exact moment and zoom in on details. If you need to send footage to your insurer, the police, or the other driver, just tap Share. You can also copy the file to your phone’s storage to keep a backup.
You won’t need dashcam footage often—but when you do, it’s usually urgent. Keep a small OTG card reader in the glove box. That way, if anything happens, you can pull the card and check the video right there at the scene without a laptop.