Thinkware Dash Cam Super Night Vision Settlement

The Thinkware Dash Cam Settlement resolves claims that Thinkware Systems USA advertised a “Super Night Vision” function on five dash cam models without disclosing that the function worked only in parking mode — not while you were driving at night. Three things decide whether this settlement is worth your time, and all three cut against the headline. First, only five model numbers are in the class: the X700, F200PRO, F70PRO, DC-M2-FG and DC-M2-FG-IR. The class definition turns on the model number alone, so a Thinkware dash cam of any other model is not covered no matter when you bought it or what the listing promised. Check the number printed on the camera body or the box before you file. Second, the “no receipt” route covers exactly one camera. Under Section 5.1 of the Settlement Agreement, proof of purchase is optional data for class members reached by indirect notice, but those no-proof claims are capped at 1 Class Product per class member and are expressly “subject to fraud auditing and scrubbed.” Claiming two or more cameras requires proof of purchase, full stop. Third, the $850,000 is not the payout pool. The Settlement Agreement itself names the Total Distributable Settlement Fund as $436,666.67 — roughly half the headline — after attorneys’ fees of up to $283,333.33 (33.33%), litigation costs up to $20,000, a service award up to $10,000 for the class representative, and notice and administration costs the parties do not expect to exceed $100,000. The widely quoted $6.70 a camera is not a promised payment: it is $436,666.67 divided by the 65,130-product escalator threshold, which is what each camera would draw if every covered camera ever sold were claimed. Claims close December 14, 2026. Opting out or objecting closes two weeks earlier, on November 30, 2026, and the Final Fairness Hearing is set for January 12, 2027 — nothing is paid before then.

Do I Qualify?

You may be eligible if:

• You purchased a Thinkware X700, F200PRO, F70PRO, DC-M2-FG or DC-M2-FG-IR dash cam. These five model numbers are the entire class — the Settlement Agreement defines Class Members by model, so a Thinkware dash cam carrying any other model number is not covered
• You bought it in the United States between January 25, 2019 and August 31, 2024. The class period closed on August 31, 2024, so buying a covered camera today does nothing for eligibility
• You are a person within the United States. There is no state-by-state test and no requirement to live in California, even though the case was filed there
• You do NOT need a receipt to claim one camera — but only one. Section 5.1 of the Settlement Agreement caps no-proof, indirect-notice claims at 1 Class Product and subjects them to fraud auditing
• You DO need proof of purchase to claim two or more cameras. This is required by both the Settlement Agreement and the printed Claim Form, with no exception
• You do NOT need to still own the camera, to have registered it, to have noticed the night vision behavior, or to have complained to anyone
• It does NOT matter where you bought it. Amazon, a big-box retailer, a car audio shop, a fleet outfitter, an installer or Thinkware's own store all count the same
• You file a valid Claim Form by December 14, 2026, and you did not opt out of the class by November 30, 2026
• WHO DOES NOT QUALIFY: owners of any Thinkware dash cam whose model number is not one of the five listed above. This is the exclusion that will disappoint most people who search for a "Thinkware dash cam settlement"
• Also excluded: members of the Court, Class Counsel, and Thinkware and its employees and agents (the Long Form Notice words this as current and former employees, officers, directors, agents and legal representatives of Thinkware and its affiliated entities)

This is a no-receipt settlement for exactly one camera, and a proof-required settlement for everything beyond that. The distinction is the single most important thing on this page after the model list. One camera, no proof. Section 5.1 of the Settlement Agreement provides that for indirect notice claims — that is, class members who were not identified from retailer records and mailed a Settlement Claim ID — proof of purchase, purchase location, date and serial number are optional data collected from Class Members. But the same sentence sets a hard limit: there is a cap of 1 Class Product per Class Member for indirect-notice filers who do not have proof of purchase, and such claims are expressly “subject to fraud auditing and scrubbed.” The Claim Form's Settlement Claim ID field is marked “if known,” so the absence of an ID does not by itself block a claim. Two or more cameras: proof of purchase is required. Both the Settlement Agreement and the printed Claim Form state it flatly — a class member who wishes to claim more than 1 Class Product must provide proof of purchase to the Claims Administrator. A receipt, an order confirmation, a card statement line or an installation invoice showing the model is the kind of thing meant. Anyone who outfitted a fleet, equipped more than one vehicle or replaced a camera during the class period is in this category. A genuine discrepancy between two official documents. The printed Claim Form says: “If you did not receive a Settlement Claim ID, please provide proof of purchase, purchase location, date, and serial number associated with your Thinkware Dash Cam.” Read alone, that sounds mandatory for anyone who never got a notice — which is most people who simply bought a camera at retail. The Settlement Agreement calls the same four items optional for indirect-notice claims. The Agreement is the controlling document and it plainly contemplates a one-camera claim without proof, but the safe course is to supply whatever you do have: the serial number is printed on the camera body and costs you nothing to copy across. The attestation is real. The Claim Form is signed with an affirmation under the laws of the United States that the information supplied is true and correct, the administrator may request more information before a claim is complete, and it rejects claims it identifies as fraudulent. Claim the cameras you actually bought.

What Happened?

Thinkware Systems USA marketed five of its dash cams — the X700, F200PRO, F70PRO, DC-M2-FG and DC-M2-FG-IR — as featuring a "Super Night Vision" function. The lawsuit alleges the company failed to disclose that the function was available only in parking mode, meaning while the vehicle was parked and the camera was running on its surveillance setting, rather than while the driver was actually on the road at night.

Jessica Ratzak sued on behalf of United States purchasers in the Superior Court of California, County of Placer. The case is Jessica Ratzak, et al. v. Thinkware Systems USA, Inc., Case No. S-CV-0049793, before the Honorable Trisha J. Hirashima. The Law Offices of Todd M. Friedman, P.C. were appointed Class Counsel. Thinkware is represented by Chung & Reynolds, P.C.

Thinkware denies the allegations and denies any wrongdoing. The Settlement Agreement records that it agreed to settle to avoid further expense, inconvenience and the distraction of litigation, and both the notice and the settlement website state that the Court has not decided in favor of either side. Conditional class certification is for settlement purposes only.

The parties negotiated with a professional mediator and agreed a common settlement fund of $850,000. The Court granted preliminary approval and the court-authorized notice program went live in September 2026, which is the event that opened claims. Because the class period closed in August 2024 and the notice issued two years later, many class members will be reaching back several years to identify a camera.

Notice reached the class in two ways, and which one reached you changes what the claim form asks of you. Class Counsel subpoenaed known retailers of the covered cameras for purchaser contact information so the administrator could send direct notice by email or postcard. Class members not captured that way are reached by indirect notice — and it is those indirect-notice claims that Section 5.1 caps at one camera when filed without proof of purchase.

EisnerAmper (Eisner Advisory Group LLC) is the Claims Administrator. The claim deadline is December 14, 2026, the opt-out and objection deadline is November 30, 2026, and the Final Fairness Hearing is set for January 12, 2027 at 8:30 a.m. Pacific in Department 32 of the Hon. Howard G. Gibson Courthouse, 10820 Justice Center Drive, Roseville, California. The settlement website warns that the hearing date can move. No final approval has been granted and no payment date has been announced.

How to File Your Claim

1. CONFIRM YOUR MODEL NUMBER FIRST. The class covers the X700, F200PRO, F70PRO, DC-M2-FG and DC-M2-FG-IR and nothing else. The number is printed on the camera body and the original packaging, and it appears on most order confirmations and installation invoices. A claim for any other Thinkware model will be rejected
2. FILE ONLINE at the official settlement website, www.TWCameraSettlement.com, which routes to the administrator's claim portal. This is the only website authorized by the Court to accept claims in this case
3. PREFER PAPER? Download the Claim Form from the Court Documents page of the settlement website, complete it, and mail it to Thinkware Claims Administrator, P.O. Box 1349, Baton Rouge, LA 70821. It must be postmarked or submitted online no later than December 14, 2026. A Spanish-language Claim Form is posted on the same page
4. ENTER YOUR SETTLEMENT CLAIM ID IF YOU HAVE ONE. The Claim Form marks the field "if known," so it is not a hard gate. But read the next step before you assume no proof is needed
5. NO SETTLEMENT CLAIM ID? The printed Claim Form instructs you to provide proof of purchase, purchase location, date and serial number for your Thinkware dash cam. Section 5.1 of the Settlement Agreement treats those four items as optional data for indirect-notice claims and allows a no-proof claim capped at 1 camera, and those claims are audited for fraud. Supplying whatever you have — an order confirmation, a card statement line, the serial number off the camera body — is the safer course
6. CLAIMING TWO OR MORE CAMERAS? Proof of purchase is required and must be provided to the Claims Administrator. Have it ready to upload in the same sitting rather than filing first and hunting afterward
7. ENTER EACH MODEL AND QUANTITY SEPARATELY. The form asks for the Class Product, quantity purchased, purchase location, approximate date of purchase and serial number for each camera, because payment is weighted by how many Class Products you claim
8. CHOOSE YOUR PAYMENT METHOD on the form — a physical paper check or a digital payment, which requires an email address. Use an address and email you will still be reading well into 2027, because payment follows the January 12, 2027 hearing and the Effective Date by months
9. SIGN IT. The Claim Form carries an affirmation under the laws of the United States that what you have supplied is true and correct, and the administrator may ask for more information before treating a claim as complete
10. WATCH THE EARLIER DATE. Claims close December 14, 2026, but the deadline to opt out or object is November 30, 2026, and objections must include proof of purchase of qualifying Class Products
11. QUESTIONS? Call the administrator toll-free at 1-888-614-5272 or write to Thinkware Claims Administrator, P.O. Box 1349, Baton Rouge, LA 70821. Do not contact the Court or Thinkware
12. Visit the official claim form: https://www.twcamerasettlement.com/

How Much Will I Actually Get?

ONE BENEFIT, ONE PATH — THERE IS NO CHOICE TO MAKE. This settlement has no alternative cash option, no documented-loss tier and no stacked benefits. Every valid claimant receives the same thing: a pro rata share of the Total Distributable Settlement Fund, weighted by the number of Class Products claimed. Nothing you elect on the form trades one benefit away for another. THE $850,000 IS THE GROSS FUND, NOT THE PAYOUT POOL. Under Section 2.1.1 of the Settlement Agreement, Thinkware pays $850,000 into a common fund that also covers Class Counsel's attorneys' fees of up to 33.33% of the fund ($283,333.33), litigation costs up to $20,000, a service award of up to $10,000 for class representative Jessica Ratzak, and notice and administration costs that Section 5 says are not anticipated to exceed $100,000. The Agreement names the remainder itself: the Total Distributable Settlement Fund is $436,666.67 — about 51 cents on the headline dollar. Every figure above is a request subject to the Court's approval on January 12, 2027, and the Court may award less, which would push the distributable fund and every payment upward. WHERE $6.70 COMES FROM, AND WHAT IT IS NOT. It is not a promised or guaranteed per-camera payment, and the notice publishes no fixed per-camera figure. It is the rate in the Agreement's escalator clause (Section 2.1.2): $436,666.67 divided by 65,130 products equals $6.70. That is what one camera would draw if every covered camera ever sold were claimed. Because the distributable fund is a fixed pool divided among valid claims, a lower claim volume means a larger share per camera, and consumer claim rates are ordinarily a small fraction of the class. WEIGHTED BY QUANTITY, NOT PER PERSON. Section 5.1 provides a weighted pro rata distribution depending on the number of claims made and the total number and distribution of Class Products claimed, so a claimant who validly claims three cameras draws roughly three times a claimant who claims one. That is also why the one-camera cap on no-proof claims bites: without proof of purchase you can claim only a single unit however many you actually bought. THE ESCALATOR RUNS THE OTHER WAY TOO. The $850,000 is not an absolute ceiling. The settlement was struck on the understanding that roughly 62,029 products were sold in the class period, and Section 2.1.2 requires Thinkware to add $6.70 to the fund for every product above 65,130 confirmed in discovery. On the reported sales figure the escalator is not triggered. ONE POINT WHERE THE DOCUMENTS DO NOT MATCH. The Settlement Agreement distributes the remainder of the fund pro rata to class members who submit timely valid claims (Section 2.1.1(iv)) and sends only residual funds from checks left uncashed after 180 days to Public Justice as a cy pres recipient (Section 5.5). The Long Form Notice and the settlement website say more loosely that all unclaimed Settlement Funds will be given to The Public Justice Foundation. We flag the difference rather than smooth it over, because it is the difference between $6.70 being a floor and $6.70 being the whole story. Either way, money you do not claim is money you do not get. NOTHING IS PAID YET. No money is available now. Payment follows final approval at the January 12, 2027 Final Fairness Hearing and the settlement's Effective Date, and an appeal by an objector would push it later. No payment date has been announced.

Last reviewed: September 18, 2026 | Information verified from court records and official settlement documents.

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